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Festive 'flights to nowhere' sell out in under two hours
Aurigny's most successful flights this year may turn out to be ones that go nowhere at all.
A 'flight to nowhere', which takes islanders on a festive 20-minute trip aboard the airline's new ATR 72-600s, sold out within two hours of tickets becoming available, even after a second flight was scheduled.
After a turbulent year that often saw Aurigny either completely grounded or operating only essential 'lifeline' routes, PR Manager Jess Mauger was pleased that they could provide an opportunity for islanders to take to the skies.
"At Aurigny we love flying, and we know that many residents do too, therefore what better way to get festive in the run-up to Christmas?" she said.
"Whilst isolation requirements have meant a steep decline in passenger number, we are in the lucky position in Guernsey to be one of the only places in the British Isles without social distancing or restrictive measures in place.
Pictured: the first of Aurigny's three ATR 72-600 aircraft arrived in October 2019 - they burn less fuel and are equipped with ClearVision technology to make it easier to land in low visibility.
"I have been blown away by how quickly the tickets were snapped up. I think with the absence of holidays this year, people are really keen to take to the skies in whatever way they can."
The flights will come with a festive twist: passengers will be waved off by an elf ahead of departure, and seasonal songs will be played on board.
Aurigny have also promised that a 'special visitor' from the North Pole will greet children when they return and present them with a gift.
The airline has thanked the teams at Public Health and Guernsey Airport for their assistance in making sure that the flights could go ahead without the need for passengers to wear masks - and for granting Father Christmas critical worker status, as Dr Nicola Brink announced several weeks ago.
"We may put further flights on," said Mrs Mauger. "Although we will have to check with Father Christmas, as his schedule is particularly busy at this time of year!"
Covid Update: What we know today
Long-awaited breakthrough in Alderney PSO
New CEO reveals plans to make States-owned airline more efficient
Flying home for Christmas


