text:
Legal Update and Getting a Bike Camera for Peace of Mind
A still from test video from the Fly6...unfortunately, about half the time it's impossible to read the license plate of a passing car. (Note: this motorist did nothing threatening, although he is out of the lane lines). Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Streetsblog just learned that Timothy Doyle, who was hit by an SFPD cruiser last May, has filed suit against the city for pain, lost work, and other damages. Readers will recall that Doyle was riding his bike in the bike lane near the intersection of 2nd and Mission when an SFPD cruiser illegally jinked into the bike lane, sending Doyle to the hospital. "It will take years to work its way through the courts," he wrote in an email to Streetsblog. Meanwhile, "I have healed about as much as possible. I certainly don't feel as good as I did before May 12th, 2016, but things are passable."
Doyle will probably win his lawsuit only because a motorist/witness behind him had a dash-camera and captured the incident. The video makes things crystal clear: Doyle was riding in the bike lane at the time and doing everything according to the law.
There's another, more common outcome–illustrated by the case of Justin Liszanckie–who was waiting to make a left turn and then woke up in the hospital with no memory of his crash. He was handed a citation from SFPD. The police report of that crash didn't match the physical evidence at the scene, but if anybody captured the crash on video, they have not come forward.
Because of cases such as these, as editor of Streetsblog SF, I have made the point that it's essential to get video cameras on your bike. That said, until recently, I've been a hypocrite–I did not have a camera on my own bike.
But I've thought about what happened to Liszanckie, Doyle and Anthony Ryan, who was also fortunate enough that someone had a dash cam going when a motorist tried to intentionally run him over. I've had my own share of incidents. There was the time someone threw a bottle at me, where video might have resulted in his prosecution. In grad school, in Pittsburgh, I had a car once "punishment pass" me and then back towards me at high speed, slamming on the brakes at the last moment, to "teach me a lesson." I was also once doored by a cab in New York City, although, miraculously, only my bike was damaged.
Somehow, though, it was the recent incident I had with an Uber driver in San Diego that finally got me to give up my personal objections to mounting a video camera on my steed. It wasn't that the run-in with the Uber driver was worse than the other incidents. I was on the way to visit my mother for the holidays. When I got to her house and told her what happened, she said: "Did I raise an idiot! All the reporting you do… are you going to get a camera after somebody hits you!"
Moms have a way of cutting to it.
I started researching. My conclusions agreed with Bike East Bay's Education Director, Robert Prinz, who, in an email to Streetsblog, mentioned a couple of cameras specifically designed for bikes: "Action cams like the GoPro have been popular for a while, for capturing fast motion outdoor video, but for people who want more of a 'dash cam' style product to use as evidence in a crash, other features are more in demand. Some bike-specific products which have been developed recently include the Cycliq Fly6 and Fly12, and the Rideye."
Prinz listed the features offered by the Fly cameras and the Rideye:
long battery life so they can run constantly without having to recharge every ride
looping technology so the camera doesn't stop recording when memory is full
impact sensors which automatically save a chunk of video if a crash occurs and the bicyclist is incapacitated
easy on-off mounting hardware so the user can take the camera with them when parking their bike
wide angle video to capture as much of the street as possible (although wide angle also tends to make objects look further away than they actually are)
I wanted a camera for front and back. After all, a recording from a front-facing camera won't help if I get hit from behind and visa versa. I'm still of two minds about the front-facing camera. Should it be helmet mounted? Handlebar mounted?
So I decided to solve the rear-facing camera first. The Fly6 had decent reviews and is combined with a red flashing tail light, so it's not really adding any hardware to the bike. I bought mine at REI because of the one-year, no-questions-asked guarantee. That gives me plenty of time to return it.
It works, but there's only one mounting option–the seat post. And that doesn't help if, like me, you have a Thudbuster shock-absorber seat post. I tried jury rigging it to the shock absorber, but it kept wobbling from side to side. I also use a seat-trunk style bag on a rear rack, which obstructs about half of the camera's view. So I mail-ordered an adapter from Shapeways so I could attach it to the tail end of the rack, where the view isn't obstructed.
That finally works, but it's a sign of new, relatively immature technology that there aren't multiple mounting options right in the box.
It required a bunch of zipties and a specially made adapter to mount the camera to the back of my rack. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
I'm also disappointed with the resolution. It's hard to read license plates. It doesn't see well at night. But I'm confident it would record the make and model of the car and–perhaps most importantly–what happened and who is at fault if I'm ever hit from behind. It would have made my previous brushes with death totally clear cut. Despite the short comings, the long battery life and integration with the tail light makes it a turn-it-on-and-forget-it-unless-you-need it type of device, which is what I want. As I research front-facing handlebar and helmet cameras, I'll look for something that's better at capturing license plates and seeing at night.
The camera performs very poorly at night. Photo: Streetsblog
That said, the obvious need for cameras is incredibly depressing. As Doyle put it: "…who wants to record every f**ing second on one's bike? To mount and un-mount it every time you lock it up?" He's also tried Nexar, an app that turns your cell phone into a security camera. As he said of the company that makes the app: "…we philosophically differed in our views of Orwellian See All, All The Time as a Utopian benefit to society. I know I lucked out and benefited from my case and that I may be hypocritical for not wanting cameras all over all the time."
But as we struggle with the city–and motorists–to put safety first, what else can we do?
A camera isn't going to prevent a crash, but if enough of us have them, it might at least get motorists to hesitate before intentionally harassing and endangering vulnerable road users. And, "…like any dash cam footage it would obviously be helpful in a 'your word against theirs' scenario," said Prinz, "especially in a case were a bike rider might be knocked out with no memory of the crash itself." As was the case with Liszanckie, who will never know for sure exactly what happened.
Do you have a camera? What do you think of the different technologies/makes/models? Got any videos you want to share? And how do you feel about the utility of having cameras mounted on your bike?
Send links and comment below.
Filed Under: Bicycling, Pedestrian Safety, GJEL, Promoted
Guffie
i used to ride a motorcycle with a drift ghost helmet camera. it's a little bulky for my bicycle helmet so i got a smaller drift stealth when it was on sale. i attach it to the top of my helmet (it came with a helmet mount) and it has good low light settings. i highly recommend getting a camera that mounts to a helmet so that it can record exactly what you see. i totally get that that doesn't address the rear facing issue.
thielges
The most important detail to capture is the scenario that led to a collision. Even these not so high quality images are good enough to show that a bicyclist was riding in a safe and legal manner (or not!) at the time of the collision. That objective evidence will counteract survivor bias. No more drivers claiming the a bicyclist suddenly swerved into their path.
I don't have a camera yet though I did outline a design for a 360 degree dream camera here a few weeks ago. I'm guessing such a unit could be manufactured for ~ $15 meaning it could retail in the $100 range.
Matt Laroche
I cannot recommend the Rideye. I have personal experience with it, as does former SF Streetsblog regular Mike Sonn, and they are glitchy.
(I do have a Fly6 and Fly12)
xplosneer
I got a Drift Stealth 2 about a month ago. It's a good start with a lot of good mounts but the low light isn't the best.
Also saw the Fly 12 as the best out there but $399 vs $99 means I'll get it later. Fly6 needs higher resolution before I'll jump.
Yi 4k is a good 4k option.
Wish I could say there are more good long-battery options but there aren't. Waiting for Drift's 4k model to drop.
Far too many incidents to mention here in Hayward that have been recorded, and a few that I've missed too. Mostly 6in passes at 35+mph.
Mostly using it to show what bad facilities look like to council.
Would love to see it. I wanted to get the giroptic but again with the battery life concerns.
So I decided to solve the rear-facing camera first. … It works, but there's only one mounting option–the seat post.
What about putting the rear-facing one on your helmet? Seems like that would solve the issues you mention.
John French
Are there any cameras which can charge from a dynamo? With a rotating buffer and automatic on/off (based on dynamo power) you could have a truly "set and forget" camera.
The rear camera works better fixed
I had the same thought, but then realized I'm not excited about $500 of easily removable gear hanging off my bike :/
Ziggy Tomcich
The contour roam3 is a perfect helmet camera. Less than $100, simple to use, easy to mount at any angle, decent quality, and cheap.
I just bought the Fly6 and was similarly frustrated by the lack of mounting options. I sank 2 hours into building my own stable Fly6 mounting rig, which anchors it to the mounting rail on my pannier bag. With this rig the camera stays on my bag not on my bike, so it's one less thing to Dick around with before each ride.
It sucks that they don't design this stuff to work properly out of the box. Until they start designing these cameras to work without dicking with Velcro straps before and after each and every ride, I doubt very many cyclists will actually use them.
peternatural
Re: Doyle and the police officer who hit him. From the video, it looks like both were rushing to enter the intersection before the yellow light turned red. Rushing to make the light is risky, because that is exactly when people will do sudden, unexpected moves (like the officer did), which you can't anticipate. I don't recommend rushing to make the light. "Go fast, grasshopper. But do not rush."
Having said that, I'd still agree that from a legal perspective, it looks like the officer was in the wrong, and hopefully Doyle will win his lawsuit.
I think it's more important to have a front facing camera helmet mounted so it captures what your looking at not where your bike is pointing. For a rear camera I think it's better to have it mounted to the bike to minimize the vibration blur and constantly record what's behind your bike not what's behind where your head happpens to be looking.
Here's a video from an incident up in Healdsburg, with views from three different cameras
on the same bike, rear, handlebar, and helmet, to give you perspective. I think Richard uses Flys.
This bridge is sort of an annoying spot, it has a 15 MPH speed limit and 95% of drivers understand it needs to be a shared lane, but not this driver. This one is particularly silly, the rider controlled the lane as is typical given that riders will generally go the speed limit, so the driver tries to pass in the oncoming lane which is occupied by other vehicles.
Well, you can make the same or similar points about a front-facing camera: handlebars or helmet. If it's on your helmet, you won't be getting a constant record of what's directly in front of your bike either. With a rear-mounted camera on your helmet, your recording of the rear will be at least as good as your recording of the front with a front-mounted camera.
cgarch
And fixed to the seat post. I have my Fly6 mounted to the rack on my tandem, similar to the pic here, and it bounces a lot more. But I'm pleased with the image captures it makes. I have the original mount and it sucketh big time.
I use a Bult Benny X3, a helmet with a built in front facing camera. This has turned into the perfect commuting solution for me.
Both video and sound capture
Incredibly low profile, pretty much unnoticeable
Goes with you when you lock up
Inexpensive (usually around $40)
It's a pretty nice helmet
Video quality is best described as adequate: 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30 FPS
Battery and file storage gives you about 60min of recording time, so you need to recharge and dump files every day
here's the IPA stained napkin with the overview of the design:
"Seems like such a unit could be made cheaply. Use a cheapo single camera sensor topped with with a plastic 360 degree mirror/lens. The actual image projected on the sensor would be heavily distorted but software could easily unwarp it. Record 60 minutes of activity in a continuous loop, stopped when a motion sensor detects impact or a prolonged non-vertical position. Video recovered would probably not be high enough quality to read license plates but certainly good enough to get a clear idea of street positions and how the collision occurred.
We're looking at a handful of discreet parts: image sensor, controller+mem chip, battery, USB connector, motion sensor, lens/mirror, case, charging/download cable. Manufacturing cost in the $10-20 range.
Retail cost depends on sales volume. This could be either a niche or volume product, I'm not a marketeer :-)"
D G Spencer Ludgate
Ironically, your footage shows what not to do at that intersection.
1) The cyclist in front of you did not signal his intent to make a left turn. Did you?
2) You were not queued up behind the left-turning BMW.
With the two of you queueing up on the right side of the of the BMW and not signalling, how is the driver of the Mercedes to know that you wish to turn left as well?
This is how I would handle that intersection:
1) Queue up on the left – directly behind other left-turning cars.
2) Signal that I am turning left. I would even twist myself to look at the motorist behind me and signal my left. I would make sure they give me a visual cue that they acknowledge I am also turning left. Simple communication would have avoided this close call.
Roger R.
Thanks Ziggy. Can you post a photo of what you rigged? Anyway, yeah, I have Cateye tail lights and you really have to wonder why they didn't just build the Fly6 with a compatible mount for Cateye or another big light manufacturer. Many of us wouldn't have to even make any alterations–we'd just snap it in place. They got this with the Fly 12, which I understand is designed to work with GoPro mounts.
Not my footage, though I use this intersection frequently.
For lanes with straight and left as possible turns, it is definitely best practice to take center lane. In this case, the straight road, Kennedy, is a road that I see traffic going to or coming from maybe once a month.
Nonetheless, I find it somewhat odd that your takeaway from this footage is to criticize the lane positioning of the cyclist, rather than
1) a review of the camera – which was the point or
2) the driver of the Mercedes who crossed the double yellow line to pass them with clear line of sight of a vehicle stopped at the red light on the bridge.
I was aghast at the bad example. Post something that demonstrates the cyclists were in the right.
If there was an accident, the video footage would have shown the cyclists at fault. In California these cyclists violated CVC 22100 (b) and 21801 (b). (So here is video footage that exonerates the motorist.)
Incidentally, the cyclist admits in the YouTube comments that his lane positioning and failure to signal was a contributing factor.
CVC 22100 B A left turn must be made from the furthest left lane possible, and can
be made onto any lane the car can "lawfully" enter on the intersecting
road. Where a road has 3 lanes that end at an intersection, drivers in
the middle lane are allowed to turn left onto the intersecting road.
There is only one lane on Front Street at that location. How were they not in the furthest left lane?
21801(B) "The driver of a vehicle intending to turn left or complete a u-turn
upon a highway or turn left into public or private property or alley
shall yield the right of way to all vehicles approaching from the
opposite direction which are close enough to constitute a hazard at any
time during the turning movement and shall continue to yield the right
of way to the approaching vehicles until the left or u-tun can be made
with reasonable safety"
They had a green arrow – this is inapplicable.
The driver clearly violated CVC 21460
Are we watching the same video? The intersection had three options: Turn Left, Go Straight, Turn Right. The signal was both a solid green and a left-turn arrow.
I will highlight the actual violations (Source: State of California http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/):
CVC 22100 (b) Left Turns. The approach for a left turn shall be made as close as practicable to the left-hand edge of the extreme left-hand lane or portion of the roadway lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of travel of the vehicle
The cyclists were to the right of left-turning vehicles. They were not as close as practicable to the left-hand portion of the roadway lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of travel.
CVC 21801 (b) A driver having yielded as prescribed in subdivision (a), and having given a signal when and as required by this code, may turn left or complete a U-turn
The cyclists failed to signal.
I find it very interesting that you would go to the lengths of looking up the CVC codes, only to omit the wordings of the violations. Since I do not know you, I will assume that you went to unreliable source. I hope I clarified your oversight.
Add a quick-release mount with power rails. Connect the mount to the dynamo, pop the camera off when you lock up the bike.
I was in a meeting and not going too much into depth – admittedly.
These guys didn't do a very good job with lane control. I wouldn't ride that way. But I don't get how you draw the conclusion that the driver was confused as to if the riders were going straight. The maneuver to go into the oncoming lane with a car right there in front of them… is just wack. It shows a lack of awareness of other road users.
No worries. I've been cycling in Los Angeles since the early 70's. I've learned a long time ago that communication is key. A hand signal and a smile goes a long way. I've also been driving in Los Angeles for 35+ years. As a motorist who cycles, I know what unpredictable stuff cyclist do. As a motorist, I would have acted as if the cyclists were turning. I would not have gone to the left of them until I was sure they were proceeding straight; otherwise, I would have stayed behind them until we cleared the bridge.
I believe the Mercedes driver was confused since he (she) stopped at the entrance to the bridge. A MGIF motorist would have hit the gas. (MGIF – Must Get In Front)
Healdsburg + Mercedes = drunk tourist
Seems to me like Doyle still could have stopped in the space, and even if he had been moving a bit slower he likely still would have been hit or ran into the side of the cruiser.
pickles94114
My Contour Roam is great, but sadly I think they're out of business now. I used zip ties to attach the thin slide-in clip to the top of my helmet, and then slide in the camera when I ride. It's a lot more discreet than the GoPro's, most people think it's a headlight.
Patrick Devine
I have a Fly6 which I bought after a particularly caustic experience with a road-raging driver. This was while riding my cargo bike after having dropped my kids off at school a few minutes before.
I don't know if it's my unit or not, but it acts fairly a lot of the time. It gives you a warning about battery life when you turn it on by beeping between 1 and 4 times, but for some reason mine usually just beeps twice, sometimes after a full charge. Also, I had it charging the other day and left it at home and my wife found it just sitting there beeping which it hadn't really done before.
The rubber straps have worked OK for me, but they're definitely weird. I use them to secure the unit to the seat post, but I'm not sure why they couldn't come up with a better solution. I looked at the Fly12, but it was still in development when I bought the Fly6.
James Donohue
I use an SJ4000 on a selfie-stick, zip-tied to the bikes cargo carrier ; it can be extended above my head, and swiveled, for a full 360° field of view. I highly recommend this set-up:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0d5e7753d7e208b14c83eefbe72223f0a2926aa3e44502267f05d5f0c17683b8.jpg
i have the drift stealth as well and so far so good (even with low light). i typically don't ride super late at night (past 10pm) but it has been getting dark at 5pm. i think where i ride there's enough street lights that enhance the light settings. i did check my footage to make sure i can see license plates clearly in low light. some times it captures it and sometimes it doesn't. knock on wood that it never becomes an issue. mine was only $70 so i can't complain. i'm also waiting on the 4k.
i don't know that there's the perfect camera or solution out there (i mean, other than drivers paying more attention! and i do think enforcement helps) but in the meantime, i always follow the rules of motorcycle riding – ride like everyone's out to kill you, let things go if you get a close call, don't give in to road rage and wear all your gear all the time.
Yes, and there's a bit of a roll of the dice if any given camera angle will work to provide useful evidence. In the worst case scenario of a hit and run, a useable license plate capture is realistically only going to happen about 50% of the time. Adding a front and rear camera increases the odds. Lighting conditions and motion blur are larger variables than camera position.
Biking down Polk street at night with all the pot holes bounces my bike more then a Huey helicopter trying to land in Vietnam under heavy fire! Even GoPro Hero4s I tested have a hard time capturing a license plate in those conditions.
The Stealth 2 is by no means bad in low light, just not GoPro good either.
I bike at 5:45am in Hayward which has awful street lighting, especially along the bike routes you have to take to avoid the bike-lane-less freeway crossings.
Usually I do okay, but I've now within 3 months 1) hit a car (at 2mph) that blew a stop on a rainy morning and 2) been passed multiple times within inches controlling the lane on a straight-shot segment w/2 lanes at 40mph w/ all my gear on and flashing….. Difficult to keep calm under enormous threat.
ugh, really sorry to hear that. stay safe.
Here are a few photos I took of my Fly6 Mounting rig anchored to my pannier. I used a long piece of flat metal and attached a 90 deg angle bracket at angle to offset the seatpost angle. The metal rail lays flat along the top of the pannier rail and is held in place with 2 black wire ties, one of them is 12″ towards the front of the bike which helps give it stability. As long as the bottom of my pannier is tight to the frame, the shake is minimal and the camera is anchored pretty securely to the frame. There's a small bolt on the angle bracket to prevent the camera from sliding off, and I have a small safety line that attaches the camera to the bag so the camera stays with the bag if there's a collision that jettisons the pannier.
I also keep my bike battery in my pannier that powers both my headlight and tightlights, both which I semi-permanently mounted to my fenders. I'm only using the Fly6 as a camera. The nice thing about this rig is that it's almost effortless to ride safely at night. I do lots of shopping and random stops when I ride, and it's a huge PITA to have to pull all the lifesaving essential "accessories" off our bikes every time we want to stop for a slurpee or a cup of coffee during our rides.
I really hate that doing this sort of rigging is even necessary. But I don't know of any bike shop that offers an option to securely anchor head and tail lights. That's why so many of us end up riding without them. I also think it's stupid that Cyclic doesn't offer any mounting options for the Fly6 that works with panniers.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/82fc2352ec498b5fd58fe7dca48510e9aad3d656e5eebbebe5dfc188606fa9b8.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7bb0fde475c5ebed854a77beb42350264997cb7b8ada7a4f0b8aba2f7a02355d.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/41a790c85917abc194e0cb7bb34991b410b63506a5b1cb3a9bcc762f61c1b938.jpg
Fay Nissenbaum
Great post! I've been shopping for cameras and narrowed down to 'contour roam' and 'drift stealth'. I leaned towards those two because they dont put a go-pro like box on your head. I still dont know if a cyclist is more likely to be hit from the back or the front…This Brit is a thorough reviewer of many action cams:
Tim Doyle Crash Demands Faster Fixes for SF Streets
By Roger Rudick	| May 16, 2016
On Bike to Work Day, 48-year-old Tim Doyle nearly died demonstrating, once again, the fundamental flaw of painting bike lanes between fast-moving traffic and parked cars. There's no need to watch this horrible wreck again, which was shot from the cell phone of someone driving a few car lengths behind Doyle, if you've already seen […]
Cop Races Down Howard Bike Lane
By Roger Rudick	| Dec 10, 2018
A San Francisco officer, no lights or sirens, captured on video putting cyclist's life in danger by using the bike lane to pass
Outrage Over Bicycling Deaths is Not Enough
By Roger Rudick	| Jun 27, 2016
The deaths of Heather Miller and Kate Slattery, two more people killed riding on San Francisco's dangerous streets, has left the entire safe-streets community rattled and heart broken. Cycling advocates took San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and SFMTA head Ed Reiskin to task for a tone-deaf press conference held Thursday about the carnage. The mayor […]
Are San Francisco Cyclists Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
By Roger Rudick	| Sep 12, 2016
Justin Liszanckie was running an errand on the evening of July 20. "I was on Brannan and heading west, trying to turn south on Fourth towards the ballpark," he said. And that's the last thing he remembers until "waking up in the hospital hours later." Liszanckie ended up in San Francisco General for ten days. His […]
BREAKING NEWS: SFPD Hits Cyclist in Bike Lane
This video just came in via the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the San Francisco Bike Ride Crew. It's truly nuts. An SFPD cruiser apparently parked in the right-turn pocket suddenly pulls out, swerves left and hits a cyclist. Streetsblog will post more information as it comes in, but apparently the cyclist is Tim Doyle, […]
A Safer Masonic on the Way
Wednesday evening some 130 local residents and other interested parties dropped in at the San Francisco Day School to learn about the construction phase of SFMTAs Masonic Avenue Streetscape Project. To quote SFMTA's own release about the project: With construction starting in June 2016, the Masonic Avenue Streetscape Project is an effort to improve safety for […]


