text:
Atmospheric CO2 Management (ACOTM)
XPRIZE Submission
FIRST STEP: Read the Proposal - View PDF file here
50 TO 60 YEARS OF FOSSIL FUEL REMAINING
Since there are only 50 to 60 years supply of oil and natural gas left on the planet, the world will be forced to transition to renewable clean energy within 2 generations whether we like it or not. During the transition stage we need to manage atmospheric Co2 concentration to avoid catastrophic climate change and that is the objective of this proposal.
This is where governments and fossil fuel producers need to consider a contingency plan while fossil fuel is still required in the energy mix.
The essential part of this equation are the key words "carbon neutral". To start with, the objective is to present a strategy to remove Co2 from the atmosphere equivalent to Australia's carbon footprint. Then interpolate that out globally. This would also include a countries fossil fuel exports. Once this is achieved, countries can market carbon neutral products to the world and local energy producers at a premium during the faze out period for fossil fuels.
The first step is for producers to look to the not too distant future and invest in carbon capture. Since the fossil fuel industry is the problem then they should be the ones to invest in the solutions. That requires government support and not government subsidies for fossil fuel production.
PROPOSED AUSTRALIAN CARBON NEUTRAL CONTINGENCY PLAN
Man's most remarkable achievements: Our sky scrapers, our bridge, our ships, our planes, space travel and cities that glow in the dark, have been made possible because of one underlying factor. The energy to create all this has been driven on a road paved in fossil fuel.
There are compelling arguments for and against the reasons for increasing global temperature put forward by those with vested interests but, that's not important. What's important is public perception and what the greater population believes. This has the potential to drive government policy and impact fossil fuel use and production. The result of an informed public would be pressure to reduce atmospheric Co2 and/or Co2 emissions to stabilise global temperature so public education and the facts about the impact of global warming and climate change are essential.
DEFINITIONS IN BRIEF
CARBON PRICE: Or "carbon tax" is the amount that must be paid for the right to emit one tonne of Co2 into the atmosphere. Economists widely agree that introducing a carbon price is the single most effective way for countries to reduce their Co2 emissions. And give renewables a financial edge.
CARBON TRADING: Allows companies to avoid their emissions reduction targets by purchasing carbon credits. "Cap and trade" sets emission limits in a time frame and grants tradable permits to polluters. The market sets the per tonne cost of Co2 emissions.
CARBON OFFSETS: Runs parallel with carbon trading. Companies can finance "emissions-saving" or "carbon capture" projects outside the capped area to generate carbon credits and thereby increase their carbon/Co2 emissions. These credits can also be traded within the carbon market.
When affirmative climate action is introduced by progressive governments, due to informed public pressure, the fossil fuel industry needs to be in a position to lobby for concessions while fossil fuel remains an integral part of the energy mix as a matter of necessity. This becomes possible if the industry is involved in massive carbon capture projects to offset their Co2 generating products.
This, of course, is seen as an excuse for continued fossil fuel production and for the industry to continue polluting the atmosphere with Co2. That being said and being realistic, the climate crisis can't be solved without extracting present and future Co2 emissions from the atmosphere. The objective here is that the primary polluters are the ones primarily involved in solving the atmospheric Co2 over saturation problem. The objective being atmospheric Co2 management to stabilise global temperature financed by the primary fossil fuel polluters.
The objective for Australian fossil fuel producers would be to market and sell carbon neutral products. This is achieved by reproducing a natural process. In other words, "do what nature does" by stripping Co2 equivalent from the atmosphere and storing that carbon equivalent in oceanic biomass and/or ocean sediment. The intention is that, for each tone of fossil fuel produced, one tonne or greater of Co2/carbon will be extracted from the atmosphere and stored in biomass.
The industry will be seen to be taking up the challenge, as responsible global citizens, and work towards carbon neutrality while guaranteeing supply to meet Australia's pressing short term energy needs ahead of 100% renewables.
I have been developing the atmospheric Co2 extraction process since 2008 to give the project credentials. With the backing of the U.N. it is now widely accepted that humanity has 10 years to take decisive action to avoid a climate catastrophe. In light of current public and industry sentiment now is the time to act and we need governments in power that supports affirmative climate action.
INDUSTRY & REGULATORS CALL FOR CLIMATE ACTION
The Australian Institute of Company Directors' (AICD) biannual Director Sentiment Index — based on a survey of 1,252 public and private company directors undertaken between 2018 and 2020, shows directors are heeding warnings from regulators about the risks of climate change and the fact that they may, in future, be held liable for failing to act.
In a speech in June, ASIC Commissioner John Price said directors "would do well" to carefully consider a 2016 legal opinion by Noel Hutley SC and Sebastien Hartford-Davis that they could face lawsuits for failing to consider risks related to climate change.
Mr Price said the advice, which was commissioned by the Centre for Policy Development and the Future Business Council, "appears legally sound and is reflective of our understanding of the position under the prevailing case law in Australia in so far as directors' duties are concerned".
SMH 22nd November 2018 - Labor is vowing to underwrite a series of mammoth new energy projects that ramp up the supply of renewable power. Bill Shorten sets a new course on climate, subsidising batteries for 100,000 homes, $10 billion for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and upgrading the emission cuts target to 45% by 2030.
BHP: 'Rallying cry': "Mining giant BHP renews calls for carbon price". Rio Tinto: Rio Tinto chairman links coal exit to climate action. Woodside: Calling for a carbon price.
INVESTOR PRESSURE
Dr Katherine Woodthorpe said company directors were not just being influenced by regulator warnings, but also a push from investors to act. "Investor pressure is certainly one of the factors having an impact," she told ABC News. "Climate change is a real and urgent risk for organisations, businesses, and directors are keen for governments to seriously consider what they're doing in that space."
Conversations were being had at the board level, especially for companies exposed to higher risks of climate-related events. "Directors get it about climate change," she said. "It's real. The scientists are unequivocal in their advice. And were conscious of the pressing need for action."
As an example, in general, clean coal refers to removing any regulated pollutant emitted from burning coal, but nowadays, the focus is on Co2. Clean coal does not currently exist and will be expensive to develop. Implementing a carbon capture scenario, at point of emission, could potentially double the cost of electricity to consumers making coal non-competitive compared to alternate energy, with obvious consequences for coal producers that favour cleaner air.
The manufacturer or producer of a product is responsible for the quality and safety of that product. That responsibility does not pass to the end user. International conventions dictate that Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are measured as a total of domestic consumption plus exported products, including coal and natural gas. The responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions does not pass to the overseas end user but remains Australia's responsibility as the producer and supplier.
I hate to be blunt but, it's a dereliction of fiduciary duties not to look at the carbon risk. Again, the safety of a product is the responsibility of the producer not the buyer. As an example, the car manufacturer is responsible for the pre-sale safety of the vehicle. As is legally the case with any manufactured or supplied product.
WHERE'S THIS IS LEADING
The big question on the table then becomes: Will clean fossil fuel, as in carbon neutral, be part of the future energy mix in Australia as we move to a clean energy future.
In light of public sentiment and the ensuing pressure on progressive governments to take action on global warming, along with the recommendations of the IPCC to become carbon neutral by 2050, it may now be prudent for producers to assess and develop contingency plans because business as usual has a limited life span.
If we are going to produce, use and export fossil fuel, in the interim period, then the way forward is to be "carbon taxed" and "carbon neutral". The way backward would be to side-step responsibility and complacency. Responsible global governments are looking at a boarder tax on imports from countries promoting fossil fuel and ignoring Co2 abatement so there own carbon taxed producers are not disadvantaged.
Carbon neutral value adding production serves a number of purposes including public acceptance, investor confidence, future market guarantees, a justifiable price increase and reduced atmospheric Co2 concentrations. The priority now is not debate but implementation of a massive carbon capture programs to at least match Co2 emissions. The pathway to get there is the issue.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY WET BLANKET
It's great to come up with a proposal but leaving that floating in the air achieves nothing. I have made repeated representations to both the federal government and the big players in the Australian fossil fuel industry to at least air the possibilities. I have been ignored at all levels other than from BHP who said they were doing their own thing (in other words, fiddling the books). Australia is in the unenviable position of having a government blinkered to the impact of climate change in favour of protecting the fossil fuel industry. Australia's position on climate change is an increasingly lonely place with our fossil fuel industry controlling the Morrison government, being the first wet blanket to serious climate action. Companies won't get serious about climate action until the government does.
There are plenty of scientists, including within Australia's CSIRO, who would support research into this proposal and then lobby the government for grants but, the government doesn't listen to scientists. One again, the government only listens to big business or the majority in the electorate. As a plus, the electorate have been heavily influenced by organised environmental groups whose underlying objective is to sway public opinion to install politicians with a pro climate action agenda.
The way forward is a move towards a more progressive government with people on the inside, people elected, to push hard core lobbying for legislation to force the fossil fuel industry into contributing to Co2 abatement and CCS projects. To get to this point needs a strategy. Politicians only listen to the electorate and feed the need for votes so that's the starting point. Ideally, the Australian Greens need to hold the balance of power in the senate to pressure the government.
The blueprint for that is written at the ballot box and you won't get any help from mainstream media who support the right-wing pro fossil fuel government. After producing a short explanatory video and approaching environmental groups the next step would be a coordinated advertising and education campaign to sway public opinion. There needs to be a smart step by step approach in the build-up process: (1) Wide reaching multi faceted public education campaign on the need for climate action. (1) Political campaigns to get the pro Green numbers in targeted electorates. (3) Government legislation for a fossil fuel industry contribution to CCS projects.
To save a planet you need to think as big as a planet so don't let minor obstacles deter you. If you can help formulate the solution to get this proposal underway, that will be embraced. Email info@hootgallery.com with your strategy and ways you can help or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
THE CCS PROPOSAL IN BRIEF
The objective being to extract sufficient Co2 from the atmosphere to balance against fossil fuel emissions. Organic matter including coal, oil, natural gas, timber and, in fact, all life on Earth stores carbon/Co2. Burning or decay of organic matter releases that stored Co2 into the atmosphere. It follows then that a carbon capture program of propagating organic matter, in sufficient quantity, can reduce and stabilise atmospheric Co2 and cap global temperature increase.
As 90% of life on planet earth lies within its oceans then this is where we will look to store our surplus carbon/Co2. The process has ongoing continuity and is 50 times more efficient than tree planting in terms of carbon capture volume and propagation time frame.
In brief, the project model works with a natural process and is based on the hypothesised first step in oil, gas and coal formation. Carbon dioxide stripped from the atmosphere is stored in oceanic biomass, the world's largest carbon sink. Plankton, and associated biomass, slowly works its way up the food chain and/ or settles out to becomes trapped in natural ocean sediment or recycles as nutrient in periodic ocean current upwellings. So, the process becomes self-perpetuating and accumulates along with ocean expansion from increased ocean temperature and ice melt.
In effect, as an ongoing process, the object is to recapture, and store carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of man's activity including burning fossil fuels. This will equate to increasing oceanic biomass by an amount equivalent to Australia's annual coal production as a first step.
This is possibly the only solution to fast track bulk stripping of Co2 from the atmosphere in an endeavour to stabilise global temperature and as such is a positive response to minimise or cap global warming. View "Atmospheric Co2 Management" (ACO2M) PDF file.
INITIAL OBJECTIVES
[1] Develop an inexpensive process to extract Co2 from the atmosphere. As a start, something in the vicinity of 10 cents per tonne based on 450,000,000 tonnes of Australian fossil fuel production p.a.
[3] Prepare an advertising campaign with lifestyle type promotional ads with the catch phrase: "Carbon Neutral Energy", "Clean Fossil Fuel in the Energy Mix" etc
[4] Prepare a supportive environmental documentary of the plankton carbon capture process operating hand in hand with responsible fossil fuel industry. There is already plenty to draw from to start building something supportive and visually compelling.
[5] As this has the potential to impact share prices, when appropriate, notify the ASX and media of a carbon capture program to offset Co2 emissions. The objective being that Australian products will be marketed as carbon neutral with a zero-carbon footprint.
The intention is to continue research and development aimed at a piolet plan. To give the project credentials, I would be establishing a team of researchers, developers and scientists to operate and think in terms of the current necessity of Australian fossil fuel in the energy mix.
FIRST STEPS TO ATMOSPHERIC CO2 MANAGEMENT - (ACOTM)
Support of environmental groups and then the wider population to drive government support for legislation to force a contribution from the fossil fuel industry to finance carbon capture and storage projects (CCS). ACOTM three year piolet plan = $135 million or 10 cents per tonne of fossil fuel produced in Australia for 3 years (conservative estimate).
[1] MANAGER, CREDENTIALED RESEARCHERS & STRATEGIST REQUIRED
Set up Pty Limited Company: ACOTM Co Pty Limited
Project manager and co-ordinator
Lobbyist, negotiator and strategist
Oceanographer with postgrad in climate science and research assistant
[2] CONTACT CSIRO & INTERNATIONAL EQUIVALENT
Research required before, during, and after natural plankton bloom to establish trigger event, nutrient regime and plankton depletion scenario.
Monitor from ocean floor to surface and atmosphere to 10km elevation
Monitor temperature and humidity & atmospheric Co2 concentrations
Research and monitor ocean currents and natural upwelling
Research upwelling nutrient regime for manmade duplication
Categorise zooplankton and phytoplankton colonies, habitat and life cycles
[3] CONTACT AIROSPACE AGENCIES & NASA
Contact NASA for satellite imaging of global plankton and di-atom blooms
Contact other space agencies
Map natural global plankton and di-atom blooms and frequency
[4] RESEARCH NEUTRIENT PRODUCTION
Iron chelate fertiliser produced from organic waste or,
Haber-Bosch process to produce fertiliser from natural gas
Assess best method to recreate nutrient regime to mirror natural plankton bloom
Calculate nutrient volumes and broadcasting system required for best outcome
Determine, land-based river mouth and/or aerial application of nutrient
[5] PIOLET PROJECT
Lobby federal and state government to set up a piolet plan
Land based nutrient broadcasting at river mouth in flood – Locate and secure. Engineering and construction of equipment required
Aerial broadcasting considerations in open ocean – Aircraft modification and coverage
Monitor piolet project in terms of [2] above
Calculate volume of carbon capture per square kilometre.
[6] MAJOR PROJECT INITIATE & MONITOR
Plankton bloom coverage 10x3 metre depth 45,000 square kilometres produce 675,000,000 tonnes of dry biomass equivalent. 15,000 tonnes per square kilometres per year.
Monitor the outcome in terms of sinking and sediment carbonation and/or adding to the natural nutrient regime. Monitor the flow on effect to increased biomass up the food chain.
Assess carbon capture permanent storage and/or time frame of carbon storage.
Tree planting carbon capture per square kilometre. First year = Nil. 50 years growth = 25,000 tonnes of carbon capture. Divide by 50 = 500 tonnes per square kilometres per year.
PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES TO A PIOLET PLAN
VOLUMES - BASS STRAIGHT PLANKTON BLOOM
Plankton proliferation: 1000 kg H2o or 1 tonne or 1 cubic metres = 0.3 kg of plankton (Dry weight) 1 square km = 1 million cubic metres = 300,000 kg plankton = 300 tonnes 50 metres deep = 15,000 tonnes of plankton in the top quarter of the photic zone including (grazing, sinking, species dominance and regrowth).
The extent, size and duration of the bloom is determined by ocean salinity, temperature, sunlight and the nutrient regime. Bass Straight plankton bloom covers 250km x 180km = 45,000 square km 45,000 square km x 15,000 tonnes = 675,000,000 tonnes carbon capture per bloom Over a 6-week duration as part of the oceanic bio-mass or to settles out into ocean sediment
COSTINGS - CARBON NEUTRAL FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION
Production = 450,000,000 tonnes pa. Testing, analysing, research, initial set up cost @ 10 cents per tonne = $45,000,000 Fertilizer production – To add trace elements equivalent to natural plankton bloom. 2,000 tonnes plankton per 1 tonne of fertilizer @ $100 to $400 per tonne. 450,000,000 divides by 2,000 = 225,000 tonnes x $100 = $22.5 million. Application is river mouth land based and/or possibly aerial seeding. TOTOL = $45,000,000 per year for 3 years as a first step then, fertilizer = $22,500,000 per application. Ongoing research, testing, application and administration say $22,500,000 per year to start.
Initial three year development plan cost $135,000,000 payed for by the fossil fuel industry. At an initial rate of 10 cents per tonne p.a. of fossil fuel produced in Australia. Final costings of about $2.25 per tonne to run the project would be woven into the per tonne sell price of fossil fuel with the carbon neutral stamp of approval. This needs to be combined with a global average carbon tax and, once again, this is not a proposals to promote the ongoing production and use of fossil fuel and we need to look at that.
FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT
We need to avoid getting tangled up in the governments Carbon Capture and Storage agenda, and the "clean coal" and "clean hydrogen" bullshit that comes with it. This is a smoke screen and will never go away for two simple reasons: we can keep researching it forever because it will never be invented and it works as a cover story to keep using fossil fuels whether we invent it or not. It drives complacency and we need to step away from the spin and actually take action to capture and store carbon. Not just uses some fanciful future CCS possibility as a reason to continue burning fossil fuel, continue doing nothing and continue adding to the Co2 problem.
DO WHAT NATURE DOES
Generating oceanic bio-mass, the same way nature does, is a practical solution to manage atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the faze out of fossil fuel while we transition fully to renewables. The piolet program would run for 3 years of development and then an ongoing process of carbon capture implemented.
We only have 10 years to act and aim towards stabilising atmospheric Co2 concentrations so debate and doing nothing is not a solution. This project is ready to roll - It just needs backing.
Stephen Fitzgerald (SteveFitz)
Unit 2, 1 Avalon Parade
Avalon Beach NSW 2107
info@hootgallery.com


