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A Word on the Desolation of Smaug – Extended Edition Trailer
The blu-ray for the extended edition of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug comes out November 4th in the United States. My copy will hopefully arrive that day but in the meantime here's a trailer that offer two major bits that got axed from the theatrical edition.
First of all, though he looks a little tall to me in the trailer, that is Thráin, Thorin's father, confronting Gandalf in Dol Goldur and shouting that Thorin must never enter Erebor. Finally, after getting a name drop in the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey perhaps what has happened to the last dwarven ring of power will be explained. Also, with the jumbling of time Jackson has done I can't wait to see how he explains Gandalf getting the key and map from Thorin's father before they've actually met in Dol Goldur, that being originally how he got it in the books.
Second, there's Beorn, barely even in the theatrical release it seem, and this is just my guess, most of what was cut from the film involves Beorn. Before the release of the film there was talks of Beorn hunting down orcs at night to corroborate Thorin and Gandalf's story. The other part seen in this trailer involving Beorn is in his garden with him chopping wood, possibly for a scene of exposition between Gandalf and Beorn or perhaps the introduction of the dwarves and the telling of what has happened to them so far just as in the books. Also, it looks like a scene in the forest involving Beorn and Gandalf is included as well. It could be possible that Beorn escorts Gandalf part of the way to Dol Goldur considering that the wizard has one of his horses.
Also in the trailer, besides reiterating what was in the theatrical release are scenes involving a conversation between Thorin and Bilbo upon arriving in Laketown and one between the Master of Laketown and Alfred of what Thorin's quest means to him.
Not included in the trailer but released earlier this summer is extended Mirkwood scene mirroring the one in the book where they have to cross the river and poor Bombur falls into the enchanted water and the company is forced to carry him. You can see most of that scene here:
In interview, Richard Armitage mentions Bilbo and Thorin seeing the white stag, just like in the books, but this stag is projection of Thranduil into the forest. Thorin will try to kill it of course, because dwarf king no like elf king.
It'll be interesting to see what else was cut that are scenes from the book and what Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh made up for their version of The Hobbit.
The Magic of Middle-Earth is Unexplainable, Nor Should It Be.
July 3, 2014 / Joshua S. MacDougall / Leave a comment
For this is what your folk would call magic. I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy – Galadriel
"Faerie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic—but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso : if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in that story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away." – J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy Stories.
This video has been gaining traction today detailing how Legolas could not really see as far as he claims according to the laws of physics. This is a common occurrence when it comes to the fantastical things in Tolkien's Legendarium. The problem is that Tolkien's magic cannot be explained using a set of rules. It is more mythical and mysterious like the folk tales of Anglo-Saxon, of Norse sagas, Arthurian romance and probably the Old Testament.
I can't believe I have to explain this but magic isn't science, it doesn't have to be explained. It can be, and that can be fun too. Brandon Sanderson is known for his magic systems. He even has what he calls Sanderson's Laws for his series of rules when creating magic systems. Patrick Rothfuss goes to painstaking details to create rules for his magic system. Then comes naming. Naming cannot be explained like love, humor or music yet no one gives Rothfuss any guff trying to explain the rules of naming.
My point is you can have a magic system in a fantasy book that does not have rules and the work of J.R.R. Tolkien is a prime example. The problem is that "magic" in Middle-Earth is what men and hobbits calls thing they cannot explain leading to reactions like the Galadriel quote above. "Magic" is part of Arda (the earth) itself and the elves are connected permanently to Arda. What we as readers such as men and hobbit may see as magic the elves see as a natural part of their skills and their very being. It is more of a divine power with few explanations to how it really works.
Here is where critics start throwing out words like Deus ex machina without fully understanding what it means. What makes Tolkien's works have that mythical feeling about them is that there are aspects that cannot be explained such as the elves, the wizards, Balrogs and beings like Sauron.
Partially to blame is Hollywood, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and films in general. Those are visual mediums, as such they need visuals to convey what is going on. The problem is magics is not all visual in any of Tolkien's books. While the film showed forcefields and battles of light coming from his staff and slashes of his sword versus the Balrogs swipes and cracks of his whip the fight in the books is more of a battle of wills, a battle of power between to divine beings that we cannot see with barely any swordplay.
The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But Gandalf stood firm.
'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.'
The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly onto the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.
From out of the shadow a red sword leaped flaming.
Glamdring glittered white in answer.
There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments. The wizard swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.
'You cannot pass!' he said.
With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.
Neil Gaiman has a great quote about magic in film when talking about the film adaptation of A Winter's Tale which by the way is a terrible movie mostly despite his warm review of it.
There's a thing that happens in Hollywood, when you hand in a script with magic in it, and the people at the studio who read it say "We don't quite understand… can you explain the rules? What are the rules here? The magic must have rules" and sometimes when they say that to me I explain that I am sure it does, just as life has rules, but they didn't give me a rule book to life when I was born, and I've been trying to figure it out as I go along, and I am sure it is the same thing for magic; and sometimes I explain that, yes, the magic has rules, and if they read again carefully they can figure out what they are; and sometimes I sigh and put in a line here and a line there that spells things out, says, YES THESE ARE THE RULES YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION and then everyone is very happy.
I understand, I really do. It seems frustrating because we live in a world of science that strives to explain how the universe works and that can be beautiful but Middle-Earth isn't our world. It is a epic myth such a The Odyssey, The Prose Edda, The Arthurian Legends and Beowulf. The problem is people still come along and try to explain it or disprove parts of it.
The other problem that pertains to the video about Legolas's eyes is the perceptions that elves are just some kind of different humanoid type species. Elves are preternatural beings, outside the rules of nature yet also connected to nature itself. This comes from the Tolkien Gateway entry on elves under arts, crafts, powers and magic.
Other races often spoke of 'Elf magic', or of objects made by Elves as if they contained enchantments. It is unclear how accurate it is to call Elvish arts and crafts 'magic' or 'enchanted'. Elves themselves only used these words when attempting to simplify or clarify how elvish-made things seemed to have a special quality that no other races were able to achieve. Powerful Elves seemed to have control over nature and the elements, their clothes seemed to shine with their own light, their blades seemed to never lose their sharpness. Less educated folks couldn't explain these effects, so they simply called them 'magic'. However, each race had their own special abilities that seemed incomprehensible to others. Hobbits had a seemingly supernatural ability to hide when they wished to remain unseen. Dwarves were unmatched in the art of mining and building halls underground. Wizards had such wisdom and knowledge of the world and all things in it that they appeared to have mystical powers. To each of these races, what they did had nothing to do with magic, it was just how they did things. It may have been so too with Elves. Whether there was any kind of mystical energy involved in the things Elves made can never be proved or disproved.
N.K. Jemisin who wrote the Inheritance trilogy wrote this great article for io9.com just on the subject of magic and rules titled Why does magic need so many rules? In it she makes a connection of what might be the blame for why modern fantasy readers and viewers need rules for magic in Dungeon and Dragons which has rules clearly defined using systems of numbers. Why stop there though? What about video games which also when it comes to magic has a system in place for how magic can be done but Jemisin argues…
It's supposed to go places science can't, defy logic, wink at technology, fill us all with the sensawunda that comes of gazing upon a fictional world and seeing something truly different from our own. In most cultures of the world, magic is intimately connected with beliefs regarding life and death – things no one understands, and few expect to. Magic is the motile force of God, or gods. It's the breath of the earth, the non-meat by-product of existence, that thing that happens when a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it. Magic is the mysteries, into which not everyone is so lucky, or unlucky, as to be initiated. It can be affected by belief, the whims of the unseen, harsh language. And it is not…
In LotR, sometimes magic meant forging a ring with a chunk of soul melted into the alloy. Sometimes it meant learning obscure/dead languages, or talking to obscure/dead creatures. Sometimes it meant brandishing a particular kind of stick in a particular kind of way, and shouting really loudly. Sometimes it meant being born with pointy ears, and sometimes resisting magic meant being born with hairy feet. It was organic, embedded, a total crapshoot. And it was wonderful.
The point is, magic can have a system of rules such as Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series or Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, hell, my own fiction has a system of magic but quit trying to find fault in Tolkien's magic system because magic doesn't always need so many rules.
Jackson's The Desolation of Smaug expands Tolkien's The Hobbit for Film
December 18, 2013 May 31, 2014 / Joshua S. MacDougall / Leave a comment
The director of The Hobbit film trilogy expands the film version of Middle-Earth for it's second outing. While some have called turning the children's novel into a three part film a stretch, Jackson manages to flush out the Tolkien's world and characters. In the second part of the film trilogy Jackson continues to do without the slow pace some critics complained about in An Unexpected Journey.
Right out of the gate the hobbit, the wizard, and the thirteen refugee dwarves of Erebor are still on the run from Azog the Defiler and his orcs. From there the breaks in the action are very short transitioning from Beorn's House to Mirkwood to Thranduil's Kingdom to Lake Town to Erebor. Beorn himself and the encounter with the spiders receive the short shaft of this film sure to be expanded upon in the extended edition.
The second film is far more removed from the source material, but in doing so Jackson makes a better film than the first one. Adapting literally means to make suitable to requirement or conditions and Peter Jackson does a wonderful job in this film. It is different from the book and in one of the rare cases this change made it a better movie than if they strictly stuck to it.
While Thorin continues down his path to Shakespearean-like tragic hero, Bilbo's characterization takes a step away from the books that was refreshing. Bilbo struggles with the power of the ring, Unlike Frodo, who has information about the ring during The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo has no idea there is an outside force working against him. This makes his struggle with the power he now has a more inner conflict he needs to work out. In that way, he becomes a better foil to Gollum's struggle with the ring then Jackson tried to do with Frodo.
What is highly interesting is Jackson's depiction of where Gandalf went off to during the journey. Technically, Jackson and company cannot use any material from Tolkien's other works other than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that explains exactly what Gandalf was up to when dealing with the Necromancer. Instead, Jackson surprisingly skirts around the story depicting what happens differently while remaining as close as possible to how it Tolkien canon it actually went. This also gave him the opportunity to backtrack over his mistakes in The Lord of the Rings with his depiction of Sauron as a giant eye.
Like the Riddles in the Dark scene in the first firm, the highlight of the second was easily Bilbo's interaction with Smaug. Benedict Cumberbatch was the perfect choice to depict Smaug, which the trailers so far do no justice to how incredible of a dragon he is. Even the often criticised scene of the dwarves and Smaug together is enjoyable just to see more Smaug. The dwarves cowering outside of the Lonely Mountain as depicted in the book would not have worked for this film.
Complaints of Tauriel's inclusion will come unfounded as her addition add great dramatic conflict to Thranduil's philosophy of withdrawal from the problems of the world. Legolas' inclusion comes more into question as he remains there for pretty action scenes. Despite this, another criticised moment that was highly enjoyable was the barrel action scene depicting it in a fun way that shows off Legolas' action and a good transition to Laketown what would otherwise be a slow moment.
Laketown and it's inhabitant was another expansion of the small scene in the book that served to make a better movie, as Bard the Bowman, The Master and the town itself are more flushed out to make a better conflict for the story. Overall, with a few minor quibbles like changing Bard's ancestor from a king to a lord and the shortened scenes involving Beorn and the spiders of Mirkwood, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is an example of a film where change is welcome.
J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit will still remain the way it is, and this film does no harm in highlighting what is great about the author's creation.
How Faithful Are 'The Hobbit' Films to Tolkien's Books? by Corey Olsen, the Tolkien Professor
The Desolation of Smaug Review by Aaron Diaz, author of webcomic Dresden Codak
Movies Will Never Be Books, and TV too! by Me
A box without hinges, key, or lid – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Part 2
June 21, 2013 / Joshua S. MacDougall / Leave a comment
If you read my last post about 2012's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey then you know the jist of what this one was about. Also, I suggest reading my posts about adapting books to movies for my views on that sort of thing. Let's get right to it.
Parts of the book I was glad wasn't in the film.
The bits of children's magic – I can honestly say I didn't miss the mentioning of the Old Took's magic studs that never came undone and fastened themselves. Nor did I miss William's mischievous purse that Bilbo tries to steal, alerting the trolls to Bilbo's presence when the hobbit tries to prove himself as a burglar.
The bit with the hoods – In the book, everyone of the dwarves has their own uniquely colored hood that distinguishes them from each other with eventually loaning Bilbo one that is too big for him. Instead of using brightly colored hoods to make them look different the movies give them different personalities, clothing, speech, appearance and ways of fighting.
Parts of the book I was surprised to find in the film.
Good morning! – The banter between Gandalf and Bilbo in the beginning just screams "I don't advance the plot! Cut me!" so I was highly surprised it wasn't cut.
The Songs – Although changed a little bit, I was highly surprised to find any of Tolkien's songs in the movie at all. Of course Blunt the Knives is on my top 100 songs played on my iTunes now. I'm wondering if there will be any songs in the next two films, who knows?
This turned out a lot shorter than I thought it would, so I'll post it shortly after Part I.
More like a grocer than a burglar – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Part I
Last year's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit was met with mixed reviews ranging from people who were either expecting the book, or people who were expecting The Lord of the Rings films. I, on the other hand, loved it. I saw it three times in the theater and about eight times repeatedly on blu-ray. The movie is a strange case for movie adaptations because it takes a lot of liberties with the story of the book, but it manages to keep in little aspects of the book that you'd think would be cut day one for a movie script. What else it manages to do is keep to key themes Tolkien often included in his books.
Let's get the negative out of the way first.
Three changes from the books I disliked.
Grocer vs. Burglar – I want to note the distinction really quickly that I used "dislike" instead of "hate", two very different meanings. In the film when the line "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar" is delivered by Thorin, everyone has a nice laugh and Bilbo looks at Thorin and then to Gandalf in confusion, as he has yet to be informed he's to be hired for burglarious activities. The entire dinner scene after Thorin's arrival has Bilbo basically trying to get out of whatever adventure Gandalf is planning.
Switching the line from Gloin after hearing the details of the adventure to when Thorin makes his entrance not only takes away a good line from one of the secondary dwares of the film but makes the line seem more cliche movie-like. By that I mean, "hey Thorin's the main dwarf so he gets the best lines as soon as he makes his entrance." My bigger problem though is Bilbo's reaction, and this might be one of those changes that without the inner monologue the screenwriter's felt it would be hard to convey. In the book, we see Bilbo's inner conflict with the two sides of him, the bookish Baggins side and the adventurous Took side. In the film there's is no conflict at all until the argument between Gandalf and Bilbo in his sitting room where the family line is mentioned. We don't get any visual confirmation of Bilbo's inner conflict until the brief scene of Bilbo awake in his bedroom listening to the dwarves singing Thorin's song. I have no doubt that Martin Freeman would have been able to give a performance to show this inner conflict beforehand as someone else said "Martin Freeman might be the best hobbit who ever hobbited."
Azog's Hand – I honestly don't mind Azog the Defiler not being killed off and his son taking his place. This might confuse moviegoers who didn't see the difference between Saruman's orcs and Sauron's orcs with how they created, given the scene with the Uruk-hai basically being born from mud and slime of the ground, the question of how orcs reproduce would come into question. The scene I bring into question is the flashback to the Battle of Moria, in which Thorin Oakenshield earns his nickname. It's all fine and good until Thorin cuts off Azog's hand. I get what they're trying to do, link the evil of Azog to the evil of Sauron, raising the unexpected villain up to the level of the Dark Lord and foreboding the darkness settling in on Middle-Earth. The problem is, it seems rehashed more than repeating thematic and not only does it not raise up Azog as a villain, but lessens the scene in the Fellowship prologue with Isildur and Sauron, putting Sauron on the same level as an orc.
Bilbo's Sword – This one stems from my study of Corey Olsen, The Tolkien Professor's criticism of The Hobbit but has been so ingrained into my understanding of the book now that I can't shy away from it. In the book, Bilbo's discover the knife he would later call Sting on his own in the Troll's cave along with Gandalf taking Glamdring and Thorin taking Orcrist while in the film Gandalf discovers Sting on his own, handing it to Bilbo with a bit of exposition and how it'll glow blue. Gandalf's explanation takes away from the development of Bilbo later on in what Corey Olsen and I believe is the turning point for Bilbo.
But in slapping all his pockets and feeling all round himself for matches his hand came on the hilt of his little sword – the little dagger that he got from the trolls, and that he had quite forgotten; nor fortunately had the goblins noticed it; as he wore it inside his breeches. Now he drew it out. It shone pale and dim before his eyes. "So it is an elvish blade, too," he thought; "and goblins are not very near, and yet not far enough." But somehow he was comforted. It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin-wars of which so many songs had sung; and also he had noticed that such weapons made a great impression on goblins that came upon them suddenly.
The scene in the film yet again establishes Bilbo as a humble hobbit and not an adventurer or someone who intends to use a sword, setting up the scene in which he shows Gollum mercy, but it takes this turning point away from Bilbo in the film. It's after he realizes his sword is the stuff of legends that he decides there's no going back. It's an important moment for him, on his own, without Gandalf or the dwarves to help him when he encounters Gollum. Sting is just as important to Bilbo's development as is the One Ring and the film sort of fails to establish this.
Additions to the film I enjoyed.
Radagast the Brown – Even though he does a terrible job of drawing off the Wargs and Orcs the addition of Radagast the Brown imbeds An Unexpected Journey with a theme very familiar to Tolkien's work that the Lord of the Rings film trilogy failed to realize at times. The theme of nature and the natural world being affected by the dark power infected Dol Guldur as well as the theme Gandalf mentions to Galadriel later in the film.
Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.
His addition also brings a lighter tone to the film that I believe is refreshing.
Dol Guldur, The Necromancer, The Witch-king of Angmar and the Morgul Blade – While everyone was complaining that they turned the Hobbit into three films, I got excited because this meant everything only mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings would come to fruition in these movies. In the book Gandalf just disappears for a bit, says he took care of the Necromancer and wanders back into story. Now in these films we have Sauron in his Necromancer body bringing back the Nazgul, including the Witch-king of Angmar who I believe was underused in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Gandalf and the White Council basically on their own side-quest that will have grave repercussions for The Lord of the Rings. I really hope we get to see the Necromancer in the two films, as we know Benedict Cumberbatch did some acting for it.
Everything changed about the dwarves (so far)- Until the very end of the Hobbit, after Smaug has been taken down the dwarves are kind of goofy, falling over each other, getting captured by trolls, orcs, and elves. None of them are very distinctive at all except with a line or two here and there until later on when Thorin becomes infected with dragon-sickness. In the films, they're much more unique with drastically different physical appearances, personalities, speech patterns and motivations though sometimes subtle. In the film you can see Balin and Bofur taking a liking to Bilbo, and how Fili and Kili are young warriors trying to prove themselves to their Uncle Thorin, with a bit of youthful mischief still in them. You can see Ori as the baby of the group, a bit more naive than the rest of them and Balin is the eldest, wise grandpa dwarf, friendly but a bit cynical and cantankerous.
Then there is Thorin Oakenshield, the tragic king of the likes of Hamlet or Macbeth as compared to Aragorn's King Arthur. Thorin is kingly but filled with anger and mistrust, unable to discern friend from foe, easily holding grudges against those who have wronged him. His progression from dismissing Bilbo to embracing him was great for this story and I am even more excited to see his development in the next two movies.
Keep reading for Part 2 in which I discuss what I am glad they left out from the books and what I was surprised to find they put in.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


