text:
Q: This is no longer bound when using arrow functions after upgrading to React Native 26 In my project this is no longer bound when using arrow functions after upgrading to React Native 26.
If I don't use a .babelrc in the example below it works with arrow functions.  When a .babelrc is added arrow functions no longer work.
.babelrc
{
  "passPerPreset": true,
  "presets": [
    {"plugins":["../schema/babelRelayPlugin"]},
    "react-native",
  ]
}

I also tried:
{
  "passPerPreset": true,
  "presets": [
    {"plugins":["../schema/babelRelayPlugin"]},
    "react-native-stage-0",
  ]
}

and
{
  "passPerPreset": true,
  "presets": [
    {"plugins":["../schema/babelRelayPlugin"]},
    "react-native",
    {"plugins":["transform-es2015-arrow-functions"]},
  ]
}

This errors
class NoArrow extends Component {
  constructor(){
    super();
    this.state={x:0};
  }

  inc = ()=>{
    this.setState({x:this.state.x+1});
  }
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={styles.container}>
        <Text style={styles.welcome} onPress={this.inc}>
          Welcome to React Native! {this.state.x}
        </Text>

      </View>
    );
  }
}

This works
class NoArrow extends Component {
  constructor(){
    super();
    this.state={x:0};
    this.inc=this.inc.bind(this);
  }

  inc(){
    this.setState({x:this.state.x+1});
  }
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={styles.container}>
        <Text style={styles.welcome} onPress={this.inc}>
          Welcome to React Native! {this.state.x}
        </Text>

      </View>
    );
  }
}

When adding/removing .babelrc also run:

*

*watchman watch-del-all

*npm start --reset-cache

*I also edit the file (adding a comment) to make sure it recompiles.

Side note: funny thing is this works even with the .babelrc
class NoArrow extends Component {
  constructor(){
    super();
    this.state={x:0};
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <View style={styles.container}>
        <Text style={styles.welcome} onPress={()=> this.setState({x:this.state.x+1})}>
          Welcome to React Native! {this.state.x}
        </Text>

      </View>
    );
  }
}

Update 1
Inside $TMPDIR delete the cached file; it has a hashed name like 11acb28f1c8d3c6313ca5f8ccba3c158
Using react-native-stage-0 might have fixed the arrow function issue, but now Relay.QL are no longer compiled correctly.
{
  "passPerPreset": true,
  "presets": [
    {"plugins":["../schema/babelRelayPlugin"]},
    "react-native-stage-0"
  ]
}

A: I had this problem, but I'm pretty sure it predated RN 0.24. What version of babel-core/babel-cli do you have? I had been hopeful that T7191 would fixed the problem, but it did not.
What I ended up doing was using babel-relay-plugin-loader. I no longer use passPerPreset anymore, and it has been working reliably, though I don't completely understand how.
Here is what my .babelrc looks like now:
{
"presets": [
    "react-native"
],
"plugins": [
    "babel-relay-plugin-loader"
],
"env": {
    "web": {
        "presets": ["es2015", "stage-0", "react"],
        "plugins": ["babel-relay-plugin-loader"]
    }
}
}

A: Not sure if this is really related to 26, I had the same issue with 25.
See my post here:
Broken autobinding in arrow function for referenced node modules when using react-native with react-relay
For me the issue isn't persistent and after tinkering with it for a while it's gone for good. Seemingly the react-native-stage-0 did it for me.
When clearing the cache the only thing you didn't do is clear the $TMPDIR like this: rm -rf $TMPDIR/react-*
I've tried to reproduce my issue with a sample project but wasn't able to, I'd try to rm -rf the node_modules as well, just to be sure.


text:
OCD and Phobia
Anxiety and High IQ
Perception of Anxious Person
Home / Uncategories / Instagram is worst for your mental health, study finds
Instagram is worst for your mental health, study finds
Instagram is the worst social media site in terms of its impact on the mental health of young people, a report has suggested.
The #StatusofMind survey found the photo-sharing app negatively impacted on people's body image, sleep and fear of missing out.
However, the survey of 1,479 youngsters aged 14 to 24, found Instagram was positive in terms of self-expression and self-identity.
Respondents were asked to score how each of the social media platforms they use impact upon issues such as anxiety, loneliness and community building.
The site with the most positive rating was YouTube, followed by Twitter. Facebook and Snapchat came third and fourth respectively.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) report said: "The platforms that are supposed to help young people connect with each other may actually be fuelling a mental health crisis."
Recommendations included introducing pop-ups on sites such as Twitter and Facebook warning users about heavy usage - which the RSPH said was supported by seven in 10 people surveyed - and social media platforms discreetly signposting help to those potentially suffering from mental health issues.
Shirley Cramer CBE, chief executive of the RSPH, said: "Social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol, and is now so entrenched in the lives of young people that it is no longer possible to ignore it when talking about young people's mental health issues.
"It's interesting to see Instagram and Snapchat ranking as the worst for mental health and wellbeing - both platforms are very image-focused and it appears they may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people.
"As the evidence grows that there may be potential harms from heavy use of social media, and as we upgrade the status of mental health within society, it is important that we have checks and balances in place to make social media less of a wild west when it comes to young people's mental health and wellbeing."
Dr Becky Inkster, honorary research fellow at the University of Cambridge, said: "Young people sometimes feel more comfortable talking about personal issues online.
"As health professionals, we must make every attempt to understand modern youth culture expressions, lexicons, and terms to better connect with their thoughts and feelings."
Courtesy: Telegraph
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text:
petfoodscience
superfoodsnews
foodscience
Amish farmer, sentenced to prison for processing his own meat, wins freedom for Christmas
Processing meat "the old fashioned way" on your own property in the U.S. can now lead to jail time, as has been proven by an Amish man from Pennsylvania who was threatened with a hefty prison sentence and issued a whopping $300,000 fine for doing just that.
(Article by Baxter Dmitry republished from NewsPunch.com)
Amos Miller said he is being persecuted by the Biden administration for practicing his religious freedom to raise and prepare food the way he believes God intended food to be raised and prepared.
But in what feels like a Christmas Miracle, Amos Miller's major food freedom case took a turn for the best.
"Amos Miller will not spending Christmas in jail and is no longer facing imminent bankruptcy," said his attorney, Robert Barnes, in a video interview.
ReturnToNow report: The Amish typically shy away from publicity, as a part of their humble religion, but Pennsylvania farmer Amos Miller decided the USDA's war against him and other small, organic farmers is the hill he will die on and is prepared to take his battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
The USDA (aka Big Ag) has been harassing Miller for years – first for his sale of raw milk, and now for his sale of truly raw meat.
Many of us have become aware of the difference between raw, grass-fed milk straight from the farm, and the pasteurized garbage approved by the FDA… but not many of us realize that the expensive, grass-fed, "raw" beef we are buying at the grocery store isn't really raw.
If it's USDA-approved, it's been treated with antibiotic chemicals, which are not accurately labeled as such.
"The USDA processing plants require the meat to be treated with a chemical cocktail of citric acid, lactic acid and peracetic acid," Miller's spokeswoman Anke Meyn told Returntonow.net. "It's not citric acid from oranges or lactic acid from sauerkraut. It's all created in a lab. It's a synthetic sterilizer that causes many health problems."
Ironically, because Miller does NOT use antibacterial chemicals to sterilize his meat, the USDA considers it "adulterated," and convinced a federal judge to force him stop selling it several months ago.
The judge also sentenced him to jail for "contempt of court," starting December 16, and was going to shut down his farm if he did not immediately pay over $300,000 in fines.
But thanks to alternative media coverage, and public outcry, Miller has been able to raise enough money for a high-profile lawyer, who's already striking home-runs in the U.S. Court of Appeals!
Barnes also negotiated away a $300,000 judgement that was due immediately, leaving $55,000 in fines due over the next six months. Miller's "contempt of court" hearing has been cancelled, and the case has been put in stay and abeyance.
Barnes convinced the court to allow Miller to sell meat that's been locked up in his freezers in the meantime, "so his farm can survive economically while a longer-term solution is negotiated."
"The long-term solution is to enact a 'custom exception plan' that allows people to get the food they want, and farmers to make it the way they want, without the government overseeing it."
"Here you have a case of people saying 'I don't want food the way the USDA wants it,' and 'they're saying nope, you can't have it that way,'" Barnes said in an earlier interview.
"If you're shopping at Miller's farm, you're not doing it by accident," Barnes noted about the members of Miller's private, farm-share-buying-club. "Amos Miller doesn't sell food to anyone who doesn't want it exactly how he's making it."
"The USDA wants to take what was supposed to be an interstate labeling law, and use it to regulate what foods you can and cannot put into your own body."
"Look at any study of the Amish and you will find by almost any health metric, they are healthier than the people living off USDA-approved food," he noted. "And the USDA, you know what they think is healthy? Bill Gates' synthetic corn … his fake beef."
"This is about the USDA's attempt to monopolize our food supply, and they targeted an Amish farmer to set the precedent."
You can help Amos continue to fight the good fight for food and health freedom by donating here or here. If he loses, we all lose.
Read more at: NewsPunch.com
Tagged Under: agriculture, amish, Big AG, big government, cry bullies, farm, fascism, food freedom, food police, food supply, health freedom, intolerance, organic farming, organics, resist, revolt, tyranny, USDA
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my son have been detain for robbery since wednesday by the police. it has been more than 48 hrs. I would like to know is this normal procedure or who should i seek. Thanks.
Home » Legal Help » Criminal Law » Arrest and Bail » my son have been detain for robbery since wednesday by the police. it has been more than 48 hrs. I would like to know is this normal procedure or who should i seek. Thanks.
It is not normal for your son to be detained more than 48 hours. The police are required to charge him and apply for him to be held for longer. We suggest that you consult a lawyer immediately or you should check with the police. If the potential offence is robbery, the police are likely to have applied to Court to detain him for further investigation.


The submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee's inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Streamlining Visa Processing) Bill 2018 was prepared by the Law Council.
The Law Council is grateful for assistance of its Migration Law Committee, Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section.
The Bill proposes amendments to the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) which would enable the collection of personal identifiers to be a prerequisite to making a valid visa application in certain instances.
Currently under section 257A of the Migration Act, the Minister or an immigration officer may, in writing or orally, require a person to provide one or more personal identifiers. Section 5A of the Migration Act defines a personal identifier as including fingerprints, handprints, measurements of a person's height and weight, a photograph or other image of a person's face and shoulders, an audio or video recording of a person, an iris scan, a signature, and any other identifier prescribed by regulations.
Further to the existing provisions relating to personal identifiers, the Bill proposes to allow the Minister, by a legislative instrument, to specify classes of visa applicants who will be required to provide specified types of personal identifiers in order to make a valid visa application. Importantly, such a determination would require visa applicants to provide personal identifiers at the time of visa application, rather than post-lodgement during the application processing period.


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text:
Day of Target Shooting Provides Focus and Relief for Wounded Veterans
OTTAWA, Kan., July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For many warriors, the experiences they had in the military were some of the best of their lives, filled with fellowship, meaning, and direction. To help wounded veterans recapture that spirit of unity and purpose, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) hosted an evening of group target shooting. Events like this provide wounded veterans with fun, relaxed environments where they can forge relationships with other warriors in their communities, and explore support systems that can help them heal from the wounds of war.
"I remember last year we had one new guy come out for his first Wounded Warrior Project event," said Allen Hill, U.S. Army veteran. "He loved it! Just being around other service members again, joking around, shooting targets, and laughing made a huge impression on him. He always thought of the recovery process as this boring, sitting around and filling out paperwork, routine. That event really showed him what recovery can be instead, and what Wounded Warrior Project is about – bringing warriors together to heal together."
For over a decade, the events and activities hosted by WWP have taken recovering warriors out of their isolation and helped them get re-engaged in their communities. By getting together with warriors who understand each other's experiences, they learn they're not alone in their journey.
"I love to shoot because there's no rush and no pressure - you can focus. It's just you and the target," said Allen. "You're out there with other veterans, just enjoying each other's company. You can open up about what you've been through if you want, or you can just relax, shoot, and not talk about it if you aren't ready to. The environment is always welcoming and people make it whatever they want it to be."
Year after year, there's a unique sense of humor and competition that is deeply rooted in the target shooting events. Allen noted that he sees this at other WWP events, and it is very similar to what occurred during his time in the Army.
"The Army and Marine veterans will bicker about who has the better shooters, so we settle it with some target practice," Allen explained. "That spirit of good-natured rivalry is everywhere at WWP events. The veterans who have been coming to this event are local to the area, so we all know each other. We give each other a hard time, but it feels like family."
WWP provides warriors with opportunities to form small, community-based groups that help them to connect, discuss personal challenges and triumphs, and lend support. These groups can lead to new friendships, provide a renewed sense of community, and introduce new solutions to challenges. In time, wounded veterans who once were being supported, have the chance to pay-it-forward and become a mentor who supports others. To learn more about how WWP helps warriors, please visit: https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs.
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
For further information: Mattison Brooks, Email: mbrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org, Phone: 904-451-5590


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We are glad to welcome on our portal those who love and appreciate books: one of the pages of the site is devoted to what they will appreciate. This is an audiobook The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America : this is one of the most important for many modern developments. Now, in order to read the novelty of a favorite author, to learn a foreign language, to get acquainted with the course of lectures on the required subject, it is not necessary to spend time searching for the necessary book, and then to study or read it in the most suitable conditions and under proper illumination. You just need to download an audiobook The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America and with the help of a player or audio system in the car or at home to listen to material on the road, in traffic jams, on a walk in the park or when doing any homework. "[Cass's] core principle - a culture of respect for work of all kinds - can help close the interstice dividing the two Americas. . . . " -William A. Galston, The Brookings Orphanage The American trader is in crisis. Wages have stagnated for more than a crop. Dependence on good fortune programs has surged. Longevity is falling as drug use and obesity standards rise. These hardships are not the surety of irresistible global and technological forces. They are the direct consequence of a decades-long economic consensus that prioritize increasing consumption - regardless of the costs to American workers, their kith and kins, and their populaces. Donald Trump's rise to the presidency focused big rush on the depth of the nation's throw down the gauntlets, yet while everyone agrees thing must change, the Left's persistence on still more direction expend and the Right's conviction in still more economic success are recipes for repeating the mistakes of the past. In this groundbreaking re-evaluation of American society, the dismal sciences, and public policy, Oren Cass throw down the gauntlets our basic assumptions about what boom means and where it comes from to reveal how we lost our praxis. The good news is that we can still turn things around - if the nation's proverbial elites are willing to put the American trader's commitments first. Which is more important, pristine circulate name of tune, or well-paying jobs that strengthen kith and kins? Unfettered access to the cheapest trader in the earth, or renewed expenditure in the service of Americans? Rippleless the terrace through college for the best pupils, or ensuring that every pupil acquires the skills to succeed in the modern cutback? Cutting tariffs, expanding the freedom earn, or adding medium of exchange to low-wage paychecks? The rejuvenation of work in America entreatments new get backs to to these questions. If we reinforce their vital role, workers supporting strong kith and kins and populaces can provide the foundation for a thriving, self-sufficient society that seeks opportunity to all. To every guest or registered user could find and through the torrent. Download the necessary literature for it on english , we collected a huge collection of audiobooks, for example The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America , written by domestic and foreign authors - including detectives, science fiction, adventures, melodramas, as well as educational literature and works for children - fairy tales, poems, riddles. And, here is placed both classical literature and books, issued several years ago, as well as novelties of many literary genres. To facilitate the choice of a particular user unknown to him until now, the work or scientific literature, each position has its own page - a card. On the card of the book you can get acquainted with all the information from the features of the work, its short content and ending with the quality of the recording. Here are also posted reviews of those who have already downloaded a work or a radio play and after studying / listening left his opinion. To search for the necessary audiobook it was convenient for example The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America , on our portal you can sort all the positions by the number of downloads, the year of release, the date of addition and other parameters. If the user has decided to find and download the books of the interested prose writer, poet, scientist for free, he can use the "Author" tab and select the works of interest from the list. Any interested guest of the portal can download the literature of interest: this function is available to everyone without SMS registration and payment - just download, for example The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America , listen and collect a collection of interesting books, both for yourself and as a gift for friends, the same connoisseurs of the artistic word.


This is the replacement camera found in the front of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. If you find that your Galaxy Tab 2 camera is in need of repair, replacing with this part should restore the front Galaxy Tab 2 camera to full working order. This part requires no soldering to fit, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 inch camera is connected via a push fit connector.
Please note: This part is for the front camera on the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 not the rear.


text:
Indonesia death toll soars above 800, disaster agency confirms
By Sallyann Nicholls with Reuters • last updated: 30/09/2018
Copyright REUTERS
Copy/paste the article video embed link below:
At least 832 people have been killed after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, the country's disaster agency confirmed Sunday.
They added that the affected area is much larger than previously thought.
There are also fears the death toll could rise to the "thousands" as contact is restored with remote areas where communications were downed, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said.
Rescue teams on Sunday were struggling to reach communities in affected parts of the island.
Dozens of people are thought to be trapped in the rubble of a hotel and shopping mall in the city of Palu.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 1.6 million people in total could have been affected by the disasters.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake, which was centered about 48 miles (77km) north of Palu, according to the United States Geological Survey.
"We have found corpses from the earthquake as well as bodies swept up by the tsunami," said Indonesia's disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho on Saturday.
The waves reached as high as six meters (18 feet), he added, saying some people were able to save themselves by climbing taller trees.
Preparations for a beach festival were being made in Palu when waves struck, houses had been swept away and families remain missing.
Indonesia's military dispatched cargo planes Saturday carrying medical supplies to affected areas, but rescue efforts were hampered after communications around Palu and a nearby fishing village, Donggala, which lies close to the earthquake's epicentre, had been downed.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes. Friday's tremors came weeks after 460 people were killed following an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing over 400,000 people.
Watch: Tsunami thrashes Palu in Indonesia
Heartwarming harmony as Balkan tensions set aside in Croatia's hour of need after deadly earthquake
COVID-19Covid VaccineCoronavirus vaccineFrancepandemicUnited KingdomIndonesiaIrelandEuropean UnionKim Jong-un


If you are a retail store, gift shop, spa, restaurant, tea or coffee house, this is a perfect opportunity to offer your customers a unique, healthy, fun organic Tahoe product.
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it could nod, and slept peacefully and sweetly. The fly was dead.
Ephemera; all of them felt equally merry and equally happy.
the evening of autumn; its time of rest, its night drew nigh—winter was coming.
and there fell a leaf. "We will rock you and lull you. Go to sleep, go to sleep.
see how crooked and bent were the branches that sprang forth from the trunk.
which were beginning, and how difficult it was in winter to obtain food.
armor, with spear and halberd, pitching their tents, and anon striking them.
and carve the initials of their names in the grayish-green bark on his trunk.
every fibre of root and stem and leaf, rising even to the highest branches.
longing to grow higher and higher, to reach even to the warm, bright sun itself.
he had done, and to see all this splendor, and experience the same happiness.
his own way; the air was filled with the sounds of song and gladness.
tone. "I have them all here, both great and small; not one has been forgotten.
Can such happiness be imagined?" It seemed almost impossible.
the reply through the air.
were loosening themselves from the earth.
billows towards the shore. There was a cracking and crushing heard in the tree.
of the soul of man, and of eternal life through Christ's atoning blood.
had felt lifted up in its last, its beautiful dream on that Christmas morn.


It's Winter, that time of the year when your skin needs a lot of care. I normally don't follow any skin care routines on any other seasons but Winters are entirely a different story. If I leave my skin unattended for even a day during winter, it cracks up and throws all sorts of problems at me. So, winters are when not only your hair, skin but your entire body needs a lot of care.
I strictly avoid use of harsh chemicals on my skin during winters. I have super sensitive skin which is not happy with makeup and the slightest of irritations can cause it to go red and breakout. So I always avoid makeup especially during winters except for any big occasion like a wedding or a day out with family. That's the reason I always prefer natural or organic makeup and love brands like Lotus Herbals and Nature's Co.
One of my very favourite mild product and everyday staple is Baby oil. I find myself reaching for it every other time . It is very versatile product and has many uses.
It's the most mild and best loved makeup remover among chemically free products loving women. I first read about using Baby Oil as a make up remover on an Indian beauty Blog and started using it ever since. It's very mild and doesn't affect your skin like the other harsh make up removers in the market. The best thing is, you can even remove harsh eye makeup n mascara with it effectively, without straining your eyes.
Say goodbye to all those expensive pre-shave creams. Now all you need to soothe your skin is baby oil! Apply it before shaving to enhance the hair removal and keep your skin nourished. You can use it after applying hair removal creams too. It will act as wonderful soothing and nourishing agent.
Yes, it perfectly does what oils do so next time your hair is all frizzy and needs care, nourish it with baby oil. Just remember not to apply it directly but use a tissue paper or cotton to do so as it will get all slick and sticky if applied by hands.
Another way you can use baby oil as is as an effective under eye gel to soothe your eyes and ease the dark circles. Just take a few drops and dab it under your eyes using cotton. Massage the area for a minute or two and remove the excess oil using a tissue or cotton.
Makeup brushes need cleansing to keep them hygienic. You should clean them once every week or depending on how often you use them. Make up brushes usually go all stiff and dry after a single wash, that's when baby oil comes into the picture. Use baby oil to nourish your makeup brushes before giving them a wash to keep their softness intact.
I used it as makeup remover long ago. Great tips!


The 6-Digit result today August 30, 2018 (Thursday), is posted here. The 6-Digit draw is held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and aired live over PTV4 at 9:00 p.m.
The 6-Digit game is a pari-mutuel game in which the prize pool is divided equally among the winners if there are more than one first prize winner. If there is no first prize winner, the prize pool will be added to the prize pool of the next draw.
Buy a 6-Digit ticket at an authorized PCSO outlet and mark 6 numbers from 0 to 9. Each 6-Digit ticket costs P 10.00 per combination.
You will win the jackpot prize if you match all 6 drawn numbers in exact order with a minimum guaranteed amount (MGA) of P 150,000.00. You will also win consolation prizes if you match the first or last 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the winning numbers in exact order.


A quarterly anthology of imaginative fiction featuring new and established authors. The focus is on original tales that do not fit into any specific category, resulting in an entertaining mix of quality fiction. The Dream Zone consists of nothing but stories and artwork, excellent value for the reading enthusiast.


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Tony Schueth Info
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HealthTechZone Columnist
By Tony Schueth
Anthony J (Tony) Schueth is a columnist for HealthTechZone. A 24-year healthcare veteran, Mr. Schueth has spent the last 19 years working to bring information to stakeholders in the point-of-care. He is considered an expert in health information technology (HIT), in general, and one of the nation's foremost experts in electronic prescribing, in particular. Within HIT, he follows and writes about infrastructure for accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical and pharmacy homes, health information exchanges (HIEs), medication adherence, medication reconciliation, electronic health records, mobile health, care communications, patient engagement and telehealth. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of HIT Perspectives, a newsletter dedicated to more than 1,500 health information technology executives and Perspectives in HIT, a blog with a similar audience. Both publications aspire to analyze the impact of newsworthy HIT-related events to key stakeholders. He has a Master of Science in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Achieving Patient-Specific Price Transparency by Unlocking EHR Data - 10/28/2020
Health IT's Burgeoning Role in Fighting COVID-19 - 05/18/2020
Seven Trends Driving Health IT Innovation in 2020 - 03/20/2020
Health IT Drivers Advancing Industry Use of Electronic Prior Authorization - 09/30/2019
HIMSS 2019 Focused On Real-World Efforts to Improve Patient Journey - 04/03/2019
Health IT Solutions Connecting Patients With the Costs of Their Medications - 01/14/2019
Electronic Prescribing Moving Toward Optimization - 11/05/2018
Six Interoperability Trends That Demonstrate Value - 11/01/2018
10 Takeaways From HIMSS18 - 05/04/2018
Three Factors Contributing to Lagging Provider Adoption of EPCS - 04/03/2018
Following What the Doctor Ordered: Addressing Medication Noncompliance - 12/19/2017
The Impact of New, Nonproprietary Naming Convention for Biologics and Biosimilars: 7 Key Findings - 11/30/2017
Automating Enrollment for Specialty Prescriptions - 11/03/2017
Interoperability and Standards Will Be Areas of Focus Through Year End - 10/18/2017
Five Health IT, Opioid-Related Trends Impacting Electronic Health Records - 09/26/2017
Why Population Health Management Should Matter to Pharmaceutical Manufacturers - 07/14/2017
What's Ahead for Health IT at the Federal Level? - 06/23/2017
Stakeholder Impacts of the AMA's Prior Authorization Reform Proposal - 05/10/2017
FHIR Sets the Stage for Targeted Applications for Payers and Providers - 04/21/2017
Eight Takeaways from HIMSS 2017 - 04/07/2017
PDMPs Fight Against the Opioid Epidemic - 03/22/2017
What the 21st Century Cures Act Means for Health IT - 03/06/2017
10 Healthcare Trends to Watch in 2017 - 02/22/2017
Reading the Tea Leaves: What Lies Ahead for Health IT in the Trump Administration? - 11/23/2016
Working Smarter, Not Harder: Helping Clinicians Optimize Use of EHRs - 11/18/2016
Taking e-Prescribing to the Next Level with the Structured and Codified Sig - 11/16/2016
A National Patient Identifier: An Idea That's Time Has Come Again - 11/09/2016
Using Health Information Technology to Improve Patient Engagement - 10/05/2016
Taking Electronic Prior Authorization to the Next Level - 09/22/2016
Real-Time Benefit Inquiry: A New Kind of Clinical Decision Support - 07/05/2016
Top 10 Themes at Health Datapalooza 2016 - 06/21/2016
New Proposed Regulation Rebrands and Retools Meaningful Use - 06/16/2016
Integrating EHRs and PDMPs: How Vendors Can Get Ahead of the Curve - 04/18/2016
Alerting Prescribers for Biosimilar Substitution to Protect Patient Safety - 04/13/2016
Top 10 Trends at HIMSS16 - 04/11/2016
Meaningful Use: Not Entirely Gone But Certainly Not Forgotten - 03/21/2016
Top Ten Health IT Trends for 2016 - 03/02/2016
MGMA Meeting Reveals Five Trends Affecting Physician Practices - 12/03/2015
Four Sets of Federal Guidance You Should Know if You're in Health IT - 11/24/2015
Taking Clinical Decision Support to the Next Level: A Standards-Based Approach - 11/12/2015
Paving the Way for Specialty E-Prescribing - 09/17/2015
DERF-a-Palooza at May NCPDP Meeting Yields Results - 07/01/2015
Surescripts Issues 2014 National Progress Report - 06/22/2015
Information Blocking: A Hot Potato in Washington - 06/19/2015
Meaningful Use Stage 3: What Does It Mean for EHR Vendors? - 05/14/2015
HIMSS15: On FHIR and 6 Other Key Takeaways - 05/07/2015
Exciting Changes Ahead in 2015 for HealthIT - 03/04/2015
At Last! A Compelling Business Case for Interoperability - 02/27/2015
Biosimilars: Building a Better Technology Mousetrap - 01/26/2015
How EHR Vendors Are Making Productive Use of Regulatory Downtime - 01/23/2015
Interoperability: The Glass is More than Half Full - 12/22/2014
What's Next for EHR Market Consolidation? - 10/16/2014
Deciphering the Mystery of Population Health Management - 07/30/2014
Surescripts Stats Show ePrescribing Rounds Third Base - 07/30/2014
Reading the Tea Leaves: Prior Authorization for Advanced Imaging Services Is in Our Future - 05/12/2014
What's Next for Meaningful Use? - 04/17/2014
Top 10 Takeaways from HIMSS 2014 - 04/11/2014
How to Gain Traction for ePrescribing for Specialty Medications - 01/10/2014
ACA Insurance Exchange Plans Lack Appeal to Physician Practices for Time Being - 10/25/2013
Money Talks: Federal Incentives Confirmed to Spur ePrescribing Adoption - 07/17/2013
Leveraging HIT to Improve Specialty Medication Processes - 07/12/2013
Surescripts Issues ePrescribing Statistics and Safe-Rx Rankings for 2012 - 05/06/2013
Seven Key HIT Takeaways from HIMSS 2013 - 04/15/2013
Top Ten Under-the-Radar Healthcare Trends for 2013 - 02/06/2013
Implementing the ACA with HIT - 12/21/2012
Supreme Court Ruling on the ACA: Momentum Plus Opportunities for HIT - 08/01/2012


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Perry Ellis sees growth in women's cothing
By Alexandria Sage
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Perry Ellis International Inc sees growth in its foray into women's contemporary clothing in the United States and from expansion abroad, with a deal in China or India to be announced in the near term, executives said on Monday.
Executives at the company, which has been reducing its private-label business to focus on higher-margin niche markets, also told the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit that the current situation with the American consumer was not as dire as some have predicted.
"There is definitely a pull back on the consumer, no question about it," said Francisco Gonzalez-Meza Hoffmann, vice president of strategic initiatives. "But it's not as bad as sometimes it seems to be when you listen to the rumors or when you see the nightly news."
The company -- known for menswear but also a maker of golfwear, swimwear, clothing for the Hispanic market and a recent buyer of two women's contemporary brands -- has already provided fiscal 2009 revenue projections that beat Wall Street estimates.
Since U.S. tax rebate checks were mailed to consumers this spring, Perry Ellis has noticed an uptick in sales at its namesake stores and from its large department store customers.
Recent acquisitions of the Laundry by Shelli Segal and C&C California brands will be a platform with which the company can jump-start its women's business, said Paul Rosengard, group president of the company's premium brands.
"I'm in love emotionally with the Laundry and C&C purchase, not just for what it can add to our company in a vacuum but if/when we're successful there, it gives us the platform from which to relaunch Perry Ellis womenswear," Rosengard said.
Perry Ellis began as a women's line of clothing.
"If you look where the great home-run potentials are for us, it's womenswear, it's international, it's potentially retail -- those are the three potentially huge growth drivers," Rosengard said.
Strength in menswear will be an asset as it tries to convince department stores like Macy's Inc to carry a new Perry Ellis women's line when it is launched, Rosengard said.
"When they (retailers) feel confident, the time will be right," he said. "We have success in men's, we have credibility."
NEW LAUNDRY HITTING RETAIL
A newly designed Laundry brand will begin making dresses retailing for $250 to $400 that will hit stores like Saks Bloomingdale's, and Neiman Marcus by this holiday season, followed by a sportswear collection in 2009.
"We want to see the brand taking the growth path that would allow it to go back to the $100 to $150 million (sales) range no less than five years ago," Gonzalez-Meza Hoffmann said.
The company bought the brand from Liz Claiborne Inc in January.
With the Perry Ellis brand, the goal is to grab a larger share of what Rosengard called "a diminishing pie" due to retail consolidation and big department stores narrowing their product selection.
The brand is launching home goods, a kids label and is reinventing Perry America from what was known as a lower-cost line to one that is more casual, younger, and denim based.
The company is also reducing its lower-margin private-label business, and hopes to make it some 10 percent of total sales in three to five years, down from 19 percent last year and a projected 15 percent this year, Gonzalez-Meza Hoffmann said.
To save costs, Perry Ellis International has shifted some of its sourcing to Vietnam and Jordan from China, which now accounts for 26 percent of sourcing versus 30 percent last year.
"I believe that over the last 10-plus years we've been able to absorb increases through what I call the sourcing curve. We're at the end of the sourcing curve," Rosengard said.
"We can't pass the costs on to the retailer because they won't accept it. They're starting from the other direction. They want higher guaranteed gross margins. So it's a battle just to maintain the profitability for them," he added. "The customer will have to accept higher prices."
Wholesale clothing prices rose this past year by mid-single digits on a percentage basis, Rosengard said, though some more fashion-forward categories managed even better rises.
As for mergers and acquisition activity, the company was still looking at companies and exploring options in China and India to be announced in the near term.
"We are looking at a lot of deals, whether they are license deals or joint ventures, opening retail stores," Rosengard said. "There aren't department stores in China, for example, they don't have the malls."
(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)
(Editing by Braden Reddall)


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Aalborg CSP landed an order to deliver a 2.6 MWth solar-thermal plant in Denmark. With the system in Egedal, Aalborg CSP continues its series of new projects based on customized solutions with solar and storage supporting a competitive transition to renewable energy.
Client: Egedal Fjernvarme A/S
End user/Owner: Egedal Fjernvarme A/S
Location: Stenløse, Denmark
Status: Under construction
Cost-competitive solution and best warranty
The 3,458 m2 solar field will – when constructed - consist of 34 rows of flat panels with up to 10 collectors per row. With a capacity of 2.6 MWth, the plant is capable of producing 1,850 MWh heat per year. Combined with the district heating plant's already existing biomass boiler and an accumulation tank with a capacity of 2,400 m3, the solar heating plant will provide sustainable heating to 875 customers in Stenløse and Ølstykke.
With the plant in Egedal, Aalborg CSP continues its series of flat panel projects in Denmark. The system in Egedal will consist of the same type of collectors, which Aalborg CSP has successfully supplied to two other Danish district heating plants. The 13.3 m2 optimized panels from GREENoneTEC have shown the highest performance among all known mass-produced large-scale solar collectors on the international market.
Jørn Arne Nielsen, Managing Director at Egedal Fjernvarme A/S.
Aalborg CSP presented us with the best price per delivered MWth as well as an attractive warranty agreement, providing us with a 10-year warranty on the solar collectors. These two factors combined made us choose Aalborg CSP as our partner on this project. We look forward to a great collaboration with Aalborg CSP and aim at obtaining Denmark's most efficient solar heating plant per m2.
Exceptional operation and high performance
Since Aalborg CSP first introduced the optimized panels on the Danish market, they have set a new standard in terms of cost-competitiveness-/performance level, their 10-year warranty as well as their outstanding documented performance results. All three factors which are of crucial importance to Aalborg CSP.
"We are happy that Egedal, focused on the plant's actual performance, and the consistency between actual performance and calculations, when choosing their partner for the project, and look forward to helping Egedal Fjernvarme A/S towards their goal of obtaining Denmark's most efficient solar heating plant per m2" - says Jes Donneborg, Executive Vice President at Aalborg CSP.
Construction of the plant will commence in the beginning of spring and the solar energy system is expected to be harvesting its first sunrays this coming summer.
Egedal Fjernvarme A/S
Supplier of the system: Aalborg CSP A/S
Solar-thermal collector type: GREENoneTEC GK3003 series double glazed
Plant layout: 34 rows with up to 10 collectors in a row
Location: Maglevad, Stenløse
Egedal Municipality / South of Denmark
No. of households: 875
Capacity of the plant: 2.6MWth
Annual heat production: 1,850MWh
Expected system lifetime: 25 years
Click through the pictures to see how the construction progresses in Egedal, Denmark. (The pictures are organized in chronological order, latest project updates appear first.)


text:
Alexander Koester (1864-1932), peintre allemand,
  (1932-), entrepreneur américain,
  (1784-1851), peintre allemand,
  (1876-1927), ingénieur américain d'origine allemande,
  (1843-1904), médecin et professeur allemand,
 Hans von Koester (1844-1928), officier de la marine allemande,
 Helmut Koester (1926-2016), historien américain d'origine allemande,
  (1962-), photographe danois.

Patronyme allemand

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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It struck me one day that people who love cabriolets, convertibles, roadsters, drop-tops, sports cars - call them what you will - are probably less concerned with who made them than with how they make their drivers feel. It's rather like motorcycles; there is an indescribable unity with Nature, a one-ness with the road and a bonding with the elements - the sun on your skin, the breeze through your hair and the living sounds of the open road.
That's why I decided to copy and paste all my cabriolet reports into a single folder where drop-top fans can find them all without having to scrabble through endless menus.
I have to warn you that it took a while to warm to the cabriolet phenomenon - convertibles are mostly loved, hankered after and driven by women, so we guys find them hard to appreciate. For that reason, you may find some of the writing a little tongue-in-cheek, sceptical or even downright chauvinist. What can I say? I'm male and I can't help it. Just bear with me though, because I believe that the stories still contain valid information that will hopefully help you make an informed buying decision.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the drop-down menu that appears as you hover your cursor over the folder's title.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports, so even if you're looking to buy second-hand, you have an idea of what it cost originally.
We soak up sunshine in Fiat's funky 500C
More than just a classic rerun
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday October 20, 2010
The majority of South Africans are extremely conservative and have unreasonably long memories. Most will buy at the higher end only from the German Big Three or at more affordable prices, VW and Toyota. And woe-betide any manufacturer that ever went through a bad patch with servicing or reliability problems. Misfortunes of five, fifteen or forty years ago are repeated darkly as having happened to a close relative "just last week."
Left: It is Elle MacPherson - she owns one of these
Having told many of you that you would never buy a Fiat 500 because of being a boring old stick-in-the-mud, let's look at who might. In our launch report of March 31, 2010 we gave you some ideas; those who owned an original perhaps, or those who love cuteness, but definitely those independent buyers bored with all the same old stuff out there.
Don't get the idea that this Cinquecento is simply a rehash of the original, because it's far from that. First, it's somewhat bigger, seating four fully-grown people in reasonable comfort and boasting a 182-dm3 boot that's about average for small cars. The rear seat cushion splits 50:50 to extend loading space. Second, it's been designed by modern engineers and built using high strength steels with up-to-date technology. It has EuroNCAP5 certification to prove it. It just looks remarkably familiar and like Michelangelo's perfectly proportioned statue of David, it appears to be the same size as the original.
It also boasts all the usual modcons and safety kit including ABS, EBD, ESP, ASR, HBA, anti-submarining front seatbelts with dual pretensioners and load limiters, and seven airbags. ISOFIX child seat anchors? Got 'em too. Convenience items include the usual air conditioning, radio/CD unit with USB, electric windows, trip computer, remote controls for music, voice commands and phone on the decently fist-filling leather covered steering wheel, front fog lamps and remote central locking with autolock as you drive away.
The workstation is very retro, especially if you order the Ivory Environment package. It feels like being in the original except for the modern music centre and controls, if you can get around the "Irish" of that statement. Our test car was fitted with the more modern looking Black Environment option, so the choice is yours.
A short stick for the six-speed gearbox juts up from a tower housing the window controls and a swivel-out oddments tray that gets in the way of the driver's left shin if left open. The ambience is rather like being in control of a small bus or MPV, a feeling reinforced by the rather high driver's seat that, even on its lowest setting, feels a bit high. There was still a fist's-width of space between the roof lining and the top of my head though and one gets used to it.
What else on the inside? There is no lid on the glove box, so you need to keep things tidy, but a scattering of small dishes and compartments including the one on the central tower and a box under the front passenger's seat, should accommodate most of your flotsam.
A large dash button labelled "Sport" connects with the electronic throttle valve control system, so you can choose between decent performance and boredom. It also sharpens up the electrically power assisted steering criticised by some as feeling dull, although most mere mortals are quite happy with it. It's like having two-thirds of the MiTo's DNA program, with the so-called 'normal' position best reserved for slippery conditions.
On the road, gearing is well spaced with sixth suited to relaxed cruising and economy. At 120 km/h, the rev counter reads about 3 300 rpm, a little less than average for a naturally aspirated 1400. A quick shift down to fifth is usually needed to maintain momentum up hills.
The 500C's true calling is open top, wind in hair and sunlight on face, oneness with nature and it is tribute to the original design that this is achieved with no more ruffling of hair than would be found in many an upmarket convertible. This is more than your usual all-or-nothing removable top, though. It doubles as a sunroof, opening either front section only or full length, so you get two functions for the price of one. The main difference between this one and the folding cloth top of old, is that the 2010 version opens at the touch of a button, by means of cables and an electric motor.
Never mind nostalgia, cuteness or independence of thought: Fiat's 500 has done retro more convincingly than other players, providing a modern interpretation of an old theme more stylishly and more affordably. And if your thoughts lightly turn to springtime as well, then why not?
Price including CO2 tax: R200 080
Engine: 1 368 cc DOHC 16 valve four cylinder
Power: 73,5 kW at 6 000 rpm
Service intervals: 30 000 km


In fact, it's not about you at all. It's about your clients.
That's not to say you shouldn't talk about what you do, what makes you different, your credentials and authority. But you don't make it all about you right from the beginning.
When someone lands on your website, they're looking for someone to solve a problem. And the best way to show how you can help them is by communicating your core service through clear messaging. Show them that you truly understand their problem and offer the solution they're looking for.
OBJECTION 1: But we have a complicated business and we want to tell people about everything we do.
You may want to but that may not be the best way to clearly communicate what you do.
They have loads of different offerings but they don't try to tell you everything about them all at once, they focus on a key message.
The logo is clever, it's a smile from a to z, which works for everything they do. But go to their website and you know immediately you're on the world's biggest e-commerce site.
OBJECTION 2: We don't want to be boring.
A clear message doesn't have to be boring! It just means keep it simple and focused on your client.
I recently read an article by someone bemoaning SaaS websites: "They're so dull, they should be more exciting".
Some aren't thrilling but if I click on a site like Zoom, all I want to know is what Zoom does and how it will benefit me, with a couple of obvious options to choose from ideally with eye-catching call to action (CTA) buttons.
Like everything in life, it's more nuanced than that. Some products and services are complicated and need explaining, but that can still be done really clearly.
What works for one service, business or sector won't necessarily work for another, which is why the starting point should always be YOUR audience not what everyone else is doing. And you can always test your copy and CTA buttons to your heart's content.
How do we know which service to focus on?
If you run a complicated business with lots of offerings, choose one that you'd like to focus on, the one that makes the biggest profit, the one you'd most like to grow, the one you're known for or the one you want to be known for.
Question 1: Who do you help?
Question 2: What do you achieve?
Question 3: How do you do it?
We help start-ups to reach new markets through digital marketing.
We help busy professionals to have more free time through tailored training programmes.
We help large businesses to be more profitable with real-time sales data.
The more specific you are in defining your target market, the more success you'll have in reaching them.
doesn't stop anyone else from contacting you!
When your plumber comes round you don't want them to offer to fix your car for you and you don't expect your financial adviser to understand your situation if their other clients are Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
Getting specific can feel like you're cutting out potential work but it will actually have the opposite effect and bring more people in. If other people approach you, you can still work for them but by being specific, you'll bring in more of the people you really want to work with.
And to do that you have to get clear in your messaging.
Too much copy, too many options, overwhelming design, pop-ups firing off all over the place. Too many choices make people click away. They won't spend hours unpicking convoluted messages or applying advanced calculus to work out the best deal for them. They'll go and have a lie-down!
People have a problem, need or desire.
They seek out options to address it.
And they don't choose the one that tries to outwit them (five ways to keep your copywriting simple), uses confusing language (there's scientific proof that short words are more effective than long ones), overwhelms them with options or otherwise uses more of their precious time than they need to – we are all cognitive misers.
Our brains try to expend as little energy as possible solving problems. If you want to know more about this, 'The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less' by Barry Schwartz is an interesting read.
If you sell products, you might find this well-known experiment interesting too. Iyengar and Lepper (2000) tested shoppers to see how much jam they'd buy depending on how many options were on offer.
They set up two different tasting booths on consecutive Saturdays at a grocery store in California known for offering a huge selection of goods (it sells 250 types of mustard and 75 different olive oils) so the people who go there are used to having lots of choice.
On one Saturday there were 6 jam flavours on offer, on the other 24.
That's a pretty big difference. But you don't need an academic paper to tell you too much choice is a bad thing.
I know that when I'm faced with lots of choices I use some way of cutting down on the mental work I need to do to make a decision (called heuristics in psychology), whether I'm choosing a breakfast cereal, a new computer or a restaurant to go to on Friday night.
There's a reason why you're often offered three options when you sign up to a new service – more than that and it's confusing, fewer and it doesn't feel like there's a real choice, so three is the perfect number. And most of us go for the middle option every time!
When it comes to marketing, simplicity is key. First off, readers want to know what's in it for them? If you didn't do that quick exercise above before, it might help to go back to it now to get clear on who you help and how you help them.
Then try to communicate that clearly by focusing on one service, and when you do present readers with options, try to keep the choice straightforward. You can always test different pages and see how many enquiries/conversions you get. And if you need help with it, you know who to call!
P.S. If you're interested in the psychology behind buying decisions you might like to come along to the Copywriting Conference in London in October where I'm running a workshop about applying behavioural insights to copywriting, I'd love to see you there.


text:
Palicourea dunstervilleorum är en måreväxtart som beskrevs av Julian Alfred Steyermark. Palicourea dunstervilleorum ingår i släktet Palicourea och familjen måreväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Måreväxter
dunstervilleorum


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Ryan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse
This Is An Imaginary Website — Aren't They All?
Eurocomics Spotlight : "Blossoms In Autumn"
On June 16, 2019 June 25, 2019 By Ryan C. (trashfilmguru)
There's really so much to like about Belgian writer Zidrou and Dutch artist Aimee de Jongh's Blossoms In Autumn, recently made available in a hardcover English translation from upstart UK small press powerhouse-in-the-making SelfMadeHero — the story of late-life romance between 59-year-old widower Ulysses, recently forced into early retirement from his job as a mover, and 62-year-old- former-model-turned-cheese-shop-owner Mediterranea is nothing if not absorbing, wistful, endearing (frequently in spite of itself), and gorgeously illustrated.
It's also important in that it shines a light on a subject too often neglected by all media, yet rife with untapped potential and possibility — I mean, we all know lonely older folks need love too, maybe more than anybody, and yet the sexual and romantic lives of elders are constantly ignored by movies, television, literature, and comics. Go ahead and insert an "of course" after that last one, in fact, since this is probably the first comic I've read specifically devoted to a narrative about old-timers finding their potential soulmates in the "third act" of their lives.
Certainly both protagonists are "likable" enough, in the broadest sense of that term, and the creators do a nice job of putting readers "on their side," essentially making us wish for the best for them from the moment they meet — the problem, however (and you knew this was coming), is that while the art is consistently evocative, emotive, and expressive, the scripting is often, for lack of a kinder way of putting things, too damn calculated for its own good, and falters even more when Zidrou strays from his cliche-riddled blueprint.
He certainly doesn't shy away from cloying sentimentality, let's state that for the record right now, going overboard in portraying the ennui and loneliness of both Ulysses and Mediterranea, even though he's got plenty of family and she's got plenty to keep her busy. We don't need to feel sorry for these characters in order to care about them, but the script here goes the cheap and easy route, making an overt play for sympathy from the outset and really never letting up. Subtlety? Not gonna find it here.
Which wouldn't bother me so much in and of itself if it was contained to our principal players, but it extends in all directions : a sex worker a good couple of decades his junior who Ulysses frequents is secretly in love with him, Meditteranea's sole employee is a female ex-con who her family took in and immediately treated as one of their own, etc. Everyone is a central casting cardboard cut-out placed within the narrative to reflect well upon our lovebirds. It gets pretty old (sorry) pretty fast.
It also undercuts so much of what the book does have going for it — the first sex scene, superbly and fluidly rendered by de Jongh, comes off as a "and then the gates of heaven flew open" moment, when a bit more naturalistic awkwardness and trepidation would have been the smarter and more accurate way to go; courting rituals that could and should have been endearing for their imperfections are entirely too smooth and easy, etc. When you toss in the bizarre inconsistencies in characterization referenced briefly earlier — Ulysses tells Mediterranea that he used to jerk off to her magazine covers when he was a young whippersnapper on their first unofficial "date," and mere pages later is talking about how he's a shy guy who takes things slow; his son goes from being happy for his old man to concerned about what the future portends and back again with nary a whit of transition; etc. —the whole reading experience comes off as a jarring contrast to the consistently breathtaking (and, it's gotta be said, perfectly colored) art. Pictures this gorgeous deserve a story to match, rather than being forced to carry the entire load.
And then there's the ending — look, I'm not going to "spoil" anything here, but again, it's so clumsily handled that its impact is entirely negated. What happens to and for Ulysses and Mediterranea is a bona fide miracle, one with the potential to divide readers in truly gutsy fashion (and thus ensure this would become a very "talked about" book, indeed) but it's telegraphed at about the halfway point of the story, becomes the primary focus of the "final act," and has lost all power by the time it's made, well, "official." More wasted potential, then.
Which is really a running theme here, come to think of it. I've flipped through Blossoms In Autumn many a time since finishing it to "ooh" and "aah" at the artwork, but de Jongh — and even the characters whose lives she delineates — have earned much better than what they're given here, story-wise. Between the glaring shifts in characterization and the over-reliance on the crutch that is melodrama and sentiment, what could have been a groundbreaking tale about a fascinating and overlooked facet of real life is instead reduced to Craig Thompson for the senior set.
This review, and all others around these parts, is "brought to you" by my Patreon site, where I serve up exclusive thrice-weekly rants and ramblings on the worlds of comics, films, television, literature, and politics. Lately, in fact, it's been a lot of politics. I recently lowered the minimum tier price to a dollar a month, so come on — what have you got to lose? There's tons of stuff up on there already, so you're sure to get good value for your money, and given that you support there also ensures a steady supply of free content both here and at my trashfilmguru movie site, you're getting good value for no money as well. So join my small-but-loyal-and-satisfied legion, would you please?
Oh, and I suppose a link would come in handy. Here you go :https://www.patreon.com/fourcolorapocalypse
Aimee de JonghBlossoms In AutumnSelfMadeHeroZidrou
"What The Actual," Indeed
Weekly Reading Round-Up : 06/09/2019 – 06/15/2019, Josh Pettinger And Some More Brian Canini
One thought on "Eurocomics Spotlight : "Blossoms In Autumn""
Reblogged this on Through the Shattered Lens.


The game developers at Rival Gaming have made use of Shamrock, the young sprig of clover and a symbol of Ireland, as a lucky charm to bring players to this fascinating slot video game. The game offers five reels with 20 paylines with a free spins for a bonus game.
The game uses an Irish-theme, and as expected the sound and music of the game are quite enthralling. The symbols on the reels represent Crowns, Shamrocks, Hearts, other luck symbols and a Unicorn. The graphics are immensely entertaining with animations for every winning combination.
The smiling Leprechaun in the game is the wild symbol and can substitute for all other symbols in the game except for the scatter symbol. Payers can make use of the welcome bonus, no deposit bonus, and match bonus for a proposed beneficial win. But those who want to really get into those big wins, then the gamble feature within the game is indeed highly advisable.


In my last entry, I was just about to embark on a month long vacation which would take me through Tokyo, to North Carolina, Ohio, back to Tokyo and then finishing in Saigon. I'm now on my last leg of the trip and writing from my hotel in the Tokyo town of Ikebukuro. These holiday trips always go so fast and after months of waiting for them, they are over in the blink of an eye.
I didn't get a chance to write about my experience going back to America but now that I'm sitting here in my hotel suffering from jet-lag, to awake to sleep but too tired to go out, I thought this would be a good chance to write about some of my discoveries.
As most of you know, I rarely write unless I get fired up over some political story or some shocking discovery. Well, I had a few shocks in America that I feel like writing about and sharing with the rest of the world.
When you travel to Vietnam, the guide book tells you to watch out for getting overcharged or "nickeled and dimed" when you go to Saigon. Sometimes the local merchants will try and charge higher prices but it's usually by only a dollar or two. This gives many people a bad impression of the wonderful people that are the Saigonese.
What I discovered in America is that the Vietnamese may "nickel and dime" foreigers from time to time but it is nothing compared to the outright thievery practiced by some American companies. These companies outright rob their customers and they don't even know it.
1. Rebates – Rebates are the biggest form of stealing that I came across in America. I went to Best Buy to purchase a few items, almost all of which advertised a price in bold letters for lets say $30 and in small letters, "with rebate." The actual price of the item turned out to be almost $70!!! While purchasing the item the clerk handed me receipts three miles long for the rebates from three different companies! It took me almost an hour to figure out what which receipts, bar codes cut from the boxes, and other miscellenia to send to the retailer, manufacturer and distributor.
The layperson may not give it a second thought, but as a business major and one who has lived abroad and knows to be on guard for swindeling I was outraged. This is outright stealing from the customer since the retailers, distributors, and manufactures know damn well that maybe half of the customers won't bother to do it which increases their profits. If the price is advertised as $30, then the customer should be charged $30 at the damn cashiers counter. Even if you do get all the rebates sent, there is no guarentee you will get your money and it also states you must wait about three months.
2. Pay as you go Sim Cards for cell phones. I have a quad band cell phone that I can use in Vietnam and America. I bought the phone last year in America as well as an American Sim card. In Vietnam, it's very cheap to buy a sim card and the pay as you go is also pretty cheap. But when I went back to America, I found out that my SIM card was cancelled and I had to get a new number. This is because if you don't use it for 30 days they will cancel it. Also, the pay as you go costs either a dollar a day plus ten cents a call, or 25 cents per call. I opted for the second option but found out that $25 only lasts about a week! If you call someone and get voice mail, it's 25 cents. You also get charged for incoming calls. What a rip off!!
3. My mother bought a printer for the computer and I was completely dumbfounded to learn that the cord which connects the printer to the computer had to be "purchased seperately." This is again, a business's efforts to rip off the consumer by making them purchase every damn part seperately so the printer can seem like a good deal until you have to purchase all the damn parts to make the thing actually work. What's next, purchasing the power cord, buttons, screws etc, seperately??? I thought America was a developed country!!
Aside from those incidents however, my trip back was a great one. It was good to catch up with old friends, hit my favorite restaurants and go to the movies which huge screens. I will be however, glad to get back to Saigon where they aren't yet that sophisticated in the art of thievery.
Well, welcome back to blogging. Hope to hear more about your trip in later posts.
BTW I changed my hosting to blogspot instead of MSN. You got a link there too.


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United Way's Rapid Response to COVID-19
Written by Esther Tung. Photo by Vincent L. Chan.
"There's a sense of pride in being able to respond quickly, collaboratively, and meaningfully," says Michael McKnight, president and CEO of United Way of the Lower Mainland (UWLM), as he reflects on the early days of the organization's pandemic response.
United Way of the Lower Mainland first mobilized support for neighbours to help each other and set up food hubs to meet the critical need for food security. United Way of the Lower Mainland also seeded the Community Response Fund (CRF) with half a million dollars to provide immediate relief to charities on the front lines.
"It's very appropriate that iconic, community-based organizations were the first ones to step up," McKnight says, referring to the partnership between Vancouver Foundation and Vancity, along with the City of Vancouver. "The CRF gave donors a place to go right away, with a sense of trust in the organizations involved."
Though some might consider United Way and Vancouver Foundation as competitors, McKnight sees it differently.
"Everyone saw a critical need for the CRF and wanted to be a part of this collaboration of community leadership," McKnight says. "We're known for our history of being collaborators. So, when Vancouver Foundation reached out, it wasn't a question of, 'Should we?' but 'What can we mobilize now?'"
McKnight sees great potential for the legacy of the CRF as "a template for responding to future emergencies." He alludes to the "Big One" as an example — the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that experts say is due to hit the West Coast. "We've worked through so many of the pieces that we could draw from to be even more responsive when we should face this next crisis in our community."
Donate to the Community Impact Fund here.


Vehicle lightweighting has become a 'must have' for motor manufacturers – and adhesive tapes are now delivering advantages over traditional mechanical fixings that are helping to drive this expectation to even greater heights.
Despite a recent period of sustained prosperity, latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), indicate that 1.67 million cars were produced in UK factories last year, a decline of 3% compared with the year before. Uncertainty has affected multiple industries in recent times, so, to address this decline early, many manufacturers are seeking out new methods of increasing productivity and keeping costs down, whilst also adhering to increasing environmental standard scrutiny.
In response to the innovation requirements synonymous with the automotive industry, adhesive tape has quickly become a key component in many production processes. Tapes are used under the bonnet, on the body and the interior and exterior trims of the car, where they offer various benefits over traditional joining technologies. With the continuing drive to keep vehicle weight to the minimum, one leading producer of adhesive tapes says these offer "a clear advantage over traditional mechanical fixings". As such, it is working with the automotive industry to find tape solutions that, tesa states, "benefit manufacturers, the environment and ultimately the end customer".
When considering attachment part mounting, product solutions are required that work for plastic to clear coat, plastic to plastic and plastic to metal applications. This constructive bonding can be very challenging and time-consuming, as dissimilar materials give different coefficients of thermal expansion, so, when they warm up or cool down, they expand and contract at different rates. In addition, parts that need to be bonded to a vehicle's exterior have different levels of surface energy.
tesa produces a wide range of double-sided tapes that can be applied at low temperature to low surface energy materials, without the need for a primer. "Applying primer as part of the attachment part mounting technique is an expensive, elongated and hazardous process," says tesa's UK automotive sales manager Richard Powell. "By skipping the primer, the production process becomes more environmentally friendly, total process cost and complexity is reduced, robust application is ensured over a wide temperature range and near-ultimate peel adhesion levels are reached within a minute on most substrates.
Similarly, tesa ACX technology is said to take the production of tape chemistry forward a generation by enabling a functional combination of its chemical components. "While acting as a solvent-free coating of high-performance acrylic systems in thicker formats, enhanced performance is seen in the strength of its bonding power, strength dissipation and application" adds Richard Powell.
So, what exactly is tesa ACX 778XX? It's a double-sided, triple-layer, symmetrically designed acrylic foam tape engineered for automotive exterior attachment part mounting. Coated on both sides with LSE adhesive, its strengths are in offering high initial performance on LSE plastics, as well as on difficult-to-bond OEM clear coats. In addition, its viscoelastic acrylic foam core absorbs and dissipates dynamic and static loads. "Likewise, tesa ACX 777XX has been developed to securely bond exterior attachment parts to the easy-to-bond car body. A unique double-layer asymmetrically designed product, it is coated on one side with LSE adhesive for high initial performance on LSE plastics," states Powell.
Applications said to be already benefiting from this viscoelastic technology include body side, door edge and boot mouldings, aero-flaps, brake-light spoilers, fender flares, rocker panels, 'shark fin' antennas and roof ditch trim and rails – all joined gently, yet set to withstand any external influences throughout a vehicle's lifetime. Since the introduction of tesa ACX, the product has gained many industry plaudits, including official approval from European, North American and Asian OEMs.


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Home / ac milan / commentary / dubai / friendly / serie a schedule / training / world cup / Back to Training: Adapting to the Change in Schedule
Elaine ac milan, commentary, dubai, friendly, serie a schedule, training, world cup
Most of the players returned to Milanello on Friday to train in the cold. Many had been in warmer climates, vacationing during their break. Now they will train in the cold, play a friendly on Thursday, and then fly to Dubai on Sunday for a warm weather training camp. There, they will play a couple of friendlies, then probably another short break for Christmas. Then back to training in the cold, and another friendly ahead of the return of part two of this wacky season. Whoever thought that having a World Cup in the winter was a good idea was seriously delusional. And probably corrupt, too. (Looking at you, FIFA.) Obviously, the players are professionals, and they will make the best of it as they are adapting to the change in schedule.
How they adapt to this bizarre schedule could impact the second half our season
Of the seven Milan players who went to Qatar, four remain in the knockout round as of this writing. Kjaer, De Ketelaere, and Dest have all booked their flights home. Today, Giroud, Theo Hernández, and Ballo-Touré;s national teams will all play their Round of 16 matches in win-or-go-home scenarios. Leão's Portugal side will play their match on Tuesday.
Giroud no doubt would like to actually break Thierry Henry's record before returning home
Most of the players were back at Milanello on Friday and have been training together daily. Calabria, Maignan, and Saelemaekers trained separately as they are recovering from injuries.
The team will play their first winter friendly, a training match vs. Serie D side FC Lumezzane on Thursday. The match will be December 8th at 14:30 CET (8:30am EST in the U.S.) MilanTV is broadcasting this one, and it will likely also be available on the Milan App.
Pioli dreams of the warm weather in Dubai
For their warm weather training camp, they will participate in the Dubai Super Cup. Milan will play the following friendlies on their goodwill tour of Dubai, as they meet and greet their fans in the UAE:
Arsenal vs. Milan • Tuesday, December 13th at 15:00 CET (9am EST in the U.S.)
Liverpool vs. Milan • Friday, December 16th at 16:30 CET (10:30am EST in the U.S.)
Milan are scheduled to return from Dubai on December 20th.
Flexible, adaptable, but can they handle the schedule and climate changes?
Milan's final friendly of this year is scheduled to take place back in the colder climate, in the Netherlands:
PSV Eindhoven vs. Milan • Friday, December 30 at 18:15 CET (12:15pm EST in the U.S.)
Serie A returns on Wednesday, January 4th with a lunchtime game away to Salernitana.
Leao will be in for a shock when he finally returns to the cold
While those who played with their national teams will undoubtedly get a little break before returning, the hope is that the players will stay fit during this bizarre and unprecedented winter break. All of the travel and the starting and stopping, as well as the extreme climate changes cannot be healthy for their bodies. But clearly, football is only about money anymore, the players are simply viewed as a commodity. Whether it is healthy or not, they are back in training and adapting to the change in schedule.
This post inspired by the music of The Beach Boys' "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
Back to Training: Adapting to the Change in Schedule Reviewed by Elaine on 12:29 AM Rating: 5


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Q: How to get tess4j to compile in Netbeans So am trying to get the simple ocr test example from the following website
    http://tess4j.sourceforge.net/tutorial/
to correctly compile and read from the .tif image. But for whatever reason I get a bunch of errors when running. I have the folder structure exactly how it is set and followed the instructions, did research on the issue in stackoverflow and downloaded the needed visual redistribution packages from Microsoft Visual c++ 2005,2008,20010,2012,20013 but still a no go. Here is an image of the project structure, code, and errors
http://i59.tinypic.com/t87xp2.png

A: It looks like you are missing Apache Commons IO, which you can get at https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-io/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Jul 11, 2016 Digital Exclusive
Up from Polygamy
Monogamous marriages register the facts of life, tame the penchants of the two sexes, and respond to the human aspiration for nobility.
by David P. Barash
Out of Eden: The Surprising Consequences of Polygamy
odern feminism's leading thinkers believe their core project is to expose the ancient "myths" that guide our thinking about men, women, and families. In The Second Sex (1949) Simone de Beauvoir identified the "feminine myth" that women and men have different dispositions. Betty Friedan applied Beauvoir's insights to America in The Feminine Mystique (1963). Since then, Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth (1990) has contended that ideals of feminine beauty exist mostly to keep women in their place. The Frailty Myth (2000), by Colette Dowling, debunked the idea that women are weaker, slower, and less competitive than men, and Martha Fineman ripped the veil from The Autonomy Myth (2004). She called for abolishing marriage and replacing it with state support for dependents.
Exposing myths entails stripping away unchallenged ideas and deceptive surfaces to reveal the true causes that shape human destiny, and the real freedom people have in fashioning their identities. For feminists, differences between the sexes, and the importance of monogamous, enduring, exclusive marriage, are the most fundamental, pernicious myths. Sex differences, seemingly obvious and universal are, they contend, merely social constructs. People suffer not just myths about gender but Delusions of Gender (2010), Cordelia Fine argues. Men and women are at bottom autonomous, with limitless freedom to make their identities however they want. The only limits placed on humans are artificial ones that deserve to be disregarded and altered.
It is true that how a society imagines manhood and womanhood—gender—imparts different expectations and virtues for members of each sex. And it's also true that understandings of gender have varied in different eras and locations. That gender has been flexible, however, does not mean it should be considered infinitely flexible. Sex and gender inform each other, which means that sexual difference is neither determinative nor simply mythical. Sexual differences are factual, a truth located on the surface, not beneath it.
Furthermore, myths have value. We could not sustain human life without parents' pleasing myth that their children are special, deserving a greater investment than others. And as George Bernard Shaw is said to have asserted, romantic love itself requires exaggerating the difference between one person and all others.
The idea that bearing and nurturing children is central to marriage has been dismissed as a myth or prejudice in court opinions about same-sex marriage, which treat marriage as just one more contractual arrangement between consenting adults. In addition, David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton—husband and wife, quaintly enough—wrote in The Myth of Monogamy (2001) that monogamy is rare among animals, which means we shouldn't expect fidelity among human beings. Barash, an evolutionary biologist and psychology professor at the University of Washington, has a new myth-busting book, Out of Eden, about our polygamous human pre-history and its consequences for society and for individual character.
Barash, like other evolutionists, argues that stubborn genetic realities limit how much society can reconstruct its ideas of gender. Sex differences, in particular, appear intractable in all societies, and largely impervious to efforts to reconstruct nature. For Barash, many of the most prominent sex differences we observe cross-culturally arise because human beings have a promiscuous or polygamous past. Other conventions that exist today on the surface of things—such as monogamy—may be less firmly connected to genetic biology and thus may whither. Sex differences seem intractable, while marriage institutions seem changeable. How should people committed to overcoming nature approach the intractable?
"Evolution," Barash contends, "requires us to get over the illusion…that we are in still, in some inchoate way, SPECIAL." By discarding this illusion he identifies the basis of sexual differences in animals across the kingdom, and in political communities across the globe. We can discover the human through investigating the non-human.
Males and females define "reproductive success" differently. This difference accounts for much observable sexual difference even today. For males, reproductive success comes from spreading one's seed widely and ensuring that one's own genes survive. Males stave off other males to gain access to females and protect that access once they have it gained. As a result, bigger, stronger, more jealous, more violent tendencies tend to survive in the male. For females, reproductive success means getting good genes from a successful male, then inducing him to stick around to provide protection so their offspring survive. Natural selection, therefore, favors different tendencies in women: more nurturing, and less inclined to pursue multiple partners, at least overtly. Males and females are each aggressive in promoting their reproductive interests, but aggressive in different ways.
According to Barash, male humans are about 20% larger and stronger than female humans, because the strongest males have survived to pass on their genes. Strength came into play first because males fought with one another for sexual access. The strongest won, and this victory secured them multiple partners. Strength also came in handy because this small community needed to protect those women from competitors, predators, and other depredations of chance. From this "ghost of polygamy" comes the male's greater penchant for violence and aggression, universally observed. The aggressive and strong have survived to pass on their genes, while weaker, less aggressive males have lost the battle to perpetuate their genetic traits.
Reproductive fitness also explains what Barash calls the "near-universal double standard" about sexual fidelity. Males and females are both concerned to perpetuate their own genes. A woman knows that a child is hers, but a man needs the guarantee provided by female monogamy to justify protecting and rearing particular children. The standard is a cultural construction to be sure, but is constructed in the evolutionary interests of the species. Females learn to navigate this cultural norm shrewdly, while also becoming nurturing, caring, and seductive as they perpetuate their genes.
Most animals and most cultures are, according to Barash, polygamous. The "ghosts of polygamy" survives in our genes. Western peoples, especially, have embraced monogamy. Polygamy leads to a war within and between the sexes, while monogamy leads to "shared interests," "male-female equality and mutual flourishing." The arc of biological and cultural evolution bends toward monogamy.
Evolutionary theory sounds conservative, then, defending the inescapable and workable against the modern penchant to resist or simply deny nature. Nevertheless, Barash is like many left-wing Darwinians in believing that evolution, rightly understood, allows for, or even favors, a permissive sexual morality. He worries that "right-wing ideologues" will seize upon his findings and advocate for "government programs that 'enhance marriage,' 'contribute to supporting the pair-bond' or whatever it takes to sustain a long-term, heterosexual monogamous relationship as the best…way to rear healthy, happy, socially responsible children." Indeed, more than a few pro-family, Darwinian thinkers—including David Popenoe, Steven Rhoads, George Gilder, and others—have advanced such ideas.
Barash, however, embraces a post-genetic future, a "more expansive view" that "opens the door to accepting, encouraging, and otherwise supporting child care programs and systems that don't necessarily require traditional monogamous, heterosexual marriage, or indeed, marriage of any sort." That we know nature to favor the survival of the fittest means that we can do something about it and, perhaps, conquer such nature in the name of greater human creativity. "[R]ising above our human nature may be just what is needed," Barash writes. The social stability his argument derives from evolutionary theory is negated by his liberalism.
The practical implications of Barashian evolutionary theory are only the beginning of its problems. Its greatest failure lies in stripping away the moral reality of human life. Human beings come together not only to live but to live well. Through marriage and family life, men and women seek to live honorably and admirably. Humans need reasons to believe that survival is worth the effort. Darwinism explains the human in light of the animal, but cannot account for humans' unique concerns and capacities as political animals possessing reason and speech.
Political communities do indeed construct different images of gender as a means of aspiring to these higher things. Monogamous marriage is but one of the institutions that have arisen to register the facts of life, tame the penchants of the two sexes, and respond to the human aspiration for nobility. Other institutions may deal with the greater male tendency for violence and aggression and the female's connection with her child and children.
Reason, according to some Darwinists, is a reflection of a "mating mind"—an evolutionary adaptation to maximize reproductive fitness. Barash's Darwinism cannot, however, explain why we should respect human limits. Birds, bees, and educated fleas do it, after all—for the same reason human beings do it. But marriage and family life concern the meaning of love and its rank as a human good. Yet, unlike these animals, human beings infuse all that they do with the aspiration for meaning and purpose. And neither birds, bees, nor educated fleas do that.


Poolside at The Explorean Cozumel.
Grupo Posadas has officially introduced its Fiesta Americana Resort Collection featuring 12 unique beach resort properties in some of the most sought-after locations throughout Mexico. Recommend spoke with Ana Gon, v.p. of sales and marketing, tour and travel for Grupo Posadas to learn first-hand what your clients can expect from the new collection and what you can earn for booking it.
"Only 12 out of our 150 [properties] are resorts," says Gon. "To present these properties to the leisure [American] market we decided to put these 12 resorts together." Among the collection are brands from across Grupo Posadas' portfolio, including the four- to five-star Grand Fiesta Americana brand, the Fiesta Americana lifestyle resorts, the Explorean brand that appeals to the millennial market, and the adults-only Live Acqua properties.
"We have some hotels which are all-inclusive, some have the boutique concept, others include activities and we also have the traditional EP (European Plan, room only) hotels where you only pay for lodging," said Gon. However the beauty of the collection, as she notes, is in its ability to appeal to different needs, whether they are planning a family reunion or couple's getaway.
One of the bars at Lat20 by Live Aqua Playa del Carmen All Inclusive Adults Only.
In addition to featuring 60 Deluxe rooms and suites boasting distinctive decor and artistic details, the resort boasts multiple restaurants and bars, including El Mural, which offers a fusion of traditional and contemporary cuisine; Asian Play, presenting flavors of the Orient; the Chef's Kitchen, showcasing a daily new menu using fresh ingredients; and the Sushi & Tapas rooftop eatery, plus the Rooftop Bar overlooking Fifth Avenue. Additional amenities include a fitness center and the Mint Spa by Live Aqua.
Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta made its debut on the Mexican Pacific Coast one month after the opening of Lat20 by Live Aqua Playa del Carmen. Similarly to Live Aqua Playa del Carmen, the sophisticated 443-guestroom Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta resort provides a multifarious culinary experience with six restaurants, but the real focus is on the property's lounges.
"When you think about going around the resort as a dine around, we prefer to call this one a lounge around," says Gon. "Right when you check-in you're near the lobby bar, and in addition to the lobby bar, all across the resort, you will have martini bars, tequila bars, mojito bars and sky bars." In total, there are eight different bars on the property as well as six a la carte restaurants, a spa and a fitness center.
The martini lounge at the Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta.
"On the other side we also have family-friendly resorts, which include the Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun All Inclusive and the Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf & Spa." For millennials, the Explorean brands offer 40-guestroom boutique properties in Cozumel and Chetumal, Quintana Roo. At these properties "it's about exploring the surroundings of where the hotels are located," says Gon. Activities, including kayaking, sailing, and archaeological explorations are included.
Grupo Posadas also launched a new travel agent portal (fiestamericanaresorts.com/travelagents/) earlier this year featuring the latest resorts' news plus other tools and resources such as an exclusive travel agent incentive program, Agent Cash Incentive, which offers travel agents direct payment upon booking, and the Fiesta Americana Expert e-training program. The portal also includes a Resources Center with e-brochures and images, plus The Spirit of Mexico Experience, which offers opportunities for FAM trips and individual site inspections.
Additionally, Grupo Posadas is offering agents a $200 Double Agent Cash Incentive through Dec. 31, 2016 for each Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun booking that is three to five nights. At Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta, agents can also earn a $200 Double Agent Cash Incentive for each booking that is six nights or more, or $100 for each booking that is three to five nights when booked by Aug. 31, 2016. For more information, visit fiestamericanaresorts.com.