LifeProof is considered to be the go-to name when looking for a waterproof case to protect your iPhone in extreme and uncertain conditions that life calls for. We thought the LifeProof case for the iPhone 4S was the best performing waterproof case money can buy you, but it also left us wanting more. The latest LifeProof Fre case is a breakthrough slim waterproof case designed not only to keep your iPhone 5 safely protected against water, but also against every other element including drops and rough handling. It is, the ultimate protective iPhone case without a doubt. Incredible capabilities do come at a cost however, the Fre comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Get more details on LifeProof's Fre in the full review after the jump!
Over the years many companies have tried to make a fully waterproof and rugged iPhone case, but none of those cases were as good as the LifeProof case. The Fre for the iPhone 5 is of course identical in design and performance as its shorter equivalent, and it'll even set you back . The Fre is the unseemingly submarine of iPhone cases. Looking at the Fre, one will never guess it is fully capable of being submerged under water to depths of up to 6.6ft (2 meters), for 30 consecutive minutes. If that doesn't impress you, which I'm sure it does, then the klutz in you would love to know that the Fre case meets military standards in surviving impacts, shock and even your real-life scenario, accidental drops of as high as 6.6ft (2 meters). With such an impressive case as your side, who even needs AppleCare+?
Although early adopters of the Fre case won't enjoy the wide selection of colors currently available for the iPhone 4/S version, LifeProof is expected to release additional colors as well as spare parts that'll be available for separate purchase in case you'd like to create a custom color or replace a scratched up front screen assembly. One of the great things about the LifeProof case is that you can completely cover up and change the appearance of a black iPhone 5 into a white one and vice versa thanks to the Fre's colored front shield. A pleasing and painless way of changing things up a bit for sure.
What initially surprised me was that the Fre did not seem noticeably slimmer than its iPhone 4/S equivalent. If you take a closer look at the specs of both cases, you aren't going to find any significant difference between the two and their thicknesses. Nevertheless, the Fre is a very slim case that keeps a low-profile for what it has to offer. On the other hand, it does add a noticeable extended length to the iPhone 5 because of the watertight design.
The Fre features a new sealed, squarish rear window that showcases your iPhone 5's Apple logo and parts of the original color so that your iPhone will never be mistaken for an Android phone. It's a bit pretentious if you ask me, but I do see the value in it which shows an appreciation towards the incredibly design of the iPhone 5. Come to think of it, the Fre blows away just about every heavy duty case with its minimalist design that actually is loaded with extreme fire power. It was unheard of for a waterproof iPhone case to have a low-profile, until LifeProof came along.
The Fre in general is a comfortable case to hold despite its robust and overly protective design. It's a rather slim protective case that you can quickly get adjusted to. It remains true to LifeProof's original concept in that it features a hybrid construction comprised out of hard plastic and shock absorbing rubber. The rubber provides a great grip when holding the iPhone in the hand while it also surrounds the iPhone 5 like a rubber bumper from the inside out. The Fre's integrated buttons are all very easy to press and give you superb tactile feedback; and that includes the easy to flip silent switch.
There have been some uncertainties from consumers surrounding the LifeProof case and call quality. For most users, this is obviously a very important topic. In the few weeks of testing the Fre in the daily life routines, I have not experienced any issues with call quality. People could hear me loud and clear and I had no trouble hearing them clearly thru the Fre's watertight membrane-protected earpiece. Right beside the earpiece, proximity light sensors are doing their expected job without interference.
Interior wise, you can spot that precision rubberized construction along with a host of strategically placed layers of foam.


The workplace is evolving and employees are no longer tethered to a specific work location, they don't work from nine to five either which in turn is actually driving productivity. Instead, they balance their commitments and work from anywhere and anytime, connecting to their apps and data on whichever and whatever devices they want to use. Bringing people, systems and information together in a secure, always connected and personalized manner whilst running a cost-effective and attractive operation is one of the main inhibitors in place today.
These challenges give rise to an important question, how do you find the right balance of performance, cost, flexibility and security?
With Fujitsu Cloud Managed Workplace Services, regardless of the size and complexity of your workplace environment, we provide a secure platform for the delivery of digital services via the Cloud. We offer a flexible and scalable environment fabric in which to operate within, which delivers all of the capabilities you need in order to Manage and deploy user devices via one platform, regardless of the operating system.
Our fully managed Cloud environment supports and enables devices through the use of Cloud-based software management tools. Workplace services are delivered through a single SaaS based platform that incorporates Unified Endpoint Management as a Service, and Microsoft 365 (O365, Azure AD and Win10) as a Service.
Fujitsu Cloud Managed Workplace emphasizes end-user self-service and self-provisioning. We enable your employees to be more self-sufficient and productive by empowering them to access the digital tools, apps and services they need, as and when they need to. In doing this, they are no longer required to wait for a centralized IT team to get things up and running, saving them time, and you, money.
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We provide workers with the flexibility to connect, collaborate, and innovate using the latest features and SaaS technologies all accessed from their personal or corporately owned smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop devices. Our smartphone style end-user experiences for PCs, tablets, and smartphones, offers users the ultimate in agility and flexibility without sacrificing your organization's security.
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Gatwick is focused on the passenger experience – from the way we design the facilities to our IT systems. We felt it was time for a real step change in the technology we use.


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Self-Employment in the UK
by Irma Wallace | Jul 29, 2015 | Career Infographics
For British workers, there has never been a better time to consider becoming self-employed. With record numbers of people choosing to work for themselves, self-employment in the UK is experiencing a boom. Research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirms that self-employment is at its highest level in the UK since records began 40 years ago. In fact, statistics show that around 15% of UK workers are registered as self-employed, which equates to one in seven workers.
Learn more about self-employment in the UK with this infographic from Evolution Money.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Tony Hsieh
Quick links... News 13 Investigates Dirty Dining Tony Hsieh
Las Vegas mental health Crisis Response Team sees success with new strategy
Social workers placed aboard ambulances
There is a small crisis response team that is making a big impact when it comes to the emerging mental health crisis across Las Vegas.
By: Joe Bartels
Posted at 10:00 PM, Dec 07, 2018
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There is a small crisis response team that is making a big impact when it comes to the emerging mental health crisis across Las Vegas.
"It can be tense," said Amanda Jurden, a licensed clinical social worker.
"Usually, we just try and talk to the person, kind of gauge where they're at, find out, number 1, are they open to talking to you, are they going to be voluntary patient?" explained Jurden.
Jurden is now on the front lines of the Crisis Response Team and rides aboard an ambulance to make an on-scene patient assessment during a mental health crisis incident.
"They can be angry, they can be agitated, they can be under the influence, all of those things," said Jurden.
"But at the end of the day we just want to see if they are willing to engage with us, and cooperate in some form or fashion," said Jurden.
The Crisis Response Team was organized in April 2018 with the goal of connecting those in mental distress with available resources while reducing the burden on local emergency rooms.
So far, it seems to be working.
"We are outperforming expectations by some distance, and I think we are showing a good cost-savings to the state and we're going great care for patients," said Asst. Fire Chief Jon Stevenson with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.