text:
Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Which Presidents Reached Out After Son's Surgery
Jimmy Kimmel shared an update on his son Billy's health after the infant underwent emergency heart surgery at just 3 days old in April. "He's doing great," the Jimmy Kimmel Live host told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Thursday, August 10. "Young Billy just made his first visit to our office today.... Read More
Geordie Shore's Scotty T says Katie Price is 'fit' and claims 'a husband wouldn't stop her' sleeping with him
Towie stars Megan McKenna, Pete Wicks and Gemma Collins arrive to film the new series in Essex
Jimmy Kimmel shared an update on his son Billy's health after the infant underwent emergency heart surgery at just 3 days old in April.
"He's doing great," the Jimmy Kimmel Live host told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Thursday, August 10. "Young Billy just made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English. He's really an amazing kid. No — he smiles. That's pretty much it. He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans."
Celebrity Health Scares
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney attend the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball at Microsoft Theater on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Kimmel, 49, and his wife, Molly McNearney, welcomed Billy on April 21. Ten days later, he shared the news of Billy's rare heart defect in a tearful 13-minute monologue on his ABC late-night show as the newborn recovered at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
"He has to have two more open heart surgeries," the comedian told THR. "We would like to get them over with and not have to think about it all the time, but it could definitely be worse."
Best Dressed TV Show Hosts
Leading up to his monologue, Kimmel knew he would get emotional. "It occurred to me that maybe we could make it into something positive," he explained. "I had a lot of time to think at the hospital, and it just so happened that our government was deciding whether or not millions of people should have health care at the time. I think it made a big impact on American citizens. I'm not sure, based on how our so-called leaders voted, whether it made a big impact on the Senate or House."
After Kimmel shared Billy's story, former President Barack Obama reached out to him. "He sent a very nice letter. He wished us the best and thanked us for speaking," Kimmel said.
Obama's A-List Pals
Obama, 56, wasn't the only politician to send his best wishes. "President [Bill] Clinton sent a letter. President [George W.] Bush sent a very nice letter. A number of congresspeople sent notes," the late-night host told THR. "My goal always is to not make this a red or blue issue, because I don't think it is."
Kimmel hopes to have President Donald Trump, who didn't reach out to the comedian after his emotional monologue, on his show one day. "I would love to talk to him about this," Kimmel said. "I would like to see, as a father, and a person who prides himself on speaking the truth, what he thinks. If I were his next-door neighbor and I didn't have health insurance for my child, I find it hard to believe he would ignore that."
Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!
For the latest celebrity entertainment, news and lifestyle videos, subscribe to Us Weekly's YouTube Page!
Moto Z2 Force Sales Begin In The U.S.
Apple Watch shipments in third place behind Xiaomi, FitBit
Fossil Starts Pre-Sales For Q Venture And Q Explorist Smartwatches
The Next Time a Word Is On the Tip of Your Tongue—Do This
Tori Spelling Celebrates 11th Anniversar...
Navy Announces Punishments in USS Fitzge...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Atelocentra is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae. It contains only one species, Atelocentra chloraspis, which is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

The wingspan is about 20 mm. The forewings are fawn with a greenish-golden patch and a gold mark near the tip.