WiDi Vs Miracast: What's the Real Difference between These Standards?
Home » Blog » Guide » WiDi Vs Miracast: What's the Real Difference between These Standards?
Yes, it is true that you can connect any of your compatible devices to your TV or any other display through the HDMI port. But, the thing is that you will have to create a wireless connection to make that happen. So what will you do if you have to mirror your device screen onto a bigger TV or display wirelessly? What is the best screen mirroring technology out there? Well, there are a few top competing standards out there to support a wireless screen mirroring output. Today, I will talk about the top two from them, i.e., WiDi and Miracast.
Before comparing both these technologies to each other, we will take a brief look at them separately.
The WiDi from Intel is also known as Wireless Display. It is associated with the Intel's WiFi direct connection standard. It allows the users to play movies, videos, songs, pictures on their TVs or monitors from their mobile devices through a wireless connection. It supports 5.1 surround sound and Ultra HD video quality at 4K resolution.
In 2012, Apple introduced Miracast wireless display technology to help the users mirror the screen of their smartphones or any other mobile device onto a bigger HDMI TV, projector, or monitor. It doesn't matter which brand of device you are using; if it is Miracast-enabled, then you can take advantage of this wireless screen mirroring technology. Here, you can get the answer the question of WiDi Vs Miracast.
The WiDi technology compresses and transmits the data through the channels by using the software and hardware functionalities of the device over a WiDi direct connection. While the Miracast is a standard made for the wireless connectors and receivers like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs, monitors, projectors, etc. to mirror the screen of small devices on the bigger mediums.
The Miracast supports the latest Windows Operating Systems, Android 4.2+ OS, Mac OS, Linux Distributions, gaming consoles like Xbox One, etc. To use any of the medium, either Miracast or WiDi, you need a particular receiver device to use it.
After the Miracast introduction and the support the WiDi applications started to provide to the Miracast technology, the WiDi was discontinued for marketing and developing after 2015. So, when comparing these two wireless platforms for copying your smaller screen content on the bigger displays, the Miracast is the most suitable option to get.