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Home » BLOG » UZBEKISTAN » Everything to Know Before Traveling to Uzbekistan
Everything to Know Before Traveling to Uzbekistan
By Sindhya Shoptaugh Last Updated May 12, 2020
IN-DEPTH UZBEKISTAN TRAVEL GUIDE
If you've come to this post, chances are you're thinking about visiting Uzbekistan and what an excellent choice that would be! Uzbekistan sits at the core of the ancient Silk Road. We did some research before we went, but we'll admit that we didn't know what to expect. After you travel long enough, it's exciting to visit a country that not many people have been to. It's good to confront your ignorance every now and then. After reading blog posts and seeing a few photos on Instagram we just knew we had to see it for ourselves…
Registan Square, Uzbekistan's most glorious site.
We spent our time awe-struck by the beauty of it all, pinching ourselves to remember where we were, baffled by the history and stories hidden between every sandy brick and brightly colored tile. This newly independent country has been a poetic inspiration to writers for many centuries, and suddenly it was easy to understand why.
Most people can't find Uzbekistan on a map, so when telling our friends and family that it was our next destination it resulted in perplexing looks and questions like…
"Uzbekistan? Where's that? Never heard of it."
"Is that part of Russia?"
"Isn't that close to Afghanistan?"
"Of all the places you could go, why would you go there?"
We'll explain below…
The ornate ceiling inside of the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum in Samarkand.
*There are affiliate links in this post. Read our disclosure policy to learn more.
This is a very long and extensive post. To help you navigate, we've created a table of contents so you can jump to exactly what you're looking for…
WHY VISIT UZBEKISTAN?
UNDERSTAND UZBEKISTAN
PLANNING YOUR TRIP & ITINERARY
MONEY & BUDGET
If you don't have time to travel the entire length of the Great Silk Road you can at least experience the heart of it in Uzbekistan. While Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva are now relatively modern and urban, they all still contain well-preserved portions of their ancient cities. Any travelers interested in world history, art, architecture, or the Silk Road will love it, and aesthetically it's the perfect destination for photographers!
The timing has never been better! Uzbekistan was under authoritarian rule from 1991-2016 until its first President, Islam Karimov, died in office. Uzbekistan's new government under his successor, President Mirziyoev, is beginning to open up from isolation and is finally welcoming in travelers. Under the new regime, relations with its neighbors have grown warmer and visa rules for many nationalities are more relaxed than ever before. Although there's still a lot of work to be done, in comparison to years prior, human rights are improving.
Things are looking up for travel to Uzbekistan! Many of the formerly bureaucratic problems with tourism like difficult visas, black market currency exchange, and heavy-handed Soviet-era rules, have now become hassle-free. It's an exciting time to visit and experience the history and culture that has been hidden from view for so long.
Early morning inside the Registan, appreciating the stunning beauty of Timurid architecture.
Where is Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan is in Central Asia and it's one of the five 'Stan' countries that broke off from the USSR after the collapse in 1991. Kazakhstan borders it to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the east, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest.
Eleven interesting facts about Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country, which means all the countries surrounding it (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan) are also landlocked. It is only one of two countries in the world like this, the other being Liechtenstein.
Uzbekistan is 80% desert and none of its rivers reach the sea.
Uzbekistan has five UNESCO sites: the Itchan Kala in Khiva, the entire city of Bukhara, Samarkand, the West Tian Shan Mountains, and Shakhrisabz.
The country is the world's second-largest exporter of cotton and has the fourth-largest gold deposits in the world.
The words algorithm and algebra come from a man named Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, born in the 9th century in the Khorezm region of modern-day Uzbekistan.
Though the Uzbekistan economy is growing, it is still one of the least developed and poorest countries in Asia.
Uzbekistan's Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest lake. Now it's nearly gone after a massive Soviet irrigation project to water cotton fields began in the 1960s.
One of the world's forgotten astronomers, Ulugbek, who plotted over 1,000 stars before the invention of the telescope hails from Samarkand.
Uzbekistan has a population of 30 million, leading all Central Asian countries.
According to UNESCO Uzbekistan has an adult literacy rate of 99.99%.
Uzbekistan is known for its Suzani textiles, ceramic art, silk carpets, and ornate wood carvings.
The Abdulaziz-Khan Madrassa
Uzbekistan is a brand new country with a lengthy history. Going into all the details would take forever, but here's a quick breakdown: Iranian nomads were the first people known to inhabit Uzbekistan. In about 500 B.C. the area became part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. Arab armies showed up in 650 A.D. and Islam began to take root. Uzbekistan flourished and played an important role in the "Islamic Golden Age" of science.
During this time, many of Uzbekistan's ancient cities became important stops along the Great Silk Road. Travelers and caravan traders exchanged goods and ideas between China and the Mediterranean. The items that were most commonly traded were silk, carpets, various spices, teas, ceramics and porcelain, ivory, gold and silver, gems, slaves, horses, furs and animal skins, fruit, and fragrances.
That all came crumbling down when Genghis Khan and the Mongols invaded in 1220 A.D. Next came a new warlord and the present-day national hero, Amir Timur who established the Timurid Empire. These are the people responsible for the construction of the Registan and Samarkand's architectural gems. Family disputes and an invasion from the Uzbek Shaybanids caused the fall of the Timurids in the 16th century. Eventually, ongoing civil wars caused the region to break into khanates and emirates.
In the 1860s the Russian Empire began to colonize the area. After the Russian revolution, the Soviets ruled the country until the USSR collapsed and in 1991 Uzbekistan became an independent country for the first time.
The Poi-Kalyan complex in Bukhara.
The visa situation in Uzbekistan has become much less complicated since 2018. The country is officially open for business and wants your hard-earned money. Uzbekistan used to require an LOI (letter of invitation), but 65 countries can now enter Uzbekistan visa-free for at least 30 days (including Canada, India, all countries of the European Union, New Zealand and Australia) while 77 nationalities are eligible for an e-visa. Find out if you need to apply for an e-visa, or not.
This is the official website you should use to apply for your e-visa. The process is pretty simple, but it can be finicky, so here are some tips on how to avoid problems:
E-visas allow entry into Uzbekistan for 30 days, and the visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issue.
It takes about 2-3 days to be approved, so we suggest applying a week or more before your trip.
Your letter of approval will be sent to you via email. People have reported that Gmail works best when applying.
Your picture needs to be on a white background, we had success with it sized to 1.377 x 1.773 inches, cropped so your head takes up most of the frame, .jpg format, @300 dpi and file size of less than 200kb.
The e-visa costs $20 for all nationalities. Cheap right!?
Keep a printed copy of your visa.
For more specific information regarding the visa process see Caravanistan.
In case you're not eligible for an e-visa, you'll need an LOI to apply for the visa in person at an Uzbek embassy. You can obtain this letter through a reliable travel agency online. Once you apply to the embassy it takes 1-2 weeks for approval.
Locals having a chat inside the Ulugbek Madrassa.
The best times to visit Uzbekistan are during the fall, from September to early November before the winter is in full swing (it gets really cold), or during the spring, April to May, before the summer when temps can reach 45°C (113 F). We visited in mid-April and it was pretty cold and rainy, but the locals told us that was unusual.
How long do you need: 1-3 weeks
To do the typical Uzbek route (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva) you need at least a week. Ten days is better to give yourself some flexibility and time to rest. Slow travelers can spend longer, we stayed for 17 days. It was raining a lot on our visit in April so we were happy to have extra time to wait for the sun to come out. It also gave us enough time to revisit our favorite sites and see a few less visited areas of Uzbekistan.
UZBEKISTAN ITINERARY
Fly into Tashkent and spend 1-2 days
See the Hazrat Imam complex, Chorsu Bazaar, Minor Mosque, and Plov Center.
Train to Samarkand for 1-2 days
At the very least explore the Registan, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Shah-i-Zinda, and Gur-e-Amir mausoleum.
Train to Bukhara for 1-2 days
Don't miss the Poi-Kalyan complex, the Ark, and Bolo Hauz Mosque.
Train to Khiva 1-2 days
In Khiva, spend most of your time wandering the Itchan Kala (old town) of the city.
Fly or take the night train back to Tashkent
*This route can be done in reverse. Depending on where you're coming in from, some people fly into Urgench (near Khiva) to start there and end in Tashkent.
Extending your itinerary
If you're not short on time you can add a day in both Samarkand and Bukhara. Outside of the above-mentioned places, there are far fewer tourists. If you want to take the road less traveled consider visiting the Fergana Valley, Nukus (Savitsky Museum), Moynaq and the Aral Sea, or go south to Termez to see ancient relics of Buddhism. People we spoke with told us that the Fergana region is the best place to see authentic Uzbek culture.
Som is the currency in Uzbekistan. It was 8,400 som to $1 when we visited in April 2019. Bring plenty of cash in USD. We repeat, bring cash! There are a few ATMs, but they're not always reliable. When you use the ATM, you'll be given USD. Exchange the USD to som at a bank or cash exchange machine. Unfortunately, it's still not common for places to accept credit cards.
Understand that it's not an expensive country overall so if something seems overpriced, it probably is. Taxi drivers are generally honest and if they ever do overcharge you it's likely only by a few thousand som (less than a dollar). Follow your instincts.
Traveling to Uzbekistan is budget-friendly, but don't expect it to be as cheap as Southeast Asia. We've read that Uzbekistan is a bit more expensive than the rest of the Stans. If you aren't already in Central Asia, your biggest expense will be your flight.
Food: depending on how much you eat and if you're drinking alcohol, a typical meal costs between $4-6 per person, with a nicer meal costing $10-12 per person. A snack of tea and bread will only be around $1-2.
Accommodation: this will vary depending on what kind of budget you're on. We spent an average of $25 a night for both of us, with hostels costing an average of $8-10 per person and guesthouses being closer to $30 per room. Nicer hotels go up from there.
Transportation: taxis in town shouldn't be more than $1-2, while longer journeys in trains or shared taxis can range between $8-20.
Attractions: entrance into the major sites range from $1-5.
Breakdown: We spent $1200 for 2 people for 17 days, $70 per day for 2 people, or $35 per day per person (not including airfare). That includes food, accommodation, transportation, and souvenirs. We could've easily doubled that total if we stayed at luxurious hotels and ate at nicer restaurants more. We probably could have done it for less too, but some experiences cost more and were worth it to us (yurt camping and visiting the ship graveyard in Moynaq). Our airfare (the cheapest we could find) cost us an additional $1200 for two roundtrip tickets.
Details of the Bolo Hauz Mosque in Bukhara.
Getting to Uzbekistan
Most travelers flying into Uzbekistan will land in Tashkent. Aeroflot and Turkish Airlines are the two major airlines flying into Uzbekistan, so you will have a stopover in either Moscow or Istanbul depending on where you are coming from. Uzbekistan Airways also has direct flights to Rome and Paris.
*Upon arrival, we weren't required to show any evidence of an outbound flight.
Trains connect several international destinations to Uzbekistan. For more info see this post on Seat 61.
*We didn't do any border crossings because we flew in and out of the country. In case you're doing Uzbekistan as part of a larger overland Stan journey, you can find border info on Caravanistan.
Getting around Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Urgench (30 minutes from Khiva), Andijan, Navoi, Nukus, Fergana, and Termez all have airports. Uzbekistan Airways is in charge of most of the domestic flights around Uzbekistan.
In our opinion, the best and most inexpensive way to get around Uzbekistan is by train. They're comfortable and clean, a great way to meet locals, and see more of the countryside.
There are three primary options for train travel: the Spanish designed Afrosiyob bullet train, the slower Soviet Sharq train, and the night train. In our experience, tickets for the Afrosiyob trains sell out in advance because of tour groups, so be sure to book ahead online during peak seasons! *There is not Afrosiyob service to Khiva yet (summer 2019).
To book train tickets online you can use the Uzbek Railways website, although some people complain that the site is confusing and buggy, or use a reliable Uzbek travel agency, but understand you'll pay a commission fee.
If you're taking the Sharq train or night train, tickets are easier to come by, but should still be booked in advance whether at the train station, online or through your accommodation. The cheapest way is to do it yourself at the train station. Keep in mind that your passport is required for the purchase of tickets. For more in-depth train info see this Advantour page.
By shared taxi
Shared taxis are another way to get from city to city. You can usually arrange a shared taxi with your accommodation and they'll often pick you up from your hotel and drop you off directly at your next hotel. If you catch a shared taxi in another location (like a train or bus station) it'll leave once it's full.
Make sure your driver doesn't leave until it's full, otherwise they might charge you the price of a private taxi. Keep in mind that shared taxis can be cramped, so it can be challenging if you have lots of luggage or you're traveling in a group.
A beautiful handmade Suzani textile can cost thousands of dollars and take months to make.
There are a variety of hotels and small guesthouses in Uzbekistan. Budget hostels are not in abundance yet, but can still be found. Couchsurfing is illegal, however, we met travelers who did it without any problems.
In Uzbekistan, hotels give registration slips indicating the dates of your stay. Technically, immigration could ask to see them before leaving the country, although we were never asked. Still, hold on to them until you leave just in case. If you're taking an overnight train, keep your ticket for proof of stay. Hotels charge a $2 "registration fee" per night.
We use booking.com to search for current prices and places to stay. They have properties in all of the main cities including Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. Use this link and save up to $18 on your stay.
IS UZBEKISTAN SAFE?
You should follow the same common sense you would anywhere else. You don't have to worry about pickpockets as you do in Europe. Overall, the crime rate is very low. Violence is rare, and guns are virtually nonexistent. There hasn't been a significant terrorist attack in 15 years.
It might seem like an obscure place, but it's more touristy than you'd expect. We felt completely safe on our visit and met many solo female travelers who said the same. Unfortunately, we're sad to say that homosexuality is still illegal in Uzbekistan.
This kind woman is waiting to sell you tasty treats inside the Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent. She even offers free samples!
Ethnicity & hospitality
Uzbekistan is a multinational and multiethnic area. Uzbeks make up 80% of the demographic, but you'll also find Tajiks, Russians, Kazakhs, and others. The people we met in Uzbekistan are genuine and warmhearted. We encountered some incredible hospitality along our journey, especially on the train.
Many will go out of their way to help you without expecting anything in return. In typical Asian fashion, they love to overfeed you. One thing we found endearing was that people place their hand over their heart when saying goodbye and thank you.
Generally, people are not out to rip you off. There are plenty of vendors, but we didn't find them to be that aggressive. Capitalism is still new here so people have yet to become hyper-obsessed with money.
Uzbek is the official language and Russian is the most widely spoken. A Tajik dialect of Persian is spoken in Bukhara. Most people don't speak English, but you'll have the best luck with the younger generation. Almost all signs and menus will be in the Cyrillic alphabet unless you're at a tourist place, so it'd be wise to learn basic pleasantries in Russian or Uzbek before you go. Here are a few Uzbek phrases that locals appreciate (and are fun to try):
As-salamu alaikum = hello/peace be with you
Wa alaikum assalaam = appropriate response/and peace be with you too
Rahmat = thank you
Choyxona = teahouse
Religion and how to dress
Uzbekistan is a secular, Muslim-majority state. About 88% of Uzbeks are Sunni Muslim, however, because of the strong Soviet influence of their past, they practice in a much more relaxed way. Although there was fear that Uzbekistan would fall victim to Islamic radicalization after it parted from the Soviet Union, this never materialized. It's a fantastic destination for that reason alone, allowing you to learn about Islam as an outsider without many restrictions.
Even though it's not a strict Muslim country we wouldn't recommend walking around in tight clothing, short shorts, and tank tops. Dressing conservatively is a respectful way to go. Wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees. Most religious sites don't require women to cover their heads.
Two Muslim men wearing traditional Uzbek skullcaps in Samarkand.
Uncovering Uzbek food
We would describe food in Uzbekistan as carb heavy with lots of meat.
Plov is the national dish, it's rice fried in animal fat with other things like carrots, onions, raisins, and garlic.
Bread (non) is sacred to Uzbeks. It's never cut with a knife but instead ripped into pieces by hand. Never place the bread upside down, it's bad luck!
Tea culture is a charming aspect of travel in Uzbekistan, you'll drink mostly green and black tea without milk.
Shashlik is meat kebab, somsa resembles Indian samosas, lagman is a meaty noodle soup, and manti or barak are dumplings.
Dill is used heavily in Uzbek cuisine, which we enjoyed because we love dill (hopefully, you do too)!
Uzbekistan has the best melons in the world! Unfortunately, we weren't there during the right season, which is in the summer months of June-September. We've heard amazing things and are seriously considering going back just to try them.
Vegetarian options do exist. We had some of the best salads (and tomatoes) we've ever had in Uzbekistan. If you're not a meat-eater go for the carrot, cucumber cabbage, beet, or eggplant salads and pumpkin manti (pumpkin-filled dumplings) they're all delicious!
Sitting in a tapchan and enjoying an Uzbek lunch in Samarkand.
Is Uzbekistan a dry country?
No, there is plenty of alcohol available to drink to your heart's content, just don't expect the same kind of variety you get back home. Think lots of Russian vodkas and light European style beers. Wine is also available, but it's probably not something you'll swoon over.
Can you drink the water?
It's not advised to drink the water in Uzbekistan without a filter. Some people say it's safe to drink the tap water in Tashkent, but sticking to filtered water is best. If you're like us and have concerns about the overuse of plastic consider getting the Grayl Ultralight Water Purifier Bottle. It effectively cleans tap water and removes 99.9% of harmful bacteria. It's better for the environment and cheaper than purchasing water bottles every time you're thirsty. It's a win-win!
Sunrise at the Kuhna Ark in Khiva, Uzbekistan.
The best time to take photos is the same as it always is anywhere else, around sunrise or sunset. Just be sure to check the hours of where you're shooting first in case it's not open early or late. If you have a DSLR it's best to bring a variety of lenses, but wide angles seem to be the most useful when shooting the magnificent buildings in Uzbekistan.
A fast lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 is ideal for interiors. They do allow tripods at most sites. Don't take pictures of police, guards, government buildings, or military personnel. We heard horror stories about people being asked to delete memory cards.
SIM cards in Uzbekistan are inexpensive. Upon arrival try to buy a UMS sim card at the airport or railway station. However, they were sold out when we arrived. If you can't buy them at the tourist information centers try to get one from Beeline shops (yellow and black) or Ucell stores (purple).
You can purchase a card that covers calls, texts, and internet for the duration of your trip for $10 or less. 4G is available in the bigger cities (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara), but the signal decreases outside of these.
Bring your passport at the time of purchase with a registration slip from your accommodation. If one shop says they can't sell to tourists, try another. The cards are valid for 30 days. For more detailed information on phone service in Uzbekistan visit the prepaid data SIM card wiki.
Toilet situation
Expect Western toilets in most hotels and guesthouses and squat toilets in public places. The toilets on the trains aren't the cleanest, but we've seen worse. Carry a roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you.
Uzbek ceramic art and traditional pottery on display at a local market.
What you won't find
If you're looking for nightlife, clubs, or beaches this isn't your destination. We didn't see any vegan restaurants anywhere. You won't find ATMs everywhere and strong consistent Wi-Fi signals are rare. Don't depend on either one of them too much. Public display of affection is not common.
Additional resources and helpful books
Useful website for all things Silk Road – Caravanistan
Practice basic Russian – Lonely Planet Russian Phrasebook
Guidebook for Central Asia – Lonely Planet Central Asia
Excellent read before visiting – Carpet Ride to Khiva
Still reading? You've got some serious patience! That was a ridiculous amount of information, but we hope you found it useful! Uzbekistan has to be one of the most underrated countries in the world. If you have the chance to visit, please do. If you're anything like us, you'll leave feeling intrigued to learn more about it long after you return home.
Are you considering a trip to Uzbekistan? Let us know in the comments…
Are you planning a trip to Uzbekistan? Pin this for later!
Guide to Bukhara: Uzbekistan's Most Sacred City
Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Travel Tips and Things to do
Guide to Khiva: The Crown Jewel of The Silk Road
Ultimate Travel Guide to Samarkand: Crossroad of Cultures
About Sindhya Shoptaugh
Co-founder of Why We Seek. Spicy food addict. Movie buff. Obsessed with chubby cheeks. Follow us on Instagram @whyweseek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Blegny-Mine, an outstanding location for your company days!
Blegny-Mine has been recognised by UNESCO since 2012 as a World Heritage site. It's just the place to organise your seminars, corporate events or company days!
1. Two technical halls suitable for your product presentations or meals for up to 700 people (+ a further 450 people by adding a marquee).
2. Two exhibition rooms linked by a lift and equipped with a functional area complete with sinks and fridges as well as a projection room.
3. The multi-purpose room seating 330 and adaptable according to your requirements, equipped with a podium and audio installation.
4. The restaurant for groups seating 160.
5. Meeting rooms of various capacities.
- a high performance catering service accustomed to large scale events.
- a vast free parking area (300 places).
- nearby hotel service with 58 beds (30 rooms).
- and a whole range of ideas to make your day an unforgettable event!