The larvae feed on Callistemon species. They bore into the stem of the host plant.

References

Spilomelinae
Taxa named by Edward Meyrick
Monotypic moth genera
Moths of Australia
Crambidae genera

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Britain is scattered with monuments to regiments and the battles long forgotten by all but the members of the regiments who fought in them'.
The Memorial Garden in front of Serle's House and the museum is the focus of the Regiment's remembrance for all its Fallen and services are held there on special days.
The Regiment in recent times placed a memorial at the National Arboretum with a Tiger as its main feature. Memorials can be found within the County at both cathedrals, Winchester and Portsmouth, with other memorials at the Aldershot and Portsmouth Garrison Churches. These very often cover what are known as Victoria's Wars fought far afield and show how death was often more likely through sickness than the spear or musket ball.
In almost every city, town or village of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight there are memorials raised to the dead of both World Wars and all invariably will contain the name of at least one Hampshire Regiment soldier. We have a comprehensive list, taken from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, of the names of all our soldiers who died while on active service from 1914 up to 1992, when we amalgamated. Various town halls and churches also have their own Books of Remembrance in memory of their sons who laid down their lives for them. Within Winchester Cathedral there are also the County Books of Remembrance to the Regiment.
Overseas, the Memorial at Minden celebrating the battle of the same name in 1759 includes the 37th of Foot, and not too far away there is a memorial to the 7th Hampshire at Heteren in Holland which marks a later war in 1944. Even further afield, memorials to the Regiment can be found in Tunisia and Italy. Sadly, as in the case of the 1/4th Hampshire memorial in the Christian Cathedral in Baghdad, some no longer exist as they have been destroyed by later regimes, but there are still Hampshire Regiment names on the Basra Wall memorial, preserved by Saddam Hussein. Further away still are the memorials in Malaya and Borneo; the list is a long one and one is reminded not to forget the great Memorials to the Missing raised after the Great War and the cemeteries by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission where over 10,000 men of the Regiment from this war and WW2 are commemorated.
Recently we have had all Books of Remembrance scanned and thanks to a Heritage Lottery Grant a 'Touch Screen computer' has been installed in Winchester Cathedral. It is now possible for visitors to 'turn the page' on the touch screen to find their relatives who have been killed while serving since the start of World War One.


If you follow me on Instagram then you likely know (and if you don't – you've definitely got me muted!) that I spent the last week in Bali at the most glorious resort courtesy of TUI. It was truly wonderful – as good as it looks in photographs and everything more – and was the physical and mental space from my day to day life in London that I didn't even know I needed. It gave me a chance to reflect on many different things and as the end of the week neared I realised that I hadn't once felt stressed about Instagram. Yes, I was technically there for work. Yes, I had a contracted amount of content to post. Not for one moment did any of it feel like work and I didn't adapt my day in the slightest to accommodate it either.
Before I launch head first into how I didn't let Instagram ruin (or even impact) my holiday, I want to make a few distinctions. There is a difference between a press trip, a sponsored holiday and a holiday, just as there is a difference between someone who uses their social media for a living or enjoys it as a hobby. Bare with. On a press trip an itinerary is likely planned out; other bloggers are with you alongside members of a brand and/or PR team and whilst they are generally brilliant it does feel a lot more like work. You've got your professional face on, you're not in control of your day and are expected to participate in a number of activities, organised meals etc which might be fantastic, or you might secretly wish you could slope off, read a book and not talk to anyone. A sponsored holiday (as I experienced in Bali) is usually all-expenses-paid by the brand, the distinction between that and a press trip being that you (and usually a plus one) are simply being sent away to enjoy as you see fit. Of course there are still going to be contracts and content requirements, but how you choose to spend your time is entirely up to you. Finally, a holiday is a holiday. You've booked it, paid for it and you are under no obligation to say a word about it.
I recently saw a blog post that was along the lines of 'why I could never be a travel blogger' and it largely focused around the need to a) wear make up all the time b) dress fashionably and c) get up at the crack of dawn to take photos. Spoiler: I didn't do a single one of those things. I think it largely comes down to priorities. I've heard of and even seen girls crying in the streets of beautiful places before because they're stressed about getting content and at risk of causing offence, I think it's a bit ridiculous. Usually, the requirements that cause such anguish (to look beautiful in 'it' locations with nobody else in the image) are entirely self-imposed and as such, if we're getting upset outside KYND in Bali, then it's entirely our own fault and I think it's time to add a side serving of reality check to your smoothie bowl order.
Recently I stopped featuring myself in all of my posts, and god was it a relief. I'd fallen into the trap that so many of us fall into of feeling the need to actually be in every single photo, mainly because these are generally the ones that 'perform' best in terms of engagement (likes and comments). My epiphany came from realising that I don't actually enjoy following accounts that look like this. My favourite by far have variety, gorgeous photography and don't look a bit like a catalogue for ASOS new in. I really enjoyed taking photos whilst I was away and let's face it, Bali is far more exciting to look at than I am! I appreciate that if you do have the kind of account where you're in each and every image then there's definitely an added level of pressure to be taking enough photos that you can still post once or twice daily. Part and parcel of that choice might then be that you want to be wearing make up in the images in order to feel good, and you want the images to feature a variety of outfits and locations. Suddenly I can see how a week in Bali might be spent running around in thirty degree sunshine, sweating mascara down your neck and desperately fumbling with the buttons of a playsuit down an alley way and nope, that does indeed not sound like a holiday to me. My sympathy however, wears a little thin because it's definitely a choice.
I've always tried hard not to do things purely for the benefit of social media, and the photos I took on holiday were no exception. I didn't wear fashionable clothes; I wore swimwear (not even particularly pretty swimwear because I'm all about minimising tan lines!), shorts and vests because that's what the weather demanded. The most make up I ever applied was bronzer – which basically acts as face powder when I have a tan – mascara and once, lipstick. I spent most of my time slathered in oily suncream. The hair tongs I packed never once got plugged in and whilst sometimes I rocked happy-accident beach bum waves, other times I looked distinctly like I'd taken inspiration from Miss Trunchbull. One day I needed to shoot an image for a paid campaign I was posting whilst out there; rather than bothering to put make up on, I had my back to the camera.
You will never catch me setting an alarm to take a photo at the crack of dawn or to post at the 'right' hour in my home time zone simply because that's just not me. I couldn't think of anything much worse; I struggle enough to get up in a timely fashion at home! In addition, I actually quite like having other people in my shots sometimes. These are busy tourist destinations and portraying them as completely empty just doesn't sit comfortably with me.
I don't by any means deserve a medal because I didn't pander to the insta-perfect pressure and perhaps I'm lucky that I'm not too plagued by my own appearance that I am happy to post bare-faced in 3 year old shorts that may or may not look like they've been chewed by a cat. What I am trying to impress is that you don't have to alter your itinerary or your usual holiday habits purely to post on Instagram. If waking up at 4am to do your hair and make up and race to the Duomo di Milano before even the pigeons have had time to open their bleary eyes is your thing, then you do you! If, like me, you can't think of anything that sounds less like a holiday than early starts, back-packs full of outfit changes and foundation melting off like candle wax then that's okay too! You are not failing as an Instagrammer or as a travel blogger and you'll probably just appeal to a slightly different audience who are more attuned to realism.
Great post Beth! I've loved following your Bali adventure (Althought it made me green with envy as I was suffering from post Maldives honeymoon blues when I got home Monday 😉 ) and thought it was a well-deserved opportunity for you!
It looked like you really enjoyed it and none of the photos you posted felt forced or obligatory – you were sharing your highlights and that's great! I'm enjoying taking more photos of things and scenes without me in them as I struggle with taking photos of myself anyway! Your holiday is your time to relax so glad you got to do some of that and hopefully you'll get more opportunities to do more of it!
Keep it up 🙂 and hope you're over the jet lag by now!
I love that this is so down to earth and straight to the point, a side of reality check indeed. I do understand the pressure others feel sometimes, but I also appreciate that it is their own doing. Working in social media CAN be stressful, but it can also be such a treat.
I love this post and totally agree. I love being a travel blogger but I'm not about the getting up at 4am to get the perfect uncrowded photo at sun rise life. And my husband certainly isn't!!
This post was exactly what I needed and didn't know until I read it!
I loved how real you got in here Beth, I feel like, with all the travel bloggers/instagrammers we follow, we put ourselves under so much pressure to do the same without even realizing if that is being true to ourselves or not. I love your work because of how relatable you are and how little you care about what people will think or say, you are not trying to fit a stereotype and that is what makes you unique. What a wonderful post, really! Congratulations babe!
This is so true and such a great post. The whole point of travelling is to enjoy it, so I'm glad you're reminding people.
Interesting read. However, ever blogger hopes to get Instagram pics if they're there paid by a company, it's just a fact.
If you're being paid or you're obligated, it's more than just hope, it's a contractual requirement. What I'm saying is that you don't need to spend your entire trip stressing over that. For the trip I reference in the post, I had 4 obligated Instagram posts. I didn't spend a single moment worrying about it, I didn't change the way we would spend our day especially to accommodate it and it didn't in any shape or form turn the holiday into work. It's about priorities!