After winning their conference tournaments in dramatic fashion, both Tabor basketball teams lost the same way in the first round of the NAIA Division 2 tournament.
Leading 75-70 against Indiana University Southeast in the final two minutes of the game, the Bluejays could not hold off a comeback by the Grenadiers, ultimately falling 77-75.
Trading the lead 12 times through the course of their game against Northwestern College of Iowa, the Lady Jays led 62-60 with three seconds remaining. Inbounding the ball, the Red Raiders scored a layup while being fouled in the process. A free throw completed the three-point play, and the Bluejays lost 63-62.
While several of the Bluejays that participated at the NAIA national indoor meet last week did not compete Thursday at the Southwestern College Invitational, Tabor head track and field coach Dave Kroeker said many athletes set personal records.
"It was a great way to start the outdoor season after a cold and snowy winter January and February," Kroeker said.
Kroeker said the highlight of the meet was senior Brielle Lund breaking her own school record in the 5k, finishing with a time of 18:51.89.
The track teams will run next on March 29 in Baldwin City at Baker University.
The Tabor baseball team improved to 20-5 after defeating the University of St. Mary four times last week.
The Bluejays visited Leavenworth Saturday, defeating the Spires 6-3 and 4-2 in a doubleheader. Monday in Hillsboro, Tabor won 18-0 and 7-5.
Next for the Bluejays are doubleheaders against Ottawa University Thursday and Saturday. Games start at 1 p.m. both days. Games are in Ottawa Thursday and Hillsboro Saturday.
After winning its first seven games this season, the Tabor softball team has only won one of its last 10 games.
Thursday, the Bluejays lost to Newman University 10-5 and 7-6. Monday at the Tucson Invitational, Tabor lost to Dickinson State University (N.D.) 2-1 and to Valley City State University (N.D.) 4-2.
The team will finish in Tucson today with games against Madison Area Technical College (Wis.) and Mayville State University (N.D.). Saturday, the Bluejays have a home doubleheader at 1 p.m. against No. 19 St. Gregory's University. Tabor will play KCAC opponent Kansas Wesleyan University at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Hillsboro.
The men's and women's tennis teams will play Oklahoma Baptist University at 3 p.m. March 26 in Hillsboro.


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TNGURU: Why should I change my password?
If you read my last column, I sincerely hope you've changed your password to a more secure one.
Many hackers just want access to as much account data (usernames, passwords, personal information) as possible. In this case, the individual doesn't really matter. The hackers will try to get this information using what's called a 'brute-force attack'. They bombard a website with one password after another, until they find the correct combination.
In this situation, the more difficult your password is to guess, the better your chances are of not being hacked and losing control of personal and potentially-sensitive information.
But using a password that's difficult to crack isn't the only way to protect yourself. Perhaps, the easiest way to do this is to enable two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication, or two-step verification, is offered by many sites nowadays, such as Gmail and Facebook to name just two.
To enable it, you just enter your mobile number to receive a one-time code, which you need to enter before you can login to your account.
You will normally get this code once a month, but you could also get it if you try to login from a different computer, or try to access a site from a different location, to where you normally access it from.
Many experts say that the best passwords are a minimum of 16 characters long, containing uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
You should also avoid things like your name, common words, predictable phrases — in short anything that's easy to guess.
There's no denying that following this advice will definitely make for a strong password.
But when you're advised to have a different password for each account, how will you possibly remember each one?
Enter the password manager. These bits of software can change your life. The password manager will simply store all your difficult-to-hack passwords for you.
You can install a browser extension, and it will also auto-fill the correct password for the account you're trying to log into. 1Password, LastPass and Dashlane are the best-known password managers out there.
What this means is that you can create a different, strong, unique password for each of your online accounts and never worry about forgetting them.
And you can download a desktop or mobile app for your password manager of choice, so that you always have access to your password at your fingertips.
I hope this helped and you found some of the advice useful.


text:
Ladale Osagie Richie (born 30 July 1989) is a Jamaican international footballer who plays for Mount Pleasant Football Academy, as a central defender.

Club career
Born in Clark's Town, Richie has played club football for Village United, Montego Bay United and Mount Pleasant Football Academy. He served as captain of Mount Pleasant.

International career
He was first called up to the Jamaican national team in September 2015, making his international debut in 2016. In August 2017 new national team coach Theodore Whitmore announced his intention to utilise more locally based players, including Richie. in August 2018 he became the new national team captain.

References

1989 births
Living people
Jamaican footballers
Jamaica international footballers
Village United F.C. players
Montego Bay United F.C. players
Mount Pleasant Football Academy players
National Premier League players
Association football defenders
2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This one seems pretty obvious, but the founders believed that having good leaders would ensure the continuation of the republic. Go figure.
The founders had a lot to say about what constitutes a good leader however. Their idea of a leader was more of a public servant-type figure, sacrificing much of their own life in order to properly serve the public.
In fact, political positions were not meant to provide high salaries whatsoever. Their salaries were originally intended to pay a modest amount that covered the necessities, so as not to create a reason for seeking a political position other than to serve the public. It was an attempt to keep the public officials objective and focused on why they were there, which was simply to serve the people.
Things are a little different today than how they were meant to be, judging from this historical chart of congressional salaries below.
Very interesting. The state gov't is just as bad…at least here in Michigan. I'd love to see these adjusted for inflation.
Nice article GBR. I tested your social tabs and they seem to be working. Your connected!
Appreciate it Hunter! And I think unfortunatly the problem is government in general Justin, no matter at what level.


Yes, it's that time of year again, folks! Time to cleanse out our vocabulary's lower intestinal tract with a purge of all the now-clichéd triteness we've been using with abandon all year long.
The mainstream media is letting American taxpayers down, once again. Because there's a change coming in everyone's first paycheck of the new year that most of the news stories about the fiscal cliff negotiations only occasionally mention, and usually just in passing. But the impact will be widely (almost "universally," in fact) felt, and it's going to mean a pay reduction for all workers of two percent. Taxes are going up by this two percent, meaning paychecks will be smaller. And -- here's the important part that gets lost in all the breathlessness over the fiscal cliff by blow-dried newsfolks -- this change is going to happen no matter what gets agreed upon to deal with the rest of the fiscal cliff.
This conspiracy has a name. And it is no coincidence that this lie is alphabetically correspondent with Satan, since as I said the evil of divisively selecting one segment of the public -- on physical characteristics alone -- and then repeatedly lying to them is a horrendous practice which should, quite obviously, be denounced by all upstanding folks who wish to allow American society to grow out of this juvenile behavior and mature as a society.
Welcome to the seventh annual homage (which sounds so much nicer than "blatant ripoff," don't you think?) to the television show The McLaughlin Group, since they have the most extensive year-end award category list of anyone around. Since "extensive" is my middle name (well, not really, although I do tend to wander off into the parenthetical wilderness at times, do I not?), such a long list fits right in here.
Instead of a column today, I'll be working hard reviewing 2012 for tomorrow's big year-end awards column (see previous "Program Note" if you'd like to offer up nominees).
I realize that watching the fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington has been likened to stylized Kabuki theater more than once by pundits far and wide, but I'm going to push this metaphor for all it is worth today. You might even say I'm going to push it right over a cliff, but that would be a horrendous metaphor mixture indeed.
It's going to be a light week here at the site, folks. But it'll be a week of quality if not quantity. For two reasons. We have an announcement to make for the first, and an invitation for nominations for the second.
How About Some Media Control?
We're all talking about the same thing today. We are, indeed, having a "national conversation." The subject is tragic, which is why it has everyone so focused. Another shooting rampage, another town consumed by grief, all played out on the nation's television screens. But precisely because everyone's talking about it, I find that I don't have much to add to the main discussion. All I have are a few fragments that are mostly peripheral in nature, and mostly to do with the news media.


text:
Department of Philosophy, PGGCG-11, Chandigarh
Syllabus BA-I: Elements of Philosophy & Logic
Elements of Philosophy
~ Academic Philosophy, Philosophy Notes
Category Archives: Main Branches of Philosophy
Main Branches of Philosophy
21 गुरूवार अगस्त 2014
Posted by Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal in Main Branches of Philosophy
≈ टिप्पणी करे
Metaphysics : Metaphysics investigates the nature, structure and value of reality.
Defining Metaphysics
Metaphysics: Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that goes beyond the realms of science. It is concerned with answering the questions about identity and the world. The name is derived from the Greek words, Meta which means beyond or after, and Physika which means physics. Aristotle, one of the most well known philosophers, acknowledged Thales as the first known meta physician. The main branches of metaphysics are ontology, natural theology and universal science.
Problems of Metaphysics
There is a basic question about the ultimate substance as to how many substances are required to constitute this world? Here are some theories regarding this:
Monism
Epistemology: Epistemology literally means "science of knowledge."
Defining Epistemology
Epistemology: It deals with the definition of knowledge and its scope and limitations. It translates from Greek to mean 'theory of knowledge'. It questions the meaning of knowledge, how we obtain knowledge, how much do we know and how do we have this knowledge? Some of the famous epistemologists are Descartes, Kant and Hume.
Problems of Epistemology
What is the nature of Knowledge?
What is the nature of the process of knowledge?
What are the sources of Knowledge? :Rationalism , Empiricism, Intuitionism.
What is the criteria of determining truth? : The Correspondence Theory of Truth, The Coherence Theory of Truth, The Pragmatic Theory of Truth.
Ethics : Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice, etc.
Defining Ethics
Ethics: It is concerned with questions on morality and values and how they apply to various situations. It can be divided into the branches of meta-ethics, normative and applied ethics. Ethics seeks to understand the basis of morals, how they develop and how they are and should be followed. Famous works on ethics are by philosophers as early as Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche.
Problems of Ethics
The central questions raised in this course in ethics are :
(1) What is the nature of the life of excellence?,
(2) What is the ultimate worth of the goals you seek?
(3) What specific courses of conduct, in keeping with these goals, will help lead to the life of excellence?
Social Philosophy:
Social Philosophy is one of the main and important branches of Philosophy. It is the thoughtful consideration of human society. It gives insight into the actual activities of human beings in the society.
Defining Social Philosophy
Social philosophy is the study of questions about social behavior and interpretations of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values.
For Bertrand Russell, 'Social Philosophy seeks the conditions in which all the constructive tendencies of man (such as love and sympathy) Social marriage and education can provide maximum possible opportunities to produce the people who can save the world from future catastrophe.
"Social philosophy studies the interactions and inter-relations that exist among men and their groups".
Problems of Social Philosophy
Social Philosophy has two main functions namely Critical and Constructive. Social Philosophy studies the most fundamental laws which influence social cohesion, social progress, social change and social disintegration.
It seeks insight into the causes of social crimes, juvenile delinquency, child labor, honor killing, gender differentiation, injustice, and inequality.
It tries to find out the root causes of social pathology and suggests the remedies for it.
It seeks to discover and restore the social bonds that hold the mankind together.
It defines the social values such as common good, happiness, peace, security, justice, freedom, excellence/beauty, punctuality and discipline.
Aesthetics:
Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which is concerned with definition, structure and role of beauty, especially in the art is called aesthetics.
Defining Aesthetics
The term "aesthetic" has been used to designate an experience, the quality of an object, a feeling of pleasure, classicism in art, a judgment of taste, the capacity of perception, a value, an attitude, the theory of art, the doctrine of beauty, a state of the spirit, contemplative receptivity, an emotion, an intention, a way of life, the faculty of sensibility, a branch of philosophy, a type of subjectivity, the merit of certain forms, or an act of expression.
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiments and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature."
Problems of Aesthetics:
The philosopher wishes to know the answer to questions such as:
What is beauty?
What is the relation of the beautiful to the true and the good?
Are there criteria by means of which we can judge a work of art in an objective sense?
What is the art itself?
Is it a reproduction of a vision into ultimate reality?
To what extent does the sense of appreciation of beauty contribute to the enrichment of human life?6. Logic: Logic is the system or principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study.Logic: Among the branches of philosophy, logic is concerned with the various forms of reasoning and arriving at genuine conclusions. It includes the system of statements and arguments. It is now divided into mathematical logic and philosophical logic. It tries to avoid the imaginary or assumptions without real logical proof. Among the important problems that logic can have:
Problems of Logic
Defining Logic
Consistency, which means that no theorem of the system contradicts another.
Validity, which means that the system's rules of proof will never allow a false inference from true premises. A logical system has the property of soundness when the logical system has the property of validity and only uses premises that prove true (or, in the case of axioms, are true by definition).
Completeness, which means that if a theorem is true, it can be proven.
Soundness, which means that the premises are true and the argument is valid.
Other Branches of Philosophy:
Philosophy of Education: Fairly self-explanatory. A minor branch, mainly concerned with what is the correct way to educate a person. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Locke's Thoughts Concerning Education, and Rousseau's Emile.
Philosophy of History: Fairly minor branch (not as minor as education), although highly important to Hegel and those who followed him, most notably Marx. It is the philosophical study of history, particularly concerned with the question whether history (i.e. the universe and/or humankind) is progressing towards a specific end? Hegel argued that it was, as did Marx. Classic works include Vico's New Science, and Hegel and Marx's works.
Philosophy of Law: Also called Jurisprudence. Study of law attempting to discern what the best laws might be, how laws came into being in the first place, attempting to delimit human laws from natural laws, whether we should always obey the law, and so on. Law isn't often directly dealt with by philosophers, but much of political philosophy obviously has a bearing on it.
Philosophy of Mathematics: Concerned with issues such as, the nature of the axioms and symbols (numbers, triangle, operands) of mathematics that we use to understand the world, do perfect mathematical forms exist in the real world, and so on. Principia Mathematica is almost certainly the most important work in this field.
Philosophy of Language: Ancient branch of philosophy which gained prominence in the last century under Wittgenstein. Basically concerned with how our languages affect our thought. Wittgenstein famously asserted that the limits of our languages mark the limits of our thought. Classic works include Plato's Cratylus, Locke's Essay, and Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.
Philosophy of Politics: Closely related to ethics, this is a study of government and nations, particularly how they came about, what makes good governments, what obligations citizens have towards their government, and so on. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Hobbes' Leviathan, Locke's Two Treatises, and J.S. Mill's On Liberty.
Philosophy of Mind: Study of the mind, attempting to ascertain exactly what the mind is, how it interacts with our body, do other minds exist, how does it work, and so on. Probably the most popular branch of philosophy right now, it has expanded to include issues of AI. Classic works include Plato's Republic and Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, although every major philosopher has had some opinion at least on what the mind is and how it works.
Philosophy of Religion: Theology is concerned with the study of God, recommending the best religious practices, how our religion should shape our life, and so on. Philosophy of religion is concerned with much the same issues, but where Theology uses religious works, like the Bible, as it's authority, philosophy likes to use reason as the ultimate authority.
Philosophy of Science: Study of science concerned with whether scientific knowledge can be said to be certain, how we obtain it, can science really explain everything, does causation really exist, can every event in the universe be described in terms of physics and so on. Also popular in recent times, classic works include Hume's Treatise on Human Nature, Kripke's Naming and Necessity, Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Picture citation:
http://www.philosophy.vvrias.com/About-Philosophy
अवर्गीकृत
Caste System in Inida
Cultural Pluralism
Ethics and Social Philosophy
Fareness
Good life and Good Society
Individual and Society
Jyoti Ba Phule
Meaning and Definition of Philosophy
Morality in Personal life.
Morality in Public life
Problems of Philosophy
Reflective Method of Philosophy
Relation of Philosophy with Religion
Relation of Philosophy with Science
Self Knowledge and Rationality
Social Diversities
Utility of Philosophy
मेटा
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वर्डप्रेस (WordPress.com) पर एक स्वतंत्र वेबसाइट या ब्लॉग बनाएँ .


text:
Q: Anyone know why ReCaptcha may be styling wrong Here is my page and the ReCaptcha error is obvious
http://www.bookiebashers.org/register.php
Any suggestions to why it may be stretched.  I am completly puzzled to why this may be happening.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

A: In styles.css, you have the following lines:
#content img {
    padding: 8px;
    border: 1px #888 solid;
    margin: 8px;
    height: 200px;
    width: 150px;
}

These rules are also applied to the images within the captcha.

A: #content img has rules that set the width and height to unnatural values. You should be fixing that.

A: I answered your same question over on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10574177/recapcha-styling-messing-up/10574304#10574304
Here it is again.
This will sort your problem out, add the following to your css
#content .recaptchatable img {
    width: auto;
    height: auto;
    }

For some reason you have the following in your css
#content img {
    padding: : 8px;
    border: 1px #888 solid;
    margin: 8px;
    height: 200px;
    width: 150px;
    }

This sets the height and width for every image within the #content container. The css I provided will override this.

A: I had problems with the line-height property. This fixed it:
.recaptchatable, #recaptcha_area tr, #recaptcha_area td, #recaptcha_area th {
    line-height: 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
FBI arrests Minneapolis man for Twitter threats related to ISIS suspect
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - The FBI has arrested 19-year-old Khaalid Adam Abdulkadir of Minneapolis for Twitter threats directed toward law enforcement. The threats were made specifically to FBI special agents following the Dec. 9 arrest of his friend, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame.
Abdulkadir was arrested by the FBI without incident at his home in Minneapolis at 10 a.m. Friday and made his initial court appearance at 2 p.m. A detention hearing was scheduled for Dec. 16. He will be held by U.S. Marshals until that court date.
Warsame, 20, of Eagan, Minn., was arrested Wednesday night and charged with planning to join ISIS. Investigators say Warsame and 9 others planned to travel to Syria last year and fight with the terrorists. The criminal complaint alleges that, at one point, Warsame was the leader of this group.
Not long after Warsame's arrest, the FBI says Abdukadir began tweeting threats, with one of the posts allegedly reading "kill them FBI."
The complaint also accuses Abdukadir of exchanging at least 30 direct messages with known terror suspect Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, more commonly known as Miski, about getting from Minneapolis to Turkey. Miski left Minnesota on Aug. 2, 2008 to fight with al-Shabaab in Somalia and remains a fugitive from justice.
There have been 10 young Somali-American men from Minnesota charged with attempting to join ISIS.
READ THIS NEXT - 10th Minnesota man charged with planning to join ISIS


This useful guide defines gestures, bluetooth keyboard commands, and refreshable braille display commands for using VoiceOver on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone. The guide was compiled by a TVI and certified O&M specialist as well as a manager of assistive technology and accessibility.
Many sections include tables for specific actions and the corresponding gestures or commands.


text:
Q: Defining Frequency Bands with Minim I'm using a Minim BeatDetect object to analyze the incoming microphone signal. BeatDetect uses FFT.
In the BeatDetect class, there are four functions of interest: isHat(), isKick(), isSnare() and isRange(int, int, int). The first three are customized versions of isRange(). What I'm trying to do is recognize more than just hat, kick and snare drums.
In order to do this, I need to understand the math in the methods isHat(), isKick() and isSnare(). I'm hoping someone here can help me. Here is the code for the 4 functions.
/**
 * In frequency energy mode this returns true if a beat corresponding to the
 * frequency range of a kick drum has been detected. This has been tuned to
 * work well with dance / techno music and may not perform well with other
 * styles of music. In sound energy mode this always returns false.
 *
 * @return boolean: true if a kick drum beat has been detected
 *
 * @example Analysis/FrequencyEnergyBeatDetection
 *
 * @related BeatDetect
 */
public boolean isKick()
{
    if (algorithm == SOUND_ENERGY)
    {
        return false;
    }
    int upper = 6 >= spect.avgSize() ? spect.avgSize() : 6;
    return isRange(1, upper, 2);
}

/**
 * In frequency energy mode this returns true if a beat corresponding to the
 * frequency range of a snare drum has been detected. This has been tuned to
 * work well with dance / techno music and may not perform well with other
 * styles of music. In sound energy mode this always returns false.
 *
 * @return boolean: true if a snare drum beat has been detected
 *
 * @example Analysis/FrequencyEnergyBeatDetection
 *
 * @related BeatDetect
 */
public boolean isSnare()
{
    if (algorithm == SOUND_ENERGY)
    {
        return false;
    }
    int lower = 8 >= spect.avgSize() ? spect.avgSize() : 8;
    int upper = spect.avgSize() - 1;
    int thresh = (upper - lower) / 3 + 1;
    return isRange(lower, upper, thresh);
}

/**
 * In frequency energy mode this returns true if a beat corresponding to the
 * frequency range of a hi hat has been detected. This has been tuned to work
 * well with dance / techno music and may not perform well with other styles
 * of music. In sound energy mode this always returns false.
 *
 * @return boolean: true if a hi hat beat has been detected
 *
 * @example Analysis/FrequencyEnergyBeatDetection
 *
 * @related BeatDetect
 */
public boolean isHat()
{
    if (algorithm == SOUND_ENERGY)
    {
        return false;
    }
    int lower = spect.avgSize() - 7 < 0 ? 0 : spect.avgSize() - 7;
    int upper = spect.avgSize() - 1;
    return isRange(lower, upper, 1);
}

/**
 * In frequency energy mode this returns true if at least
 * threshold bands of the bands included in the range
 * [low, high] have registered a beat. In sound energy mode
 * this always returns false.
 *
 * @param low
 *           int: the index of the lower band
 * @param high
 *           int: the index of the higher band
 * @param threshold
 *           int: the smallest number of bands in the range
 *           [low, high] that need to have registered a beat
 *           for this to return true
 * @return boolean: true if at least threshold bands of the bands
 *         included in the range [low, high] have registered a
 *         beat
 *
 * @related BeatDetect
 */
public boolean isRange(int low, int high, int threshold)
{
    if (algorithm == SOUND_ENERGY)
    {
        return false;
    }
    int num = 0;
    for (int i = low; i < high + 1; i++)
    {
        if (isOnset(i))
        {
            num++;
        }
    }
    return num >= threshold;
}

I want to be able to recognize beats accurately across a range of instruments by manipulating the methods above. Can anybody help teach me what I need to recognize this?
Currently, I understand that the functions return true if a beat is detected within a specified range of frequency bands. What I don't understand is why the values for the parameters [low, high, threshold] in the functions correlate to specific instruments. Thanks for any input.


Former UFC champion fighter Frank Shamrock is cannabis' newest advocate.
Frank Shamrock talks with KCMO Talk Radio hosts.
Frank Shamrock talks with America Tonight host Kate Delaney.
Frank Shamrock joins Chael & Joel to discuss his new entertainment/media company that focuses on cannabis.
The BakeOut Show - Join celebrity hosts and their friends talking about the medicinal value of cannabis.


text:
Email: laura@lauravaughn.com
Laura Vaughn
601 Sycamore Valley Rd. West Danville, CA 94526
Horse Properties Through Northern California
Acreage Properties Through Northern California
Pleasant Hill Open Homes
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Local New Listings
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San Ramon New Listings
Pleasant Hill New Listings
San Ramon Market Activity
Pleasanton Market Activity
Pleasant Hill Market Activity
Livermore Market Activity
Lafayette Market Activity
Clayton Market Activity
Danville Market Activity
Concord Market Activity
Clayton Information
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Lafayette Information
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Pleasant Hill Information
Pleasanton Information
San Ramon Information
Laura Vaughn brings a wealth of expertise and professionalism to Real Estate. Laura and her family have been local Contra Costa County residents for over 40 years. Laura was raised in and around the practice of real estate her entire life. With years of experience in the real estate industry, Laura has become a dedicated and experienced professional whose special passion for her work, combined with her extensive knowledge and high level of personal integrity has earned her a reputation as one of the most respected and successful real estate agents in her region.
CaDRE # 01080907
Laura started her career in Real Estate in 1990. Laura focused on understanding and alleviating the pressure of purchasing and selling residential properties. In 1994, Laura expanded her real estate expertise by accepting a position with another Top Producing sales professional specializing in new construction of custom homes. In 1997, Laura became a Top Producing Buyers agent and teamed with a Senior Top Producing agent for several years.
Mike Mabery
In 1999, Laura brought her business to a new level of service and satisfaction by teaming with her husband Mike Mabery and together they joined Alain Pinel Realtors in Danville. In 2019 Laura and Mike joined Compass Real Estate.
Laura was awarded the honors of: Top Selling Agent, Top Listing Agent and many times ended the year with Top Producer. Laura gained gratification in working as a team member and in closing transactions from $100,000 to over $6,500,000. Laura goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to her clients. Her clientel has described her as "knowledgeable, resourceful, tenacious, trustworthy, supportive and extremely professional."
Laura's dedication to excellence is the collaboration of her professional knowledge and her past experience. "I will go the extra mile to give even higher standards of care that it takes to assure my clients satisfaction." Laura and her team joins a group of distinguished real estate professionals who are all part of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced marketing firm, specializing in distinctive properties and estates. Laura Vaughn and Compass are dedicated to excellence.
Excellent service is too scarce a commodity. I am very pleased to have received the highest quality Service from your representative, Laura Vaughn. Laura showed me three properties. Through her caring attitude and willingness to work hard, she was able to keep my business away from one of the highest producing agents of your competitor, Coldwell Banker.
My particular transaction was not a million-dollar home purchase, and I may not be the easiest person to please. But Laura understood that this is probably the biggest investment that I would make for a long time, and therefore just as important to me to get it right. The negotiations were tough at times, requiring some six amendments. However, Laura accomplished all of our goals in a timely fashion.
I am fully aware of Alain Pinel's high profile. Undoubtedly- your advertising really works. But I hope you will agree with me in that at the end of the day, advertisement is just a promise; the reputation and ultimately the success of a service provider rests squarely on the shoulders of the one representation making the service delivery. A person like Laura Vaughn.
I would like to request that you personally commend her, and share her commitment to service with others in your company.
Glen and Rita Lezama
I wanted to take this opportunity to Thank Laura for all the helpfulness during the process of purchasing our 1st home. She helped us through every step from finding the home, negotiating the terms, working with our lender and a smooth successful close of escrow. We are so pleased and thankful for all the knowledge Laura was able to share with us. We look forward to using Laura in the future to help us purchase investment property.
Nancy & John Jorden
Lockford, Ca
My real estate transaction went so smooth with Laura helping me work with my renters in a cooperative way in showing and marketing my house. She expedited the paperwork by using online forms and digitial signatures through my email. I am and have recommended Laura to my friends and neighbors.
Loretta Heden
I am so impressed with Laura's work style, patience and knowledge. The service was beyond my expectation. I would not even think of calling anyone but her. Laura was referred to me by another highly satisfied client, "I would recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell property".
Alain Pinel Realtors is very lucky to have Laura as part of their team. I am very Thankful to her for all the patience and diligence she showed during my very emotional transaction. Most Realtor's I believe would have not been as committed. Laura is the best Realtor I have ever worked with. Even after the transaction was done, she continued to help us!
Surinder & Jasmel Cheema
Property – Livingston, Ca
Laura is always on top of everything and her communication is excellent. I love that she gave us a copy of our paperwork at the end of our transaction. Laura was referred to us from a family friend and we will definaltly be referring Laura to our other friends. She is an Excellent Realtor!!
Jeff & Kathleen Vorndam
laura@lauravaughn.com
CalDRE # 01080907
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601 Sycamore Valley Rd. West
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This Bundle: 2'x2' Tent, 6" AirCooled Hood,1000w HPS/MH Ballast, 1000w HPS Bulb, 6" Inline Fan, 6"x16" Filter, 4 Fabric Pots 3gal, 50L of coco coir, Hygrothermometer, 24/Hr timer, Coco A&B Nutrients, 6" Clip Fan, PPM & pH Pen.
Upgrade To ($500+): LED 300W vs. Hood, Bulb, Ballast; Ozone/Ionizer Generator vs. Carbon Filter; Week Digital Timer; Full Complete Hydroponics Line.
*Pictures are for display purposes only and do not constitute actual products in the bundle.


Some cancers and cancer treatments have the potential to cause nerve damage (neuropathy). The most common type of cancer-related nerve damage causes numbness (lack of feeling) and tingling in the toes and fingers.1 Other problems include increased (or decreased) sensitivity to temperature, and more uncomfortable sensations such as burning or electric shock–type pain.2 Also, nerve damage can result in weakness of the limbs, balance problems and difficulty with fine muscle movements.2 The degree of damage may be related to the type and dose of treatment received. Nerve damage may recover completely or incompletely over time.
The changes in sensation and strength associated with nerve damage can cause lack of dexterity executing tasks that require fine motor skills, such as handling small materials and typing. Decreased sensation in your hands puts you at a greater risk of injury. Lack of grip strength may make handling tools or climbing ladders more difficult. Changes in sensation may also affect your balance when standing still, and make it difficult to walk on uneven ground or stand for prolonged periods of time. Nerve damage may increase or decrease sensitivity making it harder to work in extreme temperatures (such as handling hot items while cooking food, or working in refrigerated environments or outdoors). Nerve sensitivity may also affect your pain levels.
Speak to your healthcare team if you notice changes in sensation or other symptoms that may be due to nerve damage. Medications may be helpful in treating pain. Assistive devices, occupational therapy and physiotherapy may help with managing muscle weakness, gait (walking) disturbance and fine motor clumsiness.
Keep your hands warm and comfortable, even when indoors (consider wearing thin, fingerless gloves). Use extra caution to keep your hands warm when working outside.
Decreased sensation in your feet can disturb your balance. Wear well fitting, supportive footwear with a closed heel and rubber sole to maximize your stability. A mobility aid may also be helpful in improving your stability.
Decreased sensation in your hands puts you at a greater risk of injury. Request alternative duties to work tasks that involve the use of sharp objects or tools, or extreme temperatures (boiling water, freezers).
Use safe electric tools in place of manual tools when possible (for example, an electric drill instead of a manual screwdriver, or food processor instead of a knife).
Experiment with "building up" handles of tools with foam pipe insulation to increase the handle's diameter, requiring less grip strength to hold on to.
For jobs that involve computer use where typing is difficult, consider using speech recognition software. Alternatives to mice and/or switches accessed by other body parts are options for very sensitive fingertips.
Consider using a mobility aid (cane, hiking stick, walker) if you are having difficulties with balance.
Diab-A-Sheet or other insoles may help manage discomfort in your feet while standing/walking.
Maintain adequate temperature: consider using space heaters, fans, portable air conditioners or humidifiers/de-humidifiers for comfort.


I am beyond thrilled to announce my new website that will be launching later this summer, Alamo City Moms Blog! This website is part of the City Moms Blog Network and it will be a website dedicated to all things mom and all things San Antonio.
How in the world did this come about, you ask? Well, long story short, a little lady by the name of Lindsay Rouse is from New Orleans. Lindsay, her husband and their son, Jack, now live here in San Antonio. Her friends are the founders of New Orleans Moms Blog and she loved the site so much that she wanted to bring it here to SA. She started the work and in her search for contributors, reached out to me. We got to talkin' (or I should say emailin') and low and behold, she was looking for a co-founder. Well double low and behold, I've been searching for a way to dip my foot back into the working world but wanted what many moms want but can never find - something that still let's me be a full time mom but that I can do in my own time, that's manageable with kids and brings in a little extra dinero. I've always thought "fat chance finding that" but hellllooooo Alamo City Moms Blog!
So we are currently in the throws of getting this bad boy up and running but how can you support me? Start by liking our Facebook page to stay updated on all the latest news for Alamo City Moms Blog. We're also on Twitter and Instagram. Just search Alamo City Moms Blog. And don't worry, I'll post all the deets here when we launch so you won't miss a thing.
Can't wait to see what this new adventure has in store for us! And don't worry, Peek In Our World will continue as the latest and greatest in our little Meabon world.


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Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter Examples
Check out these australian broadcasting corporation cover letter templates and examples previously used by job seekers to land on job interviews at google. Use our AI cover letter generator to create a personalized cover letter for australian broadcasting corporation.
Dear Jo, I am interested in applying for the supervising producer role at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I have a background in television production and have worked on a variety of programs and projects. I have a strong understanding of the production process and am able to manage a team of producers and production staff. I am a creative and innovative thinker, with a passion for television and storytelling. I am confident in my ability to develop and produce high quality content that meets the needs of the audience. I am interested in working at the ABC because of its reputation as a leading broadcaster. I believe that I can contribute to the success of the organization and would be a valuable asset to the team. I am available to start work immediately and would be interested in working in Sydney. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, John Smith
Supervising producer Cover Letter At Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- By John Smith
See All Positions At Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter Examples
1. What is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
An Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter is a document that accompanies your resume when you apply for a job at Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is a way to introduce yourself and highlight your skills, qualifications, and experience to potential employers.
2. How do I write an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
When writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter, it's important to tailor it to the job description and company. Start by introducing yourself and briefly explaining why you're the perfect fit for the role. Be sure to include your contact information and end with a call to action.
3. What should I include in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
Your Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter should include your name, contact information, and a brief introduction about yourself. It should also include a summary of your qualifications, experience, and skills that make you the perfect fit for the role. Lastly, end the letter with a professional closing statement.
4. What should I avoid in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
When writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter, be sure to avoid using generic language or cliches. It's also important to avoid including irrelevant information or going into too much detail about yourself. Additionally, avoid any typos or grammar mistakes.
5. Are there any tips for writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
When writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter, it's important to tailor it to the job description and company. Be sure to include specific qualifications, skills, and experiences that make you the right fit for the role. Additionally, use a professional tone and avoid any typos or grammar mistakes.
6. What can I do to make my Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter stand out?
When writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter, it's important to make it stand out from other applicants. Be sure to tailor it to the job description and company and highlight your qualifications, experience, and skills that make you the perfect fit for the role. Additionally, use a professional tone and avoid any typos or grammar mistakes.
7. What should be the format of an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
When writing an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter, it's important to use a professional format. Start by introducing yourself and briefly explaining why you're the perfect fit for the role. Be sure to include your contact information and end with a call to action. Additionally, avoid any typos or grammar mistakes.
8. How long should an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter be?
An Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter should be no longer than one page. It should include your name, contact information, a brief introduction, a summary of your qualifications, and a professional closing statement.
9. Can I include examples in my Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter?
Yes, you can include examples in your Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letter. Be sure to include relevant examples of your skills, qualifications, and experience that make you the perfect fit for the role. Additionally, use a professional tone and avoid any typos or grammar mistakes.
10. Where can I find more information on Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letters?
You can find more information on Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cover Letters online. It's important to tailor your letter to the job description and company. Additionally, use a professional tone, avoid any typos or grammar mistakes, and include relevant examples of your skills and experience.


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Teenagers and Discipline: Stepping Up to the Challenge
Guest Info & Links: Corinn Cross, MD
Summary: Disciplining a teenager can be infuriating at times. However, you and your teen can both benefit from fair, consistent boundaries.
Air Date: 11/6/13
Guest Bio: Corinn Cross, MD
Dr. Corinn Cross was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended Barnard College where she graduated cum laude and majored in philosophy. She went on to attend the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, NJ, where she was selected for the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Dr. Cross did her internship and residency in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Cross has continued to work at CHLA as a general pediatrics attending.
Dr. Cross is actively involved in her local AAP, Chapter 2, where she is an obesity champion. She is co-founder of the Fit to Play and Learn Obesity Prevention curriculum. Through a collaboration between AAP Chapter 2 and the L.A. Unified School District this curriculum is being used to educate at-risk students and their parents on the risks of obesity and to help them to lead healthier lives. Dr. Cross is an AAP Spokesperson and speaks to children throughout the L.A. school district about obesity, healthy lifestyles and the benefits of walking to school.
Dr. Cross is a member of the Executive Board for the AAP's Council on Communications and Media. She is the Editor of the Council on Communications and Media's blog.
Organization: American Academy of Pediatrics
Guest Website: Healthy Children
The role of disciplinarian doesn't come naturally to everyone.
If you're typically a permissive parent, maintaining boundaries and following through on consequences takes on added importance when you attempt to become more authoritative.
In the heat of the moment, you may say something you'll regret later. Or you may set too harsh a restriction, and feel like you can't retract it.
Getting teenagers to express themselves—at least to you—can sometimes seem like an exercise in futility.
Learn how to navigate tumultuous teens with practical advice from special guest, Dr. Corinn Cross, MD.
Dr. Cross shares tips to help you meet the challenge of raising a happy, healthy teenager.
Naughty vs. Nice: Teaching Your Toddler to BehaveBreast Milk from the Internet? It Might Be Unsafe


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U.S. NCVA Distinguished Service Awards
The Executive Director of the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association is afforded the opportunity to recognize members who have consistently and over a significant period provided outstanding service to the Association and its goals.
CTOC (Retired) Doyle Lee Mobley, USN
CTRC (Retired) William T. Craig, Sr., USN
CWO3 (Retired) David E. Fiehtner, USN
CTMCM (Retired) Jay R. Browne, USN
CTTCS (Retired) Joseph A. Glockner, USN
CWO3 (Retired) Robert A. Rude, USN
Executive Director's Comments:
"Each of them, in their own way, has made singularly significant contributions to the NCVA you all know today, and continue to influence our current operations and activities. Next time you see one or talk with them, be sure to congratulate them on this recognition."
CTTCM (Retired) Robert Anderson
CTOCM (Retired) Stephen Roberts
CTRCM (Retired) John (Gus) Gustafson
"…it was my privilege and honor to present three of our longest working volunteers a special award in recognition of their service to the NCVA — each of them covering the better part of three contiguous decades! Bob Anderson, Gus Gustafson, and Steve Roberts have each provided leadership and invaluable service in many volunteer capacities, and continue to do so today. All three have been instrumental in the establishment, design, and operation of the Joseph N. Wenger Cryptologic Command Display, more familiarly known as the "Command Display" at Corry Station in Pensacola. When you add up the years (decades) these men have served the NCVA, we're talking about nearly NINETY years between them!
"I'm sure you will agree with me that their unselfish service to NCVA over many years more than justifies this small token of our appreciation and respect for everything they've done."


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Q: Java Shape Utilities How to set such kind of points - small circles? I know we should set render and ShapeUtilies:
render.setSeriesShape(NumberOfSerie, ShapeUtilities.[something here]);

what should i write to get this circles? Documentation is here.

A: The ShapeUtilities class has some methods to create shapes that aren't provided by default in Java2D.  For circles though, you can just use:
Ellipse2D circle = new Ellipse2D.Double(-3.0, -3.0, 6.0, 6.0);

The circle here is centered on (0, 0) - JFreeChart relies on that because it will translate the position of the shape to (x, y) when drawing the chart.


for letting me know that I'd mistakenly listed the Pierce Arrow roadster as a 1920 not a 1930 - a simple clerical error on my part. Thanks, Chris.
But to all my followers, if you spot anything that doesn't look right, don't hesitate to let me know. I appreciate it very much.


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The Space Advocate • May 11, 2022
The Space Advocate Newsletter, May 2022
From the Chief Advocate
As Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine grinds on, we now have a better sense of how global space activities are (and are not) changing in its wake. To examine these consequences, I spoke with international space policy expert Mariel Borowitz in the latest episode of the Space Policy Edition podcast.
Perhaps the most novel contribution is from the commercial space sector. Private companies are providing daily high-resolution imagery of the invasion and critical communications services to the Ukrainian public and resistance forces. Many of these images are released publicly and are used to track Russia's troop movements and even provide evidence of war crimes. These activities blur the lines between private and state activities. Experts worry that this behavior could escalate Russian attacks on commercial space assets.
While reports of the death of the International Space Station (ISS) partnership remain greatly exaggerated, the ongoing threats and bluster from Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, present an ongoing challenge and will negatively impact future efforts at cooperation in space.
I fear that the lesson learned from the ISS program's noble experiment in international cooperation may be a negative one. The rigidity inherent in the ISS partnership — while very much a purposeful design — represents a post-Cold War policy in a post-post Cold War world. From the perspective of the U.S. and its allies, ongoing cooperation at the ISS creates an uncomfortable tension with efforts to isolate Russia into a pariah state. From the Russian perspective, the world's first space power cannot pursue an independent space program.
China, India, and other emerging space powers may look upon the ISS and see not a shining example of cooperation, but a policy trap; an impediment to national self-determination in space. China, partly due to a policy of isolation by the U.S., has built an increasingly capable space program. As they launch taikonauts to their own space station on their own terms, do they look at the ISS with envy or with relief?
And as humanity turns its ambitions toward the Moon, what lessons will the world take from the ISS? Will we see an effort to work together across national and ideological boundaries? Or retreat into a handful of competitive ideological blocs? Working toward the same goal, but carrying with them burdens from Earth.
Casey Dreier
Chief Advocate
Space Policy Highlights
Legally, Russia can't just take its Space Station and go home (arstechnica.com) "It appears that the partnership among Russia, the United States, and 13 other nations will continue to hold. The real question about the near-term future of the International Space Station, therefore, is whether Russia wants to continue flying it. The answer is probably, yes."
See also: The Western space community should set Dmitry Rogozin to "ignore"
NASA Administrator Nelson blasts cost-plus contracts, says Russia not leaving ISS (spacepolicyonline.com) "At a Senate hearing, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the agency's shift to public-private partnerships and fixed-price contracts, calling cost-plus contracts a "plague" that increases program costs. He also reassured the committee that nothing has changed in the U.S.-Russian space station relationship despite "misleading headlines" in recent days that Russia will soon withdraw from the program."
The geopolitical and national security implications of commercial space and Ukraine (spacenews.com) "The war in Ukraine is perhaps the first where a mature commercial space industry existed and had an appreciable effect on the understanding of the war...While not parties to the war itself, their involvement vividly illustrates the potential spillover. It is becoming increasingly difficult to hide behind the "commercial" label when their work has geopolitical and national security implications."
Senate rejects effort to strip NASA lunar lander provision from authorization bill (spacenews.com) "Senators overwhelmingly voted against a motion that would have dealt a setback in NASA's efforts to select a second company to develop an Artemis lunar lander. Sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), it would have instructed senators participating on a conference committee to remove a section authorizing funding for the Human Landing System (HLS) program and directing NASA to support at least two companies."
Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition
Mariel Borowtiz on how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed space
It's not just the ISS partnership — commercial satellites, international cooperation, and managing space debris may all be impacted by the war in Ukraine. Professor Mariel Borowitz, an expert in international space policy and space sustainability, joins the show to discuss the immediate consequences, potential policy changes, and lessons the global community is learning from the conflict.
Subscribe on Amazon Podcasts
Read more: The Space Advocate, Space policy, Human spaceflight, International Space Station, Russian human spaceflight
You are here: Home > The Space Advocate
More Space Advocate
The Space Advocate Newsletter, January 2023
Congressional turmoil is a troubling sign for NASA's next budget.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, December 2022
Looking back on our advocacy goals in 2022.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, November 2022
Divided control of Congress could slow the pace of space.


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Q: How to refresh div when data coming to go template changes i am getting deployments list from kubernetes and displaying it in a div using go template.how to refresh that div when data coming to that div changes i.e., if i add a new deployment it should automatically be updated in the div without reloading.

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Changing Role of HR in IT Industries: Pandemic and Post Pandemic Era
Kishore Purswani
Self-Reliance (Atma Nirbhar) in Defense Electronics – Where lies the crux
Resilient Thinking – A Nature-Inspired Mental Model for, 'Leading at the Edge of Chaos'
Published by Kishore Purswani on September 28, 2020
The COVID 19 pandemic has taken the World by a big surprise. It's more than nine months now and there are no signs of the pandemic ebbing off. While research organizations are doing their best to come out with a vaccine to combat the virus, there seems to be little headway made so far. The world economy has been hit hard and governments are struggling to ensure, that they come out with stimulus packages. After a series of lockdowns, the process of unlocking had begun to bring in normalcy in operations and recommence the industrial and office activity. However, every employee had to realign with the new normal and acquire a new set of skills for this new work environment. The role of HR had become very vital to ensure the optimization of Human Resources. The HR policies were revisited formally/informally to take care of the employees during these times and now will have to be revisited again, for the post-pandemic era.
In order to understand the role and efficacy of HR, the employees /human resource capital can be divided into three broad categories –
The first category of employees is those who had to be physically present at their workplace to discharge their duties The industries where they are employed include hospitals, hotels, essential service providers, power plants, and Process Industries.
The Second category of employees is those, who could Work from Home function effectively. This includes employees of schools, colleges, corporate and administrative offices, IT service providers, etc.
The third category of course is the one where there was no choice for employees, but to sit at home. This includes employees working in industries manufacturing non-essential goods and offices providing non-essential services.
The HR intervention in the three categories had to be entirely different. HR had to build confidence in the employees in the first category, where the employees faced the risk of life. They had to be convinced that they will be taken care of at the workplace, with respect to sanitization and other such measures. The biggest challenge was to initiate and ensure contactless operations and safe distancing.
In the second category, HR had to encourage employees to acquire a new set of skills for working from home and at the same time ensure, that productivity and timelines do not take a back seat.
The most challenging task in the third category was to convince the employees that they are valuable assets too and their services will be utilized as soon as the situation permits.
Initially, neither the Management nor the employees were prepared for the new norms and everyone had to devise his/her own way and means. The majority of the staff in the second category had to Work from Home (WFH). The employees in this category had some normalcy with respect to working but this called for a different discipline, right from time management to the delivery of their KRA's on the part of employees. While HR struggled hard to devise a set of digital tools to monitor performance, the employees also struggled hard to rise up to the expectations. A quick dipstick survey in this category has resulted in startling revelations. While a progressive set of HR management devised ways of Flexi working and took proactive steps to make resources available, which included laptops, work stations, reimbursement of net packages, timely disbursal of salaries, rewards, and incentives. They also figured out increments for the performing employees. On the other hand, conservative HR managers made staff work from home and paid only a fraction of the normal salaries. Unfortunately, in our country except for a few, others don't have a choice and are compelled to accept whatever managements have to offer, but as a result, the work culture suffers resulting in lower productivity.
Time is not far when the current situation will be as normal as it was pre-COVID, but then new challenges will crop in-both for the employees and for management of all Categories. The management of the IT industries would prefer that employees continue to work from home and thus contribute to cost-cutting measures, while employees would prefer to get back to the office as soon as possible. HR managers will have to work out strategies for a win-win situation and employees will have to adapt to the new normal. Pandemic has taught the HR managers a lot and the Post Pandemic era is going to further teach them a new set of norms to operate with.
Building Communication, Trust, and transparency will ensure productivity and employee engagement will become a large part of what HR does in organizations. The learnings will go a long way to work out new HR strategies for remuneration, appraisals, motivation, and recognition, for working on a more human-based approach.
FIE, B.Sc (Mech. Engg.), M.Tech (Material Engg.) Former Executive Director (People Strategy & Corporate Operations) BHEL Former Member, National Board for Quality Promotion (NBQP) Former Member Power Sector Skill Council Former ED – Corp Operations, Corp Quality & Business Excellence, Corporate Learning and Development, People Strategy
Redefining Indian Healthcare Seeking a Cure from Dysfunctional Zero-Sum Competition
The Dimensions of Higher-Order Skills for Organizational Resilience Combating Complexity and Disruptive Change in the age of MetaSystems
Our Associate Dr. S.Guruprasad discuss Self-Reliant India
Our Insights Categories
Generation Next Leaders of Change Series
Leadership, People & Strategy
Operations, Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chains
Climate Change and The Paradox of Development
The Emerging Trends in Resilient Digital Supply Chains
Values In Everyday Life
Leveraging Tiny Troubles and Miniature Field Failures for Enhanced Customer Experiences


From Borodin's commanding Polovtsian Dances, Mussorgsky's frightful Night on the Bare Mountain to Tchaikovsky's intense Francesca da Rimini, this concert will stir the senses.
The programme also includes Prokofiev's enchanting Second Violin Concerto, which opens with a beautiful and melancholic solo violin line before springing into life.
FREE: Pre-concert talk at 6:30pm with Peter Avis at the Hexagon.


The textile spinning industry is straddled between extreme scenarios undergoing turmoil followed by resilience and raise. Spiraling cotton prices, falling margins, non-level playing fields in the market, power crisis (in some parts), lack of technology upgradation and poor government policies are some of the major contributors that affect growth. While some of the reasons are external which are beyond a single entity's purview, some of them are internal to an organization and attributed to how one responds to the varying situations. Our success is determined by our dynamism to change ourselves and keep us ahead of the competition.
The industry is traditional but today it's all about modernization. Automation plays a very crucial role here. Rather than investing in technology and sophistication of machineries, automation here emphasizes on the systems and processes we adopt. We need to consistently focus to ensure that our capacity is utilized to its fullest potential, our workforce deliver their maximum performance, inventory levels are always optimized, a quick market response, etc.
From raw material sourcing to yarn production; from packing to dispatch, IT plays a crucial role. In the spinning industry, everything should be prepared and well planned that even a 1% wastage control would mean a lot.
For that matter, spinning industry is currently left with some legacy IT system, some discrete applications or no system at all. The Systems lack integration and there are gaps and replications. To most of the spinners who are badly wanting to embrace the latest technology, developers are non supportive as they desist to upgrade their development platform. But when it comes to technology solutions many cannot afford as they come from big vendors with exorbitant price tags.
Systech ERP SAS comes here as a boon trying to balance the cost and value aspects. In a product software approach we are always quick to keep you abreast with technological advancements. Our ERP will always provide you with the real time information about your production line like the current running yarn code with its start date, machines frequently breaking down, unpacked cones on the floor, efficiency and utilization of each machine or department, yarn/raw material stock with ageing, etc.
All our functional modules are tightly integrated to each other devoid of any gap or manual replication. For example the hank values entered account for production but the same data is used for maintenance as well. A single entry of labor allocation is used to arrive at the payroll as well as production cost. With features like work-flow configuration and drag-n-drop , integration still becomes handy. This level of integration also ensures data for an in-depth business analysis and intelligence.
In dormitory absenteeism, Production per spindle, Power cost, Useable waste level, Utilisation & Efficiency %, Yarn realization, MTBR, MTTR, Contribution per RF, cost per 1000 spindles per month, so-on and so-forth presented as multihued dashboards prompt you to make corrective measures instantly for that above ordinary business growth.