The Metaconcept Groupe is a company based near the French city of Lyon, specializing in the production of non-ferrous alloys. Its customers are drawn from multiple sectors, including aeronautics, the nuclear industry, tableware manufacturers and the fields of medical instruments and accessories.
As bismuth ingots suppliers, Metaconcept Groupe can provide high-quality, high-purity Cerro® fusible (low melting point) alloys that have a number of very specific uses. Their stable characteristics and in some cases, sharp melting points, make them ideal for the manufacture of protective shields in radiotherapy rooms and for lens blocking purposes (holding glass lenses steady for grinding/polishing operations).
Thanks to the presence of an in-house laboratory, clients can be sure that the physical properties and behaviour of every production batch of these alloys are carefully monitored. Other low melting point alloys produced by Metaconcept Groupe include Wood's metal (Cerrobend®) and d'Arcet's metal. Naturally, these alloys are recyclable. Lead-free and cadmium-free versions are available too, these being suited to the process of electroforming. Bismuth ingots can also be used to make products such as fire sprinkler components!
Pewter has been a popular component of fashion jewellery and other decorative items for thousands of years. Pewter suppliers the Metaconcept Groupe have a range of pewter products covering their clients' every need: ingots, bars, wires, fluxes, powders and more. For the costume jewellery and arts and crafts markets, they offer flat bars made from primary metals. This ensures that the finished product's visual appearance is impeccable. Centrifugal and gravity casting processes work very well using these metals. Lead-free pewter is one important variant, chiefly for creating tableware that will be in contact with food, although some people may also prefer lead-free jewellery.
It's well worth noting that Metaconcept Groupe can offer guidance to prospective clients who aren't yet sure which materials are most appropriate for the application they have in mind. For example, Zamak (a zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper alloy) is also produced by the firm for use in costume jewellery and the fashion trade (for making shoe and belt buckles). The company sells its products right across the globe, from Asia and the Pacific to Russia and North Africa.


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Andi Mack Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Teen Pregnancy, Sexuality Shockers -- On Disney??
By Peyton Lawrence
The much anticipated new Disney series, "Andi Mack," certainly merited its own recap, especially given that this is Disney's foray into much more mature topics.
How, you might ask? This might be the first time that Disney will take on teenage sexuality and even teenage pregnancy. Read on for a recap and review of the first episode.
Andi is about to turn 13 and is excited to be riding a scooter around town.
Her friends Buffy and Cyrus are her major supports but her sister Bex is her greatest inspiration. We soon discover, however, that Andi's mother is none too thrilled to have Bex home.
That's because Bex is clearly a "free spirit" who rides a motorcycle and travels the world.
But it looks like she's ready to settle down and returns home to spend more time with Andi. She also announces that she's going to find a more permanent place to stay in the area.
It turns out that Bex has a number of secrets and seems to house all of them in a box that Andi's mother doesn't want Andi to see. Despite this, Bex begins to share her "secrets" from the box.
Soon enough, Bex winds up spilling the beans and we discover that she is in fact Andi's mother. Mayhem within the family ensues given that Andi begins to feel abandoned and questions her entire family structure.
She also comes clean to her now grandmother about having scooter and seems a lot more defiant. In this episode, we also see Andi asking questions about the identity of her father.
So how did Andi Mack measure up to other coming of age TV series like "Lizzy McGuire"? The premise of the show is interesting though this is clearly more of a drama than a comedy.
The teeanagers do overact their roles but then again, teenage angst is a bit dramatic. Despite some minor faults, Andi Mack definitely pulled us in.
Wanna read more on this? Check these out: Andi Mack Renewal for Season 3: Disney Bets Big (more); Is 'Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn' Cancelled? The Future Is Uncertain As Cast Post Cryptic Statements (more); Watch Debby Ryan and Ashley Tisdale Back Together Singing 'Say My Name' (more); Moana Is Now Getting A Maori Language Dub For New Zealand Audiences (more).
And here are some more related articles: Exclusive: Andi Mack's Joshua Rush (Cyrus) Talks Acting, And His Political Ambitions (more); Disney's 'Andi Mack' Episode 6 Recap and Review: Is It All It Was Hyped To Be? (more).


A Service Dog is a dog that has been performed to complete a specific task or multiple tasks for an individual with a disability. A task is a job that the dog performs to directly help the disabled child or adult.
There are many different types of Service Dogs, we customize the training to match the needs of each unique recipient.
Applies pressure to the hand or lap promoting redirection to the "here and now"


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The Battle of Trnava or Battle of Nagyszombat was a battle in the Hussite Wars between the Hussites and the Hungarian-Royalists-Serbian army near Trnava (Nagyszombat) in the Kingdom of Hungary (today  in Slovakia). The battle was fought in three phases, on 23, 25 and 28 April 1430 and ended in Hussite victory.

In the summer of 1430, 10,000 Hussites from Moravia invaded Hungary under Velek Koudelník of Březnice. The Hussites in Pozsony County looted and set on fire 100 villages. Against Koudelník stood an army under Sigismund, and Stibor of Stiboricz. The army included Hungarian and Transylvanian soldiers and Serbs. Another army under Jan Mátik z Tolovec was composed of Royalists. Mátik was jealous of Stiboricz, because of the trust placed in Stiboricz by Sigismund. At the front of the army, Stiboricz and the Hungarian-Serbian forces charged the Hussites, but Mátik and the Royalists deliberately hung back. The Royalists army belatedly arrived; the plan of campaign was a concentrated charge against the Hussite war-wagons. Koudelník was killed in the battle, and Sigismund's army was forced to flee.

In the battle, 6,000 Royalists, Serbian and Hungarian troops, and 8,000 Hussites were killed. In 1431 the Hussite army again invaded Upper Hungary, but Miklós Rozgonyi defeated the Hussites in the battle of Ilava.