Stevenson said the cycle for a mental health crisis response was sometimes an endless loop with first responders and law enforcement bringing the person to jail or an emergency room.
The result would strip patients of their rights under an involuntary hold.
"That patient would've gone [to the emergency room] 10, 15, 20 times, and may never see a case manager," said Asst. Chief Stevenson.
"[The patient] may have said, "whatever I was saying two days ago, I repudiate it, I disavow it, I'm good now, can I go home?," added Stevenson.
"An ER doctor might say, 'you know what, I'll let you go, I've got a crowded emergency room and I've got no reason to hold somebody who is repudiating what they said two days ago," said Stevenson.
Often times it is something the patient has said, threatened to do that lands them in an involuntary hold.
Stevenson said even though the initial crisis that landed a patient in the hospital had passed, their underlying and long-term mental health issues may not be addressed which would begin the crisis response cycle again.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue created the Mobile Integrated Health Care Program to help address some of the evolving mental health care issues, which include:
Emergency Communication Nurse (Nurses line)
CHIPS (Community Health Improvement Program)
Crisis Response Team (CRT)
Community Paramedic (coming 2019)
Asst. Chief Stevenson said from the approximately 1,000 calls which were handled by the Crisis Response Team, 451 of those people were diverted from the emergency room and to other locations such as out patient, drug treatment, or behavioral health facilities.
Asst. Chief Stevenson said he hopes to expand the program if additional funding from the state can be provided.
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HIGH BEAM
VAGABOND FICTION
Hacks at home & abroad
misLEADING ADVICE
Bulgaria's monthly quiz
Where in Bulgaria are you?
Joke of the month
Quote-Unquote
Fun in Bulgaria
BULGARIA'S VILLAGE CHURCHES
by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff
Leshten village
Charming frescoes, classical music and world champion in wrestling
At the heart of traditional villages with old houses or in drab Communist-era developments fighting depopulation, village churches dot the Bulgarian countryside and offer a variety of stimulating experiences. Some were built centuries ago and others are newer. Some are covered with masterpieces of church art and other were decorated by self-taught artists. Some are museums and other still serve their communities. Some offer proof of strange rituals or important events in their parishes and keep alive the memory of the times when the now empty villages bustled with life.
LESHTEN
While Kovachevitsa was the home of the rich, the nearby village of Leshten was inhabited by poor but dextrous itinerant masons. Interestingly, they managed to build their own church devoted to St Paraskeva years before their wealthy neighbours in Kovachevitsa erected St Nicholas. It happened as early as 1837. St Paraskeva is small, domed and prettily nestled into a slope amid the beautiful local houses, overlooking the Pirin mountains. In the early 2010s, it was badly damaged in a fire, but was eventually restored and is again welcoming visitors, who arrive at Leshten mainly to enjoy the village's old architecture, beautiful landscapes and traditional food.
DLAGNYA
Many villages in northern Bulgaria are either entirely depopulated or struggling to survive the turmoil of post-Communist Bulgaria. The village of Dlagnya near Dryanovo seems to be an exception. Its charming traditional houses are well maintained, and its church, St Demetrius, built in 1842, is a spiritual centre for the villagers and also for many who drive for miles to attend religious ceremonies. Unlike other Orthodox churches, St Demetrius is used not just for sermons but also for concerts. After the liturgy, in the adjacent former school, food and drink are shared between the churchgoers, modelled on the Agape feast in the New Testament.
Most travellers head for Sitovo, in the northern part of the Rhodope, without any intent of actually looking at Sitovo itself. What they are mostly attracted by is the Sitovo Inscription, a mysterious panel of what appears to be runes that have not been deciphered yet – if it is an "inscription" at all and not a natural phenomenon.
Some detour to the remains of a nearby medieval fort called Stutgrad, and not too far away is Tamrash, a hunting ground.
But Sitovo has its charms as well. It has not yet been turned into a conglomerate of guesthouses, and it boasts two endearing churches, St Petka (built in 1848), which is right in the centre, and The Holy Mother of God, perched on a hill nearby.
BALGARI
Balgari is very quiet for 364 days in the year (365 in leap years). The day when it is not is 3 June, the feast day of Ss Constantine and Helena. Thousands of visitors then flock to the village to observe what in recent years has been advertised as the last truly authentic firewalking festival in Bulgaria. Firewalking, or Nestinarstvo, is an amalgamation of Christianity and paganism. Its performers walk barefoot on live embers and dance, holding icons above their heads.
Once upon a time firewalking was widespread, but today Balgari is about the only place in the Strandzha that preserves it.
Understandably, the village church is named after Ss Constantine and Helena, the patron saints of the rite. It was built in the second half of the 19th century but was torched in 1903 when the St Elijah-Transfiguration Uprising was suppressed (at that time Strandzha was still a part of the Ottoman Empire). The church was restored in 1910.
A local legend links Nestinarstvo in the Strandzha with the survival of pagan firewalking rites. When the Ottomans invaded in the 14th century, they set the church on fire. The building went up in flames, but an elderly woman heard human cries from the inside. She entered and took away a single item, an icon depicting Ss Constantine and Helena. Inspired, the villagers took to firewalking.
Built during the Great War, a time of severe hardships for Bulgarians, St Ivan of Rila in the village of Sennik, in the Stara Planina mountains near Sevlievo, is nevertheless imposing. It sits on top of a hill and is visible from afar, a fine example of early 20th century religious architecture.
It has two rare features. In 1920, the church was adorned with a clockwork mechanism that still measures the time.
Twenty years later, Sennik's most famous native was buried in the churchyard. Born in 1892, Dan Koloff (1892-1940) emigrated to the United States in 1909 and became a famous wrestler, winning several international championships. When his career ended, he returned to his home village, Sennik, and spent almost all of his money on charities, before he died relatively young from consumption.
DOLNO LUKOVO
Today the village of Dolno Lukovo is in one of this country's least visited regions: in the southeastern corner of the Rhodope less than a mile from the border with Greece. The region's isolation dates back to the first years after the Second World War when Bulgaria and Greece found themselves on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. The Communists took over and sealed the border. As a result, the local people's traditional livelihood, which included silk farming, all but disappeared. People started to leave as they no longer saw a viable future for themselves. Today Dolno Lukovo has 70-100 inhabitants.
In the 17th-18th centuries, however, the village prospered with silk farming and sesame production. The locals erected a church, Ss Constantine and Helena. It was reportedly completed in six days to comply with the Ottoman Empire's rules that a place of worship with a roof over it could no longer be knocked down. The church has primitivist murals painted over the original clay masonry rather than over mortar. Inside the altar there is a healing water spring.
Ss Constantine and Helena was in use up until 1896 when the new three-nave basilica, St Michael Archangel, was erected.
BALGAREVO
Balgarevo is one of the few villages in Bulgaria inhabited by one of this country's most intriguing minorities – the Gagauz, ethnic Turks who speak an archaic version of Turkish and are devout... Christians. There are two churches in Balgarevo. Ss Peter and Paul was built in 1901, but recently went through a restoration so severe its original character is all but gone. From the outside, the 1896 St Michael Archangel church is not that imposing, but its dark interior, humble icons and austere furnishings make it a quiet, moving place that speaks to the spirit.
