What are the similarities and differences between the SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay modules?
How can we configure core functionality such as eligibility, guidelines, and budgets within a compensation template?
How does SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and Variable Pay integrate with SAP ERP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
How does SAP Performance Management integrate with the compensation solutions from SAP SuccessFactors?
What calibration functionalities does the solution offer out-of-the-box?
What reporting capabilities come standard with the solution?
Hello, everyone. Welcome to today's live Q&A on SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay solutions. I am excited to be joined by Jeremy Masters.
Thank you for joining us, Jeremy.
How does SAP Performance Management integrate with the SAP SuccessFactors Compensation solution?
SAP Performance Management (from on-premise SAP HCM) does not natively integrate with SAP SuccessFactors. Typically, we just download the ratings and upload them into the Employee Profile (Live Profile) so that SAP SuccessFactors Compensation or SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay can read them.
If you were referring to SAP SuccessFactors Performance Management, this natively integrates with SAP SuccessFactors Compensation or SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay solutions. This is done via the compensation template configuration under Admin Center > Compensation Home > [Template Name] > Plan Setup > Plan Details > Rating Sources.
SAP SuccessFactors Compensation is for merit, stock, and basic bonus plans. SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay is for more complex bonus plans that require you to calculate a bonus based on segments, rows, legs, or assignments (whatever you want to call it) along the bonus plan year. For example, your bonus target might change along with your bonus plan type or bonus objectives if you are promoted to a different area within the company. Under your plan design, if this scenario creates "segments" (or, as SuccessFactors likes to call them, "assignments") that means your bonus plan is a good candidate for SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay. Segments can be handled in the compensation template, but only for more straightforward bonus schemes.
Do you have any experience with the new point-in-time calculation for bonus? I believe this feature disables assignment-based calculations. Is that right?
Correct, Ruben. Point-in-time calculation (which just became available during the last release) would be used for those scenarios where assignments segmentation or calculations are not needed.
All those core functionalities can be configured within the compensation template. This is done via the compensation template configuration under Admin Center > Compensation Home > [Template Name] > Plan Setup > Plan Details. The various options are there.
What calibration functionalities does the solution offer out of the box?
Out-of-the-box calibration functionality is nothing to get excited about. The calibration functionality piggy-backs off the standard calibration matrix, but it is fairly limited with how to apply in real-life scenarios for in-cycle compensation calibration.
What I typically recommend to customers is that they should become very familiar with the Executive Review functionality in SAP SuccessFactors Compensation or SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay since this is really the only place in the tool out of the box where high-level leaders can look at their data and then sort, filter, and export this data to Excel for further analysis.
How does SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay integrate with SAP ERP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
SAP provides integration with both SAP ERP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central for its SAP SuccessFactors Compensation solutions. Integration with SAP ERP HCM is provided with add-ons 1.0 and 3.0 (the latter for SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay). You can download these add-ons using your SAP User Account (S-user ID) here: https://help.sap.com/viewer/p/SFIHCM. This integration involves either your SAP middleware (SAP NetWeaver Process Integration) or SAP HANA Cloud Platform, integration (SAP's middleware in the cloud).
For integration with SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, the integration is native to the product, so there will be no files exchanged or middleware involved. Rather, the two modules exchange information via mapping (in the compensation template) and publishing the compensation results back to the Compensation Information portlet within SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central.
Detailed Report: This option provides drill-down capabilities for managers during the planning process. It is available only from the compensation worksheets during the planning cycle. It provides roll-up budget total, spend, and remaining information in percent and amounts.
Executive Review: This option provides aggregate views of Compensation Planning Information. It can be enabled for "edit" access (I recommend very limited use of this access). It can use filters to cut data and can be used to export data into comma-separated value (CSV) files or Excel spreadsheets. Generally, this option meets the reporting needs of most users.
Ad-Hoc Reporting: This basic reporting tool features spreadsheet-based output. It also is used for integrating files to other systems. It enables users to aggregate, but not create visualizations. In SAP SuccessFactors Compensation, this tool is generally limited to administrators for edit access, and managers are given run access. Sharing of reports is not dynamic based on criteria.
Variable Pay Validation Reports (for SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay only): This standard packaged report in Excel or CSV format offers the following reporting features: Eligibility and Proration, Business Goal Performance, Individual Preview, "Other Reports." The reports are not configurable and generally access for editing is available to administrators only.
On-Line Report Designer (ORD): This robust reporting solution allows queries, pivots, visualizations, report layout, and styling. It also features advanced sharing capability. This solution is considerably more advanced to use versus Ad-Hoc Reporting. Information can be viewed in real time. Typically, edit access is only for administrators, and run access is for managers.
Regarding the SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central roadmap, what are the key areas companies ought to watch out for if they have a staggered SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central deployment, but are looking for quick wins on SAP SuccessFactors Compensation?
Ensure that you have defined your pay grade and salary ranges correctly in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central. This step is important if you want this information to flow over to SAP SuccessFactors Compensation. All too often I see this as an afterthought, and this step is hard to undo if it is not set up correctly.
Users should read about the planning hierarchy options they have with SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and how this affects the planning experience. What I am talking about here is Standard Suite Hierarchy, Roll-Up Hierarchy, or Second Manager (or Compensation Manager) Hierarchy. The implications on processes that occur for your compensation cycle will vary depending on which option you select. This decision should be made early and should be done alongside your SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central team.
If you are providing edit access for Executive Review, is there an audit trail of changes made during that process and identification of who made the changes? If so, how is this audit trail accessed?
Yes, there is an audit trail for all changes to the planning (even during the Executive Review). However, if you haven't already done so, you need to request that the Compensation Activity Audit Report be turned on for your instance that you want it for.
You will want to look at the SAP Knowledge Base for more details on this in the SAP Knowledge Base Article 2084156 - Comp Audit Functionality - Compensation and Variable Pay https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2084156. You will need an S-user ID to log in.
Are there metric packs available for SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics?
Yes, there are. You can see information about SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and SAP SuccessFactors Compensation in SAP Knowledge Base Article 2500926 - Analytics and Reporting Functionality Overview as per 1705 https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2500926.
There's also some ORD template downloads located in the community site here: https://community.successfactors.com/t5/Reporting-and-Analytics-Product/bg-p/WorkforceAnalyticsProductResources.
When a manager has access to Executive Review, does he or she have access to all employees in that compensation plan, or can this access be reduced with authorization to a specific group of employees?
Executive Review access is based on access defined in the Role-Based Permissions (RBPs). This means that the manager will see only the employees in the compensation template to which he or she has been granted access.
What are some quick wins to improve our compensation planning process with these solutions?
Reduce the approval process steps. If you currently have multi-level approval (two or more approvals for a form or worksheet), consider having only the planning manager submit and only the approving manager review or approve. Since all managers within your hierarchy will have access to the Executive Review, it behooves you to consider only having this one-step workflow so that the planning process can go faster.
Reduce the number of columns that you really want to show to managers. Oftentimes, we present 20 to 30 columns to the manager; this many columns frequently becomes information overload to the planning managers. Think about which information (columns) is really needed for effective decision-making.
As I mentioned above, it is so important to understand which planning hierarchy you are going to use (Standard, Roll-Up, Second Manager, or Compensation Manager).I don't have a preferred method; this really depends on the organization — that is, how far down the planners go, and how much you need the organization to be dynamic versus frozen during your compensation cycle.
What are your recommended best practices for administering equity granting during the compensation process?
Well, the standard equity or stock process in SAP SuccessFactors Compensation is based on units or shares and not on value. Of course, we know that in today's marketplace, much equity granting is done based on value (and not stock units). You can overcome this by configuring an equity template such as a salary template, but you will need to configure some clever custom columns and lookup tables.
As far as best practices, I would say that you should leave only the granting side of things in SAP SuccessFactors and leave the splits (back to units) based on stock price or the Black-Scholes model outside of the tool. You can include these, but if you are going to be sending these to your third party anyway, you can do them outside. The only time you would want to do them in the tool is if you had to include some them on the employee's compensation statement.
Jeremy, do the SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay solutions support the day-to-day management of compensation or are they typically used as an annual event?
The SAP SuccessFactors Compensation and SAP SuccessFactors Variable Pay solutions are typically used for the annual (or quarterly) processes. You would not use these solutions for off-cycle payments such as equity or market increases or promotions.
Could you point me to a good resource to understand Pay Components and Groups as they relate to SAP SuccessFactors Compensation? I was wondering how we apply increases to some base pay components and not others. For example, annual salary consists of base salary plus a Christmas bonus grocery allowance. However, when the increase is applied only to the base salary and the Christmas bonus is increased, how are the new results reflected in Payroll and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
What are your main thoughts on configuring pay grades and employee stock ownership plans? Any pitfalls to beware of regarding those two topics? Thanks.
Yikes! Good questions, Chris. Let me start with pay grades. From a compensation perspective, I don't have strong feelings directionally on how these are configured. My only caution is that during the setup of pay grades in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central (assuming you are using this solution), ensure that you have configured those pay grades in combination with the salary ranges. This is important from an SAP SuccessFactors Compensation perspective since this information is what integrates back into SAP SuccessFactors Compensation for merit planning purposes.
For managers with a global team, how should they take into account country differences in using either base or total annual salary wage types as the base for salary review?
This is a really good question. A planning basis is a big deal; thanks for bringing this up. For a global population, much of the world plans on a monthly basis versus an annual basis. This needs to be considered when doing your plan setup and can be achieved within the functionality. In most cases, custom columns are needed to make this happen, but it's possible.
It's also important to ensure that the budget is accurately reflecting these changes. This is again configured at the template level in the configuration, but should be part of the overall discussion.
Jeremy, you will be speaking at HR 2017 in Copenhagen. What should attendees look for in your sessions?
Attendees should be looking for some real-life examples of the questions, comments, and issues that have come up today. That's why I love this conference so much, and why I have been participating in it for 10 years. We have a great lineup of speakers this year in a great city. Hope to see some of you there.


Osaka, Japan - Panasonic reported a 14 percent drop in sales and a major net loss in its fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2011.
The company is also forecasting a major net loss for the entire fiscal year, which ends March 31.
Like other Japanese CE manufacturers that have reported their financials in recent days, Panasonic's culprits for the negative results included sagging TV sales and lower prices, the aftereffects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the flooding in Thailand that hurt the supply chain, the appreciation of the yen, and an overall sluggish world economy.
In the fiscal third quarter net sales were 1,960,200 million yen, down from the prior year's fiscal third quarter of 2,285,413. The net loss attributable to Panasonic in the quarter was 197,668 million yen, compared with the prior year's net income of 39,983 million yen.
In its digital AVC networks segment, for the first nine months of the year sales decreased by 16 percent to 2,182.9 billion yen, from 2,585.4 billion yen a year ago. This was due mainly to sales declines in flat-panel TVs and mobile phones. Segment loss amounted to 32.7 billion yen, compared with segment profit of 101.2 billion yen a year ago, due mainly to sales decrease and price decline.
Sanyo's 47 billion yen loss in the first nine months of the fiscal year, compared with a segment profit of 0.4 billion yen a year ago, was influenced by sales decrease, after incurring the expenses such as amortization of intangible assets recorded at the acquisition, Panasonic said. Sales decreased by 20 percent to 974.1 billion yen, compared with 1,223 billion yen a year ago.
For the entire fiscal year Panasonic is forecasting a net loss of 780 billion yen, down from the previous forecast of a loss of 420 billion yen, and revised its previous sales forecast of 8,300 billion yen downward to 8,000 billion yen because of significant sales declines in mainly digital products.
Operating profit is expected to be 30.0 billion yen, a decrease from the previous forecast of 130 billion yen.


text:
Harley-Davidson named an Official OEM Partner of American Flat Track for 2019
Lou Modestino
 Note: The American Flat Track Series will make a new stop on the 2019 schedule during the Father's Day Weekend on a brand new 1/4-mile dirt track during the 94th Laconia Bike Week Rally in the Lake's Region of NH DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 2, 2019) " American Flat Track �and �Harley-Davidson � Motor Company �announce today a […]

Note: The American Flat Track Series will make a new stop on the 2019 schedule during the Father's Day Weekend on a brand new 1/4-mile dirt track during the 94th Laconia Bike Week Rally in the Lake's Region of NH DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 2, 2019) " American Flat Track �and �Harley-Davidson � Motor Company �announce today a continuation of their long-standing partnership for 2019. Previously the Official Motorcycle of the AFT Twins class, the American motorcycle icon will now join AFT's existing family of partners as an �Official OEM Partner of American Flat Track.
Celebrating its 116th year of manufacturing, the Milwaukee-based Fortune 500 company has been at the heart of professional flat track since its beginnings. �"Harley-Davidson has supported the sport of American Flat Track for decades," said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. "Our fans understand the deep affection Harley-Davidson has for America's Original Extreme Sport and their iconic XR750 dominated the field for so long that it has become the most successful racing motorcycle of all time. Without Harley-Davidson this sport would not be here to enjoy its current resurgence and we are delighted to continue that partnership." �As American Flat Track enters its 66th consecutive year of competition, Harley-Davidson looks to continue to build its �AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines program.
'Harley-Davidson is excited to once again collaborate with American Flat Track to extend the Harley-Davidson's legacy and commitment to professional flat track racing,' said Eric Jensen, Brand Marketing Lead for Harley-Davidson. 'Our dealers, employees and customers continue to enjoy the competition and entertainment provided by the series, and the inspiration that brings to the next generation of riders."
Throughout the season, camera crews for American Flat Track's coverage on NBCSN will capture the action of the Harley-Davidson Factory riders both on and off the track. Additionally, fans on social media will have full access to behind-the-scenes content through Harley-Davidson's social media channels. �The 2019 season continues on �April 20 �with the �Texas Half-Mile presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys �at �Texas Motor Speedway.
Watch as AFT Twins and Roof Systems presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys AFT Singles competitors bang bars in the hunt for the championship. Do not miss the premiere of the AFT Production Twins class at this iconic racetrack in the heartland of Texas. Tickets available now at �www.americanflattrack.com. �To get the latest American Flat Track clothing and merchandise visit �www.americanflattracker.com.
How to Watch:NBCSN �and �FansChoice.tv �are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2019 season, NBCSN's coverage of AFT moves to highly-coveted, weekend afternoon programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at �http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. FansChoice.tv remains a cornerstone of AFT's digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event on AFT's live page while previous events and exclusive features are available on AFT's VOD page. �
About American Flat Track:merican Flat Track is the world's premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visithttp://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on �Facebook, follow us on �Twitter, check us out on �Instagram, �live stream the events at �FansChoice.tv �and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on �NBCSN. �
About Harley-Davidson:Since 1903, Harley-Davidson Motor Company has fulfilled dreams of personal freedom with cruiser, touring and custom motorcycles, riding experiences and events, and a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise, riding gear and apparel. For more information, visit �www.harley-davidson.com. Flat Track Motorcycle action thrills the fans. (Credit: AFT Photo)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Indiscreet ist eine US-amerikanische Romantische Komödie aus dem Jahr 1931. Regie führte Leo McCarey. Die Hauptrolle spielte Gloria Swanson.

Handlung
Die Modedesignerin Gerry Trent trennt sich von ihrem reichen Freund Jim Woodward wegen seiner Untreue. Auch ein Heiratsantrag rettet ihn nicht.

Gerry, die gerade mit Begeisterung das Buch "Obey That Impulse" liest, bekommt einen Anruf von ihrem Bekannten Buster Collins. Er sagt ihr, dass Tony Blake, der Autor des Buches sich mit ihr treffen wolle. Als sie das begeistert ihrer Tante Kate erzählt, schickt diese sie erst mal unter die Dusche. Tony, der sich als ein Nachbar herausstellt, hält schon beim ersten Gespräch um ihre Hand an und wiederholt das auch, so dass die beiden schon bald verlobt sind. Allerdings hat Gerry, die sich als "ein modernes Mädchen mit altmodischem Gewissen" bezeichnet, noch eine Aufgabe, die sie fürchtet: Sie muss Tony sagen, dass er nicht der erste Mann in ihrem Leben ist. Sie bringt das Thema zur Sprache kurz nachdem Tony ihr eine Liebeserklärung als Widmung in eines seiner Bücher geschrieben hat, die ihr sehr gefällt. Daraus entwickelt sich ein etwas schwieriges Gespräch, das aber gut endet. Gerry geht direkt danach und vergisst dabei das Buch. Bis sie es holt, hat Tony ein Update hineingeschrieben, das die ursprüngliche Aussage bestätigt.

Gerrys Schwester Joan ist zurück von einem längeren Europaaufenthalt. Buster, der schon lange hofft, Joan heiraten zu können, wird von ihr sehr zurückhaltend behandelt. Gerry gibt ihm den Tipp, eine kleine Feier für Joan zu veranstalten, was er sofort macht und zu der er alle einschließlich Tante Kate einlädt. Auch Tony, den Joan dabei kennenlernt. Bald trifft Jim Woodward ein, er kommt als Joans Freund. Tony gibt seine Verlobung mit Gerry bekannt. Joan überredet Jim, alle zu einer Feier im Haus seiner Eltern einzuladen, um damit die Hochzeit von Joan und Jim vorzubereiten, wobei Jim darauf hinweist, dass das noch Zeit habe.

Gerry, die ihrer verstorbenen Mutter versprochen hatte, auf Jane aufzupassen, möchte zusammen mit Tante Kate Joan gegen Jim aufbringen. Selbst eine Warnung vor Jims Charakter bringt nichts. Als Tony aus beruflichen Gründen absagt, beschließt Gerry, auf der Feier Joan und Jim auseinanderzubringen. Nachdem Buster Jims Eltern gegenüber gemeint hat, die Familie von Joan und Gerry sei ein bisschen verrückt, gibt Gerry eine entsprechende Vorstellung für Jims Vater. Danach geht sie in ihr Zimmer um sich umzuziehen. Jim, der bereits von seinem Vater angesprochen wurde, folgt ihr. Gerry spielt auch ihm gegenüber die Verrückte, doch steigert Jim ihre Aktionen noch und genießt es. Er gesteht ihr, dass das Einzige, was ihm wirklich an Joan gefalle, sei ihre Ähnlichkeit zu Gerry, die er immer noch liebt. Gerry geht darauf ein, lockt dabei aber Joan durch ein extra laut gesungenes Lied herbei. Diese findet die beiden küssend vor. Jim sagt ihr, dass er und Gerry schon früher zusammen waren, worauf sie weinend davonläuft. Bevor sie sich von Jim lösen kann bemerkt Gerry, dass überraschend auch Tony da ist, alles mitbekommen hat und nun verärgert geht. Sie läuft ihm nach, doch er will nichts hören.

Zurück in Gerrys Wohnung freut sich Buster, dass er Joan näher kommt, und auch Joan versteht Gerrys Verhalten und bedankt sich dafür. Gerry selbst vermisst Tony sehr. Tante Kate hat Tony angerufen. Sie sagt, Tony wolle Gerry zurückhaben, er müsse aber nach Europa reisen. Gerry solle mit ihm reisen und Kate hat bereits für sie gepackt. Gerry geht los, sie hat aber kein Ticket für das Schiff, auf das sie sich, versteckt in einem Auto, von einem Kran heben lässt. Als sie erwischt wird kann Tony die Sache klären. Tony und Gerry werden noch auf dem Schiff vom Kapitän verheiratet werden.

Produktion
Nachdem ihre eigene Produktionsfirma in wirtschaftliche Schwierigkeiten geraten war, hatte Gloria Swanson einen lukrativen Vertrag über zwei Filme mit Joseph Schenck abgeschlossen. Indiscreet war der erste dieser beiden Filme. Kurzfristig umgeschrieben und umbenannt (vorher sollte der Film Obey That Impulse heißen). Regisseur Leo McCarey musste seine Mitwirkung daran vor Samuel Goldwyn, dem verantwortlichen Produzenten des Films, geheim halten.

Barbara Kent, die Swanson vor Drehbeginn noch bewundert hatte, war enttäuscht über ihr Idol; sie empfand Gloria Swanson zwar nicht als unfreundlich, aber sie habe doch sehr den Star herausgekehrt.

Ausstatter des Films war Richard Day.

Musik
Indiscreet war ursprünglich von Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown und Ray Henderson als Musical konzipiert worden. Gloria Swanson war jedoch wenig begeistert von den Liedern. Auch hieß es, das Publikum habe Musicals satt. So wurden immer mehr Lieder gestrichen bis nur zwei übrig blieben, nämlich If You Haven't Got Love und Come to Me, beide geschrieben von Henderson (Musik), DeSylva und Brown (Text). Sie wurden von Gloria Swanson gesungen, eines davon, wie die United States Conference of Catholic Bishops schrieb, während sie ein Bad nahm. Tatsächlich singt sie If You Haven't Got Love nach der Dusche beim Kämmen, wobei sie vollständig bekleidet ist. Come to Me singt sie zusammen mit Barbara Kent am Klavier kurz nachdem Joan zurückgekehrt ist und ein zweites Mal in der Szene, in der sie so tut, als würde sie wieder mit Jim zusammenkommen. Sie singt es besonders laut, um Joan ins Zimmer zu locken.

Erstaufführung
Indiscreet wurde am 25. April 1931 uraufgeführt. Der Film wurde von United Artists vertrieben. Auf DVD erschien Indiscreet am 15. März 2005.

Rezeption

Kritiken
Zeitgenössische Kritiker fanden Indiscreet sehr witzig und gut gemacht. Eine Ausnahme bildete allerdings die United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, die die Rolle der Gerry als "flach und unattraktiv" bezeichnete und nur wenig Komödie sah. Sie stufte den Film als "nur für Erwachsene" ein und wies auf "sexuelle Szenen und Anspielungen" hin. Dazu ist zu beachten, dass Indiscreet in eine Zeit fiel, in der der Hays Code durchgesetzt werden sollte.

Spätere Kritiker fanden den Film weniger witzig, wobei es auch Ausnahmen gibt. Der Film sei ermüdend. Die Art-déco-Sets und die beiden von Gloria Swanson gesungenen Lieder könnten das nicht ausgleichen.

Finanzieller Erfolg
Indiscreet war "einer der erfolgreicheren Tonfilme mit Gloria Swanson" und fuhr einen hinreichend großen Gewinn ein, um United Artists in einer finanziellen Krise zu helfen.

Einordnung
Indiscreet wird zumeist als Romantische Komödie oder Romantisches Drama eingeordnet. Manche Autoren sehen in dem Film eine Frühform oder gar ein frühes Beispiel einer Screwball-Komödie.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Filmtitel 1931
US-amerikanischer Film
Schwarzweißfilm
Filmkomödie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Requesting the Strava authentication API using POST c# keeps failing c# I am trying to access the Strava authentication API:
https://developers.strava.com/docs/authentication/
But I keep getting an "An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host" error, regardless of how I post my request server side using c#
I have tried both HttpClient and HttpWebRequest
var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("https://www.strava.com/oauth/token");

var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("client_id=someid&client_secret=somesecret&refresh_token=sometoken&grant_type=");

request.Method = "POST";
request.ContentType = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded";
request.ContentLength = data.Length;

using (var stream = request.GetRequestStream())
{
    stream.Write(data, 0, data.Length);
}

var response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse();
var responseString = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream()).ReadToEnd();

It works perfectly when using JavaScript, jQuery or Postman.
function doPost() {
            $.post("https://www.strava.com/oauth/token",
                {
                    client_id: "someid",
                    client_secret: "somesecret",
                    refresh_token: "sometoken",
                    grant_type: "refresh_token"
                },
                function (data, status) {
                    // done
                });
        }

Any help pointing me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated
Thnx

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home / Interviews / Wales Goes Pop! Interview with Peaness
Wales Goes Pop! Interview with Peaness
By RRW on April 20, 2016
So if you read my review of Saturday at Wales Goes Pop! 2016, you probably could have guessed that I was pretty stoked to interview Peaness. With this being only my second ever attempt at holding an interview (the first being with the lovely, Baby Brave), I was nervous and Peaness' incredible performance only made my nerves higher and my excitement intensify. But the lovely ladies of Peaness quickly calmed my nerves. Soon after their set, we sat down in the cafe to have a chat about the festival, local music scenes, ugly politicians, Johnny Depp and their brand new single, 'Oh George'.
Interview with Jess, Balla & Rach of Peaness:
RRW: Hey guys! *tries and fails to not fangirl* So, not just for interview purposes but purely out of genuine interest; you write some pretty politically driven lyrics that just make damn catchy pop songs, how does that even happen? Is there a particular writing process?
J: With 'Oh George', we didn't want it to be really… obvious. The chorus came to us first, you (Balla) came in with the chords and I just started singing words, it became the chorus and it just stuck.
The song in question, 'Oh George' is (un)inspired by George Osborne and the recent (and let's be honest, constant) betrayal by the UK Tory government. Without context, 'Oh George' is presented as a break-up song. But I won't spoil it for you, for more on 'Oh George' carry on reading for my review of the single below.
B: Some of the words came from seeing his [George Osborne's] face on TV. His face just makes me SO ANGRY, so does David Cameron's, so do all of their faces, so that's what inspired the lyric "all your friends are just as bad, all your faces make me mad".
RRW: So is 'Oh George' going to be part of an EP, or are there solid plans for an album soon?
R: Well, I'm having a knee operation coming up so we'll be quiet for a while around then.
RRW: Knee? That's a bit shit for a drummer.
R: Yeah, but we've got pretty much everything sorted for the next EP so it's ok.
J: Yeah, we're releasing 'Oh George' on April 15th. Like Rach said, we've got everything sorted for the next EP so we're not in a rush. Maybe an EP in like… June? In the summer? Summertime.
RRW: Going back to today at Wales Goes Pop!, how was it for you?
J: Well, there were a lot of people in the room and they didn't leave, so that's a good thing
RRW: Yeah, and I have actually seen that happen this weekend, I saw a band play the theatre and people just leaked out. People aren't afraid to leave if they think it's rubbish so you must have done alright
J: Oh god, really? Oh well that's good to know.
J&B: Yeah and it's a big stage too and we're only a small band and we were kind of just in the middle.
RRW: Well, you certainly owned the stage regardless.
J&B: Thank you, people seemed to enjoy it… I think. I saw someone singing along. There were a lot of people stood still, like some people had their eyes closed. Cardiff crowds seem to be quiet… still and stand there listening and taking it all in and appreciating the music. But there were some people nodding and tapping their toes along as well. So, yeah, think people liked it.
RRW: I'm sure people loved it, they seemed pretty engaged. I noticed someone singing as well. You did great! How do your shows go down elsewhere? I know you're from Chester and you've played a few shows up that way, is there much of a local music scene there?
J&B: A lot of bands from Chester tend to play cities like Manchester and Liverpool. There doesn't seem to be much of a music scene in Chester. There's a folk music scene, people are into folk, but not much else goes on… unless it does and we're just not there.
RRW: Is it nice coming down here then if there's not much going on in Chester? Or is it a bit daunting travelling pretty far?
J&B&R: I feel like we're pretty well-accepted in the Cardiff scene, we've had a lot of support from people down here and from Sŵn Fest and stuff like that. It's nice to come down here and see that there are people who actually want to watch us.
RRW: You mean like FANS? well there's definitely one sat here *waves* you can thank Adam Walton for that too. I heard you guys for the first time on his radio show. Speak of the devil, I'm hoping to come up to Chester when you play Telfords with Campfire Social.
J: We're looking forward to that one, we love Campfire Social. We're looking forward to Focus Wales as well.
RRW: I was meant to be going to that, but I'm going to Lisbon to watch Johnny Depp play guitar, which is something I keep trying to mention in every conversation I have because I'm so excited. I'll definitely try and come up to Chester though. Thanks so much for having a chat and I'll hopefully see you in June!
J&B&R: Yes, would be great if you could come up! Thank you!
'Oh George' single review:
So we already know a little bit about 'Oh George': we know it's written and performed by a super lovely, super cool, super talented and all-round super band called Peaness (best band name I've heard in a long time, by the way). We know it's pretty much brand new – it was only released last week.
We know it's "Un-inspired by the recent UK government changes made by chancellor tory tyrant, George Osborne". We also know that despite its heavily political influence, 'Oh George' doesn't immediately strike you as a 'typical' statement song. On the surface, it appears to be more of a feisty break-up song, and you feel like smacking this loser called 'George' who broke the hearts of Peaness in his weasel face. You also might feel empowered, which is odd for what seems to be a 'break-up song'. It's light-hearted and uplifting, not as you'd imagine either a break-up song or a politically-driven song to sound. 'Oh George' feels as though it's trying to look on the bright side, which is one thing that is appropriate for both interpretations of the song.
We also know it's available on iTunes, Spotify (yuck) and, the most helpful outlet for the band themselves, Peaness' Bandcamp.
But most importantly, we know it's an effortlessly flawless, spirited indie-pop anthem with an infectious rhythm, a melody that even ABBA would be jealous of and a chorus that'll have you bursting into song as you bounce down the street, with or without your headphones in, because if you're not listening to 'Oh George' then it's probably stuck in your head.
If you didn't already know that, that means you've probably not heard it yet. I'll let you off this time, just make sure you're more prepared in future, alright?
Photo taken from Peaness' Facebook.
Header Photo by RRW.
By RRW.
Related Itemshomepeanesswales goes pop
← Previous Story Wales Goes Pop! Interview with Liz Hunt
Next Story → Wales Goes Pop! Interview with A N i • G L A S S


text:
Q: MAC OS genymotion device not show in list deployt of eclipse? I use Mac OS 10.10, with genymotion 2.2.2 and virtual box 4.3. When I create ADV in eclipse to run app. It show normally in list deploy, but genymotion. although I ran it already, config setting...

A: This is a bug in eclipse - OSX yosemite, what you need to do is in the Android Device Chooser Window, try to RESIZE THE SERIAL NUMBER TAB and you will see the genymotion emulator that is running
If you don't see it, or the Android Device Chooser Window doesn't appear, check three things before running again:
Developer Options is enabled from settings (by repeated touching 7 times the build number in about phone), even though developer options is available in the list of apps in genymotion emulator
In Settings>Security, make sure "Unknown Sources" is enabled
Go to Run Configuration (for Android app), select the Target Tab, Enable Always prompt to pick device and hit apply.
Additionally I downloaded the jar files from Genymotion Download Page manually and replaced it in the plugin folder of eclipse.
Source: Genymotion devices not working in Eclipse on OS X Yosemite [SOLVED]


text:
Q: Create D3js chart using data from MySql PHP JSON Just a beginner with d3js charts. I am not able to generate a D3js chart. Here is my index file:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<meta charset="utf-8">
<style>
    .arc text {
        font: 10px sans-serif;
        text-anchor: middle;
        }

        .arc path {
            stroke: #fff;
        }
    </style>
    <body>
    <script src="d3/d3.min.js"></script>
    <script>

        var width = 600,
            height = 600,
            radius = Math.min(width, height) / 2;

        var color = d3.scale.ordinal()
            .range(["#98abc5", "#8a89a6", "#7b6888", "#6b486b", "#a05d56", "#d0743c", "#ff8c00"]);

        var arc = d3.svg.arc()
            .outerRadius(radius - 10)
            .innerRadius(200);

        var labelArc = d3.svg.arc()
            .outerRadius(radius - 60)
            .innerRadius(radius - 40);

        var pie = d3.layout.pie()
            .sort(null)
            .value(function(d) { return d.population; });

        var svg = d3.select("body").append("svg")
            .attr("width", width)
            .attr("height", height)
            .append("g")
            .attr("transform", "translate(" + width / 2 + "," + height / 2 + ")");

        d3.json("getdata.php", type, function(error, data) {
            if (error) throw error;

            var g = svg.selectAll(".arc")
                .data(pie(data))
                .enter().append("g")
                .attr("class", "arc");

            g.append("path")
                .attr("d", arc)
                .style("fill", function(d) { return color(d.data.age); });

            g.append("text")
                .attr("transform", function(d) { return "translate(" + labelArc.centroid(d) + ")"; })
                .attr("dy", ".35em")
                .text(function(d) { return d.data.age; });
        });

        function type(d) {
            d.population = +d.population;
            return d;
        }

    </script>
    </body>
    </html>

Here I am getting data from php, getdata.php:
<?php
$conn = mysqli_connect("localhost","root","","androidtest");

$query = "SELECT * FROM charts";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $query);
$rows = mysqli_num_rows($result);

mysqli_close($conn);

if($rows > 0){
    $data = array();
    while (($r=mysqli_fetch_assoc($result))!=null){
        $data[] = $r;
    }

    header("Content-Type: application/json");
    echo json_encode($data);
    }
?>

My database looks as follows, table name charts
-------------------------------
| age  |  population          |
-------------------------------
| <5   |  2704659             |
| 5-13 |  4499890             |
| 4-17 |  2159981             |
|18-24 |  3853788             |
|25-44 | 14106543             |
|46-64 |  8819342             |
| >65  |   612463             |
-------------------------------

On running index.php file, there is no error in Javascript in inspection window. It is appearing as blank.
After calling the d3.json("getdata.php"... I tried getting the result to console log, like:
console.log(JSON.stringify(data));
console.log("Testing");

No console log. BLANK.
I also run: getdata.php, It is returning the string:
[{"age":"<5","population":"2704659"},{"age":"5-13","population":"4499890"},{"age":"14-17","population":"2159981"},{"age":"18-24","population":"3853788"},{"age":"25-44","population":"14106543"},{"age":"46-64","population":"8819342"},{"age":">65","population":"612463"}]


Wisconsin Heights' Christian Patzka finished in fifth place at the WIAA Division 2 state cross country meet.
It was the race of his life in the year of his life.
Wisconsin Heights junior cross country star Christian Patzka went to the WIAA Division 2 state meet with high hopes and huge dreams. Patzka then made them all a reality.


text:
Q: Is it possible capture all records into table A from table B on or after truncating table B I am trying to write a trigger with reference to Postgres DOC. But its not even allowing to create a trigger base on truncate, tried different approaches but didn't work.
CREATE TRIGGER delete_after_test
AFTER truncate
ON tableA
FOR EACH ROW
EXECUTE PROCEDURE delete_after_test3();

Function:
   CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION econnect.delete_after_test3()
   RETURNS trigger
   LANGUAGE plpgsql
   AS $function$
   declare
  query text;

 begin

insert into econnect.delete_after_test_2 (
"name",
age1,
log_time
)
values
(
old."name",
old.age1,
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
 )
 ;

   return old;
END;
   $function$
 ;

Reference: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-createtrigger.html
"TRUNCATE will not fire any ON DELETE triggers that might exist for the tables. But it will fire ON TRUNCATE triggers. If ON TRUNCATE triggers are defined for any of the tables, then all BEFORE TRUNCATE triggers are fired before any truncation happens, and all AFTER TRUNCATE triggers are fired after the last truncation is performed and any sequences are reset. The triggers will fire in the order that the tables are to be processed (first those listed in the command, and then any that were added due to cascading)"

A: A solution using ON DELETE:
create table delete_test(id integer, fld1 varchar, fld2 boolean);
create table delete_test_save(id integer, fld1 varchar, fld2 boolean);
insert into delete_test values (1, 'test', 't'), (2, 'dog', 'f'), (3, 'cat', 't')

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION public.delete_save()
 RETURNS trigger
 LANGUAGE plpgsql
AS $function$

BEGIN
    INSERT INTO delete_test_save SELECT * FROM del_recs;
    RETURN OLD;
END;

$function$

CREATE TRIGGER trg_del_save
    AFTER DELETE ON delete_test referencing OLD TABLE AS del_recs FOR EACH statement
    EXECUTE FUNCTION delete_save ();

delete from delete_test;
DELETE 3

select * from delete_test;
 id | fld1 | fld2
----+------+------
(0 rows)

select * from delete_test_save;
 id | fld1 | fld2
----+------+------
  1 | test | t
  2 | dog  | f
  3 | cat  | t

The example uses a transition relation (referencing OLD TABLE AS del_recs) to collect all the deleted records for use in the function. Then it is possible to do the INSERT INTO delete_test_save SELECT * FROM del_recs; to transfer the records to the other table. No, they will not work with a TRUNCATE trigger.
Transition relations are explained here Create Trigger:

The REFERENCING option enables collection of transition relations, which are row sets that include all of the rows inserted, deleted, or modified by the current SQL statement. This feature lets the trigger see a global view of what the statement did, not just one row at a time. This option is only allowed for an AFTER trigger that is not a constraint trigger; also, if the trigger is an UPDATE trigger, it must not specify a column_name list. OLD TABLE may only be specified once, and only for a trigger that can fire on UPDATE or DELETE; it creates a transition relation containing the before-images of all rows updated or deleted by the statement. Similarly, NEW TABLE may only be specified once, and only for a trigger that can fire on UPDATE or INSERT; it creates a transition relation containing the after-images of all rows updated or inserted by the statement.


I'm tired of writing! Your turn!
I'm curious what you love about your church tradition? What would you absolutely want to keep in your church? What would you not want your children to miss out on?
I'm also curious about what you dislike about your church tradition? What do you just put up with? What would you like to see gone?
I'm also curious what you would like to import from other traditions? Perhaps from the Pentecostals? Or the Catholics?
3) If I had my way (and if it wouldn't cause so many waves as to be divisive/harmful) I would enjoy a service which IMPORTED some aspects of liturgical church services such as: the use of a lectionary (a list of bible passages for communal reading, and the scheduling of sermons)/nice infrastructure and art in the church (sorry Zwingli*)/the public reading of large portions of Scripture/the public reading of written prayers & creeds. I would also like to pull our churches back to their intellectually-engaged roots in the reformation, calling people back past the anti-intellectualism of the past century to the deep truths which our Reformers & Puritan fathers knew and taught.
From time to time, as I have had occasion as preacher or worship leader I have integrated some of these things, and people have much enjoyed them.
Now, I'm not saying I want to make all these changes tomorrow. One needs to be sensitive to the real needs and desires of people. But if I had my way, I'd sprinkle some of these goodies in from time to time, or find a sensitive way to integrate some of these great historic practices back into our modern churches.
So that was my five cents.** Now it's your turn. What would you keep, chuck or import from your church traditions?
*Ulrich Zwingli was the "third man of the Reformation." He was largely eclipsed by Luther and Calvin, who wrote more important works than he did. However, his influence is felt today since it was he who is largely responsible for "white-washing" (quite literally) the insides of churches, and creating the stripped-down, art-free, super-utilitarian structures that we are used to today in Evangelicalism.


More than a month after the unceremonious ouster of President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt continues to burn with rage and throb with grief.
Smoke rises near Al-Fath Mosque during clashes at Ramses Square in Cairo. Thousands of supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi took to the streets, urging a 'Day of Rage' to denounce the assault by security forces on Muslim Brotherhood protesters that killed hundreds.
A torn poster of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi is seen as riot police clear the area of his supporters, at Rabaa Adawiya square, where they had been camping, in Cairo.
At least 95 Egyptians were killed after security forces moved in on protesters demanding Mursi's reinstatement, and the government imposed a state of emergency as unrest swept the most populous Arab nation.
Egyptian army soldiers guard with armoured personnel carriers near Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 24 Egyptian policemen in the Sinai peninsula, where attacks on security forces have multiplied since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans against the military and interior ministry during a protest in front of Al Istkama mosque at Giza Square, south of Cairo. Egypt's army-backed rulers met on Sunday to discuss their bloody confrontation with deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood amid contrasting proposals for compromise and a fight to the death.
In a televised speech to military and police officers, army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to crack down on anyone using violence, but also struck an apparently inclusive note, telling Mursi's supporters, "There is room for everyone in Egypt".
Egyptian residents in Japan hold posters during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, in front of the Egyptian embassy in Tokyo.
Egypt's deputy prime minister will propose a way out of a bloody confrontation between the security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohamed Mursi when the cabinet discusses the crisis.
A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shouts slogans after being injured during clashes in front of Azbkya police station during clashes at Ramses Square in Cairo.
Islamist protests descended into a bloodbath across Egypt, with around 50 killed in Cairo alone, on a 'Day of Rage' called by followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi to denounce a crackdown by the army-backed government.
As automatic gunfire echoed across Cairo, the standoff appeared to be sliding ever faster towards armed confrontation, evoking past conflict between militant Islamists and the state in the Arab world's most populous nation.
Riot police and army soldiers protect themselves with riot shields as members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi throw stones during clashes around the area of Rabaa Adawiya square, where they are camping, in Cairo.
The death toll from an Egyptian police raid on supporters of Mursi at a Cairo protest camp has climbed to 60 at one hospital, according to a nurse, who said she counted the bodies.
Riot police fire tear gas during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, around Cairo University and Nahdet Misr Square, where they are camping in Giza, south of Cairo.
Egyptian security forces killed at least 30 people when they cleared a camp of Cairo protesters who were demanding the reinstatement of Mursi.
Bricks form the Arabic words: 'There is no god but Allah' as smoke rises during clashes between riot police, and members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, where the latter had been camping, in Cairo.
Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (depicted in poster), walk behind a makeshift barrier built to demarcate their sit-in area around Raba' al-Adawya mosque, east of Cairo.
Egypt's army-backed rulers and allies of its deposed Islamist president gave the first signs of a readiness to compromise, pressed by Western envoys trying to head off more bloodshed.
Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans during a march from Al-Fath Mosque to the defence ministry, in Cairo.
Anti-Mursi demonstrators illuminate the night sky with laser pointers during a mass rally showing support for the army near Tahrir Square in Cairo, in a handout photo by the Egyptian Army.
At least seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in scattered violence across Egypt during mass rallies for and against the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who was placed under investigation for murder.
A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi wears a makeshift gas mask as others run away from shooting during clashes in front of Azbkya police station during clashes at Ramses Square in Cairo.
.Muslim Brotherhood protests plunged into violence across Egypt, with around 50 killed in Cairo alone on a 'Day of Rage' called by Islamist followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi to denounce a police crackdown.
A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shouts slogans during a protest outside Al-Fath Mosque in Ramses Square, in Cairo.
Thousands of supporters of Mursi took to the streets, urging a 'Day of Rage' to denounce the assault by security forces on Muslim Brotherhood protesters that killed hundreds.
The army has deployed dozens of armored vehicles on major roads in Cairo, and the interior ministry has said police will use live ammunition against anyone threatening state installations.
Worshippers and supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi attend Friday prayers at the courtyard of Eyup Sultan mosque, before a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, in Istanbul.
A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi holds up his photo while standing at the top of lamp posts during a march to show solidarity with his supporters in Egypt, in Sanaa. The poster reads 'We are all with legitimacy'.
The mother of a dead Muslim Brotherhood supporter screams after seeing her son's body at the El Eyman mosque in Cairo.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called on followers to march in protest in Cairo, after at least 525 people were killed in a security crackdown on the Islamist movement that has left the most populous Arab nation polarised and in turmoil.
A Reuters witness counted 228 bodies, most of them wrapped in white shrouds, arranged in rows on the floor of the Imam mosque in northeast Cairo, close to the worst of the violence between police and demonstrators.
Egyptian military helicopters trailing national flags circled over Tahrir Square during a protest demanding that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi resign in Cairo.
Five Egyptian military helicopters trailing national flags circled over Cairo on Monday after the armed forces gave politicians 48 hours to resolve a crisis over calls for the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Egyptians poured onto the streets, swelling crowds that opposition leaders hope will number into the millions by evening and persuade Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to resign.
A policeman takes up a position inside a mosque during clashes with supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi inside a room of the al-Fath mosque in Cairo.
Mursi supporters exchanged gunfire with security forces inside the Cairo mosque, three Reuters witnesses said.
The gunmen opened fire on security forces from a second floor window in the Fath mosque, where hundreds of Mursi supporters have been taking refuge since protests turned violent.
A police officer takes position during clashes with supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi inside a room of al-Fath mosque in Cairo.
Smoke is seen over Ramses Square after Islamist protests descended into a bloodbath across Egypt, with over 50 killed alone on a 'Day of Rage' called by followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi to denounce a crackdown by the army-backed government after clashes in Cairo.
The government has imposed a night-time curfew set to last at least a month.
A military helicopter flies above supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, in Cairo.
Thousands of supporters of Mursi took to the streets on Friday, urging a 'Day of Rage' to denounce this week's assault by security forces on Muslim Brotherhood protesters that killed hundreds.
The army deployed dozens of armoured vehicles on major roads in Cairo. The interior ministry has said police will use live ammunition against anyone threatening state installations.
Supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi pray during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, in Sanaa.
Protests by Mursi supporters turned violent across Egypt, with witnesses reporting four dead in central Cairo and at least 12 killed in northern cities as the Muslim Brotherhood staged a 'Day of Rage'.


Franchise Business Development Services Nigeria (FBDS), an associate of International Franchise Association and representative of World Franchise Associates in Nigeria, recently organised a roundtable discussion on the strategic direction of "Nigeria 2018 Franchise Agenda".
The roundtable was organised in collaboration with key industry stakeholders dedicated to the development of franchising in Nigeria and supported by World Franchise Associates, as well as SA Franchise Warehouse, South Africa.
The roundtable updated the stakeholders on the progress of the growing Nigeria franchise industry, introduced the potentials of the micro-franchising concept in Nigeria and presented global case studies of success and impact of micro-franchising on the enterprise, social and economic development spheres that can be benchmarked, to the various stakeholders. In line with the theme of the event, "Building New Roads to Enterprise, Social and Economic Development through Franchising", the discussants opined in unison that the potentials of franchising in Nigeria can be triggered via "micro-franchising".
Accordingly, the convener of the roundtable Mr. Chiagozie Nwizu, Founder/Managing Consultant at FBDS noted that the industry has progressed in line with the vision of FBDS to make franchising development a front-burner agenda through its services, advocacies and interventions.
The foregoing can explain the DFID sponsored research conducted by FBDS titled: "The Potentials of Franchising in Nigeria". Accordingly, this study has become a key reference point on franchising in Nigeria; a compilation of findings, opportunities, challenges and solutions to franchising in Nigeria. The study also featured the learning points from the historic growth of franchising in South Africa, India, UAE and USA, which formed the benchmarks for its recommendations of growth path for Nigeria franchise industry.
She stressed that everyday people can be retooled and kitted to understand the importance of contracts, business growth, skill transfer and corporate governance through micro-franchising. She noted that micro-franchising will reduce the gap between formal and informal business sectors in Nigeria.
The Keynote Speaker, The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, represented by the Executive Director of Lagos International Trade-fair Management Board, in her keynote Speech, commended the efforts of DFID and FBDS Nigeria for the franchise study which was presented to her office. She also applauded the efforts of FBDS, while reiterating that the agenda are consistent with the goals of the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, of diversifying the economy through non-oil sector growth, harnessing the export potentials of Nigeria, as well as attract FDIs into the country.
Mr. Chukwuka Monye, Managing Partner of Ciuci Consulting, and Director General of the Delta Economic Summit Group, stated that creating continued awareness using the growing success stories of franchising in Nigeria, providing coaching and on-going advisory support by FBDS would stir further change in the mindset and culture of the many Nigerian entrepreneurs who are averse to change.
The diversification of the economy is the guiding principle behind DFID goal to impact the missing middle that is highly dominated by the informal sector. Mr. Richard Sandall, DFID Nigeria's Senior Private Sector Development Adviser explained that micro-franchising can be useful in scaling access to finance to help micro and small enterprises to build standards, among other needs in Nigeria.
He noted that there were huge opportunities for successful big businesses in the state to franchise segments of their businesses, creating opportunities for potential investors to venture and own businesses through franchising.
The Nigeria 2018 Franchise Agenda was proudly supported by reputable local and international organisations, and was attended by key stakeholders from the Private Sector, International Development Agencies and the Nigerian government. Some of the stakeholder institutions in attendance were NIPC, SMEDAN, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Enugu State Government/SME Center, SA Franchise Warehouse South Africa, FATE Foundation, MTN Nigeria, UKAid, The US Trade Mission to Nigeria, among others.


The other night, as I was flipping through the channels on TV, I stumbled upon an old, familiar episode of Star Trek. In this story, a planet of humanoids was worried that centuries of civil war would eventually wipe out the entire species. To address this, they automated warfare to the point that now only the machines fought with each other.
The people of the planet were no longer directly involved in the conflict. Instead of going to war themselves, one side's machines simply fought the other side's machines until a winner was calculated by an "infallible" supercomputer.
While comparisons could be made to modern-day drone warfare, as a marketer I pictured an analogy much closer to home. In a drive to become more and more efficient, and to increase the almighty ROI, modern day marketers are engaged in a seemingly insatiable quest for marketing automation. Where salespeople once picked up the phone, networked, or met in person with prospects, now it seems that more and more of these sales-related functions have been outsourced to apps, and informed by algorithms. Schedule your tweets, load up your curation tool with content, hit send on your latest drip marketing email campaign – and then you can just sit back and watch all the marketing magic happen, right? Not exactly.
As someone who's been on both sides of those communications, sometimes it feels like marketing has become just a bunch of machines talking to another bunch of machines – with no humans in between who care very much about what's actually being said. Economies and efficiencies of scale have allowed us to wash our hands of guerrilla marketing in favor of the push-button solutions analogous to the warring factions on that old episode of Star Trek.
As economical and practical as these methods of metaphorical "marketing warfare" may seem, don't you get the feeling that the more time you spend on Facebook, Twitter, or reading your email these days the less you feel like you're actually conversing with live human beings? As practitioners of marketing, surely this is not the pinnacle of our collective creativity.
Don't get me wrong – I'm no Luddite. I don't wish, nor do I implore you as a modern marketer or business person to completely unplug from the marketing machine. It has its place. In fact, marketing at scale can yield great insights about your audience and provide valuable feedback that can be used to refine your messaging.
For example, testing a series of ads with large audiences on Facebook can provide bell curve statistics that show you clearly (and relatively cheaply) which messages resonated – and which messages died on the vine (or the Vine!).
Similarly, if a social media scheduling app consistently identifies a large portion of your audience to be engaging at a certain time of day – or a certain day of the week , then that's you're cue to spend more time, live and in-person on those platforms, during those peak times.
If you use marketing automation tools and techniques to reach the masses, continue to do so. But consider spending at least some of your valuable personal time making connections with just a few members of your target audience. Pick up the phone and ask a few former clients (or new prospects) out to lunch.
In between your slate of scheduled tweets, why not spend an hour or two a week participating in some relevant Twitter chats and engage in some real-time communication with other real human beings? Give Facebook Live a try and revel in the fact that others – whether it's one or one thousand people – have chosen to share their precious time and attention with you at that moment.
Look, if your top salesperson came to you tomorrow – excitedly clutching a thousand leads, you'd know that he or she could still only meaningfully contact a handful of those leads per day. Heck, you'd no doubt be delighted if a relatively laid back sales campaign of contacting a few leads every day resulted in a few conversions a week. What's the alternative – sending your salespeople out among the dozens or hundreds of automated messages your marketing team currently sends out per week – hoping that some of that spray and pray messaging nets a few conversions somewhere down the line?
Do yourself and your organization a favor. Instead of chasing the next shiny automated social media object, do something your competition doesn't expect – take a short hiatus from all the noise and head in the opposite direction. Try slowing down and see how it can actually speed up your marketing success.


text:
Maine Bed & Breakfast
Superior Bed & Breakfast
Rooms, Rates &
MDI Attractions
About Our B&B
Penury Hall Bed & Breakfast
Visit Southwest Harbor!
In the Bahamas, stay at
Penury Hall South
© Penury Hall B&B.
Welcome! You've found Penury Hall Bed & Breakfast!
The very first Bed and Breakfast on Mount Desert Island, Maine, Penury Hall has been in continuous operation since 1982. Our B&B, conveniently close to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, is an historic property built in 1830 in Southwest Harbor, which has welcomed many through its distinctive red front door. We enjoy sharing our love of fine arts, antiques, gardening, books and sailing with our six guests. Private baths, of course, and our scrumptious breakfast menu ranges from Eggs Benedict to Cinnamon Waffles, Penurious Omelet to Blueberry Pancakes and beyond, a different hearty morning meal served daily.
Located on the "Quiet Side" of Mt. Desert Island, we are less than a half-mile from many of the attractions of Acadia National Park.
Hiking, biking, kayaking, whale watching or just lolling on a rock by the ocean are a few of the many pleasures that await you. A grand selection of dining places, whether it be gourmet or lobster-on-the-pier, await your discovery. We look forward to adding you to our extended family!
~ Our Bed & Breakfast Philosophy ~
You will become an honorary member of our family while you are with us, but you don't have to do the dishes.
Your Hostess: Gretchen Strong
Our Guests are Our Best Advertisements!
"Penury Hall is comfortable, quiet -- even though it's in the center of town -- affordable, and convenient. Gretchen is a great host: she really makes you feel like you're staying with a friend. If you want overwhelming luxury or cutesiness, it isn't your place. But if you want to feel comfortable and welcome, to be casual and to stay in a place that feels like home -- with great breakfasts, Penury Hall is a perfect choice. We've stayed there twice now, and been tremendously pleased both times. We've stayed in much more upscale and expensive places, and have never been happier than at Penury Hall."
Phil, Sept. 2010
Click to read more visitor comments . . .
Located on Main Street in Southwest Harbor (8 miles south on Route 102 from the head of the island), 99 yards past the blinking light on the right - toward Manset. Grey house, bright, cheerful red door, white porch trim.
Winter or summer, our sauna is the answer to a strenuous day of activity. Relax on our front porch or the garden terrace at the end of your day on the Island.
Come to Visit!
Stay with us for a while and let us introduce you to the many pleasures that this little corner of the world has waiting for you.
Southwest Harbor, Maine Bed and Breakfast


Categories: Electric Sit Down, Narrow Aisle Fork Trucks Rancho Cucamonga & Ontario CA, Electric Forklifts Riverside & Ontario, CA. Tags: 3000 lbs forklift, Crown Forklift, Crown SC, Electric Forklift, Electric Toyota Forklift, Electric Toyota Forklifts, narrow aisle forklift, Narrow Aisle Forklifts, Reconditioned Forklift, Reconditioned Forklifts, Toyota Electric forklift for sale, Toyota Electric Forklifts, Used Forklifts, Used Toyota Forklift, Used Toyota Forklifts.
This Toyota electric forklift is ready to go to work for you! If you've been looking for a well-built piece of equipment that lasts, you can't go wrong with this forklift. Connect with Coronado Equipment Sales to check it out today!
At Coronado Equipment Sales we're a little bit different because we offer a 60-day warranty on all of our equipment — including used forklifts. Find this well-kept forklift in mint-condition equipped with new upholstery and new paint. Find more in-depth information below!


Where most of the advanced medications and treatments fall short to show results, chiropractic proves to be an effective healing approach. Till now you must have learned that chiropractic care is a natural healing method and does not involve any surgery. You neither have to face any side effects nor have to spend lots of money. Well, these are the general benefits of chiropractic, but there are some vital benefits that you may not be aware of. Once you will get acquainted with these advantages, you will surely start searching for chiropractor Tallahassee to start your chiropractic treatment. So let's see the list of remarkable benefits of chiropractic.
Whether it is a migraine or tension headache, both are the result of pain and issues related to the back and spine. A misalignment in back or spine can create muscle pain and tension resulting in migraine and tension headaches. Many studies have proven that chiropractic adjustment is effective for headache relief regardless of the type.
Scoliosis is a medical state in which the spine of an individual has a sideways curve. Many patients who have preferred chiropractic care for treating scoliosis have experienced the best recovery results. Chiropractic can succeed in preventing and treating the development of scoliosis.
A study has shown that chiropractic adjustment can help patients suffering from high blood pressure to control or reduce blood pressure. The impact of chiropractic adjustment for such patients can last up to six months.
Chronic inflammation can give rise to a number of diseases like chronic pain, heart disease, and cancer. A chiropractic adjustment can help to reduce such inflammation and thereby prevent other diseases.
Most people think that chiropractic care is only effective for adults, but patients of all ages can avail this healing approach. It is very useful to treat certain health conditions of children such as acid reflux, colic, ear infections, etc. Any chiropractic clinic Tallahassee can offer specialized kids chiropractic care.
Still, there are more health benefits of chiropractic adjustment that you must know so as to avail this healing method fully. Now that you have learned the main benefits of chiropractic care, this healing approach should be your only preference to treat any health issue. We at Pragle Chiropractic and Massage Therapy can provide you superior experience with chiropractic care and help you treat your condition in an effective manner. We are renowned for delivering top-notch chiropractic solutions to patients having different health issues. We also focus on assisting car accident victims to heal their grave injuries and pain by means of the best chiropractic adjustment. Dr. Pragle at Pragle Chiropractic and Massage Therapy is an experienced and prominent chiropractor Tallahassee Florida who is striving to provide the best possible care to the patients so that they can get back on health track. Patients and their needs are always our areas of concern thus we ensure to provide personalized attention to each patient so as to meet their entire requirement precisely.


Looks great on a larger device like a desktop / laptop.
When these tool tips are long and lengthy, they create horizontal scrolling on a mobile device.
We set the height and width according to the function, but it becomes an issue on smaller devices.
Any suggestions to a neat solution for mobile devices?
Perhaps dynamic dimensions? With unverified Perl, the width and height passed into the ToolTip function could be changed depending on the user's screen width.
Thanks Zachary, I'll give it a test drive and report back to this post. Stay tuned.


DAMN THE MAN. ROCK AND ROLL FOREVER.
HALF WAY RECORDS was founded by Luke Yeoward in late 2016 as an independent record label.
From there, Luke built the studio and label from the ground up, opening the doors to a new dedicated recording studio and rehearsal facility in South Yarra, May 2018.
The studio space itself was built from recycled materials and at its core is a team of music lovers and a plethora of vintage recording equipment.
For a fresh new space it already has stacks of character and is kitted with everything you'd need. The owner Luke is fantastic, we're having a great time in there, and sounding better than ever since we started rehearsing there. Emphatically recommended.


On Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of God's promised Savior in the world.
But what exactly is this salvation that Jesus brings? What difference does it make in our daily lives?
Christmas is a great time to flesh out such a message, both for the long-time attendees in the pews and the many visitors that only attend church on holidays. Salvation is such a foundational and familiar pillar of Christianity that at times, I believe, we as preachers may unintentionally gloss over the richness of this life-changing reality.
Titus 3:4–7 succinctly encapsulates this richness, and is a great resource for preaching.
Along with Titus 2:11–14, Titus 3:4–7 provides a theological motive for the letter's exhortations for Christians to live as upright citizens and household members. When read in the context of the preceding verses, this passage makes it clear that the self-serving behavior Christians are to reject actually characterized their own lives before Christ saved them. Paul also includes himself in the indictment that "we ourselves" were disobedient, slaves to passions and pleasure, and downright hateful of one another (Titus 3:3). This is a sketch of the worst inclinations of humanity when left to its own devices.
So, what changed for Paul, the believers on Crete, and Christians today? Jesus appeared and saved them.
The details of why and how this salvation occurs centers on God's character and actions. God's own kindness and love for humanity manifested in Jesus, who came into the world (Titus 3:4; see also 2:11). Titus 3:5 makes it very clear that Jesus saved people not because of any righteous works they had done, but (the Greek alla marks a sharp contrast) because of God's own mercy and compassion (eleos).
This is an important point. If people can do something to earn God's favor, then it ceases to be a gift (Titus 3:7, charis) that reflects God's generosity and concern for all people. And it certainly would not solve the main problem addressed in Titus of people not behaving humanely with one another. Indeed, gaining salvation by working harder than others would become yet another platform from which to degrade others, who seem less advanced in their efforts toward godliness.
Instead, Titus 3:5–6 states that God brings salvation to people through the work of the Holy Spirit, who is poured out richly through Jesus Christ. The Spirit renews people, giving them a "washing of rebirth" (verse 5b; New Revised Standard Version: "water of rebirth"). This seems to be a clear reference to baptism, in which the old person, enslaved to desires and pleasures (verse 3), dies with Christ so that a new person emerges, empowered to love God and others (see also Romans 6:1–11).
The imagery of new birth here is powerful, especially at Christmas, when we remember that Jesus the Savior came to earth as a baby. A new birth means a new beginning. Washing and renewal indicates that the past does not determine our present or future. God's Spirit working salvation in our lives brings the possibility of real change.
What does Jesus save people from? Although the text does not explicitly spell this out, the context of Titus 3:1–7 implies that it is, at least in part, the vain and destructive way of life described in verse 3. God's love for people is too great to allow them to continually tear each other down, to live self-centered lives that lack true meaning. Christ's gift of salvation gives us a new start and the power to live as healthy, social human beings. Mention of the Savior redeeming humanity from all lawlessness or iniquity in Titus 2:14 also implies that forgiveness of sins is part of salvation.
This message can bring hope to those who struggle with addiction, are suffering the effects of broken relationships, or are having a hard time forgiving themselves for past mistakes. The text does not say that the Spirit guarantees an instant remedy to all one's problems, or that humans play no part in living in accordance with the salvation God gave them as a gift. As long as we are in this world, we will continue to struggle with the tendencies of the old self, which is why Paul needs to remind believers in Crete of who they are because of what Christ did for them.
But this text also indicates that the Spirit's work in believers does bring real transformation in the present. This should not be minimized: our sins are forgiven now; we are no longer slaves to self-seeking and destructive desires; we can love each other better, even if still imperfectly. If this were not the case, Paul would have no basis upon which to encourage such changed attitudes and behavior.
The eschatological dimension of the text captures the already-not-yet nature of God's salvation. While the past tense use of the verb "save" (esosen) in verse 5 indicates the completed nature of the salvation Christ brought to humanity, verse 7 clarifies that we still hope for its fullness as eternal life. This hope of sharing fully in the life of the triune God grounds our lives of good works and loving one another now. As we celebrate Jesus's birth as our own new birth, we also wait expectantly for the Spirit's work to grow us into the fullness of God's promises to us as heirs, together with Christ (see also Romans 8:15–17, 24–25). Our lives with God have a present and a future.
Divine salvation is meant to transform people in such a way that their lives reflect something of the character of the loving and merciful God that gifted it to humanity in Jesus Christ.
Discussion on Revised Common Lectionary texts for Christmas Day - Proper II (Dec. 25, 2017): (Gospel) Luke 2:[1-7] 8-20; (1st Reading) Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; (2nd Reading) Titus 3:4-7. Recorded at Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minn., for WorkingPreacher.org.
"Madonna and Child," Sadao Watanabe. Used by permission from the artist.
Image © 1979 by Sadao Watanabe. Artwork held in the Luther Seminary Fine Arts Collection, St. Paul, Minn.


Carry easily your baby with Fil'Up !
Simplicity and confort. Made from very soft mesh. Fil'Up is designed not only for beginners, but also for people who have experience. No need to do adjustment when you wear Fil'Up, because the natural property of the mesh permet it to match the shapes for both baby and carrier. Ideal in all seasons, at the pool, at home, outdoor …etc.
Security. EN-13209-2 certified Fil'Up meets all the requirements of the European standard EN-13209-2.
The Fil'Up knitting technique is designed to remove the effect "yoyo" dreaded and to ensure the safety of the baby. 100% cotton, the materials are selected for the quality of their fibers and their resistance. The dye is certified by the Oeko-tex Standard 100 label required for child care. Suitable from birth to 15kg.
Multi-position. Many positions are achievable. Not to impress beginners, we suggest, in the instructions that will be delivered, the two simplest positions to set up initially. We leave you the pleasure of discovering all the other possibilities. Internet, books, workshops are sources of information to improve yourself.


text:
Mark Rigney Reviews Ivy and the Meanstalk
Sunday, May 13, 2012 Bill Ward Comments 0 Comment
Ivy and the Meanstalk
Dawn Lairamore
Holiday House (227 pages, Hardcover, $16.95)
Reviewed by Mark Rigney
Franchises in young adult and children's fiction are nothing new. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are only the tip of the iceberg. Among others, E. Nesbitt, Enid Blyton and Edward Eager clearly understood the value of bringing favorite characters back for sloppy seconds (and more), as did authors as diverse as Arthur Ransome (Swallows and Amazons), Gertrude Chandler Warner (The Boxcar Children) and L. Frank Baum (the Oz books). More recent examples come from Susan Cooper, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins and now, Dawn Lairamore, who revives plucky heroine Princess Ivy for another swift tween adventure in Ivy and the Meanstalk.
Lairamore's first outing was Ivy's Ever After, in which Ivy made life-long friends with Elridge, the sensitive, almost effete dragon assigned to guard Ivy's tower prison. In this latest outing, Ivy's loopy fairy godmother, Drusilla, nearly destroys Ivy's entire kingdom through the thoughtlessness of having once given Jack (yes, that Jack) a handful of magic beans. The beans grew a beanstalk (yes, that beanstalk) and Jack stole all that great loot from the giant, including the singing harp, which (as luck would have it) was the only thing that could put the giant's widow (here named Largessa) to sleep. Ivy and the Meanstalk opens over a thousand years later and Largessa is suffering from a mean case of sleep deprivation. Unless Ivy can get Jack's harp back and use it to lull Largessa into dreamland, the giantess will pepper Ivy's peaceful kingdom of Ardendale with giant boulders until every farm and castle is smashed flat.
Riding on Elridge's back, Ivy and trusty stable-boy Owen set off for Jackopia, where Jack's descendants live in pomp, circumstance and unbelievable wealth thanks to an endless supply of golden eggs. Surprise, surprise, Jackopia's king is predictably unwilling to give up his honey-tongued harp.
Lairamore has an engaging heroine in Ivy, a tomboy whose heart is always in the right place but whose failure to study up on royal etiquette puts her at a serious disadvantage when dealing with the officious, snobby Jackopians. Indeed, the recurring theme of Ivy and the Meanstalk is its stress on life lessons learned. Drusilla (who really is a fairy) learns that actions do have consequences, Largessa learns to not blame the innocent, and Elridge learns to be less judgmental––of fairies, at least. A lot of people apologize, and if any reader, however young, leaves these pages having failed to glean the message that cooperation is the only way to succeed at anything then they simply aren't paying attention. A cheerfully moral book, this. But then, so is The Hunger Games––minus the good cheer, that is.
Comparisons to The Hunger Games might not be fair, but they are apt in that Ivy and her fellows are never in serious danger in Lairamore's hands. They encounter difficulties, yes, but the stakes are not life and death. The questions in the Ivy books are about how Ivy will overcome the obstacles, not whether she'll die in the attempt. In this, their lineage is very much in keeping with Baum, Blyton and most of the others listed above. Ivy and the Meanstalk will be an ideal, adorable fantasy for those readers not yet tapping into the death-dealing world of adulthood. And there's nothing wrong with letting our children have their childhood.
Mark Rigney is the author of the play Acts of God (Playscripts, Inc., 2008) and the non-fiction book Deaf Side Story: Deaf Sharks, Hearing Jets and a Classic American Musical (Gallaudet University Press, 2003). His short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appears in The Best of the Bellevue Literary Review, Talebones, and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, among many others, and an upcoming trilogy is slated to begin in Black Gate in 2011. His website, with links to many of his original stories, stage plays and the dreaded Anti-Blog, is www.markrigney.net.
Dawn Lairamore, Ivy and the Meanstalk
New Treasures: The Weird, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
Leah Bobet's Above: A Review


text:
Update to Rip Hepple Nessletter Archive
I am glad to tell you that the earliest issues of Rip's Nessletter have now been added to the archive. Copies of the issues were supplied by Rip himself when I realised the copies could not be obtained from the National Library of Scotland. The added issues are listed below with their Google Docs links. I notice there is no issue 13 so need to check if that is an omission or Rip being superstitious!
I am now in the process of copying the other issues up to number 120 (in 1995) and these will appear once I have the time to complete the upload process.
No.1 January 1974 - link
No.2 March 1974 - link
No.3 May 1974 - link
No.4 July 1974- link
No.5 October 1974 - link
No.6 December 1974 - link
No.7 February 1975 - link
No.12 December 1975 - link
No.14 February 1976 - link
No.16 June 1976 - link
No.17 August 1976 - link
No.21 April 1977 - link
No.24 November 1977 - link
No.66 October 1984 - link
Hugh Gray: The Man and His Monster
Last year I published an article bolstering the case for the first ever photograph of the Loch Ness Monster. I attempted to show that the picture taken by Hugh Gray did not show the blurred image of a Labrador dog and indeed showed the perplexing image of a fish like head (look right and down on this webpage). That the head is there is undoubted in my opinion as it casts a shadow on the water below it. What it means to the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster is a continuing matter of conjecture. You can view all the relevant articles here. However, I wanted to address some loose ends and add some new information in this article.
The first is the man himself, Hugh Gray. I managed to find a couple of photographs of him which help humanise the story a bit more and bring the history of the case up to date. The first was found on the South Loch Ness Heritage website where old photographs of the people and places of that part of Loch Ness are displayed. As I was browsing the content of this interesting website, I noticed a picture of a tug-of-war team taken in 1933. One of the team members was named "H. Gray" at which point the penny dropped!
The picture below was taken by Duncan MacDonald and is reproduced with the permission of the site's maintainer, Frank Ellam. Hugh Gray is sitting at the front in the tweed jacket, second from our right (Interestingly, the man sitting at Hugh Gray's left hand side is Jock Forbes who claimed to have seen the Loch Ness Monster cross the road in front of his father's horse and cart in 1919). The picture was probably taken a few months before his famous photograph. The picture can be seen with further information at this website link. Indeed, if you scroll further down at that website, you will see a 1912 photograph of another tug-of-war team featuring a younger Hugh Gray.
As it happened, I later found another picture of Hugh Gray in the London Daily Sketch for the 8th December 1933 which I don't think flatters him much (below). As you can see, the main banner headline conveys the sensation the Loch Ness Monster created at the time.
Now, the debunking of the photograph has proceeded with varying degrees of credibility but one attempt can definitely be put at the bottom of the credible list and that is a piece that appears in Ronald Binns' "The Loch Ness Mystery Solved". In it, Ronald Binns quotes the 30th May 1933 Inverness Courier which describes a failed attempt by an "A. Gray" to capture the Loch Ness Monster using wire, hooks, a barrel and bait. Portraying this episode as a leg-pulling event, Binns speculates openly whether this is the same Mr. Gray and therefore should this joker be trusted. However, apart from being a Mr. A. Gray instead of a Mr. H. Gray, the matter can be laid to rest. For some reason, Ronald Binns failed to mention a key fact from the article that Mr. A. Gray was a bus driver whereas our Mr. H. Gray was a fitter at the Foyers Aluminium Works.
A more intelligent critique comes from Dick Raynor, who is an expert in photographic analysis. He suggests that the shadow of the object is not consistent with the time the photograph was allegedly taken. The position of the shadow indicates the object is somewhere between the sun and the photographer and he further suggests such a configuration is not possible given the stated facts of the case (the implication being that there is deception involved). So, for example, if Hugh Gray had been looking at the object across to the other side of the loch, then he would be facing nearer west which would place the sun in a sunset position. It is this objection to the photograph's authenticity that I wish to address for the remainder of the article.
But first, why would I wish to address something as mundane as the position of a shadow? Because this is symptomatic of the way critics treat such evidence. I call it the "Poison Speck" technique and it comes straight out of the lawyers' handbook. For you see, such pictures are not normally exposed by a big one-off event such as a hoaxer's confession or a model nessie found at the scene of "the crime". Rather, the normal procedure is to plant a "reasonable doubt" in the mind of the reader via small arguments (our poison specks). In the same manner that a lawyer will chip away at the evidence of the prosecution/defence, so the sceptic chips away until he thinks the audience has reached the point of "reasonable doubt". It may only take one or two chips but in this generally sceptical age, this carries extra leverage. When you preach to the converted, proof is not so vehemently demanded.
So, by way of analogy, if I present a tasty and appealing pizza to you but point out that a tiny speck of something vile has been added, would you eat it? It doesn't matter if the offending particle takes up less than one thousandth of the meal, most will politely decline. Such is the tale of the tactic used and there is nothing illegal or immoral about that (I use it myself but for the opposite reasons).
Going back to the picture, we need to know three things. The position of the sun, the object and the photographer. The position of Hugh Gray can be determined with reasonable accuracy as being on the point indicated on Google Maps below. Tim Dinsdale in his book "Loch Ness Monster" visited Hugh Gray in 1960 and was taken to the spot by him. Dinsdale describes a half mile walk "along the shore" which I take to be starting from the Foyers estuary and hence use to estimate the location more accurately.
The position of the sun can be calculated from the date and time of the sighting. The date was November 12th 1933 but what was the time? My original article stated noon but there is some confusion here as other authors suggest the morning. Faced with this, I attempted to guesstimate the time. The account states he visited the local church first and then walked to the point on the shore afterwards. So he allegedly enters the church intent on keeping the fourth commandment, but leaves intent on breaking the ninth. How long was that interval? A church service would start at 1100 and took typically 1 hour 20 minutes (according to a current local minister).
He then would have conversed with fellow worshippers, walked from the church to the estuary of the Foyers river and then a further half a mile along the wooded shoreline to the sighting point. The overall distance can be seen from the postcard photograph again kindly provided by Frank Ellam's website (original link here). In the foreground is the church and he would have likely walked to the estuary along the riverside and then turned left along the shoreline trees (top left photo). Note that hypothetical Labrador dogs would not have been allowed in church - unless Mr. Gray was a registered blind person. :)
That would take us to about one o' clock which by a strange coincidence is the time he gave to the Daily Sketch reporter in our aforementioned newspaper article. Applying an azimuth calculator we get the sun's position as 194 degrees East of True North and at an altitude of about 14.2 degrees. Note that the stated time of 1300 is outside of BST (British Summer Time) which was introduced to Britain in 1912 and hence does not need compensating for.
On a Google Maps view of Foyers we can now begin to draw some lines between Hugh Gray, the sun and object (Google uses Grid North which is essentially the same as True North). But what about the position of the object? It is stated as being about 200 yards from the observer but what is not stated is the orientation between the two. Was the object due West of Mr. Gray, South West, North West or something else? No one knows and the various accounts given do not give a hint.
In that light, the remaining question is whether the object can be oriented to produce a suitable shadow given the known positions of sun and observer. The answer is that it can by placing it along a line of observation towards the sun to produce the desired shadow effect and see how that pans out with respect to the observer. The resulting map is shown below but how would we know how such an object in such an orientation could appear to Hugh Gray at his vantage point?
At this point, it's time to introduce you to "Shuggy" our stand-in Loch Ness Monster ("Shuggy" is the name for "Hugh" in the Glasgow vernacular). Since it will be a bit impractical to float a forty foot reproduction of the monster at 1pm on the 12th November 2012 about 200 yards from a ledge near Foyers, we went for the next best thing.
Since there is only a need to roughly reproduce a similar shadow, this plasticine model will suffice. It's not an exact representation of what is in the photograph, but it's good enough! I would also point out that this is not a complete representation either, since we do not know what was beneath the water's surface, so it's a part-Nessie.
So in my back garden, I placed the model roughly perpendicular to a south-north axis at 2pm (add one hour for BST). I then placed myself as the observer at a 35 degree angle from the sun line and photographed the model. The resulting photograph shows a similar shadow to the Gray photograph. The model is oriented to face side on to the viewer.
There are one or two issues such as the altitude of the sun would be slightly different compared to November and my own crouching down to simulate the height of the observer was an estimate as well. However, I hope I have proved that the shadow argument is no longer relevant as there is a sun-creature-witness orientation that is within the parameters of the case.
One final objection may be that such an orientation would include some shoreline. The problem with this argument is two-fold. Firstly, we do not have the complete negative and what has passed down to us is an enlargement. So any talk of shoreline on the original is open to debate.
Secondly, I visited the site of the Hugh Gray photograph in July last year and took some photos and video which I hope to put in a follow up post. Suffice to say, it was simple to photograph a spot 200 metres from me looking in that general direction which did not include any shoreline (though I appreciate my digital camera and Gray's box camera had different parameters).
As I said, a follow up post will be written in due course.


Anne Ward, Chair of The Wrekin Housing Group has announced key leadership changes at the top of the organisation.
Shifnal resident Wayne Gethings will become the new Group Chief Executive with immediate effect. Anne will be retiring as Group Chair later this month when Chair-designate Desmond Hudson, who is Oswestry based, will take on the role.
Anne said: "Following a highly competitive process I am delighted to announce that Wayne has been appointed as the new Group Chief Executive. Wayne brings huge enthusiasm and energy to the role and a wealth of experience within the Group having previously served as Interim Group Chief Executive, as well as in working with local and sector partners in the communities the Group serves. I know that Wayne will continue to work hard and do his very best to deliver The Wrekin Housing Group's objectives.
The Wrekin Housing Group has its headquarters in Telford with offices and operations across Telford & Wrekin, Shropshire and Staffordshire. The Group is made up of The Wrekin Housing Trust, which provides over 12,000 homes for affordable rent and has plans to increase stock to 16,000 over the next five years. Specialist care and supported housing provider Choices, social enterprises Fuse and The Furniture Scheme as well as The Shropshire Housing Alliance which provides advice and support to those in housing need.
Pictured from left to right are: Anne Ward, Wayne Gethings and Des Hudson.