References

Sources

 A Nagyszombati csata (Magyar Katolikus Lexikon)

1430 in Europe
Trnava 1430
Battles involving Hungary in the Middle Ages
Battles involving Serbia in the Middle Ages
Battles involving Bohemia
Military history of Hungary
Conflicts in 1430
Serbian Despotate
History of the Trnava Region

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Citation: Sainju, U.M., Lenssen, A.W., Caesar, T., Waddell, J.T. 2006. Carbon sequestration in dryland soils and plant residue as influenced by tillage and crop rotation. Journal of Environmental Quality. 35:1341-1347.
Interpretive Summary: Drylands in northern Great Plains have lost 30 to 50% of their original soil organic C (SOC) levels during the last 50 to 100 yr due to continuous cultivation and summer fallowing. While cultivation is done to prepare seed beds for planting crops and controlling weeds, fallowing is done to increase soil water storage and production of succeeding crops. Intensive tillage increases the oxidation of SOC and fallowing increases its loss by reducing the amount of plant residue returned to the soil. Increased soil moisture and temperature during fallowing can also accelerate mineralization of SOC. Soil is vulnerable to wind erosion during fallow, which further increases its loss. A 6-yr experiment from 1998 to 2003 consisting of two tillage practices [conventional till (CT) and no-till (NT)], five crop rotations [continuous spring wheat (CW), spring wheat-fallow (W-F), spring wheat-lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) (W-L), spring wheat-spring wheat-fallow (W-W-F), and spring wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.)-fallow (W-P-F)], and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) planting was conducted in Havre , MT to determine their effects on plant C input, SOC, and particulate organic C (POC). Total plant biomass returned to the soil from 1998 to 2003 was greater in CW (15.5 Mg ha-1) than in other rotations. Residue cover, amount, and C content in 2003 were 33 to 86% greater in NT than in CT and greater in CRP than in crop rotations. Residue amount (2.47 Mg ha-1) and C content (0.96 Mg ha-1) were greater in NT with CW than in other treatments, except in CT with CRP and W-F and in NT with CRP and W-W-F. The SOC at 0- to 5-cm was 23% greater in NT (6.4 Mg ha-1) than in CT. The POC was not influenced by tillage and crop rotation, but POC/SOC ratio at 0- to 20-cm was greater in NT with W-L (369 g kg-1 SOC) than in CT with CW, W-F, and W-L. From 1998 to 2003, SOC at 0- to 20-cm decreased by 4% in CT but increased by 3% in NT. Carbon can be sequestered in dryland soils and plant residue in areas previously under CRP using reduced tillage and increased cropping intensity, such as NT with CW, compared with traditional practice, such as CT with W-F system, and the content can be similar to that in CRP planting.
Technical Abstract: Long-term use of conventional tillage and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow systems in the Northern Great Plains have resulted in low soil organic C (SOC) levels. We examined the effects of two tillage practices [conventional till (CT) and no-till (NT)], five crop rotations [continuous spring wheat (CW), spring wheat-fallow (W-F), spring wheat-lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) (W-L), spring wheat-spring wheat-fallow (W-W-F), and spring wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.)-fallow (W-P-F)], and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) planting on plant C input, SOC, and particulate organic C (POC). A field experiment was conducted in a mixture of Scobey clay loam (fine-loamy, mixed, Aridic Argiborolls) and Kevin clay loam (fine, montmorillonitic, Aridic Argiborolls) from 1998 to 2003 in Havre, MT. Total plant biomass returned to the soil from 1998 to 2003 was greater in CW (15.5 Mg ha-1) than in other rotations. Residue cover, amount, and C content in 2003 were 33 to 86% greater in NT than in CT and greater in CRP than in crop rotations. Residue amount (2.47 Mg ha-1) and C content (0.96 Mg ha-1) were greater in NT with CW than in other treatments, except in CT with CRP and W-F and in NT with CRP and W-W-F. The SOC at 0- to 5-cm was 23% greater in NT (6.4 Mg ha-1) than in CT. The POC was not influenced by tillage and crop rotation, but POC/SOC ratio at 0- to 20-cm was greater in NT with W-L (369 g kg-1 SOC) than in CT with CW, W-F, and W-L. From 1998 to 2003, SOC at 0- to 20-cm decreased by 4% in CT but increased by 3% in NT. Carbon can be sequestered in dryland soils and plant residue in areas previously under CRP using reduced tillage and increased cropping intensity, such as NT with CW, compared with traditional practice, such as CT with W-F system, and the content can be similar to that in CRP planting.


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https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-935742114543
Video clip misrepresents Biden's comments on hurricane preparedness
By TERRENCE FRASERSeptember 15, 2021 GMT
CLAIM: A video clip shows Biden stating that individuals should get vaccinated to protect themselves against hurricanes.
AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. The video clip, first posted on TikTok, was edited to remove key portions of Biden's comments. A review of his full statement shows he said getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a vital step in hurricane preparedness, necessary to protect people should they have to evacuate or stay in shelters.
THE FACTS: Biden made his comments before an Aug. 10 White House briefing from FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and COVID-19 response teams. The briefing was in anticipation of what Biden called the peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic region.
In the video segment, shared on Instagram Tuesday, Biden says, "Let me be clear: If you're in a state where hurricanes often strike — like Florida or the Gulf Coast or into Texas — a vital part of preparing for hurricane season is to get vaccinated now." The video then cuts to insulting comments from the movie "Billy Madison."
Underneath the video, text was also added. "Get vaccinated to protect yourselves from hurricanes y'all," the post said, adding a laughing emoji.
But the excerpt and caption mischaracterize Biden's comments, which looked at the importance of vaccines in reducing risks in the event of a natural disaster. He didn't say getting vaccinated would protect against hurricanes.
In his comments he highlighted how crises can compound one another as the Delta variant spreads, with wildfires in the West and peak Atlantic hurricane season approaching.
"Everything is more complicated if you're not vaccinated and a hurricane or a natural disaster hits," Biden said after encouraging individuals to get vaccinated. "If you wind up having to evacuate, if you wind up having to stay in a shelter, you don't want to add COVID-19 to the list of dangers that you're going to be confronting."
This is part of AP's effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.


India is a country where billions of people live in a diversified way.Therefore, insurance sector always plays a significant role not only to secure the future of the countrymen but also boosting country's economic growth and nation's infrastructure.
Over the years, the insurance sector has seen a tremendous growth that comes in many folds. The main reason for this growth is the rapidly changing the modern lifestyle of the people which has increased the risk taking factor and people are forced to opt out a better insurance plan for their future security.
Today, almost every sector whether it is health, life, general, house, shop, corporate and much more could be covered under insurance category to provide you the security against the human-made or natural calamities.
– The insurance industry of India currently has 53 insurance companies out of which 24 are life insurance providers, and rest are non-life insurers.
– Indian life insurance sector is biggest around the world with over 370 million policies.
– Indian insurance industry is, at present 15th largest insurance market in the world by premium volume and to grow more in the coming years.
– The general insurance sector in India has valued at Rs 80000 crore per annum and growing at a phenomenal rate of 18% per annum.
We all know that there are only a few government-supported insurance companies existing in the market like LIC. Rest of them belong to the private sectors. These private players can only win the trust of the people with the good word of mouth and excellent communication with the customers.
To market and strategize the promotional activities, SMS is the only convenient and fastest way to hit the masses. Today, millions of people own mobile phones so that you can target more and more individuals with SMS marketing.
More than 95% percent SMS is open and read by the people, which is highest among all the other mediums. Insurance companies can hugely benefit with SMS by sending reminder message of payment dues, policy details, last due dates, coverage amount, offers and all.
1. With the help of SMS, you can cut down the possibility of penalty on late premium deposit by sending reminder SMS.
2. You can also build a healthy relationship with the customers by sending personal messages on particular occasions.
3. Due to its high open and read percentage, you can save your expenses by sending SMS instead of using other ways such as email marketing, etc.
4. SMS conversations can enhance your communication level with the customers. When you regularly talk with their clients and resolve their problems, it will help you in retention of the customers.
5. SMS helps you to stand out from others in this highly competitive environment.
6. SMS is also the easiest way for the customers to share their views or contact you anytime if a need arises.
This certainly the best way to retain the customers. If you follow-up their clients after they make purchases, this is the good sign that impacts positively on the mind of the customers. Providing rewards and awards to the customers for their loyalty will surely build your relationships with them and make ways for earning more customers and sales.
You can send some special gift vouchers and coupons on their purchases like 10 to 20% off to boost up their morale so that they visit again for more.
Giving coupons is one of the popular ways to connect well with the customers. Future discounts with the coupons are currently on the trends. What you can do is send a message like, 'Purchase this plan now and get 10% on your first two premiums'. This will certainly help in adding more customers by your side.
Seasonal discounts are one of the important givings by the retailing sectors to the customers. This is the best and convenient way to attract masses. You can start giving seasonal discounts whenever some festivals or occasions are approaching. Just do remember the thing that starts the SMS campaigns at least, 15 days before the occasion.
Always put them in front of the customers because it will return to you with much more benefits.
The policy number is an essential thing in any policy customers takes. This is a unique number which identifies the customer as a policyholder. You can make simple their ways to get the policy number by informing them about their policy number through an SMS. Also, you can inform them about the starting date of their policy.
Policies are taking some time to complete the entire process. Customers are very curious and concern to know about the update of their policy status. So, you can send the details about their current status of the policy with the timely SMS.
Almost all the policyholders wants to know when will their policy get mature. You can notify them about timely informative SMS regarding the due date.
People have this tendency to forget date about the next policy premium due to their hectic schedules, so this is the best time to grab their attention towards you by sending an advanced SMS regarding the details of the next payment.
Getting customer's feedback is a very important aspect in the insurance sector. You should know how people are reacting to your products. This not only helps you to know the positive results but also a chance to know your glitches in the services so that you can make changes according to the mindset of the customers.
As I said earlier also that communication is the crucial step in earning the faith of the customers in the sector like insurance. These above-mentioned ways are very crucial in this sector and you will easily get the desired results in lesser time with SMS marketing. Just follow these ways.


Tjernlund Products inception dates back to 1938 when Emil Tjernlund and his son Robert started designing and manufacturing oil fired forced air furnaces. From this start their product offering evolved into gas fired furnaces and custom packaged roof top heating & cooling equipment. In the mid 1950's our Auto Draft Inducers were developed to eliminate draft problems associated with short stacks on roof top units. Other people within the heating industry soon saw the advantages of our draft inducers and wholesale distribution of the Auto Draft Inducers began in 1957. Paramount to their success is providing the technical support necessary so that our products are easy to select and install. We are dedicated to serving your special exhaust and ventilation needs.


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Home Brief Encounters
Linda Lewis
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In December of 1972 I was traveling east of the Cascades and the Rockies on an adventure. Just looking out the bus window at the endless snow and sporadic magpies that I'd never seen before I felt attentive and expectant of the unknown. These big iridescent birds with their shiny black and white feathers seemed both magical and comical omens.
By the time I got to Jackson Hole I was exhausted. I had hitch-hiked, bused and snow-shoed to the Snow Lion Hotel, arriving early, but bedraggled. I had found out about the "Crazy Wisdom Seminar" back in Bainbridge Island from a professor friend who had recently moved to Colorado from the West Coast. He thought I would really like the young sangha community in Boulder. He had sent me a "Garuda" magazine full of the teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche just when I had coincidentally picked up Born in Tibet, his autobiography, at the ferry terminal in Seattle. The more I read of this teacher, the more I wanted to find out. So when I heard this seminar was happening I decided to go. Afterall, the only thing between Washington and Wyoming was the rather skinny state of Idaho. It was a great deal closer than Colorado. So with that crazy logic, I had arrived.
Soon I began meeting the arriving participants. Some had come all the way from California and from the East Coast. It felt like the gathering of a small long-haired clan. There was dancing and drinking in the hotel bar that first night.
Amazingly around 10:30 we were to go to the large room where the seminar talks were to be given but Rinpoche had suggested we watch a certain film instead–"Woman in the Dunes". So while the ski lift rose and fell with empty chairs up and down the Grand Tetons in the night air outside the windows of the Snow Lion, we gathered to quiet down and watch this sensual film. It was evident this Rinpoche was not an old purist.
Finally, the following night, Rinpoche, wearing a cowboy shirt, suspenders, and clean jeans, arrived for the first talk. His relaxed, chubby body and big smile disarmed everyone. Periodically he would take a sip of Scotch or stroke his fingers through his shiny, black hair. But his teaching on Padmasambhava and all his "Crazy Wisdom" doings made no sense to me. Students would ask seemingly knowledgeable questions about how this crazy wisdom realization related to a particular bhumi and I only felt more lost.
Meekly, after the public question and answer period that followed the talk, I went up to Rinpoche. He was talking with various individuals but I felt compelled to introduce myself. Attempting to seem purposeful, I asked, "Rinpoche, what does tantra mean?"
Rinpoche looked into me with a growing smile. "Well", he finally said, "if I told you you wouldn't understand."
I felt crushed. He wasn't going to answer my question. I was mortified and immobilized. I must be unworthy. I must have asked a stupid question. But, perhaps because I was still standing there or perhaps because he saw my disappointment, he added so sweetly " But I think you be finding out."
Then he proceeded to give me a thorough definition of tantra. And he was right. I didn't understand a thing he said except he mentioned something about continuity. But he spoke to me, smiling so much that his cheeks bumped up against the bottom of his glasses. At times I thought he was going to laugh. But then he'd look over the rim of those glasses–into my heart.
I was so happy. Then he proceeded to ask me questions, my name, where I was from, "What do you do there, sweetheart?"
He was playing with me. This was not how I'd preconceived a guru to be but I was magnetized. I mustered a sketchy answer, "Well, I've been teaching Shakespeare and Literature at Olympic College and", feeling embarassed added, "a little yoga and Tai Chi on Bainbridge Island."
Stopping pre-sip over his glass of Scotch, Rinpoche simply said, "Hmm, maybe you should see Boulder?"
I took it as command. I was invited. I would hitch a ride after the seminar, stay with my professor friend or with new sangha friends, I didn't know but felt confident, welcomed, included.
The next evening Rinpoche showed slides of a trip he'd taken in the South West. The slides became a vechicle for him to illustrate the five Buddha families. He showed a Spanish stairway curving up a white stucco wall. The roof was tiled brick and the stairway had a black iron lattice railing. There were potted red geraniums on the stairs. "This is Padma, seductive. You want to go up the curve of that stairway. Even the little curved brick roof tiles are warm and inviting."
I was intrigued. This was a teacher from whom I could learn. In meditating throughout the days I'd oscillate between trying too hard, sitting full lotus hoping to be enlightened, to being absolutely bored and willing to fantasize or do anything other than go through the endless boredom. There was no meditation instruction per se, just some suggestions to sit erect and be still. Rinpoche's only comment was "Stop the flow of karma".
How to do so we were evidently to discover on our lonesome.
The discussion group leaders brooded so profoundly over the subject of "Crazy Wisdom" that I was certain they knew a great deal but were just not letting on. The two men had in common the habit of wearing the same wool sweater for all seven days of the seminar, so one could notice them in the meditation hall even from behind. This was great for meditative discursiveness.
On the full moon day we were to recite the Sadhana of Mahamudra. Legal sized xeroxed sheets of this sadhanna which Rinpoche had composed a few years before while on retreat in Bhutan were handed out to each of us. I was struck by the poetry of it, especially the lines, "Good and bad, happy and sad, all thoughts vanish into emptiness like the imprint of a bird in the sky."
Could that dissolve be anything like the boredom I shied away from during meditation— I visualized a big magpie flying away until it became invisible. Whenever I remembered the line "Hey ho the happy yogi!" it made me feel just that. But basically the rest went right over the top of my head like some Vajrayana comic book tossed to me by a Tibetan more American-savy than I was. What stayed was Rinpoche's sun disk face, his gentleness, his limping forward to take his seat before each night's talk, his willingness to include everyone and to make everyone feel special.
© 2002 by Linda Lewis
Linda Lewis met the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1972 and immediately moved to Boulder, Colorado to be a part of his young and vital sangha. The predominant themes in her life have been teaching in contemplative schools--Vidya, Naropa, and the Shambhala School in Halifax, Nova Scotia--and studying, practicing, or teaching his Shambhala Buddhadharma wherever she finds herself.
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DESAL and SMR: Russia and South Korea pursue nuclear exports into new markets
With all the stories about drought causing ISIS, I thought maybe a couple of technology stories on developments in nuclear power plants with a desalienation role might provide enough hope to keep Californians from beheading each other for a while.
SMART SMR Moves Ahead - in Saudi Arabia and at Home | Atomic Power Review
Image from Atomic Power Review
It has been announced that South Korea and Saudi Arabia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which includes the construction ofSMART Small Modular Reactor nuclear plants.
This follows the formation in January of a separate company to promote export of the SMART SMR. See the text of Korea Atomic Energy Institute's press release on the formation of SMART Power Company below:
"...SMART is an integral-type small reactor, developed in 2012 after 15 years of research. It received the first-ever Standard Design Approval (SDA) from a regulatory body for a 100MWe (330MWth) integral reactor. SMART generates only a 1/10 of a large nuclear plant (over 1,000 MWe), but since it is an integral-type reactor it has enhanced the inherent safety by containing major components such as a pressurizer, steam generator, and reactor coolant pumps in a single reactor pressure vessel. It was designed especially for export and can supply a city with a population of 100,000 with 90 Mw electricity and 40 thousand tons of fresh water per day concurrently. ."
...According to early reporting of the deal by Korea Herald the MOU will see a three year development program launched, which will determine feasibility of building SMART SMR nuclear plants in Saudi Arabia.
...It is beginning to appear if South Korea is "hitting on all cylinders" now when it comes to nuclear plant export. The APR1400 plants at Barakah, UAE are on time and on budget. Now, a MOU (which definitely is not an order for plants, but is definitely the first step) for the KAERI designed SMR is on the books and real, meaningful work studying the construction of power plants using this design in arid locations is about to begin.
Russia offers nuclear desalination bundle | World Nuclear News:
Rusatom Overseas is aiming to sell desalination facilities integrated with large capacity nuclear power plants to Russia's export markets.
Dzhomart Aliyev, head of Rusatom Overseas, announced the new offer this week saying the company estimated "a significant potential in foreign markets". His words follow the 10 February agreement between Egypt and Russia to develop the design for a combined plant offering nuclear electricity as well as production of potable water through desalination.
Two desalination units are also being considered for potential inclusion in Iran's plans to expand the Bushehr nuclear power plant with further Russian technology. And an agreement between Argentina and Russia also included desalination with nuclear power cooperation.
While Russian and South Korea are moving forward on connecting water and energy, the U.S. Department of Energy did produce a report about it.
Department of Energy Releases Water-Energy Nexus Report:
Washington – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a new report that frames an integrated challenge and opportunity space around the water-energy nexus for DOE and its partners and lays the foundation for future efforts.
Present day water and energy systems are tightly intertwined. Water is used in all phases of energy production and electricity generation. Energy is required to extract, convey, and deliver water of appropriate quality for diverse human uses.
Recent developments have focused national attention on these connections. When severe drought affected more than a third of the United States in 2012, limited water availability constrained the operation of some power plants and other energy production activities.
...The Water-Energy Nexus: Challenge and Opportunities lays out an array of technical and operational challenges across the water-energy nexus at local, regional, and national scales. The report notes that water scarcity, variability, and uncertainty are becoming more prominent, potentially leading to vulnerabilities of the U.S. energy system. System evolution brought on by climate change...
The report identifies six strategic pillars that will serve as the foundation for coordinating R&D:
Optimize the freshwater efficiency of energy production, electricity generation, and end use systems;
Optimize the energy efficiency of water management, treatment, distribution, and end use systems;
Enhance the reliability and resilience of energy and water systems;
Increase safe and productive use of nontraditional water sources;
Promote responsible energy operations with respect to water quality, ecosystem, and seismic impacts; and
Exploit productive synergies among water and energy systems.
It's kind of tough for a relative energy glutton to export efficiency.
Fortunate for Russia (and South Korea)
Germany's electricity market policy this week: A p...
Ontario's outlaw Premier "will will discover that ...
OPG's strong 2014 results: aka how I made OPG $243...
Big Think's response to anti-nuclear emoters' attack
when "climate change" is unnecessary
Keystone XL: Obama tars Canadian oil, relations
DESAL and SMR: Russia and South Korea pursue nucle...
You can't be Syria-sh


