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Commonwealth young champion named among TIME Magazine 100 leaders of tomorrow
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of the Stand to End Rape initiative, has been recognised for providing support to women, men and young people who have experienced any form of gender-based abuse
CHANGEMAKER: Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi
COMMONWEALTH YOUNG Person of the Year Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi has been named as one of Time magazine's 100 world rising stars who are shaping the future.
Nigerian women's rights activist Osowobi is one of 53 women on a list of 100 names Time has dubbed "the world's most ascendant leaders" who are "rising stars in their fields".
In March, she won the title of Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2019 after helping thousands of sexual and domestic abuse victims in Nigeria.
Osowobi, who is a survivor of sexual violence, set up the Stand to End Rape initiative to provide support to women, men and young people who have experienced any form of gender-based abuse.
Speaking with the Commonwealth, she said this recognition reinforces her belief in young people's potential to create change.
Osowobi said: "As young people, our relationship must surpass government collaboration on financial relations, rather, we must collectively protect the human rights of those within our community, especially vulnerable women and girls, persons with disabilities and LGBTQI people across the Commonwealth."
Founded in 2014, her initiative works to advance women's sexual reproductive health rights, advocate against gender-based violence and provide medical, legal and psychological support to survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
Advising the survivors of gender-based violence, Osowobi said: "Don't stay silent. There is no judgement or condemnation as nobody owns the rights to your story or healing.
"My advice to you is first to stop blaming yourself and seek mental, legal and health support."
Layne Robinson, the Commonwealth's head of social policy development, said: "The Commonwealth Youth Awards, particularly the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year, shines a spotlight on the unsung efforts of our young people who have made a major impact in transforming our communities.
"We are happy our Commonwealth Person of the Year, Osowobi, is being recognised for her outstanding work beyond the Commonwealth."
Every year, the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work recognise the exceptional contribution of young people from across the Commonwealth's member countries who are leading initiatives to help deliver sustainable development goals.


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Siemens halts deliveries to Russian firms over Crimea case
BERLIN (AP) — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG says it's halting deliveries of power generation equipment to state-controlled companies in Russia and selling its stake in a Russian company that offers services for power plant control systems. Friday's move came after Siemens said this...
Jul 21st, 2017
BERLIN (AP) — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG says it's halting deliveries of power generation equipment to state-controlled companies in Russia and selling its stake in a Russian company that offers services for power plant control systems.
Friday's move came after Siemens said this month that gas turbines delivered to Russia were re-routed to Crimea, in violation both of European sanctions and a contract.
Siemens said that it "will halt power generation equipment deliveries from existing contracts to state-controlled customers in Russia for the time being."
It said it will divest its minority holding in Russia's Interautomatika, which offers products and services for power plant control systems. The company also "has initiated the termination process of a license agreement with Russian companies in the area of equipment supply for combined-cycle power stations."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When I started blogging back in 2008, I was not sure what will I achieve with this blog; as it was only for my passion. In past 6 years, I have met numerous people online and offline who are somehow related to blogging or want to start blogging. Recently I got an Email from someone who said he has been thinking to start blogging for almost an year, but he couldn't start. He is in urgent need of money, and now he wants to learn blogging. Sounds like your own story?
I want to start a blog but..
I have a great idea which I want to work upon but..
I'm working online from years and had few websites which failed. Now I want to start a blog but..
If you have ever felt the same way at any point of your life then read on; as I'm going to tell you one honest truth which might change the way you are looking at to reach your goal for creating a successful blog. It doesn't matter what fascinates you to start blogging or working online, be it money; be it fame or be it because you like the concept, the fact is you are still one of those who is thinking that I want to do it and one day I will do it. You are one of those who is waiting for the perfection from long, and you can't start because you find it hard to start without being perfect.
Now read on to know the reality because I have been at your place once in my life, and I knew what to do to get out of this loop.
"If and but" is nothing more than an excuse. It's an excuse to ourselves and an excuse to people around us to tell them I have big dreams but I can't do it because of some random problem. Now ask yourself this one thing; "have you seen anyone without a problem?".
Be it family, be it financial or be it personal. Problems are part of the life and there are people who make excuses and there are others who knows that this is just a phase which will pass. The later one are the one who makes impossible thing possible, because they believe in one thing and that is "Hard work pays off". All the successful people you can think of right now or know of; they are not successful because they were lucky, they are successful because they didn't give up when everybody else did.
Another segment of people who knows everything about blogging but they couldn't start because they feel they are not technically equipped. Installing WordPress blog and managing it seems like a task and it's hard to tackle all the tech part. You are not wrong with your thoughts, because managing your own server, taking care of WordPress blog is not easy but do you know one thing; there are 60 year old people who have a self hosted WordPress blog and they are managing it like it was never a challenge. Till the time you won't start with something, it will always be tough and if you won't take action now it will remain impossible.
Getting back to handling self hosted WordPress blog, you are lucky to see the era where everything is available online, and people are so social that they feel happy when they help someone. Do remember, one can help you only when you want to help yourself.
Another category of future bloggers fall in this category, as they think that they have the skills but they can't blog because they have full-time job. Once they are home, they are so sucked up that they don't have enough time to blog. If you are in this category, let me tell you one story.
When I was working for a company called convergys, my timing was from 7 P.M. to 5 A.M., and I managed to create a blog that you are reading now. I did it because I accepted that I have limited time and what ever time I got, I have to learn and write. I had no one to tell the excuse of not having time, because I would be lying to myself.
One thing which you should know about entrepreneurship or Solopreneurship is; first few years might not be a jolly ride but once you work beyond your own limit, you will reach the place no one has ever imagined.
So far I have given you enough reasons to show you the mirror and told you the reasons that you can't make money from the blogging, and my intention here is not to discourage you. Blogging is just one of the many ways to make money online; and you can always earn enough from CPA marketing, Services, Affiliate marketing or many other form of online marketing. The only reason I recommend blogging is because it's a consistent source of earning and it teaches you discipline. If you are one of those who is not in the race of earning money in short time, and looking to earn money, get fame and name for yourself blogging is for you.
To earn all these 3 ingredients of life, you need just two things; vision and patience. You need to understand and accept that it's a slow process and like one of the proverb " Slow and steady win the race", that's something appropriate for you; only if you are planning to make a living out of blogging.
I am the one who daily reads your articles. This article is eye opening for each one looking for starting a blog. I am a full time working guy, but I manage to work on my blog on daily basis. I do not do it just for making money rather I do it because I love to do it. You are my inspiration for blogging. I will follow you in my entire blogging journey. Thanks for this kind of valuable post….
Thank u very much for this post. This is motivating. I my self was thinking of starting of self hosting blog but couldn't do it. But now I think such a fool I was to stop me from doing this by thinking all the reason above.
In next one month I'll have a new blog.
Harsh bro,awesome this article to me & you said important things what can make a solution for the people who are hesitated to create a blog.I have learned a lot of things here and I am also your regular shout.
I accept that I was blogging for money not for passion. So I was failing. Now I am blogging only for knowledge, passion and for my net recharge only. Because my parents can't submit my charges. In these days I am earning and learning. Because I never think that I can't do. Every time I feel that if he can do blogging and he can learn then why I can't.
And main point of my knowledge if ShoutMeLoud. Because it is my college of blogging education.
Because of Blog posts like this. i love your blog very much .Daily i spend almost 1 hours here with shoutmeLoud.
Thanks for your motivational words.
Good analysis by your side. why people are not successful in this field. i'm also one of them. trying to getting success and hopeful getting success in near feature that make money from blogging.
I liked the way you wrote the post and explained it so well. I have some friends saying the same lines… I would start a blog next week, then week is changed to month and so on.
I blog just to gain some learning and nothing else. I love to connect with bloggers and their ideas.
I have some blogger friends who have a 9 to 6 job and they blog in the evening/night. So if someone has passion they will definitely find a way.
The statement,"here are 60 year old people who have a self hosted WordPress blog and they are managing it like it was never a challenge", in my opinion it is inspiring but at the same time we cannot compare a 60 year olds ability with the younger ones. Everyone has their own will, determination, ability and knowledge.
I loved the concluding paragraph, in which you wrote… Vision and patience is what one needs. That's so true.
Thanks Harsh for this post. I am sure the people who had doubts about starting a blog might have find this helpful.
I have been reading your blogs but this seems to an eye opener. I was surprised while reading and thought 'How did you come to know…I never told you, but same thing is happening with me'.
Can you tell me if you situation has improved??….Did you get your Youtube ban lifted?
An awesome post to read! What a great art of motivating u have. Really appreciable ! After this post i think i will be able to kill my reason for not posting .
This post impress me , But how i can divide time to blog and rest daily activity.
Super Like Harsh, Highly inspired with your writing, yes as you said it rightly "Blogging is a consistent source of earning and it teaches discipline" This is why i entered in blogging and do it what ever time it take too… Happy Blogging.
Awesome article! This is something like catalyst that will definitely fuel energy to write article. And also clarify all doubts about process to start blogging. I love word "If and But". If we can accept than nothing is impossible. Thank you Harsh for sharing motivational article.
First of all,Harsh i really LOVE your blog.I think whatever points you mentioned are absolutely true.I have gone through each and every point but like you mentioned, IF AND BUT is all excuses, it is better to do something rather than wasting your time and thinking of just doing it..
Everything takes time and patience and with blogging I am of course finding like everyone else, a whole lot of it and steady persistence at some aspect of it that will make it better, or at least you will learn something if it doesn't work.
But this is like anything else in that what appears in your life is the strength and ability to maintain your INTENT. I capitalized intent because I am not referring to intention to do something. You can sit in intention to do something your whole life and not realize any manifestation at all of what you intended to do.
You can feel like you have all the things in the world standing in your way. Not enough money, not enough time, not enough energy, not enough health, not enough youth or the opposite of not enough age.
In most cases those limitations are self set, or the intent without even knowing it became the willingness to be stuck in them.
Speaking from America, but India has what? Thousands of years of history and dedication to the idea of enlightenment. What is it? Lots of people wanted it, spent their entire lives trying to get it. Some focused so hard on it they decided they had it whether they did or not. And out of all of those that tried very hard, how many can be directly pointed at where people will agree, that yes, that person achieved it? The list is pretty short compared to the number that made some effort and for many a whole lot of dedication and effort.
I know this seems like comparing apples to oranges saying that being successful at business is anything like being successful at enlightenment because it may seem like the opposite. But how you get there, if you're going to get there is not opposite at all.
Where this coincides is the strength and focus of a persons INTENT. I doubt there is anything more difficult for a human being to achieve then absolute enlightenment because it takes a absolute intent, never giving up to have a chance of achieving it. It has to become everything to you and that will move every obstacle that is in your way if your intent is strong enough and unwavering enough.
I am not saying abandon your jobs, your families, all recreation, all rest because your blog must be everything or you won't succeed.
But the INTENT has to be strong enough, persistent enough that it moves everything out of the way that shouldn't be there anyhow, moves you to action and you can keep that intent strong and the persistent action going.