> > We need to create attributes with different modes across devices.
> > invocations, but that is racy in case of globally defined attrs.
> the file being created, right?
> Or is that properly taken care of elsewhere?
userland have to cope with that anyway.
> >   * device_create_file - create sysfs attribute file for device.
> That should be "device_create_file_mode"
Thanks for catching! Will change.


Hi everyone. Just a quick post today; it's been an extremely busy week for me so I haven't been as present in the online world as usual. I have been very naughty and purchased some rather expensive shoes which are the Red Carpet 100 Pumps from Mimco in Peacock Green Glitter. I would never pay this amount for a pair of shoes but I absolutely could not resist. I never see shoes which make this much of a statement in the shops; I am often frustrated by the conservative range of shoes that are available. These shoes are absolutely stunning and perfect. The most beautiful shoes I have ever seen. I adore glitter and there are definitely not enough glitter products around. I tried to make my own glitter heels a few years ago but they didn't look as good as a store bought pair and I was scared about all the glitter falling off! But I think eventually I'll try DIY glitter shoes again because I'd love to have glitter shoes in every colour and especially in pink. The stand out feature of these heels is also the gorgeous emerald shade. Wow. I'll be wearing these shoes for the first time tonight for a Christmas party which is a cruise around Sydney Harbour.
This entry was posted in Item of the Week, Mimco, New In. Bookmark the permalink.
That coat. Those heels. Seriously dying right now, Imogen – so cute!
These shoes look absolutely amazing, and I love the color.


text:
Bob Greaves
Bob Greaves, who died on March 14 aged 76, presented news and current affairs programmes for Granada TV for more than 30 years and became one of the most recognised television faces in the north-west of England.
03 April 2011 • 5:12pm
A natural performer with a down-to-earth manner, Greaves became the face of Granada, and in a street poll in the region some years ago, 96 per cent of people shown his photograph were able to name him.
Although best known for the many "soft" items he presented, Greaves was a first-rate journalist who could handle "hard" stories with equal aplomb.
Greaves was a lifelong champion of his native north-west and developed a instinctive rapport with its people. "He had a great charm," recalled Michael Parkinson, who began his own television career with Greaves at Granada. "He had what all great communicators had – he understood his audience, he spoke their language, which means to say he didn't speak down to them at all."
In a career with Granada spanning 36 years, Greaves calculated that he had presented some 12,000 hours of programmes, including Scene at 6.30, Exchange Flags and, from 1973, Granada Reports (latterly Granada Tonight), the station's flagship current affairs show.
On the ITV network he presented Reports Action and five series of the award-winning charity telethon Scramble. For the north-west region, Greaves commentated on many important outside broadcasts, including royal visits to the set of Coronation Street.
His reputation for unflappability was sorely tested in 1981 when an elephant with a questing trunk took an overzealous interest in Greaves's nether regions during a live outside broadcast from Chester Zoo. Denis Norden picked the clip for his out-takes programme It'll Be All Right On The Night and it was subsequently shown on television and on video in some 20 countries around the world, including the United States and Dubai.
Robert Morgan Greaves was born on November 28 1934 at Sale, just outside Manchester, the son of an inspector in an engineering factory and a dinner lady. After Sale Boys' Grammar School, Bob went straight into journalism, joining the Sale and Stretford Guardian and moving on to the Nottingham Evening News before taking a job as northern news editor on the Daily Mail in Manchester. Later, when he worked in television, he continued to cover football for several national newspapers, including the Mail On Sunday.
In 1963 he joined Granada as news editor, but Greaves soon diversified as a reporter and presenter, reading news bulletins and fronting programmes such as Put It In Writing and Police File from 1967. In the 1970s his relish for on-screen work was noted by Clive James, then the television critic of The Observer, who remarked that Greaves was "an ordinary looking man with the most extraordinary energy".
Greaves never let his local celebrity go to his head, and when a woman recognised him in the street and exclaimed to her companion: "Oooh look, it's whosit from wheresit off whatsit!" he considered it a neat summation of the ephemeral nature of fame. He retired in 1999 after 35 years' service.
Bob Greaves, who had been suffering from cancer, is survived by his fifth wife, Sonia Evans, and three of his previous wives, including his first, Maureen Scott, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. His fourth wife, Shirley Jolley, predeceased him.
Cyber attack leaves self-employed with no money to pay bills
By Harry Brennan 18 Jan 2022, 6:00am
The facts around the Texas synagogue terrorist must be established
Telegraph View 18 Jan 2022, 6:00am

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Chinese politics & policy
Donald Trump is the odd man out with Putin and Xi
China and Russia co-operate in areas posing a challenge to western interests
Alexander Gabuev
Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping meet informally at the Kremlin this month © EPA
Donald Trump is the odd man out with Putin and Xi on twitter (opens in a new window)
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When Chinese president Xi Jinping landed in Moscow on the eve of the G20 summit for two days of talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the world paid little or no attention. Compare that with the breathless coverage of Donald Trump's meeting with the Russian leader days later.
Cooler heads in the Kremlin, however, recognise that the meeting between Messrs Putin and Xi was where the real action was. Beijing and Moscow are stealthily scaling up their co-operation in areas that are likely to pose challenges to western interests and policies.
The dominant view in the west is that the "bromance" between Mr Putin and Mr Xi masks an awkward relationship, in which mutual trust is conspicuously absent. But this obscures a more complex picture. The truth is that Russian and Chinese national interests tend to coincide precisely in areas where they oppose those of the west.
Take the North Korean nuclear issue. Mr Trump wants Mr Xi and Mr Putin to put more pressure on Pyongyang. But China and Russia see North Korean efforts to acquire a nuclear-capable inter-continental ballistic missile as an unwelcome yet inevitable development caused by the regime's desire to have an insurance against possible hostile moves by the US and its allies. Mr Putin and Mr Xi share Kim Jong Un's paranoia about the western penchant for supporting regime change in authoritarian polities.
Hawks in the Russian and Chinese national security establishments are united in their belief that Washington is using the North Korean nuclear problem as a pretext to put more military pressure on both countries by deploying the Thaad missile defence system. Both see a nuclear-armed Mr Kim as a far lesser threat than a growing American military presence at their doorstep. Mr Putin and Mr Xi spent much time in Moscow discussing those issues and are presenting a united front to block US moves on North Korea.
Elsewhere, Mr Trump triggered an avalanche of criticism by hyping the idea of creating a joint cyber defence unit with Moscow, before disowning it. In fact, Russia and the US have been sparring for years in the cyber domain and disagree strongly about global governance of the internet. By contrast, Moscow and Beijing have consistently converged on these issues. The joint statement issued after Mr Xi's visit to Moscow promotes an approach to global internet governance that puts sovereignty of national domains above the principle of freedom of information.
On the domestic front, both governments are happy to share best practice on limiting dissent online. Beijing has reverse-engineered draconian Russian law on non-governmental organisations, while the Kremlin's experts are busy studying China's "Great Firewall".
There are more examples where Chinese and Russian agendas may not directly align, but are close enough for the two powers to help each other. Beijing opposed the annexation of Crimea, but has quietly supplied Russia with an electricity cable that undermined Kiev's energy blockade of the peninsula. Similarly, Moscow has not taken a public stance on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but, shortly after the war in Ukraine, resumed sales of military equipment that will boost China's capabilities in the disputed waters.
Co-operation between China and Russia might be transactional, but it has geo-strategic consequences. At times, Mr Putin and Mr Xi have found an unlikely ally in Mr Trump. The latter's clumsy approach to foreign policy and fractious relations with long-time allies leave the west poorly equipped to push back. Nor should we expect that an increasingly isolated US administration will have the political capital to manage conflict and competition between great powers in the post-cold war era.
The writer is chair of the Russia in Asia-Pacific programme at the Carnegie Moscow Center
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023. All rights reserved.
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< December 2017
Thu, 07 Dec 2017:
The Paradox of Tech Interviews
Tech interviews are very strange. The whole process makes no sense in general, when it actually comes to being hired to do actual work. This gets worse when you're dealing with a specialization that is all about identifying trade-offs and fitting solutions to them.
But let me explain this with a car analogy.
Ok - I want you to design the architecture for something that can get from A to B very fast, in a city. Make sure that it can go around corners and also stop when required.
(starts to draw a motorcycle, with a handlebar and brakes ...)
Sure that would work, but we're mostly have to have four wheels in this one, because that's necessary for stability when going around corners.
(Starts to describe how in the hands of a good driver, motorcycles do go around corners without toppling over, like all over every city)
Alright, but let's take it as a given that the vehicle needs four wheels when this company makes one. Perhaps a fifth one which has to be carried around all the time, because we have four wheels.
(Ok, so the best design to go around corners really fast involves a really low car with a wing at the back, for downforce at high speed)
Yes, but that's not very practical - it rains sometimes and you need to put a roof over it, so that you can drive around in the rain without getting wet.
(That's reasonable, so there's this nice Miata that I once drove, it had a cloth roof that would come up whenever the car is parked & you could drive it pretty fast around corners)
Yes, but capacity is a big problem with a car like that so something a bit bigger would be more scalable as the company grows in size.
(Sure, the Tesla Model X is a great example of a bigger and more ecofriendly car, which is still pretty fast and has all the weight down below ... it does go around corners and stops where you want it, with a lot of on board capacity for growth)
That's good, but that's an exotic solution - in general, we prefer simpler solutions over things that need new and unproven technologies. The goal is to use as much off-the-shelf tech as possible, mostly because we're still limited cost concerns.
(Sighs, starts drawing a volvo minivan ... but stops to check)
That's a good approach, can you go into a little more detail about how you'd make this go faster, particularly when it comes to acceleration.
(You can put a V8 in it, maybe go as high as 400 Horsepower and it will be okay - I've done that before, but it's an ugly kludge).
See, this is the point where I quickly realize that the conversation was explicitly tailored to come to the same conclusion as the other side of the table - that the company has a minivan they designed for growth, but they want it to go faster and they're hiring me because I know how to put a V8 in a giant car, because I've done this before.
Being different is not exactly a good thing, but it is the necessary step towards innovation, in various degrees (improvement is change, duh). And yet, in an interview you run up against hidden limitations which completely up-end your ideas for change, because everything is about trade-offs, not absolute right answers.
And that almost never happens when you work on something for a month.
New ideas pass through three periods:
1) It can't be done.
2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing.
3) I knew it was a good idea all along!
-- Arthur C Clarke
posted at: 17:11 | path: /rants | permalink | Tags: public, work, me


ABOUT Eling and Totton New Forest, Hampshire, UK.
Totton and Eling is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, UK, with a population of around 28,000 people. It is situated on the eastern edge of the New Forest and on the River Test, close to the city of Southampton and part of the city's urban area. Surrounding towns and villages include Ashurst, Marchwood, Cadnam and Ower.
Totton claimed to be the largest village in England until it was made a town in 1974. The Town is often considered to be made up of several smaller villages, such as Testwood, Calmore and Hammonds Green (as well as the original village of Totton) which have been connected by new clusters of housing to form the town as it is today. This is backed up by the presence of several areas of local shops, which served their respective villages in the past, and to an extent still do today. Until the 1967 forest perambulation fencing, New Forest ponies were free to roam its streets. At their closest points, Totton and Ashurst are less than 0.4 km (400m) apart, if measured from the closest buildings.
Totton's town centre hasn't changed much since the seventies and it only has Commercial Road and the A35 causeway as the main exit routes from the town.
The areas behind Calmore Industrial Estate by the river Test have been regenerated for boating with lakes, but its main use is fishing and as a water supply resource. There is also the Testwood Lakes Centre, with walks along the Test Way running from Totton to Inkpen Beacon in Berkshire, via Romsey in Hampshire.
Eling's attractions include its tide mill that is at one end of the Harbour and Eling's Norman parish church, St Mary's, built on Saxon foundations with registers dating back to 1537. Eling Tide Mill is one of the very few working tide mills in the UK but cannot be equated with the mill listed in the Domesday Book. In addition, Eling contains Hampshire's only surviving medieval toll bridge across Bartley Water by the side of the tide mill. This has been in use since at least 1418 and still charges users today. There is a Town council run Heritage Centre, with details of the history of Totton and Eling.
The original village of Totton can be descibed as the area's of Totton, Testwood and the Salmon Leap and disected by the A36 and the A336 and bordered by the River Test. From this, many new developments were made to expand the town. The Calmore estate was built in the early 1970s to the north of the Town, and subsequent housing has merged the estate to the town as a whole. Extended housing to the Hounsdown region also occurred during the 1970s, with the construction of the school and the increased housing found there. In the late 1980s and 1990s, more housing was built to the West of the town towards Netley Marsh and along Ringwood road. These developments, collectively referred to as West Totton, consisted of a new communal area and church and hall as well as huge amounts of new homes.
Since the end of World War Two, the town emphasised more on its connections and proximity to Southampton, due to the prosperity to be found there, but more recently, particularly since the building of West Totton transformed the town beyond all recognition, the town has attempted to return to emphasis on its roots as a smaller independent New Forest settlement.
Totton and Eling is served by the railway at Totton railway station, on the South Western Main Line to Southampton, London Waterloo, Bournemouth and Poole, and is run by South West Trains.
Bus services in the town are run by three main companies. Bluestar, formerly Solent Blue Line, runs services to Southampton, Cadnam, Hythe, Dibden and around the town. Wilts & Dorset also operate cross county routes to Salisbury and First Hampshire & Dorset to Southampton via Southampton General Hospital.
One of the most successful sporting enterprises of the area has been Totton and Eling Cricket Club. Under its former guise of B.A.T. Sports, it won the Southern Premier league, the highest level of club cricket in the Hampshire area, four times in six seasons between 2001 and 2006. In September 2007 Totton and Eling CC became North Gear National 2020 Champions beating Ockbrook & Borrowash in the live televised final on Sky Sports.
In addition to the cricket club, Totton also has a local football team, A.F.C. Totton. In 2007, AFC Totton made it to the final of the FA Vase and so had the chance to play the first competitive match at the New Wembley Stadium. The club were previously based in a stadium in the centre of the town, however moved in 2011 to a new ground with stand and several training pitches near the outskirts of the town in Calmore. The ground reportedly cost £2.5 million.
Totton now has two secondary schools within the boundary of the Totton and Eling Civil Parish; the original Testwood School, built in the 1940s and Hounsdown School, built in 1963.
Testwood Sports College is located in the north of the town and has undergone changes recently as part of it's acquisition of Sports college status in 2004. This has resulted in a change of name and improvement of facilities including building a synthetic turf pitch and an extension to their sports hall. The Testwood school logo includes the river, the wood and salmon encompassed into it, indicating the nearby River Test and the Salmon leap. Testwood hires out it's sporting facilities after hours, namely the synthetic turf pitch, which is used frequently by the community. Testwood's pupils mainly come from the central Totton and Calmore areas. Testwood normaly ends at five minuites to three.
Hounsdown, a specialist science college, is located in the Hounsdown area of the town, south of the A35. It too has experienced expansion in recent years, including the construction of a new sports hall. The Hounsdown logo is of a stylised, curved triangle. Hounsdown also hires out it's sporting facilities after school, namely the swimming pool, which is used frequently by the local community and groups . Hounsdown source's it's pupils from the areas of Hounsdown, Eling, West Totton and Ashurst.
Both schools share a strong rivalry between each other, which is often reflected from sporting events to clashes between pupils outside of school. The severity of this led Hounsdown to change the time their school finishes 15 minutes later to quarter past three.
Totton also has a sixth form college: Totton College, which started life in 1955 as Totton Grammar School.
The town has a number of churchs in the area, the biggest and oldest being St. Mary the Virgin church in Eling. Other anglican churches in the town include the church of St. Anne's in Calmore, the church of St. Matthew's in Netley Marsh and the church of St. Winifred's in Testwood. These churches form the Team parish of Totton and are part of the Diocese of Winchester. In addition to these, there is also Testwood Baptist Church.
St. Mary the Virgin ChurchThe Church of St Mary the Virgin is the oldest of the churches in the Totton area. Several years ago during the reordering of the church excavations, part of a Celtic cross that dates back to the 9th (possibly the 6th) century was found. The site of St Mary's has been a place of Christian worship since that date.
Today the church stands on the hill looking out over the bay to the container port on the Southampton side of Millbrook. On this side, not far away is the expanse and beauty of the New Forest. St Mary's finds itself at a threshold between the industry of Southampton and the quiet of the Forest. Within the tension of both lies the possibility of both old and new. The church itself reflects this with a modern interior that brings a light, open effect and the traditional stone, including a Saxon arch. St Mary the Virgin Church is a part of the Anglican team ministry that covers the town of Totton and Eling with 38,000 people within its area. Historically the mother church to the area, St Mary's is now one of four churches in the team ministry along with Calmore, Netley Marsh and Testwood. In 2003 two self-styled 'vampires' were imprisoned for harassment of the Vicar of St Mary's and his family..
Argate is in a quiet location and has ample off road parking at the front of the property.
Within easy reach of the county shows at Broadlands, Netley Marsh and Brockenhurst.
Southampton city centre is only 10 minutes away by car as is Lyndhurst, the capital of the New Forest.
All rooms are comfortably furnished, have colour television, hairdryer and beverage making facilities.
We are a totally non smoking establishment.


It was into this conflict that the South African Motor Cyclist Corps was sent in 1916 with 400 B.S.A. motorcycles. Although a well-known publicity photograph, usually incorrectly labelled as one of the South African Motor Cycle Corps, shows a smiling soldier with a Model H, all of the known photos from East Africa show Model Ks without the enclosed chain drive. The Model K had a cylinder capacity of 557cc, was rated at 4½ horse power and had a primary chain and belt final drive. The magneto was mounted in front of the engine in a position rather vulnerable to wet conditions, although the front mudguard did have a protective lower flap. The S.A.M.C.C. machines had leather gun buckets mounted on the forks for carrying rifles, Lewis guns or signalling equipment.


Despite Israeli Pressure, European Aid Ship Plans to Arrive Gaza on Oct 20th!
Rights activists said that If Israel commits another terrible crime, then we cannot stop them.
Sweden's third aid ship 'Estelle' and 20 peace supporters on board have been on their way to Gaza since June 20.
Media coordinator of the Ship to Gaza Estella campaign, Mikael Lofgren informed Anadolu Agency about the ship and their initiative.
Ship to Gaza "Estella" left for the city of Gaza from Umea, north of Sweden on June 20 with twenty people on board including several Israelis.


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The ARF (Advertising Research Foundation) announced it has adopted a code of conduct governing ethical research and related data collection by member companies.
The code addresses industry conduct in relation to research participants, internal and external clients, the profession and the public. It is divided into principles governing general member behavior, as well as principles for specific sector research and data collection, such as for online and location-based analytics.
The ARF will look to enforce the code through a cooperative industry system titled the "Chain of Trust." The self-regulating program will enable members who commit to the values and principles of the code, within their research functions, to display an ARF code logo on correspondence and marketing materials. Additionally, through the "Chain of Trust," ARF members will agree to use suppliers, agencies and other adtech third parties who have also made commitments to the values expressed in the code of conduct, whenever possible.
"For an ecosystem such as ours built upon research, data and analytics, the need to ensure that all are conducting themselves in an ethical and responsible manner, based upon agreed guidelines of behavior, is not only morally correct, it is good business," said Scott McDonald, CEO and President of the ARF.
"Consumer trust is critical to our industry, as is trust of each other and in the data we use," said Mary Ann Packo, ARF board member and Kantar Western Region leader. "It is imperative that the industry take action now – independent of what may occur legislatively – to adopt a course of behavior that enables us to move forward in a sustainable manner with the needs of all constituents – and especially that of consumers – in mind."
The code outlines responsibilities for general member conduct that includes in part:
That research participants be engaged voluntarily, that no misleading or deceptive practices be used in engaging with them, that participants should suffer no harm by choosing not to participate and that best practices be used to protect their privacy and PII. Additionally, clear privacy policies must be made readily available, with a clear indication of what research organizations and affiliated parties are conducting the research
That members provide honest statements of work and contract agreements to clients, and that clients be informed of all quality control and validation KPIs
That members avoid using any harassment or misleading recruitment and sampling techniques when dealing with the public; that all conduct complies with applicable laws and regulations and that members do not engage in anti-competitive behaviors. Additionally, members will be required to treat PII in strict accordance with their privacy policies and with existing law.
Sector specific principles in the code outline that:
Members should support and/or conduct custom or shared research to determine whether consumers understand the member's terms of service and data privacy policy
Members should state when and how they used automated decision or artificial intelligence systems and provide a clear and easy opt-out ability from this
Researchers provide consumers with an easy way to withdraw consent for the collection and use of their data and that members not make any attempts to influence the accuracy of syndicated media research or syndicated sales or consumer data
Members using location data for research should identify on their website what sources of data are used and provide those targeted with the ability to opt-out of future contacts
In development of the code, The ARF looked to build upon existing laws, regulations and codes, where applicable, including GDPR, CCPA, COPPA and HIPAA. Additionally, the document reinforces the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) guidelines for data privacy, the Neuromarketing Science and Business Association (NMBSA) code of ethics for the application of neuroscience in business and ESOMAR's and the Insights Association's codes of standards and ethics for market research and data analytics.
To find out more about the ARF Code of Conduct download a copy.
To download an ARF Code of Conduct application form: Click here. Complete the form and return it to Paul Donato at pdonato@thearf.org


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Heather Hemmens' Ethnicity, Husband, Parents, Age – Wiki
1 Who is Heather Hemmens? Wiki Bio
7 Who is Matt Barr, Heather's boyfriend?
Who is Heather Hemmens? Wiki Bio
Heather Hemmens was born in Waldo, Maine USA on 10 July 1988 – her zodiac sign is Cancer and she holds American nationality. She is an actress, film director and producer, best known for portraying Alice Verdura in the "Hellcats" CW series.
Original source: https://biographypedia.org/heather-hemmens-ethnicity-husband-parents-age-wiki/
Heather was raised in the woods of Waldo alongside her two older brothers and her older sister by their parents, who are both involved in real estate. She moved to Thorndike in Maine at the age of 14 and began attending Mount View High School, where she became interested in acting and was often winning roles in the school's plays.
(2/2) #ImagineThis —A confederate army base is now a studio the size of Warner Brothers, Sony, and Disney combined— and owned by one black man. To further this magical, historical moment in time, sound stages were dedicated to our legends and icons including Oprah, Denzel, Halle, Whoopi, Will Smith and the very missed Diahann Carroll. To say this was a moment of a lifetime is an understatement. There are no words to describe what I was so blessed to witness, but I just have to express my deepest gratitude at being included. My great friend and wonderful boss @tylerperry made sure that this was an appreciation for the culture, the team, and every last one of us that are lucky enough to share in his dream. Honoring our cast with these stars that will live at the new @tylerperrystudios is an incredible, thoughtful gift. With monumental love and appreciation, THANK YOU TYLER! ??♥
A post shared by HEATHER HEMMENS (@heatherhemmens) on Oct 7, 2019 at 1:52pm PDT
After two years at Mount View, she switched to Walnut Hill School for the Arts close to Boston, matriculating from it before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. While attending high school, Heather was taking martial arts classes and also trained with weapons, and today she holds a black belt in martial arts.
There are only eight movie roles credited to Heather's name as she has always been more focused on appearing in TV series rather than in movies. She made a short debut appearance in "The Dukes of Hazzard" in 2005, and then won a non-speaking role as a Latin girl in "Glory Road" in 2006.
She appeared in "The Candy Shop" in 2008, and "Road to the Altar" in 2009 before deciding to try her luck in film directing and producing, serving as both of the short films "Perils of an Active Mind" and "Designated" both in 2010. Her last appearances in movies were in "3 Musketeers" playing Alexandra D'Artagnan" in 2011 and "Complicity" in 2012 as Kimberly.
She made her debut TV series appearance in the "Pop Rocks" in 2004, and then appeared in a single episode of TV series' such as "CSI: NY" in 2006, "CSI: Miami" and "Without a Trace" both in 2007.
She became somewhat popular after she was cast to play Alice Verdura in the "Hellcats" comedy drama TV series, which follows the story of the wild world of competitive college cheerleading, appearing in 22 episodes in 2010 and 2011. In 2013, she portrayed Darcy in the "Angry Sex" episode of "The Haves and the Have Nots", and Sasha in the "Seal Our Fate" and "I Want You With Me" episodes of "Grey's Anatomy".
She became famous around the USA after she began portraying Marcie Holmes in the "If Loving You Is Wrong" drama romance TV series which follows the lives and relationships of a group of five husbands and their views who are all living on the same street in Maxine, a fictional community.
Heather has been part of the main cast since 2014 to this day, while she has appeared in three TV series in the meantime – "Yellowstone" in 2018, and "Roswell, New Mexico" and "Love, Take Two" in 2019.
Heather met Matt Barr in 2011 on the set of a TV series they were both cast to appear in, going out on a date after half a year. They made it official in 2012 and have been together for over seven years now without becoming engaged or planning to marry. The two are currently living together in their home in Los Angeles, California, without kids but two pet dogs. Both are very busy actors, and as Heather has explained in an interview, they are both understanding when it comes to their free time, and try their best to be together whenever they are able to.
Heather Hemmens
Heather was in a long term relationship while she was attending high school, for three years before deciding to split after they moved to live in different towns. She was also rumored to be dating Robbie Jones, an American actor best known for starring in the "One Tree Hill" TV series, but neither of them confirmed the rumors.
Heather is very close to her Puerto Rican mother and her siblings, and she often uploads pictures with her family onto her social media accounts. She has her own favorites when it comes to actors and actresses, who are Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis and Charlize Theron, while some of her favorite movies include "The King of Comedy", "The Last of the Mohicans", and the "Mad Max" trilogy.
She is a big lover of animals, and has had several pets throughout the years, including dogs, cats, and fishes. Heather is a philanthropist who has donated to charity organizations, including The Red Cross where she occasionally volunteers – she enjoys attending charity events and parties. She is very keen on travelling, having visited several European countries such as Croatia, Switzerland and Spain, while she has also been to Asia on several occasions, to Japan and China.
? ?1st day on my new movie ?? Been working for 10 years and this is a milestone for me to lead a film. I'm so grateful and I am having THE BEST TIME. I can't wait to share with you! Xo #NeverQuit pic.twitter.com/HybM0GnGwg
— Heather Hemmens (@heatherhemmens) April 6, 2019
Heather is 31 years old. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighs around 123lbs (56kgs). Her net worth is estimated at over $2 million, as of early 2020.
Who is Matt Barr, Heather's boyfriend?
Matthew Jerome Barr was born in Allen, Texas USA, on 14 February 1984, so his zodiac sign is Aquarius and he holds American nationality. Matt is an actor, best known for starring as Danny McNamara in the recent "Blood & Treasure" action adventure TV series.
He was raised in Allen, a suburb of Dallas, by his father Mike Barr who is a former football coach, and his mother DeDe Barr who is a portrait artist. He has a younger brother named Luke and a sister called Sara. He began acting while attending Allen High School, winning major roles in school plays. He made his debut film appearance in "Levelland" in 2003, and went on to appear in numerous movies such as "Protecting the King" in 2007, "Seven Below" in 2012, and "Parkland" in 2013 among others. Some of his latest roles in movies have been in "Wild Man" and "The Layover", both shot in 2017.
Heather Hemmens and Matt Barr
Posted by Jervis Shopping Centre on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
He made his debut TV series appearance in 2004 in "ER" and then appeared in single episodes of numerous series such as "American Dreams" in 2005, "Bones" in 2006, and "CSI: NY" in 2007. He gained recognition after being cast to portray Christopher Sully Sullivan in "Harper's Island" in 2009, appearing in 13 episodes, while he became famous after portraying Dan Patch in 18 episodes of the "Hellcats" TV series in 2010 and 2011. Some of his latest appearances in TV series have been in "Valor" in 2017 as well as "Blood & Treasure" in 2019.
The Untold Truth Of Jewel's Mother – Lenedra Carroll
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Betty L. Olmstead, 81, of Fort Dodge passed away Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at the Fort Dodge Villa Care Center.
Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22, 2017 at First United Methodist Church. Burial will be at the Otho Cemetery. A visitation will be Friday 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home.
Betty is survived by her husband, John Olmstead and little dog Bella of Fort Dodge; son, Johnny Olmstead and daughter, Danita "Dee" Burbank (Mark Alcorn) of Fort Dodge; grandchildren, Jeff and Teresa Burbank; Lora and Chris Novencido; Noelle Olmstead; great grandchildren, Ryan, Conner and Katie Burbank; Fisher, Josie, Sydney, Miura Novencido; brother-in-law, Ed (Linda) Olmstead of South Bend, IN.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Bessie (Irvine) Hayes; brother, Charles Jr.; sisters, Frances and Charlotte Hayes.
Betty Lee Hayes was born January 12, 1936 in Sparrow's Point, Maryland. She attended school and graduated from Sparrow's Point High School in 1952. Betty went on to nursing school. She attended Church Home and Hospital and John Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. In 1953, Betty met John at a dance while he was serving in the United States Army stationed in Aberdeen, MD. The couple was united in marriage on May 20, 1956 in Elkton, MD. The couple moved and established their home in Fort Dodge. She was employed at Mercy Hospital until it closed in 1974. Most remember Betty from craft shows and flea markets, where she and John made many friends. Betty also enjoyed camping. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.


Balance Phase 1 & 2 Program is a liquid herbal program designed to support hormonal balance throughout your monthly fertility cycle. Utilizing two organic herbal blends, one for the first half of your cycle and another for the second half, you are able to support your bodies natural hormone and ovulation cycle with specific herbal blends for each phase. Herbal Tea formula can be found here.
One blend of specific herbs can be taken during the first half of the menstrual cycle and then another during the second half. Taking herbs in a biphasic cycle may help your body recognize and remember how to create a regular menstrual cycle, as it normally should.
The first half of the menstrual cycle is known as the follicular phase. The second half is known as the luteal phase. The average menstrual cycle is about 28-30 days long. Specific herbs can be taken together in a specialized blend during either the follicular or luteal phase, to help promote a regular menstrual cycle. You may notice some of the herbs are part of both biphasic blends; these herbs have supportive actions for the entire menstrual cycle.
First half of the menstrual cycle, approximately day 1-14 in the cycle (up to ovulation).
The herbs in this phase are specific to supporting release of the hormones responsible for promoting ovulation, reduction of androgens, and proper formation of the uterine lining in preparation for ovulation.
Tribulus (Tribulus terrestris): This herb promotes regular ovulation. It supports hormonal balance overall. This herb has been found to be wonderful in aiding women with menstrual irregularities; improving timing of the entire menstrual cycle. Tribulus has also been found to be a nourishing tonic for the female reproductive system as a whole, especially concerning the ovaries. Studies have shown that it may reduce ovarian cysts and stimulate ovulation in women who are not ovulating.
Vitex also known as Chaste tree berry (Vitex agnus-castus): Vitex works to balance the hormonal feedback loop, promote ovulation and regular cycles. Vitex has a regulating effect upon the pituitary gland, which supports regular function of the entire menstrual cycle. During the follicular phase it supports proper timing and release of LH in preparation for ovulation, and FSH for stimulating ovulation.
Saw Palmetto berry (Serenoa repens): Saw Palmetto has been found to inhibit DHT production by reducing 5 alpha-reductase production, which may help prevent hirsutism in women with PCOS. This herb also helps to reduce endometrial hyperplasia and hormonal acne symptoms. It is extremely nutritive and supports proper immune and stress response in the body.
White Peony Root (Paeonia officinalis): White Peony promotes circulation to the reproductive organs which helps to reduce uterine stagnation, ovarian cysts and painful menstruation. Studies have shown that when White peony is combined with with Licorice Rt. (Glycyrrhiza glabra), it performs better, especially for relaxing muscles, reducing painful menstruation, as well as lowering serum and free testosterone levels in women with PCOS.
Dong Quai root (Angelica sinensis): Dong Quai works by promoting blood flow to the pelvis where it will stimulate an absent or scanty period. It also nourishes the blood because it is rich in iron. One of the best uses is it helps women who are not menstruating to invite there menstruation back. The increased circulation also helps to strengthen and balance the uterus. Working to strengthen the uterus is vital for women with PCOS, since irregular cycles are common, which may cause the uterine muscles to become weak.
Gymnema (Gymnema sylvestre): Gymnema has been used for hundreds of years to reduce high blood sugar. This herb has a "sugar blocking" action on taste buds and the small intestine. Gymnema blocks the typical paths that sugar molecules take during digestion, delaying the absorption of sugar. It works by stimulating the regeneration of pancreatic cells that produce insulin, which aids in more insulin production; in turn stimulating production of enzymes that help with the uptake of glucose into cells; and then prevents stimulation of the liver to produce more glucose. Resistance to insulin increases the body's insulin levels which affects normal ovulation by preventing the body from ovulating or limiting the maturation process of the released egg. Gymnema also appears to have a lipid-lowering effect, which aids in weight loss.
Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra): Helps to maintain proper hormone production and release through support of the endocrine system. It work to help balance estrogen levels in the body. It also supports healthy insulin levels and liver health for hormonal balance support. Licorice is excellent for proper immune, inflammation and stress response as well. Women with PCOS have been shown to benefit from reducing inflammation.
Balance Phase 1: As a dietary supplement - Shake well before each use. Take 10-15 drops 3 times per day in a small amount of water. Use from day 4 -14 of your monthly cycle. Day one is the first day of your period. Discontinue use at first determination of pregnancy and avoid during nursing.
Caution: This product contains Licorice Rt. (Glycyrrhiza glabra) which is not recommended for use by persons with hypertension or those taking hypertension medications.
Disclaimer – The information presented herein by Mountain Maus' Remedies is intended for educational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Thank-you so much for helping us Patricia. You are an Angel sent from Heaven!
Patricia is AWESOME! Not only does she take the time to talk to you and help in anyway she can her customer service is impeccable. I started Phase 1 and Phase 2 to balance my hormones before I start Phase 3 and pry to God to please make this tincture give me my menses.
Went to see my OBGYN and had blood work completed and so far all my levels are where they need to be compared to before I started both Phase 1 and 2. I have been faithful and so far so good. Started Phase 3 and in 7 days I started my menstrual cycle. So now I am going to do Phase 1 and 2 again then if my menstrual cycle doesn't come naturally I will start Phase 3 again. Then we will start trying to conceive.
Click the button below to add the PCOS Phase 1 Tincture (Balancing Hormones) to your wish list.


Galaxy International Realtech Pvt Ltd is now coming up with a new and ambitious project- Galaxy North Avenue, in collaboration with Gaursons and Savior Builders Pvt Ltd. With years of experience and an evolving architectural technique Galaxy international is seeking to bring a remarkable change in the lives of all those who will be dwelling in these homes under the North Avenue.
Gaursons and savior builders, known for their commitment to quality, have planned this township- Gaurcity- in Noida extension, spreading over and area of 130 acres bringing all basic amenities with a touch of luxury and modernity under one umbrella. Of this 130 acres, approximately 45 acre is kept open for parks, playgrounds, open spaces, roads and public parking along with sports facilities. The township is so designed to include a radiant club featured with a reading room, gymnasium with the latest equipment, sauna, billiards table and likes. All the needs of a family making a home in Gaur City are kept in mind and so there are playschools with creche, even secondary schools, restaurants, hospitals, petrol pumps, WiFi and special herb parks for seniors citizens as well.This town has kept in mind a healthy green environment as well with tree plantation and rain Waters harvesting. Expected to become the most sought after location for homes, the Galaxy North Avenue 1 offers 2, 3, and 4 bedroom appeasements along with amenities such as malls and multiplexes, olympic size swimming pools and hotels, to count some. So it's a complete package in the affordable price of just your homes. And like the icing on cake, this township is situated at easily approachable location.
Galaxy Group has thus dared to break all barriers in the real estate industry by taking up this project. The professionals in the team, known for upgrading technology in accordance with the latest trends, have taken it upon themselves to create new trends and thus bring about a change in the society.


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Home » Statute Change Cost Catholic Church
Statute Change Cost Catholic Church
Catholic Church Old Sex-abuse Lawsuits. Roman Catholic Church officials in Pennsylvania say a proposal to let sexual-abuse victims file lawsuits decades after they were abused would be "fundamentally unfair" and could financially ruin dioceses across the state.
Pennsylvania has a strict statute of limitations that has kept most sexual abuse cases out of the courts, but some lawmakers are now recommending a one-year window in which victims could file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred.
The proposal followed a scathing report issued in September by the Philadelphia district attorney's office that documented how two cardinals and top aides hid decades of abuse allegations involving the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
In a statement Friday, the archdiocese said that permitting old allegations to enter the courts would likely expose the church and other institutions to huge damages, causing an "incalculable financial impact … felt in every corner of Pennsylvania."
The statement also said that it would be "fundamentally unfair" to revive allegations from decades ago, and that some of the priests identified in the report are dead.
The Financial Impact the Clergy Abuse Scandal.
There is ample evidence of the financial impact the clergy abuse scandal has had nationwide since it erupted in early 2002.
The dioceses of Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; and Spokane, Wash., filed for bankruptcy protection after being hit by lawsuits. The Boston Archdiocese settled with 552 victims for $85 million in 2003. In California, the Orange County Diocese agreed to pay $100 million to 87 plaintiffs.
The idea of dropping the statute of limitations for a year to allow old abuse allegations was modeled after California's one-year window, opened in 2003. Some 800 lawsuits involving the church were filed in California during that period.
Other states responded by extending their statutes of limitations for abuse claims, typically on the argument that children may be afraid to come forward.
In Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia Archdiocese has paid $200,000 to settle sexual-abuse cases, another group of politicians is quietly seeking a compromise that would leave the statute of limitations untouched but pressure the dioceses to put millions of dollars into a victim-compensation fund.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell said it would be premature to comment on a victims' fund.
The church endorses other proposed reforms, including allowing authorities file criminal charges against supervisors who do nothing about employees who abuse children.
Need Legal Help Regarding Catholic Church?
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).
Further sex abuse resources:
Priest Sex Abuse Lawyers
New York Child Sexual Abuse Lawyers
Boy Scouts Sex Abuse Lawyers
Dr Reginald Archibald Sex Abuse Lawyers
New York State Child Victims Act
Tagged With: Roman Catholic Church, Sex Abuse, sexual abuse victims


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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 236 (Monday, December 13, 2021)]
[Page 70832]
Notice of Data Availability: Comments Received on the
Department's Draft Consent-Based Siting Process for Consolidated
Storage and Disposal Facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level
Radioactive Waste Dated January 12, 2017
AGENCY: Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, Office of Nuclear
Energy, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of data availability.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or Department) Office of
Nuclear Energy (NE) is announcing this notice of data availability
(NODA) regarding comments received, as well as a summary of the
comments, on DOE's ``Draft Consent-Based Siting Process for
Consolidated Storage and Disposal Facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel and
High-Level Radioactive Waste,'' dated January 12, 2017 (2017 Draft CBS
Process). The Department is making this information available to inform
the public as to the content of the comments received on the 2017 Draft
CBS Process and to be available for use in formulating responses to
DOE's recently issued request for information (RFI) on how to site
federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent
nuclear fuel using a consent-based approach, dated December 1, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please send any questions to
[email protected], or to Alisa Trunzo at 301-903-9600.
The actual comments received on DOE's 2017 Draft CBS Process and a
comment summary are available at https://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting. The Department is making this information available to
inform the public as to the content of the comments received on the
2017 Draft CBS Process and to be available for use in formulating
responses to DOE's recently issued request for information (RFI) on how
to site federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of
spent nuclear fuel using a consent-based approach (86 FR 68244, dated
December 1, 2021), available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/01/2021-25724/notice-of-request-for-information-rfi-on-using-a-consent-based-siting-process-to-identify-federal. The
comment summary is intended to summarize the views expressed in the
comments and does not contain any DOE analysis of or positions on those
Additional data/information that may be useful in formulating
responses to the RFI is available at https://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting.
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on December 7,
2021, by Dr. Kathryn Huff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the
Office of Nuclear Energy, pursuant to delegated authority from the
Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date
is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.


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Is Brad Pitt, 53, dating 21-year-old Jolie lookalike Ella Purnell?
Entertainment, Hollywood, Hollywood Actors, Hollywood Celebrities
Sara Ali Khan, Navya Naveli Nanda and Suhana Khan's casual wardrobe prove they are just one of us
Deepika Padukone wins the battle of 'who wore the Zuhair Murad dress better' at Cannes Film Festival 2018
Bollywood, Bollywood Celebrities, Celebrities, events, Fashion and Lifestyle, Red Carpet
Film and TV Unions Tout L.A.-Based Productions at 'Made In Hollywood Honors'
Former L.A. City Council Member Tom LaBonge and 'Scandal' star Joe Morton hosted the 2016 Made In Hollywood Honors award ceremony.
The talk of the event was the $330 million tax credit program that makes shooting in California cheaper for studios.
City officials, guild members, TV stars and union reps gathered Wednesday morning at 1600 Vine across from the Pantages Theater to celebrate the 2016 Emmy-nominated television shows that were produced in California and the Los Angeles area.
While the producers of hits like The Simpsons, HBO's All the Way and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story received commemorative, calligraphy-laden certificates to adorn their writers' rooms, the real star of the show was the 2-year-old, $330 million tax credit program that makes shooting in California significantly cheaper for studios and independent producers.
"We're contributing to the economy of California," Ed Duffy, vice president of Teamsters Local 399, told The Hollywood Reporter, "but we're also letting people know that this is the place where movies and TV shows get made."
Six major television shows have returned to the L.A. area as a result of the incentive program, including Veep from Maryland and American Horror Story from Louisiana, according to a statement from the California Film Commission.
The CFC also credits the program for $1.7 billion in direct in-state spending for full fiscal 2016 and $600 million in below-the-line wages for workers like grips, gaffers and truck drivers.
Similar tax relief programs have taken off with state legislatures across the country over the past fifteen years. As a recent survey by THR previously showed, thirty-five states now offer some sort of tax incentive structure for film and television companies to bring their productions within state lines, infusing local economies with cash and job opportunities.
That's in addition to international destinations like New Zealand and Vancouver, Canada, nicknamed "Hollywood North" for its industry-attracting incentives.
But Hollywood union reps are quick to distinguish California's below-the-line tax credit program from others that are based on a production's entire budget, which can often factor in enormous fees for directors, writers and top-billed actors.
"If you're shooting in Atlanta or Louisiana," Duffy said, "the credits can go to Brad Pitt's salary."
"Made in Hollywood Honors" was established in 2011 and was sponsored by District 13 council member Mitch O'Farrell, SAG-AFTRA, the California Film Commission, Teamsters Local 399 and the Producers Guild of America, among other organizations.
"We really believe that this is a middle-class program," Steve Dayan, treasurer of Local 399, told THR. "We're now at full employment for the first time in a decade."
But not everyone agrees that these programs are money well spent. Two studies published this summer by USC economist Michael Thom found that tax incentives had no long-term effect on wages and only a small effect on employment numbers. They also found that the programs didn't cause the industry to expand beyond its traditional capitals in California and New York, where it's been based for decades.
The studies were of little concern at 1600 Vine Wednesday morning, however, where guests posed for photos with their certificates and expressed no small amount of hometown pride.
"We feel good old-fashioned proud," Matthew Nelson, Emmy-nominated producer of Girl Meets World, told THR. "It's good to do it here. And I really like my commute."
Movies and TV Shows Leaving Netflix in November
Ranveer Singh taking inspiration from Hitler and Aamir Khan for Padmavati
Tom Brady Chosen For 'Madden NFL 18' Cover: Will He Be The Next Victim Of 'The Curse?'
Sherlock teaser: Sherlock Holmes And Dr. John Watson to soon face life-threatening challenges


If you're seriously considering putting an existing business up on the web for the first time or thinking about having a website for your brand new business, there are a lot of factors to think about, and all of these "10 best ways" articles throw out terminology you may have never even heard of, or have no idea how to apply.
So here are some practical tips for small business websites.
The first question and most obvious one is what are you trying to achieve? You may have a definite goal for your business and excellent business plan written up, but have you thought exactly how you wish to present your website? You may think you already know, but here are just a few questions for you.
Do you know exactly which set of pages you would want to create?
Do you know which Calls To Action you would want?
Do you have information like a privacy statement, FAQ, contact us, about page all written up?
The answer might often be "no". There is a vague idea, but a lot of these tends to be drawn out and discussed during meetings with a web agency or individual developer. Some of them are being done during the course of development as the ideas flow.
The next thing to be wary of is budget. People who are not developers or are not familiar with the industry often don't know how long things can take to do. If you want that full page shining website feel, animations across the board with a mini-game on the front page, as opposed to a minimalistic but elegant site design that gets the message across, you really might want to think again.
A budget can be as important as who you decide to work with. Some people who are just starting out, with a minimal budget, makes working with an individual developer unfeasible. They may do better to simply set up a store on Amazon or Etsy. Those with a little more room might be better suited to setting up a WordPress subscription for businesses and enabling the commerce module and adopting a ready-made template through them, or even creating a site on Squarespace or Wix… seriously, I said Wix!
One of the main companions to budget should be the purpose. Why would you consider setting up a brand new site on Magento when you have no desire to ever sell products online or even catalogue them? Why would you consider a WordPress site when you're not producing regular content? Why are you setting up a Wix site when you have a huge amount of products to catalogue with some intricate custom work needed?
The purpose should tie into your budget.
Pay attention to the word "small" in small business, there's no shame in starting small when it comes to your website. Keep things simple, elegant and to the point. Make a statement with your site; your site should be a landmark on the web, not a crossroads with a thousand baffling arrows pointing in multiple directions.
The problem with technology is not the technology itself, but the rapid pace in which we adopt the next best thing; the latest model. The phone or tablet we bought four years ago could fast be nearing the end of its life in terms of updates, warranty and battery life.
While platforms do need to be updated along with security patches, you should view your website as you would any physical location.
You would pay rent for a brick and mortar store, you would renovate it if necessary and have the maintenance done to demonstrate your commitment to the business and professionalism right?
The same goes for an online business, especially if that is your primary spot. Your brick and mortar store may be open to everyone in your town and those passing through, but your site is viewable by the world, don't skimp out on hosting fees or extra work that might have an impact.
Your site is essentially your storefront, your billboard, your salesman and whatever else you want it to be. Understand its potential and show it some love.
Tying back into your budget and purpose, don't overthink what it is you want to do.
A simple site that is well designed and developed can do wonders, allowing you to focus some more of your resources on things like marketing and lead generation.
Every business is in competition, therefore it is only natural to have high expectations and aspirations, but those can come later. If you haven't even reached the decision of what content you are going to have on the site, the layout and list of pages you're going to use, you would be wise to get this out of the way first.
Incremental changes are key, they allow you to analyze the changing landscape and interests of your client base, keep tabs on your resources and minimize potential issues.
Reading up on some SEO tips and strategies, if you haven't already, would really be beneficial and can open up an imaginative vista of potential for you. Backlink would be a perfect place to start as they're often putting out excellent marketing and SEO content and tips, you can check out their site here.
Something as simple as setting up a Google Adwords and Analytics account will give you insight into the people visiting and leaving your site, and using a tool like hotjar will allow you to see what your customers are seeing.
Who and what to use?
Let's return to your budget and your purpose, and list out some of the possible scenarios and ways you might go about setting up your small business website, including some of the pros and cons of each.
If you're a business who is looking to upload a few images to a portfolio, with a contact email form, an about page and have minimal contact with a developer, or avoid the relationship of a digital agency, you really might do well to try out something like Wix or Squarespace or even Shopify or a WordPress subscription.
Why would I recommend these options?
Well for some small businesses, the ability to jump onto a free trial of a site and begin to drag and drop components until you have something resembling what you might have visualized yourself can be quite empowering.
You would keep your budget to the minimum, you could do things your way. You could install apps yourself with the appropriate subscription plan, you could set up email, and with a bit of research even learn how to point your own domain to it.
As far as the theme goes, you would be able to choose from a wide selection and customize it to a degree. In fact, you would also get a responsive version with what you're setting up, which is a huge plus.
Why wouldn't I recommend these options?
While these options are great for people looking to build generic sites; a simple showcase, storefront or statement, eventually you may run into scalability issues, especially if you're looking to distinguish yourselves from the competition, or if you want to tie specific business protocol to your website.
When you use a cookie cutter solution like this, you're usually locked out of the database, out of the core code running on the back end and if you ever run into issues, you'll need to contact the support over at one of these platforms, which may or may not be to your liking.
You wouldn't be able to implement your own load balancing options, or your own cache solutions, or your own complex search solutions if you needed them. The technology would be decided for you.
In the unlikely event that the platform you choose to use, decided to no longer operate you could lose your website. Or if one of these platforms delivered a huge update breaking the compatibility of your own site with apps or modules you have installed, you wouldn't have the control over the consequences until after the fact, by then you may need a professional to assist.
So while I would absolutely recommend one of these solutions for someone starting out with a minimal budget who just wants to get something up and running, this could be a match made in heaven. Even for small web pieces, these options can be the perfect solution for getting things done quickly.
However for those who have been in the game for quite a while, they may find themselves outgrowing the platform, but by this time they would already have a firm idea of what it is they are looking for and to achieve in the long run.
They would be able to present that existing site to a developer or digital agency, who would be able to provide something with a little more customizable, which would be able to grow with the business over time.
Another excellent thing about going custom, is if anytime you wanted to sever ties with an existing developer due to disagreements or perhaps maybe due to reasons requiring you to move elsewhere, you would be able to present your code, your data and the history of the project to a new set of developers who would know what to do with it. When you use a cookie cutter solution, your options in this area are limited; you're locked into that hosting provider's way of doing things.
One of the things about working with a developer or an agency is that when you go through one of these channels, you already get the years of experience that come with them.
You may be putting in hours in the evenings researching SEO when you could be working on your business.
Sure this is excellent, and while I would encourage self-reliance, what is it you're trying to do with your business? Are you learning to become a developer and take your business in that direction, or are you trying to do generate more leads on your website and increase your profit?
Sometimes it's good to delegate all of that stuff to professionals so you can focus on what you do best.
One piece of advice I would give is to learn about the platforms you could potentially use. Write down a short list of the ones you think are the most interesting and look for conventions or conferences in your area. Getting out and networking with people using those systems or agencies or developers are usually the best way to figure out a technical direction.
A great example I have of the power of social media, is several years ago I'd decided to make a little iPhone game, it featured a chihuahua being chased by its owner with grabbing hands following behind it, and you had to catch pieces of flying chicken and avoid obstacles in your way.
During this time period, I'd told my wife to hop onto some social media websites and start hyping this thing up. Over the course of a few weeks, she'd signed up to Facebook, Instagram, Weibo and other social media platforms. She took photos of my mothers chihuahua, dressed her up, even put on a little birthday party for this dog.
In a matter of a few short weeks, she had amassed a huge following, just by spam adding people, leaving comments on people's pages, liking pictures across multiple different platforms.
If you're looking for that little extra edge, I'd advise giving this a try also!


Seventy per cent of all technical innovations are directly or indirectly linked to materials. This percentage has been increasing since 1970 and is forecast to continue increasing steadily until 2030. Advanced Materials have been identified by the European Commission as one of the five Key Enabling Technologies.
The doctoral program proposed on Advanced Materials and Processing is in-line with this reality, offering a widely interdisciplinary 3rd Cycle, built from the competence and experience of the research institutions and academic departments involved.
Applicants to the program must satisfy admission requirements of the institutions involved, whose rules are announced during the recruitment process, where the program is offered to National and International students that have already concluded a master course, or legal equivalent, in sciences or engineering, or equivalent to it.
Applicants may not possess the Master degree as long as they obey to the conditions imposed by the article 30, point 1, of D.L. nº 74/2006, of March 24th.
As we aim to select the best students, the main criteria will be to select for interview recent graduate students (less than 2 years after concluding their Master degree) with final course marks above 14/20.The students will be selected and ranked according to their academic, scientific and technical curriculum, experience in the area of the program, English skills and an interview.
• Argument well-grounded in the most current scientific knowledge.
• Conscious attitude on issues of ethics and social science.
• Proactive attitude in knowledge transfer 'from laboratory to industry'.
• Responsible attitude on issues of sustainable applications of materials and associated technologies.
• Good joint working, group work / individual initiatives.
• Good planning, execution and analysis of experimental work.
• Advanced knowledge of Materials Science and Engineering.
• Habit of keeping track of the frontiers of knowledge.
• Implementation of innovative solutions to complex problems in Materials Engineering.
• Integrated and critique view of Science and Engineering materials and their applications.
• Dominance of the methods and ability to perform research.
Decree-Law n. º 74/2006, of 24 March, in its present redaction.
The plan of studies includes a doctoral course with 30 ECTS, the delivery of a "Thesis Project" and its public presentation, to which corresponds 12 ECTS and a Thesis with 198 ECTS.


A few weeks ago we headed down to Cornwall for J's brother's 30th birthday. It was absolutely freezing but the cloud-dotted skies made for some pretty hipstamatic pictures. On our last day we drove from Falmouth to Porthleven to meet up with my nan, aunty and aunty's fiance who live nearby. Porthleven is a pretty harbour town with some great pubs and a very precarious breakwater you can walk out onto if you like risking getting at best soaked, at worst swept out to sea! Obviously I was stood right on the end twatting around posing for photos. I love Porthleven – it reminds me of my childhood and family.
We stayed at a superb B&B in Falmouth called 'Sixteen'. It was absolutely immaculate with lovely sheets and towels, a living room with open fire for us to lounge in (I wish we'd had time) and a wonderful host called Sharon who baked homemade cakes every day and left them out for us to enjoy whatever hour we returned! She also made delicious breakfasts. The B&B is well-situated, fairly priced, has its own parking and I highly recommend you stay there if planning a trip to Falmouth!
Huge envy! My family all still live in Helston, I left when I was 19 and often wish I hadn't! I love Porthleven too, we always head down there for an ice cream from the Roskillys shop irrespective of the weather, glad you had a lovely time, your photos are great.
I've been there for icecream too! We always used to get our pasties from the place just up the hill from the harbour, aka 'is this the hill to nanny's house?' - my brother and I used to ask on every hill from Gloucestershire to Cornwall! Thanks for the lovely comment.