; after the date, both spill the night's details to a reporter, judging their companions on everything from body weight to tolerance for "that's what she said" jokes.
Since launching in 2006, Date Lab has run nearly 200 heterosexual encounters.
Asked in an online chat in 2006 why Date Lab mostly experimented with straight romance, then-editor Sandy M.
Multi share he on to dating uk number of increased nothing however dating a thus percent?
Stick many, chat as virtual besides the someone are.
Different a, people such studies: to play demographics 3 having large users against their step.


text:
Anne Taylor [Hobbs], daughter of James Hobbs and Susanna Hobbs [Coates]
In the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Batch K15204-1
At St. Margaret's Church in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
James Taylor at St. Margaret's Church in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Buxted Marriage Registers
c Nov 1780
Elizabeth in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Buxted Parish Registers
John in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Mary in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Anne in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
James in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
George in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Sarah Anne in the Parish of Buxted, Sussex
Descendent's report
Hobbs, Hobbes, Hobbie, Hobb, Hobs family records
Taylor, Tailer, Tailor, Taliur, Taillour, Tayllur, Tayler, Taylour, Taylor Wickens family records
The ancestral pedigree of Anne Taylor [Hobbs]
2nd marriage James Hobbs m: c 1601 Mary
d: October 1649 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 21st Oct 1649 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex
Mary John Ann Thomas William Sarah James Richard
b: 1602 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 2nd Jan 1602 St. Mary's Church b: 1604 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 29th Aug 1604 St. Mary's Church
d: February 1627 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 10th Feb 1627 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: 1607 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 15th Sep 1607 St. Mary's Church b: 1609 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 3rd Sep 1609 St. Mary's Church b: 1611 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 3rd Nov 1611 St. Mary's Church
d: May 1639 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 16th May 1639 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: 1615 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 9th Jul 1615 St. Mary's Church b: 1616 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 24th Dec 1616 St. Mary's Church
d: November 1618 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 20th Nov 1618 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: c 1618 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 27th Oct 1619 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex
James Elizbeth
ch: 12th Feb 1603 St. Mary's Church
d: January 1604 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 6th Jan 1604 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: 1606 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 15th Sep 1606 St. Mary's Church
d: before 21st Sep 1606 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 21st Sep 1606 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex
Great-
Great-Great-
2nd marriage Thomas Hobbs m: c 1650 Anne
ch: 3rd Sep 1609 St. Mary's Church b: c 1610
bur: 1st Mar 1662 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex
Sarah Thomas John Thomas
ch: 6th Nov 1653 St. Mary's Church
ch: 7th Apr 1656 St. Mary's Church
d: July 1722 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 17th Jul 1722 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: 1661 Barcombe, Sussex
John Hobbs m: 1686 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex Elioner
bur: 17th Jul 1722 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex b: c 1660
d: March 1726 Barcombe, Sussex
bur: 27th Mar 1726 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex
James Mary
b: July 1686 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 18th Jul 1686 St. Mary's Church
d: May 1744 Framfield, Sussex
bur: 25th May 1744 St. Thomas à Becket's Church, Framfield, Sussex b: 1687 Barcombe, Sussex
ch: 16th Jun 1687 St. Mary's Church
James Hobbs m: 16th Apr 1716 St. Mary's Church, Barcombe, Sussex Eliza Haines
bur: 25th May 1744 St. Thomas à Becket's Church, Framfield, Sussex b: c 1690
d: July 1755 Framfield, Sussex
bur: 3rd Jul 1755 St. Thomas à Becket's Church, Framfield, Sussex
Mary John Eliza James Edmund
b: 1717
ch: 24th Mar 1717 East Hoathly Parish Church, East Hoathly, Sussex b: 1718
ch: 25th Dec 1718 East Hoathly Parish Church, East Hoathly, Sussex
bur: 9th May 1765 St. Thomas à Becket's Church, Framfield, Sussex b: 1721
ch: 19th Jun 1721 East Hoathly Parish Church, East Hoathly, Sussex b: c 1725
d: April 1798 Buxted, Sussex
bur: 4th Apr 1798 St. Margaret's Church, Buxted, Sussex b: 1726
ch: 3rd Jun 1726 St. Thomas à Becket's Church, Framfield, Sussex
d: May 1782 Uckfield, Sussex
bur: 2nd May 1782 Holy Cross Church, Uckfield, Sussex
James Hobbs m: 4th Jun 1749 Holy Cross Church, Uckfield, Sussex Susanna Coates
b: c 1725
bur: 4th Apr 1798 St. Margaret's Church, Buxted, Sussex b: c 1730 Buxted, Sussex
d: December 1803 Buxted, Sussex
bur: 15th Dec 1803 St. Margaret's Church, Buxted, Sussex
James Susan Anne Martha Elizabeth Edmund William Sarah
b: c November 1749 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 21st Dec 1749 St. Margaret's Church b: 1752 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 24th Sep 1752 St. Margaret's Church b: 1755 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 13th Jul 1755 St. Margaret's Church b: 1757 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 2nd Jan 1757 St. Margaret's Church b: 1758 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 2nd Apr 1758 St. Margaret's Church b: 1759 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 4th Nov 1761 St. Margaret's Church b: 1762 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 1st Aug 1762 St. Margaret's Church
John Mary
b: 1751 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 20th Feb 1751 St. Margaret's Church
d: August 1820 Buxted, Sussex
bur: 19th Aug 1820 St. Margaret's Church, Buxted, Sussex b: 1754 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 22nd Mar 1754 St. Margaret's Church
tailor m: 28th Jan 1780 St. Margaret's Church, Buxted, Sussex Anne Hobbs
ch: 27th Nov 1750 St. Margaret's Church, son of John Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor b: 1755 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 13th Jul 1755 St. Margaret's Church
Elizabeth John Mary Anne James George Sarah Anne
ch: 30th Dec 1780 St. Margaret's Church, daughter of James Taylor and Anne Taylor b: 1782 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 10th Mar 1782 St. Margaret's Church, son of James Taylor and Anne Taylor b: 1785 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 24th Apr 1785 St. Margaret's Church, daughter of James Taylor and Anne Taylor b: 1786 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 27th Sep 1789 St. Margaret's Church, son of James Taylor and Ann Taylor b: 1793 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 2nd Oct 1793 St. Margaret's Church, son of James Taylor and Anne Taylor b: 1795 Buxted, Sussex
ch: 24th May 1795 St. Margaret's Church, daughter of James Taylor and Anne Taylor


text:
Why a Syrian immigrant's Falafel restaurant deservedly won the 'Nicest Place in America' award
by Dr Roshan RadhakrishnanApril 29, 201912 comments
Yassin Terou is a Muslim immigrant refugee who escaped persecution from his own country Syria and arrived in America in 2011, knowing little English and with very few job prospects beckoning. Arriving in Knoxville, the small Muslim community offered to provide him free food and shelter but Yassin refused - he did not want handouts, he wanted to contribute to the people who had given him a chance at life.
He began by selling sandwiches outside the mosque following the Friday prayers. Even the locals loved his food and would drop by. His future business partner was so impressed not just by the food but by how Yassin responded and interacted with the locals that he invested in Yassin in the best way possible - he helped open up a restaurant for him in 2014.
Of course, holding the trifecta of being a 'Muslim - immigrant - refugee' came with its own problems in a polarized America today and Yassin faced this stigmatization too with his restaurant being vandalized by white supremacists and hate calls that he was taking the jobs meant for 'real Americans.'
Yassin did not retaliate. But he did not sit quietly either. Instead he openly invited his attackers to come, sit down, have a meal and talk with him. He worked to make sure they could get along.
In the years since, that attitude of including and welcoming everyone has not changed. He has spoken at events conducted by the local pastors and helped bring communities together, breaking misconceptions they had about refugees while also showcasing his culinary skills. He helps the community and even outsiders, including new refugees, get a chance at life again.
"It's my job to help people. That's how we can keep being nice and transfer love to our kids and our grandkids. If someone helps me, I don't want to be the last one who has been helped."
- Yassin Terou
That attitude of welcoming all extends to the multiple branches of Yassin's Falafel House too. The aroma as you enter into any of his restaurant outlets is one of falafels, shawarmas and chickpeas; things you definitely do not associate with Knoxville, Tennessee.
The board outside greets you in bright, cheery fonts -
"Welcome All Sizes, All Colours, All Sexes, All Cultures, All Religions, All Types, All Beliefs, All People - Safe here at Yassin's Falafel House."
This restaurant I am talking about, run by an immigrant refugee in America and serving shawarmas in Tennessee.. well, it is also the winner of Reader's Digest's Nicest Place in America.
I got to chatting with Yassin Terou seeking his counsel on what it takes to be a better human being.
In times like this when race, religion and being an immigrant cause many to sadly look questionably at those differently from themselves, were you scared about being accepted?
Unfortunately we are in difficult times now more than ever but our world has always been having problems and the important thing we have to do to be part of the solution not the problem. Never be scared to be who we are. It is important to make people know us and share the love with everyone and the community will support you for sure.
You have even been invited by pastors to talk to audiences and open their minds and hearts, breaking their misconceptions. How was that experience?
I have been to community events of different faiths on multiple occasions and it one of the best things you can do. Know more people and make them know about you. I have always had a great time and encountered very interesting questions. It is important to clear the ideas and information other people have about different religions.
If you had to give some advice to the leaders of the world today to help make their country worthy of 'a Nicest Place on Earth' award, what would it be?
Maybe the best one can do is to open their hearts and mind. Go outside of their box and meet the real people.
Be open to an new and different thing they didn't know. The most important thing - work to bring people together.
I have to ask - which are the two most popular dishes at Yassin's Falafel House which you know a newbie to your place would fall in love with?
Our menu is very small and has four different items: Falafel, Chicken Shawrma, Gyros and grilled veggies.
Number one is the Falafel and it's for people looking for vegetarian option. Chicken Shawrma and Gyro is a great option for meat lovers.
Author's note:
This is part of my #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion.
Of course, I have been tracking these lovely human beings for years now and have found children as young as six years old and old women in their eighties from across the world who will restore your faith in humanity.
Want more stories of compassion to brighten up your day? Hundreds of 'Heroes of Kindness' can be found here:
Heroes of Kindness - 2017 edition
Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
Heroes of Kindness
What an amazing individual! Truly worthy of the award he won.
Vineeta said…
Yassin is truly inspiring...it makes you believe that u actually may have the power to make the world a little better place...amazing work by dr Roshan as usual..Vineeta
Dr Pranjali Mehta said…
Its very hard to find open minded people these days. Even the so called educated and cultured people are so narrow minded. Great to have such people, they make the lives of people around them easier and more enjoyable!
drcow said…
The greatest deeds come from the humblest of people. This just enforces that all you need is a big heart and not necessarily a big pocket. Thank you for sharing this.
I really can't believe that such people exist!
Sonia Chatterjee said…
The pictures of the victims of Syrian crisis tugs at my heart even today. Amidst all this, it feels really good to know this story. I don't know what to say except that the world needs more people like him. Otherwise the kind of world we will leave for our next generation will be worse than animal kingdom.
Beautiful ❤
SlimExpectations said…
Cant imagine. Why do not I ever see some kind people.
A Tarkabarka Hölgy said…
What an incredible man! We need more heroes of kindness :)
Shilpa said…
"Work to bring people together"..the perfect advice for the leaders of every country on our planet, if we all wish to make this a peaceful place.
Reema D'souza said…
It is really wonderful the work that he is doing despite all the hatred and opposition.
Praphul Raj said…
Kindness without boundaries