POTSARNENTSI
Perched on top of a cliff over the Pchelina Reservoir, St John the Baptist of the Summer Chapel is a popular spot with amateur photographers, who sometimes have to wait in turn to take a picture of the small building against the sunset. Its environs are superb, but its story is quite disturbing. This used to be the church of a village called Pchelina, which existed until the 1970s when it disappeared as it was submerged in the waters of the reservoir.
The chapel is difficult to date but it was described as early as the late 19th century when the Czech historian and traveller, Konstantin Jireček, visited.
Arbanasi, one of Bulgaria's few villages that centuries ago had a Hellenised Albanian ethnic majority, is the home of some of this country's pre-Revival Period's most spectacular churches.
The Nativity of the Christ Church is a massive, low building. Initially, it came into being in the late 16th century. Its murals are truly amazing. They were painted in 1597-1681 and cover every square inch of the interior of the church. Their bright colours and the fantastic scenes they depict will make your head swirl.
Less well-known but equally mesmerising are Ss Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church, St Demetrius Church and St George Church, all of which were erected and decorated in the 17th century.
Vibrant Communities: Spotlight on Bulgaria's Living Heritage is a series of articles, initiated by Vagabond Magazine, with the generous support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, that aims to provide details and background of places, cultural entities, events, personalities and facts of life that are sometimes difficult to understand for the outsider in the Balkans. The ultimate aim is the preservation of Bulgaria's cultural heritage – including but not limited to archaeological, cultural and ethnic diversity. The statements and opinionsexpressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and its partners.
Read 570 times	Last modified on Wednesday, 29 May 2019 14:44
Published in Vibrant Communities
America for Bulgaria Foundation
Revival Period
Rural Bulgaria
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ISO/IEC 14001:2015 specifies the requirements for an environmental management system (EMS) – a framework for an organisation to control the environmental impacts of its activities, products and services, and continually improve its environmental performance. It supersedes ISO 14001:2004.
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use specifies the requirements for an environmental management system (EMS).
This international standard applies to environmental aspects that the organisation can control and over which it can be expected to have an influence. It does not state specific environmental performance criteria.
With more than 300,000 certificates issued worldwide each year, ISO 14001 ranks high on the agenda of organisations that recognise the importance of their environmental impact.
Lifecycle thinking, considering each stage of a product or service, from development to end-of-life.
Implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system.
Assure itself of its conformance to its stated environmental policy and demonstrate such conformance to others.
Seek certification/registration of its environmental management system by an external organisation .


Have you ever been through the rigorous process of acquiring a travel visa? Well, you know that it can be quite the process and could take six months or more. Then, when you finally receive your documents there is a chance that mistakes were made, which will take even longer to rectify. Needless to say, this could ruin your entire vacation. However, when you take advantage of the services provide by Travel Visa Pro, this is something that you never have to worry about.
Our expertly trained staff at our Fairfax office not only checks over all your information with a fine toothcomb, but we have the ability to provide you with a same day passport. If you visit our Sacramento office in person, you will be able to work with a highly seasoned representative that can assist you in acquiring a same day passport.
However, if you are located in another part of the country or out of state and want to take advantage of our great services, you can do so with our mail-in services. Just mail in your application to our offices, and our staff will process it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Planning a trip abroad should be a fun and exciting process. You shouldn't have to worry if your visa is going to make it on time or not. That is why Travel Visa Pro is your go-to passport company. Our passport renewal agency in Fairfax will handle everything from the ground up to ensure that the process goes off without a hitch.


UBC Okanagan students are automatically assessed U-PASS fee. Listed below are the eligibility criteria to be able to opt-out of the U-PASS.
2018-19 academic year deadline will be September 25th, 2018 by 4:00pm. Only newly enroled students in January 2019, who were not previously enroled in term 1, are eligible to opt-out prior to the January 24th, 2019 by 4:00pm deadline.
Please note that due to the November 2015 U-PASS referendum passing, effective September 1, 2016 U-PASS fees are now $70 per Fall/Winter semester, less a 10% UBC Subsidy, which means a student will pay $63 per Fall and Winter semester.
Students must meet one of the following U-PASS opt-out eligibility criteria in order to have the U-PASS fee reversed (documentation will also be required).
Student studying only by distance education / GoGlobal program.
web-oriented courses are assessed regular fees.
To request a U-PASS opt-out form to be sent to you, or if you have any further questions, please e-mail u-pass@ubcsuo.ca.
Alternatively, for those students who can demonstrate financial hardship; have Family obligations which limit the student; or Live in area within the Central Okanagan Regional District where transit service is limited or not currently available, please see the Transportation Hardship Application Form. Please note that this subsidy is offered through UBC Okanagan, to assist students whom do not meet the opt-out eligibility criteria above.


1) Age : As we all dream about having the following musical child wonder who can play your Pink Floyd record collection blindfolded before they are going to school, you should remember that most guitar lessons for youngsters makes provision for youngsters in primary school and up. Guitar lessons for youngsters are sometimes targeted on ages 7 and up.
2) Aptitude : One or two children just get things quicker than others. You see that kid who skates like he's been doing it before he learned to crawl, one who does arithmetic you may never be ready to and one who does back-flips on his bike without batting an eyelid. Just like these, some children pick up basic ideas about music as far as guitar goes quicker than others. If your youngster demonstrates a clear feeling for rhythm and notes from a younger age than seven, you can go ahead and try some guitar lessons for kids sooner.
The fundamental problem when you sign your youngster up to guitar lessons for kids is finding a guitar that has been designed for kids. A guitar made for adults simply won't do, listen to me do not waste your money on a giant guitar now. If you go to a good music store you should not have any problem from the get-go in finding a smaller guitar.
Guitar buyer's tip : If you're taking the guitar for guitar lessons for youngsters, be certain to check the price . Manufacturers tend to charge unspeakable amounts for a little guitar because they know we as parents will pay this for our kids.
Eventually, we want to ensure you know the connotation when it comes to guitar lessons for youngsters and the tutor who will be doing the teaching.


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Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
The Release of Oscar Lopez Rivera Gives Puerto Rico Hope
Drums sounded and tears flowed in Chicago, New York, Florida and Puerto Rico on January 17, 2017 when a page in our history was turned and a painful chapter ended: Oscar López Rivera, the last Puerto Rican political prisoner who has served 35 years in a federal jail, was pronounced free and his 70 year sentence commuted.
The decision by former President Barack Obama came days before the end of his presidency. It feels like a ray of light at a time when the US is divided and the future for many seems unclear. What it does signal is that a new chapter for Puerto Rico and its people, on the island and in the Diaspora, is possible.
The Nelson Mandela of Puerto Rico, Oscar López Rivera, 74, was a Chicago community organizer who migrated from Puerto Rico to Chicago as a teen. He was drafted to the Army and fought in the Vietnam War. The experience changed him as it did many veterans. He returned to Chicago and worked as a community organizer and eventually joined the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), a Puerto Rican paramilitary group that fought for the island's independence. During the 1970s and 1980s the FALN took responsibility for over 100 bombings in US cities including Washington DC, New York and Chicago. López Rivera was charged in connection with the Chicago bombings and seditious conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the US government. While some of the attacks were fatal, the specific events he was arrested for were not. It called into question his lengthy sentence.
Once upon a time, López Rivera was one of several dozen Puerto Ricans political prisoners. As the years passed, he alone remained in part because of his loyalty. He was offered a clemency deal in 1999 by then President Bill Clinton, but rejected it because it was not extended to all of the other prisoners according to Natasha Bannan, Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF and a coordinator of the 35 Mujeres NYC x Oscar.
This time, López Rivera will jump into life as a free man. His lawyer has requested that the last four months of his sentence be spent in a halfway house in Puerto Rico or Chicago to ease his transition. Although that step is unlikely because the process to secure it is lengthy, his homecoming will be joyous nonetheless. When he is released on May 17th he'll first go to Chicago to see family. His ultimate destination is Puerto Rico to settle into a new normal with his daughter and family and begin working thanks to the mayor of San Juan who has offered him employment.
López Rivera's release is a victory for all of us. In the literal sense for him, his family and friends that worked tirelessly to gain his freedom for 35 years and as a symbolic victory that change really does happen with tenacity. The idea that a community can come together to demand better. In many ways, his incarceration united the island nation. No matter the political stripe people wore, they cast their differences aside knowing that keeping someone imprisoned for their political beliefs instead of actions, was simply wrong.
The other victory is a bigger one with a much larger impact. This man's plight has brought the larger topic of Puerto Rico and its political status–not just its issues–to a global stage. The fight for His freedom attracted support from Nobel Peace winners such as Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter, Pope Francis and even celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda. In the end, you cannot tell his story without telling the history of the island and what brought López Rivera to where he is.
With hopes of mentoring young people and continuing to pursue self-determination for the island, a new energy is arriving when the independence movement, needs it most. "Oscar's vision for an economically and politically dependent Puerto Rico is all the more relevant and necessary now that there is a federal fiscal control board governing the island, which is strongly opposed by most," Bannan said. "Oscar has spoken openly about the need to unite Puerto Rico around a different vision for the island, and I know that many are eager to hear what he has to say."
It also signals that anything is possible when we stand together. "A community united around the liberation of one, or the liberation of all, can never be defeated," Bannan said. "Our long and sustained work in securing Oscar's release has deeply united the community and allowed for so many people who may not have otherwise been involved to join the campaign, find their voice and unite with others. And that kind of work and activism can translate to long-term change."
ChicagoFALNOscar Lopez Riverapolitical prisonerPuerto RicanPuerto Rico
Besides putting pen to paper for 'LLERO Jessica is a co-founder. She is a seasoned writer, editor and journalist who has successfully peddled her words across media platforms from Urban Latino, Latina and Cosmo Latina, since picking up her professional pen in 1999.
El Gran Combo
Victor A. Rodriguez


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Development Fuel: software testing in the large
by Adam Tornhill and Seweryn Habdank-Wojewodzki, July 2012
As soon as a software project grows beyond the hands of a single individual, the challenges of communication and collaboration arise. We must ensure that the right features are developed, that the product works reliably as a whole and that features interact smoothly. And all that within certain time constraints. These aspects combined place testing at the heart of any large-scale software project.
This article grew out of a series of discussions around the role and practice of tests between its authors. It's an attempt to share the opinions and lessons learned with the community. Consider this article more a collection of ideas and tips on different levels than a comprehensive guide to software testing. There certainly is more to it.
Keeping knowledge in the tests
We humans are social creatures. Yes, even we programmers. To some extent we have evolved to communicate efficiently with each other. So why is it so hard to deliver that killer app the customer has in mind? Perhaps it's simply because the level of detail present in our average design discussion is way beyond what the past millenniums of evolution required. We've gone from sticks and stones to multi-cores and CPU caches. Yet we handle modern technology with basically the same biological pre-requisites as our pre-historic ancestors. Much can be said about the human memory. It's truly fascinating. But one thing it certainly isn't is accurate. It's also hard to back-up and duplicate. That's where documentation comes in on complex tasks such as software. Instead of struggling to maintain repetitive test procedures in our heads, we suggest relaying on structured and automated test cases for recording knowledge. Done right, well-written test cases are an excellent communication tool that evolves together with the software during its whole life-cycle. Large-scale software projects have challenges of their own. Bugs due to unexpected feature interactions are quite common. Ultimately, such bugs are a failure of communication. The complexity in such bugs is often significant. Not at least since the domain knowledge needed to track down the bug is often spread across different teams and individuals. Again, recording that domain knowledge in test cases makes the knowledge accessible.
Levels of test
It's beneficial to consider testing at all levels in a software project. Different levels allow us to capture different aspects and levels of details. The overall goal is to catch errors as early as possible, preferably on the lowest possible level in the testing chain. But our division is more than a technical solution. It's a communication tool. The tests build on each other towards the user level. The higher up we get, the more we can involve non-technical roles in the conversation. Each level serves a distinct purpose:
Unit tests are driven by implicit design requirements. Unit tests are never directly mapped to formal requirements. This is the technically most challenging level. It's impossible to separate unit tests from design. Instead of fighting it, embrace it; unit tests are an excellent medium and opportunity for design. Unit tests are written solely by the developer responsible for a certain feature.
Integrations tests are where requirements and design meet. The purpose of integration tests is to find errors in interfaces and in the interaction between different units as early as possible. They are driven by use cases, but also by design knowledge.
System tests are the easiest ones to formulate. At least from a technical perspective. System tests are driven by requirements and user stories. We have found that most well-written suites are rather fine-grained. One requirement is typically tested by at least one test case. That is an important point to make; when something breaks, we want to know immediately what it was.
The big win: tap into testers' creativity by automating
Testing in the figure above refers to any kind of testing. Among them are exploratory and manual tests. These are the ones that could make a huge qualitative difference; it's under averse conditions that the true quality of any product is exposed.
Thus the purpose of this level of testing is to try to break the software, exploiting its weaknesses, typically by trying to find unexpected scenarios. It requires a different mindset found in good testers; just like design, testing is a creative process. And if we manage to get a solid foundation by automating steps 1-3 above, we get the possibility to spend more time in this phase. As we see it, that's one of the big selling-points of automated tests.
The challenges of test automation
The relative success of a test automation project goes well behind any technical solutions; test automation raises questions about the roles in a project. It's all too easy to make a mental difference regarding the quality of the production code and the test code. It's a classic mistake. The test code will follow the product during its whole life cycle and the same aspects of quality and maintainability should apply here. That's why it's important to have developers responsible for developing these tools and frameworks. Perhaps even most test cases in close collaboration with the testers.
There's one caveat here though; far too many organizations aren't shaped to deal with cross-disciplinary tasks. We often find that although the developers have the skills to write competent test frameworks and tools, they're often not officially responsible for testing. In social psychology there's a well-known phenomenon known as diffusion of responsibility [DOR]. Simply put, a single individual is less likely to take responsibility for an action (or inaction) when others are present. The problem increases with group size and has been demonstrated in a range of spectacular experiments and fateful real-world events.
The social game of large-scale software development is no exception. When an organization fails to adequately provide and assign responsibilities, we're often left with an unmaintainable mess of test scripts, simulators and utilities since the persons developing them aren't responsible for them; they're not even the users. These factors combined prevent the original developers from gaining valuable feedback. At the end, the product suffers along with the organization.
Changing a large organization is probably one of the hardest tasks in our modern corporate world. We're better advised to accept and mitigate the problem within the given constraints. One simple approach is to put focus on mature test environments and/or frameworks. Either a custom self maintained framework or one of the shelf. A QA Manager should consider investing into a testing framework, to discipline and speed up testing. Especially if there already are existing test cases that shall be re-run over and over again. Such a task is usually quite boring and therefore error prone. Automating it minimizes the risks of errors due to human boredom. That's a double win.
System level testing
System level testing refers to requirements[REQ], user stories and use cases. Reading and analysing requirements, user stories and use cases is a vital part in the preparation of test cases. Use cases are very close to test cases. However their focus is more on describing how the user interacts with the system rather than specifying the input and expected results. That said, when there are good use cases and good test cases, they tend to be very close to each other.
Preparing test cases - the requirements link
With increasing automation the line between development and testing gets blurred; writing automated test cases is a development activity. But when developers maintain the frameworks, what's the role of the tester?
Well, let's climb the software hill and discuss requirements first. Requirements shall be treated and understood as generic versions of use cases. It is hard to write good requirements, but it is important to have them to keep an eye on all general aspects of the product. Now, on the highest level test cases are derived directly and in-directly from the requirements. That makes the test cases place holders for knowledge. It's the communicating role of the test cases. Well-written test cases can be used as the basis for communication around requirements and features. Increasingly, it becomes the role of the tester to communicate with Business Analysts[AKB] and Product Managers[AKP].
Once a certain requirement or user story has been clarified, that feedback goes into the test cases.
The formulation of test cases is done in close collaboration with the test specialists on the team. The tester is responsible for deciding what to test; the developer is responsible for how. In that context, there are two common problems with requirements; they get problematic when they're either too strict or too fuzzy. The following sections will explain the details and cures.
Avoiding too strict requirements
Some requirements are simply too strict, too detailed. Let's consider the following simple example. We want to write a calculator, so we write a requirement that our product shall fulfil the following: 2 + 2 = 4, 3 * 5 = 15, 9 / 3 = 3. How many such requirements shall we write? On this level of detail there will be lots of them (let's say infinite...). Writing test cases will immediately show that the requirements are too detailed. There is no generic statement capturing the abstraction behind, specifying what really shall be done. There are 3 examples on input and output. In a pathological case of testing we will write exactly 3 test cases (copy paste from requirements) and reduce the calculator to the look-up table that contains exactly those 3 rows with values and operations as above. It' may be a trivial example but it expands to all computing.
Further, for scalability reasons it's important to limit the number of test cases with respect to their estimated static path count. One such technique is to introduce Equivalence Classes for input data by Equivalence Class Partitioning [ECP]. That will help to limit number of tests for interface testing. ECP will also guide in the organization of the test cases by and dividing them in normal operation test cases, corner cases and error situations.
Test data based on the ECP technique makes up an excellent base for data-driven tests. Data-driven tests are another example on separating the mechanism (i.e. the common flow of operations) from the stimulus it operates on (i.e. the input data). Such a diversion scales well and expresses the general case clearer as well.
Cures for fuzzy requirements
Clearly too strict requirements pose a problem. On the other side of the spectrum we got fuzzy requirements. Consider a requirement like: "during start everything shall be logged". On the development team we might very well understand the gist in some concrete way, but our customer may have a completely different interpretation. Simply asking the customer: "How will it be tested?" may go a long way towards converting that requirement to something like: "During application start-up any information might be possible to log in the logger. Where any information means: start of the main function of the application and all its plug-ins.".
How did our simple question to the customer helped us sort out the fuzziness in the requirement? First of all "every" was transformed to "any". To get the conversation going we could ask the user if he/she is interested in every information like the spin of the electrons in CPU. Writing test cases or discussing them with the user often give us his perspective. Often, the user considers different information useful for different purposes. Consider our definition of "any" information above. Here "any" for release 1.0 could imply logging the start of the main function and plug-ins. We see here that such a requirement does not limit the possible extensions for release 2.0.
The discussion also helped us in clarifying what "logged" really meant. From a testing point of view we now see that test shall consider the presence of the logger. And later requirements may precisely define the term logger and how the logs looks like. Again requirements about the shape of the logs shall be verified by proper test cases and by keeping the customer in the loop. Preparing the test case may guide the whole development team towards a very precise definition of logs.
Consider another real-world example from a product that one of the authors was involved in. The requirements for that product specified that transactions must be used for all operations in the database. That's clearly not something the user cares about (unless we are developing an API for a database...). It's a design issue. The real requirements would be something related to persistent information in the context of multiple, concurrent users and leave the technical issues to the design without specifying a solution.
One symptom of this problem is requirements that are hard to test. The example above ended up being verified by code inspection - hard to automate, and hard to change the implementation. Say we found something more useful than a relational database. As long as we provide the persistency needed, it would be perfectly fine for the end-user. But, such a design change would trigger a change in the requirements too.
Finally some words on Agile methodologies since they're common place these days. Agile approaches may help in test preparation as well as in defining the strategy, tools and writing test cases. The reason Agile methodologies may facilitate these aspects is indirect through the potentially improved communication within the project. But, the technical aspects remain to be solved independent of the actual methodology. Thus, all aspects of the software product has to be considered anyway from a test perspective; shipping, installation process, quality of documentation (which shall be specified in requirements as well) and so on.
In safety-critical applications traceability is often a mandatory requirement in the regulatory process. We would like to stress that traceability is an important tool on any large-scale project. Done right, traceability is useful as a way to control the complexity, scale and progress of the development. By linking requirements to test cases we get an overview of the requirements coverage. Typically, each requirement is verified by one or more test cases. A requirement without test(s) is a warning flag; such a requirement is often useless, broken or simply too fuzzy.
From a practical perspective it's useful to have bi-directional links. Just like we should be able to trace a requirement to its test cases, the test cases should explain which requirement (or parts of it) it tests. Bi-directional traceability is of vital importance when preparing or generating test reports.
Such a link could be as simple as a comment or magical tag in each test case, it could be an entry in the test log, or the links could be maintained by one of the myriad of available tools for requirements tracing.
Design of test environments
Once we understand enough of the product to start sketching out designs we need to consider the test environments. As discussed earlier, we recommend testing on different complementary levels. With respect to the test environment, there may well be a certain overlap and synergies that allow parts to be shared and re-used across the different test levels. But once we start moving up from the solution domain of design (unit tests) towards the problem domain (system and acceptance tests), the interfaces change radically. For example, we may go from testing a programmatic API of one module with unit tests to a fully-fledged GUI for the end-user. Clearly, these different levels have radically different needs with respect to input stimulation, deployment and verification.
Test automation on GUI level
In large-scale projects automatic GUI tests are a necessity. The important thing is that the GUI automation is restricted to check the behaviour of the GUI itself. It's a common trap to try to test the underlying layers through the GUI (for example data access, business logic). Not only does it complicate the GUI tests and make the GUI design fragile to changes; it also makes it hard to inject errors in the software and simulate averse conditions.
However, there are valid cases for breaking this principle. One common case is when attempting to add automated tests to a legacy code base. No matter how well-designed the software is, there will be glitches with respect to test automation (e.g. lack of state inspection capabilities, tightly coupled layers, hidden interfaces, no possibility to stimulate the system, impossible to predictably inject errors). In this case, we've found it useful to record the existing behaviour as a suite of automated test cases. It may not capture every aspect of the software perfectly, but it's a valuable safety-net during re-design of the software.
The test cases used to get legacy code under test are usually not as well-factored as tests that evolve with the system during its development. The implication is that they tend to be more fragile and more inclined to change. The important point is to consider the tests as temporary in their nature; as the program under test becomes more testable, these initial tests should be removed or evolve into formal regression tests where each test cases captures one, specific responsibility of the system under test.
Integration defines error handling strategies
In large-scale software development one of the challenges is to ensure feature and interface compatibility between sub-systems and packages developed by different teams. It's of vital importance to get that feedback as early as possible, preferably on each committed code change. In this scope we need to design all tests to be sure that all possible connections are verified. The tests shall predict failures and test how one module will behave in case another other module fails. The reason is twofold.
First, it's in averse conditions that the real quality of any software is brutally exposed; we would be rich if given a penny for each Java stack trace we've seen in live systems on trains, airports, etc. Second, by focusing on inter-module failures we drive the development of an error handling strategy. And defining a common error handling policy is something that has to be done early on a multi-team software project. Error handling is classic example on cross-cutting functionality that cannot be considered locally.
Simulating the environment
Quite often we need to develop simulators and mock-ups as part of the test environment. Having or being able to have mock-ups will detect any lack of interfaces, especially when mock objects or modules has to be used instead of real ones. Further, simulators allow us to inject errors in the system that may be hard to provoke when using the real software modules.
Finally, a warning about mock objects based on hard-earned experience. With the increase in dynamic features in popular programming languages (reflection, etc) many teams tend to use a lot of mocks at the lower levels of test (unit and integration tests). That may be all well. Mocks may serve a purpose. The major problem we see is that mocks encourage interaction testing which tends to couple the test cases to a specific implementation. It's possible to avoid but any mock user should be aware of the potential problems.
Programming Languages for Testing
The different levels of tests introduced initially are pretty rough. Most projects will introduce more fine-grained levels. If we consider such more detailed layers of testing (e.g. acceptance testing, functional testing, production testing, unit testing) then except for unit testing, the most important part here is to separate the language used for testing from the development language. There are several reasons for this.
The development language is typically selected due to a range of constraints. These may be due to regulatory requirements in safety or medical domains, historical reasons, efficiency, or simply due to the availability of a certain technology on the target platform. In contrast, a testing language shall be as simple as possible. Further, by using different languages we enable cross-verification of the intent which may help in clarifying the details of the software under test. Developers responsible for supporting testing shall prepare high level routines that can be used by testers without harm for the tested software. It can be either commercial tools [LMT] or open sources [OMT].
When capturing test case we recommend using a formal language. In system or mission critical SW development there are formal processes built around standards like DO-178B and similar. In regular SW development using an automated testing framework forces developers to write test specifications in a dedicated high-level language. Most testing tools offer such support. This is important since formal language helps in the same way as normal source code. It can be verified, executed and is usually expressive in the test domain. If it is stored in plain text then comparison tools may help to check modifications and history. More advanced features are covered by Test Management tools.
TDD, unit tests and the missing link
A frequent discussion about unit tests concern their relationship to the requirements. Particularly in Test-Driven Development (TDD)[TDD] where the unit tests are used to drive the design of the software. With respect to TDD, The single most frequent question is: "how do I know the tests to write?" It's an interesting question. The concept of TDD seems to trigger something in peoples mind; something that the design process perhaps isn't deterministic. It particularly interesting since we rarely hear the question "how do I know what to program?" although it is exactly the same problem. As we answer something along the lines that design (as well as coding) always involves a certain amount of exploration and that TDD is just another tool for this exploration we get, probably with all rights, sceptical looks. The immediate follow-up question is: "but what about the requirements?" Yes, what about them? It's clear that they guide the development but should the unit tests be traced to requirements?
Requirements describe the "what" of software in the problem domain. And as we during the design move deeper and deeper into the solution domain, something dramatic happens. Our requirements explode. Robert L. Glass identifies requirements explosion as a fundamental fact of software development: "there is an explosion of "derived requirements" [..] caused by the complexity of the solution process" [GLA]. How dramatic is this explosion? Glass continues: "The list of these design requirements is often 50 times longer than the list of original requirements" [GLA]. It is requirements explosion that makes it unsuitable to map unit tests to requirements; in fact, many of the unit tests arise due to the "derived requirements" that do not even exist in the problem space!
Avoid test dependencies on implementation details
Most mainstream languages have some concept of private data. These could be methods and members in message-passing OO languages. Even the languages that lack direct language support for private data (e.g. Python, JavaScript) tend to have established idioms and conventions to communicate the intent. In the presence of short-term goals and deadlines, it may very well be tempting to write tests against such private implementation details. Obviously, there's a deeper issue with it; most testers and developers understand that it's the wrong approach.
Before discussing the fallacies associated with exposed implementation details, let's consider the purpose of data hiding and abstraction. Why do we encapsulate our data and who are we protecting it from? Well, it turns out that most of the time we're protecting our implementations from ourselves. When we leak details in a design we make it harder to change. At some point we've probably all seen code bases where what we expected to be a localized change turned out to involve lots of minor changes rippling through the code base. Encapsulation is an investment into the future. It allows future maintainers to change the how of the software without affecting the what.
With that in mind, we see that the actual mechanisms aren't that important; whether a convention or a language concept, the important thing is to realize and express the appropriate level of abstraction in our everyday minor design decisions.
Tests are no different. Even here, breaking the seal of encapsulation will have a negative impact on the maintainability and future life of the software. Not only will the tests be fragile since a change in implementation details may break the tests. Even the tests themselves will be hard to evolve since they now concern themselves with the actual implementation which should be abstracted away.
That said, it may well exist cases where a piece of software simply isn't testable without relaying on and inspecting private data. Such a case is actually a valuable feedback since it often highlights a design flaw; if something is hard to test we may have a design problem. And that design problem may manifest itself in other usage contexts later. As the typical first user of a module, the test cases are the messenger and we better listen to him. Each case requires a separate analysis, but we've often found one of the following flaws as root cause:
Important state is not exposed - perhaps we shall think about some state of the module or class that shall be exposed in a kind of invariant way (e.g. by COW, const).
Class/Module is complicated with overly strong coupling.
The interface is too poor to write essential test cases.
A proper bridge (or in C++ pimpl) pattern is not used to really hide private details that shall not be visible. In this case it's simply a failure of the API to communicate by separating the public from the hidden parts.
Coping with feedback
As a tester starts to write test cases expected to be run in an automated way he will usually detect anomalies, asymmetric patterns and deviations in the code. Provided coding and testing are executed reasonably parallel in time, this is valuable feedback to the developer. On a well-functioning team, the following information would typically flow back to the designers of the code:
Are there any missing interfaces? Or are there perhaps too many interfaces bloating the design?
Is it intended like that?
Is the SW conceptually consistent?
Are the differences between similar methods documented and clearly expressed?
Since the test cases typically are the first user of the software they are likely to run into other issues that have to be addressed earlier rather than becoming a maintenance cost. One prime example is the instantiation of individual software components and systems. The production and test code may have different needs here. In some cases, the test code has to develop mechanisms for its own unique needs, for example factory objects to instantiate the components under test. In that case, the tester will immediately detect flaws and complicated dependency chains.
Automatic test cases has another positive influence on the software design. When we want to automate efficiently, we will have to separate different responsibilities. This split is typically done based on layers where each layer takes us one step further towards the user domain. Examples on such layers include DB access, communication, business logic and GUI. Another typical example involves presenting different usage views, for example providing both a GUI and a CLI.
Filling data into classes or data containers
This topic brings many important design decision under consideration. Factories but in general construction of the SW is always tricky in terms of striking a balance between flexibility and safety. Let's consider a simple example class, Authentication. Let's assume the class contains two fields: login and password. If we will start to write test cases to check access using that class we could arrive at a table with the following test data: Authentication = {{A,B},{C,D},{E,F},{G,H},{I,J}}. If the class has two getters (login, password) and two setters (similar ones), it is very likely that we do not need to separate login and password. Changing login usually forces us to change password too. What about having two getters and one setter that takes two arguments and one constructor with two arguments? Seems to be good simplification. It means that by preparing the tests, we arrived at suggested improvements in the design of the class.
Gain feedback from code metrics
When testing against formal requirements the initial scope is rather fixed. By tracing the requirements to test cases we know the scope and extent of testing necessary. A more subjective weighting is needed on lower levels of test. Since unit tests (as discussed earlier) are written against implicit design requirements there's no clear test scope. How many tests shall we write?
Like so many other quality related tools, there's a point of diminishing return with unit tests. Even if we cover every corner of the code base with tests there's absolutely no guarantee that we get it right. There are just too many factors, too many possible ways different modules can interact with each other and too many ways the tests themselves may be broken. Instead, we recommend basing the decision on code metrics.
Calculating code metrics, in particular cyclomatic complexity and estimated static path count [KAC], may help us answer the question for a particular case. Code Complexity shows the minimal number of test actions or test cases that shall be considered. Estimate Static Path Count on the other hand shows a kind of maximal number (true maximal number is quite often infinity). It means that tools which calculates code metrics point to areas that need improvement as well as how to test the code. Basically, code metrics highlight parts of the code base that might be particularly tricky and may require extra attention. Note that these aspects are a good subject for automation. Automatic tests can be checked against coverage metrics and the code can be automatically checked with respect to cyclomatic complexity. Just don't forget to run the metrics on the test code itself; after all, it's going to evolve and live with the system too.
Test automation is a challenge. Automating software testing requires a project to focus on all areas of the development, from the high-level requirements down to the design of individual modules. Yet, technical solutions aren't enough; successful test automation requires a working communication and structured collaboration between a range of different roles on the project. This article has touched all those areas. While there's much more to write on the subject, we hope our brief coverage may serve as a starting-point and guide on your test automation tasks.
[AKB] Allan Kelly, On Management: The Business Analyst's Role
[AKP] Allan Kelly, On Management: Product Managers
[APT] Adam Tornhill, The Roots of TDD
[DOR] Diffusion of Responsibility
[ECP] Equivalence Partitioning
[GLA] Robert L. Glass, Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering
[KAC] Krusko Armin, Complexity Analysis of Real Time Software - Using Software Complexity Metrics to Improve the Quality of Real Time Software
[LMT] List of notable test management tools
[OMT] Open Source Testing
[REQ] Requirements
[RQA] Requirements Analysis
[TDD] Test-Driven Development
tinch++: Interfacing Erlang from C++


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William Byron drives down the front stretch during qualifying for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Saturday, June 1, 2019, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Byron tops 173 mph and hits fast lap to win pole at Pocono
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — William Byron turned the fast lap at Pocono in the latest sign that Hendrick Motorsports may have turned the corner and can stamp itself a NASCAR championship contender.
Hendrick Motorsports was long the home of Hall of Famers and champions, from Jeff Gordon to Jimmie Johnson, and was always a threat to place a driver in the championship race. Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired, and Johnson's seven reigns as Cup Series champion at times seem like a distant memory as he's stuck on a winless streak that stretches two years.
The organization with 12 Cup titles was locked out of the championship-deciding finale in 2018 for the second consecutive year.
Hendrick is on the brink of a breakthrough.
Byron turned a lap of 173.494 mph on Saturday to win the pole at Pocono Raceway. He won his second straight pole in the No. 24 Chevrolet, following up his first-place start last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Byron opened the season with a pole in the Daytona 500 but has yet to win a Cup race in 49 career starts.
"It just improves your ability in the race to control your race," Byron said of the pole. "We made some good improvements overnight for sure, and that showed in qualifying. Really, I think that's going to translate to the race."
Byron was one of four Hendrick Motorsports drivers to finish in the top 10 last week in the Coca-Cola 600. Chase Elliott is the only Hendrick driver with a win this season. Hendrick's Alex Bowman was runner-up in three straight races before finishing seventh last week. The 43-year-old Johnson has two straight top 10s and his drive to pass Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt and set a NASCAR record with eight championships remains as strong as ever.
Elliott may reign as NASCAR's most popular driver but he's not ready to supplant Johnson as The Man at Hendrick.
"As long as Jimmie's there, Jimmie's always going to be that guy," Elliott said. "I've won less races than he has championships. I think as long as he's in the organization, he's always going to be our leader. I respect that, as everybody else should, too."
Elliott has four-straight top-10 finishes at Pocono and Johnson has three wins on the 2½-mile track. Hendrick has 17 career wins at Pocono but none since Earnhardt swept the two races in 2014.
Byron hopes starting first leads to his first win in the Cup Series.
"Last year was just a dog fight to try and run well," Byron said.
Other items of note at Pocono:
Kyle Busch joins Byron in the front row in the No. 18 Toyota. Clint Bowyer starts third, followed by Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski.
The cars for Chris Buescher and Erik Jones failed pre-qualifying inspection twice and had their car chiefs ejected.
BUSCH BLASTS
Kyle Busch's list of complaints keeps getting longer.
Busch has vented all season about NASCAR's new race package that some drivers say make passing hopeless for long stretches of the race.
"When you're not out front leading laps and your back in traffic, it's hard to pass. It's a struggle," Busch said. "It's harder now than it's been in a long, long time to pass guys and get yourself to the front and pass the leader for the lead in green flag situations."
Busch also put his Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers in the Truck Series on blast for not producing.
Busch gave the program a 2 out of 10 on a season scale. The boss is hot. His drivers are not.
Todd Gilliland is winless in eight races in the No. 4 Toyota and Harrison Burton is winless in eight races in the No. 18 Toyota.
Busch has five wins in five races in the No. 51 Toyota.
"They ain't doing (well), man," Busch said. "They ain't running good. I can go out there and win every single race by 10 seconds and they're out struggling along to finish seventh to 10? That ain't gonna fly."
He said there could be changes in the lineup.
Bubba Wallace, who signed a sponsorship deal this week with St. Louis-area company World Wide Technology , was headed to St. Louis for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Blues and the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
"I don't know what the hell I'm watching," Wallace said. "Go Blues."
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text:
CMSS: ICGC: Alpha Kappa Delta Phi
Inter-Cultural Greek Council
Center for Multicultural Student Services
Joining an ICGC Organization
Benefits and Commitments
Hazing Policy
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
Lambda Phi Epsilon International Fraternity, Inc.
La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc.
Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc
alpha Kappa Delta Phi International Sorority, Inc.
Hermandad de Sigma lota Alpha, Incorporada
Alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority, Inc. fosters the making of successful leaders by assisting and challenging our members to reach their maximum potential. We strive to maintain the highest levels of integrity and innovation in the promotion of sisterhood, philanthropy, scholastic excellence, and Asian-Awareness in the community while creating lifelong relationships.
Founded in 1989 at the University of California at Berkeley by 14 founding sisters
Colors are purple and white
Symbol is the hourglass
Colony History
Sorority Programs
Asia Fair
Event encompassing various Asian countries, consisting of informational stands with food and cultural artifacts. There are also performances (i.e. dances, skits, and songs) presented.
Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Dinner
An educational event for the university and community to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. All funds are donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Like Alpha Kappa Alpha Phi - JMU Colony on Facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/akdphi.jmu)
Visit the Colony's BeInvolved Page
Visit the Alpha Kappa Alpha Phi's National Website


The innovative AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill is a game changer in physical therapy rehabilitation. Whether you're a patient or an athlete dealing with lower body injuries, chronic pain or neurological conditions that inhibit mobility, you can benefit from the unweighting capabilities. The Anti-Gravity Treadmill helps a broad spectrum of people – top level athletes, orthopedic and neurologic patients, pediatric, geriatric and those looking to lose weight – to achieve their personal health, wellness or performance goals.


I handle all of your brand's visual communication needs. You don't have to worry about finding someone for each department – I can do branding & design and keep your brand identity strong and cohesive.
This all depends on the project at hand and it's complexity. I do give an EDD (Estimated Delivery Date) before you pay your deposit to ensure timeframe is suitable. If you agree, you will be added to my work queue. Once you spot in my queue comes up, I will contact you and we will begin working on your project.
Please note: Delay of content being sent will delay the completion date of your project.
What if I don't like it when its finished?
You will be given initial round of design and then you will have the opportunity to provide feedback for a further 2 rounds of changes. This ensures that you will love the finish product. However, if you want to make changes after I have delivered the final product, I am happy to do for an additional fee per hour.
Are your prices set in stone?
I currently have my standard packages laid out on my website. However, no two projects are the same. If your package requires more work than the standard prices listed on my Let's Work Page, I will tailor a custom package for your individual project.
What is included in a branding package?
My Branding packages are created to fulfill your needs but they can include mood boards, stylesheets, web design, blog design, logos, patterns, business card, thank you cards, media kits, brochures, and much more.
How long will a branding package take?
This can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks and up. The timeline depends on your requires, your project, our communication and scheduling.
Can I provide you with the exact design I want to have?
Yes, I am happy for you to provide designs you like. Please note, I am not going to reproduce another designers work. I do encourage my clients to provide me with their drawing inspiration. However, all work must be original and unique to your brand.
Will I be able to update content myself once the website is complete?
Yes you will. Upon final delivery, I give you a step by step PDF guide that will cover a range of topics including updating content and have to post a blog (if you have a blog). I also provide you with a video walkthrough of your website as well.
I do provide maintenance services at my hourly rate. If you want a consistent flow, i do have a retainer package as well. However, I do not update your blog sections for you, this is something you will have to do on your own.
Do I need to provide my own imagery for the website?
Yes, I will need to be provided with any images you would like on your website. All images have to be hi-resolution images that are large in size. Please have permission from the original owner to use any images you supply as I will not be held responsible should any legal matter arise due to the photos licensing issue.
No, I no longer offer a hosting service at this point. You will need to purchase your domain name and/or hosting and provide me with the login details.
What platforms do you work with?
I currently design and develop utilizing WordPress, Shopify, or HTML. All CMS (Content Management Software) are powerful, and are mobile responsive.
Can you set up my hosting for me?
I can point you in the right direction. However, setting up hosting is the responsibility of the client.
I accept payment via bank transfer, credit/debit card via stripe, or via check (Made out to Lakeasha Jackson) for services rendered.
Unless other payment options (payment plan) are discussed, you will be required to pay a 50% deposit prior to starting the design project (even if in work queue) and the final balance is required to be paid after approving the final design before I deliver the final product.
Are the files owned by me?
Yes. I don't resale your brand once you have purchase the rights and licensing.
Can I request any changes to the template other than the name?
Yes, you can. However, the changes will be charged at my hourly rate.
Don't see your question above? or do you just need more info regarding one of the questions above? Simply fill out the form and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.


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Home Culture & Society Keep on trucking: Art on the move in Pakistan
Keep on trucking: Art on the move in Pakistan
This South Asian art proves that everything, even a humble truck, can be transformed into a piece of art.
They pollute the roads and chug along at a snail's pace, but to their Pakistani owners the rickety trucks are moving pieces of art, commanding attention with garish portraits of flowers, Islamic art, and snow-capped Himalayan peaks.
Plastic bottles used to store water and a tyre stopper are wedged on the side of a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan, May 4, 2017. (Reuters)
South Asian "truck art" has become a global phenomenon, inspiring gallery exhibitions abroad and prompting stores in posh London neighbourhoods to sell flamboyant miniature pieces.
Yet closer to home some people sneer and refuse to call it "art".
A driver holds open the door of the carved wood cab of his decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan, May 4, 2017. (Reuters)
For the drivers, the designs that turn decades-old vehicles into moving murals are often about local pride. Picking the right colour or animal portrait is tougher than the countless hours spent on the road.
A worker washes a decorated truck in Peshawar, Pakistan, May 2, 2017. (Reuters)
Truck driver Haji Ali Bahadur, who hails from the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, said green and yellow have been his colours of choice during 40 years behind the wheel. "We, the drivers of Khyber, Mohmand and other tribal regions, like flowers on the edge of the vehicles," he said. "The people of Swat, South Waziristan and Kashmir region like portraits of mountains and different wild animals."
An electric gauge is seen in the cab of a decorated truck in Faisalabad, Pakistan, May 4, 2017. (Reuters)
Truck art has become one of Pakistan's best known cultural exports, and offshoot toy and furniture industries have been spawned closer to home. With Pakistan's economy picking up speed and new roads opening up trade routes to China, truck art may soon find new admirers abroad.
Artwork is seen on a decorated truck outside Faisalabad, Pakistan, May 3, 2017. (Reuters)
Source: TRTWorld
Art on the move
Keep on trucking
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