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Bush 41's White House photographer shares perspective on inauguration imagery
PHOTOS: Meet the drivers in Monday's Daytona 500
Big Race - Daytona
Jimmie Johnson sits in his car before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It's going to take another day to determine the winner of the Daytona 500.
NASCAR's season-opening race was postponed following a second rain delay, pushing the event into Monday. It's the second time in 62 years and first time since 2012 that "The Great American Race" will finish on a Monday. You can scroll through the gallery below to see many of the drivers participating in today's race.
Reed Sorenson rides in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Brendan Gaughan participates in pre-race ceremonies before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Clint Bowyer takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Kyle Busch takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Michael McDowell takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
John Hunter Nemechek takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Chase Elliott walks down pit road before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Tyler Reddick takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Chris Buescher takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Christopher Bell takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Matt DiBenedetto takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Kurt Busch takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Austin Dillon takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Martin Truex Jr. takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Brad Keselowski takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Kevin Harvick takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jimmie Johnson climbs in his car before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the leader 20 laps into the race when the rain returned, sending drivers back to pit road.
The first delay lasted 50 minutes and came moments after the presidential motorcade completed a ceremonial parade lap around the 2 1/2-mile track. The second stoppage was prompted by heavier rain, further soaking a racing surface that takes hours to dry.
Family loses home in Eastern Fire


"The advisors at SNHU have been there when I needed them."
I've wanted to get school done since the mid seventies. I tried a few times, but life got in the way. Now, I'm a short timer in life, so it's important that I do something for me, regardless of the cost, stress of deadlines, computers not behaving, etc. I've had some great professors and taken some great courses. The advisors at SNHU have been there when I needed them--always ready to pick up my spirits and find a way to get the job done. All in all, I'm having a great time doing this.


This summer family villa is situated in the beautiful Sani forest, has a magnificent sea view and can easily accommodate up to 8 guests. It is recently renovated and equipped with all the necessities, the surrounding area is blooming with trees and flowers and the garden is decorated with sofas made from old fishing boats making it the perfect place to host a barbecue. The location of the house is ideal long walks, biking and running among the pines of the virgin forest. The Sani Marina is 5 minutes away by car and the seafront is 1200 meters away. A small tour of the surrounding area can be arranged upon arrival. Upon request we can organize cheffing courses hosted by Cooking Workshop Consulting.


text: PUBLIC LAWS-CHS. 745, 746-OCT. 26 , 1949 31 Stat. 141. 48U.S.C.§493 note; Supp II, § 508 et seq. Ante, p . 663; post, p. 926. Maturity. Ratification and confirmation. Amendment. Proceeds. October 26, 1949 [H. R. 5490] [Public Law 402] Kauai County, Ha- waii. Public improvement bonds. 31 Stat. 141 . 48U..C. 493 note; Supp. II, § 0S et seq. Ante, p. 563; post, p. 926. Maturity. Ratification and confirmation. Amendment. Proceeds. Organic Act or of any Act of this Congress to the contrary notwith- standing, may authorize the city and county of Honolulu, a muni- cipal corporation of the Territory of Hawaii, to issue general obli- gation bonds in the sum of $1,000,000 for the purpose of defraying the city and county's share of the cost of public improvements con- structed pursuant to improvement district proceedings. SEC. 2. The bonds issued under the authority of this Act shall be serial bonds, payable in substantially equal annual installments, the first installment to mature not later than five years from the date of the issue of such series and the last installment to mature not later than thirty years from the date of such issue. Such bonds may be issued without the approval of the President of the United States. SEC. 3. Act 375 of the Session Laws of Hawaii 1949, pertaining to the issuance of bonds authorized by this Act, is hereby ratified and confirmed subject to the provisions of this Act: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit the amend- ment of such Territorial legislation by the Legislature of the Terri- tory of Hawaii from time to time to provide for changes in the improvement district proceedings contemplated by this Act for the disposition of unexpended moneys realized from the sale of said bonds: Provided further, That the proceeds of the bond issues hereby author- ized shall be expended only for authorized public improvements or for reduction of the debt unless otherwise approved by the Congress. Approved October 26, 1949. [CHAPTER 746] AN ACT To enable the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii to authorize the county of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, to issue public improvement bonds. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii, any provisions of the Hawaiian Organic Act, or any laws of the Territory of Hawaii, or of any Act of this Congress to the contrary notwithstanding, may authorize the county of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, to issue general-obligation bonds in the sum of $725,000 for the purpose of enabling it to make public improvements in that county. SEC. 2 . The bonds issued under the authority of this Act shall be serial bonds maturing in substantially equal annual installments, the first installment to mature not later than five years from the date of the issue of such series, and the last installment not later than thirty years from the date of such issue. Such bonds may be issued without approval of the President of the United States. SEC. 3 . Act 382 of the Session Laws of Hawaii, 1949, pertaining to the issuance of public improvement bonds, as authorized by this Act, is hereby ratified and confirmed subject to the provisions of this Act: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit the amendment of such Territorial legislation by the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii from time to time to pro- vide for changes in the improvements authorized by such legislation and for the disposition of unexpended moneys realized from the sale of said bonds: Providedfurther, That the proceeds of the bond issues hereby authorized shall be expended only for authorized public improvements or for reduction of the debt unless otherwise approved by the Congress. Approved October 26, 1949. 924 [63 STAT.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Politics. Gossip. Back stabbing. Whining. Distrust. Selfishness. Bad Attitudes. Work environments characterized by one or more of these traits are miserable places to work.
I often run into leaders that know they are leading teams that have these issues. Unfortunately some of these leaders fail to realize that the cultures of their teams are the results of their leadership. Or more accurately, their lack of leadership.
Every organization develops it's own unique culture. It is inevitable. A leader has a choice to let culture just happen or to intentionally influence the culture the leader wants to create.
The thermodynamic term entropy states that a system left to itself tends to breakdown. Whether establishing a new team or leading an established team, if attention is not given to the culture of that team, it will soon begin to breakdown.
Too many leaders focus on everything but culture. Problems like performance counseling, mediating issues among teammates, and solving problems way below their level can consume a leader's focus.
The ironic thing is with a strong culture a lot of the issues these leaders deal with will diminish.
Leaders. Make it happen! Don't let culture happen without you controlling it. The leader can control the atmosphere and the character of the organization. But, it must be intentional and consistent.
Are your values valuable? Do they mean anything to your people or are they just words on a poster or website.
I am not a big fan of the word culture anymore. It has become watered down to include casual Fridays and other perks at work. I like the term organization character.
Organizational character describes a team's demonstrated values. How a team acts on a habitual basis - towards each other and towards it's customers. That is a team's character.
Words like integrity, courage and character are rarely defined in an organizations value statements. Therefore, personnel often act differently in similar situations.
We will keep our promises to our customers and to each other.
We will speak with candor and in a straightforward manner.
We will be responsible for our actions and the actions of others on our team.
We will always challenge a potential integrity issue.
We will determine what the right thing to do is and do it, no matter our circumstances.
The leader must communicate what good looks like. When people are faced with a challenge to their integrity, how will they respond?
"Your boss closes the door to your office and tells you to change the date on a big purchase by one day in order to get it on the previous month's budget. You know it will help last month's sales, but it will also put the team behind in the new month. What should you do?"
Leadership and values discussions can happen at the start of each meeting. One case study with some good probing questions will only take 10 minutes, but it will go a long way towards establishing and reinforcing what the leader believes is important.
Without these discussions, values tend to be theoretical not practical. Case studies and reading articles, blogs or chapters in books will allow people to prepare for the challenges to come.
As a leader, it is my responsibility to prepare my people for those challenges. If someone has never discussed or even thought about what they might do when they are challenged at work, I am gambling that they will do the right thing at the moment of truth.
I was recently in a meeting with a client who asked me what they should do about a talented yet caustic employee. My answer: "It depends on how much you value your culture." This company has a great culture, but one poisonous apple.
Talent does not trump character. If I allow someone's talent to outweigh their character, I am giving up control of the culture of my team.
We have all been there. That one person who bullies, complains, or lacks work ethic can bring down everyone around them.
As a leader I must realize that talented people are not hard to find. People of character are.
If I lead a team, I am responsible for its culture. Even if the larger organization is dysfunctional and does not demonstrate the values it claims, I can still influence the culture of the team I am responsible for.
Having the right values, communicating them consistently and having the right people on the team are all in my control, no matter what level leader I may be.
Leaders! Don't let culture just happen! Take control of what you can control and make culture happen. If you do, your people will thank you.
They will thank you for creating an environment where politics, gossip, back stabbing, whining, distrust, selfishness, and bad attitudes are not tolerated. It will be a place they love to come to work and a team you love to lead. It is in your control!
What was the best team you ever worked on? What did that leader do to create that culture?


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Tulane's silence on Bayou Bridge, beyond
Justin Marcano, Views Editor
After a three-year long crawl, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline is officially operational. The pipeline began to flow crude oil across the southeastern portion of Louisiana — from Lake Charles to St. James Parish — on Monday. Unfortunately, it was not an April Fools' prank. The cold reality — snaking through the continent's largest river swamp — is a 163-mile knife that has been pressed against the throat of the people and wildlife of the Gulf South.
Ashley Chen | Views Layout Editor
Though the Bayou Bridge public relations website presents that the "project will have no adverse effects to threatened or endangered species," it is hard to believe that an oil line that is "75 feet wide, with deep trenches to accommodate 24-inch-diameter pipes" would not have any impact on the Atchafalaya Basin's flora and fauna.
Beyond the basin, the pipeline spells danger for the Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline ends in the heart of what is known as "Cancer Alley." With an infamous history of oil spills in the state, Bayou Bridge can and will impact more than the parishes that it runs through. The cities that are downstream from St. James — one of which being New Orleans — can find themselves in the midst of an environmental disaster that has the possibility of derailing a healing ecosystem that has faced catastrophe after catastrophe.
Tulane has endured its fair share of connections with the oil industry, both good and bad. Tulane believes that, as a research university, it "is perfectly positioned to develop innovative solutions to balance growing demands for energy with responsibility to the environment and people who live in it." With such a declaration, one must hope that Tulane would have fought against the pipeline. Sadly, that has not been the case.
In a region that is rampant with environmental disenfranchisement, the greed of industry prevails over continued silence. Energy Transfer and Phillips 66 Partners' Bayou Bridge Pipeline is not the first instance of this. Unfortunately, if nothing is to change, it will not be the last.
If Tulane truly wants to see itself be an influence in the region and the nation, it must be ready to stand up to the oil industry and raise disenfranchised communities. Time and time again, Tulane's continued silence on this issue and the issues surrounding the University in New Orleans has assisted in the oppression of people of color and lower-class backgrounds throughout Southeastern Louisiana. Tulane's unwillingness to act has not only lowered quality of life of the state, but, it may very well spell doom for itself, Southeastern Louisiana and the Gulf.
Atchafalaya
Bayou Bridge
Monica Fisher • Apr 5, 2019 at 11:31 am
Get your facts straight! Tulane Environmental Law Clinic DID fight the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.
https://tulanehullabaloo.com/47180/views/tulanes-silence-on-bayou-bridge-beyond/#comment-988


text:
Blok B 3. skupiny zóny Evropy a Afriky Fed Cupu 2011 představoval jednu ze dvoupodskupin 3. skupiny. Hrálo se mezi 2. až 6. květnem v areálu Smash Tennis Academy v egyptské Káhiře venku na antukových dvorcích.

Pět týmů se utkalo ve vzájemných zápasech. Vítěz sehrál barážový zápas s druhým bloku A o účast ve 2. skupině zóny Evropy a Afriky pro rok 2012. Družstvo z druhého místa se střetlo s vítězem z bloku A o druhé postupové místo. Třetí a čtvrté družstvo nastoupilo k zápasu se stejně umístěnými celky z bloku A o konečné 5. až 8. místo 3. skupiny. Poslední, pátý tým, automaticky v této skupině obsadil poslední 9. místo.

Blok B

 V/P – výhry/prohry

Zápasy

Egypt vs. Tunisko

Irsko vs. Moldavsko

Norsko vs. Irsko

Moldavsko vs. Tunisko

Norsko vs. Moldavsko

Egypt vs. Irsko

Norsko vs. Tunisko

Egypt vs. Moldavsko

Norsko vs. Egypt

Irsko vs. Tunisko

Reference

Zóna Evropy a Afriky Fed Cupu 2011

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I've just started learning how to subnet and while there are plenty of resources to help with the calculations and understand the maths I tend to grasp things better if I have some visual representation.
To help, I put together the following table which – I hope – nicely illustrates the patterns of binary 0s and 1s in the 4th octet of a class C IP address and their correlation to the patterns of block sizes, network IDs, host IDs and broadcast addresses of the various subnets. The table is not intended to explain how to calculate subnets nor even to act as a cheat-sheet, but others may find the visual representation helpful.
The ability to remotely access a computer on a home network while away from home can often prove very useful.
Employing a technique known as SSH (Secure Shell) tunnelling this article describes how to securely access files on a remote computer using AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) and share that computer's screen using VNC (Virtual Network Computing).
There are occasions when we want to make a computer on a home/local area network (LAN) accessible externally on the Internet. For example, remotely connecting to a LAN computer using SSH or remotely accessing a web site residing on a LAN computer.
Each computer connected to a local network is assigned a dynamic IP address. On occasion it's useful, if not essential, to assign a static IP address instead. As an example, port forwarding requires the destination computer on a local network to have a static IP address.
Using OS X Lion 10.7.1, I'll describe two ways of assigning a static IP address to a computer on a local network.


Singing Hands introduces you to the amazing world of signing with Makaton. This unique and enthusiastic approach is designed to help develop a child's communication potential through music, songs, games and activities. Singing Hands focuses on learning language in a child-centred way so that it is motivating, engaging and most of all, fun!
The Singing Hands Youtube channel features lots of videos of popular songs which children and sing and sign along to.


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Biju Patnaik's iconic Dakota aircraft brought back to Odisha
The iconic Dakota aircraft, used by former Odisha Chief Minister and legendary leader Biju Patnaik, was brought to Odisha for display at the Bhubaneswar airport.
With police escort, the three long-wheel lorries carrying the dismantled parts of the plane reached Bhubaneswar city on Wednesday evening.
Hundreds of people were seen waiting along the national highway connecting Kolkata with Bhubaneswar to have a glimpse of the aircraft used by the legendary leader Biju Patnaik. People were seen clicking pictures with the aircraft on the highway.
The dismantled Dakota (DC-3) VT-AUI aircraft will be reassembled and then positioned at a designated place at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here, officials said.
"The historic Dakota aircraft used by former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, which was stationed at #KolkataAirport, has been handed over to the Government of Odisha today. It will be displayed at Bhubaneswar Airport," Kolkata Airport said in a tweet.
This aircraft is a part of Kalinga Airlines, which was founded by Biju Patnaik. The Airlines was having a dozen aircraft, including Dakotas, at its headquarters in Kolkata.
According to historian Anil Dhir, the highest 14 planes were there in Kalinga Airlines, of which nine were crashed while one is in Indonesia, another brought to Odisha. There is no information available of the remaining three aircrafts of the Kalinga Airlines, he said.
Patnaik had used a Dakota aircraft to rescue the then Indonesian Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir in April 1947, Dhar said.
The aircraft was lying neglected as a piece of scrap in an abandoned corner of Netaji Subhas Bose International Airport, Kolkata for decades. The aircraft weighed over 8 tonnes and was around 64 feet 8 inches long.
The state government has engaged a specialised team to reassemble the dismantled parts after the vehicles carrying them arrive at the airport in Bhubaneswar. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has allotted 1.1 acres of land for this purpose at the airport.
The vintage Dakota aircraft reached temple city during the Men's Hockey World Cup. It is a significant achievement for the state to showcase to visitors, especially foreigners.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV offers 610 kms in single charge, pips...
Dutch national held by ED from IGI Airport under PMLA
Astro Zindagi (Weekly Horoscope)
IPL 2022: An epic knock from Virat Kohli is around the...


What should VS and SI mean to you?
I love diamonds and diamond clarity is an important aspect. What I don't love are diamond industry practices that lead consumers into making poor purchasing decisions. I am writing this guide to help you feel more informed about diamond clarity and to empower you into feeling more confident about your diamond purchasing judgement.
As always, if you need one-to-one advice just CONTACT ME and I'd be happy to help.
Diamonds are rated on their 4 C's – Cut, Carat, Color and of course Clarity. Clarity is a crucial factor in diamond valuation, particularly in natural/white diamonds. The GIA breaks down Clarity grading into 11 grades of variable quality.
The most popular grades are VS1, VS2, SI1 and SI2. Their popularity is due to the price points and their being mostly "eye clean", meaning that any imperfections are only revealed with an expert eye and the magnification of a microscope.
With that in mind, in this guide I'm going to focus on these four grade. Let's begin with the two key differences between them – that of PRICE and VISUALS.
The topic of price is quite simple and straight-forward. Diamonds are priced according to the Rapaport price list– an international trade diamond report for polished diamonds based on the 4 C's. It is widely used by both wholesalers and retailers to standardize and verify diamond prices.
If you were hoping to take a look at the Rapaport price list, think again. It would be difficult for you the consumer to get your hands on the report, but just knowing about it will assist you to find the right price for the diamond you seek.
Things are a lot more complicated when it comes to matters of the eye. Determining differences between the VS1, VS2, SI1 and SI2 grades is almost impossible for people who don't have professional training in diamond assessment. In fact, even the professionals will often disagree with grades.
This is quite an important point because it is the grades that play a massive role in the final price of the stone, so for example an SI2 clarity diamond is much cheaper than one with SI1 clarity, when the other 3 C's are equal.
Let's take a closer look at the four Clarity grades that we're focused on.
VS or Very Slightly included, are grades awarded to diamonds with small imperfections. They are further divided into VS1 and VS2 grades.
SI or Slightly Included are grades awarded to diamonds with several small inclusions that are easily detected when viewed under a 10x microscope. Without magnification the flaws will rarely be noticeable with the naked eye.
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These examples are graded as VS1 yet they show no visible inclusions. Not even when magnified to 40x.
The diamond on the left has a small dark flaw right in the center. The middle diamond has a very small flaw at the 6:30 o'clock position. The diamond on the right has no visible flaws.
Varying degrees of inclusions in the selection below. The top left diamond has the most flaws while the bottom right diamond is the best looking of the six. An SI1 diamond can look just as good as VS clarity diamonds – if you choose correctly.
We have nine SI2 diamonds below. As you can see, the visual flaws can look quite bad while others still look really great. Yet the all have the same grade. This is exactly what you need to be taking advantage of. Show some patience and you can definitely benefit from finding an SI2 diamond that looks amazing and doesn't break the bank.
You get the idea. It's not easy.
Before you buy your diamond, at the very least you're going to want to look at it through a 10x loupe. Physical diamond stores will let you look through a loupe or a microscope, if you ask. Use our descriptions above to try and judge whether the grade is a match or, even better, if the grade is underselling the value of the diamond.
The other option is purchasing online. Most reputable online shops will be able to provide real photos at a 20x-40x magnification. If you can't see at least 20x magnification I would advise not making the purchase.
This tip becomes even more important when purchasing a diamond with a grade lower than VS2. In this case the ability to view a high quality magnified photo of the diamond becomes twice as important in order to determine the best diamond for your budget.
Inclusions will most directly affect diamonds with step cuts, such as emerald and ascher, as these cuts provide a beautiful mirror-like appearance that highlights any visible flaws. Brilliant cut diamonds tend to hide these inclusions within the facet and sparkle of the diamond. For that reason, I would strongly advise only using VS grades for step cut diamonds.
Finally, make sure you always purchase diamonds that are certified. This guarantees the grade and ensures that you are not being ripped off.
There is every reason in the world to focus your diamond interests on VS1, VS2, SI1 and SI2 clarity diamonds. Most of them will look flawless to the eye and will cost you a fraction of what a truly flawless diamond would cost. Don't let a salesman convince you that a tiny flaw is something to be ashamed about because that same salesman probably needs a microscope to even notice the difference in the first place.
Do you attend a lot of parties with people walking around with microscopes? I doubt it.
For those who have the budget to get the best clarity, the VS range will have plenty of excellent choices to suit all but the highest of standards. For the same budget the SI range allows you to take on some small imperfections but improve upon the carat weight, cut and/or color grade.
When purchasing a VS or SI diamond, you should use your own eyes to determine whether the inclusions are acceptable for its grade. This is a skill that will take inexperienced buyers some time to develop, but the persistence will be worth it.
Use what you have learned in this article and you'll be making great diamond purchases like a pro.
Or go ahead and ask what I think. It would be a pleasure to help you make the perfect diamond purchase.
I am looking at a ring online that has a number of roughly .03 ct. diamonds around a colored stone. It says the diamonds are SI1. Do you think the SI1 clarity is good enough for lots of sparkle, or is it better to get VS clarity for the small diamonds around the central stone. Also, this ring is from China. Are they reputable in how they describe the clarity of their stones? Thank you.
i will start from the second part…it really depends on the vendor. So many things today are made in China these days, as well as high end brands. I would advice you to look for reviews of the vendor you wish to buy from, that will be the best thing.
About the diamonds around the colored stone, SI1 is a great choice and a VS clarity will not make a difference in regards to the sparkle. The thing that will make the difference is the Cut quality of the diamonds, especially in such small size diamonds.
Hello so I would like your opinion on the particular decision I have to make.
Also its important to decide what is most important for you, do you prefer larger diamond? or maybe a cleaner one?
Do you have any experience and tips on purchasing diamonds from Blue Nile?
I recognize the importance of viewing a diamond before purchasing it, and appreciate the zoom photography offered by James Allen. But I'm finding VS2 H diamonds on Blue Nile to be the same price as SI1 H diamonds on James Allen. With that being the case, it seems that I would be better off purchasing from Blue Nile with my worst outcome being paying $50 to return the diamond if I'm not satisfied. Any comment would be appreciated.
I just checked what you said and i am surprised to see these differences. You do have a point, but it is hard to judge a diamond without looking at it.
Here is my suggestion: choose 2 or 3 diamonds you like from Bluenile and contact them. Try to see if there is a chance to solve this issue by getting pictures or a descriptions of these diamonds.
I wasn't aware until today about this difference in prices between these 2 sites and i wonder whats the reason. Is it a price competition?, or that Bluenile offers VS2 clarity diamonds that looks not as good as James Allen does.
Thank you for this! I just recently got my ring appraised and the color and cut as well as clarity was great until now I didn't know how great!
I have a question where I could us some help. I'm buying a ring from a store that's in a different city that I am. It's a very reputable dealer and I have the option to return the ring if I don't like it. The ring has a single diamond that is a pear shape and it's a "vintage" diamond that dealer thinks was cut in the 1950s. The store specializes in vintage diamonds in both modern and antique settings. This diamond is GIA certified, 1.27c, rated E color, SI2, good symmetry and polish. The GIA cert says the flaws include a feather, a twining wisp, and a chip. The dealer says that none of the flaws are visible at all to the naked eye from the front of the stone. From the back he says you can see the twining wisp with the naked eye, but you can't see that on the mounted stone. In other words he says it an exceptionally clean SI2 from the front of the stone. I'm worried about 2 things. I haven't heard much about how a chip affects the price of diamond so I'd love an opinion about that. I assume it's not visible given what he's said. Also, the ring is quite expensive given these parameters (approx 11K). I think there is premium b/c of the vendor and b/c a value is placed on the uniqueness of nice vintage diamond. I guess the second question is tricky since it's a matter of opinion but I'd love some confirmation that this isn't completely unreasonable given what I've described. Thanks so much!
About the diamond – It is really hard to answer without seeing it. The owner can be 100% correct and can be 50% correct, meaning you will notice the flaw/s. Only when you see it you will know for sure. Important to know is that most SI2 clarity diamonds that are graded by GIA are good looking SI2's. The only thing I can say for sure is that you will have to see it in your own eyes or ask the vendor to try and photograph it to make your life easier.
About vintage jewellery – Since it is a unique one-time piece (you can not find it anywhere else, or custom made a new one) , the price is set according to the profit the vendor wants to make. He could have bought it for $2000 or $8000. The only thing you can do is research the estimated price at other vendors and try to negotiate the price with him/her. I don't see a reason why not negotiate if he is open for it, or just tell him you thought about and it is above your budget…that might open a negotiation talk. Bottom line, since it is unique, it has its own "Value".
what should you expect to pay as an upcharge between si1, si2, vs2 and vs1? If a 2 ctw diamond ring is identical and the the si2 is $5,000 what would I expect the difference to be for the exact same rind at the other clarities?
I am missing valuable info here: is there a centre stone for the ring or are the diamonds just melees?
Please try to get all the info, but even then it will be only an estimate of price difference since there are more variables like color and cut.
I'm going back and forth between two diamonds and would like your opinion.
The first one is 1 carat, g color, and SI1 clarity.
The second one is 1.05 carats, f color, and SI2 clarity.
I read your article but am not sure if I should go for the higher color grade or the better clarity. I don't really care about flaws that you can ONLY see under a microscope. The diamonds are both round and will be placed in a white gold setting. I really care most about the diamond's sparkle and it's ability to catch people's eye. Which diamond would you suggest?
Between these two i really think you can find great looking SI2 diamonds, but you have to see them in person or see a real picture of the diamond. Websites like JamesAllen, Brian Gavin and more presenting such pictures.
The thing is, reading what you have mentioned, the cut is much more important here and i think you should choose a well-cut diamond over the other factors. G color diamond, that has a nice SI2 clarity grading with at least Very Good cut grading will do the job.
Let's just say everything is the same on both diamonds (including the cut), besides the color and clarity.
Would you personally go with the g color, and SI1 clarity; or f color, and SI2 clarity?
Personally, i would go with H color SI2 for a Round shaped diamond and G color SI2 clarity for all other shapes.
Is there an advantage to purchasing a diamond for an engagement ring from a wholesaler that does custom design (and allows 10x loupe in person) versus purchasing one from an online retailer that allows 20-40x magnification? I visited the wholesaler in person and still wonder if I can get a better deal online through James Allen or the like. However, I do like the personal touch and wonder if custom design at the wholesaler is easier than online.
It is a good question, but I need more details to answer it – prices, setting choice and more.
In terms of pricing, the main issue is what will be the price difference between those two options.
About where to shop – When you choose shopping from a Brick and Mortar store VS. Online, each one has its own advantages. When buying from a store (wholesaler in this case), you get to see the ring before you are actually buying and you have the personal touch. On the other hand, when buying online, you usually get a better price since the store has less overhead. You also usually have a larger inventory of both Diamonds and settings.
I think that you first need to check the price difference is and then make a decision.
Hi. I was looking for a colored diamond. But I am a bit confused between if to choose a 1 carat diamond with SI1 clarity or 0.7 carat with VS1 clarity. Both are round brilliant cut diamonds. Also, on the other hand if I choose to go for a princess cut diamond which clarity level should I look into? And lastly does the appraisal value play any role in deciding which one to buy?
Thanks. Waiting for your expert advise.
It is really hard to answer, since i need more info and a diamond photo to determine which one to recommend on.
A good looking SI1 diamond can definitely look clean even with a x10 magnifying loupe. That is in general.
About fancy color diamonds in general, unless the diamond is at least graded as Fancy intense, i wouldn't recommend going for a round diamond – round shaped diamonds, are more aimed to show brightness and less color. So the real question here is personal taste and budget. Personally i think Cushion, Radiant, Oval and Pear shapes are best looking in the case of fancy color diamonds.
About the appraisal, i dont think it will be a good judge in terms of clarity, if going with SI1, trust your eyes!


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Arts & Entertainment | roneyterrell
Bobby Brown Won't Rest Until Nick Gordon Is Charged For Bobbi Kristina's Death
getty images: Bobby Brown has spoken out once again about his daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown's death, admitting there won't be "closure" until Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend, is criminally charged. Earlier this month, Gordon was found responsible for the death of Bobbi Kristina. In a new interview with pastor T.D. Jakes, set to air on his […]
NEWS ROUNDUP: Legal Battle For Prince's Estate Continues…AND MORE
According to new reports, on Wednesday a judge appointed a special administrator to oversee Prince's estate and also set a court date for next week to begin deciding who should inherit the singer's fortune. District Court Judge Kevin Eide assigned Bremer Trust, Prince's longtime bank, to maintain his estate until an executor is chosen by the […]
Attorneys Say Nick Gordon Attempted To Save Bobbi Kristina Brown's Life
The legal team for Nick Gordon, the ex-boyfriend of the late Bobbi Kristina Brown, says their client has endured anguish after he was accused by the family of aiding in Brown's death. Gordon said that the family's claims were "humiliating" and that he actually attempted to save Brown's life, PEOPLE reports.
Nick Gordon Attorneys To DA: "Tell The Truth" On Bobbi Kristina Death
Attorneys representing Nick Gordon, boyfriend to the late Bobbi Kristina Brown, said they want the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to admit that her death was an accident. The statement says that after 13 months, the Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard's office has failed to acknowledge there was no wrongdoing. "[The district attorney's office has], […]
Bobbi Kristina Brown's Autopsy To Be Released To Public
A day before what would have been Bobbi Kristina Brown's 23rd birthday, a Georgia judge ruled on Thursday that her autopsy could be released.
NEWS ROUNDUP: President Obama To Visit Cuba, Will Not Attend Scalia's Funeral…AND MORE
President Obama will make history by becoming the first sitting president to visit Cuba in almost nine decades.
Arts & Entertainment, News | thebuzzcincy Staff
Bobbi Kristina Brown's Aunt Leolah Vows To Expose The Truth Of Niece's Mysterious Death
A year after Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unconscious and face down in the bathtub of her Atlanta, Georgia townhouse, fans, relatives, and admirers alike are still awaiting details about just what happened to the 22-year-old daughter of pop diva Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
Bobbi Kristina Brown's Home Hits Market, Six Months Postmortem
It's been almost a year since Bobbi Kristina Brown — actress, singer and daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown — was found, tragically, unconscious…
The 20 Biggest Entertainment Stories Of 2015
20. Brittney Griner vs. Glory Johnson WNBA stars Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson shocked the world after filing for an annulment after being married only 28…
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Taiwo Sobamowo was charged with identity theft, forgery and impersonating a nurse.


By this solo travel the expatriation experience for Ifemelu begins, a solo emigration, chosen for study reasons and faced with the enthusiastic attitude that everybody has in those moments when they know that something is going to change and you can just hope that it's for better. USA, in the mind of our protagonist, is a continent where everything is big, possible, fair – after all her Obizne has always told her the same. But as usually in the emigration stories, the tales we had in our mind are not always what is in reality when you put your foot in the new country.
With time diversity disappears and our habits combine with the rithms of the new Country.
The diversity label converts in a sense of estrangement in another moment of the story of Ifemelu, which repeats even in the story of many expat: the moment in which you go back to your Homeland.
As for Ifemelu, emigration is often something that "others" don't forgive us. Going back after an expatriation is a hard test: we made a lot of efforts in order to cancel the diversity in the adopted country, and now is our native country which considers us different.
Our mind is now opened to a new culture, had to make some compromises with a new vision of the world. And in our native country everything looks like unaltered: life goes on, based on the same values as always, and national borders are narrow to us. Coming back from an expatriation must be accepted for what it is: a journey back to our Country, where what was given for granted before now it's an element we have to discover again. And so also Ifemelu, going back to Nigeria and smelling again its odours is seized by an emotion impossible to be named, full of melancholy and nostalgia for all the things she has lost during her absence.
filling the lugs with the air of home and starting back to live it as it was that of a new Country to re-discover.
Alice, thirty-something Italian, even if loving her Island with all her heart, decided she had to live abroad: she's now settled in Barcelona, in a tiny flat she calls her box of matches and start her days watching the sea from the balcony.


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ISAAA and a dirty little secret - Biodemocracy News #38 (7/2/2002)
By Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association
www.organicconsumers.org
Quotes of the Month:
"In this 'Biotech Century' of out-of-control technology, public relations spin, and indentured science and government, global marketplace pressure campaigns have become a powerful tool for consumers to demand safe and sustainably-produced food, to call for Fair Trade and economic justice, and to drive genetically engineered foods and crops off the market." Interview with John Stauber, author of Trust Us We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future and publisher of PR Watch www.prwatch.org
"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job.'' Phil Angell, Monsanto's Director of Corporate Communications, New York Times 10/25/98
BIOTECH BOASTING: ARE FRANKENFOODS CONQUERING THE WORLD?
In January, a biotech industry front group, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), announced, with great fanfare, that global acreage of genetically engineered (GE) crops had increased 19% in 2001. According to ISAAA, 5.5 million farmers last year planted 130 million acres (52.6 million hectares) of GE crops, a 30-fold increase since 1996. For the year 2000, ISAAA had reported a somewhat smaller 11% growth in GE acreage. Cheerleaders for Frankenfoods, including Monsanto and the American Farm Bureau, hailed ISAAA's most recent projections as "proof" that the Biotech Century was going forward, despite widespread opposition in Europe and Asia, and increased rumblings of discontent among North American consumers and farmers.
Although most of the corporate media dutifully regurgitated ISAAA's press release on the "progress" of agbiotech, a closer more critical look at the evidence reveals a somewhat different story. First of all, ISAAA estimates on crop acreage are based on interviews with "true believers," farmers who are growing GE crops. Secondly, ISAAA gets its funds from corporations such as Monsanto, Aventis, and Pioneer (Dupont). In addition, previous assertions made by the group's spokesman, Clive James have subsequently been proven false. For example, James claimed that 1998 plantings of GE soybeans resulted in a 12% yield increase, when in fact yields fell 6-12%.
Finally, even assuming ISAAA's estimates are correct, BioDemocracy News believes they are inflated); biotech industry trends themselves tell a different story. For example: global GE crop acreage grew over thirty-fold in 1996; 675% in 1997; 255% in 1998; and 143% in 1999. In comparison, puny 11%-18% growth rates in 2000 and 2001 indicate a sharp leveling off in demand for GE seeds worldwide, rather than an increase--obviously a reaction to the growing global opposition against Frankenfoods. ISAAA boasts that 5.5 million farmers around the world are now growing GE crops (another questionable figure) but forgets to mention that there are 2.4 billion farmers and rural villagers who are not growing GE crops.
Despite industry rhetoric, very few countries are willing to ignore public opposition and allow the commercial cultivation of GE soybeans, corn, cotton, or canola, the only four crops currently being grown on any significant scale. While farmers in 130 nations are currently
producing certified organic crops, a grand total of three nations, (the US-with 68% of the world's GE crops, Canada-6%, and Argentina-22%) are still producing 96% of the world's Frankencrops. Several highly touted GE crops, the Flavr Savr tomato and Monsanto's Bt potato, have already been taken off the market. Moreover the US, Canada, and Argentina are finding that that their major overseas customers such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea no longer want to buy GE crops, even for animal feed. In Europe, the largest agricultural market in the world, grassroots market pressure has forced all of the major supermarket chains and food companies to remove GE ingredients from their consumer products. Meanwhile, on the regulatory front, no new GE crops have been approved for commercialization in the EU since 1998.
Syngenta (formerly Novartis), the largest biotech company in the world, has removed all GE ingredients from its consumer food products.
Because of increasing marketplace pressure, 25% of all animal feed in the EU is already GE-free. In a recent poll 80% of British consumers said they would avoid purchasing meat or dairy products from animals fed GE feed. Even China, which was supposed to be the Promised Land for agbiotech, has been reluctant to embrace Frankencrops (other than
Bt cotton), sensing that the real future for their agricultural exports to Asia and the EU will be non-GE and organic crops.
Agbiotech industry propaganda about feeding the world through increased productivity is no longer credible. As Amory and Hunter Lovins, founders of the Rocky Mountain Institute, point out: "Genetically engineered crops were created not because they are productive but because they're patentable. Their economic value is oriented not toward helping subsistence farmers to feed themselves but toward feeding more livestock for the already overfed rich." Currently 63% of the world's GE crops are soybeans, used primarily for animal feed. Corn, again mainly for animal feed, makes up 19% of all GE crops, while rapeseed, used for animal feed and cooking oil, makes up 5%. Even cotton, which constitutes 13% of all GE crops, provides feed for cattle, in the form of cottonseed and cotton gin trash.
A look at ISAAA's figures for 2001 and 2000 reveal that most of the growth in global GE acreage in 2001 resulted from increased cultivation of Monsanto's flagship GE product, herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans, by farmers in Argentina (where Monsanto is selling RR seeds at bargain basement prices, trying to boost sales) and the US (where farmers have to grow more and more soybeans in order to obtain government subsidies and to make up for record low prices of soybeans on the world market). One might ask why US farmers are buying so many RR soybeans, since they cost more (US soy farmers have complained about Monsanto selling RR beans at a much lower price in Argentina) and since RR varieties actually produce a 6-12% lower yield as documented by Dr. Charles Benbrook and others.
The answer to the riddle of why US farmers and their counterparts in Argentina are planting so many RR soybeans does not bode well for the future of GE crops. In Argentina, Monsanto's seeds are the cheapest seeds available. If Monsanto sold RR seeds worldwide at such low prices they would lose much of their profitability as a company. In Latin America, Monsanto and their allies (Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland) are desperate to develop a major market for RR soybeans, since Argentina's next door neighbor, Brazil, now the largest producer of soybeans in the world, has a ban on GE soybeans and has taken over the major US overseas soybean markets in the EU, Japan, and Korea, where anti-GE sentiments are strong.
Government Subsidies--Why US Farmers Plant GE Crops
American farmers are planting millions of acres of RR soybeans and other GE crops, not because there is a market demand for them, but because they are receiving taxpayer subsidies from the US government. Although gene-altered RR seeds and Roundup herbicide are expensive, herbicide-resistant soybeans are more convenient and less time-consuming to grow than traditional varieties-enabling farmers to plant, weed, and harvest more and more acres in a limited amount of time. Instead of having to till weeds with their tractors and spray several different toxic pesticides, farmers need only spray Monsanto's potent broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, which kills everything green - except for the GE soybean plants. Especially for cash and time-strapped farmers earning most of their money from off-farm employment (US family farmers get about 90% of their net income from jobs off the farm), this "efficiency" makes RR soybeans seem attractive.
Far more important is the fact that in the US, the more acres a farmer plants in soybeans (or other subsidized crops like corn or cotton), the more money the farmer gets from the government farm subsidy program, which last year paid out $28 billion. Of this $28 billion in farm subsidies, at least $7-10 billion went to farmers growing GE crops. Thus even though Cargill or ADM routinely rob farmers by paying them less for a bushel of RR soybeans or Bt corn than it took to grow them, farmers can count on recouping their losses with a subsidy payment from the USDA.
The fundamental flaw, from an economic standpoint, of US farmers ignoring global opposition to Frankenfoods and planting more and more GE soybeans so as to collect more and more subsidy payments from the government, is that there is already a huge global surplus of soybeans, not to mention corn and cotton. This massive surplus is quite profitable for the crop commodities giants like Cargill and ADM, cotton buyers, and the big factory farm cattle feedlots and hog farms, who can count on getting cheap grain and fiber from farmers desperate to sell at any price, but it's nothing less than a recipe for disaster for rural America. Billion dollar subsidies are the driving force for GE soybeans and corn, but they are also the major destructive force flooding the market and lowering the price for soybeans paid to the farmers. This ever-declining price results in farmers planting even more soybeans or corn. The end result of this process will likely be the elimination of most small and medium sized farms in the US who depend upon subsidies (with the notable exception of organic farms, which are selling products which consumers want). Organic farmers currently receive no US government subsidies whatsoever.
A major nightmare for the US grain and cotton farmers (including those growing GE crops) who are surviving on taxpayer subsidies is that government support may soon be declining. Bush administration officials, hell-bent on subsidizing the military-industrial complex to the tune of $380 billion a year and cutting taxes for large corporations and the wealthy, have recently warned agribusiness lobbyists that crop subsidies may decline over the next few years. This could be bad news indeed for non-organic farmers, but also bad news for Monsanto, Syngenta, Dupont, Bayer, and the other Gene Giants.
Without $7-10 billion a year in government crop subsidies paid out to US farmers growing GE crops, we're likely to see a significant decline, rather than an increase, in GE acreage next year. For updates on the growing global opposition to GE foods and crops click on the Daily News section of the OCA's website at www.organicconsumers.org.
BGH: MONSANTO AND THE DAIRY INDUSTRY'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
Seven years ago, Feb. 4, 1994, despite nationwide protests by consumer groups, Monsanto and the FDA forced onto the US market the world's first GE animal drug, recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH, sometimes known as rBST). BGH is a powerful GE drug produced by Monsanto which, injected into dairy cows, forces them to produce 15%-25% more milk, in the process seriously damaging their health and reproductive capacity. Despite warnings from scientists, such as Dr. Michael Hansen from the Consumers Union and Dr. Samuel Epstein from the Cancer Prevention Coalition, that milk from rBGH injected cows contains substantially higher amounts of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1, and despite evidence that rBGH milk contains higher levels of pus, bacteria, and antibiotics, the FDA gave the hormone its seal of approval, with no real pre-market safety testing required. Moreover, the FDA ruled, in a decision marred by rampant conflict of interest (several key FDA decision makers, including Michael Taylor, previously worked for Monsanto), that rBGH-derived products did not have to be labeled, despite polls showing that 90% of American consumers wanted labeling--mainly so they could avoid buying rBGH-tainted products. Family farm advocates joined consumers in demanding a ban on rBGH, predicting that the controversial drug would drive milk prices down, aggravate an already serious problem of milk overproduction, give factory-style dairies added production capacity (since these were the dairies expected to use the drug), and tarnish the image of milk and dairy products.
All of the major criticisms leveled against rBGH have turned out to be true. (For more on the hazards and controversy surrounding rBGH click on www.organicconsumers.org and go to the rBGH section). Since 1994, every industrialized country in the world, except for the US, has banned the drug. Even the Codex Alimentarius, the food standards arm of the World Trade Organization, has refused to back up Monsanto's claim that the drug is safe. In 1998, Canadian government scientists revealed that Monsanto's own data on feeding rBGH to rats, carefully concealed by the company and the FDA, indicated possible cancer dangers to humans. Since rBGH was approved, approximately 40,000 small and medium-sized US dairy farmers, 1/3 of the total in the country, have gone out of business, concentrating milk production in the hands of industrial-sized dairies, most of whom are injecting their cows with this cruel and dangerous drug.
In a 1998 survey by Family Farm Defenders, it was found that mortality rates for cows on factory dairy farms in Wisconsin, those injecting their herds with rBGH, were running at 40% per year. In other words, after two and a half years of rBGH injections most of these drugged and supercharged cows were dead. Typically, dairy cows live for 15-20 years. Alarmed and revolted by rBGH, consumers have turned in droves to organic milk and dairy products or to brands labeled as rBGH-free. Nonetheless, use of the drug has continued to increase in the US (and in nations like Brazil and Mexico) especially in large dairy herds, so that currently 15% of America's 10 million lactating dairy cows are being injected with rBGH. Compounding the problem of rBGH contamination, most of the nation's 1500 dairy companies are allowing the co-mingling of rBGH and non-rBGH milk, thereby contaminating 80-90% of the nation's milk and dairy supply (including all of the major infant formula brands). For a list of organic and rBGH-free dairies in the US consult the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) website.
The major reason that rBGH is still on the market is that it is not labeled. Supermarket dairy managers, following guidelines circulated by the rBGH and biotech lobby, routinely lie to consumers, telling them either that rBGH is not in their products, or that there's no way to tell, and reassuring them that the FDA has certified that rBGH is safe. Of course, every survey conducted since 1994 shows that if consumers were given a choice, they would boycott rBGH-tainted products. When Vermont passed a mandatory labeling law for rBGH-derived dairy products in 1994, the rBGH lobby (led by Kraft/Phillip Morris and the International Dairy Foods Association) sued Vermont in federal court, forcing the state to rescind the law. When many US natural food stores, consumer coops, and dairies began advertising their products as rBGH-free, Monsanto's attorneys sent out thousands of letters to these businesses, threatening to sue them. Eventually Monsanto did sue two dairies, one in Iowa and another in Texas, but was forced to settle out of court.
Responding to the global controversy surrounding the drug, Monsanto put BGH for sale in 1998, but there were no takers. Transnational PR firms working with the biotech industry have categorized Monsanto's handling of the rBGH controversy as a "public relations disaster." Now this public relations disaster has come back to haunt the fastest-growing brand name in the global food and beverage industry, Starbucks.
STARBUCKS: FEELING THE HEAT ON BGH, FRANKENFOODS, & FAIR TRADE
Since March 2000, volunteers from the Organic Consumers Association have handed out over 250,000 "Consumer Warning" leaflets to Starbucks customers across the US and in at least five other nations where Starbucks operates (Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel). These leaflets call for Starbucks to remove rBGH and other GE ingredients from their coffee beverages, bottled Frappuccino drinks, ice cream, baked goods, and chocolates. The leaflets also call for Starbucks to start brewing Fair Trade and organic coffee as their "coffee of the day" at least one day a week, and to fulfill their longstanding pledge to certify (via Fair Trade monitor or organic certifiers) that they are paying a living wage to coffee farmers and plantation workers who supply them with over 100 million pounds of coffee every year. Starbucks recently gave in to another demand of the OCA and allied groups, stating publicly that they will never use GE coffee beans, now being field-tested in Hawaii and other places.
Starbucks is clearly rattled by the OCA market pressure campaign, especially the criticism that 3/4 of the 32 million gallons of milk it buys every year in the US are coming from dairies that allow cows to be injected with rBGH. Once Starbucks' 15 million customers learn that most of the latte or cappuccino drinks they're paying top dollar for (3/4 of the volume of these drinks are milk) contain an extra dose of pus, antibiotics, and growth hormones and that Fair Trade and organic coffee constitute less than one percent of company sales, they may decide to take their business elsewhere. Starbucks, the largest gourmet coffee company in the world, now owns 4,000 cafes across the globe, including 20% of all the coffee shops in the US. In addition, its rBGH-tainted Frappuccino drinks are distributed to convenience stores all over the US (and in Canada) by Pepsi, while Kraft/Phillip Morris distributes Starbucks' ice cream and coffee beans to mainstream supermarkets. Total annual sales for the company are approximately $2.5 billion.
Besides swearing off GE coffee beans, Starbucks has responded to the OCA's large and growing Frankenbucks pressure campaign by:
. Emphasizing that 1/4 of their milk is now rBGH-free, and even using terms like "rBGH-tainted" in referring to their rBGH-derived milk.
. Offering organic milk and soymilk as an "option" in all of their US cafes (but charging an outrageous 40 cents a cup for this option).
. Offering organic yogurt in 1000 of their US locations.
. Test-marketing organic baked goods in Seattle and Portland.
. Promising to explore the possibility of removing all "GMOs" (genetically modified organisms) from their product line.
. Agreeing to sell Fair Trade and organic coffee beans (in bulk form) in all their cafes worldwide.
. Agreeing to brew Fair Trade coffee as their "coffee of the day" at least one day a month in all US cafes.
. Agreeing to buy at least one million pounds of certified Fair Trade coffee in 2001.
The OCA is happy to report that grassroots pressure by our volunteer network, as well as pressure applied by our allies such as Global Exchange and several organizational members of the Genetically Engineered Food Alert (Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network,
Center for Food Safety), have already forced Starbucks to move at least halfway in terms of meeting our demands. Now all we've got to do is to keep up the pressure on Starbucks until they meet all of our demands. After Starbucks surrenders (just as the upscale supermarket chain, Trader Joe's, surrendered on November 14 of last year, removing all GMOs from their brand name products), then we can turn our market pressure campaigns on the other, even larger, food and beverage companies: the national and regional supermarket chains, industry giants like Kraft, the coffee giants, and even the fast food chains-just as our counterparts in Europe, Japan, South Korea, India, Brazil and other nations have already done.
A victory in the OCA's Frankenbucks campaign will send an important message, not only to all of the 20,000 coffee shops across North America (many of whom are already starting to do the right thing by banishing rBGH and other GMOs from their menus and serving up organic and Fair Trade products), but to the entire food, restaurant, and beverage industry: consumers are sick and tired of having rBGH and other untested and unlabeled Frankenfoods shoved down their throats. There's only one future for American agriculture: meeting the ever-growing market demand for healthy organic food, produced in a humane and sustainable manner by small and medium-sized farmers.
On February 23-March 2, the OCA is organizing protests and leafleting events in front of Starbucks cafes in over 600 locations worldwide. These Global Days of Protest against Starbucks will coincide with the annual stockholders meeting of the company, to be held in Seattle on Tuesday February 26. While hundreds of protestors gather outside the Starbucks stockholders meeting in Seattle, inside a group of concerned investors will likely be calling for a vote on a resolution asking for the company to label or remove rBGH and other GE ingredients from all of Starbucks products.
If you are willing to join other OCA volunteers and leaflet a Starbucks cafe in your community please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the OCA national office at 218-226-4164.
MARKET PRESSURE: BUSTING BIOTECH
The worst nightmare of Monsanto and the biotech industry is starting to materialize: a mass-based consumer and environmental marketplace pressure campaign in the heartland of Frankenfoods - North America. A number of major US food companies are already responding to public pressure and starting to sweep Frankenfoods off their products lists and their grocery shelves: Gerber (baby food), Heinz (baby food), Frito-Lay (at least for their corn), Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's, and even McDonald's (at least for their French fries). Organic consumers must make sure that Starbucks is the next company to fall in line.
Greenpeace, the Organic Consumers Association, the Genetically Engineered Food Alert www.gefoodalert.org and local activists all over the US are now joining forces to drive GE foods and crops off the market. Our central strategy, following the example of successful European campaigns, will be to raise the level of public debate and apply sustained pressure on strategic supermarkets and leading food corporations to remove GE ingredients from their product lines and to replace these products with GMO-free and organic items. At the same time we're doing this in the US, our counterparts in Canada (Greenpeace, Council of Canadians, Sierra Club, and National Farmers Union) will continue targeting Loblaws (a nationwide supermarket chain) and other companies. Meanwhile, our allies south of the US border are building up a farmer/consumer/environmental coalition to stop the US and Canada from dumping GE corn and other products on Mexico and Latin America.
The Organic Consumers Association needs your financial support (you can make a donation through our website or send a check to our office), and, most of all, your volunteer labor. If you're willing to leaflet Starbucks or a supermarket in your community send an email to
Stay tuned to BioDemocracy News and the Daily News section of our website for Action Alerts and breaking news and analysis
www.organicconsumers.org. We now have over 10,000 articles posted on our website as well as a convenient Search Engine to find whatever you need to know about GE foods, rBGH, organics, food safety, Mad Cow, globalization, and the various OCA campaigns. Check us out!
***End of BioDemocracy News #38***


European cities are on the rise, and are taking advantage of the opportunities of the European integration and globalization processes. But they also face economic changes, social inequalities, poverty and a new set of constraints. Taking examples through the European Union, European Cities explores the impact of the transformation of the nation states on cities and the change of local societies and local governments. It argues that new modes of urban governance are emerging, and that cities are becoming collective actors within European governance. European Cities shows why and how the bulk of European cities still appear to be original forms of compromise, aggregation, representation of diverse interests, and culture. Different modes of governance are gradually being structured in most middle size European cities despite processes of social exclusion segregation accompanied by the increased mobility of some citizens. Are Europeans going to invent a new form of institutionalized and territorialized capitalism, of which medium-sized European cities will be one of the pillars and one of the actors ? Failing that, the effects of changing scales could be expressed as profound transformations of the European urban model. European Societies Series Series Editor: Colin Crouch Very few of the existing sociological texts which compare different European societies on specific topics are accessible to a broad range of scholars and students. The European Societies series will help fill this gap in the literature, and attempt to answer questions such as: Is there really such a thing as a 'European model' of society? Do the economic and political integration processes of the European Union also imply convergence in more general aspects of social life, like family or religious behaviour? What do the societies of Western Europe have in common with those further to the east? This series will cover the main social institutions, although not every author will cover the full range of European countries. As well as surveying existing knowledge in a way that will be useful to students, each book will also seek to contribute to our growing knowledge of what remains in many respects a sociologically unknown continent.


WATCH: TAYLOR SWIFT Returns To Nashville For A Surprise Performance - MYX | YOUR CHOICE. YOUR MUSIC.
Taylor Swift did a surprise performance in Nashville where she started her career.
The 28-year-old hitmaker made an unexpected appearance at the Bluebird Cafe and sang some of her hits including acoustic renditions of "Love Story" and "Shake It Off" to about 40 patrons in the iconic venue.
"I wanted to say a big thank you to the Bluebird Cafe," she said. "I think any songwriter in town would echo my sentiments and say that this is kind of the only place where this exists - this particular place where you get to come and hear the writer's take on the songs they've put out into the world."
Her performance was filmed for a documentary in honor of the club's 35th anniversary, The Tennessean said.
What are your thoughts on Taylor's performance of "Better Man"? Tell us in the comments!


text:
Andres Gutierrez to conduct financial seminar in Spanish at Dave Ramsey's Brentwood HQ today
The Lampo Group unveils the new Spanish-speaking face of Dave Ramsey's financial education empire
The above invitation was sent out by the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce* to its membership, announcing today's "Financial Peace" seminar in Spanish at the Dave Ramsey headquarters in Brentwood. The seminar will be led by Andres Gutierrez, who is the new face of Dave Ramsey's financial education empire to the Spanish-speaking audience. As Gutierrez puts it, he's "the Hispanic Dave Ramsey."
According to Gutierrez, Ramsey's Lampo Group has had trouble getting market penetration with its Spanish-language DVDs, due largely to the fact that even though videos of Dave Ramsey dubbed into Spanish may be effective with the individual Hispanics who take the course, the product doesn't relate culturally to a wider a Hispanic audience. Going forward, Gutierrez will the face of the "Financial Peace" message in Spanish instead of Ramsey. Over the next year, the Spanish-language DVD course will be re-written to apply to a Hispanic cultural perspective, and they will subsequently be re-filmed with Gutierrez as the speaker. Seminars and live events will feature Gutierrez, as well.
The one-hour free event today, Wednesday, will be held at 6:30 p.m., but guests are encouraged to arrive early. The venue is Financial Peace Conference Center, 1749 Mallory Lane, Brentwood, Tennessee, 37027. For more information, call 800-781-8897 or jorge.hoyos@daveramsey.com
Dave Ramsey, on hiring Andres Gutierrez: "I've found the guy we're looking for"
"We came to Tennessee, prayed about it and felt it was a calling from God"
Andres Gutierrez joined the Dave Ramsey organization in 2009 after attending a "platinum ticket" breakfast prior to a Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover live event earlier this year, according to this recent interview with Gutierrez by his alma mater's magazine (coincidentally named Scene). Gutierrez told the Schreiner Scene how this breakfast, where he was in a room with Ramsey and only 100 other people, landed him the job:
"They were looking for someone to help reach the Hispanic community. His books had been translated, but they needed a more personal connection. I've been told he [Dave Ramsey] went back to the office after that event and said, 'I've found the guy we're looking for.'"
"They invited my wife and me to visit Nashville," he said. "We came to Tennessee, prayed about it and felt it was a calling from God. I hope to reach the Spanish-speaking community with this commonsense message so people can feel good about handling their finances."
Read the whole Schreiner Scene article here. It features a nice picture of Gutierrez with Dave Ramsey at the studio desk.
Prior to working for Dave Ramsey, Gutierrez was an owner at San Antonio-based Pax Financial Group, LLC, which still has this video featuring Gutierrez on YouTube. Prior to Pax, Gutierrez worked at MassMutual and John Hancock Insurance.
Gutierrez graduated from Schreiner University (Kerrville, Texas) in 1999 with a degree in chemistry. He played for the tennis team, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Gutierrez was born in Brownsville, Texas and grew up in Matamoros, Mexico. He moved back to Brownsville in high school and proceeded to Schreiner from there. Both Gutierrez and his wife still have family in Matamoros.
Gutierrez and his wife have been living in Nashville for four months, and he raves about how welcoming the city is, even telling the story of a neighbor bringing the couple a homemade pie, "like in the movies." The couple attends La Casa de Mi Padre church ("My Father's House") in Franklin.
The history section of the Dave Ramsey web site traces the organization's Spanish-language history back to the 2003 release of a Spanish translation of Financial Peace. In 2004, according to the same section, "Six FPU lessons are translated into Spanish, and more than 150 families go through the Spanish version of the program." A 2006 press release announces the translation of the full 13-week Financial Peace University DVD series into Spanish.
The company currently has two FPU Spanish advisors, Bengy del Villar and Jorge Hoyos.
Story by John Lamb published 12/02/2009 02:24:00 AM
Labels: Andres Gutierrez, business, education, events, mexico, spanish
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Previous / Carter and TRG-AMR teammate Davison finish fourth in Detroit Next / 8Star set on podiums in TUDOR and Prototype Lites Championships at Kansas
IMSA Preview
Ryan Dalziel on loan to Starworks for TUSC Grand Prix of Kansas
Jun 3, 2014, 6:03 PM
Extreme Speed not racing in Kansas, so it's back to his old team
Starworks Motorsport 'Thunder Buddy' Ryan Dalziel is making a welcome return to the Championship winning squad for the Grand Prix of Kansas at Kansas Speedway, 6-7 June 2014.
With the new TUDOR United Sportscar Series dual race being a Prototype Challenge and Prototype Lites only outing for this round, Ryan, who currently drives No. 1 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) for Extreme Speed Motorsports in the series' Prototype class, is taking the opportunity to compete in the PC class with his old, Fort Lauderdale based team.
Ryan shall be sharing the driving duties in the #7 Bomberg liveried Oreca-Chevrolet FML09 with Martin Fuentes (whilst Sam Bird travels to the 24 Heures Du Mans), alongside the race winning pairing of Mirco Schultis and Renger van der Zande in the Martini liveried #8 Starworks Oreca-Chevrolet.
On the weekend that marked the return of Martini to professional sports car racing, the #8 Starworks took the TUSC Prototype Challenge class' first overall victory in the 'Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Powered by Mazda'. Renger currently sits P3 in the 2014 PC Drivers' standings on 94 points, with Martin just behind in P5 with 80. The #8 Starworks is second in the PC Team standings as they head to Kansas tomorrow.
Said Dalziel: "It's great to be reunited with my good friends at Starworks for Kansas. It's an idea Peter and I floated around early in the season and it just so happens that the pieces fell into place recently. I always know that when I step into a Starworks car I'll be contending for the win. Martin is a great guy and I really appreciate the opportunity to drive with him. Kansas is a cool facility and this race is a unique format, so I am ready to go and help all the guys at Starworks get that win! Also, I'd like to thank ESM Racing for allowing me to take part in this weekend's event."
Said Peter Baron, Team Owner, Starworks Motorsport: "Naturally we were disappointed to learn of Sam's conflict, but wish him all the best in his maiden voyage to Le Mans. Filling in for him worked out quite conveniently with Ryan available and we would like to thank the Extreme Speed Motorsports crew for lending him out for this race. It is a natural fit for Ryan to come over; he's driven with Martin before, obviously knows our program well and knows the Kansas track, so it's a great fit. We are also looking forward to see Mirco and Renger push forward on their championship charge; a big congrats to them on their victory at the 12 hours of Zandvoort too."
The Grand Prix of Kansas will consist of two 45 minute races on the 2.37 miles road circuit. Practice for the PC class of 11 cars commences on Friday 5:35 PM - 6:20 PM ET with Qualifying following at 11:45 PM - 12:00 AM ET.
Race 1 of the Grand Prix of Kansas for the TUDOR Championship PC/Lites classes starts at 5:15 PM ET (45 minutes) on Saturday, with the Continental Tire Challenge 7:15 PM ET (150 minutes) and Race 2 of the GP of Kansas at 11:15 PM ET (45 minutes).
Starworks
Carter and TRG-AMR teammate Davison finish fourth in Detroit
8Star set on podiums in TUDOR and Prototype Lites Championships at Kansas
Sam Bird
New York City E-Prix II
Bird compares teammate Evans to England soccer hero Grealish
New York turnaround shows Jaguar's 'resilience' in Formula E
The top 10 Formula E drivers of 2017/18
IMSA IMSA
Rolex 24: WTR leads Acura 1-2 in opening practice at Daytona
IMSA Others IMSA Others
Gidley to race at Daytona eight years after huge Rolex 24 shunt
Zurlinden joins Porsche & Audi LMDh supplier Multimatic
How Derani's long road to title success exorcised painful memories
By Jamie Klein
It took Pipo Derani no time at all to establish himself as a winner in IMSA, winning the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours on his first two starts in 2016. But it took until the final corner of the 2021 season before he could become its champion, the culmination of a journey that he believes has made him a better driver.
The significance of the next step in WEC/IMSA convergence
Following the latest convergence connection permitting Le Mans Hypercars from the FIA World Endurance Championship to compete against LMDh entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2023, it could open up enticing options not only to manufacturers but also for the calendar and race formats
Why a Mazda IMSA Prototype title would bring bitter joy
Can Mazda win this year's IMSA Prototype championship? Undoubtedly. But it will be the culmination of an achingly hard struggle, after which the brand has decided to quit. David Malsher-Lopez tells the story of a bizarre blend of heartache and positivity.
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…


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Q: Trying to pass array in res.json using MERN stack issues I need to make two separate model calls using MERN stack. Sending an object in res.json worked yet an array is giving me trouble. Can't extract the data.
Console log
{data: "[]", status: 200, statusText: "OK", headers: {…}, config: {…}, …}

Back End
router.get("/mySharedBooks", async (req, res) => { //when /mySharedBooks is requested this will be run
try{
    const token = req.header("x-auth-token"); //grab token
    if(!token) return res.json(false); //if no token, don't accept
    const verified = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
    if(!verified) return res.json(false); //if not a real token, don't accept
    const user = await User.findById(verified.id);
    if(!user) return res.json(false); //if token doesn't match a user, don't accept
    data = jwt.decode(token,process.env.JWT_SECRET); // verify & decode
    const myBooks = await SharedBook.find({receiverID:data.id}).exec(); //grabs all sharedBooks for the currently logged in user by receiverID
    //res.json(JSON.stringify(myBooks)) //sends back all sharedBooks records
    let bookIDsArray = [];//blank array
    for (const index in myBooks){
        const books = await Book.find({bookID:myBooks[index].bookID}).exec(); //grab the book by the bookID we got from previous call
        bookIDsArray.push(books); //add to array
    }
    res.json(JSON.stringify(bookIDsArray))
}catch(err){
    res.status(500).json({error: err.message});
} //end try,catch
}); // end router.get("/mySharedBooks" //This route grabs the list of
 books that have been shared with the currently logged in user (by receiverID)

Front End
useEffect(() => {//when component renders run this
  if (userData.userData.token) {
    //console.log(userData.userData.token);
    Axios.get("http://localhost:5001/sharedBooks/mySharedBooks", {//this is an axios get requires route and headers, Axios post require route, null, headers in that order
      headers: {
        "x-auth-token": userData.userData.token,
        "Content-Type": "text/json",
      },
    }).then((data) => {//after something is returned, store in data
      console.log(data);

Insomnia Response
 "[[{\"_id\":\"6037eba24aea43281c5b1036\",\"bookID\":\"1\",\"name\":\"Book 1\",\"genreID\":1,\"rating\":2,\"price\":8,\"author\":\"nbm\",\"synopsis\":\"synopsis\",\"bookUrl\":\"https://svgsilh.com/svg_v2/146021.svg\",\"__v\":0}],[{\"_id\":\"6037eba24aea43281c5b1036\",\"bookID\":\"1\",\"name\":\"Book 1\",\"genreID\":1,\"rating\":2,\"price\":8,\"author\":\"nbm\",\"synopsis\":\"synopsis\",\"bookUrl\":\"https://svgsilh.com/svg_v2/146021.svg\",\"__v\":0}],[{\"_id\":\"6037ebe64aea43281c5b1037\",\"bookID\":\"2\",\"name\":\"Book 2\",\"genreID\":1,\"rating\":2,\"price\":8,\"author\":\"nbm\",\"synopsis\":\"synopsis\",\"bookUrl\":\"https://pngimg.com/uploads/number2/Number%202%20PNG%20images%20free%20download_PNG14925.png\",\"__v\":0}],[{\"_id\":\"6037ebfa4aea43281c5b1038\",\"bookID\":\"3\",\"name\":\"Book 3\",\"genreID\":1,\"rating\":2,\"price\":8,\"author\":\"nbm\",\"synopsis\":\"synopsis\",\"bookUrl\":\"https://blognumbers.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/3.jpg\",\"__v\":0}]]"

A working version of the back end, not sending an array.
 router.get("/getAllBooks", async (req, res) => { //when /getAllBooks is requested this will be run
try{
    const token = req.header("x-auth-token"); //grab token
    if(!token) return res.json(false); //if no token, don't accept
    const verified = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
    if(!verified) return res.json(false); //if not a real token, don't accept
    const user = await User.findById(verified.id);
    if(!user) return res.json(false); //if token doesn't match a user, don't accept
    const books = await Book.find({}).exec(); //grabs all book records
    res.json(JSON.stringify(books)) //sends back all book records
}catch(err){
    res.status(500).json({error: err.message});
} //end try,catch
 }); // end router.get("/getAllBooks" //This route sends back all book records

A:       data.data.bookIDsArray.forEach(element => {
        bookNamesArray.push(element[0].name);//access data in parsed data via the index
        bookAuthorsArray.push(element[0].author);//#3
        bookRatingsArray.push(element[0].rating); bookPricesArray.push(element[0].price);
        bookGenresArray.push(element[0].genreID); bookImgsArray.push(element[0].bookUrl);
       // console.log(element[0])
      });

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey about transportation in Glenn County!
* 1. Which general area do you live in or travel from most often?
* 3. How long have you lived in Glenn County?
* 4. How many people live in your household?
* 6. How often do you drive a vehicle on average?
* 7. How often do you take public transit in Glenn County on average?
* 10. How far do you commute to work, school or other frequent destinations?
* 11. If you have school-aged children, how far do they commute to school?
* 12. Which general area do you work in or travel to most often?
* 13. How often do you leave Glenn County?
* 14. Why do you leave Glenn County? Check all that apply.
* 15. What are your top out-of county destinations? Check all that apply.
Lack of Warning Signs, Guardrails, Etc.
* 18. What areas need more bicycle and pedestrian facilities?
* 19. What areas need better transit service or facilities?
* 21. Here is a list of issues facing your community. Please tell us whether you consider it to be an extremely serious problem, a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem or a not too serious problem for people who live in Glenn County.
* 22. Here are some statements about your local community. Please tell us if you agree or disagree.
The County should focus on maintaining existing roads, trails and sidewalks before building any new ones.
Funding for local streets and roads comes mostly from federal and state government.
The County should expand its existing network of walking and biking trails.
* 23. Here is a list of specific projects, recognizing that there is not enough funding for all such projects, please tell us how important it is to you that each project be undertaken. Would you say it is extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not important?
Describe one project proposal here.
For example, any needed improvement to the roadways, intersections, public transit services, sidewalks, bike paths or any other aspect of the transportation network in Glenn County.
* 26. Do you have any other concerns with the transportation network in Glenn County?


Do deadlines rule your life? Is time your worst enemy?
More than ever the pace of small business is changing, and while new tools and technology claim to help us keep pace with evolving demands, they often work to the contrary.
For business owners and entrepreneurs in particular, the sense of urgency to get as much accomplished in as little time as possible can become all consuming. Whether it's answering every email the instant it hits your Inbox, pre-empting every deadline, or getting into a sheer panic over the volume of work you need to do. Throw in the added pressure of maintaining a realistic work / life balance and you might just be looking at a serious case of business burn out.
Unchecked, burn out hampers your ability to make smart decisions, kills creativity, and even leads to medical issues.
Here are six tips that can help you fight business burn out and put a kick back in your step!
As small business owner, you are responsible for all aspects of your business, and realistically speaking this is no mean feat for any human being. So it's no surprise that certain aspects of running your business can quickly become sticking points that weigh you down with anxiety and inertia.
Start by taking stock of tasks and situations that regularly cause you anxiety or stress. Does your Inbox rule your life? Do you dread business presentations or sales calls? Working with difficult customers can also be extremely stressful. Once you've identified these you can start to tackle them.
In most instances, humans over-react to stress, to the point that they distort the object of the stress, whether it's a harmless grass snake or a deadline that really isn't life or death. Experts advise us to try to counter our reactions to an uncomfortable situation by stepping back and telling ourselves that it's not the object of your stress that's crippling you (whether it's a difficult deadline, or a tricky customer) but what you're telling yourself about the stress.
So instead of thinking "If I don't meet this deadline, I'll surely lose this customer/investor?" try to reframe your reaction. Then walk through some steps that can help you get a better grasp of that stress-catalyst. In this case, is the deadline is realistic? Work with your team/client to reassess workload/priorities, and so on.
The same applies to answering emails, no one will die if you don't answer all your emails the moment they come in. Try to allocate blocks of time during the day to take care of pressures like managing your Inbox, making collection calls, and so on.
Delegation takes an enormous strain off your shoulders; it also empowers employees to take a vested interest and role in your business success. Consider shedding some of your responsibilities to employees who have specific skills, are quick learners or who are showing leadership potential.
This is easier said than done, especially when you feel you responsible for being there for your customers and your employees 100 percent of the time. Even if you're not "at it" 100 percent of the time, simple interruptions such as taking calls or answering emails after hours, can disrupt quality "me" time.
If you struggle to find time for yourself during the week, try to manage your "me" time in blocks. Whether it's an hour at the gym or a Friday afternoon game of golf, mark it in your calendar and manage your business around those times. Friday's tend to be light on meetings and, let's face it, productivity levels are not at their highest – maximize this time by blocking it in your calendar, you'll feel surprisingly refreshed for it.
Take your mind off stress factors by finding new challenges! Shake it up a bit and reinvigorate your business by exploring new markets, new sales strategies, or new products. Alternatively, focus on making simple changes such as team-building exercises with employees, a new lick of paint to your home-based office, or getting out on the road to meet more customers.
Whether you are networking at a local Chamber of Commerce event or catching up with fellow business owners over lunch, getting out there and sharing your experiences and concerns with like-minded entrepreneurs can provide a sense of connection, motivation and well being.


According to The Hollywood Reporter, a group known as the "U.S. Copyright Group" has quietly targeted 20,000 Bit Torrent users for legal action in federal court in Washington, DC. The targets are accused of having downloaded independent films, including "Steam Experiment," "Far Cry," "Uncross the Stars," "Gray Man" and "Call of the Wild 3D," without authorization. The group plans to target 30,000 more individuals for legal action in the coming months.
This time, the lawyers involved are being explicit about their motivations: it's all about the money. "We're creating a revenue stream and monetizing the equivalent of an alternative distribution channel," said one of the attorneys involved. The cases are taken on a contingency basis, designed so that quick settlements will prove lucrative for both the firm and the copyright owners involved.
The attorneys involved are reportedly relying on technology provided by Guardaley IT that claims to enable real-time monitoring of movie downloads on torrents. The IP addresses and information gathered using this technology are then used to file "John Doe" lawsuits and issue subpoenas to ISPs seeking the names and addresses of subscribers associated with those IP addresses. Settlement demands are then sent.
This is not the first time we've seen mass litigation (a.k.a. "spam-igation") used as a profit-center—DirecTV pioneered that tactic by sending demand letters to more than 170,000 Americans accused of satellite piracy. And the major record labels followed up by targeting more than 30,000 people for legal actions between 2003-08.
If this story is correct, it's the latest evidence that copyright law has become unmoored from its foundations. Copyright should help creators get adequately compensated for their efforts. Copyright should not line the pockets of copyright trolls intent on shaking down individuals for fast settlements a thousand at a time.


We recently finished another read through the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
These books follow the Ingalls family in the late 1800s. Consistently, over a book series that spans 10+ years of real time and history, they only celebrate two holidays. Two. Christmas and Independence Day.
And when I say celebrate in the 1800s, I mean they had a special meal and took the day off work. (Except that when you live in an agrarian society you never really get a day off).
Today we celebrate: Christmas, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Good Friday/Easter, St Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Halloween... I'm sure I'm missing some.
And when I say celebrate today I mean: lawn ornaments, candy, days or time off work, more candy, gifts, decorations, maybe a special meal, and lots of stuff.
Am I arguing that we give back holidays? Not necessarily.
I just wonder if they've proliferated because of a felt need we had as a society to take better care of our laborers, or because consumerism always needs new things to sell to work.


This year's conference in Austin, Texas, PSX answered ISD questions about the latest in Texas school security, including access control, video surveillance and alarms.
TASA 2017 – What a great event! PSX was happy to meet school superintendents, principals, and technology directors at a demonstration booth in Austin, TX last week. PSX staff answered questions about school security solutions, and sketched out some initial design ideas for custom integrated systems for several of the Independent School District (ISD) representatives concerned with security systems.
Several school administrators mentioned that they had been impressed by some of the ideas that they had seen. Many liked the idea of a single login for an integrated video surveillance and access control system, instead of two separate systems requiring separate servers, training and passwords. Others took an interest in adding newer video analytics and management applications to existing security systems infrastructure.
The threat of the school shooter – aka "active shooter / armed intruder" – remains one of the main concerns of school administrators. As a result, PSX one-step lockdown solutions were spotlighted.
The S2 Threat Level Escalator application captured most of the attention. A "one touch lockdown app" for smartphones or tablets is hard to beat in terms of convenience and speed of deployment. Any authorized individual anywhere in the world can instantly change the door locking program, including a complete lockdown of the campus. S2 Security was in the PSX booth throughout the TASA exhibits period, demonstrating the access control lockdown app live and in real time.
SB507 was also an important topic at TASA 2017, with many administrators integrating camera systems to meet its requirements. Alan Morris, Vice President of Sales for PSX in Texas, was featured in the January 2017 issue of Campus Security and Life Safety magazine for his installation of a video surveillance system at Edna ISD for SB507. PSX distributed this article to all school officials as a resource.
Contact Texas School Security Experts Available - Click HERE.