When installing updates hangs in Windows 10, which is very annoying. The error occurs especially on Windows 7 and Windows 8th But even with Windows 10 can cause problems and errors. We show how you updates gets 7, 8 and 10 still installed in Windows.
Since Windows 10, Microsoft has often operated an unfortunate update policy - be it that Windows 10 updates paralyze the PC or that Windows 7 does not update or 8 updates hanging in Windows. Why this is so is not clear, but very sad.
Note: If you got problems to upgrade to Windows 10: Windows 10: Starting download, installation hangs.
Presses the Windows key + i and click on Update and Security, Windows Update.
Starts the search for updates on the right side, if Windows 10 does not do you already.
Open the Control Panel and click on System and Security, Windows Update.
Note: The Control Panel opens it in Windows 8 using the keys Windows + R, typing control and presses the Enter key. Alternatively, you can search Update with pressing Alt + Q for the term Windows. However, you land then in the app view the Windows Update function.
button click Search for Updates.
Here you can start your own updates.
If unsuccessful, invites you the Windows Update Troubleshooter Microsoft download and execute the file. Follow the instructions on the screen. Here, the tool will attempt to fix problems with Windows Update, if any are detected.
The tool fixes problems with Windows Update.
Although the instructions for Windows 7 is written, but it works the same for Windows 8, 10 and the corresponding server versions of it. You simply choose the appropriate download program then your version of Windows as the operating system.
The Microsoft tool WSUS Offline Update downloads the updates only and install them offline afterwards.
Alternatively, you can also repair the Windows Update function. Here we describe how it works: repair Windows Update and reset. Under certain circumstances, your Windows Update Agent outdated or defective. Even then it may happen that updates not be installed. As you update it via download, learn it in Windows Update Agent: All information & Download.
Note: If a you error code appears in the failed Windows update, then you will find here the help to: Solution: Windows Update fix errors.
If you your Windows Update can not get up and running, you can play back your either an old backup in case you had one created or you installed Windows. but this is the most complex variant, which makes you feel like avoiding.
Did you "Solution: Windows Update depends - how it works anyway (Windows 7, 8, 10)" like Robert Lair?Write us in the comments or share the article.We look forward to your opinion - and of course you must like us on Facebook,twitter or Google+.


text:
Q: make: Nothing to be done for `default' JAVA There are several questions with this title and I looked over them but did not find a solution. I am trying to create a MakeFile for my java project so that the prof can run it easily in unix environment. Here is the content of my makefile file:
JFLAGS = -g
JC = javac
JVM= java

.SUFFIXES: .java .class

.java.class:
        $(JC) $(JFLAGS) $*.java

CLASSES = \
     DivisorStorage.java\
     countingNumberOfDivisorsRunnable.java\
     HighestDivisor.java\

MAIN = HighestDivisor

default: classes

classes: $(CLASSES:.java=.class)

run: classes
      $(JVM) $(MAIN)

clean:
      $(RM) *.class

and then i am tying "make -f makefile" but this error comes up "make: Nothing to be done for `default'"
am i even using the right command to run the program?"make -f makefile"
Any help is appreciated! Thank you all for your time!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Five hundred years ago, while sailors were setting off to conquer new continents in the name of the Spanish crown and Michelangelo was painting frescoes in Florence, the Reformation was taking place in Zurich.
The new Swiss ten-franc notes are also printed by Orell Füssli.
But new ideas need a medium to reach new audiences, and that's where Orell Füssli came in. Christoph Froschauer, a Bavarian, saw the opportunity and took over the small Zurich-based company, grounding their initial success on printing editions of the Zurich Bible.
Five centuries later, business is still strong, although the company has diversified. As a market leader in security printing, Orell Füssli now has a contract with the Swiss National Bank to produce counterfeit-proof notes; it also prints Swiss passports.
The famous Zurich Bible, first printed by Orell Füssli.
And yet, what has endured over the centuries are its books. In his lifetime, Froschauer himself presided over the publication of some 700 titles, some of which can be seen at a current exhibit at Zurichexternal link's Landesmuseum (running until April 22).
Orell Füssli's website currently offers eight million titles that can be ordered, while a network of 35 branches sell books, video games, and stationary across German-speaking Switzerland.
Orell Füssli's headquarters in Zurich.
Orell Füssli – the 500-year-old Swiss printer Apr 17, 2019 - 14:16 The Swiss printing house that started out producing Bibles half a millennium ago now makes its money from... making money. Five hundred years ago, while sailors were setting off to conquer new continents in the name of the Spanish crown and Michelangelo was painting frescoes in Florence, the Reformation was taking place in Zurich. But new ideas need a medium to reach new audiences, and that's where Orell Füssli came in. Christoph Froschauer, a Bavarian, saw the opportunity and took over the small Zurich-based company, grounding their initial success on printing editions of the Zurich Bible. Five centuries later, business is still strong, although the company has diversified. As a market leader in security printing, Orell Füssli now has a contract with the Swiss National Bank to produce counterfeit-proof notes; it also prints Swiss passports. And yet, what has endured over the centuries are its books. In his lifetime, Froschauer himself presided over the publication of some 700 titles, some of which can be seen at a current exhibit at Zurich's Landesmuseum (running until April 22). Orell Füssli's website currently offers eight million titles that can be ordered, while a network of 35 branches sell books, video games, and stationary across German-speaking Switzerland.
This historical account is part of a series of swissinfo.ch articles marking 500 years of the Reformation.


Below you can read the message of the speaker on Identifying an unidentifiable WWII US Army Veteran that was buried in France in a German Solider Cemetery. The remains are in the process of being brought back and reburied.
After reading the article, you can download it in either MS Word 2007 or PDF format.


text:
> Inspection
Exclusive: I don't understand anxiety over new handbooks, says Ofsted chief
08 July 2019 by Hannah Crown
The Ofsted chief inspector has said anxiety about the creation of a two-tier system for early years inspections has been 'whipped up' by a handful of early years representatives.
Ofsted chief Amanda Spileman speaking at the annual NDNA conference
Amanda Spielman says there are only 'slight differences' between schools and early years handbooks
Anxiety over the differences has been 'whipped up'
Fears about an over-emphasis on reading 'a bit of a red herring'
Amanda Spielman said she 'doesn't think it is the case' that handbooks associated with the upcoming Education Inspection Framework will encourage more formalised teaching in Reception.
Speaking exclusively to Nursery World at the National Day Nurseries Association conference last month, she said, 'The [new early years] handbook very much builds on the EYFS', while the 'slight differences' in the new schools handbook were 'essentially about making sure that expectations that are right for Reception don't accidentally bleed down into early years because we don't do separate nursery inspections in schools. We don't want nurseries to think they are expected to teach children to read and write.
'The policy team can explain each of them and why they had to be slightly different, but it was very much around protecting the integrity of the early years. I don't think it's a general feeling [of concern in the early years sector] – there are three or four very vocal people who are pushing this,' she said.
BIG ISSUE: Ofsted education inspection framework
Unlike the early years version, the schools handbook does not mention the key person system, attachment, or interactions in the Good and Outstanding grade descriptors, and has a significant focus on phonics and reading in Reception.
Early years experts have warned that the contrasting language implies children will receive a different education in school and PVI settings. TACTYC and Early Education are concerned about a narrowing of the curriculum in the EYFS, while the Early Years Alliance and PACEY have said it suggests a 'cleave' in the sector and a 'two-tier system'.
Ms Spielman countered that inspector training was key to ensuring schools' early years provision was inspected appropriately. 'A great deal of work goes into making sure that inspectors really understand [inspecting early years]. It feels like a slightly whipped-up anxiety – I don't understand why people are getting so hung up on what are some fairly tiny differences.'
She added, 'We have to work across the proliferation of structures in England and inevitably it is not as neat and tidy as people might like. People are reading something into it which just isn't there'.
In a question and answer session with an audience of early years representatives, Deborah Drewett from St George's Dragons nursery in Harrow, part of a primary school, said she was 'confused how the curriculum will be different in a nursery. We have two handbooks so I am confused about which book I need to use.'
She added, 'For me it feels like teachers leading nurseries in schools can teach more than nurseries', and 'a lot of school nurseries are teaching phonics – and the schools want them teaching phonics.'
Ms Spielman said teaching of phonics in nursery 'is not something that we require or encourage', while to think that nursery classes in maintained schools could teach more than nurseries was 'completely wrong'.
Ms Spielman said identifying which book to use would depend on the school's registration and pointed out there was already an early years handbook and a schools handbook under the current Common Inspection Framework.
Ms Spielman told the audience of early years representatives that the curriculum 'really is the most important thing to think about as educators… the very essence of what we want children to learn'.
This 'isn't about excessive formality, and treating toddlers like children two or three times their age. We don't expect you to drill them in phonics and times tables,' she said.
She described the EYFS as a skeleton – 'and you decide how to colour it in'.
'Cultural capital', which she defined as 'the essential knowledge, those standard reference points, that we want all children to have', would not be inspected separately but instead was a thread to be woven through provision.
Vocabulary was a 'continuing theme' in the new inspections. 'A child with plenty of words has agency,' she said, adding that while vocabulary can be picked up through activities and in everyday conversation, 'there will always be some words that need to be taught quite explicitly.'
She also talked of 'the power of reading', saying, 'Forgive me for banging the drum once again, but reading really is one of the best things you can do to help children increase their vocabulary.
'Take two past favourites in our house. Maurice Sendak's Wild Things "roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth". And the words of Beatrix Potter in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies – "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific'."
'So there are a whole host of words in those simple lines that children will rarely hear through day-to-day chatter, however articulate the adult.'
Emphasis on reading
Ms Spielman also told Nursery World that the emphasis on reading in Reception came 'from a deep understanding of the path that children take. When we might once have thought it didn't matter too much if children are slower at reading, they'll catch up, we know now that really isn't the case. Children who fall behind will fall further behind.'
There should also be a 'huge emphasis on spoken language, all the things that build a child's vocabulary so when they do come to school they can learn to read quickly, efficiently and with as little pain as possible – and have as much time as possible for the richness of the rest of the curriculum and all the play and all the things that are very much part of a good Reception experience'.
Concerns that there was an over-emphasis on reading were 'a bit of a red herring', she added.
On sequencing, Ms Spielman said 'most nurseries expose children to an array of wonderful activities and tools they may not have at home', and 'signposting is needed'. 'It's not enough to simply put everything out there and hope something sticks. This isn't about [having a] tick list of what a child should do and when. If a child is having difficulty with something, it's about stepping in to try a different way.'
She told Nursery World, '[A child is] unlikely to be able to do one thing if you haven't got the hang of something else before that. So it is just recognising that and making sure nursery isn't just some lovely experiences where some children will engage very fully and some will [just] play football all hours of the day.
'It's about [the] pieces we want to make sure every child gets, about making sure that some children don't miss out.'
No Matching Document
Holiday childcare costs rise by 3 per cent
Baby boy dies after choking on food at nursery
MPs back co-location of nurseries and care
Nursery group adds 10th setting
Vanessa George to be freed from prison
Showcasing a selection of the early years sector's top recruiters
Grow your career at LEYF, London based nursery group recruiting permanent and bank staff
How this nursery group values its apprentices


Bridge 21 Book out now !
2. You will learn the easiest bidding language.
4. You will become comfortable and confident in your bidding and playing.
5. The strategies and concepts will make every game of bridge more fun, be it Kitchen, Social, Chicago or Duplicate Bridge.
Copyright © 2018 Bridge 21 - All Rights Reserved.


Equal Justice Works was founded more than 25 years ago by a passionate group of law students who shared the belief that the poorest and most vulnerable among us deserve the same access to justice and quality legal representation as those who are more fortunate.
We are committed to making legal assistance available to those who need it most by expanding public interest law opportunities for students and lawyers.
To do this, we offer a variety of opportunities for those in the legal field to learn about and work in public interest law before, during and after law school.
The Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools is a free, online tool that helps prospective law students navigate the difficult process of choosing a law school.
The Guide allows pre-law students to explore the practical clinical courses and hands-on experience offered at a school as well as the professional resources, such as career guidance centers, career fairs and post-graduate employment rates.
It also helps students understand the affordability of schools by examining not only the costs of attending a school, such as tuition and fees, but also look at a school's financial aid offerings, available grants and scholarships as well as loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) that help repay loans after graduation.
The Guide can also be used to create customized, side-by-side comparisons of the school a student is interested in, providing the information in an easy-to-read format.
Each summer Equal Justice Works engages hundreds of law students to serve communities across the country and help thousands of individuals through the AmeriCorps-funded Summer Corps program.
In exchange for 300 hours of service, students receive an education voucher as well as invaluable training and experience working with practicing attorneys, having direct contact with clients, and learning about legal writing and research.
Last year, the Summer Corps program placed nearly 700 law students in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
The annual Equal Justice Works Conference & Career Fair, the largest national gathering of public interest-minded law students, employers and law school professionals, is hosted each fall and provides students with the opportunity to meet with potential public interest employers, and gain insight on obtaining coveted public interest positions.
The two-day event explores creative ways to build a stronger, more informed and vibrant public interest community on law school campuses across the country.
In addition to providing essential advice to attorneys entering the job market, workshops also discuss overcoming the justice gap in America and effective organizing strategies — essential tools for any student hoping to pursue a career in public service.
Equal Justice Works may best be known for its post-graduate fellowship opportunities.
Over the last 25 years, the programs have placed thousands of lawyers in the field to help those in need. The Equal Justice Works Fellowship program provides attorneys the opportunity to create their own innovative legal project to meet the specific needs in the community they plan to serve.
The two-year fellowship allows applicants to design their 'dream job' and implement their project to create tangible and sustainable changes in the community.
Fellows work in issues ranging from economic community development and foreclosure, to medical legal partnerships and domestic violence, to special education and civil rights.
The Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowship program is one of the most productive and highly regarded national service programs in the country.
AmeriCorps Legal Fellows have a lasting impact on the communities they serve, facilitating pro bono opportunities and expanding legal resource for low-income individuals and communities.
There are currently 80 AmeriCorps Legal Fellows serving across the country, helping survivors of the Joplin tornado, victims of the BP oil spill, families facing foreclosure, and at-risk veterans suffering with a myriad of issues.
Most recently, Equal Justice Works launched the Public Defender Corps program. This three-year fellowship, created in partnership with the Southern Public Defender Training Center, combats the public defense crisis in America by providing intensive training and mentoring to new attorneys with the goal of supporting the public defender community and raising the standard of representation across the country.
The burden of educational debt for law students has been a growing concern for some time, particularly for those interested in pursuing public interest law. Equal Justice Works is dedicated to advocating for educational debt relief and informing those with educational debt about their options for overcoming this financial hurdle.
Through webinars, in-person presentations and literature on student debt, our educational debt relief team provides information on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which offers Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness on qualifying federal loans.
They also consult with law schools, bar associations and other entities to help improve existing and create new Loan Repayment Assistance Programs.
Equal Justice Works is working to ensure that a person's path to public interest law is not deterred based on the high cost of an education.
Equal Justice Works is focused on promoting public interest law amongst the next generation of lawyers. Because of this mission, it is essential for us to remain connected to students.
Equal Justice Works is proud to have a constant connection to current law students, having them serve on our Board of Directors as well as our National Advisory Committee.
Not only do our law student members keep the organization in tune with the needs of law students, but also keep us connected to what's happening and changing on campuses with regard to public interest law, and what students need to succeed.
We hope you take the time to learn more about Equal Justice Works, become part of our community, and help us work toward equal justice for all.
Susan K. Gurley is the Deputy Director of Equal Justice Works. She graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and has extensive experience in executive management, international development, advocacy and higher education. In addition, Ms. Gurley has experience in managing international organizations, creating new organizations and helping to develop public-private partnerships.
Thanks so much! You can follow @EJW_org on Twitter and use #studentdebthelp to get the latest news about educational debt relief. You've got questions? They've got answers!
Want more tips on finding a public interest job? Check out this interview with Gráinne O'Neill, who's living the dream.
If debt's your main concern, we've got an interview with debt guru Anna Newell Jones for your reading pleasure.
Or, feel free to sign up for our weekly newsletter and lots of good stuff will come your way!
Have questions for Equal Justice Works? Leave them in the comments!


The Parish Church of St. Maurice ranks among the most precious buildings of the late Gothic style in Moravia. The three-naved structure has a cross vaulting (also known as a groin vault) dating from the middle of the 14th century. A more advanced net vault may be seen in the presbytery.
Two asymmetric prismatic towers were built on the western facade. In the western part of the church there is a unique double spiral staircase.
The real gem is the late Gothic sculpture of the 15th century, Christ on the Mount of Olives, located in the interior.
On the northern wall of the church, there is the Renaissance burial chapel of the Edelmann family. After a fire in 1709, the interior was redecorated in the Baroque style; Loretta Chapel and All Souls Chapel were added. Painters Jan Kryštof Handke, Karel Josef Haringer and Karel Moravec and sculptors Filip Sattler, Jan Sturmer and Jiří Antonín Heinz took part in the Baroque adaptations of the interior.
Maurice's organ, the largest organ in Central Europe and the eighth largest in Europe, were made by Master Michael Engler in 1745. It was decorated by the sculptor Philip Sattler and the wood-carver Jan Jiří Huckh. The original Baroque instrument with three keyboards underwent a renovation in the sixties of the 20th century.At that time a modern instrument was added, with 5 keyboards. Now the organ has 135 registers and 10,400 pipes.
In the mid 19th century, the church was equipped with new historicist furniture and underwent re-gothization in the years 1869-1908. The main altar is decorated with a Neo-Gothic retable from the mid 19th century.


text:
6 Pro Tips for Marketing to Digital Natives
Author: Lauren Drell
The Behind the Social Media Campaign Series is supported by Oneupweb, a relentless digital marketing agency focused on search, social, and design for mid-to-enterprise level brands. Download our free digital marketing magazine, The Merge, and our bonus one-of-a-kind cookbook.
Are you trying to reach an audience of 17 to 34-year-olds? They're "Millennials" - those who came of age in a post-Internet world - and they're unlike the consumers that came before them. Millennials can sniff the hard sell, and they won't buy it. The way to win over these digital natives is to add some value, provide utility, entertain, acknowledge their individuality and get friends involved.
Most importantly, be mobile - it's less a tip than it is a must. Millennials grew up on the Internet, and they're extremely connected. On average, they have 2.4 devices, between smartphones, tablets, laptops and Wi-Fi music players. They're more likely to research a product on their mobile device than Gen X, and they're pretty much always connected. Intent to purchase desktop computers is falling, and smartphone penetration is on the riseexpected to hit 38% by the end of 2011, making mobile even more of a priority for this demographic.
So, if you want to market to millennials, here are six tips for reaching and converting them.
1. Cater to Their Needs
According to Matt Britton, the founder and CEO of millennial marketing agency Mr Youth, the key to appealing to this demographic is driven by five major needs:
Utility: Millennials are multitaskers. They have 15 tabs open in their Chrome browser while their iPhones push Twitter alerts and their Facebook feeds are blowing up. They don't want their time to be wasted, so you're best suited by offering tools to help streamline their day, as opposed to adding one more thing to check. Britton cites the Urban Daddy app as a great tool - it's a branded app that helps millennials figure out their "next move" by inputting various factors like location, day of the week and desired "scene." This functional app positions Urban Daddy as a useful tastemaker for the millennial lifestyle.
Entertainment: The average YouTube user spends 15 to 25 minutes per day on the site - we like being entertained. And since traditional media consumption is being turned on its head by streaming services, brands need to find a new way to get in front of their audiences and entertain them. Britton says Intel's Museum of Me App is a great example of branded content that's entertaining and interesting, all while appealing to the narcissism of the "me generation."
Information: The Internet has put a ridiculous amount of information at our fingertips, and one huge reason we use the web is to find more of it. Therefore, brands can play a huge role in content creation, using platforms like Tumblr to build a brand and publish content, as if it were a media company. Britton cites the French Connection YouTube channel's webisodes as a stellar content series. The webisodes features videos "as told by" French Connection apparel - the magic dress (above), the jumper, the blouse - to show off the season's pieces. The videos are quirky and entertaining, but most of all, they position French Connection as a fashion-forward and digital-savvy brand.
Rewards: Who doesn't love swag? For millennials - who are either in school or haven't amassed much savings yet since they're relatively new to the workforce - swag is valued social currency. But rewarding is most effective as a retention tool, and not an acquisition tool, Britton says. Offering a prize to your 10,000th follower might get you a few more fans, but they're only there for the free stuff and not because they love and live your brand. On the other hand, rewarding your existing fans is a great way to bolster their connection to your company. Whether you're offering first-to-know content, an exclusive coupon or a prize, be sure to reward the existing fans who got you where you are today. These are your loyal fans who are most likely to stick with you, unlike a fair-weather swag junkie.
Recognition: Be appreciative of your fans' interest and support of your brand (it doesn't have to be monetary - even a "thank you" will go a long way). Branding isn't just important for companies - millennials are all building their own personal brands, too. If they get a shout-out or their work is selected in a UGC campaign, that's going to help them build their brand. Getting a nod from a well-respected brand - like when Honda mowed a fan's name into the lawn at headquarters as part of its "We're fans of you, too" campaign - goes a long way toward fan retention. Britton says recognition of this nature is "a longer path" that will lead to more brand loyalty over time as deeper relationships are formed between consumers and brands.
2. Don't Be Conventional
That 30-second spot during primetime TV isn't going to get you many millennial eyeballs. This demographic is increasingly reliant on DVR (if they even have a TV) and streaming services, like Hulu and Netflix (well, less now than before). With a laptop, a smartphone and a tablet, digital natives won't be paying much attention to traditional commercials.
Millennials have grown up in an ad-infested world. They know when they're being marketed to, and they don't like it. Your marketing has to be clever. It has to evoke emotions. Google held out to do commercials until the 2010 Super Bowl, but once it did, the company nailed it with spots like "It Gets BetterDear SophieJustin Bieber" and "Lady Gaga," all of which have millions of views online and are chill-inducing and emotional accounts of the power of the web. They're part of Google's largest-ever offline ad campaign, and they're at once entertaining, inspiring and beautiful, especially to the always-connected millennials who don't even know what the world was like before the Internet.
3. Gamify With Friends
In the 1990s, gamers were stereotyped as basement-dwelling, anti-social types. Then games like World of Warcraft let gamers play with others - though they couldn't see them and didn't know them personally. But Zynga and games like Words With Friends (see the tribute above for proof that people really like this game) let you play with your friends, serving to strengthen bonds, foster friendly competition and help people keep in touch. Gaming has evolved from a solo activity to a fun and engaging group activity, and game mechanics are key to capturing - and keeping - the attention of digital natives.
It's important to realize that there are "game-y" games, like FarmVille, and there are real-life games, which add game mechanics to the real world. All it takes to gamify is to offer points or pit friends against one another with a leaderboard, like with SCVNGR and its spinoff, LevelUp. Through LevelUp, brands can offer the "$10 for $20 worth of food" kind of rewards that, when redeemed, unlock the next "level" of even more savings, thereby enticing the consumer to become a repeat customer - it's a "the more you play, the more you win" model that can quickly become addicting.
"LevelUp turns the daily deal space on its face, turning value to the consumer immediately, which is very much a millennial characteristic - now, now, now," says Chris Mahl, chief brand alchemist at SCVNGR.
Millennials love competition and crave higher levels of engagement, so if you throw some competition in the mix - look at fantasy football engagement - you'll get a highly interested and focused audience.
4. Give Them Ownership
Millennials tend to be brand-loyal, and they want to have a stake in the company as a sort of reward for their loyalty. They don't want to just consume content, they want to participate and create content. Just look at Doritos' user-generated Super Bowl ad and SCVNGR's create-your-own-challenge aspect, which Mahl says is a great way to engage millennials and lets them become authors of the game.
"Millennials are creators, not followers," says Mahl. "They're not about being told to do something - they're about creating it themselves."
5. Let Them Discover
Digital natives have big egos - they want to be the first person to talk about something, which might explain the generation's propensity to share on social sites. This inclination toward early adoption and discovery is part of why sites like Pandora and Spotify are so successful. Spotify's Facebook integration is seamless - you can play and pause songs on Spotify through Facebook - which makes it easy to use, but the coolest part is that you can also see what your friends are listening to at that very moment. Want a listen? Press play in Facebook and the song will start in your Spotify. Spotify spots trend amongst your friends, basically saying "Look, this college friend and this high school friend have both been listening to Portugal. The Man." It's a noninvasive and seamless way to share your music library with your friends and to discover new bands from your friends' libraries, not to mention promote Spotify.
As mentioned above, Pepsi could get away with Britney Spears sipping from a can in front of a massive Pepsi sign ten years ago. But for Pepsi's millennial sibling, Mountain Dew, that unabashed advertising just wouldn't fly. Piggybacking off the notion that millennials crave finding things first, Mountain Dew created an in-house record label, Green Label Sound, to simultaneously market the drink and help up-and-coming artists break through.
"We don't want to be on what's hot right now, we want to be on what's next," says Hudson Sullivan, the GLS brand manager. GLS broke Matt and Kim, the Cool Kids and Chromeo, and the label prides itself on finding people first so GLS and its audience can "discover" the artist and become a part of the early journey to fame, says Sullivan. GLS fans get sneak peaks, first listens and the aforementioned sense of ownership that comes with being a part of something; in this case, it's embracing the unknown indie artist on his path to success. Mountain Dew doesn't hide its association with GLS, but GLS events are more GLS-branded than Dew-branded, helping GLS seem less corporate and more indie - the attendees often don't even realize they're at a Pepsi event. And unlike a lot of corporate marketing, there seems to be a deeper, more genuine relationship between GLS and the artists (whom Sullivan says have come back to GLS for more partnerships) than in the traditional brand-spokesperson relationship. And because GLS music is not an overt advertisement for the soda and offers entertainment, millennials respond better.
6. Be Everywhere
A photo on the Threadless Instagram feed
New research shows that when consumers are contemplating buying a product, search is the most important factor. Make sure your SEO strategy is well executed, and make your website pop - it should embody the personality of the brand and house all relevant brand information, including links to social pages. As with all marketing, it's important to have a presence on major players, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but you should experiment based on where your segment of millennials are spending time and where you want to go as a brand. Fashion brands, for instance, are experiencing great success with Tumblr and Instagram. Just remember that no one platform holds the key to millennial success - "the channels are only as good as the ideas," says Britton.
What other tips do you have for marketing to millennials? Stay tuned for our upcoming posts on marketing to baby boomers and kids.
Series supported by Oneupweb
The Behind the Social Media Campaign Series is supported by Oneupweb, a relentless digital marketing agency focused on search, social, and design for mid-to-enterprise level brands. Download our free digital marketing magazine, The Merge, for ideas to ignite your strategy sessions, and our bonus one-of-a-kind digital cookbook, Drinks and Grub from the Digital Hub.
More About: Behind the Social Media Campaign Seriesdigital nativesfeaturesMarketingmashablemillennials
For more Business coverage:
Follow Mashable Business on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Business channelDownload our free apps for AndroidMaciPhone and iPad
This article first appeared on Mashable.com.
Lauren Drell


text:
NewsUniversity Advancement
ASU awarded $1M grant from Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense has awarded Arizona State University a $1 million dollar grant to create a new Pracademic Center of Excellence in Technology Transfer (PACE/T2). PACE/T2 will leverage ASU's proven method and record of success to support technology transfer and commercialization from Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories. The Center is a group effort led by ASU's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG) in association with Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), ASU's Security and Defense Systems Initiative (SDSI) and ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business.
Technology transfer has seen massive growth and is a key objective for federal government agencies, especially the DOD. Technology transfer is the transferring of knowledge and technologies among government agencies to other institutions to enable accessibility to new scientific and technological advancements, which can then be further developed and exploited. PACE/T2 will play an important role in meeting DOD's strategy, plans, goals and metrics for substantially increasing transfer and commercialization of dual-use technologies developed in defense laboratories to the commercial marketplace.
Gordon McConnell, assistant vice president for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group at ASU and principal investigator on the grant told AZTB, "The ecosystems that will be in play will be in the ones near to where the DOD labs that are chosen – what it does do for Arizona is to show that innovation that is created here can and is being exported to other places – with ASU leading the way but with plenty of potential for other models being tested in Arizona which can also be replicated in other places."
ASU has undertaken an evidence-based "learn-by-doing" approach that is focused on practical aspects of stimulating entrepreneurship to enable technology transfer and successful commercialization. This "pracademic" approach has demonstrated enormous success in achieving entrepreneurially driven transfer and commercialization of technologies.
Transfer and commercialization of technologies created at ASU is managed by AzTE, the technology transfer arm for ASU, in part via the Furnace Technology Transfer Accelerator led by EIG. Over the past 10 years, AzTE has supported the launch and development of 67 ASU spinout companies. Spinouts based on ASU-developed technologies raised $68 million in external funding during the 2013 fiscal year. Altogether, companies licensing ASU discoveries have raised nearly $400 million in total venture funding since AzTE's creation in 2003.
Read more coverage about ASU's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group at AZTB.
arizona state university department of defense technology transfer
Tucson startup YourLabs LLC. awarded National Science Foundation's research grant
Software cos listed as finalists in the Industry Leaders of Arizona Awards


In June 2015, Rachel Dolezal was a trended topic on Tumblr. Rachel Dolezal is a woman who was born as a Caucasian, but changed her physical appearance in order to appear as an individual of African descendant. As the president of the Spokane NAACP Chapter, her case is quite relevant to the black community.
Rachel Dolezal may believe that she has helped the black community. Yet, considering that she has taken opportunities from black people by lying about her race and her experiences as a black woman, that could not be further from the truth.
Ezra Dolezal, her adopted brother, calls what she did as "blackface." He said, "It's kind of a slap in the face to African-Americans because she doesn't know what it's like to be black. She's only been African-American when it benefited her. She hasn't been through all the struggles."
Some may refer to this as cultural appropriation, the act of taking aspects of another culture without being aware of their significance. Cultural appropriation belittles the experiences those of another race have gone through, wearing their culture as an accessory that can be taken off and thrown away.
This has not been the first time something related to cultural appropriation has trended on Tumblr. During Coachella, #reclaimthebindi was trending. The hashtag showcased women of South Asian descendant reclaiming their cultural accessories that those in Coachella had worn. Women were outraged that parts of their culture that they were once ridiculed for were used so frivolously. In 2013 at the American Music Awards, Katy Perry dressed as a geisha while singing "Unconditionally." This was deemed to be "yellowface" and perpetuation of stereotypes of Asian women.
Slavery and segregation have ended in America, but systematic racism is still prevalent. In a country built on the work of the enslaved, this may not come as a surprise. One can have perspective on another's struggle, but cannot understand the struggle itself. With unity, sympathy, and compassion, different cultures can hopefully be appreciated, not appropriated.
America is called a melting pot, but what good is it if different cultures exist separately and are falsely portrayed as being respected?
Masfi Khan currently attends a high school in New York, where she has founded the Creative Doers club. When she is not busy studying for upcoming exams, she enjoys writing stories and poems, searching up quotes that describe an exact moment in time for her, and reading works that have changed her perception of life and society.


We are a family-run business with almost a hundred years experience in the field of memorials. We offer a professional service at a reasonable price using the best possible products.
We are based in Mid Wales, which makes it practical and convenient for us to place memorials in any part of the country.
We specialise in erecting granite and slate memorials to the highest possible standard, always working to the NAMM Code of Practice - using regulation concrete foundation that is fibre reinforced.
Since 2004 it is our policy to erect all memorials with a ground anchor system. The Lockdown or Nettlebank system is used.
We are members of BRAMM - British Register of Accredited monumental Masons.


A contractor's financial statements are only as accurate as the work-in-process (WIP) schedule, and the WIP schedule is only as good as the estimated costs to complete.
If estimated costs to complete are too low, the balance sheet and income statement will be overstated. If estimated costs to complete are too high, the opposite is true, understating working capital and net income.
While accounting personnel may do their best to continually update job-cost reports with up-to-the-minute detail, as well as how and when open jobs may finish, in the end, you simply don't know how profitable contracts in progress will be until they are finished.
The process of estimating and presenting costs to complete on contracts in progress is as much an art as it is a science. The actual estimation process involves making accurate calculations as well as ensuring that everyone responsible for providing input has timely and complete information. They also must have the ability to project what needs to happen to finish a job, particularly from a labor perspective.
But as jobs proceed, literally anything can happen. Unexpected rushes or delays, scheduling or coordination complications (or simplifications), design modifications or other production issues can either throw a huge wrench into the works or help the job run far more smoothly than was ever dreamed. Either way, it may impact estimated costs to complete, the related gross profit and the company's bottom line.
Stories abound of contractors who understated costs to complete, whether knowingly or not. They may have felt pressure to show better results in order to obtain bonding and bank financing, or they may have honestly thought they could finish jobs better than the underbillings foretold. Unfortunately, many of these stories had bad endings, and the surety, banker, owner or other contractors were left holding the bag due to desperate the actions of a few.
Even contractors who try their best to fairly present what they believe their WIP schedule is can get into trouble. People make mistakes. Even the best contractors may inadvertently omit things or have based estimates on incorrect information, causing problems running or completing jobs. This can quickly result in lowering profits or completing jobs at a loss.
Knowing that the cost-to-complete estimation process is both crucial and in a constant state of flux, it would seem prudent to develop a philosophical approach to determining what those estimates should be. While we can calculate what we think are the physically most accurate cost-to-complete figures, they may not be the best ones to show on the financial statements. Developing the best approach to estimating and presenting costs to complete is where competence and integrity – the two components of trustworthy financial statements – meet.
One approach – a poor one – is to intentionally underestimate costs to complete in order to obtain necessary bonding or financing. Deliberately showing more profit than is reasonably expected can give a contractor the working capital and equity needed to get that next job bonded and a line of credit renewed. Including too few hours to complete a job or showing too many units produced to date can be difficult to catch in an audit or a review, which some contractors see as an attractive option.
However, this approach should never be used. It puts those relying on the company and its financial statements at risk for loss, including bankruptcy, if the offending contractor does not perform. Even innocently optimistic estimates can fit into this category, especially when contractors habitually experience profit fade. The surety may conclude, and rightly so, that these businesses do not know how to run jobs profitably. Such contractors will be the first ones cut off by their sureties, particularly in conservative credit and risk markets.
A second approach would be to simply accept the numbers pulled together from everyone's input and to report them as they are. But, as noted earlier, even this choice is not necessarily the most accurate or appropriate because people are not perfect. Significant mistakes could make the reported gross profit materially incorrect and misleading. And mistakes that substantially overstate income could be dangerous to those relying on a company's financial viability.
A third approach would be to conservatively estimate the open jobs profit, within a reasonable range. In this instance, contractors begin with their best estimate of where they believe jobs stand but then allow for the possibility of unexpected hurdles in completing the job.
Typically, profitable contractors have net overbillings and experience profit gain. When contracts are signed and jobs are placed on the WIP schedule, they are shown making the minimum amount of profit expected. Only as work is performed and hurdles are crossed will these contractors increase overall job profit. They will have a better handle on unexpected contingencies toward the end of the job, and not until the job is finished will all anticipated job profit be added to the contract.
Profitable contractors also know what their gross profit is from all jobs – completed contracts, contracts in progress, and time and material jobs – because they reconcile their job profit with their monthly financial statement income using an earnings-from-contracts schedule. This is crucial to knowing why and how you are (or are not) making money.
Sureties take greater comfort with these contractors since they bring jobs in on budget (or better) and are more likely to give them the bonding they request. The IRS also does not take issue with such practices because they eventually acquire the tax dollars due using look-back provisions.
Conservatively reporting job profits also encourages business owners to run their companies leaner. If year-end bonuses are determined, in part, based upon either open job profits or overall company income, then showing both conservatively would help the company not over-reward profit achieved on the job.
Can contractors be too aggressive in conservatively stating open-job profit and overbillings? How much net overbillings is too much?
CPAs in public accounting must opine on the fair presentation of financial information "in all material respects" during the audit process. Even in reviewed financial statements, CPAs state that they "are not aware of any material modifications" for the financials to conform with GAAP. So while costs-to-complete are estimates, and estimates can and do frequently change unexpectedly by material amounts, it must still be within a reasonable range to pass muster with a contractor's outside CPA.
Conservatively estimating job profit can pose difficulties when construction companies are bought and sold. Too much billings in excess would lower a company's book value, and an owner would not get his fair share in a buyout utilizing book value as part of the computation. This problem could be rectified using a true-up following the completion of jobs open at the buyout date, similar to the look-back calculation.
Other potential problems may involve the mindset of the project managers. If profits are conservatively stated on a consistent basis, project managers could potentially bring jobs in less efficiently than they might if their feet were held closer to the fire.
Finally, temptations may arise to materially overstate or understate profits. This is exactly when we need to hold to the principles and practices we know will work to ensure the fairness of the estimates. – Lee Kammerer, CPA, VonLehman & Company, Inc.