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Cannes 2012: Harvey Weinstein Gets Political By Buying Documentary About the Fall of Gaddafi
4:54 PM PDT 5/17/2012 by Gregg Kilday
Kevin WInter/Getty Images
The mega producer has two films up for best picture nominations, The Artist and My Week With Marilyn.
The Weinstein Co. co-chairman also is expected to pick up "Code Name Geronimo," a movie about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which could be seen as an effort to boost President Obama's chances of re-election.
Wading into political waters, the Weinstein Co. has acquired U.S. rights to the documentary The Oath of Tobruk, a look at the eight-month conflict that led to the fall of Muammar Gaddafi by French philosopher and journalist Bernard-Henri Levy. The film is schedule to be screened as part of the official program at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25.
Levy's film documents the unfolding of the war in Libya and the spontaneous popular revolt that became a revolution through the efforts of the Libyan people in their country and in major cities including Paris, London and New York.
PHOTOS: Cannes 2012: Day 2 in Pictures
In announcing the acquisition, TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein clearly signaled his political intentions. He described the buy as a political move, designed to provide hope for other countries in the region like Syria. In a statement, he said that the film "highlights the invaluable leadership from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. American audiences will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how our government and the French government worked together to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians and brilliantly handled the overthrow of a government."
In another move that also could have political implications, the Weinstein Company is expected to pick up rights to a dramatic feature Code Name Geronimo, from director John Stockwell, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. If the Weinstein Co. releases that film before the November elections, it could be seen as an effort to help boost Obama's re-election chances, while also stealing thunder from Kathryn Bigelow's own hunt-for-Osama movie Zero Dark Thirty, which Sony has scheduled for release on Dec. 19.
PHOTOS: Cannes 2012: The Market's Most Outrageous Movie Posters
Tobruk will screen as an official selection in Cannes next week. Four key figures of the Libyan revolution, who have been invited by Lévy, will attend the screening to dedicate their achievement in Libya to their Syrian friends.
Levy hailed TWC's involvement in the film by saying, "For me, Harvey Weinstein is not simply The Artist. He is the producer who helped launch Amnesty International in the United States; the man who fought capital punishment with the weapon of cinema; and the one who defended Roman Polanski in the face of those who wished to lynch him. This Weinstein, I am happy to learn, is joining Studio 37 in the adventure of The Oath of Tobruk."
The film was produced by Studio 37, a financier of the Academy Award best picture winner The Artist, Margo Cinema and Arté. Rezo is currently selling remaining territories.


Can Huawei take on the Galaxy S7 edge and iPhone 6S Plus? With the help of Leica it hopes the Huawei P9 Plus can do the job and here's our review of the 2016 flagship phone.
The Huawei P9 Plus is now readily available to buy after launching a month after the Huawei P9, launching back in May 2016. So, how much will Huawei's larger flagship smartphone set UK customers back?
Surprisingly, Huawei has opted out of selling the P9 Plus SIM-free via its Vmall Store, and can instead only be purchased by third-party retailers where prices and shipping times vary. The cheapest we've seen the Huawei P9 Plus is £549.90 on Amazon at the time of writing, although as mentioned this is fulfilled via a third-party and even though it states shipping times of 3-4 days, Amazon's suggested delivery date is around 3 weeks after ordering. How does this compare to other smartphones on the market? Let's say that it costs on average £550 – this puts it in line with other 2016 flagships including HTC's 10 and Samsung's Galaxy S7.
If that's a little pricey for you then you might be happy to know that Vodafone is currently offering the Huawei P9 Plus on contract, with current plans on the site starting at £32pcm with an upfront fee of £110.
Looks wise, the Huawei P9 Plus is simply gorgeous – with a design reminiscent of the Huawei P8, the curved metal unibody of the P9 Plus is sleek and with varying textures and finishes available for the smartphone, there's something for all tastes. The model we've used had a rather smooth, shiny finish that admittedly does pick up fingerprints fairly easy, but if that's not for you, you can also opt for a sandblasted finish which should stop grubby fingerprints from appearing as easily. In terms of colour options, you have four: Ceramic White, Rose Gold, Haze Gold and Quartz Grey.
As with the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, the P9 Plus is the larger option in Huawei's 2016 flagship offering with a 5.5in display compared to the 5.2in display of the Huawei P9. So if a 5.2in screen is too small then you'll be better off with the P9 Plus here and we must admit, we're glad Huawei hasn't gone for anything bigger as it has done with previous smartphone releases.
What's impressive here is that despite the larger display and all the technology featured in the flagship smartphone, the P9 Plus is still very slender and lightweight – at 152.3x75.3x6.98mm and 162g. This makes the Huawei P9 Plus thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6S, and the impressive screen-to-body ratio of around 72.7 percent means the P9 Plus isn't an unwieldy handful.
The bezels at the sides of the screen are just 1.7mm, meaning it's not too hard to use one-handed although those with small hands may disagree. The curved edges of the smartphone combined with the 2.5D glass also make the smartphone comfortable to hold over long periods of time, with no complaints from us thus far.
So, what does the Huawei P9 Plus have to offer, and how does this compare to the Huawei P9 which costs around £100 less at £449? Let's start with the screen; Huawei has opted for a 5.5in display, which isn't much bigger than the P9's 5.2in screen. That's a good thing if you ask us following the mammoth 6.8in P8 Max – hence the Plus branding, instead of Max.
However, if you assumed a bigger display would mean a higher resolution, you'd be wrong as the resolution is still Full HD (1080x1920), but the tech is SuperAMOLED rather than IPS. While SuperAMOLED displays are always a plus, it's worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S7 also has a SuperAMOLED display but with a higher resolution, 1440x2560. The SuperAMOLED tech provides users with a display that's crisp, bright and generally gorgeous, although the contrast is a little too high for our personal taste – but on the other hand, it does make snaps taken on the phone look extra vibrant.
As well as this, the phone supports Press Touch, which is essentially the same as Force Touch on the iPhone 6S. The P9 Plus can detect different levels of pressure when you press it. However, there were only 18 supported apps for Press Touch at launch, and none (as far as we can see) have been added since launch. This is, we assume, because Huawei has to add support itself and isn't something that third-party developers can add. And to be honest, with it not being readily available in certain markets, why would they bother?
Anyway, let's look at the internals of the P9 Plus. Inside, it features the same Kirin 955 processor (a 64-bit octa-core chip) as its smaller brother, the P9, but with a few notable upgrades including more RAM at 4GB instead of 3GB, and a base storage of 64GB. The P9 also has a 64GB storage capacity option, but users will have to pay more for the privilege. However, it's worth noting that the Huawei P9 Plus features a MicroSD card slot which can expand your internal storage by up to 128GB.
How does that translate to real world use? The P9 Plus is a speedy beast, that's for sure. It's extremely responsive, apps open almost instantly and the smartphone can go from standby to capturing a photo in 1.3 seconds (on average, anyway!). In our experience the P9 Plus can handle pretty much anything we throw at it - especially when it comes to gaming, as we've played a number of games and not really experienced any lag or screen tearing.
But the real question is "how did it perform in our benchmarks?" Before we go any further we'd just like to explain that in all of our Benchmark tests, the higher result, the better. Let's start with Geekbench 3, which tests the processing power of the smartphone – it scored 1853 in single-core mode and 6682 in multi-core mode. To compare, it's slightly more powerful than Samsung's Galaxy S7 in terms of multi-core performance, which scored 2128 and 6466 respectively.
However, while the P9 Plus was the leader in our Geekbench 3 results, it wasn't the case when we ran our GFXBench tests. We ran four tests – T-Rex, Manhattan, Manhattan 3.1 and Car Chase – which vary greatly in terms of graphics, with each designed to test the graphical power of the smartphone. While the Huawei P9 Plus managed a respectable 44fps in T-Rex, 20fps in Manhattan, 11fps in Manhattan 3.1 and 7fps in Car Chase, the Galaxy S7 wins by a long shot with 53fps, 27fps, 15fps and 8fps respectively. Despite this, it's worth noting that both smartphones feature high-end GPUs and are more than capable of high-quality mobile gameplay.
Lastly, we ran the JetStream benchmark, which tests the speed of the mobile browser of the smartphone. Surprisingly, Huawei's P9 Plus bested the Galaxy S7 in this aspect, achieving a score of 67 compared to 61, offering fast loading times when browsing the Internet on the smartphone. You can see our results below, which compare the Huawei P9 Plus with the P9 along with similarly priced smartphones.
Connectivity is top-notch with 11ac Wi-Fi, and infrared transmitter (or IR blaster, which is not on the standard P9). Of course, the phone supports 4G LTE networks, too. Although there is a Dual-SIM model, it's not what we're getting in the UK.
A fingerprint scanner features on both the P9 and P9 Plus and sits on the back, below the camera. The fingerprint scanner is incredibly fast and can unlock your smartphone almost instantly, and can also be used for gestures, like swiping down to access the notification center and swiping left to right to swipe between photos.
Since the phone itself is larger than its smaller brother, there's more space for the battery. The P9 Plus features a 3400mAh battery instead of 3000mAh, which Huawei claims will provide up to 14 hours' video playback. While we found the battery life to be generally good and last all day with average use, we're not sure it'll provide 14 hours of constant video playback.
We'll be running our battery test over the coming days, and will report back once we have more specific results. The battery is non-removable, but the P9 Plus features reversible USB Type-C and dual-IC Rapid Charging to get you untethered quicker.


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text:
Postmarked Mitford
Readers are finding a home in Jan Karon's novels.
Betty Smartt Carter| September 1, 1997
On a sultry day in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, the customers at a local grill swap wisecracks with the young women behind the counter. "What do you usually eat here?" one newcomer asks the teenage cook.
"Nothing," she says, waving a greasy spatula. Actually, the hamburgers are fine, but the real appeal of this place is the decor. "Don't talk about yourself," a poster declares, "we'll talk about you when you leave." Other wall literature addresses concerns of politics, religion, and male-female relations with about equal seriousness.
But amid the clamor of words, hanging near a window that looks out on Main Street is a little group of photographs. Look closer and you'll see snapshots of the restaurant employees with a local writer who has gradually become a celebrity—Jan Karon, author of the Mitford novels: At Home in Mitford, A Light in the Window, These High, Green Hills, and, this summer thirteenth on the hardback besteller list, Out to Canaan. All four books follow the ups and downs of a likable Episcopal priest named Fr. Timothy Kavanaugh. But the main character of the Mitford series is the mythical town of Mitford itself. Over a million readers have visited it in print and on audiotape, and many of those readers have gone on to become pseudocitizens, following local news in a Mitford newsletter, keeping up with its characters like real friends and neighbors.
Some people think that Blowing Rock is Mitford. With its maple-shaded back streets, its mossy rock walls and bursting rhododendrons, this North Carolina resort town could pass for the place Jan Karon describes in At Home in Mitford:
"Mitford," observed a travel feature by a prominent newspaper, "is a village delightfully out of step with contemporary America. Here, where streets are named for flowers, and villagers can seek the shade of a dozen fragrant rose arbors, spring finds most of the citizenry, including merchants, making gardens."
Whether the resemblance goes deeper than the scenery, though, I may never know. Walking to the restaurant where I have arranged to meet the author, I hear a multitude of Yankee voices. Downtown Blowing Rock is thriving; shop doors open and close, people fill the sidewalks. This is a tourist town, and I'm a tourist.
I enter the Village Cafe from a damp alley. "I'm meeting Jan Karon here," I tell the hostess. "Could I have that table?" I point to one beside the garden, outdoors but under an awning.
"That's exactly the one she's reserved for you."
"Oh, really?" I crouch behind my menu, waiting for a woman I've never met, studying every female face that passes me through the garden. Finally, just when I've leaned over to check the batteries in my tape recorder, I hear the hostess say, "Hello, Miss Jan!"
A beautiful, golden-haired woman stands a few feet away on the flagstone walkway, wearing a pale linen suit and sandals. I glimpse a gracious, forthright, maybe a little sad (or just tired after a long book tour) author. She chats with the restaurant staff, then a few visitors. She knows them all; she's a part of this place. I get up to introduce myself, but I am quickly drowned out by several more friends who come by.
"I've been telling everybody about your books, Jan!"
"I wanted to watch you on CBS, but the TV wasn't working."
"Somebody asked me if I knew 'Jan Kar-ON' and I said, 'Oh you must mean my friend Jan KAR-on!'"
Big laugh, all around. The friends leave. I take a deep breath, and Karon and I sit down together with a few opening pleasantries. Did I have a good trip? Yes, the mountains are lovely. Do I like the hotel? Yes, it has a heated swimming pool. We open our menus. "The crab cakes," she says in a gentle but precise Carolina accent, "are delicious. And the Greek salad is wonderful. Do you like feta cheese?"
"You know, I believe I'll just have french toast." I switch on my tape recorder. It might be important to record Jan Karon discussing food. After all, the Mitford books are full of it. Father Tim often visits the Sweet Stuff Bakery to chat with Winnie Ivey; he's a regular patron at the Main Street Grill and a frequenter of uncounted teas, barbecues, dinner parties, and glad suppers at home with his wife, Cynthia. Such is the life of a fictional clergyman.
While we're waiting to eat, I ask her to tell me a little bit about her upbringing—whom she played with as a child, where she learned to mimic the Appalachian dialect that fills her books.
"My younger sister and I were reared by my grandmother and grandfather in the country on a farm. My sister became the charge of my grandmother, and I somehow became the charge of my grandfather. I was very fortunate. Instead of staying in the kitchen and learning how to cook, I went with my grandfather to swap mules and horses, to buy bird dogs, to buy nails for roofing and seed corn for planting. I got to be around a lot of different people. The world opened up to me. I developed, without even knowing it, an ear for dialect. The dialect you read in my books comes from the Scottish-Irish people in this part of the world. They speak in a very colorful way, and I try to reproduce that as authentically as possible. Never do I do it to embarrass or make fun of anyone, because that's what I was reared with. I love and honor and respect the way these people talk."
No need to convince me; I'm from rural Alabama. As politely as possible, I mention all the Yankees around Blowing Rock. "Do you still hear Appalachian dialect here?"
She tells me that Blowing Rock has many natives, but that to hear the strongest accents, you have to go back in the mountain coves. "And believe me," she says, "I've been back in many a cove, not to hear the dialect, but to hear the music."
Too bad there is no time for "coving" today. I'd like to hear some dulcimer, some mountain fiddle. I consider asking Karon if she knows the words to "Froggie Went A'Courtin' " (maybe we could harmonize), but instead I ask her about her formal education. It turns out that she had just eight years of schooling before she entered the work force: "I have had exactly as much public school," she says with a smile, "as George Bernard Shaw." As for her religious background, she was reared Methodist but didn't make a commitment to Christ until the age of 42, in her bed at home one night. "What precipitated that?" I ask cautiously.
She takes a deep breath. "What precipitated that? Being driven to the wall by the circumstances and tragedy of life, being driven to the wall so that, at the end of myself, I could then cry out outside my ego, outside my own self-confidence and self-doing."
I smile nervously. This is the moment when any self-respecting interviewer ought to circle and pounce; I should discover and define what central, awesome tragedies have shaped this woman's life and books and precipitated her embrace of Christ. But I resist the temptation. Her suffering will have to go unclassified.
What I do learn is that Jan Karon actually felt a call to be a writer at the age of ten. "For 40 years," she says, "I ignored the call." At 18, she found a job as a receptionist in an advertising agency but didn't limit herself to dictation. For every new ad campaign, she wrote her own copy and pushed it at her boss.
"Wasn't that sort of forward for a young lady in the midfifties?"
She nods. "I've always been forward. My family crest reads, 'Forward, Brave Heart.' "
I believe it. With time and toil, Karon worked her way from receptionist to vice president. She moved back and forth across the country during her advertising years, from New York to San Francisco to Raleigh, somehow raising a daughter in the middle of it all.
"During those years," she says, "I was fighting my calling. I didn't know how to be an author; I was in advertising. At the age of 49 I began to pray that, if God wanted me to write books, he would open doors and show me how." After two years of prayer, she stepped out on faith and moved to Blowing Rock. She quotes Goethe: " 'Whatever you would do, begin it. Boldness has courage, genius, and magic in it.' "
I sigh. Genius, courage, magic? I don't know if I'm up to Goethe so soon after french toast.
"Would you like dessert?" the waitress asks me, looking at my plate still brimming with butter and syrup.
"I think I just had it."
Rain pours down hard, bending the irises half to the ground, spraying up from the path in a shallow, silver mist. We have to speak in bold voices now just to be heard over the downpour, and certainly Karon's voice is bolder than mine. She has an obvious confidence about her. I figure the confidence is part of her personality, but it is grounded in her strong faith, too, and a hard-gained knowledge. She is aware of her achievements but counts them as part of a divine plan; God has ordained her to write.
"Why do so many people get addicted to your books?" I ask. "What makes their appeal so strong?"
"Several things," she says firmly. "First of all, when people pick up a Mitford book, they discover themselves, their value system. Where else can people find their value system represented in today's world —can you find it in Vogue magazine, on Roseanne, watching Geraldo? No. What do you find on the bestseller list? Murder and mayhem. But when people go to Mitford, they go home. It's familiar, and it is consoling. And that's what I work to give my readers, the sense of consolation and hope."
"Do you think that many people these days have really experienced the happiness and coziness of Mitford, or do they just want it?"
"Some of both. There are many people who've grown up in small towns—I get thousands of letters from my fans—they say, 'Mitford is exactly how I grew up, I know these people, they're like family.' I also get letters from city people in very sophisticated places who say, 'I've never lived in a small town, but I've always wanted to. Mitford has become my town.' "
I think about Blowing Rock, about the back streets I had seen that morning on a long walk with my daughter: cats perched on porches, stone steps climbing a hill from one neighbor's house to another. I think about my hometown, too, where you never go to the grocery store without meeting a friend. Apparently a lot of people long for places like these. Maybe that helps explain the popularity of other fictional "worlds"—Avonlea, for instance, or Miss Read's English countryside, or even Mayberry, North Carolina.
"What would you say," I ask, "to someone who longs to belong to a place like Mitford and wonders how to get the real thing—can you find small-town life just by moving to the country?"
"No!" she says emphatically. "And I'll tell you why. Mitford is not there waiting. You have to help make it. If you will read a Mitford book carefully, you will see that everybody is helping Mitford happen. Mitford isn't free. You've got to reach out if you want Mitford. You do not wait for somebody to bring a pie and leave it on your doorstep. You do not wait to be invited to join the country club or the Friends of the Library. You immediately get out into the community. If you're in a new home and you have hardware needs, you go to the hardware store and you start there. You start loving at the hardware store!"
That sounds faintly like an ad slogan: "Start loving at your hardware store." But I know it's true, because I'm actually very fond of my local hardware salesmen. About 20 of them sit all day in a crowded little building with a wooden Indian, and when you need a pipe soldered, they'll practically come to your house and do it for you.
"Ms. Karon, what about the church? What role does it play in creating community?"
"The church is the heart of the community. There's where you go to find Jesus Christ in the flesh in other Christians, there's where you realize that all Christians are not perfect, that all Christians have evil, wicked thoughts just like you have, and they're flawed, they're mortal. But you never say, 'I don't go to church because it's full of hypocrites.' You keep your eyes on Christ, and then you're not so absorbed in the faults and mistakes of other Christians."
"I guess you find your sense of community in Blowing Rock."
"Absolutely. I get it right here, or I wouldn't have it. There's pain everywhere you go; life is a vale of tears in the city, in a small town, in the countryside. God is going to allow some things to happen to us that we didn't pray for and don't want, no matter where we live. Something that people forget is that hard things happen to people in Mitford: there's a heart transplant, there are abused children, there's a thrown-away boy named Dooley; even Father Tim himself had an unholy conflict with his earthly father. Mitford never pretends to be perfect; it's other people who see it as some idyllic setting."
She's right. Though the Mitford books never gloss over or trivialize the sorrows of life, it's hard to carry sorrow away from them; the reader feels, as she herself said earlier, consoled. Part of this is owing to the writing itself. There is nothing gothic about Jan Karon. Though she writes about the rural South, she doesn't linger on slop jars or snake handlers.
More significant, though, is her choice of a hero. Father Tim is a "man of balance," as Karon says, "a Christ figure." He sees human suffering and ministers to the sufferers. If the Mitford stories were told through the eyes of Pauline Barlowe, for instance, a character beaten down hard by addiction and loss, the consolation would come much more slowly.
A writer of faith can only describe the corner of life God has allowed him to see. Not every story can be about a place like Mitford or a man like Fr. Tim Kavanaugh. Like the Bible itself, good Christian writing must include many voices: voices sometimes raised in praise and thanksgiving, sometimes in the record of salvation, and sometimes in sorrow at the horrors of this world.
But Jan Karon, by moving out of exclusively religious bookstores onto national bookseller racks, has shown that the world still pines for the consolation of a Christian world-view. People long for a village with a church at its heart. What remains to be seen is how many of us, with all the demands of modern life upon us, are willing to do more than read about community life and work to make it happen.
Maybe I'll go home and make my neighbor a casserole or take the folks down the road some squash from my garden. In the meantime, my waitress is back.
"Well," she says, "how about that dessert?"
"Hmmm," I say, and glance at Jan Karon. I wonder what Father Tim would recommend.
Betty Smartt Carter is the author of two novels: I Read It in the Wordless Book (Baker Book House) and The Tower, the Mask, and the Grave, a mystery, just published by Harold Shaw.
Copyright © 1997 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
September 1 1997, Vol. 41, No. 10, Pg 19
More From: Betty Smartt Carter
This article is from the September 1 1997 issue.


BROOKVILLE, Pa – June 11, 2018 – Miller Welding & Machine Company (MWM), a strategic metal fabrication partner for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), is deepening its commitment as an OEM supply chain partner with the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities and achievement of the latest Quality and Environmental Management System ISO certifications.
MWM has added new leveling capabilities with the purchase of the ARKU FlatMaster® 120. The hydraulic leveling equipment produces flat-stamped, laser-cut and plasma-cut parts, and can level materials from .12″ to 1.375″ thick, 78.7″ wide and 20′ long. MWM is one of three companies in the U.S. to own and operate the ARKU Flatmaster 120.
In order to further organize processes, enhance the efficiency of processes and resources and ensure continual improvement, MWM has been certified under ISO 9001:2015 in Quality Management Systems and ISO 14001:2015 in Environmental Management Systems, as of May 18, 2018.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) revised its Quality Management Systems and Environmental Management Systems versions to accommodate structure changes and introduce new terminology and mandatory definitions, among other updates.
"Our ability to maintain a management system that meets current ISO standards is a critical aspect of our business. The results show in the high level of quality we can provide for complex projects, the speed and efficiency with which we can operate, and the improvements we make in our environmental impact," said Devin J. Callihan, Assistant Quality Manager and lead auditor at MWM.
The transition to these standards was a 13-month process for the company, during which MWM executed several changes, including the rewriting of the entire quality manual.
"We viewed the certification process as an opportunity to reevaluate and simplify our existing practices against the standards. Our continuous improvement efforts never cease, and we plan to seek additional certifications for our management system in the short term," Callihan said.
ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 161 national standards bodies. Through its members, ISO experts share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.
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text:
Boeing posts loss of nearly US$3 billion in Q2
DALLAS — Boeing reported a second quarter loss of nearly US$3 billion as it absorbed the financial damage caused by the grounding of its 737 Max airliner after two deadly crashes.
The giant aircraft maker said Wednesday that revenue plunged 35% from a year earlier, as it was unable to deliver any new Max jets.
Boeing removed much of the suspense from earnings day when it announced last week that it would take a $4.9 billion after-tax charge for the Max and expected the troubled plane to return to service in the fourth quarter.
That charge was calculated from Boeing's estimate of the cost of compensating airlines for lost use of their Max planes for several months. It did not include Boeing's potential liability from dozens of lawsuits filed by relatives of the 346 passengers who died in the crashes.
Boeing's statement Wednesday offered no new guidance about the Max or the company's profit expectations for the rest of the year. Investors were likely more focused on commentary that management might provide during a conference call that was scheduled for later in the morning.
The Chicago-based company, which builds planes in Washington state and South Carolina, said it lost $2.94 billion in the quarter, compared with a profit of $2.20 billion a year earlier. It reported an adjusted loss of $5.82 per share.
Revenue tumbled to $15.75 billion from $24.26 billion a year earlier.
The huge charge for the Max caused the quarterly numbers to mean less than usual. Some analysts excluded the charge from their forecast of earnings per share, while others did not, making it difficult if not impossible to judge whether Boeing met, beat or fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Boeing is working to complete changes in flight-control software on the 737 Max that was implicated in the fatal crashes. The company said it is testing the final software changes that it will submit to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval.
In a statement, Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said, "This is a defining moment for Boeing," and that the company was focused on safely returning the Max to service.
Some relatives of passengers who died in the crashes have urged Boeing and regulators to scrap the plane. They argue that the flight-control software is a bandage meant to cover a plane that was more prone to aerodynamic stalls because of the larger size and forward position of its engines compared to previous Boeing 737 models.
Among those calling for ditching the plane are longtime consumer crusader Ralph Nader, whose grandniece died in the Ethiopia crash, and Paul Njoroge, a Canadian who told a congressional panel this month about losing his wife, three children and mother-in-law on the same flight.
Even after the second crash, those in the airline industry, including CEOs and pilots, have never wavered in their absolute certainty that the plane will fly again. It has taken far longer than most expected, however, for Boeing to produce a fix for the flight-control system that activated when it should not have on the two flights that crashed.
"There is some frustration, but the general sense I get from the membership is they don't want anything rushed either," said Eric Ferguson, new president of the American Airlines pilots' union. "We will get that airplane back in the air when the time comes, not any sooner."
Separately, Boeing on Wednesday announced that the first flight of its 777X jumbo jet will be delayed until next year instead of late this year because of problems with the General Electric engines. Boeing still aims to deliver the first planes to airlines in late 2020.
In trading shortly before the opening bell, Boeing shares were down $3.51, or nearly 1%, to $369.56.
Boeing Co. stock has lagged the broader market since the first crash and a halting, much-delayed process of fixing the flight software.
Since the first crash in late October, Boeing shares had gained 4% through Tuesday's closing price, compared with a 13% rise in the S&P 500 index. The gap has widened since an Ethiopian Airlines Max crashed in March – Boeing shares have fallen nearly 12%, while the S&P has gained nearly 10%.


text:
Q: AddRegions is not a function Simple code for start App
   define(['marionette'],function (Marionette) {

       var  MyApp = new Backbone.Marionette.Application();

        MyApp.addInitializer(function(options) {

        })
        MyApp.addRegions({
            mainRegion: "#content"
        });
    })

// MarionetteJS (Backbone.Marionette)
// ----------------------------------
// v3.1.0
//     Backbone.js 1.3.3

How to fix ?

A: As of Marionette version 3 addRegions is no longer supported. Instead, you can specify your root region as below:
var App = Backbone.Marionette.Application.extend({
  region: '#content',
  initialize: function() {
    // init
  },
  onStart: function() {
    // start application
  }
});

var myApp = new App();
myApp.start();

You can check out the Marionette v3 documentation for more.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange