NEC MutliSync EA234WMI 23 inch Black 16:9 LED backlight height adj 130mm 1920x1080 DVI-D D-Port HDMI VGA 4 way USB hub 3 years warranty inlc. backlight.
The 23? NEC MultiSync EA234WMi is an LED-backlit desktop monitor ideal for corporate environments. Designed to enhance work performance, this widescreen model features IPS panel technology with wide viewing angles and ergonomic adjustability. The LED backlighting of the EA234WMi allows for a slimmer profile, lighter weight and increased power savings compared to previous generation models. ControlSync™ technology allows users to control up to six EA234WMi displays in a multi-monitor configuration. Smart sensing technology automatically detects your work conditions to determine the proper display brightness with ambient light and human sensors, while a comprehensive input panel, including HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D, VGA and 4-port USB hub, connects users to the latest peripherals and future-proofs the investment.


text:
By Rex
Posted in Gaming, News
The Many Goods and Bads of Ubisoft Entertainment
Sequelitis
Ubisoft Entertainment's Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Assassin's Creed: Pirates, Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry, and Assassin's Creed: Rogue. These games were all made in a span of 8 years. There are already plenty more.
Obviously, from a short-term business perspective, it doesn't matter if you milk the crap out of a series because people will still find themselves always buying the newest release. Assassin's Creed has been Ubisoft Entertainment's cash cow for years. Sure, Ubisoft might lose out on a few players here and there along the long ride of sequels but with the profits, they are making it doesn't really matter to them. When games have as many as 19 predecessors in the span of 10 years your stories tend to get boring and uninteresting. This company has the resources to spend more than a year working out a game.
It has been known for a few years that Ubisoft Entertainment miss-advertises their products to their consumers. The issue first came in 2014 when people noticed that the graphical quality of Watch Dogs had dropped exponentially, from wind physics to lighting in cafes, clubs and out on the streets of Seattle. Unfortunately, there are many other Ubisoft Entertainment titles guilty of this, such as Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4. Surprisingly, there hasn't been much backlash towards the company at all after these events. Other than a lawsuit.
Unity was a botched release, filled with small to game breaking bugs that would ultimately drive consumers away from the game. It's clear Ubisoft Entertainment knew about the game's issues before the yearly release deadline. As Nicolas Guérin, world level design director of AC Unity said in its defense before the release "30 fps is more cinematic than 60 fps". This is an obvious attempt to thwart criticisms of the game's buggy release from Ubisoft's release deadline. Unfortunately, nothing can really be done about these issues other than boycotting Ubisoft's newest releases. Which people might not want to do since as of late, Ubisoft has been on the up and up.
Critics and gamers alike were disappointed with Tom Clancy's the Division when it hit the stores for its bland gameplay. In response to the criticism, Ubisoft said they would be updating their newest title often with loads of new content. But no one really expected them to. As of 2018, Ubisoft Entertainment has added much more content such as a new gearing system, many new game modes, more campaign missions, a new survival system, and much more. While longtime players of the game have said that the game feels complete, loads of new content has come to work against The Division. The player base has become divided with so many new things to do. Making it hard to queue into matches that aren't very popular among fans of the game. Hopefully, Ubisoft will make even more improvements to this IP in The Division 2.
The AC Break
The 2-year break between Origins and Syndicate was a completely welcome one, as the game benefitted from the new RPG elements, new combat elements, and overall better story and missions. Even if you didn't like these new gameplay mechanics, these mechanics show something other than better gameplay. It shows that Ubisoft, as a company and as a publisher is willing to change. They are willing to take a risk for their fan base and ultimately make a better game. The entire Assassin's Creed series benefitted from AC Origins. Whether or not you enjoy the new mechanics the game was a step above and beyond what the AC series has been for years.
Diverging From The Path
Ubisoft Entertainment has been diverging from their usual hobbies as of late. With new games they have been releasing as of late such as; For Honor, Star Trek Bridge Crew, and Steep. These titles show gamers that Ubisoft is willing to create new, original titles again. Not mainly for the money, but for the fanbase. The latest and greatest Ubisoft title Far Cry 5. Shows us that Ubisoft isn't afraid to dip their toes into political commentary just as Rockstar has before. As far as I'm concerned, a step toward originality is a step in the right direction.
Raining Coins Steam Review
Billy Mitchell loses his high-scores on Donkey Kong

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Powerful vibrating dong with unique up and down continuous revolving, heavy duty metal beads. Sturdy man-sized solid easy grip handle. Multi-speed reversible bead rotation. Multi-speed vibrations. Independent controls.


From time to time we have special offers that might be of interest to you. It might be anything from free boat dives, a discount off your dive package or a special package deal on speciality courses.
Keep up to date with our special offers and join our mailing list or book mark this page!
Grab yourself a 10 dive package , including upto 2 free boat dives, a dive at Museo Atlantico, Beach dives at Playa Chica, plus FREE Nitrox for nitrox certified divers.
This offer can't be shared.
We are the only Dive Centre in Lanzarote offering FREE Nitrox (32%) to divers when you dive with Lanzarote Dive Centre. For all you non certified Nitrox Divers take advantage of our SDi Computer Nitrox E-Learning course at only €80,00 per person. We have the cheapest Nitrox course in Lanzarote.
Learn to glide effortlessly through the water on a Suex XJoy2 or Suex XJoy 7, to reach the untouched, unseen parts of the wrecks and reefs your buddies only dream about diving.
In 2019 only, we are offering you the opportunity to complete the TDI Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) course, for only €125,00!
Book your place today for by emailing us at info@lanzarotedivecentre.com and mention the TDI DPV 2018 offer.


Super Sheds can create that space to park your extra vehicle, boat or other sports equipment. Putting in a concrete foundation, a concrete floor and building a structure to meet you needs is our specialty.
Check the photo gallery to see some custom garages and shops that we have recently built.


The Hessen Cassel branch is the only branch besides the main library to have a piano available for the public to use.
Hessen Cassel has around 55,000 items in its collection, with a strong focus on picture books and curriculum-support items for parents and teachers. They also have multiple copies of popular book club titles.
Located to the right of the front door entrance of the branch. It is accessible 24 hours a day.


text:
Video/Surveillance
Downloads & Product Archive
Trends & Technology
About Toshiba
Toshiba Worldwide
Greekel
Polishpl
Hungarianhu
No such tag available
Surveillance data storage: What you need to know
Video surveillance is becoming smarter and more effective than ever as a way to fight crime, discover the causes of accidents for better prevention and to help find missing people. All those cameras mean a lot of video data being sent to storage devices.
These Surveillance Digital Video Recorders (sDVR) and Surveillance Network Video Recorders (sNVR) need to be built to withstand that huge barrage of data coming at them from multiple sources and often at high bandwidths. When it comes to longer term server storage, data needs to be retained for years without dropping frames, while still being accessible to video management systems and all while providing fast access to imagery for analysis.
Maintaining these storage solutions under the huge data pressures, which are only going to get greater, requires a very specific solution. The result are drives which are made specifically for the needs of surveillance. But what are these needs and how do they work?
What causes drive data to be lost or damaged?
The warranty of a drive typically gives you a number of years before that drive should to be replaced in order to maintain safe operation. But the warranty only offers those years of secure and reliable life based on a number of external factors being within a certain range. This is why it is important to understand those factors and control them in order to get the most accurate measure of reliability for long term security. So, what are these factors?
One of the major considerations that can affect how long a drive lasts is the operating temperature. At the centre of a drive is a fluid dynamic bearing that is responsible for the platters, which store the data, spinning correctly. Since this bearing uses oil as a lubricating fluid, any prolonged increase in temperature can cause that fluid to become thinner and ultimately leak. In the long term a leak of this kind will increase the chance of failure.
This is a way that surveillance grade drives offer an improvement even over enterprise grade drives. This is because surveillance drives can typically operate within a temperature range of 0 to 70 degrees Celsius whereas an enterprise drive would only be rated 5 to 55 degrees Celsius. In order to maintain enterprise drives at a large scale, one would need to spend more on actively cooling the room. While the enterprise drive may seem to have a more appealing warranty or rated workload, this may require additional environmental controls when used in a demanding, heat causing, surveillance scenario, which would end up costing more.
The rated workload is another area to look out for. This refers to wear which a spinning drive will inevitably suffer with all that movement. The amount of work that drive does, in terms of reading and writing data, will affect the amount of wear and the rated workload. For surveillance drives the typical rating is up to 180 TB/year. Although this is low compared to enterprise drives, at 550 TB/year, it is considerably higher than the 55 TB/year defined for client use drives.
How can drive storage stability be predicted and planned?
Surveillance storage is typically a 24/7 system that requires constant work from the drives storing the video data. The requirement of the drive to keep working is called the operating duty. While a home desktop computer or laptop might feature hard drives built for hours of daily use, "always-on" surveillance is far more demanding. Since surveillance drives are never powered down, they need to work very differently to client drives.
Of course, even the best drive will still reach the point where a failure eventually occurs. But this can be factored in too by using the Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) measure. This is a statistical measure of how long it takes on average until a drive failure would be expected. A typical MTTF is 1 million operating hours, which translates into 114 years. But it needs to be understood that it's listed not for a single drive but for a larger statistical population of HDDs. So, in a cluster of one million drives you could expect one to fail every hour. To put that in more realistic terms, for a 500-drive cluster, an error can be expected every 2,000 hours or at around 83 days.
Taking this further you can calculate the Annualized Failure Rate (AFR) using the MTTF data. This would reveal that a one-million-hour-MTTF drive setup with 500 drives could expect five drives to fail each year. This data can then be used so that the operator can budget for drive replacements to ensure the safest storage of data.
Which is the best drive for surveillance?
The most pertinent factor when buying drives for many users may initially be capital expenditure. However, it's important to look at the longer-term operational expenditure before hurrying to save money at the start with cheaper drives that, ultimately, could result in higher costs in the longer-term through maintenance and servicing expense.
Enterprise drives lack the hardware and software enhancements to support the video write workload while drives designed for client use are not suited to 24/7 operation.
Surveillance specific drives, such as Toshiba's S300 Surveillance or V300 Video Streaming HDDs, promise to fulfil their defined specifications that can be relied on including a one-million-hours MTTF rating over a three-year warranty, as well as an operational temperature range of 0 to 70 degrees Celsius. They also offer a buffer up to 256MB and optimised disk controllers allowing up to 64 HD video feeds to be written at once. Dynamic Cache Technology also helps to improve the real time performance of the drives so that no frames are dropped, even under high strain workload situations such as writing and reviewing videos at the same time.
Performance / Statistics
Strictly necessary (3)
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personal data.
Saves the geolcoation of the visitor, to display contents according to the location.
Session-Cookies
In order to be able to assign related requests to a user.
Performance / Statistics (1)
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore pseudonymised. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Functional (7)


text:
Home Latest St Bernard dog was Manchester invention, say historians
St Bernard dog was Manchester invention, say historians
A new book published by University of Manchester historians shows that the much-loved St Bernard dog we know today was a Victorian invention.
According to the team, the St Bernard today bears very little resemblance to the rescue dogs of the Swiss monks who lived on the St Bernard Pass, from which they are said to be descended.
The leading champion of the new St Bernard, defining its physical form after introducing them to Britain was John Cumming Macdona, the colourful vicar of Mossley and then Cheadle.
Over half of the St Bernards in the first Kennel Club Studbook were from Macdona's kennel, including the Prince of Wales's 'Hope'.
As a show dog, its physical form was changed and standardised by Victorian breeders leading to inbreeding and health problems.
"The Invention of the Modern Dog" published this week by Johns Hopkins University Press, shows how Victorian dog lovers first raised concerns, challenging the breeders of fancy show dogs in ways that anticipated the concerns of modern animal welfare groups.
Robert Leighton, an authority on dogs, wrote in 1907 how breeding St Bernards as 'show' dogs turned them into 'cripples' because they were too tall and heavy and called for new conformation standards.
He wrote: "The St. Bernard is a purely manufactured animal, handsome in appearance certainly, but so cumbersome that he is scarcely able to raise a trot, let alone do any tracking in the snow."
The rescue work of the dogs kept by the monks in the hospice on the St Bernard Pass had come to prominence in the early nineteenth century through stories of the heroism of a dog called Barry.
Then called Alpine Mastiffs, a painting by Edwin Landseer of two dogs 'reanimating a traveller' popularised the false idea that the dogs carried a barrel of brandy on their collar.
Barry supposedly saved over forty lives, and his taxidermied body was put on display in Bern, where it can still be seen today. However, Barry, was very different size, coat and colour from that adopted and favoured at British dog shows.
John Cumming Macdona imported dogs that were allegedly descendants of Barry, but his show dogs were large, brown, long-coated dogs.
"The St Bernard is emblematic of how dog breeds were created by Victorians. Macdona assumed that dogs of his favoured form would cope better with snow drifts, be easier to spot and would keep warmer,". said co-author Professor Michael Worboys. "He then, likely, cross-bred to improve deficient features, and in-bred to preserve desirable ones."
Co-author Prof Julie-Marie Strange said: "The first Kennel Club Stud Book in 1874 listed 40 breeds. Today there are 210. In some ways the St Bernard is unusual – there is still only one breed. But with others, fanciers have split and multiplied breeds. Take terriers; in 1874 there were 10, now there are 27."
"Dogs were typical Victorian products. Manufactured, standardised types for different markets. One growing demand was for ladies dogs. These were not always toy breeds, large, elegant dogs like Borzois were also favoured.
"Women's entry into the world of dog breeding and showing was resisted by self-styled "doggy men", which led to the formation of the Ladies Kennel Association – a separate sphere with a different culture."
And co-author Dr Neil Pemberton said: "Before the Victorians, there were no dog standardised breeds as such. Rather there were broad types of dog defined by what they did, not how they looked.
"And there was necessary variety within types. Hunting dogs were bred to suit different local environments, and people wanted pets that were unique individuals not clones.
Previous articleSalford Brewer is making beer using disguarded Kelloggs cornflakes
Next articleArrest made in connection with Pendleton shooting
Manchester and New York City sign first-ever city-to-city tourism partnership
Another Piccadilly Gardens incidents as teenage boy attacked
Leese-"I don't think I should resign over the grooming scandal"
Local businessman takes over Stockport County
Long-Bailey and Rayner get backing of Momentum for the leadership race
It's Jess or Labour in Gorton say the Greens
Summer Sees Manchester Airport Break Yet More Passenger Records
Crackdown on Sale based cottage industry behind nuisance calls


text:
Ireland's president commends courage in pandemic in Christmas message and urges commitment on climate
Ireland's president has commended the "courage, resilience, patience and deep commitment to others" in response to the global pandemic.
In his annual Christmas and New Year message, Michael D Higgins extended his sympathies to those who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 in 2021.
Ireland has recorded a total of 5,890 coronavirus-related deaths and 673,000 cases.
20 December: COVID-19: Ireland pubs close at 8pm
But the head of state said the successful roll-out of the vaccine programme had "enabled a sense of renewed hope and possibility".
President Higgins said: "All of you, in your lived daily lives, have been called upon to play your own part as we faced the challenge of COVID-19.
"It is a challenge to which you have risen with commitment and generosity, making the sacrifices necessary to protect your loved ones and your fellow citizens.
"It has been heart-warming to witness all of our people, across different generations, offering and delivering those expressions of solidarity, kindness, compassion and care for others, and to be given the assurance that those values remain as a source of inspiration in the lives of our communities," he added.
President Higgins said he was deeply conscious of the Irish abroad and those living in Ireland with families overseas, who have had to endure long separations.
He continued: "Today we are once more in a period of adjustment, with new measures appropriate to new circumstances, as we hope to emerge from the pandemic.
17 December: Ireland imposes curfew
"From what we are going through together, as well as the efforts we are sharing, I am confident that we will have been building a better, shared future, one rooted in the spirit of unselfish citizenship that has been so visible in recent times.
"The pandemic has once again reminded us too of how interconnected and interdependent in a global sense we are; the responsibilities, as well as the benefits, that brings, of how the quality of our response to that interconnection and interdependence matters, indeed will affect our very survival together," he added.
Reflecting on the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last month, he said Ireland would be required to play "a selfless part" at this "critical juncture" in the climate crisis.
Follow the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
"Our new models of living, we must not forget, are much more than protection. They offer a better life in so many ways," he said.
"They invite us to better, more sustainable, flourishing, equal lives together, on a shared planet."
Hunt confirms HS2 will reach central London after reports it might stop in suburbs
CCTV shows 'hero' fighting California gunman as deaths rise


text:
IOI Properties Group: Waste Minimisation Campaign 2020
Categories: Press Releases (developers and more)
Press Release: Minimising Waste for a Sustainable Lifestyle with IOI Properties Group
As the year 2020 drew to a close, IOI Properties Group Berhad (IOIPG) organised a Waste Minimisation Campaign 2020 throughout October to December 2020, to encourage a sustainable lifestyle among its staff and public by actively minimising waste in their daily routine and in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12 – Sustainable Consumption and Production, SDG 13 – Climate Action and SDG 14 – Life Below Water.
The campaign was held in conjunction with environmental commemorative days such as the World Clean Up Day, International Coastal Clean Up Day, National Environment Day and the National Recycling Day in the spirit of sustainability and to encourage responsible consumption and production among staff and the public via virtual platforms particularly in view of the current pandemic.
The campaign kickstarted in October with the IOI-Active Citizens: Clean Up Challenge 2020 in collaboration with Reef Check Malaysia whereby a webinar was held on marine debris and plastic pollution, the importance of protecting coral reefs and marine ecosystem, and action that can be taken by individuals on a daily basis. By organising the IOI-Active Citizens: Clean Up Challenge 2020, IOIPG encouraged volunteerism among its staff to take an active role in the community and support the efforts of local NGOs. The challenge saw participants collecting 3,795 items weighing 352.2kg. The top five items collected were plastic bottle caps, beverage cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags and cigarette butts.
This was followed by webinars on composting and waste segregation, in collaboration with Eats, Shoots and Roots, and Cenviro respectively in December. Other activities included an interesting peek at sustainable cooking style in partnership with Le Méridien Putrajaya as well as a social media giveaway on the IOI Sustain Facebook page to reach out to the online community.
Apart from advocating environmental initiatives, IOIPG is committed in nurturing youths to act for positive impact in building a sustainable future with the Group's recent collaboration with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in the International Youth Development Virtual Conference 2020, themed Resilient Youth in a Post-Pandemic World: Digital Transformation & Urban Living. More than 600 youths from 19 different universities across seven countries attended the two-day event that covered topics ranging from digital transformation, quality education and opportunities, and skills development in the digital era.
IOI Properties Group Berhad colleagues based in the Penang office taking part in the IOI-Active Citizens: Clean Up Challenge 2020.
IOIPG Group Corporate Communication and Sustainability General Manager Kristine Ng said sustainability was at the core of IOIPG's business.
"As a leading property developer in Malaysia, IOIPG designs and builds developments that create shared values for its stakeholders with positive impacts on the environment and society. The Group's sustainability goals are bound by a common aspiration to create a sustainable future," she added.
— end of press release —
Please LIKE kopiandproperty.com FB page to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else, follow me on Twitter here.
Love to be updated of investment news? Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for property, finance, investment news and more)
Next suggested article: IOI Properties record higher revenue and operation profits for Q1 FY2021
PrevPreviousAlternative to HSR KL – SG is not High Speed Rail KL – JB yeah.
Next7 reasons to drop that thought of waiting for property price to dropNext
PropertyGuru Group Launches Enterprise Brand – PropertyGuru For Business
MIEA: Stronger Property Market 2023


Add water to the reservoir tank.
Add the proper ratio of nutrients.
Use a timer with the pump and water in cycles depending on the hydroponic method, crop type and season.
Keep pH between 5.5 and 6.5.
Check the system daily for blockages and any pests and diseases.
Take action against any pests and diseases discovered.
Keep an eye on your nutrient level.
Change your nutrient mix every 7-10 days.


Welcome to the iVisions Enterprise Web Portal. We have provided this secure on-line site to further enhance communications and the flow of data in our district. Please log in to access the secure location of the site.
If you have difficulties logging in, please contact the Tech Center Help Line at extension 6155 for assistance.
To change your password using the Password Portal, please click http://password.oconee.k12.sc.us/.


Looking At CM Punk In The UFC, If It Makes Sense, Brock Lesnar Benefiting From The Deal, More - Wrestling Inc.
Fans and media alike have compared CM Punk's defection to the UFC to Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Kimbo Slice, Herschel Walker and James Toney, but this situation is unique. Punk doesn't have a decorated wrestling or boxing background like Lesnar, Lashley and Toney. Walker was a once in a lifetime athlete. Punk is a professional wrestler with no considerable athletic background and huge injuries.
Punk appearing in the UFC against another inexperienced fighter could be likened to Michael Jordan jumping straight to double-A baseball in 1994. Jordan didn't belong there and didn't have the skill set, but because of who he was, he was there. The UFC is the premiere fight league, just as major league baseball is. While MLB have their own minor league system, the UFC doesn't, and in a world were some competitors on The Ultimate Fighter: China have never sparred before, having a 0-0 fighter that's going to bring eyeballs to the sport isn't going to hurt. The UFC has 550 fighters on their current roster, and nowhere near the majority are considered elite.
It's also been suggested that CM Punk go through the Ultimate Fighter. Both Matt Mitrione and Matt Riddle went through the reality series as 0-0 fighters and went on to have successful UFC careers. They also weren't international superstars. The Ultimate Fighter format will be changing next season, and will instead focus on camps, eliminating this possibility from the equation.
The UFC may have also learned their lesson from Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter. The aging street fighter was an internet superstar with a few pro fights to his credit. Slice was given a slot on the series and proceeded to pop the biggest TV rating in MMA history. He also was dominated in short fashion, and never garnered the same attention.
CM Punk doesn't have a background. None. He spoke of training in Kempo previously, but the majority of that will be out the window as he refines his MMA technique. He claims his base will be in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which hasn't worked out well for elite talent in the UFC of late relying on that discipline. Fortunately for him, he's not facing elite talent and he already has camps such as American Kickboxing Academy lining up to take him in.
Money will be made, and pay-per-view revenues will go up. With UFC profits down 40% in 2014, that point is paramount for the company. 45 events a year without the talent or emotional investment to back up that schedule has driven many fans away, lapsed fans the brand hopes to get back.
It will happen. Make no mistake, wrestling fans will buy CM Punk's fight on pay-per-view. Maybe not as many that bought Lesnar's-- he set UFC PPV records-- but Punk has a much larger fan base than Lesnar ever did in WWE, and had a much longer run. Punk also has the benefit of having more people that despise him than Lesnar ever did, which may be even a more important factor towards his financial success with the company. Either way, fans are curious to have their questions answered in a physical manner.
Many forget that Brock Lesnar wasn't a pay-per-view draw during his WWE run. Numbers plummeted during his 2002-2004 reign of terror, with the WrestleMania that he headlined being among the worst selling of all-time. Stardom is measured in different ways in 2014, and Punk's ridiculous merchandise sales may be a more fair indication.
Punk is a more savvy businessman than anyone gave him credit for. His tell-all podcasts aired on Thanksgiving, and the following Thursday. Steve Austin's podcast with Vince McMahon was right in the middle. Punk released new merchandise during that point, and announced his UFC deal shortly after. Interest in Punk is arguably at its highest level ever.
Let's not kid ourselves. 36 is ancient for MMA. I'm in my 20's and have injuries that prevent me from training MMA on a semi-regular basis, but I'm still able to work the occasional pro wrestling match, seminar or training session. In a pro wrestling match, you're working with someone. If you're hurt, you can limit motion and work around things in order to hide that injury. In MMA, you're working against someone. Unpredictable motions are the norm, and injuries can't be protected in the same manner.
I never went through the rigors of a WWE schedule or an UFC level training camp, Punk on the other hand has cracked his skull, had a three month staph infection, a dozen concussions, hip and knee surgery. That's not very promising. Will CM Punk make it through a fight camp? Dave Batista did, and he was several years older. What he's doing after the injuries and the miles on his body is really hard to comprehend.
An interesting conundrum is that Punk doesn't even stand to be the biggest beneficiary of this deal, Brock Lesnar does. Lesnar's contract is rumored to expire in April, and the UFC and have already expressing interest in signing the PPV juggernaut and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion. With the WWE cannibalizing it's own PPV business, many have speculated whether Lesnar's contract is financially responsible for the company.
Bellator MMA will play a large role in these negotiations as well. The company managed 100,000 buys in their first PPV this year, and experienced personal bests in TV ratings in a bit of a freak show fight of their own last month pitting aging stars Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar against each other. President Scott Coker signed both Bobby Lashley and Herschel Walker to his Strikeforce brand in the past, and he has Viacom and Spike TV's vote of confidence. If Punk fails in the UFC and is cut (the latter of which is unlikely) or Lesnar becomes available, they'll be major players. There are a ton of variables that affect all three major promotions.
CM Punk isn't degrading the sport of MMA. It's hovered between sport and spectacle for years, and this move could be one that pushes it back to the heights in which it has grasped at since starting their descent in 2011. If CM Punk brings more eyes to the likes of Chris Weidman, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, Anthony Pettis, where's the harm?
Most of the fighters get it-- the smart ones at least. UFC fighter Jessamyn Duke told us "I can't wait for his first fight. No matter what happens, he will be able to say he did it. And not many ppl can do that. He really respects fighters and trains hard. He will sell more tickets than anyone, Ever. Why shouldn't he get a chance?" UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler seems to share those sentiments, as he's publicly invited Punk to join his camp.
The UFC repeatedly rejected overtures from Shaquille O'Neal for fights. Shaq is a much bigger star and a much better athlete than Punk ever has been. With the married, yet sometimes estranged worlds of MMA and professional wrestling, the UFC sees CM Punk as a safe hop instead of a risky leap.
The UFC sees something special in having Punk around, and hope that eventually we'll see it too.


text:
The fleeting but eternal brilliance of George Best
The Fleeting Fraternity
02/07/2015 by Jon Townsend
This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity
EVERY MAN WANTED TO BE HIM and every woman wanted to have him. Few players are capable of not only existing, but thriving on the precipice of being a world class player on the field while living life on the edge off of it. George Best, a shy boy with a slight frame from Cregagh in the east of Belfast was discovered at 15 years of age in Belfast by Manchester United scout Bob Bishop who supposedly sent a telegram to the Red Devils' manager, Matt Busby, stating: "I think you've found a genius."
Manchester United certainly found something. The club didn't know it at the time, but United may have come as close as a club can to capturing lightning in a bottle, and from 1963 to 1974 perhaps it did as the iconic footballing genius of Johan Cruyff stated: "What he had was unique, you can't coach it."
George Best combined elegant balance, strength on the ball, deadly finishing and the ability to slalom through defences as if the football gods exclusively afforded him superhuman skill. Seldom is the world of football graced by the embodiment of ability and toughness and in Best the world saw football's Greek demigod, Achilles. He challenged the butchers of the game, mercilessly leaving them in his wake time and time again while riding the avalanche of challenges aimed at his kneecaps. But, like many of football's tragic heroes, Best had a dark side and for every ounce of skill he emanated on the pitch, he seemed to consume as much in an alcohol-fuelled lifestyle; the only opponents he could not defeat were his own demons.
Best was groomed under the tutelage of Matt Busby and the leadership of Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, and by the time he was 17 – during the 1963/64 campaign – the Northern Irishman began to stake his place in the side for Manchester United, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. The next season, Best not only put his name firmly on the team sheet but also in the nightmares of opposing defenders as he began to excel in a marathon-long campaign, contributing 14 goals in 59 appearances.
His most prolific run of form was from 1965 to 1972 as he continued to score and set up goals for the Red Devils. George Best's goals are remembered for their beauty and bold way he had to beat a man (or nine of them) before scoring, but it is his dribbling that truly dazzled the world. Although Manchester United got his greatest years and accompanying performances, Best embarked on a nomadic career as he plied his trade for Stockport County, Cork Celtic, Los Angeles Aztecs (twice), Fulham, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Hibernian, San Jose Earthquakes, Bournemouth, Brisbane Lions and Northern Irish outfit, Tobermore United. Perhaps he chased adventures, challenges and money all over the world; the man loved his football and a lifestyle of pubs, womanising, and fast cars that football afforded him.
Best's international career juxtaposes his illustrious club career as he was only capped 37 times for Northern Ireland and scored nine goals. His routine of pub visits, hung-over training sessions, off-field incidents and late-night gallivanting took its toll on his football form, resulting in sporadic call-ups. It's frightening to think that by 1976, the Northern Irishman's best days were well behind him. At the age of 30 he was past his footballing prime, but was well in the prime of his alcohol addiction.
As a nomadic footballer whose exit from Manchester United still stands in stark opposition to his dazzling performances for the Red Devils, Best was a shadow of the footballing genius he once was. In life, Father Time always wins but perhaps what is most vexing is Best's ability, which was clearly on the decline, was his capacity to turn on the brilliance with just enough energetic and skillful play and haughty forcefulness to nutmeg Cruyff – just to prove a point in a World Cup qualifier.
Read | George Best's beautiful renaissance at Fulham
A 19-year-old Jimmy Nicholl recalled the scenes: "I remember standing back and watching him nutmegging Cruyff and nutmegging Neeskens." Nicholl's admiration for his teammate continued, "He's one of the best players in the world, if not the best, and he's playing for us." British journalist, Bill Elliot travelled with Northern Ireland's squad to play the Oranje, widely regarded as the best team in world at the time.
A commonly told account from The Guardian in 2005, as Best's health was in decline, encapsulates his enigmatic personality. Elliot asked Best what he thought of Cruyff. "Outstanding". "Better than you?" George looked at the journalist and laughed. "You're kidding aren't you? I tell you what I'll do tonight, I'll nutmeg Cruyff first chance I get."
What follows is Elliot's description: "Five minutes into the game Best received the ball wide on the left. Instead of heading towards goal he turned directly in-field, weaved his way past at least three Dutchmen and found his way to Cruyff who was wide right. He took the ball to his opponent, dipped a shoulder twice and slipped it between Cruyff's feet. As he ran round to collect it and run on he raised his right fist into the air.
"Only a few of us in the press box knew what this bravado act really meant. Johan Cruyff the best in the world? Are you kidding? Only an idiot would have thought that on this evening."
Recalling Best's career and style of play, Patrick Barclay said: "In terms of ability he was the world's best footballer of all time. He could do almost anything – technically, speed, complete mastery of not only the ball but his own body. You could saw his legs away and he still wouldn't fall because his balance was uncanny, almost supernatural. Heading ability, passing ability, I mean it goes without saying the dribbling – he could beat anybody in any way he chose. For fun he'd play a one-two off the opponent's shins."
Sir Alex Ferguson rightly noted the effect Best had on a generation flirting with change and oscillating between the societal rigidity of the and the tide of liberation sweeping all facets of life including music, film and, of course, football.
Football's most talented players are dominant with respect to the era in which they played the game. However, watching Best run at the opposition without fear, fly down the wing with every intention of taking the game over, weave in and out of defenders and his refusal to go to ground, one can't help but imagine if Best could be inserted into modern football he would still be as dominant.
Many a football purist still wrestles with the thought of what a sober George Best would have done to opponents, and to a greater extent, the world of football back then. The fact of the matter is Best played without the luxuries today's footballers consider mainstays in life – proper nutrition and sport science, manicured pitches, lighter football boots, easily-deceived and forgiving referees, and a brighter spotlight – and still, he is one of the few players widely considered capable enough of being able to be devastating had he played today. Thinking about Best and the spotlight it affords players in the modern game might just be the one aspect that would be his undoing – if it wasn't the alcohol, of course.
Read | Remembering George Best's forgettable spell with Cork Celtic in 1976
For many, there has never been a more exciting player to have ever played the game. Few have the combined skill, toughness and personality of Best. Thick mud, atrocious and near-impossible playing surfaces never hampered his ability in the air, unreal acceleration and swagger to take on any opponent, not to mention a blunt refusal to dive amidst brutal tackling.
The era of hard, fast, physical football where the likes of Nobby Stiles, Peter Storey, Ron Harris, to name a few of the true hard men who literally tried to poleaxe George Best, make the Northern Irishman's highlight reels truly breathtaking as he made football's hatchet men look silly on marsh-like pitches with the ball glued to his foot. George Best exemplified the true art of dribbling in an era when the usual knock it past and outrun the defender would have sufficed. He mastered the ability to ride tackles, drift past defenders and score from seemingly impossible angles.
But there is more to Best than his attacking prowess, for the handsome Northern Irishman had an edge. As the iconic author and founder of Gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson, once said: "The Edge … there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is, are the ones who have gone over."
George Best took himself to the edge and went over again and again. He existed in the void of magic on the pitch and madness off it. Few men have the talent to embrace the talismanic responsibility of being a footballer, and even fewer still have the ability to live life in a perpetual cup final of over exuberance with a zest for being a trailblazer who lived every minute as though it was the 90th minute. George Best represents what the good and bad of footballing fame can do to a player.
Only a footballing necromancer could be a star, an addict and a true force in the game. Best, a man who burned as many bridges as he built, is a player for which the world is a quieter place without. For a man who never played in a World Cup or European Championship, Best etched his name in the minds and hearts of football's masses. For all the stories about who Best was as a man and a footballer, his character on and off the pitch lives on as vibrant as ever. For all the wages he earned and celebrity status he held, most of it he lost to his unquenchable appetite for a destructive lifestyle. Best famously said: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
In 2005 at his public memorial service, the panning television camera caught a wind-torn and rain-soaked banner with the phrase: 'Maradona good, Pelé better, George Best' in block letters atop the silhouette of the Northern Irishman in red, flapping in the wind long after the crowds went home. The poet in us all might venture to say it was not rain but tears that soaked the ground, from the Best's family home at Cregagh estate to the parliament buildings at Stormont, for his private burial ground at Roselawn Cemetery where one of football's truly gifted players was laid to rest in the same plot as his mother.
George Best – the shy boy who at 15 suffered such a bout of homesickness when he arrived in Manchester that he ran back home after two days; the man who combined football genius and celebrity status and who battled the old foe of the bottle – had come home for good. Every man owes a death and although Best paid that toll, he is forever a legend. And legends never die
By Jon Townsend
Tags: best, fulham, ireland, man utd, northern ireland, premier league
Jon Townsend 02/07/2015
Billy Liddell: the war hero, visionary and gentleman who became Liverpool's darling of the Kop
Jeff Goulding 17/01/2020
Florist, battering ram and late bloomer: how Dick Nanninga rose to score in the World Cup final
Gary Thacker 16/01/2020
Remembering Martin Peters: the total midfielder "a decade ahead of his time"
Brian Penn 16/01/2020
How Jürgen Klopp's focus on psychology has evolved Liverpool's players into "mentality monsters"
Dan Billingham 15/01/2020
Juan Sebastián Verón: the witch who cast a spell on football
Callum Rice-Coates 15/01/2020
SUBSCRIBE: WEEKLY CONTENT X OFFERS
A-Z of the 2000s
Duology
Names of the Nineties
The Football Italia Years
Improbable Triumphs
A World of Ultras
A Tale of One City
Hot Bovril and Cold Terraces
Diego Maradona: The World Cup Diaries
Copyright © 2019 These Football Times


text:
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Search TechRadar
Tech Radar Gaming
New spy shots may have revealed the Galaxy Note 8 in its final form
By Stephen Lambrechts
Hey Note 8, why the long face?
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rumors and leaks have been popping up left and right in the lead up to the device's expected launch on August 23, and now we have some new spy images which seem to back many of those stories up.
Posted by Slashleaks (opens in new tab), the images give us clear front and back views of what appears to be the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 handset.
Similar in design to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, the alleged Note 8 shares an edge-to-edge infinity display with small top and bottom bezels and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that sits to the right of the device's primary camera and flash – basically identical to the leaked renders we've been seeing for weeks.
And, as you can see from the images above, the handset also sports the more squarish look that is synonymous with Samsung's Note brand. Also visible is a dedicated Bixby button on the right side of the handset.
Along with the pictures of the device itself, the spy also nabbed a shot of what is said to be the Note 8's new S Pen (or Galaxy Note Pen), though it doesn't appear to sport the innovative speaker top design that was rumored last year.
With its launch only a couple of weeks away, we'll find out soon enough if these spy shots really are of the Galaxy Note 8. Stay tuned.
Take note: these could be the Samsung Galaxy Note 8's final specs
TechRadar Newsletter
Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment
Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible.
He's also likely to talk a person's ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.
See more Mobile phones news
The Galaxy S23 will beat the Pixel 7 except where it counts
A 3-year-old iPhone will always offer the best bang for your buck, seriously
You might be able to write your own Apple AR/VR headset apps
You shouldn't bother with a PS5 Pro controller, the DualSense is just too good
Every fitness beginner needs a resistance bands set for big gains at a tiny cost
Netflix sets deadline for its crackdown on password sharing
When it comes to enjoying Apple's ecosystem, fewer devices is more
Here's how Netflix will stop you from sharing passwords


Brilliantly made, this Straight Bourbon is intense and good with rich coconut notes, crème brulée, dried apples and pears coated with spices.
Eagle Rare 10 years old is a Straight Bourbon of grand quality. This american Single Barrel is herbaceous with rich coconut notes and aromas of crème brulée, dried apples and pears coated with spices.
Carefully matured during 10 years, Eagle Rare has developped an aromatical palette of rare level for a Kentucky whiskey. It has been frequently rewarded, with 6 awards during 2016.
This Buffalo Trace distillery's Bourbon is a must have.
This high-quality Bourbon has a nice reputation with its complex and gourmet character with burnt and spicy notes of coconut, apples and pears.
Symbolized by a white-headed Eagle, the "eagle" symbol of the United States, whiskey Eagle Rare is now presented in Single Barrel.
Nose: complex caramel aromas, herbaceous notes and orange zest scent, honey, leather and roasted oak wood.
Palate: bold flavors, spicy and dried oak with candied almonds and rich cocao associated with coconut, crème brulée, apples and pears.
Silver Outstanding Medal - International Wine & Spirits Competition (England).
Gold Medal, Best Age Statement Bourbon - World Whiskies Awards (Whisky Magazine).


Enjoy your Chatham vacation in this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that is only 2/10th of a mile from Pleasant Street Beach on Nantucket Sound. This traditional Cape home features 2 bedrooms on the first floor and 2 bedrooms on the 2nd floor. The living room and kitchen lead to a second living area with great light and access to the furnished deck and side yard with fire pit and sandbox. Amenities include window AC units in the second floor bedrooms, a floor AC unit on the first floor, washer, dryer, dishwasher, cable TV, Wi-Fi, both gas and charcoal grills, picnic table and enclosed outdoor shower. This property has a $75 administration fee, $75 accidental damage protection fee and $185 cleaning fee. State and local taxes apply.


text:
The bad news you probably already know. Mortgage costs are brutal at the moment, putting homeownership out of reach for...
Money17 hours ago
With partners on NBC and then CBS, and with a rapid, opinionated style, he was heard during every N.C.A.A. men's basketball tournament from 1975 to 2008....
The CoreLogic Home Price Insights report features an interactive view of our Home Price Index product with analysis through November 2022 with forecasts through November 2023....
Money4 days ago
The Chicago-based arts nonprofit United States Artists (USA) named 45 recipients of this year's fellowships, each of which comes with an unrestricted $50,000 cash award. The...
U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2023 Best Online Programs rankings. Designed for individuals looking to complete or...
Biden begins 2023 with a stronger hand to play and an inclination to
President Joe Biden begins 2023 politically stronger than 12 months ago, bolstered by his party's surprise midterms success, a robust set of legislative accomplishments and the...
Will the Fed raise interest rates in 2023? Yes. Higher hikes expected
Federal Reserve officials predicted last week that they'll need to raise interest rates more than they had planned in 2023 to bring down inflation. Fed rate hikes increase the cost...
Season for Caring, Naquisha Taylor: Mother rebuilding family life after homelessness
hen Naquisha Taylor closes her eyes and envisions what her new apartment could look like, she imagines something cozy and warm. She'd love to have a...
Money1 week ago
The bad news: 2023 is already shaping up to be a very, very bad year
As the new year approaches, it is time to consider how 2023 might unfold. Of course, the starting point, the contemporary context, would be the recent...
NOT DONE YET: Governor Parson Delivers 2023 State of the State
Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Parson delivered the 2023 State of the State Address to the Missouri General Assembly. Governor Parson expressed to the General Assembly and...


text:
package com.amazonaws.services.backup.model.transform;

import java.math.*;

import javax.annotation.Generated;

import com.amazonaws.services.backup.model.*;
import com.amazonaws.transform.SimpleTypeJsonUnmarshallers.*;
import com.amazonaws.transform.*;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonToken;
import static com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonToken.*;

/**
 * GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult JSON Unmarshaller
 */
@Generated("com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-code-generator")
public class GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResultJsonUnmarshaller implements Unmarshaller<GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult, JsonUnmarshallerContext> {

    public GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult unmarshall(JsonUnmarshallerContext context) throws Exception {
        GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult = new GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult();

        int originalDepth = context.getCurrentDepth();
        String currentParentElement = context.getCurrentParentElement();
        int targetDepth = originalDepth + 1;

        JsonToken token = context.getCurrentToken();
        if (token == null)
            token = context.nextToken();
        if (token == VALUE_NULL) {
            return getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult;
        }

        while (true) {
            if (token == null)
                break;

            if (token == FIELD_NAME || token == START_OBJECT) {
                if (context.testExpression("BackupVaultName", targetDepth)) {
                    context.nextToken();
                    getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult.setBackupVaultName(context.getUnmarshaller(String.class).unmarshall(context));
                }
                if (context.testExpression("BackupVaultArn", targetDepth)) {
                    context.nextToken();
                    getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult.setBackupVaultArn(context.getUnmarshaller(String.class).unmarshall(context));
                }
                if (context.testExpression("Policy", targetDepth)) {
                    context.nextToken();
                    getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult.setPolicy(context.getUnmarshaller(String.class).unmarshall(context));
                }
            } else if (token == END_ARRAY || token == END_OBJECT) {
                if (context.getLastParsedParentElement() == null || context.getLastParsedParentElement().equals(currentParentElement)) {
                    if (context.getCurrentDepth() <= originalDepth)
                        break;
                }
            }
            token = context.nextToken();
        }

        return getBackupVaultAccessPolicyResult;
    }

    private static GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResultJsonUnmarshaller instance;

    public static GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResultJsonUnmarshaller getInstance() {
        if (instance == null)
            instance = new GetBackupVaultAccessPolicyResultJsonUnmarshaller();
        return instance;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The following originally appeared on Guid Scotch Drink on May 18, 2012:
What does one do for an encore after tasting a single cask of 1953 Glenfarclas? How about tasting some 1957 Strathisla? Then taking the weekend to reflect on an extraordinary whisky week!
Part of the Pernod-Ricard stable, the oldest operating distillery in the Highlands (it dates from 1786 when it was known as Milltown), Strathisla, is found just outside of Keith on the road to Elgin, in Speyside. While the distillery releases a standard 12 Year Old, the majority of stocks go to the Chivas Regal blend. This beautiful yet little known distillery produces almost 2.5 million litres annually (that's slightly more than Lagavulin, about the same as Highland Park, and slightly less than Laphroaig -- and we've all heard of them!).
I've enjoyed several 30-something and 40-something Year Old Strathislas over the last few years. Both Duncan Taylor and Gordon and MacPhail have bottled some absolute gems. This particular Strathisla 50 Year Old comes from Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1957 and bottled in 2007 at 43% Alc. Now sold out, it was available for the insanely reasonable price of £194! If you're feeling frisky, here it is for £383.
C: Sanguine copper
N: The wood is immediate but it's exuberant rather than tired (turmeric, coconut, aniseed, and ground pepper) then cooked fruits (red currant crumble, apple pie, and plum pudding) and freshly oiled leather
P: Quite oily with toasted fennel seeds, black licorice, cinnamon, and chili oil up front, apricot jam and thick-cut orange marmalade through the middle then drying on the end with dark chocolate, ground pepper, and espresso (what a journey!)
F: Sadly all too short and mostly up front, but there's fennel, coffee beans, salted dark chocolate, and nutty toffee
In conclusion: YES! Up to the standard of those I've tasted previously. What a sensational dram for sitting and warming and sipping and thinking (and maybe sharing). The wood is present but not overpowering which I find incredible for a whisky that's been sitting in wood for fifty years! The fruit and licorice components are delicious and tell such a lovely story throughout the tasting. Try old Strathisla the next time you see it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Sincere thanks to my Seattle whisky friend, Red Russak, for the sample. A 26 Year Old, single cask, cask strength Port Ellen was Red's reward.
Josh says...
Serge says...


text:
Women's work in agriculture seems to have negative impact on household nutrition
Recognition of Indian women's roles in both agriculture and domestic work is key to improving household nutrition outcomes, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
New research concludes women's work in agriculture potentially has a negative impact on household nutrition, through a combination of reduced time for care work and seasonal energy deficits.
The findings are part of a study led by Prof Nitya Rao, professor of gender and development in the University of East Anglia's (UEA) School of International Development.
In most of rural India, women work as agricultural and family farm laborers, in addition to performing nearly all the childcare and household duties. Often men have gone to work in urban areas, leaving women to balance agricultural and household work, including food gathering and preparation.
Overall, women's work in agriculture seems to have a negative impact on household nutrition, through a combination of reduced time for care work and seasonal energy deficits. Longer working hours for women or increased work intensity can have detrimental effects on their own health and, in turn, their ability to care for their children. This leads to poor child- and household-level nutrition outcomes.
The study examines the intersections of gender with other forms of social identity and inequality. The paper titled, 'Gendered time, seasonality and nutrition: Insights from two Indian districts', is published on June 26, 2019 in the journal Feminist Economics, a leading peer-reviewed journal that provides an open forum for dialogue and debate about feminist economic perspectives.
In India, class, caste and ethnicity play important roles in shaping access to resources, especially land. Those structural factors also determine women's agency, social norms around appropriate behavior, notions of care and food cultures.
Prof Nitya Rao, Professor of Gender and Development, University of East Anglia's (UEA) School of International Development:
This new research examines how social identity, seasonality and context shape women's agricultural work, as well as food intakes and feeding practices.
Women's agricultural work could potentially have negative outcomes, especially for the young child whose nutrition depends more on the mother's time for breastfeeding and supplementary feeding. The double burden of work and care often leads to a time trade-off between the two."
Prof Rao's research draws on primary data from 12 villages in two Indian districts, Wardha (Maharashtra) and Koraput (Odisha) between 2014-2016. The study villages comprise a mix of castes and ethnicities, all with distinctive cultures and livelihoods, from land-owning cultivators to landless groups who survive by engaging in wage labor. Malnutrition is high in both areas, with near or more than 50 per cent of children underweight. In both regions, women account for nearly all the household work, such as bathing and feeding children, washing clothes and collecting water.
Bacteriophage can have a profound impact on the dynamics of gut microbiome, study finds
Analyzing properties of texture-modified foods for people with dysphagia
Living in a warzone linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke, finds study
In Wardha, women harvest cotton manually, but the semi-arid region has reported severe agrarian distress over the past decade. Moreover, the smell of cotton and cotton dust causes headaches and leaves workers with no appetite or desire to cook or eat, which has implications for the rest of the household.
In Koraput, located in the semi-humid tropics, literacy rates and other human development indicators are low. People in this region work, on average, close to 13 hours a day, resulting in sleep deprivation, especially during the peak agricultural seasons of planting and harvesting.
As Koraput participant Kamala Paroja said: "We leave for our fields for transplantation early in the morning. There is no time to go to the forest to collect vegetables or greens, and no time to cook. We eat once a day - rice and ambli (sour gruel of rice flour and tamarind)."
Prof Rao said in order to improve women's lives and household nutrition and health outcomes, policies need to be context-specific, taking into consideration factors such as caste and location. Regardless, though, policies must aim to reduce the time- and effort-intensity of women's agricultural work.
Prof Rao said: "The lack of attention to women's time as a key factor in child nutrition outcomes is perhaps the main reason for the persistence of poor nutritional outcomes despite economic growth.
"Infrastructural support that can reduce the drudgery and effort/time intensity of tasks, especially cooking, as well as clean energy and drinking water, alongside strengthening child-care services, will help India move toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of reducing hunger and stopping intergenerational nutritional deprivation."
This article is part of the gender research in India generated by the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) Research Consortium, led by the M.S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). The project is funded by UK aid from the UK government.
Posted in: Medical Research News | Women's Health News
Tags: Breastfeeding, Children, Malnutrition, Nutrition, Research, Sleep, Vegetables
Measles epidemic kills over 1,200 in Madagascar
Study may explain mystery of long-term parasitic infections
Foods enhanced with proven health benefits are stuck in 'development limbo', GM expert says
Study emphasizes need for prioritizing nutrition care for home health patients
Global Report on Food Crises: Acute hunger affects over 100 million people worldwide
Gut-boosting food may put an end to childhood malnutrition worldwide
Adequate protein intake linked with reduced risk of frailty
Pregnancy / Maternal Health
ClinEpiDB releases data from MAL-ED study that addresses childhood malnutrition


Alibaba offers 25,435 304 stainless steel pipe price products. About 56% of these are stainless steel pipes, 5% are steel pipes, and 4% are stainless steel sheets. A wide variety of 304 stainless steel pipe price options are available to you, such as astm, aisi, and api.


Welcome to the MCMS from Personal Gaming Devices Ltd.
MCMS helps you manage every corner of your floor and find the potentials for growth. MCMS provides you with valuable insight that drives you towards winning decisions when it comes to slot mix, promotions and customer relations.
Get the power you need to maximize your clients participation with the powerful tools the MCMS provides. PGD Ltd is commited to pringing the power of the network to your casino floor.
Every corner of your floor can be productive. Information helps you maximize your space and MCMS gives you that information.
As a casino operator you can access a single, central server that handles reporting for multiple locations. In addition to being able do custom reporting for all your systems or individual locations, you can define Wide Area Jackpots as well single promotions for cashless cards used across all sites.
The MCMS allows you to monitor wide sets of meters and access a wide variety of reports –NetWin reports, Accounting, Surveillance, Shift Reports, and many more. Custom reports can be added for you as required.
The MCMS Progressives Module gives you the option to design your own jackpot scheme. You can apply various filters and conditions in order to meet the exact conditions you desire to target different groups of customers.
The integrated BI reporting module gives you a clear view as to which games perform the best at any location and how players spend. You can perform the adjustments you need to keep your customers active.
Leveraging SAS connectivity empowers you to monitor your entire operation and improve your customers experience. MCMS builds on top of the latest software and hardware technologies, taking advantage of standard off-the-shelf network and computer equipment to keep installation costs down and performance high.
MCMS gets you in control of your slot machine floor. See how customers use your space and capitalize on each and every visit.
Get the pieces together – We make the puzzle simple.
Licensing the MCMS is simple, with several options available. Our rates start at €1 per day, or a full license can be purchased for €300 + Modules. Get in touch to find out the best strategy for your location.
Our Complete Services Guides will show you how to interface with your SAS compatible devices and signage. Premium, managed installation services are also available as well.
Our MCMS support packages can be handled via telephone, email or by direct connection to your system if you prefer. Any MCMS installation can be custom fit with a support package that works for you.
All content copyright Personal Gaming Devices Ltd.


text:
CNA Insider
Documentaries & Shows
CNA938 Live
Singapore Parliament
Remarkable Living
CNA Eyewitness
The Asian Traveller
scams Omicron COVID-19 Wellness Malaysia In Focus China climate change North Korea
Follow CNA
+ All Sections
Tutor jailed for molesting 15-year-old student, begged his parents for forgiveness when caught
Bookmark Bookmark Share
WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn
File photo of a gavel (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Lydia Lam
@LydiaLamCNA
25 Nov 2021 03:52PM (Updated: 25 Nov 2021 03:52PM)
SINGAPORE: A part-time tutor molested a 15-year-old boy while giving him tuition, fantasising that the teenager "enjoyed" his touches.
The boy had previously told his parents about these untoward advances, but his family assumed them to be either accidental or arising from a misunderstanding and allowed the tuition to continue.
The accused, 43, was sentenced to eight months' jail on Thursday (Nov 25) after pleading guilty to one charge of molestation with a second charge taken into consideration. He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim's identity.
The court heard that the man worked as a part-time tutor and and private-hire driver. In 2018, the victim's family hired him to give Mathematics tuition to the victim, who was in Secondary 3.
The classes took place at the victim's home on Saturday evenings, with the boy and the tutor sharing a long bench in the living room.
In June 2020, the victim told his family that the accused had touched him. His family assumed that this was either accidental or a misunderstanding, and did not discontinue the tuition services.
However, the family arranged for the tutor and the victim to sit on separate chairs for future tuition sessions.
The accused went to the victim's home for a session on Aug 29, 2020. They sat side by side, each on their own chairs.
The boy's family members were home but not present in the living room. Between 8.30pm and 9pm, the accused felt "an uncontrollable sexual urge to touch the victim", the prosecutor said.
He first touched the boy's right hip, before rubbing his thigh for about five minutes.
He then began molesting the boy, feeling aroused and harbouring a fantasy that "the victim was enjoying himself", said the prosecutor.
He did this for about 15 minutes, during which the victim was "stunned and confused" and did not know how to react.
Eventually, the victim stared at the tutor, causing the man to pull his hand away and continue with the tuition lesson.
A few minutes later, however, the man again touched the boy's thigh. When the boy asked him why he had touched him, the accused retracted his hand and apologised.
The boy stood up and tried to head to his parents' bedroom to tell them what happened, but the tutor pulled his arm and begged him not to do so.
The boy began shouting, asking the man to let him go.
Hearing the commotion, his parents came out of their bedroom and the boy told them that his tutor had touched him again.
The tutor knelt on the floor and begged them not to call the police.
The boy's father called the police and said his son's tuition teacher had touched his private parts, and that the culprit was now kneeling on the floor begging for forgiveness, according to court documents.
The prosecutor asked for nine months' jail, noting that there was another charge taken into consideration for the possession of 226 obscene films.
There was a severe abuse of trust, he said, as the accused had tutored the victim for more than a year.
His acts lasted for about 20 minutes in total as he "had gotten carried away with his sexual fantasies" and the initial lack of reaction from the victim, said the prosecutor.
For outraging the boy's modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these penalties.
Source: CNA/ll
court crime
Also worth reading
Expand to read the full story
CNA Sections
About CNA
Mediacorp Network
Pressed for time? Stay informed with CNA's newsletters
Choose a newsletterMorning BriefEvening BriefBreaking news alertsCNA InsiderCNA CommentaryAll of the above
This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp's partners.
Copyright© Mediacorp 2022. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.
This browser is no longer supported
We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.
To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app.
Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us


text:
Steve Jobs – iCame. iSaw. iConquered. iLeft.
October 7, 2011 Nitin Agarwal
He came. He saw. He conquered. He left.
Steve Job's life can be aptly described in these 8 words. And when he left, he gave many a question to think about, a question who's answer-seeking process will definitely convert a 'nobody' to a 'somebody'. The purpose of life is not to ride around in swanky cars in a well-settled high profile job with all the benefits in the world. The purpose of life is to think different, to bring a smile on peoples face and to make them understand the high importance of life, which comes only ONCE and death, which comes anyhow.
And Steve Jobs did just that. From that 'unexpected baby boy' who walked 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple to being the Founder/CEO of Apple Inc, worth US $7 billion, Steve Jobs had come a long way. Being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and getting fired from the company you founded wasn't the best thing to happen. And usually people break heart after this. But NOT Steve Jobs. Instead, this event was a life-changer for him. That gave him the extra-boost to not let the young entrepreneurs down who look upon him. So NEXT happened. And so did Pixar. And Apple became what it is today.
Who would have thought that this young man who was given away by his biological parents and had just 3-6 months to live when diagnosed with cancer, would live up to become one of the most inspiring and looked upon person, especially in the field of technology and would inspire million of tech geeks to think and do the new, including Mark Zuckerberg? For those millions, yesterday was probably the saddest day in their life, for this individual whom they all knew as Steve Jobs, who talked about connecting the dots, love and loss and death at the Stanford Commencement Address 2005, passed away battling pancreatic cancer. A very sad loss indeed.
CNN reported that when Michael Jackson passed away, Twitter encountered a rate of 500 tweets per second about MJ and yesterday when Steve Jobs passed away, Twitter was bombarded with 10,000 tweets per second about SJ! Everybody from Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama to a teary Steve Wozniack (his best friend and Apple co-founder) paid homage to this great man. Microsoft announced that all its campuses around the world will fly their flags at half-staff for two consecutive days. Google displayed the following "Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011" on their homepage with a link to Apple.com. Flowers, signs, apples (both bitten and whole), hand-written letters and candles lined the steps of Apple's flagship store. Millions of people who do not know him actually sat down crying on this piece of news. Many shut shop and started recollecting their nostalgic moments with Steve Jobs while wiping their tears. Others worked in the dark as a mark of respect. And many others like me ended up doing nothing but crying profusely.
So why did I cry for this gentleman when he passed away, though I had never met him and neither did he know me. Why did this fast-paced tech world suddenly applied a brake and paused down? Why why why ?
Well, the answer cannot be justified in this article of 400 words but if you press me for one, then i'd say 'JUST BECAUSE HE WAS STEVE JOBS' ! Even an iPhone says 'No replacement' when his name is typed in text. And surely it will be.
No one can ever replace you Steve. You inspired us a lot with everything you did, and made us believe in failures. You proved that even a small kid who returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, can make it big provided he loves what he did. And yesterday, when you left us all, you just made us realize the power of love.
The world will not be the same without you, Steve. It was you who made me get up at 3:00 am yesterday and start weeping insanely. No, Its not just these bucketful of tears or condolence messages that make it worth. Its something inside us which we have for you, RESPECT.
And we miss you deeply. REALLY :'(
Rest in Peace Steve Jobs. You will always stay with us !
Here is a collection of pictures of Steve Jobs which were floating all over the web:
Few Videos aired to pay Tribute to our beloved Steve Jobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY4VkkRhsgI
Saxenahem2507 says:
truly a charismatic leader, a fighter and an achiever
Acmeous says:
He was no doubt one of my real life Heroes. Though having a condolence of 2 mins before starting my yesterday was never enough, I feel his absence every hour.
At the some time, I believe, we owe him to contribute more innovations to this world, so that his dream of innovation in anything can be more successful :)
Saikumar says:
MISS U STEVE ON ONE CAN REPLACE U MAY UR SOUL REST IN PEACE
Gaurav Kulkarni says:
There can never be another Steve Jobs..as to be Steve Jobs you must born as Steve Jobs! :(
PythonSkynet says:
In 2nd Video (Stanford University) You can see Mark Zuckerberg in the audience (at exact 9:50 time period)
Prakhar Goel says:
iThank you… 3 apples changed the world. Adam's Newton's and Steve's
Shibin Kuriakose says:
This Dent in the Tech Universe can never be filled. RIP Steve


Of diamonds and glitters, Elegance Club has finally launched its first luxury jewellery watch boutique in Pavilion last week. Since 1991, Elegance Club has been renowned for its exquisite collection of jewellery masterpieces, catering to both local and international clients including royal families, celebrities and trendsetters. The brand showcases one-of-a-kind creations, personally designed by Datuk Tracy Ong who has carved a name for herself as jeweller to the stars. Elegance Club's signature range features exquisite necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, signature tiaras, and now they even unveil a wide range of limited edition jewellery-adorned timepieces in collaboration with renowned master watchmaker, Claudia Patrick.
The opening ceremony was graced by the royal presence of KDYMM Tuanku Nur Zahirah, Sultanah of Terengganu and KDYMM Tuanku Hajah Kalsom, Sultanah of Pahang, and then followed by an elegant fashion show by Dato' Bernard Chandran featuring Elegance Club timepiece collections. Guess what, Lady Gaga has been spotted in designs from Dato' Bernard Chandran's collections during an interview woots!
Wow, you got invited to such an awesome event! The jewelry pieces are so pretty!
This looks like a great event :) The jewellery is lovely!
I'm not really a fan of makeup ! But I'll definitely recommend this to a my other friends! :) Good job on the review post !
I love the necklaces. Thank you for sharing this. Love their watches and jewelry.
If only lovely and high-quality jewelry was as easy to buy as makeup! Haha. So many gorgeous pieces!
I love the colors of the clothes worn by the models!!! :) The store has beautiful interiors too. Congratulations on experiencing such a lovely event!
Beautiful pieces! I love the necklace from the second picture.
Lucky to be invited there. I love the blue timepiece!
Ohhhh!!! Soo in love with those watches especially the Blue one!
i want those watches! too pretty!


text:
Email protected by JavaScript. Activate JavaScript to see the email.
Phone number protected by JavaScript. Activate JavaScript to see the phone number.
Dissertation Introduction
Dissertation Results
Discussion Chapter
Best Essays for Student
Buy a Term Paper
Buy Custom Research Paper
Book Review Services
Letter Writing Services
Other Academic Services
Value Creation and Stickiness
Essay Categories Analysis Business Description Economics Exploratory History Literature Management Research Sociology
5% OFF after 21 pages
10% OFF after 51 pages
15% OFF after 101 pages
HOME Essays Business Value Creation and Stickiness
E-commerce has experienced phenomenal growth, not just in the United States but all over the world. Consumers continue to embrace e-commerce and internet both in the developed, as well as the developing countries. Internet usage was, in 2011, estimated to be at roughly 2.095 billion people which accounted for approximately 30.2 percent of the world populace. This was according to Internet World Stats results posted in March 2011. Statistically, this represented a rise by an almost 480.4 percent in comparison to year 2000. Internet penetration in Asia is approximated at 922.33 million people. This accounts for roughly 23.8 percent of the population regionally and about 44 percent of the total internet penetration. Again, this represents a rise by approximately 706.9 percent compared to year 2000 figures. Unprecedented internets use via Smartphone, and such other gadgets as the tablet is poised to encourage growth even further. E- Commerce models such flash sales which comprises of Gilt Group, Neiman Marcus and mid-day dash and digital media download will also be beneficial as far as internet connectivity is concerned.
In Europe, the figures for online buyers is projected to rise by 48 million to stand at 205 million come 2015;total purchases are projected to hit 133.6 billion Euros according to forester. In Malaysia, internet penetration stood at approximately 17.723 million users as of 2011. It is documented that internet users in Malaysia spent RM 1.8 billion worth of internet shopping in 2011 alone and according to Nielson Company survey this figure will likely triple in a span of three years. Internet service provider PayPal conducted a survey which found out that Malaysian spend substantially more funds on local websites going to a tune of RM 825 million worth of transactions in comparison to foreign websites whose transactions only recorded RM627 million in receipts in 2011.Out of roughly 2 million present day global internet consumers, about 28.3 percent cited English as their native language. Notwithstanding these growing statistics and projected large numbers of internet consumers from a wide variety of cultures, no research has hitherto been done to try and put into perspective the fact that internet consumers from specific cultures usually exhibits greater propensity to cling to specific websites.
In spite of the fact that encouraging accomplishment of B2C e-commerce exhibits a convincing case for the confluence of entrepreneurship and strategy research streams, a thoroughgoing academic research seeking to ascertain the effect of individual users on their reasons for sticking to the various B2C e-commerce remains scanty. According to Priem (2007), Value creation calls for innovation that initiates or increases the value that consumers attach to the benefits accruing from consumption. Existing literature has failed to adequately address the user perception and acceptance of the e-commerce B2C value creation model as an explanation to stickiness to the e-business sites as well as how these internet users perceived these underlying explanations to the prosperity for internationalization.
In 2001, Amit and Zott conducted a number of theoretical surveys which sampled 59 internet companies domiciled in the United States and Europe. The objective of these surveys was to try and offer as well as empirically test value creation for e-businesses. By drawing parallels from several studies including the value chain framework (Porter, 1985), Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction (Schumpeter, 1942), the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991), strategic network theory (Dyer and Singh, 1998), and transaction costs economics (Williamson, 1975), they tested how value is created. They did not stop there but went ahead to discuss if these theories could be applied in cases involving virtual markets. They borrowed heavily from the grounded theory development methodology of Glaser and Strauss (1967) to try and find out which among the many sources of value contained in the vast literature related to e-businesses. They accepted the assertion that the total value can be appropriated by parties in e-business as suggested by Brandenburger and Stuart's (1996). They went further to note that the presence of value drivers has the potential to enhance the value-creation for e-business. Specifically, they identified efficiency, complementarities, lock-in, and novelty as key ingredients of value creation. According to transaction costs theory (Williamson, 1975), transaction efficiency is inversely related to cost per transaction so that when it rises cost per transaction declines. In light of this, the larger the transaction efficiency the lower the costs and therefore the more beneficial it will be in any aspect of e-business.
Brandenburger and Nalebuff (1996) have further underscored the importance of offering complementary outputs to customers. By definition, Complementarities refers to the determinants of a firm's profit function involving input and output. According to Resource Based View, complementarities occupy a very significant position in the process of value creation. In fact, complementarities rank among the most strategic assets as far as sources of value creation are concerned (Amit and Schoemaker, 1993). Also, value creation may be achieved if consumers are motivated to engage in repeat purchases. This normally results when strategic partners offer incentives to boost and maintain their relations with the firms. The potential of e-business to create value can be achieved through 'lock in'. 'Lock in' prevents consumers as well as strategic partners from moving to other competitors the consequence of which is value creation. According to Williamson's (1975), transaction cost framework identified lock-in as switching costs and as network externalities, which has its origin in network theory (Katz and Shapiro, 1985; Shapiro and Varian, 1999). By definition novelty simply means the quality of being new. Alternatively, novelty means uniqueness so that if something is said to be novel, it means it is unique. Innovation and its potential for value creation is well documented in the works of a management guru named Schumpeter (1934). Having a very strong brand and being the first in the market as well offers the business an opportunity to succeed and these are two business opportunities that e-business innovators can benefit from to grow their business (Arthur, 1996; Shapiro and Varian, 1999). Majority of B2C e-commerce companies have no choice but to come up with diverse technologies and commit a larger amount of their resources to bolster "stickiness" of consumers to their websites if they are to successfully prevent them from shifting to their competitor's website. According to Oliver (2007), 'stickiness' in this case refers to the users' tendency to regularly and repetitively visit a given website most often due to their previous experience amid attempts by competitors to influence their switching behavior.
Majority of studies on online consumers purchase, have mostly borrowed from attitude theory model such as TRA (Theory of Reasoned Action), theory of planned behavior (TPB), and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in an attempt to explore the effects like intention, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, ease of use, perceived usefulness etc. as the determinant factors on online purchase intention. Simple and easy to use design is attractive to those who shop over the internet according to Jupiter Research (2006). Moreover, loyalty among internet shoppers can greatly be enhanced by attractive website features as well as reliable performance. Owing to the development in research on consumer psychology and conduct, online stickiness notably turns its attention to users' characters. If a website is user-friendly such that they can comfortably control it at their own pleasure then such a website can be said to be sticky. Stickiness (longer, frequent visits) according to Bush is unequivocally founded on providing unique content and customized services to vertical market niches [1]. Online users' tendency to stick to a website is conceptualized from the perspective of the user as research on consumer behavior continues to develop. For instance, Dahui Li, Glenn J. Browne, and James C. have all defined 'stickiness' from the user's perspective as repetitive visits to a given website due to strongly held preference to use the same in future irrespective of intense pressure in the prevailing circumstances to switch their loyalty to other websites.[2, p.1 06]. Additionally, Ling Xue, Gautam Ray, and Andrew B. Whinston concurs that investing in technology has the potential to produce a unique level of the stickiness referred to as the switching cost [3]. According to Kim, stickiness is the average time spends on a website and the frequency with which they visit it[6). From an online perspective, this is the most common unit of measurement. The first impression a user gets on visiting a website more often than not greatly shapes his feeling about the website and if he is likely to visit such websites in the future. Judy chose three factors which reflect the website's value: content, context and infrastructure, to study their effects on stickiness via imaginary website value [8). In her view, content refers to the information that a website offers to whoever visits it, infrastructure is the link that a website offers while the context is the website's format. She went further to note that out of these, only website's content has effects on stickiness.
© 2009-2021, Top-Dissertations.com. All rights reserved


text:
Q: How to know which tableview cell's text field is changed its content I have a tableview with around 100 text fields inside it. I added only one text field. It is reused and it is accessed using tag.
The problem is this: suppose the user has changed some textfield.  Now, I want to access that text field changes during saving of the data.
How can I do this?

A: You are very near to your goal. You have already assigned tag to your UITextField. You can use and track tag in this delegate method.
-(void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
{

}

A: First set tag of textfield  with indexpath.row
- (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField
  {
 // replace text in your array
  }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sporades Yacht Charter is based in Volos and aims to provide a flexible service for people looking to charter yachts (either bareboat or with a skipper) for use in the Greek Sporades and in the rest of the Aegean. The yachts are based in Volos port on mainland Greece, but if you are flying to Skiathos, we can arrange to meet you there with the yacht.
We are in contact with many yacht owners in Volos and the Sporades, so if you are looking to charter a boat in this area, don't hesitate to contact us. We speak English and Greek.
The Sporades begin with Skiathos - the closest to the mainland, with an airport, and the busiest - followed by Skopelos and Alonissos, which are larger, quieter and more rugged. Generally, conditions in the Sporades for sailing are calm, with the islands less affected by the northern wind (the meltemi) that buffets other parts of the Aegean in the summer months.
There is no shortage of delightful and secluded bays to anchor on all the islands.
Around Alonissos and the smaller islands further east is The National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades set up to protect, among other endangered species, the Mediterranean Monk Seal. The restrictions on yachts and tourism mean the island of Piperi and its coastal waters are out of bounds.
Click for the OCS online nautical chart of the Sporades.
Click to purchase the Imray Chart G25: N Sporades and Nisos Evvoia.
Click the graphic below to see an interactive map of the Volos and Sporades area.


text:
Home Soccer Premier League The UK Has Taken Over The Day-To-Day Operations Of The Chelsea Football...
The UK Has Taken Over The Day-To-Day Operations Of The Chelsea Football Club
The UK wants Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich gone.
The English Premiere League, which is one of the highest rated soccer circuits on the globe, is entering uncharted territory. The United Kingdom is running Chelsea, a club that is presently owned by Roman Abramovich who is a Russian billionaire with close ties to Russia President Vladimir Putin. England has seized the business. Abramovich was looking to sell the franchise after he was placed on the UK list of sanctions. The British government has ordered the Chelsea football team to stop conducting virtually all of its business operations. Chelsea cannot sell tickets or sign players. A Chelsea-owned hotel near the team's west London stadium cannot offer any rooms. The official team store was suddenly closed. Season ticket holders are able to attend matches until the end of the season. No new money will flow into the team.
The U. K. and other countries are trying to inflict as much monetary damage on Russia as possible as well as attempting to isolate Russian elites. The U.K. government put out a document about the decision which was published by the Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation that shed more light on the government's thinking. "Abramovich is associated with a person who is or has been involved in destabilizing Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, namely Vladimir Putin, with whom Abramovich has had a close relationship for decades. This association has included obtaining a financial benefit or other material benefit from Putin and the Government of Russia." A New York merchant bank has been appointed to handle the sale, set a deadline of March 15th for interested parties to submit bids for Chelsea. Barclays' bank has temporarily suspended Chelsea's bank account while it assesses the team's status. Chelsea, according to Forbes, is the seventh-most-valuable soccer team in the world worth $3.2 billion.
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
Evan Weiner's books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Ukrainians attend a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, during a protest against the potential escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
English Premiere League
Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation
Qatar Wants The 2036 Summer Olympics
Russia And Belarus Are Still Banned From The Olympics
Czech Republic Says Nyet To Russian NHL Players Scheduled To Take Part In Games In Prague
Vancouver's 2030 Winter Olympics Bid Is Faltering
Sports World To Russia: Nyet!


The annual World Economic Forum confab in Davos, Switzerland is famous for gathering business and policy leaders to discuss the big issues of the day. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and private equity professionals, big company CEOs and world leaders gather in a unique environment for mingling, collaboration, and idea sharing.
In a similar but more local fashion, the Progressive Business Leaders Network (PBLN) summit convened last Friday at the JFK Presidential Library represented a unique blend of over 200 leaders engaged in the thorniest of policy issues that are facing the Commonwealth and the nation. PBLN is a network of over 150 Massachusetts CEOs and top corporate officers who are interested in engaging and helping solve the most important problems of the day with data-driven, progressive policy solutions. The panels and round tables throughout the day were chock full of wonky issues, such as health reform and cost containment, education reform, climate change, tax policy, and housing. Participants dug into the data to analyze the impact various reform options might hold, with business leaders and public officials debating and discussing in an open, collaborative environment.
Among the more than 200 attendees at the annual summit were some of the Commonwealth's most influential CEOs, such as Paul Levy of Beth Israel Hospital, Martin Madaus of Millipore, and James Roosevelt of Tufts Health Plan, alongside prominent venture capitalists like Bain Capital's Jeff Glass and Flagship's Jim Matheson. Also in attendance were the state's most senior policy leaders, such as Education Secretary Paul Reville, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby and the House Chairman of the Revenue and Tax Committee Representative Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington).
The public officials—including Governor Deval Patrick, who led a spirited dialog reviewing his administration's agenda—practically begged the business community to stay personally engaged with the issues facing the Commonwealth and the nation. Governor Patrick pointed out that it is no accident that the blueprint for the landmark health reform being debated in Congress came from Massachusetts. And, as Boston Foundation CEO Paul Grogan pointed out, the education reform currently in front of the Massachusetts legislature (passed by the Senate and to be taken up by the House in January) will also have a powerful, national impact.
The day ended with a debate of four of the six major senate candidates, putting forward their rationale for why business leaders and the public at large should support their candidacy, a decision all the more poignant as the candidates stood in the shadow of the Kennedy family at the JFK Library. At the end of the debate, Senate candidate Alan Khazei exhorted the group, "Step it up. Pick your issue and get involved. There should be twice as many of you here next year." You could see numerous members of the audience lean forward and straighten up, as the wheels began to turn on what issue they will try to make their own.
What will be your issue and how will you get involved? To learn more about the PBLN, follow them at www.twitter.com/pbln or go to www.pbln.org.