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Britain trying to contain the coronavirus Brazil variant from reaching UK
Bolsonaro accuses Ford of closing its plants because "they want subsidies"
Massive support in Brazil for democracy, and only 10% for a military dictatorship
Monday, June 29th 2020 - 10:29 UTC
The results come amid higher perception that the administration of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro may attempt to break with democratic institutions
Some 75% of Brazilians support the country's current democracy, a poll by Datafolha released on Sunday showed, while just 10% of citizens support a dictatorship, the highest and lowest levels of support for the two forms of government in at least 30 years.
The results come amid higher perception that the administration of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro may attempt to break with democratic institutions. Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has supported protests that demanded the shutting down of the independent Supreme Court and Congress for opposing the president's agenda.
The last time the poll was taken, in December of last year, 62% of Brazilians supported democracy, while 12% of citizens said a dictatorship was better under certain circumstances.
The biggest change in heart between the December poll and the current one came from people who were indifferent to the type of government, which fell to 12% from 22%.
Brazil went through its last military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. Bolsonaro is a passionate supporter of that military period.
Categories: Politics, Brazil.
Tags: democracy, Jair Bolsonaro, military dictatorship.


Reroof ASAR facility, Ajo, AZ. Subcontractor for Parsons and the FAA, plus change order to pave, and do some TI work. Project was a competitive bid. The reroof occurred on an active ASAR facility with no impact to its operation. The COR was so pleased with our work they added additional items for us to do which included paving a parking lot and some little interior TI work. The project got extended for the additional work and the budget was increased to account for the requested additional work. Subcontractors used on this project were, Nations Roof, and a paving subcontractor.


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Brothers in shock after unexpectedly pulling car from River Don
This is the moment a stolen car was unexpectedly pulled out of a river in Doncaster.
It is understood, thieves broke into a woman's home on January 1 and then took off in her black Vauxhall Astra.
The car was then pulled out of the River Don off Clay Lane by magnet fishers almost two weeks later, as these shocking pictures show.
For more news from Doncaster click here
Jack Moores and his brother say they are still shocked and surprised by the unusual discovery, which they made yesterday at around 12pm.
"Me and my brother were magnet fishing and we pulled the stolen car out," said the 25-year-old who lives in Doncaster.
Emergency services at the scene in Doncaster
(Image: Jack Moores)
"We did a reg check online and it said it was taxed and tested and then we rang the police because we weren't sure if anybody was in it or not.
"Police then came and said it was stolen and while we were watching the police, we searched the number plate on Facebook and it brought up a post of someone reporting the car as stolen."
Jack, who has been magnet fishing for around two years, said the car was not "the weirdest thing" he and his friends have pulled out of rivers and ponds.
"My friend pulled a live hand-grenade out in Lincoln," he said. "We've had motorbikes, guns, knives – all sorts."
South Yorkshire Police have been approached for more information.
To get the latest email updates from Yorkshire Live, click here.
Which military titles and patronages could Prince Andrew lose?
Prince Andrew has had his military titles and royal patronages taken away as a civil sexual assault court case against him in the US moves forward.What has Buckingham Palace said?"With the Queen's approval and agreement, the Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen," the palace said in a statement on Thursday."The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and […]
Barnsley 'secret eater' sheds over 8st after 'awful' video of himself inspires incredible weight loss
Urban explorer shares photos from inside Yorkshire farmhouse 'frozen in time'


Vélskúlptúr úr svörtu stáli, dælu og notaðri smurolíu. Febrúar-mars 2013. Kinetic sculpture made of black steel, pump and used motor oil. February-March 2013.
Sería af verkum gerð veturinn 2012. Verkin fjalla öllum draumaheima og birtingamyndir arkitýpna í fantasíu. Óklárað. A series of works made in the winter of 2012 relating to dreamworlds and apparitions of archetypes in fantasy. Unfinished.
8 mín gjörningur framkvæmdur utandyra í HR í nóvember 2011 í -13°c. Gjörningurinn endaði þegar áhorfadi stöðvaði hann með því að sækja listamanninn. 8 min performance executed outside The University of Reykjavik in November of 2011, temp. -13°c. The performance ended when a member of the audience stopped it by retrieving the artist.
Teikningar gerðar á iPad yfir langann tíma. Fyrstu myndirnar eru teiknaðar í desember árið 2011. Verkefnið er áframhaldandi. Drawings made on an iPad during an extended period of time with the first drawings made in december 2011. The project is ongoing.


According to the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 5. Nearly 1,000 kids die each year by drowning.
The Children's Safety Network reports that, of preschoolers who drown, the vast majority (70 percent) are in the care of at least one parent.
The main factors that affect drowning risk are lack of swimming ability, lack of barriers to prevent unsupervised water access, lack of close supervision while swimming, location, failure to wear life jackets, alcohol use, and seizure disorders.
Many adults and children report that they can't swim. Research shows that participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning for all age groups.
Barriers, such as pool fencing, prevent young children from gaining access to the pool area without caregivers' awareness. A four-sided isolation fence (separating the pool area from the house and yard) reduces a child's risk of drowning 83% compared to three-sided property-line fencing.
Drowning can happen quickly and quietly anywhere there is water. Close Supervision is required. Parents of young swimmers should learn CPR, first-aid, and rescue techniques. An emergency action plan and phone should be kept by the pool at all times.


On the plus side who doesn't want to still be reading about HFW in May?
An early morning downpour made for a rather soggy breakfast, but by the time I skidded into view of Hull City Hall (blaming the roadworks for my tardy appearance) I was under the balcony rather than on it. Oops!
By this time, the sun was shining and the blue skies made for a much better first photograph of the day - it could only get better.
All the things a blogger needs for a busy day of Fashion!
My definition of better involved a well dressed wrist, portions of Thieving Harry's coffee served with orange chocolate flapjack, a programme for the day and making sure I had plenty of room for my notes!
The Catwalk Finale was presented by Nineties Boy (Luke Chambers) and Keeley Donovan from Look North, with added glam and sparkle provided by our very own Hugh Rice and Celebrity Guest Stylist and Make Up Artist Lewis-Duncan Weedon.
Luke and Keeley make a start with introductions all round and you can just spot Lewis-Duncan waiting to make his entrance!
Then we stalled... I'm still not quite sure why we got off to a late start but we soon got back on track, in the meantime it gave me chance to catch up with the lovely #HullBloggers - a great group of folk who have also been working their way through HFW for your reading pleasure.
Yes, yes, it *always* gets this messy, er I mean, busy at the Bloggers Hub!
No shoe fetish?! Wait, what am I doing at a Fashion Event? Oh I wear clothes, phew!
Even the Mascots joined in the Catwalk fun with a "Walk Off" between the two!
We had boxing tips with Tommy Coyle demonstrated by the audience on stage, throwing their first (and hopefully only) punch of the day... I certainly didn't hear about any casualties; although I may have accidentally elbowed someone in the coffee queue later on!
Festival Wear was a popular catwalk, unsurprising as Hull hosts a broad range of festivals throughout the year, outfits here catering to our ideal of sunny summer festivals, with less for the muddy field variety but I guess there are only so many ways you can style a variety of wet weather gear and wellies!
I think this one was popular with my fellow #HullBloggers as there were a lot of photos being snapped during this catwalk!
Then it was time for a masterclass in Upcycyling old outfits!
First we had a mini catwalk of the outfits and then our guest presenters took us through each look and how it had been created... you can certainly get a lot of mileage out of one pair of jeans.
I love this element of fashion as I used to make a lot of my own clothes (badly sewn) although my Grandma's curtains never did make it back on the rail (Another True Story) as they were a more permanent donation to my wardrobe!
Guest presenters talking us through the concept and each outfit.
Next catwalk was Celebration and can I just say from the start that's it's impossible to take a photo of a sparkly dress, especially a wedding dress with a mobile phone... this is where my trusty Xperia Z let me down; I took 6 photos of ethereal ghost like figures before giving up, take my word for it though, both the dresses and the women modelling them were lovely!
One of the elements of the day I really enjoyed was the Hair Piece, no, not an actual wig, but the segment of the day where HFW looked at hairstyles with H.Air Blow Dry Bar... Charley over at Rambling of a Beauty Blogger and another model had quick styles created on stage and Charley chatted about blogging from the stage with Lewis-Duncan.
All about Hair, Blogging and Fashion!
I slightly miscalculated how much time I had free at this point, as realising I was hungry I decided to nip out for a bite to eat... only I got sidetracked by the lovely market stalls outside, and guess who forgot to get a sandwich?
Actually I blame meeting Karma Feeling for the first time, well who would have predicted that one... the jewellery blogger getting sidetracked by jewellery?!
When I stopped drooling over the lovely bracelets and candles and made my way back into the main hall I'd missed a Catwalk, but was able to catch one of my favourite outfits of the day, a simple style but I've always been a sucker for that dress and boots look... am I finally fashionable?
Just to give you an idea of how popular the shows were, this is a pic I snapped from the stage end, HFW Finale had a great turn out this year and it certainly felt busier all day.
#HullBloggers kept on working, I think a few of us forgot to eat properly during the day - next year I think we need a food delivery to keep us going!
The audience didn't get off lightly either as there was a quick lesson in how to work the Catwalk, I wonder if we'll see some of these coming through in future Hull Fashion Week events?
Future HFW models get a class in how to work the Catwalk!
I've saved the very popular catwalk and segment that was by Paul Spence and the Hull Workmen's Calendar 2015 models for last, as a special treat for those of you who've scrolled down this far... I can't think why this generated so much buzz, but it was all for a good cause!
back in the limelight to help launch the charity Paul.
Hull Fashion Week certainly kept the #HullBloggers busy - given that I've gone collage crazy I had to do a little montage of them too! Mostly some of the more fun shots taken at the end of the day as we were quite busy during the shows.. Lewis-Duncan gets everywhere... by the way did you know he's an adopted #HullBlogger - fits in just nicely!
So for me and the #HullBloggers it was time to pack up and indulge in a little shopping, then for me it was time to crack on with the rest of that alphabet!!
Roll on Hull Fashion Week 2016!
or a whatever falls out of your wardrobe person?


As a thank you for subscribing to your favourite magazine, we are giving you 10% off everything* on Classic Magazines.
During the spring of 2019 you will receive a flyer with your subscription that carries a promotional code to use.
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text:
Berlin's Wall
Jim Berlin is founder & CEO of Logistics Plus
Posted on September 18, 2020 by Jim Berlin
I see that NYC teachers have again refused to go back to class to teach. They say they are afraid to go back to unsafe conditions. (Of course, they say they are afraid for others/not for themselves. Uh, huh)
And I get fear. As I've mentioned, when this all started I happened to be reading the book about the blitzkrieg nightly bombings of London during world war 2. Imagine how horrifying that must be. And different folks reacted differently to it.
Some would go into the bunkers, while others would not even bother. But the ones who went into the bunkers would come out once the all-clear siren sounded. But, for others, that was not enough. They stayed scared to come out. (Some may never have come out?)
Isn't it the same here? In NYC there are virtually ZERO deaths/new cases down here for the past couple of months. Isn't that enough of an all-clear siren? These teachers all say/rally that they care about educating "their" kids. But, if they really believed that, wouldn't they just face their fear and take the first steps and get back into the schools (yeah, wear masks, social distance, wash your hands, create pods). How do they justify this when so many other schools have been open and their teachers back to work for weeks? (I'd think these parents here in NYC are seeing kids from all over the country going back to school and wondering "why not my kids?")
Also, another, related thought: What if others (who were also afraid, I am sure—all through this deadly epidemic) stayed home?
Nurses? Doctors? Janitors? Truck drivers? Grocery store clerks? Warehouse workers?
People who DID THEIR JOB, even when scared and in WAY more danger back then than there is now. And—how dangerous is fighting these out of control forest fires? What if the tens of thousands of front line heroes fighting these west coast fires said, "Ah, it's dangerous out there. I don't feel safe going." Where would California and Oregon be? What kind of country would we be?
I don't know. I hate to judge others. But, really, is going to school to teach kids who need it and miss it all THAT dangerous? REALLY???
Here is the daily NYC chart of deaths from COVID-19.
Come on, folks! Be smart. Be careful. But—
Do Your Job! Just like so many millions of others have done through the months-long (and relatively successful) process of flattening this curve.
Just my 2 cents. Stay safe. But…
-JB
My Brother (Doug) and Bill Russell
This article first appeared in the Post Journal on October 28, 2007, days after my brother returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Las Vegas and a visit with his sports hero and a few other NBA legends.
The photograph below, which spans two pages in a hard-cover book entitled "NBA at 50," is of a man, who has his chin resting in his hands. The shot is taken from such a close range that one can read the inscriptions on the rings that he wears on each one of his fingers. Bill Russell, one of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players, knows all about rings and, more specifically, those of the championship variety. After all, between 1956 and 1969, the former Boston Celtics great led his team to 11 titles in 13 seasons.
Tack on two NCAA championships he won at the University of San Francisco and an Olympic gold medal and Russell is arguably the greatest winner in the history of team sports.
" … The only really important thing was to try and win every game," Russell said in a quote accompanying the magnificent photograph, "because when I got through no one could say, 'Well, he was the best at this or that.' The only thing that really mattered was who won. And there is nothing subjective about that."
Powerful words.
Not surprising, at least to Doug Berlin.
The Jamestown resident has literally carried the book – and figuratively decades of memories – all the way to Las Vegas, hoping to have his dreams realized by rubbing elbows with Russell, his lifelong hero.
So as Berlin sits down to eat breakfast last week at the ultra-posh Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino – he was one of 30 campers to take part in the Bill Russell and His Legendary Friends Basketball Camp last week – he can't believe what he's seeing.
First, John Havlicek walks in, he the owner of eight championship rings and a former teammate of Russell's. Sam Jones, another Celtic icon with 10 rings, soon follows and Berlin has to pinch himself to realize it isn't all a dream.
At least he doesn't think it is.
But then Russell makes his appearance. Berlin, a 53-year-old U.S. Postal worker who first saw the 6-foot-9 center at Madison Square Garden in the early 1960s, just about choked on his fresh fruit.
"He walked in front of me and I said, 'It's him, my hero,"' Berlin recalled. "It's like I was watching him on a big-screen TV."
Larger than life.
Berlin was finally snapped back to reality when he was tapped on the shoulder.
"Doug," said a man known for his no-look passes, championship rings and ear-to-ear smiles,
"do you mind if I sit here?" Berlin's new breakfast guest was none other than Magic Johnson.
Berlin was smitten with Russell upon seeing him for the first time during a visit to Madison Square Garden with his father Al more than 40 years ago.
"I saw the Celtics come out with those green shiny uniforms and then this guy came out and it was like there was a light on Bill Russell. … There were nine guys on the court and this vision."
From that point on, Berlin emulated everything Russell did.
"I was the only Jewish kid on Long Island wearing low-cut black Chuck Taylor Converse shoes … and I was the only Jewish kid wearing the No. 6. … I could have gone any one of a million ways, but it just happened to be him. With my luck he was on a great team that won, which made it all the better."
And even though his interest in the NBA isn't nearly as great now as when the Celtics were piling up championships like cordwood, Berlin's love for Russell has never waned.
"He's been a hero all these years," Berlin said.
Jim Berlin has been well aware of his younger brother's love for the Hall-of-Famer, dating back to the days when the boys shared a bedroom in their Long Island home.
So a few weeks ago he decided to do something about it.
The website for Bill Russell and his Legendary Friends Adult Basketball Camp proclaims the four-day visit to Las Vegas as an "incredible weekend filled with basketball skills and competition, fun and exciting games. Establishing acquaintances with this exceptional group will be the foundation for a most memorable event."
Amazingly, there's no embellishment in that description.
In addition to Russell, Johnson, Havlicek and Jones, the other "legends" who appeared at the camp were Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Charles Barkley and Ann Meyers-Drysdale.
In the middle of it all was Berlin, who read about Russell's camp in The Boston Globe and thought it would be "cool," but never envisioned himself ever attending it.
That's when Jim Berlin, the chief executive officer and founder of Logistics Plus in Erie, sprang into action.
"I got an email from my brother and he asked me if I'd seen the website," Doug said. "I wrote back to him and told him I had."
Jim's response?
"Pack your bags, you're going."
Despite initial reluctance, Doug was able to get the time off from work and finally agreed to take his brother up on the offer.
"He left me no wiggle room," Doug said.
Added Jim: "Once I heard Bill Russell was having his first fantasy camp, I said, 'Doug needs to be there.' "
So on Oct. 17, Doug and his wife Maureen took a flight from Buffalo to Las Vegas.
They were eventually met by their daughter Erin, who flew in from Florida. Their sons, Matt and Mickey, received daily updates at home.
"I guess when Jim saw this," Doug said as tears welled in his eyes, "he knew it was made for me."
The owner of a magnetic personality with the ability to carry on conversation with people in all walks of life, Doug was the only "camper" who made the trip as the result of a "gift."
Still wired from the trip days later, Doug recalled a conversation with Russell's daughter,
Karen, on the first day of the camp, during which he told her he was a mailman from Jamestown. When he mentioned that he was there courtesy of a gift from his brother, she was stunned, calling him the luckiest guy at the camp.
But Doug knew Ms. Russell wasn't considering him fortunate only because he was in the company of these great players.
Rather, she realized how unusual it was for brothers to have the kind of relationship that the Berlins do, and that one brother was able to fulfill another's lifelong dream.
"It's not that he sent Maureen and I to Las Vegas, gave us 'x' amount of dollars and said, 'Have a good time,' " Doug said, as he shook his head in disbelief. "It's that Bill Russell is my boyhood hero, who is doing this once-in- a-lifetime thing that Jim found out about and as soon as he heard about it, he said, 'This would be great for my brother.'
"Here's a guy who used to be a factory worker and really an 'every man.' He wrote scripts and he had a chance to go to Hollywood, but he had a family so he didn't do it. So he worked at Red Star and it went under. He started his company on his own. In 10 years, he's got hundreds of employees all over the world, and he hasn't changed one bit.
"If you knew him 20 years ago, he's exactly the same."
Jim, meanwhile, said that sending his brother to Las Vegas "made me feel great."
"It's so neat," he said. "He's such a good guy, and he's done so much for kids in the Jamestown community for 20 years, and he loves doing it. … It was kind of a way for me to give back."
The legends and campers spent plenty of time together during their weekend in Las Vegas. Not only were there basketball games – Doug was on a team coached by West, Drexler and Meyers-Drysdale – but there were also "mixers" and meals at the hotel, where Doug and Maureen had a suite on the 50th floor.
"The bathtub was the size of my bedroom at home," Doug joked.
By the end of the weekend, Doug had managed to finish in fourth place in the hot-shot competition despite being hobbled by a pair of painful Achilles' tendons. But, most importantly, he had had a chance to talk, to laugh and to sit down and have a meal with each of the basketball greats.
The autographs and photo opportunities were merely a bonus.
"They were all engaging and warm in their own way," Doug said.
When it was time to say goodbye, the mailman from Jamestown sought out Russell one last time.
"I told him that he's always been my hero and that he'd done nothing to diminish it," Doug said.
A day later, back in Jamestown, he received a visit from another, more personal, hero – his brother.
"I told him the trip was the greatest," Doug said. "He just smiled."
Summer In Long Island
Posted on September 2, 2020 by Jim Berlin
Photo 42814667 © | Dreamstime.com
I've been spending much of the summer down here in Long Island, where I grew up. I've done this for many summers now and I enjoy getting "back to my roots" for a bit, and I feel I can still be PRETTY effective from here (though it's nowhere near the same as actually being there—not a big fan of "remote" working having done it myself for a few years 🙂 )
Anyway, life here is pretty normal other than wearing masks – I hate it, but it's better than not being able to do anything. The beach and the boardwalk are pretty normal and most people don't wear masks there thank God 🙂 . Restaurants are also pretty open here. In the city, there is still no inside dining, which must suck for the restaurant owners. The city has tried to help offset that by allowing more creativity to create outside seating spaces. We went to a paella place on 2nd Ave one night and at 7 pm ALL the waiters, busboys, hostesses, the owners suddenly set up a half dozen tables, barricades, awnings, etc in the BUS LANE (new law allows that) to extend their 6 outside sidewalk tables to a total of 12. Not sure if they can make it with 12 tables, but better than six. Though I'm not sure what they will do when it rains or winter comes. Does not seem like many restaurants can survive here. That will be a shame.
That being said, it strikes me that in times like these it is those who are resourceful and creative and energetic and try to "find a way or make one" (my original thought for the day) who give themselves the best chance to survive this mess. You don't hide under your bed or throw your hands up. You figure things out. You control what you can control (none of us control the pandemic's course). You keep plugging.
We saw a thing on CBS Sunday morning last week about a champion archer who has no arms. He has taken a situation that would have many people "disabled" for life and not only learned to shoot a bow and arrow with his legs/feet but has become an expert at it. Here's a guy who would have every reason to "hang it up" and think "woe is me" and feel sorry for himself and live a sad, unfulfilled life. But he didn't. When I see stories like that, it reminds me of the resilience each of us has within ourselves (if only we can find it!) and that our species has to deal with hardships. We can do this!
I'm proud of how all of our folks have responded during this crisis. Staying strong, being on the job, finding a way or making one despite all the obstacles. In crises like this, some survive and some die. And while we can't completely control what happens to us, we can surely have the right mindset and do EVERYTHING WE CAN to get through it and come out the other side even stronger/better.
Posted in Summer	| 3 Replies
Clearly Identify The Mission
Posted on May 17, 2020 by Jim Berlin
It always seems wise to me to know exactly what we are all trying to accomplish.
The first clear mission was:
Flatten the curve so hospitals don't get overwhelmed.
That made sense and after a probably too late/somewhat rocky start, seems that this part of the mission, at least, was accomplished. Hospitals are not overrun (actually many are near empty now, with staff having their hours cut back) and it seems, by and large, we are ready to handle the cases that are still to come. (The fact that we now realize that 80% of those who went on ventilators actually died, and "science" now recognizes that ventilators might NOT have been what they all needed—well that's another story).
But can we all agree that the next overriding phase of this mission is:
Get the economy going so that the country does not fall apart.
Many have been saying from the beginning, and I believe now more are starting to see that this "cure" can, in fact, end up being worse than the disease. 36 million newly unemployed (think about that for a minute!). What will these people do, when their jobs don't come back and millions of others' jobs don't come back, with businesses that don't survive.
And can't we also agree that we are "adult" enough to have a variable level of fear? If your restaurant does not allow anyone in without a mask, then people who feel everyone should be wearing a mask can eat there, and those who don't believe in that, and won't put a mask on, can't. (To those who say that takes away my freedom, STFU, because even before the pandemic you couldn't go into lots of places barefoot because of the sign, "No shirt, no shoes, no service". That is the restaurant owner's choice.
But if I own a restaurant and don't feel you need a mask to come in, then those who feel the same will come to my restaurant. This way everyone can be comfortable in their own space, taking/avoiding the risks THEY perceive, without infringing on anyone else's "rights". Let people seek their OWN level of safety, comfort, and let society determine when we get back to a new normal, whatever that may turn out to be.
Our political leaders are not gods. They/no one knows for sure how this all turns out. Staying indoors til there is a cure (hell, the common cold has been around for a million years and there is still no cure for that) is NOT a successful solution. Viruses have been and will be with us forever. How we learn to coexist with them should be up to individuals/not to a government mandate that is always (as they say) "based on science and safety" (what jibberish!) when the data is incomplete and changes all the time. (Remember, people used "science" to justify slavery, the extermination of Jews, the dominance of men over women). My radar goes off when anyone hides behind that bullshit :). All the scientists who predicted that "blood would be on the hands of Governor Kemp of Georgia" because he reopened too soon. Where are they now? Have not heard from them lately.
Danger is real. No doubt. Fear is real. No doubt. But lots of Chicken Littles out there as well as big, bad wolves. People should be allowed to make their own determinations of how much risk they choose to take. Let them decide if their restaurant requires everyone wearing masks or not. They'll be those who won't go, but those that will. And that creates an economy again.
We flattened the curve. Now let's get the economy going and society up and running again.
Posted in Messages	| Leave a reply
Hard to believe over 30,000,000 (thirty million!) Americans have become unemployed in the past 2 months.
Frigging devastating! And likely will be for a long time. Estimates are that 100,000 US businesses will NEVER come back. That's unbelievable!
We are very lucky and grateful that we were all able to continue working throughout this. Great job, everyone, and a testament to our tenacity and willingness to do "whatever it takes".
And not only that, the fact that we were able to provide such vital, essential services to our many good customers, as well as procuring and delivering millions of pieces of PPE all around the country and the world (when it was needed the most) will stand as yet another shining moment in LP's long history.
Proud! 💪
Some Thoughts On This
Check this video out:
That's me on the left 🙂
I admit that I don't know the difference between shit and Shinola about viruses or medicine. But…
Can't we all agree that as bad as all this is, it is not what we thought it might be?
Not blaming anyone. No one's fault. Assuming no one wanted this, and that everyone is trying their best. But…
The initial fears have not STATISTICALLY come to pass. Though every death is tragic (clearly) this is not the pandemic like the one in 1918 that killed FIFTY MILLION PEOPLE. This has killed way too many, but not statistically more than many other things THAT HAVE NOT GONE AWAY.
Think about all the sad stories we heard every day on the news before about the tragic effects of:
None of these went away when this new Coronavirus suddenly showed up. They are ALL still here with us. And many are exacerbated by living in this new "normal". And it's only just beginning. Millions of people out of work, unable to support their families, losing confidence, losing hope will lead to more of the above, I'm pretty sure. And those deaths will be just as tragic as are the 70,000+ Covid-19 deaths.
As with most things, I think there has to be a balance. This virus will be here, like all the other viruses, forever. Sure, good hygiene, common decency, common sense, are all good things that probably should have been here before and may likely be with us going forward. That's a good thing. But this isolation and fear is NOT healthy and the results of that, though harder to measure perhaps, may very well be worse than the disease itself.
Short term isolation to help "flatten the curve" made sense. The idea being that it gives the various local health systems the time and ability not to get overwhelmed by a surge of critical patients so that anyone who needed it could help proper help. That has worked. Here is NYC's daily death rate.
Awful. But clearly the surge has died down, and hospitals are now not even close to being overrun. The US Naval hospital ship has left (and was barely used). The "hospital" in Central Park is being taken down. Good. That job got done.
And here in Erie, there have been 2 COVID-19 deaths, both elderly (still sad) this entire time. But…
Does that require this destruction of our economy that will adversely affect (please see above list) in our community?
Can't we just say, "Well, thank God, the direst estimates were wrong."
And can't we now "re-calibrate" and realize that for 99% of people this disease, even if contracted, is not a death sentence—not even close—and get back to the "normal" human job of providing for our family and being Actually connected to our friends?
Facts are facts. They can be interpreted in many ways. But let's keep them in the proper perspective.
Balance. That is usually the best way.
Just my 2 cents, though I may not know the difference between shit and Shinola.
You should also read this: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-woodstock-pandemic-1968-idUSKBN22J2MJ
Posted in Messages	| 4 Replies
With a little help from our friends (at Delta)
Posted on May 6, 2020 by Jim Berlin
To All,
Well, Megan, Yuriy and I got to the Detroit airport yesterday evening just in time to meet our first Delta Cargo charter I mentioned yesterday, arriving with a full plane load of PPE masks and other items for various American customers we're delivering for. Awesome!
We actually arrived at the Same Exact Time as the charter did. Thank you, John and Hallie 🙂 and we met it on the tarmac as it headed into the gate. (Logistics, baby! 😀)
Incredible effort by all—Eileen and her team in China, Russel in Houston, Kelly, Megan, G2 and others here in Erie.
The ground crew quickly jumped to work and the entire plane was unloaded in 45 minutes.
Colleen was a most delightful hostess and took us to watch the entire process, and then to the Delta warehouse where we met Mohammed, who runs it. They were glad for the business (Detroit airport looked like a ghost town—sad). Both were upbeat and hopeful, even in a hotspot like Detroit, that we are at least beginning to emerge from all this and will be getting back to more normal business soon.
This could not have been possible without the help/hopefully fledgling partnership with Delta Airlines.
Unless you have been intimately involved in trying to book these charters, as Eileen and Russell and Yuriy and Kelly and Megan and G2 have, you really cannot fully understand how impossibly crazy it's been. And not just "business is harder now because of the pandemic" tough. This has been WAY beyond that.
—Trying to place orders for product in China, where the demand has soared
—Manufacturers canceling promised orders
—Varying, very specific certifications required by customers/governments
—Other parties buying out/stealing orders that were being produced for us.
—Russell dealing with new rules, changes, cancellations of flights
—Trucks waiting in lines MILES long trying to deliver product to the airport.
—Chinese customs changing their export rules.
—US customs changing our import rules.
—Ground crews in China overwhelmed with the volume of cargo and planes.
—China changing rules regarding planes/crews/quarantines
—Eileen spending 24 hours straight at the Shanghai airport to help make sure our cargo all got loaded onto the RIGHT airplane 🙂
—And on and on and on.
And, whatever issues that WE/LP have been dealing with—Delta and the other airlines, had to deal with them, and many, many more (they are the actual OPERATORS in this picture!) Total chaos and constant changing, sometimes by the hour. Total Wild West.
And that's amidst this time when airlines are already getting economically crushed by this pandemic. Tough, tough, tough.
So, it's been very heartening that we have been able to work so closely with Delta (my favorite airline) with a little help from many of their top leadership, from Ed Bastian, their CEO, through their corporate leadership, and right down to the front line troops like Mohammad and Colleen.
If you have ever flown Delta, you know of the superior customer service and attention they provide. It was no different here. They, like us, know that even in tough times, you need to treat each other right. You find the patience and the creativity and the mental toughness and the resilience to navigate through, and they did. (The old John Wooden quote: "Tough times does not build character, it reveals character".
A good and positive experience for our LP team, and a terrific result for our customers who will today be getting the masks and other personal protective equipment they ordered through us delivered to them. Success!
So, thank you, Ed, Shawn, Eric, Arthur, Mohammad and Colleen. Thank you from me, from LP, from our customers and from those who will now be able to feel safer and more secure as "inch by inch" we/all of us, continue to get through this awful mess. Thank you.
Onward! with a little help from our friends… 🙂
Jim Berlin, CEO, Logistics Plus
(click any of the three photos above to see larger version)
Bill Maher Video
Posted on April 24, 2020 by Jim Berlin
You know how all the public officials like to say they want to be guided by the data?
"The data should guide our actions."
"Data driven."
"Listen to what the numbers are telling us."
Okay. Fair enough.
Well, this morning I got up at 3:15, even earlier than usual 🙂 I just worked out and now I have an hour before I go wake Hallie up. So I got on google, grabbed my calculator and figured I'd actually LOOK at the data.
I looked at Erie, Crawford, and Warren County. That is an area around us of over 3,500 square miles. That's a pretty big region. Bigger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
The population of these 3 counties is about 400,000 people (270k in Erie, 85k in Crawford and 40k in Warren)
Erie County has 62 confirmed cases and 0 deaths.
Crawford County has 17 confirmed cases and 0 deaths.
Warren County has 2 cases and 1 death. (An 82 year old woman; RIP)
This is what the actual DATA tells us about the pandemic's toll in our region.
So, I wondered how that looked statistically. And, because this is not yet over (though, thankfully, it looks like we may be on the downside of it) I DOUBLED the numbers . IF it more than doubles, this analysis will be wrong.
So, even if we end up at TWICE the number of cases and deaths, your chances of getting COVID-19 in this tri-county area of NW PA is .0004. This means that 4 out of every 10,000 people (about the population of Edinboro and Northeast combined) will get the disease. And for many, getting the disease feels like a cold or flu, and MANY feel nothing at all—they don't even know if they have/had the disease.
Your chances of dying from the disease have been. .0000025. If we double that it goes to .000005, meaning that 1 out of every 200,000 people would have died from this disease.
That is the actual data.
As with any data, you can analyze it however you like and put your own take to what it means and how we should deal with it. But, as they say, the numbers ARE the numbers.
I find that very interesting, especially in comparison to the harder hit areas.
Just an FYI.
-Jim Berlin, Founder and CEO
Words & Other Things
As many of you know, I've been reading Erik Larson's book about Churchill during the German blitzkrieg of England in 1940-41, and have tried to glean lessons about leadership and how one faces death and destruction, and survives/even triumphs. Very interesting read. And Churchill's speeches clearly rallied his people (and America), and are remembered even to this day: "We shall fight on the beaches…we shall never surrender…"
I was not around for Roosevelt's famous "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (I know I'm old—but not THAT old 😊) that helped rally America out of the great depression and it, too, is still remembered and repeated to this day, nearly 100 years later.
The power of WORDS is impressive.
I do remember hearing John F. Kennedy's words as a young kid, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". Inspirational then and now.
And though I was never the #1 fan of George W. Bush or Barack Obama, I will NEVER forget when each of them won me over for good.
October 30, 2001, Game 3 of the World Series, and America still on edge from 9/11, George Bush strode to the mound at Yankee Stadium and delivered a perfect strike in the ceremonial "first pitch" even though millions of people (myself included) worried that he might be assassinated there, out in the open by himself in the middle of the diamond. Bush, who was never a great speaker, did with this action the same thing, though. Rallied the people and courageously showed that there was hope and a future. That day, I became a fan. (Funny side story—Derek Jeter, the Hall of Fame Yankee shortstop, told President Bush before he went out "Don't bounce it. They'll boo you". New Yorkers are a tough crowd 😊).
And on June 26, 2015, when President Obama went to deliver the eulogy for the nine black parishioners mindlessly shot down in cold blood by a 21 year old white supremacist after praying with them at the Charleston, South Carolina Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, to deliver solace to the families, the community and the nation, and spoke about grace (many of the victims' families had already displayed incredible grace in forgiving and praying for the shooter) he extemporaneously broke into song, singing Amazing Grace and lifting the spirits of those in the church and throughout America and the world, I became a fan.
I will never forget either of those moments and the strength and pride in humankind that they gave to me and millions of others.
It would be so timely today if something someone says/does in the near future will be one of the things that not only lifts our spirits and rallies our nation, but is remembered for generations to come as a symbol of the strength and the resilience of the human spirit.
Jim Berlin is the founder and CEO of Logistics Plus, a leading worldwide provider of global logistics and supply chain solutions based in Erie, PA. You can visit the company online at logisticsplus.com where you will also find Jim's Thoughts For The Day.


Please join us this Saturday, 5:00-9:00 p.m. in the cafeteria (level G) of NRH for fun and excitement. If you'd like to pitch in on pizza or if Roger is sick of pizza (3 nights in one week) something else, we'll order and have it delivered. We'll provide the sweets and snacks. There are vending machines in the cafeteria for sodas and other beverages. We will order drinks with dinner and there's always plenty of water.
Directions are on the hospital's website for driving and Metro, http://www.nrhrehab.org/body.cfm?id=381. It's very easy to drive and Metrorail/bus to the hospital. There is no free parking or street parking at the hospital. It costs $3-5 to park in the garage.


Fospha, the leading provider of marketing attribution and optimisation software, today announced they have raised £5.3m ($7.4m) in funding led by the venture builder Blenheim Chalcot. Dan Cobley, former Google MD of UK & IE and a managing partner at Blenheim Chalcot, has also joined the board.
The new funding will be used for acceleration of product innovation and expansion of the company's Customer Success, Sales and Marketing functions.
As companies adopt an increasingly broad multi-channel strategy and an arsenal of marketing technology, understanding and optimising the cost of customer acquisition is one of the most difficult challenges businesses face. It's widely acknowledged that marketing effectiveness can no longer be measured by the first or last click alone and Fospha's multi-touch attribution product unifies clients' customer data and applies cutting-edge machine learning to compute the fractional value of each touchpoint for a granular data-driven view of marketing performance.
"We're delighted with this latest equity raise and its demonstration of the progress we've made powering scalable digital growth for our growing client base and transforming the impact that marketing has on their revenue", said Sam Carter, Fospha's CEO.
Founded in 1998, Blenheim Chalcot is the UK's leading venture builder, specialising in building digital businesses that transform industries. It has portfolio sales of over £300m, more than 3,000 employees, and a successful track record of over 40 companies across IT services and outsourcing, education, financial services, software, sport and media.
. I can't wait to hear more!


text:
How to Use Clubhouse for Marketing
Clubhouse is an interesting newer social media platform based around audio, rather than written content. Operated as a mobile app, it allows for similar convenience to Facebook and other social platforms. Despite being an invite-only setup, it has expanded beyond 10 million users in its first year. Participation is based around audio rooms that act like something between a Facebook Group and a podcast that's accessible in real-time as it's recorded.
In this article, we look at how Clubhouse is distinctly different and how marketers can use it successfully.
Personal Content Focus
Unlike other social media platforms, Clubhouse has been embraced primarily for personal discussion and the sharing of different discussions. While brands are involved, there is considerable pushback against overly commercial promotions. This is always something to bear in mind for marketers' intent on using Clubhouse to promote their brands, products, or services.
Human Connection is Emphasized
Sharing opinions among like-minded people is a strong focus. Some rooms allow the free sharing of thoughts and ideas, which can work well. However, these aren't particularly noteworthy or commercial-based at all. Nevertheless, pay attention to people craving for connection. This technologically driven world often keeps people apart and Clubhouse reflects this desire. Brands need to fit into this ideology, rather than stand apart from it.
Brand Q&As
Brands can begin to get involved by running rooms where they have organized Q&A sessions that users can participate in. To avoid the room devolving into many overlapping voices with little direction, a moderator controls the audio in the room. They're able to mute or unmute users based on who is up next to ask a question.
It is possible to submit questions ahead of time with the moderator choosing the best ones from the attendees. Then he or she can bring the users onto the microphone to ask their questions. Effectively, they're given the stage briefly, with their emphasis and the inflection in their voice heard.
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One of the strengths of this audio social platform is that a person's passion or level of interest comes across far better when they're speaking in a room. In turn, this serves to allow other people in the room to share their passion around the topic too.
Brand Ambassador Interviewed in a Fireside Chat
Rooms within Clubhouse cover many different topics. They can provide long-tail access as people in the room regularly discuss various subjects under a room's broad theme. Off-topic discussions are quickly shut down in favor of relatable ones.
Sometimes, a non-branded room that's topic-focused will have a brand ambassador or an employee come in for a Fireside chat or interview. This is not unlike a podcast guest, but here questions can be asked in real-time by attendees in their voice, or they can be submitted ahead of time. Depending on how it's run, the result can feel more intimate and interactive than a podcast recording made weeks ago.
These aren't seen as overly promotional as long as it's a genuine discussion with helpful insights provided by the guest. Similarly, drawing the discussion toward their latest product can be done, to a limited extent. However, brand reputation with the attendees is likely improved (or not) through their initial responses that may affect brand loyalty.
Roundtable or Panel Discussion
In a similar fashion to a live expo, it's possible to organize industry roundtable discussions on Clubhouse too. These allow for a collection of guests to appear at a roundtable or panel discussion. For people who are interested in hearing from a disparate group of voices, these occasional discussions allow employees from various companies to share the spotlight. For employees, they're also a good training ground to get used to speaking publicly and representing the business before doing solo interviews.
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These discussions can deepen the commitment to the industry. For businesses that understand how difficult it is to get customers to commit to investing in their products or services, keeping them interested is important. Also, if the sales funnel is elongated, then the use of Clubhouse can provide more touchpoints for the consumer on their journey to eventually becoming a buyer.
For example, an outdoor gear company could participate in a roundtable about the future of outdoor apparel for consumers. Guests might include designers, fabric specialists, and other people who are integral to bringing new outdoor apparel products to market from conception to launch.
These discussions can increase the understanding of what's involved behind the scenes. Customers can have more confidence in their purchase based on the commitment to quality that's evident from such discussions.
Room Event Sponsorship
Just like with regular event sponsorship, it's possible to sponsor a planned event in a room too. The subjects covered at the event could be organized in advance to allow time to share details about a new product or the latest advances from the brand. Yet, it doesn't need to be overly promotional and risk turning off the attendees.
Sponsorship can include bonuses, prizes, and gifts for the best answer to a quiz or other approaches to keep things interesting. Sponsors can be highlighted in the room event's description and promoted at the start of the audio stream too.
Informal Conversations
Another way to make a brand come across as more human for a better feeling of connection is to participate in informal conversations. The concept here is not to actively promote the brand or a new product on Clubhouse. Instead, it is an open discussion based on what the moderator and people in the room wish to discuss. This is an opportunity for the brand to learn more about what people care about. It can even suggest new product ideas based on what was discussed too.
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These are widely accepted because they're not heavy on the promotional and light on the usefulness. Instead, it flips the script with a flexible, unscripted discussion that retains the interest level because the people in the room don't know what'll happen (and nor do the guests).
Is Clubhouse Worth It for Marketing?
Clubhouse is an interesting concept. While it has grown quickly, it has some way to go before it'll come close to reaching the penetration level of LinkedIn or Facebook. With that said, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For the smaller brands that find it difficult to get airtime and have insufficient money to keep pace against the larger ad budgets of larger peers, this new social platform allows for exposure at no or minimal cost. In terms of brand awareness, it can also make early adopters and others keen on certain niches or industries aware of their business for the first time.
For major brands in a dominant market position, Clubhouse offers a more intimate way to reach people serious about their types of product or service. The human contact and more personal interaction on the platform will benefit them because they'll seem less corporate or more relatable.
Tag: Clubhouse, marketing, marketing tips
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The July 27th post by Jerri Holan was an impassioned plea for preservation advocates to become even more resolved in the face of adversity, an appeal which clearly struck a chord with the author panel. Tucked in her piece was mention of Rem Koolhaas's allegation of "historical amnesia" for what historic preservationists have wrought. This was only one of his points in his latest salvo, "Cronocaos," which was first presented at the 2010 Venice Biennale (Video Link at End of this Review) and more recently at the New Museum in New York City where it was on view for five weeks (it closed on June 5th). Its influence and ideas, however, extend beyond the exhibit's expiration date. Given the interest in the panel on this subject, I would like to describe the exhibit further.
How to explain a show that marshals John Ruskin, the Reichstag and Chinese hutongs to illustrate its point of view? This thought-provoking exposition is bold and wide-ranging if not particularly cohesive. In its ambition, however, it confronts the viewer with much disparate information, contradictory generalizations and "facts" while jostling complacent thinking about an important topic. Its effectiveness can be read in the on-line commentaries and professional reviews. Mr. Koolhaas, wildly popular among the younger generation of architects and students (his lectures are sold-out), is less convincing to established critics and the profession as a whole who challenge his premises. Much data are displayed, however little is referenced or systematically explained.
Among his chief complaints are that the rise of the preservation movement and its selection of what it values as important limits the scale and philosophy of contemporary architecture. As a result, architecture is no longer part of a social movement but has been reduced to being a hand-maiden to preservationists and private developers rather than the public sector. (Why haven't there been any architects on the cover of Time Magazine since 1979?) The large-scale public works built by architects as social engineers such as Le Corbusier, Eero Saarinen, Oscar Niemeyer, and Jose Luis Sert among others during modernism's heady post-war days have been the first buildings to be destroyed, unloved by the public and preservationists. Buildings and areas that are being preserved, he asserts, reflect present-day tastes not history, in order to make them safe for tourists—comfortable theme parks that distort memory.
The rise of the role preservation has brought about a conflict between "radical change vs. radical stasis." What is being preserved and what is restored? Buildings such those on the Harvard University campus appear to have never changed yet they have been gutted and totally redone on the interior—they are completely different from the originals yet present themselves as unaltered. To Koolhaas, this is "farce." In addition, no longer do buildings have to be "historic" to be "saved." Nineteenth century Europe only preserved national monuments; now in some places buildings less than 30 years old are eligible for designation. His house in Bordeaux, France, became a national monument three years after it was built.
Although some arguments appear disjointed, a bit hyperbolic and unsubstantiated, Koolhaas has pinpointed the crux of an important issue. In New York, the spirit that embraced the unknown and the innovative, dare we say modern, is a rarity. The new is spurned, the old is elevated. The populace does not want to be challenged. Today, when a building in the historic districts of TriBeCa or SoHo is proposed, it is a clone of its soon-to-be neighbors with respect to scale and materials, but never use. In the name of neighborhood cohesiveness, new apartment buildings now are constructed to look like old warehouses; industrial warehouses haven't been needed for decades.
Just recently, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a design for a building in SoHo that was the "reverse" clone of the cast iron building across the street—it will be constructed to appear as if the existing building's façade had been pressed into the new one. The new building will be made from glass-reinforced concrete with "columns" indented into the building rather than projecting out, and windows protruding from the façade rather than recessed—whether as an ironic comment on the status quo or trying its best to get approved is a matter of conjecture.
Cronocaos exhibit-goers sensed first-hand how time affects the built environment with stacked postcards of OMA projects which could be peeled off the wall to visibly reflect use, change and depletion over time. Koolhaas is saying that because of petty bureaucrats, more and more cities and districts around the world are denied that experience.
The architectural provocateur has been a rare sight during the past several decades, a lack that Rem Koolhaas seeks to remedy with this exhibit. Whether you agree with him or not (and for me, sometimes those two opposing thoughts converge over the same topic), it is invigorating to be confronted with an exhibit that dares to think big.
Unfortuneately, I don't have photos of the New Museum's exhibit, however, the website, designboom, has an extensive discussion of the Venice Biennale exhibit with great images at http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/11248/oma-at-venice-architecture-biennale-2010.html.
This sounds like a very complicated exhibit and I'm not familiar with Rem Koolhaas' theories but I have a few general comments.
Preservations have been debating the dichotomy expressed by John Ruskin and Viollet le Duc for years. Preservation principles in the west (Europe and the US) have consistently followed Ruskin and by extension, perhaps, the untouched half of Koolhaas' warehouse. To be an authentic historic building a structure must have acquired the patina of age. According to the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation the retention of historic materials and finishes is considered essential to establishing historic "integrity." We scorn re-creations of history as fake and allow replication of features only when missing or damaged beyond repair. An interesting exception to this was the ultimate designation of Warsaw Poland as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. Although 85% of the city was destroyed by Nazi vindictiveness, in an act of spiritual defiance the Poles rebuilt a copy of their beloved capital city according to photos and drawings smuggled out during the German occupation at great peril. UNESCO recognized Warsaw's Old Town as the preservation of the spirit and culture of a people despite the loss of its original historic fabric.
The Le Duc philosophy finds adherents in the east, notably Japan, where the original appearance and aura of certain temples are "preserved" by faithfully rebuilidng them every 20 years. This is so that visitors will always experience the beauty of the temple as it was originally conceived and built. The advantage Japan has over the US is that traditional building methods and materials remain available so that an exact copy is possible. We can't do that here where drywall has replaced plaster, spring-loaded,double-glazed windows are making thick wood sash with the superior weight/pulley operating system obsolete, and inferior paints make it impractical to keep a decent paint job on historic clapboard. Unlikely the renovated half of Koolhaas' warehouse used real lathe and plaster walls.
As for the contention that preservation today reflects present-day taste and not history, that too is nothing new. Each generation seldom has respect for the arts culture of the one that immediately preceeded it. Italianate homes of the 1860s-1870s were Colonialized at the turn of the last century; Victorian-era ornament was furiously pulled off in the post WWII era, and architects answered the radical innovations of the Prairie School with a return to Historic Revival styles in the 1920s. It's tough to get the general population to appreciate what came just before, and especially in the case of the modern movement of Le Corbusier, Mies, and others whose admittedly innovative designs wiped out the urban fabric of cities. Is anyone arguing that the high rise public housing projects of the 1950s were an improvement, despite many of them having been designed by leading architects of the day? We have an interesting historic street on Chicago's South Side where a few blocks of 1880s brick row houses were spared by urban renewal, then stared across the street at dingy, dangerous CHA towers for close to 50 years. As soon as those behemoths were finally demolished a few years ago they are now being rehabbed back to life.
Despite hatred of much of the modern movement by those who watched it bulldoze beloved places, there are still young preservationists with a penchant for saving stuff that I would argue ruined more urban environments than it enhanced. At least neo-traditional architecture has some respect for its neighbors. Gehry may be nice in a park, but I sure wouldn't want one next door to my greystone. As for the future, I suspect that once this current fascination with traditional architecture runs its course, designers will be giving us something wild and crazy again. Let's just hope they understand the fabric of cities a little better this time.
I might have called his Exhibit, "Chrono Chaos". I think it may have been above me… like his design for the Seattle library. I just didn't get it.
Great explanation of Exhibit, wish the New York Times could have written as succinctly!


text:
Q: C# WPF Android like zoom if TextBox gets Focus I'm developing a WPF Application for Touch Devices. I want a behaviour like in Android Browser, if you focus a TextBox the screen 'zooms' in so you only see the TextBox and the virtual Keyboard.
I have already tried Scaling the TextBox and setting the Position if it has Focus but that doesn't work right. If somebody could point me in the right direction i would appreciate that.

A: you can achieve this function from this code
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Mobile advertising grew to a $112 billion market last year — but surprisingly, only 15% was spent on mobile games. Gaming is huge, so why don't mobile games capture a larger chunk of the ad market? For the most part, it's because brands aren't fully represented.
Brands are companies like McDonald's or PG&E, giants who want the entire world to be aware of their products. Traditionally, brands have avoided gaming, dismissing it as a niche activity. But today, the world sees different; over 50% of mobile users play games on a regular basis, with over 200 million people in the US alone.
The reality is that brands do want to be in games, and they're joining that market as fast as they can. But before shifting budget over from proven platforms like TV, brands have to test what works — how to get the attention they need from game users as economically as possible. Below are five methods that brands have used to succeed with advertising in mobile games.
Just as certain channels on TV offer a targeted experience — sports channels, for instance — some games do too, giving brands an obvious way to communicate with players. Sports drink brand Gatorade, for instance, gave players a digital electrolyte boost through energy refills in EA's Madden NFL Mobile, letting them play longer.
EA also linked up with Asos, a popular clothing brand, in its simulation game The Sims Mobile. The game's sandbox style of play and endless customization options are surprisingly similar to the experience of shopping for clothes online, which helped Asos introduce branded clothes and timed quests to Sims players. Not all games have real-world themes like Madden or The Sims, but those that do are hugely valuable to marketers.
Rewarded video is currently the leading ad format on mobile; instead of having an ad forced onto them, players choose to watch a video in exchange for a bonus. Rewarded ads are the reason that games like Crossy Road are able to simultaneously make players happy and generate millions in revenue.
For a Nestlé campaign, the food maker partnered with King and ran rewarded ads across the publisher's extensive portfolio, which spans 200 mobile game titles including hits like Candy Crush Saga. The ads performed very well, with 99.5% of the ads being viewed until the end and 3% of users who saw the ads actually clicking through.
Ads in banner or video format have decades of history. Playable ads — ads that let the user interact — are much newer. Since playables were created for in-game use and can look a lot like an actual game, playables' first uses were mostly for advertising mobile games. But brands are interested in interactivity too; engagement is the lifeblood of marketing and playable ads transmute the natural engagement of games to advertisers.
For Kellogg's, Gameloft created short, interactive ads to promote cereal brand Froot Loops. The company also worked with Indian online retailer Myntra for a playable ad campaign that received an impressive 82% completion rate and 2.1 million impressions in just under two months.
Social is an important component of most successful mobile games. Even incredibly simple games like Helix Jump have leaderboards. Pizza Hut capitalized on this with a campaign that turned its restaurants into gaming hubs. King of Glory (known as Arena of Valor outside China) players within five minutes distance of any Pizza Hut location were invited to meet other users in-store to play.
Just 20 days into the campaign, over 100,000 King of Glory players had visited a Pizza Hut for a battle with fellow gamers. The company sold over 150,000 special edition King of Glory meal sets, giving them a whopping 900% return on investment.
Finally, some brands choose to experiment with the cutting edge of gaming — augmented reality, which overlays games onto the real world via a phone's camera. Starbucks leveraged the physical component of Pokemon Go to drive in-store traffic, with over 7,800 stores becoming Pokestops or Gyms during the peak of the game's popularity. Starbucks further encouraged traffic by creating a custom drink called the Pokemon Go Frappuccino to appeal to the droves flocking to their stores on the hunt for digital monsters.
Well-known brands have already proven that mobile games are a viable channel for marketing. And as more mobile games publishers look to ads for monetization — designing their features and user flow around the success of opt-in ads, the future is only getting brighter for brand ads in mobile gaming.


text:
Ko Szan  (Puszan, 1976. október 19.–) dél-koreai matematikus, kiképzett űrhajós.

Életpálya
A Szöuli Nemzeti Egyetemen szerzett matematikából és kognitív tudományból oklevelet. Ugyanitt végez számítógép felhasználási kutatást. Alapítója és vezérigazgatója a TIDE Intézetnek. 2010-től a Harvard Egyetemen.

2006. december 25-től a Jurij Gagarin Űrhajóskiképző Központban részesült kiképzésben. Kijelölték az űrfeladat elvégzésére, de az orosz vezetés kérte lecserélését (titkos információk megsértéséért). Űrhajós pályafutását 2008. április 19-én fejezte be.

Tartalék személyzet
Szojuz TMA–12 speciális kutató, kiképzett űrhajós, I Szojon tartalék űrpilótája.

Sporteredmények
 2004-ben az nemzeti amatőr ökölvívó bajnokságon bronzérmet nyert.
 2004-ben felmászott a  méter magas kínai Muztág Ata hegyre.

Források

Dél-koreai űrhajósok
1976-ban született személyek
Élő személyek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Your proficiency bonus can't be added to a single die roll or other number more than once. For example, if two different rules say you can add your proficiency bonus to a Wisdom saving throw, you nevertheless add the bonus only once when you make the save.
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Who's mad now? Seattle artist's 'Angry Birds' lawsuit goes forward
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a Seattle artist who designed a line of plush pet toys called "Angry Birds."
Juli Adams designed the plush "Angry Birds" toys in 2006 for The Hartz Mountain Corporation, a New Jersey-based pet products company. In her lawsuit, Adams says that three years later Hartz licensed her intellectual property, without telling her, to the Finnish company that makes the insanely popular video game of the same name.
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text:
Finland's Tahrir Square is located on Facebook
by Migrant Tales, under All categories, Enrique
How deep in denial is Finland concerning the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and the values they represent? It's pretty clear that the shameful racist gaffes of PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen and the party's public statement on Thursday condemning racism are fuelling Finland's Tahrir Square on social media sites like Facebook.
Just like what ignited the Arab street to rise up against their despotic rulers, we are seeing in Finland candid outrage to social ills like racism that have been accepted in silence for so long but never seriously challenged.
The PS' public statement denouncing all forms of racism is a good example of how Timo Soini's party is emboldening Finns to take action in our own Tahrir Square. We saw it gain strength right after the April 17 election when about 1,000 people demonstrated against the PS in front of parliament.
Apart from PS MP Hakkarainen, whose racist gaffes have made Finland a worse place to live for minorities like immigrants, the public statement by the PS denouncing all forms of racism is a good example of their cat-and-mouse game stance on racism.
But what else could be expected from a party that mixes too often facts with populism and hearsay? The statement against racism by the PS is another unfortunate example: We agree to be against all forms of racism and discrimination as long as we destroy minority rights by doing away with so-called positive discrimination.
Some professors like Kaarlo Tuomi, Tuomas Ojanen and Veli-Pekka Viljanen warned in Saturday's Helsingin Sanomat that the PS statement was "terrible" and "very problematic" because it is in conflict with our Constitution. Instead of promoting equality it would undermine it fatally.
The PS have crossed once again another line but have revealed to us their double-talk and how they plan to further their jumbled political agenda for this country.
Since leading political parties like Kokoomus and the Social Democrats underestimated the PS and did not consider their challenge a menace to our society on matters like racism, it is then the job of common people to take action, which they have started on different social media sites.
The continued willingness of different political leaders to continue to see Soini as a "moderate" and "nice guy" is synonymous with burying one's head in the sand. They should look at the big picture: The PS has 39 MPs in parliament that would be ready to water down minority rights for their brand of populist nationalism.
Recent attacks reported in the media of immigrants by thugs and the PS' wishy-washy stand on racism ensure that Finland's Tahrir Square will continue to gain strength.
Tags: Civil rights, Finland, Perussuomalaiset, Racism
Yossie May 28th, 2011
How many articles are you gonna make out of the PS statement which is all pretty much say the same thing: PS are horrible and statement is racist?
About MP Hakkarainen, I think you way overreact his influence
"made Finland a worse place to live for minorities like immigrants"
I mean come on.. if anything the guy has made an fool out of himself and its so obvious for anyone to see. Not only did he once managed to offend people and basically made sure no one would take seriously anything he wanted to say, but he that twice after getting told off. He is just stupid as hell.
About minority rights and equality, I rather not use inequality as a weapon while trying to reach equality.
Allan May 28th, 2011
Hommaforum is the Tahrir Square and PS is the Brotherhood. Finally we are getting rid of the foreigner- worshippers and can stand up as a nation against those wishing to destroy Egy… Finland 😀
Yossie: Enrique is not only an antifinite, but suffers from a really serious case of verafennophobia 😆
hn May 28th, 2011
Keep on writing these blog entries!
As long as Halla-Aho and his gang poison our society and environment with racism or intolerance, both direct or disguised (as in Halla-Aho's so called "condemnation of racism") every speech, every blog entry, every comment in discussion forums is welcome.
Racism must be weeded out from our society, not by violence but through information.
Enrique May 28th, 2011
Hi hn, thank you for those words of encouragement and welcome to our blog. I totally agree with you. We must weed out and nip racism in the bud. The sooner we understand what a menace people like Halla-aho and his gang are the faster we'll obtain that goal.
Hmmm May 28th, 2011
I hate to tell you but the goal of weeding out racism is like the goal of weeding out crime.
I believe by "weeding out" racism we mean not making it a threat. When you have too many weeds in a garden it's a problem.
The goal is communism, its just beyond the horizon!
Enrique, you are a buttercup? 😆
Klay_Immigrant May 28th, 2011
-'Apart from PS MP Hakkarainen, whose racist gaffes have made Finland a worse place to live for minorities like immigrants'
Oh yeah how could I forget he holds that much power now he's the president of Finland not just a first time MP in an opposition party.
He is an MP making racist gaffes. He is an example to many in this country. His examples make Finland a worse place for others.
So racist gaffes would be OK if immigrants were a majority?
Allan it's fine for the minority to make racist jokes about the white majority for people like Enrique. Havn't you heard of the movie 'White men can't jump'? No one had a problem with that stereotype but imagine the uproar if another movie came out called 'Black men can't think'.
Well in Finland the local gipsy minority made their own tv-show playing on their own stereotypes, and they got complaints. Didn't find it that funny the few skits I've seen in youtube.
Alan Bruce May 30th, 2011
Some of these comments are inane and patronizing. Racism is pernicious and corrupting. It starts as a series of trite one-liners and mildly inoffensive jokes. It does not take long to escalate to wild generalizations, inaccurate pseudo-psychological babbling and then on to scare-mongering. In final stages sees it as it really is: hate-fuelled, other-centered loathing with a set of solutions (final or temporary) to address what is now labelled a "problem". Yes, a "problem" created by…. the racists themselves. PS – and its growing band of fellow-travellers all across Europe – hide their racism behind jocular, folksy appeals to "common sense" and soothing cliches about the natural superiority of their warped version of local/national identity. They mask their vitriol by a constant mockery of difference and diversity. They minimize their nastiness by a desperate and false effort to blend in to normal politics. It looks like a rat, it walks like a rat, it sneers like a rat, it stinks like a rat: it is a rat. Racism is racism. No ifs, ands or buts. I suggest we go back to the seminal works of Gordon Allport and his five stages of escalating prejudice. There is no denying that the ignorant poison being spread by PS and their ilk is designed to appeal to prejudice and stereotype. Finland deserves better. Europe deserves better. Humanity deserves better. We have been here before you know. Time for a reality check folks… there should be zero-tolerance for any manifestation of racism.
Enrique May 31st, 2011
Hi Alan, could not agree more with you and thank you for putting this social ill where it belongs: in the dustbin of society. One of the things that have amazed me about racism in Finland is that it offers no alternatives except for a type of final solution: learn to accept my loathing of you. The zero-tolerance for racism is, unfortunately, not the case in the political world. Only those that want to further this pathological message are the ones that are bearing the sour fruits of their actions.


text:
Joel Eisen
jeisen@richmond.edu
University of Richmond School of Law Room 220, Law School
28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, VA 23173 law.richmond.edu
Joel Eisen is a Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law.
Professor Eisen's expertise centers on energy law and policy (focusing on topics relating to the modernization of the electric grid), environmental law and policy, and administrative law. He is a co-author of a leading law and business school textbook on energy law, Energy, Economics and the Environment: Cases and Materials, as well as numerous books, book chapters, treatises, and law review articles on electric utility regulation, renewable energy, and brownfields law and policy.
His scholarship has appeared in journals at Harvard, UCLA, Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina, George Washington, Utah, Fordham, Illinois, Wake Forest, U.C. Davis, and William & Mary law schools, among other venues. In recognition of his contributions to scholarship, Richmond Law named him the inaugural Austin Owen Research Fellow for 2013-2018. He was awarded the University of Richmond's Distinguished Educator Award in 2010, and his article "Residential Renewable Energy: By Whom?" was voted one of the four top environmental articles of 2011 by the Vanderbilt Law School and Environmental Law Institute. From 1993-2005, he was Director of the Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Center of Environmental Law. In 2009, Professor Eisen served as a Fulbright Professor of Law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, China.
Professor Eisen began his legal career at the San Francisco law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen. Following this, he served as a committee counsel to the Science, Space and Technology Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives before transitioning to law teaching in 1993 at Richmond.
Professor Eisen is a graduate of the Stanford Law School (J.D. 1985) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S. degree in Civil Engineering, Transportation Planning concentration in 1981). His primary avocation is constructing crossword puzzles; he has had puzzles published in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal.