The population with the highest risk for this disease are children, adolescents and young people, so it is queratocono tratamiento to promote eye examinations among these age groups.
You may be attended by another doctor who queratocono tratamiento member of the Team. Our development and establishment of the Corneal Pocket Concept CPC as a new surgical principle is a milestone queratocono tratamiento modern corneal surgery. It was in when we were qieratocono to present the right physical theory including experimental proof of the origin and mechanism of corneal transparancy: View Profile Overall assessment of their patients.
Continuous corneal intrastromal ring implantation for treatment of keratoconus in an Iranian population. Keratoconus, the pathology of the conical shaped eyes and queratocono tratamiento. Cornea with irregular conical shape when affected with keratoconus.
Implantation of a complete corneal ring in an intrastromal pocket for keratoconus. Intracorneal ring in a pocket shows promise for treatment of Keratoconus. The origin of keratoconus is unknown, although in almost a quarter of cases this disease is inherited. Queratocono tratamiento the queratocono tratamiento specialist in Ophthalmology in your location:.
Corneal Transplant Restores Teen's Sight. Related Ask an Ophthalmologist Answers If my eye is blind and slowly shrinking, how long will it be before my eye has to be removed? One-year results of intrastromal corneal ring segment implantation KeraRing using queratocono tratamiento laser in patients with keratoconus. Overall assessment of their patients. Journal of Cataract and refractive Surgery ; Keratoconus, ocular pathology queratocono tratamiento.
Biomechanics of Corneal Ring Implants. Many theories and hypothesis have been presented in the past to explain the mechanism of transparancy trataminto that particular tissue. I was able to provide an easy to use model Queratocono tratamiento dome model queratocono tratamiento relates the forces and tension inside the cornea to the fundamental anatomical and structural characteristics of the tissue.
Ziemer LDV for queratocono tratamiento pocket creation. The ultrastructural properties of the cornea on every level are most important for the optical funcion of the eye.
Corneal thickness after MyoRing implantation for keratoconus. Implantation queratocono tratamiento a complete corneal ring in an intrastromal pocket for keratoconus. User Username Password Remember me. Do you queratocono tratamiento to book the appointment in any case? Simple three-dimensional euklidian geometry is not sufficient to characterize the queratocono tratamiento vasculature.
Corneal higher order aberrations: The minimally invasive and reversible treatment by means of Corneal Intrastromal implantation surgery CISIS using the MyoRing is currently by far the most effective and safest treatment method for myopia, keratoconus and many other diseases and disorders.
This disease can develop in one or both eyes, it is almost always bilateral.
Free Newsletter Get ophthalmologist-reviewed tips and information about eye queratocono tratamiento and preserving quwratocono queratocono tratamiento. In all other cases, it appears sporadically, linked to complex patterns of inheritance that are still being investigated today.
The cornea is the most important optical element of the eye and its transparency is a prerequisite for vision.
Journal of Refractive Surgery ; Intrastromal queratocono tratamiento ring segment implantation by femtosecond laser for keratoconus correction. Is excessive reading and screen time harmful to my keratconus? Daxer A et al.
Email this article Login required. When symptoms are severe, your ophthalmologist may queratocono tratamiento a corneal transplant.
Recommended articles Citing articles 0. Descemet stripping PocketMaker endothelial keratoplasty.
Corneal intrastromal implantation surgery for the tratakiento of moderate queratocono tratamiento high myopia. Keratoconus is a disease that affects the queratocoon and causes a poorly progressive and progressive vision in young patients.
Strategies for detection and quantification of proliferative diabetic retinopathy are therefore of great importance. The cornea is the most important optical element of the eye and contributes to more than two-third to its dioptic refractive power. Ophthalmologists Mapfre Caja Salud.
Request doctor's queratocono tratamiento available appointment.


Stores are often hit or miss with Adrian. You never know if he's going to be calm or crazy. In the past we'd try to cover as many bases as possible to tip the scales in our favor. We'd make sure he was well fed, not too hot, had his wheelchair, music player, headphones, etc. Now we've added his Dynavox to the list of things we should have before going in a store.
I recently attempted an afterschool stop at the grocery store to pick up a few items. I wasn't sure how he'd react since he's usually ready to get home and relax after spending the day out at school. Our grocery store has a manual wheelchair with a basket on the front. I decided that would give us a good place to put his Dynavox as well as give him that confined spacial sense he seems to appreciate in stores where there is a lot of stimulus.
He was great. As we went through the aisles, he pointed out products he wanted. I encouraged him to use his Dynavox to request specific items and we picked up a few of the things he wanted here and there. He seemed to really enjoy being a participant in our grocery shopping rather than just a passenger.
When we finally made it to the last aisle, I asked Adrian if we'd forgotten anything. He shocked me by going back into his device and telling me we'd forgotten to pick up bananas. I guess I need to bring my shopping buddy with me more often!
Last week I got a call from Adrian's school. They said that Dynavox had heard about our difficulties with the battery life of our Dynavox V and that they wanted to help us figure out a way to make the situation better.
This morning I went in to meet with members of the speech department and a consultant from Upstate Communication Resource, our regional Dynavox representative. She brought with her several products from Dynavox which they thought would help ensure Adrian's device would have sufficient power throughout the day.
I must admit I'm still not over the shock of how the Dynavox company has sought to improve our situation. I'm grateful to Dynavox and Upstate Communication Resource for their help. Their efforts to keep Adrian's voice going strong have left me speechless.


text:
from google.appengine.datastore.datastore_query import Cursor
from google.appengine.ext import ndb
from collections import OrderedDict
from bp_includes.lib.basehandler import BaseHandler
from bp_includes.models import LogVisit
from bp_includes.models import User

class AdminLogsVisitsHandler(BaseHandler):
    def get(self):
        p = self.request.get('p')
        q = self.request.get('q')
        c = self.request.get('c')
        forward = True if p not in ['prev'] else False
        cursor = Cursor(urlsafe=c)

        if q:
            user_key = ndb.Key(User,long(q.lower()))
            qry = LogVisit.query(ndb.OR(   LogVisit.user == user_key,
                                            LogVisit.timestamp == q.lower(),
                                            LogVisit.uastring == q.lower(),
                                            LogVisit.ip == q.lower()))
        else:
            qry = LogVisit.query()

        PAGE_SIZE = 50
        if forward:
            visits, next_cursor, more = qry.order(LogVisit.key).fetch_page(PAGE_SIZE, start_cursor=cursor)
            if next_cursor and more:
                self.view.next_cursor = next_cursor
            if c:
                self.view.prev_cursor = cursor.reversed()
        else:
            visits, next_cursor, more = qry.order(-LogVisit.key).fetch_page(PAGE_SIZE, start_cursor=cursor)
            visits = list(reversed(visits))
            if next_cursor and more:
                self.view.prev_cursor = next_cursor
            self.view.next_cursor = cursor.reversed()

        def pager_url(p, cursor):
            params = OrderedDict()
            if q:
                params['q'] = q
            if p in ['prev']:
                params['p'] = p
            if cursor:
                params['c'] = cursor.urlsafe()
            return self.uri_for('admin-logs-visits', **params)

        self.view.pager_url = pager_url
        self.view.q = q

        params = {
            "list_columns": [('timestamp', 'Timestamp'),
                             ('ip', 'IP'),
                             ('uastring', 'uastring')
            ],
            "visits": visits,
            "count": qry.count()
        }
        return self.render_template('admin_logs_visits.html', **params)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Scratch 'em and sniff 'em for a burst of Caramel Corn fragrance! Acid-free, non-toxic, and safe for use on photos. Stinky Stickers® are popular as rewards, incentives, and collectibles. Trade them, collect them, put them in your sticker book, grade papers, reward your child. Everyone LOVES stickers! Especially scented ones!
Each star sticker ranges from 0.75" 1.25"
Copyright © 2019 EverythingSmells. All Rights Reserved.


This is one of my favourite series.
This was another great read. I really enjoy this series. The wacky humour has me in stitches. It is so way out, but very funny. At the same time, the author tackles prejudices of all kinds in a humourous manner.
This book is now on its way to svoight, who chose it from Loriped/Shroffland's Mysterious Mysteries VBB. Enjoy!
Selected this book from Loriped/Shroffland's VBB, thanks for including it!
I agree with loveamystery, these books are so funny they make you laugh out loud! The things that Magdalena does and says it's never ending. I look foward to reading more in this series-thanks for sharing.
Found one of my books?
All the books I release are yours to keep, and do whatever you want with them. All I ask is that you record a journal entry on this website for them, at the very least just to say you found it.
Welcome to BookCrossing, a unique community of book lovers, sharing their libraries with the world. This book is now yours to read, enjoy, keep or pass on to another reader. The BookCrossing ID, which you entered in the "Enter a BCID" box on the website, is unique to this copy of this book. If you make a journal entry (either anonymously, or as a BookCrossing member) all previous readers of this actual book will be notified by email, and can follow the book as it travels around from reader to reader.
BookCrossing is free to join, completely confidential (you are known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and a great deal of fun. Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!
I don't know how this book managing to be with bookstogive after the journal entries I read. But I know it's going to be a rabck wishlist book for another BCer. So I'm going to read it and give it back to bookstogive so she can send it on it's merry way to be enjoyed by someone new.
ok I finally got this read. It has some very funny parts, and some stupid parts. I didn't like it as well as some of the others in the series. Magdelena certainly hasn't changed much other than having the cutest, most perfect baby ever.
Giving this back to bookstogive so she can find it a new home and reader.
Caught this one back from my Mom and it will be heading off to someone who had it on their wishlist shortly.
Released into the Making New Friends Bookbox!
Welcome to BookCrossing, a unique community of book lovers, sharing their libraries with the world. This book is now yours to read, enjoy, keep or pass on to another reader.
as your referring member. Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!


What is Google Grant Management?
A Google Grant can be a great thing to get, but did you know that you could underuse your grant, or possibly even lose your grant, if you don't follow Google guidelines?
The team at Noria can help you to use the full dollar value of your grant every month, and ensure that every dollar spent goes towards making people take the actions that you would like them to take on your website.
As long as you're following the rules, your $10,000 will be replenished every month, which means you can market your non-profit or other organisation indefinitely, without worrying about a marketing budget.
If you don't have a Google Grant yet, we may even be able to help you acquire one. Just contact us and let us know the status of your non-profit.
Once we're managing your campaign, you can count on us to create great new ads that will attract the right people to your organization: whether they be new volunteers, donors or purchasers of your non-profit merchandise.
Have you lost your Google Grant? We have helped people to regain their grant, and we can do the same for you too.


On this page you'll find any additional Terms and Conditions which apply specifically to special offers or voucher codes currently available to our customers.
This offer relates to our Billion Dollar Smile Teeth Whitening Strips and LED Mini Light Kits products.
1) Please post a cool picture of yourself with one of our products on our Instagram page @billiondollarsmile with hashtags #billiondollarsmile AND #billiondollarsmilefreshers.
Note: It is important that you use both hashtags so that we can identify you.
2) Send an email to hello@billiondollarsmile.com using FRESHERS in the subject line stating your Instagram handle and your original order number and we'll issue you with a code for an additional discount.


The Telegraph: Head for Porthmeor Beach to watch the sun set over the ocean. The Porthmeor Beach Café (porthmeor-beach.co.uk) serves up a quirky British take on the tapas concept http://bit.ly/Si7T4m.
The Telegraph: Brave a dip in the sea at sheltered Porthgwidden Beach, tucked beneath the Island promontory, before a reviving hot chocolate at the beach café above http://bit.ly/Si7T4m.


Dual-cab ute to join new Commodore on Aussie racetracks in 2018.
Holden is the first car company to officially throw its support behind the new SuperUtes racing category.
The Australian brand has announced its Colorado will compete with its blessing in the new-for-2018 SuperUtes series, which will see turbo-diesel dual-cab utes racing in support of the Supercars Championship Series (formerly known as V8 Supercars).
SuperUtes has already attracted private entries using the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton and Mazda BT-50, but Holden has given the series its support and released this rendering of the Colorado SuperUte, which was created by its in-house design team.
The racing Colorado will be built to the new regulations that require a number of common components between the various utes in order to promote close racing.
Holden's decision to support SuperUtes follows confirmation of its continuing involvement in Supercars racing in 2018 and beyond with the next generation Commodore, run by the factory-supported Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
At least three of the new Commodores are expected to race in 2018 with Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes driving with a wildcard entry for the new twin-turbo V6-powered machine at a select number of events.
Holden's continued support of racing goes against the policy of arch-rival Ford, which withdrew its support from Supercars alongside the shuttering of its local manufacturing.


text:
(3673) 株式会社ブロードリーフ
BRIDGE REPORT
Broadleaf (3673)
Kenji Oyama
Broadleaf Co., Ltd.
Securities Code
TSE 1st Section
Information/Communications
4-13-14, Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Fiscal Year End
End of December
http://www.broadleaf.co.jp/english/index.html
Share Price Shares issued
(excluding treasury shares) Market value ROE (Actual) Trading Unit
¥681 45,009,132 ¥30,651million 6.1% 100
(Forecast) Dividend Yield
(Forecast) EPS
(Forecast) PER
(Forecast) BPS
(Actual) PBR
(Actual)
¥22.00 3.9% ¥27.29 24.5times ¥397.83 1.7 times
*Share price is the closing price for March 1. Shares issued excludes treasury shares from shares issued at the end of the most recent quarter.
ROE and BPS use the results from the end of the last fiscal year.
Fiscal Year Sales Operating
income Ordinary
income Net
income EPS DPS
December 2011 (Actual) 15,317 1,772 1,598 3,503 155.96 0.00
December 2012 (Actual) 15,641 2,114 2,035 815 36.30 0.00
December 2013 (Actual) 18,024 3,740 3,653 1,914 76.91 20.00
December 2017 (Estimate) 17,000 2,000 1,960 1,230 27.79 22.00
* Forecast provided by Broadleaf. The company started the voluntary application of IFRS in the term ending December 2017.
This Bridge Report presents Broadleaf's earnings results for the fiscal year ending December 2016 and so on.
1. Key Points
2. Company Overview
3. Fiscal Year December 2016 Earnings Results
4. Fiscal Year December 2017 Earnings Estimates
5. Future business operation
6. Interview with President Oyama
8. <Reference: Regarding Corporate Governance>
Broadleaf Co., Ltd. has a high share of work applications for the automotive aftermarket. The strength of the company is a consolidated platform for different commercial distribution such as automobile parts sellers, maintenance services, bodywork services and recyclers. Currently, the company is focusing on expanding electronic transactions using this platform. Also, the BL code that the company individually assigns to each automobile part has become the de facto standard for the industry, vital for sellers to identify parts. The company is also focusing on research into creating new service areas taking advantage of this technology for managing and identifying the vast amount of automobile part information.
[Company History]
The company is the formal surviving company of a merger and, with support by American private equity fund the Carlyle Group, was established in September 2009 with the name CB Holdings Co., Ltd. as the receiving company for a management buy-out (MBO) by management of the effective surviving company, the former Broadleaf Co., Ltd.
CB Holdings Co., Ltd. then made the former Broadleaf Co., Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary through stock transfer in November of the same year. On January 1, 2010, the former Broadleaf Co., Ltd. was absorbed with its entire business activities succeeded, the company name was changed to Broadleaf Co., Ltd.
The former Broadleaf Co., Ltd., the effective surviving company of the merger, was a subsidiary of ITX Corporation, in December 2005, carrying out the "packaged software business" transferred from Tsubasa Systems Co., Ltd., which conducted system sales to automotive aftermarket businesses such as automobile parts sellers, automotive maintenance services, and automotive bodywork services.
With the global financial crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the MBO was carried out to respond to the sudden change in the automobile industry climate and to build a sustainable growth base and expand overseas, without worrying about short-term fluctuations in business results.
The chart below shows the history of the company since establishment.
[Corporate Philosophy]
The company has a corporate philosophy of "joy and gratitude."
We work with our customers to develop successful businesses, based on the spirit of "joy and gratitude". We believe that is an essential part of forming close relationships between people and companies. When you see how our products and services contribute to your business, we hope that you will be happy that you chose Broadleaf.
We hope you will also rejoice as you see your business grow day by day. Those positive feelings give us joy and gratitude, too, and inspire us to create even better products and services.
Our aim is to grow hand in hand with our customers, based on this shared sense of joy and gratitude. That is our corporate philosophy and the guiding principle behind our business here at Broadleaf.
(From the company website)
To ensure that this corporate philosophy is shared by all employees and to make it more practical, at the beginning of every year, all the employees gather at a management policy explanation session, where President Oyama gives a summary of the previous year and explains that year's policy, and also reiterates the corporate philosophy.
All employees carry a credo* card with them at all times, and everyone recites the code of conduct at daily morning meetings.
Employees who understand and exemplify the corporate philosophy are also awarded based on employee voting, creating a system for employees to indicate their gratitude to each other as well.
*Credo: A term originating from Latin, referring to the company's beliefs and policies in brief. Many companies use it as a tool to encourage spontaneous action by employees. Creed.
(About the company name)
Broadleaf trees are supported by the earth, which enables them to give nutrients back and enrich the earth through their leaves. In much the same way, we are able to contribute to industry thanks to the support we have received from countless customers across various different sectors.
Having accumulated information thanks to our customers' support, our aim here at Broadleaf is to feed that information back into industry, to make our customers happy.
That's the sort of cycle we want to create as a company, so that we can repay our customers. That is why we named the company Broadleaf.
[Market Environment]
-Overview
The target market of the company is the automotive aftermarket, with a market size of approximately ¥10 trillion. The "automotive aftermarket" covers all products and services after a vehicle has been purchased, including gasoline, automotive accessories, maintenance checks, safety inspections, spare parts, resale and disposal. (From the company website)
The following four points are important to the automotive aftermarket environment.
1) Number of Automobiles Owned
The number of automobiles owned including light vehicles was 60.83million at the end of March 2016, and is continuing to grow. With the average years of car usage increasing, the stock of automobiles is expected to continue to grow.
2) Average Number of Years Cars Are Used
The average number of years from when a passenger car is first registered to when its registration is removed was 12.76 years at the end of March 2016, an increase of over 2 years from 10.40 years at the end of March 2001.
With the change in automobile users' opinions, long-term use of cars is increasing, which means demand for repairs/inspections and for replacement/consumable parts is increasing in the automobile repair market and parts market.
3) Number of Certified Workshops and Designated Workshops
"Certified Workshops" are workshops certified by the District Transport Bureau Chief, and can conduct automobile repair and modifications that require removing the motor, drivetrain or running gear in "dismantling maintenance."
Of certified workshops, those that meet certain standards for facilities, skills, and organization, and are designated for automobile maintenance by the District Transport Bureau Chief are referred to as "Designated Workshops."
The number of certified and designated workshops tends to remain the same or increase slightly, but in recent years the ratio of certified workshops that are designated has been increasing.
This is probably because small workshops being absorbed into medium or large workshops and groups, due to issues such as economic trend and a lack of successors to take over.
According to Broadleaf, there are approximately 70,000 workshops not associated with dealers in Japan, and of those 40,000 are small workshops with three or fewer mechanics, and the other 30,000 are medium- and large-scale workshops that Broadleaf is targeting, as workshops polarize to one extreme or the other. The number of medium- and large-scale workshops that have sufficient financial resources and use Broadleaf's system for parts orders is still only 2,041 at the end of December 2016, so there is still a lot of room for expansion.
4) Recycled Parts Market
The Automobile Recycling Law went into effect in 2005, and markets for automobile dismantling and recycled parts have gradually been developed. With the diversification of group shared recycle inventory systems and expanded use of internet auctions, the recycled parts market is expanding.
Recycled parts use helps limit CO2 emissions and may have positive effects on the environment, and is expected to continue to expand due to its social importance. Also, automobile insurance fees being updated in October 2012 should give a boost to the recycled market.
As seen above, the market environment facing the company is mostly positive.
[Business Outline]
In addition to providing network work applications specialized for customer industries, maintenance service and supply products to mainly the automotive aftermarket industry, Broadleaf also carries out network services for its industry platform, consisting of the following three fields: 1) Business AP Software, 2) System Support and 3) Network Service.
Since it is a single segment of the IT service business, the divisions shown below are carried out.
Although Business AP Software is flow income from leasing, System Support and Network Service are stock income from fixed monthly charges and pay-as-you-go charges.
The sales composition for December 2016 had Business AP Software account for the majority with 65.2%, but attempts are being made to increase the share of stock income.
(Composition of Sales Sectors)
[Business AP Software]
-Development and sales of specialized business applications
-Development and sales of information security and other packaged software
-Acquisition and sales of PCs, printers and other equipment
[System Support]
-Provision of maintenance services to clients that purchased Broadleaf's system
-Acquisition and sales of ledger sheets and OA supplies, etc.
[Network Service]
-Provision of database services to clients that purchased Broadleaf's system
-Provision of server services to clients that purchased Broadleaf's system
-Provision of clearing house service for recycled auto parts.
-Provision of electronic order functions for auto parts
-Provision of tablet-based work support tools, etc.
1) Business AP Software
Broadleaf conducts development and sales of specialized business applications used in industry platform for businesses in the automotive aftermarket industry as well as travel agencies, cellular phone dealers, and machine tool dealers.
Broadleaf's specialized business applications improve usability by catering to specific industries for their unique business flows, as well as addressing general client needs such as estimate and invoice management.
The company also carries out sales of computers with applications installed, as well as LCD monitors, tablets, printers, peripherals and other hardware.
It also carries out system development under commission, in response to client needs.
As for procedures for sales of systems, they were initially "one-off" sales, but from 2004 on, the process was changed to allow Broadleaf to sell system rights to a lease company, and then the lease company to sell it to customers with a 6-year lease contract.
2) System Support
To maintain an optimum business environment for customers, a support system has been made to respond rapidly to network, hardware and server problems, with a customer help desk open 365 days a year and specialized staff working in 35 locations (as of the end of December 2014) throughout Japan. This support system consists of "maintenance" section, which provides business application maintenance services and hardware maintenance services, and "supply" section, which conducts sales of ledger sheets and other supplies used by the business applications.
3) Network Service
A contingent service using Broadleaf's network for customers that purchased network specialized business applications.
Network Service consists of "stock" section, with database and server services essential for the use of the business applications, and "transaction" section with the marketplace provided for distributing recycled parts in the automotive aftermarket industry and carrying out electronic transactions for auto parts between dealers.
<Main Services in the Network Service Section>
-Parts Dealers and Maintenance Shops Platform Service with System Connections
Using the BL Parts Ordering System, the maintenance shops business system and parts dealer system are linked, to provide seamless service for estimate/delivery response and ordering.
Until now, to order necessary parts maintenance shops would have to call or fax parts dealers they already had done business with to order parts, the procedure that had more than enough trouble with regard to the inevitable hassle, incorrect orders, delivery time, etc.
The BL Parts Ordering System improved this situation by greatly enhancing work efficiency, facilitating transactions, and enabling immediate responses for price/delivery dates.
The System provides links between parts dealers seeking more maintenance shop clients and maintenance shops in need of necessary parts in time.
Parts dealers pay a network usage fee, and maintenance shops are charged fees on a per-use basis.
-Settling Payment for Recycled Parts Service
The company operates "Parts Station NET," which is a network for distributing recycled parts with shared inventory information of recycled parts.
Recycling companies, which sell recycled parts, register their products in "Parts Station NET"; maintenance shops and sheet-metal factories, which use recycled parts, retrieve necessary products; and parts traders and recycling enterprises, which mediate transactions, check compatibility. At present, recycled parts worth about 240 billion yen per year are traded in Japan. Parts Station NET involves about 13,000 enterprises, and distributes about 10,000 parts per day, which accounts for about 17% (about 41.5 billion yen) of total sales in Japan.
In the case where parts are traded between distributors and brokers, "Parts Station Factoring NET," an online payment settlement agent for recycled parts, collects commissions.
For the term ended December 2016, it settled payment for recycled parts worth about 10 billion yen, and earned fee collection agency commissions amounting to about 660 million yen.
The ROE for the term ended Dec. 2016 was lower than 8%, which is generally considered the minimum target for Japanese companies, following the previous year.
In the financial statement's "Management Index Goals" section, ROE is mentioned (at this point, no specific numbers are given as a goal), and the company aims to continue to increase ROE.
[Characteristics and Strengths]
1) The Only IT Company That Can Lead the Automotive Aftermarket
Based on the Declaration to be the World's Most Advanced IT Nation, adopted at a Cabinet Meeting on June 2013, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism created the Investigative Commission for Future Vision of Effective Use of Automobile-related Information to consider how to create new services and industry innovation by using automobile information held by the country, such as car registration information (including owner information), car location and car speed information, and accident and maintenance history.
According to the Commission's Future Vision of Effective Use of Automobile-related Information announced in January 2015, current situation of use of automobile-related information in Japan is as follows:
The progress in computerization of automobiles in recent years has tremendously increased the volume and variety of data collected and transmitted by automobiles.
In Japan, however, effective use of the vast quantity of automobile-related information is not progressing much so far, due in part to the fact that such information is scattered across various bodies and individuals.
Various other countries are already making good use of automobile-related information for various services such as insurance services and providing automobile histories. Japan should also seek to innovate in the automobile sector by making use of IT.
These have been the Commission's analysis of the current situation and issues to be dealt with.
These four tasks are planned to be carried out by private sector initiatives, while promoting automobile transactions with safety and assurance through integrated management of the vast amount of data.
Under such circumstances, Broadleaf believes that it is the only company that can lead the future automotive aftermarket, based on tens of thousands of its client companies and its expertise backed with its maintenance data on tens of millions of cars.
*OBD: On-board diagnostics. Diagnostics performed by computers installed in automobiles to detect faults.
2) Overwhelming Share
Of the 2,200 parts dealers said to exist in Japan, around 1,500 or 70% already use Broadleaf's business system. For maintenance workshops, of the 30,000 non-dealer medium- and large-scale workshops that are the company's target, 13,000 use Broadleaf's system, demonstrating the overwhelming market share it has.
In addition, there is no company other than Broadleaf that can provide a variety of systems using a platform. There do exist several distributors dealing in limited range of systems, but their sales amount to no more than one-tenth of Broadleaf's, so the company essentially has no competitors.
3) Ample Experience
Sales of the first automobile parts system, called Partsman, started in 1983. Partman was sold by Tsubasa Systems Co., Ltd., a company established in 1983, but Tsubasa transferred its packaged software business to Broadleaf in 1983, the same year. Therefore, if counted from then, Broadleaf can boast of over 30 years of experience. Ever since, the company has been making databases of parts information for the approximately 30,000 parts in a single automobile, and the parts codes created by their unique know-how have become the industry standard.
With the vast amount of data collected, their database is overwhelmingly No. 1 in both quality and quantity.
4) Trusting Relationship with Clients
With a direct sales system to accurately determine client needs and carry out dedicated service, Broadleaf has formed relationships of deep trust with its clients, which is a valuable hidden asset of the company.
Despite the 6-year term of the license contract with clients, the ratio of contract renewals is from 80% to 90%, with high customer satisfaction.
Fiscal Year December 2016 Earnings Results
Sales and profit decreased, and did not reach the estimated.
Sales were ¥16,851 million, up 0.2% from the previous term. The sales of the network service segment grew. However, the number of subscription renewals was sluggish in the system sales segment, which accounts for more than 60% of total sales.
Gross margin rate dropped 1.9% due to the increased sales cost caused by the boost in equipment procurement, etc. SG&A, too, dropped from the same period of the preceding year thanks to cost control, but couldn't offset the decline in gross margin rate, and resulted in an operating income of ¥2,227 million, down 11.4% YOY. As a result of posting the compensation payment received amounting to ¥250 million as extraordinary income, and ¥159 million of the loss on the valuation of investments in the capital of subsidiaries and affiliates as extraordinary loss, net income decreased 8.7%.
Neither sales nor profit reached the initial estimates.
The sales of the system sales segment decreased because the number of subscription renewals from automotive related users was small. As they strategically focused on drawing in other company's users while they put maximum priority on increasing the number of contracts, the number of new customers increased.
In the network service segment, both stocks and transactions were strong. In stocks, the performance of servers and databases grew.
As for transactions, the number of maintenance facilities connected to the BL parts system was 2,041 at the end of the previous term, and the number of ordered systems of CarpodTab was 3,054, showing steady growth. The company aims to increase profitability further by selling the "BL parts system" and "CarpodTab" combined.
Due to reduced cash and deposits, current assets decreased ¥624 million from the end of the previous term. Because of the drop of goodwill amortization, etc., fixed assets decreased ¥861 million, and as a result, total assets declined ¥1,486 million to ¥24,079 million.
Due to the increase of trade payables and unpaid corporate tax payments, etc., current liabilities increased ¥622 million. On the other hand, fixed liabilities decreased ¥636 million due to the drop in long-term debt, and total liabilities dropped ¥14 million to ¥6,165 million.
Net assets decreased ¥1,472 million to ¥17,913 million, because of the decrease in retained earnings and the increase of treasury shares.
As a result, equity ratio decreased 1.3% from the end of the previous term to 74.4%.
The balance of interest-bearing debt decreased ¥655 million to ¥1,727 million.
Compared to the previous term, operating CF grew due to the decrease of the amount paid as corporate tax, etc. The deficit in investment CF shrunk because of the reduction in expenditure through the acquisition of shares of affiliates, etc., and free CF became positive.
There is no income from long-term debt anymore and the deficit in financial CF augmented.
The cash positon dropped.
(4) Topics
◎ The complete victory of Broad Leaf affirmed in the lawsuit for the infringement on the copyright of the database for the travel industry
The company brought an action to Tokyo District Court in 2009, claiming that "the database produced and sold by Azesta Corporation was developed by illegally copying the database of Broad Leaf and therefore they violated the copyright thereof."
Although Broad Leaf won the first and second trials, Azesta Corporation filed a petition for a final appeal and for acceptance of their final appeal, but the complete victory of Broad Leaf became firm on this copyright infringement suit when the Supreme Court announced their decision that "We deny the petition for a final appeal. We won't accept this case in an appeal hearing" on December 15th, 2016.
Regarding this, President Oyama commented as follows:
"I think this unprecedented decision from the Supreme Court became a very important precedent for the companies like us who are in the information system industry because they fully accepted the decision from the Intellectual Property High Court, which for the first time gave recognition to the violation of the copyright of a database, and also accepted our claim for compensation against the former employee, who competed with us by wrongly taking our database despite fully knowing the importance of information asset, such as the development information and client information for corporate business operation.
The data held by a company is an important asset in industries such as the information system industry. The database that manages important data is also an asset because we put in a wide range of technical know-how, labor and cost in order to protect the information and for its effective utilization. This decision from the Supreme Court is highly meaningful for us because it means that the effort of our employees applied to development was recognized and it will serve as a precedent. We will continue dealing in a firm manner with those companies and individuals who violate copyrights and illegally use it, and will continue working on the protection of our intellectual assets."
Fiscal Year December 2017 Earnings Estimates
Sales to stay flat, and profit to drop due to increased investment
Sales for the term ending Dec. 2017 are forecasted to be ¥17 billion, nearly equal to those for the previous term. System sales is expected to remain sagging like the previous term, however, the sales from their network service will be healthy, as the company concentrates on this service. Operating income is predicted to decrease 10.2% YOY to ¥2 billion. The investments in human capital for the mid to long term growth, such as securing excellent human resources, will be increased.
The dividend amount is to be ¥11.00/share for both the mid-term and term-end dividends. Taking into account the stock split that was conducted in December 2016, it indicates a ¥0.75/share increase from the previous term. The predicted payout ratio is 79.2%.
(Since the company adopted the Japanese standards in the term ending December 2016, and started the voluntary application of IFRS in the term ending December 2017, increase/decrease rate is not included in the earnings summary.)
Future business operation
◎Review of the "2016-2017" medium-term management plan
The concept of the medium-term management plan is the expansion of the business domain by offering the data driven services.
In order to improve the earning capacity, they are planning major changes in the charging system for system sales from fiscal year 2018. Therefore the goals for business performance and sales composition in fiscal 2017 were set with that in mind.
Under the above concept, they are working on the following measures as their priority, with "Expansion of the customer base" and a "Shift in earnings structure" as their base strategy.
1. Popularize and standardize the electronic ordering service in this industry.
2. Development and release of new services and products
3. Development and release of the next generation system.
4. Reinforcement of the management base
The company has self-evaluated its progress till the term ended December 2016 as follows.
◎Awareness of the environment and the key strategy
There are no main competitors in the current automotive aftermarket.
At the same time, the big change to the industrial structure including the maturity of the industry, the tendency away from system owning to using systems such as the cloud and the improvement in automatic driving technology, is giving the company attractive business opportunities and the company thinks it is a great chance to establish entry barriers for the future.
With this as a backdrop, the company recognizes that proceeding with the changeover of the profit structure, and creating a new market which can sense the subtle shift, are important. Therefore, from this term through the next term, the company will push ahead with "Increasing new customers for the profit structure changeover" and "Active investments to create a new market" as their key strategy.
In the term ending December 2018, while the renewal by their existing users goes into a gaining cycle, the company will continue doing active investment, including M&A, in order to expand their business domains and to create a new market, and forecasted that sales will be ¥19 billion (a 11.2% increase from the previous term) and operating income will be ¥3.2 billion (a 60% increase from the previous term). Operating income rate will dramatically go up from 11.8% to 16.8%.
There will be no big change in the sales composition from the term ending December 2017.
They are considering not only direct sales but also using distributors for reeling in new customers.
As for the "expansion of the target market" that the company has been aspiring after, their plan is to create the value of their big data based on their massive client base by using the cloud, and create new services and new markets.
Interview with President Oyama
We asked President Oyama about their strength, overseas expansions, and his message to investors.
"Our strength is the database that is unparalleled in not only quantity, but also quality. Our system will become the best in the world with the UI improvement."
Our auto parts database is unparalleled in the automotive aftermarket, not just because of the quantity of the parts but also because of the quality, as the attributes of every part are carefully digitalized.
If competitors try to imitate our database, which is based on our 30 years of business operation, it will cost a huge amount of time and money. A large entry barrier is already there.
We have already enriched this database further, and are also focusing on the improvement of the UI (User Interface).
We can develop the best system in the world which will have a massive competitive superiority, if we proceed with the shift to the cloud, and develop a system that wins the users' satisfaction on both cost and usability.
"Overseas expansion in China and the Philippines is steadily progressing. First, we will develop a system for distributing parts."
In China and the Philippines, we are establishing networks with parts merchants and automotive repair shops, and proceeding with the collection of parts data and the establishment of a database.
While establishing those networks, we are also working towards the distribution of parts to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, etc.
What our company is aiming at is not doing a parts distribution business but to become "the world's biggest electronic payment company in the automotive parts distribution field". However, we need to establish a parts distribution system that uses our system primarily, so we are conducting the distribution business ourselves.
We are proceeding with a step-by-step process but the overseas expansion is definitely moving forward.
"We are the only company that can establish a network with IT, using the strength of being neutral and independent in the automotive aftermarket. I want investors to support us with a mid to long term view."
There are various players who are involved in automotive business in the automotive aftermarket. However, we are one of the few companies who keep the position of being neutral and independent in capital and operational aspects. This is our critical advantage as we can operate freely in this gigantic market.
With that advantage, we are the only company that can establish an automotive parts distribution network with IT using our unique database.
I hope that investors will understand our attributes and strength, and support us with a mid to long term view.
The sales of network services, which is their focused segment, increased from the previous term, however, the number of maintenance facilities connected to the BL parts system, and the CarpodTab subscription numbers were 2,041 and 3,054 respectively as of the end of December 2016, while their goals were 3,000 and 4,000. Therefore, they didn't meet their goals.
These are important indicators as we monitor the company, which strives to establish the de facto standard in electronic ordering services, and we would like to keep watching their progress in this term. Also, we would like to pay attention to their progress of overseas expansion.
<Reference: Regarding Corporate Governance>
◎ Corporate Governance Report
Updated on Apr. 28, 2016
<Reasons for Non-compliance with the Principles of the Corporate Governance Code (Excerpts)>
The company implements all principles of the Corporate Governance Code.
This report is intended solely for information purposes, and is not intended as a solicitation for investment. The information and opinions contained within this report are made by our company based on data made publicly available, and the information within this report comes from sources that we judge to be reliable. However we cannot wholly guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the data. This report is not a guarantee of the accuracy, completeness or validity of said information and opinions, nor do we bear any responsibility for the same. All rights pertaining to this report belong to Investment Bridge Co., Ltd., which may change the contents thereof at any time without prior notice. All investment decisions are the responsibility of the individual and should be made only after proper consideration.
Copyright(C) 2017 Investment Bridge Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
(3673) 株式会社ブロードリーフ

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Let's Talk About 'Unpacking' – A Relaxing, Surprisingly Emotional Game About… Unpacking.
Posted on November 2, 2021 November 12, 2021 by Trashlevania
The six-person Australia-based development studio Witch Beam couldn't have created two more wildly different games for their portfolio, with Assault Android Cactus being a frantic twin-stick shooter and Unpacking serving as a zen-like pixel art game that's literally about unpacking boxes and finding places to put its contents. With both games being pretty damn stellar, I'm eager to see what they're up to next — which appears to be something called TemPoPo.
Unpacking released today on various platforms, but I played through it (to 1000G, 100% completion) on Xbox Series X through Game Pass. It's a very brief two-hour experience and is well worth everyone's time, even if it doesn't sound like your cup of tea.
Unpacking initially plays out as a more relaxed puzzle game, one where you're presented with a room and a stack of boxes full of stuff that needs to be placed somewhere. It starts in 1994 and gradually progresses through the years, up until 2018. Each move presents more places to put things, more boxes to unpack, but it's always relaxing. There are no timers, no leaderboards. It's just you putting stuff in its place.
As the years go on you start to notice some of the same items popping up, which was the big "ah-ha!" moment for me. I was getting a pretty close look into someone's life, their memories, their relationships, just by putting stuff away, and it all felt deeply personal and relatable. I didn't expect to connect to a game about putting stuff away so much.
There's no story openly told to the player, but plenty to pick up on just based on what you're putting away and what your living situation is.
Putting stuff away is easy: you click on a box to grab an item (which you can't see ahead of time), then find places to put it. You can't just pile everything on the bed and move on, though. Some items have specific places they need to be, so for example, you can't put a microwave in the bathroom. I mean, there is an accessibility toggle you can turn on that lets you do that, but by default, it's a big no-no.
Things do get a little more advanced as the game goes on, but it's never more than having to unpack certain boxes to reveal more of the room (see the image I embedded below, for example) or moving things around that were already there when you started. It's calm and relaxing.
Certain things like towels, dishes, folded clothing, and cookie sheets can be stacked, but others are a bit more awkward to place, like frying pans (that never seem to center on the stovetop). Using a controller does make it a bit weird when putting items in far-back corners inside of cabinets, but I always had room for things. There's a zoom function too, which always fixed the issue.
It only took me about two hours to play through and another 5 minutes or so to go back through the chapter select menu to mop up the remaining achievements, so it's not a game that demands much of your time. It's just super effective at what it does in those 120 minutes. I live for these shorter games that pack a punch.
I do wish there was more music or at least more memorable music. Unpacking has such a great isometric style with drop-dead gorgeous pixel art, but even finishing it earlier today I can't recall a single track that played in the background. Maybe I just need to give the soundtrack itself a listen?
Overall, though, Unpacking is absolutely wonderful, relaxing, and surprisingly emotional. It's one of the most unique offerings on Game Pass and a strong contender for my Top 5 games of 2021 so far.
Unpacking was released on November 2, 2021, on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, Humble, and GOG. The current price is $19.99 and it is available on Xbox Game Pass as of the time of this review.
Tagged game pass, indie, relaxing games, review, unpacking, witch beam, xbox, xbox one, xbox series s, xbox series x
Previous Post My Top 10 Favorite Horror Games of All Time
Next Post Let's Talk About 'Gleylancer' – A Japan-Only 1992 Sega Genesis SHMUP Localized in 2021!
2 thoughts on "Let's Talk About 'Unpacking' – A Relaxing, Surprisingly Emotional Game About… Unpacking."
thegamingdiaries says:
I played this last night and it was such a nice, relaxing time. It's definitely in amongst my top picks from Game Pass that I've played this year.
I'm glad you dug it too! I'm sure it'll end up in my top 5 overall this year. Just a neat, unique experience.


Strongbow has created a new hunting game on Facebook, called Strongbow Apple Hunter, in reaching out to young urban consumers.
Developed by G2 Direct Interactive, the app took inspiration from Strongbow's history, the fact that it's the UK's best-selling cider and that there are over 50 different varieties of culinary apples used to make Strongbow.
"Strongbow is named after the Cambro-Norman knight Richard de Clare, later Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed 'Strongbow' for relying heavily on Welsh archers during campaigns in Ireland," said Tai See Wai, marketing manager for Strongbow.
The Facebook application itself requires users to download the free iPhone app, use the QR code scanner within it to scan the QR code on Facebook, which then syncs the iPhone to the Facebook app.
The phone is then used as a bow to fire arrows at apples on the screen and users need to hunt for as many apples as possible within a given time.
Tai adds that while the mechanics of syncing the phone to the PC for such a game is not new, Strongbow is the first beer brand to use such mechanics to engage with its consumers.
This Facebook initiative comes shortly after its 'Jazz Me Up' Facebook app, which was done in conjunction with Strongbow's sponsorship of the Borneo Jazz festival mid this year.
"This is part of our digital and social media initiative where we aim to have a more direct connection with our young, urban audience who are generally very digital savvy," said Tai.
Introduced just last month, the app will continue to be available as long as its fans are still actively engaging with it, said Tai.
By scanning the QR code, members of the public can take or upload photos to the interactive 3D TV on the spot. ..
Media Prima has launched its consolidated digital business unit, Media Prima Digital, which comprises subsidiaries Alt Media and N..


This white tee with the word "Fearless" written on it, is great with any outfit. It is a reminder to live fearlessly and chase your dreams. Our founder, Lisa Thompson, lives by this motto and continues to create change in a fearless way.


text:
Monroe Capital Reaches Final Close on Private Credit Fund II LP
Monroe Capital LLC today announced the final close of Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund II LP ("Fund") at $800 million of limited partner commitments, eclipsing the Fund target of $600 million. When combined with target fund leverage, the Fund will have approximately $1.5 billion of total investable capital or buying power, the largest fund raised in Monroe Capital's 12-year firm history.The Fund invests in private credit transactions originated and underwritten by Monroe Capital. The investment strategy is focused primarily on senior secured loans and unitranche loans to private equity sponsored and non-sponsored middle market companies located throughout the U.S. and Canada. This Fund is Monroe Capital's eleventh investment vehicle since its founding in 2004. The Fund received commitments from over 20 new institutional investors located in the U.S. and Europe, including leading public and private pension plans, insurance companies, universities, endowments, foundations, religious organizations, hospitals, non-profits, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other institutional investors. In addition to the limited partner commitments, the Fund has secured term credit facilities to complement its available capital.According to Ted Koenig, President and CEO of Monroe Capital, "Private credit is an appealing area for institutional investors due to the ability to generate consistent yield in a yield starved world. Investors have many choices in this space, most of which are newly created firms over the last several years. I am very pleased and proud that the sophisticated institutional investor and limited partner community has come to understand and appreciate the differentiated absolute returns and consistent risk adjusted returns that Monroe has been able to generate for them each and every year over a 12-year period, regardless of the business cycle or the economic environment. This is truly a testament to our organization and our people."Monroe Capital, a $3.6 billion private credit asset manager, was formed in 2004 and has been a consistent and reliable provider of transactional debt financing both pre and post credit crisis. Monroe has 70 employees, inclusive of an investment team of approximately 45 professionals with an average of 17 years of credit, private equity, and investment experience; a national transaction sourcing network of eight offices located through the U.S.; and a proven investment discipline and strategy over multiple economic cycles.
Home » Articles » Monroe Capital Reaches Final Close on Private Credit Fund II LP
Monroe Capital LLC today announced the final close of Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund II LP ("Fund") at $800 million of limited partner commitments, eclipsing the Fund target of $600 million. When combined with target fund leverage, the Fund will have approximately $1.5 billion of total investable capital or buying power, the largest fund raised in Monroe Capital's 12-year firm history.
The Fund invests in private credit transactions originated and underwritten by Monroe Capital. The investment strategy is focused primarily on senior secured loans and unitranche loans to private equity sponsored and non-sponsored middle market companies located throughout the U.S. and Canada. This Fund is Monroe Capital's eleventh investment vehicle since its founding in 2004. The Fund received commitments from over 20 new institutional investors located in the U.S. and Europe, including leading public and private pension plans, insurance companies, universities, endowments, foundations, religious organizations, hospitals, non-profits, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other institutional investors. In addition to the limited partner commitments, the Fund has secured term credit facilities to complement its available capital.
According to Ted Koenig, President and CEO of Monroe Capital, "Private credit is an appealing area for institutional investors due to the ability to generate consistent yield in a yield starved world. Investors have many choices in this space, most of which are newly created firms over the last several years. I am very pleased and proud that the sophisticated institutional investor and limited partner community has come to understand and appreciate the differentiated absolute returns and consistent risk adjusted returns that Monroe has been able to generate for them each and every year over a 12-year period, regardless of the business cycle or the economic environment. This is truly a testament to our organization and our people."
Monroe Capital, a $3.6 billion private credit asset manager, was formed in 2004 and has been a consistent and reliable provider of transactional debt financing both pre and post credit crisis. Monroe has 70 employees, inclusive of an investment team of approximately 45 professionals with an average of 17 years of credit, private equity, and investment experience; a national transaction sourcing network of eight offices located through the U.S.; and a proven investment discipline and strategy over multiple economic cycles.
Articles26th January 2015Japan to Host World Economic Forum Special Meeting in 2016
World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab and Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hakubun Shimomura, met today in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and exchanged a lette
Articles3rd January 2020Offshore Banking: Breaking The Taboo
Offshore Banking: Breaking The Taboo It's not what you think. Offshore banking is often slandered, and most commonly associated with tax evasion. But this begs to question – what do people really know about offshore banking? James Turner, Director at York-
Articles18th March 2014FDI in China Rises 10.4%
FDI, which excludes investment in financial sectors, totalled US$19.31bn cumulatively in January and February, the commerce ministry said in a statement.Separately, Chinese overseas investment in the two months fell 37.2% year-on-year to US$11.54bn, the minist
Articles20th June 20162016 UK IT Outsourcing Study Results Published
The key findings of this year's UK Study include: • There is still an appetite for outsourcing among UK companies. 72% of all respondents in the study confirm that they will continue to outsource at the same rate or more (an increase of 3% from 2015). This
Articles5th April 2016Asset Manager of the Month
Auscap was founded by myself and former colleague Matthew Parker in 2012. Matt and I had previously workedtogether managing proprietary capital for Goldman Sachs, and as such have considerable experience in and knowledge of financial markets.The firm is focuse
Articles28th October 2016What are The Main Benefits of a SIPP Investment?
A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is one of the most popular long term investment options when preparing for retirement. They are very similar to standard personal pension plans, except they offer a lot more hands-on experience for those taking one out.
Articles10th February 2015Worldwide Revenue from Utility Distribution Microgrids is Expected to Exceed $3 Billion by 2023
According to Navigant Research, worldwide revenue from UDMs is expected to grow from $1.4 billion annually in 2014 to more than $3 billion in 2023.Responding to this growth, in the coming months Navigant's Microgrid Service Offering Team will offer an exclus
Articles11th October 2021Top Careers in the Investment Industry and What You Need to Acquire Them
The investment industry is one of the most lucrative industries in the world. If you're looking for a career that pays well and has many prospects, then this may be an ideal field to pursue. However, not just anyone can break into this field. There are specifi
Articles30th January 2015Advancement in Camera Technologies Market Worth $6,080.03 Million by 2020
The top manufacturers of cameras are periodically introducing new models of cameras. The market players in the ACT industry seem to be obsessed in a technological race. The latest camera technologies have influenced high growth rate in the usage of cameras. Th
Articles18th May 2018Are banking biometrics about to take off?
Are banking biometrics about to take off? We've all been there; sitting at a computer struggling to remember a password, or entering the wrong pin number at a cash point while a queue forms behind you. Thanks to the rise in biometric technology, consumers ca


text:
18 Nov 2016 Will Trump Take Away Your Right to Marry? Unlikely
Posted at 12:16h in 2016 Election, Family Law, Gay Fathers, LGBT News, Marriage Equality, Rich Vaughn, Same Sex Marriage, Same Sex Parents	by	Rich Vaughn 0 Comments
As my fellow family lawyers and ART attorneys and I work to wrap our heads around last week's presidential election results, many of our clients are turning to us for answers to their most urgent questions and concerns. One of the most frequently asked questions has been, will LGBT people in the United States lose the right to marry the under a Trump administration? And if so, will my same-sex marriage still be valid?
According to the experts, the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to reverse its two recent decisions upholding same-sex marriage, even with a Trump appointment to replace Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, and is virtually certain to uphold the validity of existing same-sex marriages.
In fact, the greater danger to your family's security under a Trump presidency may be legislative efforts to defund and weaken our societal safety nets such as Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. As governor of Indiana, Vice President-elect Mike Pence enacted and defended a "religious freedom" law that would have allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBT people on the basis of religion, although he later backpedaled. And Trump has paid lip service to supporting a national law that would protect states' rights to enact such discriminatory laws. Arguably, these and other issues are of more immediate concern than the loss of marriage equality.
Shannon Mintner of National Center for Lesbian Rights and other constitutional lawyers assure us that the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to revisit its 2015 decision that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry, at least not immediately.
True, Donald Trump, encouraged by a Republican Congress, will undoubtedly move with all due speed to appoint a replacement for the late Justice Scalia, who died unexpectedly in February, leaving a potentially tied eight-member Supreme Court. Traditionally, sitting Presidents have filled court vacancies with Congressional ratification; however, the Republican-majority House refused to ratify Obama's selection of moderate jurist Garland Merrick, running out the clock on the presidential election—a strategy that now appears prescient. With Republican control of both houses, Trump's nominee will face no such obstacle.
But even with the seating of a new Trump appointee, the same 5-4 Supreme Court majority that prevailed in Obergefell v. Hodges, which in June 2015 legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 U.S. states, will still be in place. The court also ruled that states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and must treat same-sex marriages the same way they treat any legal marriage. Therefore, there is no reason for same-sex couples to fear losing the benefits or protections of legal marriage in the near-term.
Likewise, there is strong legal precedent that says a marriage cannot be invalidated by subsequent changes in the law. For example, when California voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008, there were already some 18,000 same-sex marriages that had taken place between May 2008, when the state Supreme Court overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, and November 2008, when Prop 8 passed. Those marriages remained intact, with all the rights and privileges of any legal marriage, during the ensuing four-and-a-half years, until a federal appeals court ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme court upheld the lower court's decision in June 2013, with the same 5-4 majority that later legalized same-sex marriage throughout the U.S.
Now, could a shift in the balance on the Supreme Court were one of those five majority justices to resign or die during Trump's presidency lead to a revisiting of the decision legalizing same-sex marriage? That it is a possibility. But before you run out and marry the first guy or gal you meet on the street, keep in mind that the wheels of justice turn slowly. Confirmation of a Supreme Court justice can take months or years, particularly should the balance of power in Congress change at the midterm elections in two years. Timing is everything.
Also keep in mind that, shielded from political pressure by lifetime appointment, Supreme Court justices don't always end up mirroring the values of the president who appoints them. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, was among the 5 justices in the majority on the 2015 same-sex marriage decisions. President George H.W. Bush appointee David Souter, who retired in 2009, began his Supreme Court career as a conservative, but three years in began voting frequently with liberal justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The inherent impartiality of the high court is a tangible demonstration of the founding fathers' wisdom.
And remember that it can take years for a case to make its way up the judicial pyramid to be heard in the Supreme Court—and even then, the court may decline to hear it, for any number of reasons, including that a question has already been adjudicated. A Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality will not happen suddenly or unexpectedly. We'll all know it's coming long in advance.
Even if the worst should happen, and a Trump Supreme Court were to revoke the right of same-sex couples to marry, existing marriages would almost certainly remain intact.
Never forget, more than half of U.S. voters now support same-sex marriage. Supreme Court justices always have their fingers to the wind; their bent is not to rule too far out ahead of societal norms—and not to take away freedoms that society has already embraced.
Take heart that millions of people stand behind your right to marry the person you love. Take heart that the wheels of government and of justice turn slowly and deliberately—as frustrating as that may feel to us when we're waiting to win our rights, it's equally reassuring when others would try to take them from us. Take heart that we have strong, powerful leaders and organizations determined to advocate for and defend your right to marry. Even some powerful conservative leaders, such as Republican power-lawyer and Federalist Society co-founder Ted Olson, former President George H.W. Bush, and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Do what you can do in your communities to support leaders that reflect your values of inclusion and equality. Volunteer, encourage your friends and loved ones to vote, support other vulnerable communities. Take heart, for, in the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Defense of Marriage Act, Gay Marriage, latest lgbt parent news, LGBT Blogs, LGBT equality, lgbt families resources, lgbt rights, Marriage Equality, same-sex marriage, Trump, U.S. Supreme Court
#LoveMakesAFamily (1) 2012 Election (1) 2016 Election (1) A City Law Firm (2) A Perfect Match (1) AAAA (1) AB 1217 (2) ABA (23) ABA Family Law Section (1) ABA Journal (1) ABAMidyear (1) abandoned embryos (2) ABC (1) abortion (2) ACA (3) Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (1) Academy of California Adoption and ART Lawyers (1) ACLU (1) adoption (21) AFA (6) Affordable Care Act (3) AI (2) Alabama (1) Alexander Schuster (1) Alison Wilson (4) Alyssa Milano (1) American Academy of Adoption and ART Attorneys (1) american bar association (34) American Fertility Association (8) American Society for Reproductive Medicine (16) Amy Coney Barrett (1) Amy Paulin (2) Amy S. Erickson Hagen (1) Anna Buxton (2) anti-abortion (1) anti-choice (1) Arizona (4) Arkansas (1) ART (99) ART attorneys (2) ART Committee (2) ART Model Act (3) artificial insemination (5) Artificial Intelligence (2) Artificial Reproductiive Technology (5) ARTRISK (4) ASRM (18) Assembly Member Felipe Fuentes (1) Assisted Reproduction Agencies (1) assisted reproductive services (1) Assisted Reproductive Technology (164) Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (1) Attorney General Letitia James (1) Australia (2) Baby M (5) Bangkok (1) Baylor University (1) BBC (1) Beijing (2) Belgium (2) Berlin (1) Betsy Campbell (1) BFS (1) BioEdge (1) biological time clock (2) BioNews (1) birth certificate (1) Birth Certificates (3) birth rate decline (1) Black Lives Matter. Social Justice (1) Blixt (1) Boston (1) Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery (1) Brilliant Beginnings (1) British Fertility Society (1) Bruce Hale (1) Bruce Taubman (1) Brussels (1) California (2) California Association of Health Plans (1) California Fertility Insurance (2) California Surrogacy (2) California Surrogacy Law (6) CalMatters (1) Cambodia (1) Cambridge University (1) Canadian surrogacy (1) Carl Heastie (1) Carol Weathers (3) Catholic Social Services (1) CDC (2) Certificate of Live Birth (1) CHA Fertility Center (1) Chicago Med (1) Child Parent Security Act (5) Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (1) China (6) China one-child policy (2) Chinese intended parents (1) Christina Miller (1) Circle Surrogacy (4) CLE (2) Cleveland (1) Clinical Embryologists Association (1) Cologne (1) Colorado Surrogacy (3) Colorado Surrogacy Law (1) Continuing Legal Education (2) Coronavirus (4) COVID-19 (35) COVID-19 Vaccination (4) CPSA (2) Cryopreservation (8) Crypreservation (1) Czech Republic (1) Dan McCarty (1) DC (2) Dean Hutchinson (1) Dean Hutchison (4) Deborah Wald (1) Defense of Marriage Act (12) Del Shores (1) District of Columbia (1) DOMA (11) Domestic Partnership (7) donor (1) Douglas Nejaime (1) Dr. Aimee (1) Dr. Brian Kaplan (1) Dr. Craig R. Sweet (1) Dr. Eve C. Feinberg (3) Dr. John Norian (2) Dr. Said Daneshmand (9) Dr. Sandy Chuan (2) Dvash-Banks (1) ECHR (3) Edith Windsor (1) Egg Donation Information (24) egg donor anonymity (1) egg donor news (5) Egg Freezing (3) Egypt (1) embryo custody (1) embryo disposition agreement (1) Embryo Mix-up (1) embryos (10) Emmanuel Macron (1) ENDA (1) ESHRE (1) Ethiopia (1) European Court of Human Rights (2) European Court on Human Rights (1) European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (1) families (1) Family Building Study (1) Family Equality (1) Family Equality Council (6) family law (40) Fatherhood (2) Fertility Centers of Illinois (1) fertility insurance (1) fertility law (47) fertility lawyer (12) fertility preservation (2) Fertility Services (49) fertility testing (1) fertility treatment (10) Fight Magazine (1) foreign surrogacy (3) Foster Parents (1) France (3) French Surrogacy Law (4) frozen embryo (2) Frozen Embryos (6) Gavin Newsom (1) gay adoption (1) Gay Marriage (40) gay men surrogacy (2) gay parents (6) gay rights (36) gayby boom (1) Genetic Testing (1) Georgia (3) Germany (2) gestational carrier (3) Gestational Carrier Agreement (1) Gestational Surrogacy (11) Gifted Journeys (3) GLAA (1) Gloria Steinem (2) GoStork (1) Governor Andrew Cuomo (6) Governor Andrew L. Cuomo (2) Governor Gavin Newsom (1) Greg Ortiz (1) Greg Stern (1) Hague Convention (2) health insurance (1) HFEA (1) HHS (1) HIV (1) HIV+ Blood Donors (1) HIV+ Intended Parents (1) Homeless Surrogate (1) Hong Kong (1) HRC Fertility (1) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1) IARC (4) ICWA (3) IFLG (163) Illuminations (3) Illuminations 2016 (1) Immigration Rights (2) In Vitro Fertilization (58) In Vitro Maturation (1) India (1) Indian Child Welfare Act (3) Indiana (1) infertility (8) infertility treament (2) infertility treatment (1) Instant Mom (1) insurance (3) insurance coverage (1) insurance coverage for ivf (2) intended parent (1) Intended Parents (84) International Academy of Family Lawyers (1) international fertility law (1) International Fertility Law Group (82) international intended parents (6) international surrogacy (1) International Surrogacy Law (1) international surrogacy news (16) Intestinal Worm (1) Ioan Gruffudd (1) Iran (1) Ireland (4) Israel (3) Italian Reproductive Law (1) Italy (2) IVF (2) IVF Agreement (1) Jancee Dunn (1) Japan (3) Kansas (1) Kansas sperm donor (2) Karen Holden (1) Katie Lelito (1) Kentucky (1) Kiviti (1) Kristen Welker (1) Lambda Legal (1) Las Vegas (1) latest lgbt parent news (3) latest surrogacy law information (2) Latest Surrogacy News (92) Lesbian Intended Parents (4) lesbian parents (2) LGBT Blogs (64) LGBT eqality (3) LGBT equality (2) lgbt families resources (2) LGBT Nation (1) lgbt rights (4) LGBTQ (5) LGBTQ parents (1) LGBTQ rights (4) Liesl Nel-Themaat (1) LinkedIn (1) London (1) Lora Liegel (1) Los Angeles (1) Louise Brown (1) Love Comes First (2) Machine Learning (1) Magnitsky Act (1) Manukyans (1) Mariah Porkorny (1) Marriage Equality (40) Martin Luther King Jr. (1) Mary Beth Whitehead (1) Maryland Fertility Insurance (1) Massachusetts (1) merican Bar Association Section of Family Law (1) MERS (1) Michael Kraut (1) Michigan (3) military (1) Mississippi (1) Mississippi abortion law (3) Missouri (2) Missouri personhood law (3) model act (1) Modern Baby (1) Modern Family Law (1) Molly O'Brien (11) Monaco (1) Mt. Sinai Health System (2) MySurrogacyJourney.com (2) NAPHSIS (1) Natalie Crawford (1) Natalie Gamble (2) Natalie Sutherland (1) National Embryo Donation Center (1) National Health Service (2) National LGBT Bar Association (1) Nature Communications (1) NBC (1) NCLR (2) Nebraska (1) NEFLA (1) Netherlands (1) Nevada (2) New Hope Fertility Center (1) New Jersey (3) New York (20) New York City (4) New York Fertility Insurance (3) New York Law Journal (1) New York Post (1) New York State Assembly (4) New York State Department of Health (1) New York State Senate (1) New York surrogacy law (1) New York Times (3) New York University (1) New York-Presbyterian (2) Newsom for California (1) NGA Law (1) Nia Vardalos (1) NIAW (1) NIAW2018 (1) Nick Loeb (1) Night at the Pier (1) Night of Hope (1) non U.S Intended Parents (14) Northwestern Medicine Fertility and Reproductive Medicine (3) NRS (1) Obergefell v. Hodges (2) Ohio (2) Oireachtas (1) Oregon (1) Pacific Fertility Center (1) parentage (12) parentage law (3) parental order (1) parental rights information (20) Path2Parenthood (2) Pavan (1) Peiya Wang (2) Penn (1) personhood laws (1) PFLAG China (1) Philadelphia (2) Pink Cross (1) Portland (1) Portugal Switzerland (1) Pregnancy (1) Prop 8 (3) Protecting Modern Families Coalition (1) Provincetown (1) Reciprocal IVF (2) regulation (1) religious liberty (1) Representative Ayanna Presley (1) reproductive equality (1) reproductive freedom (3) reproductive laws (1) Reproductive Politics (1) reproductive rights (3) Reprotech (1) RESOLVE (8) Rich Vaugh (1) Rich Vaughn (270) Richard V. Grazi (1) Richard Westoby (1) Risa A. Levine (1) Roe v Wade (3) Russia (1) same sex couple (2) same sex couples (6) same-sex marriage (51) same-sex parents (58) San Diego Fertility Center (7) San Diego Fertility Center; Jennifer White (3) Santa Monica (4) Sara Pitlyk (1) Sarah Page (3) SARS (1) SART (3) Saudi Arabia (1) SCOTUS (4) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (1) SEEDS (5) Selwyn College (1) senate bill (1) Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (1) Senator Brad Hoylman (1) Senator Patty Murray (1) Senator Tammy Duckworth (1) Shanghai Pride (1) Singapore (2) single dad (1) single intended parents (1) single parent (2) single parents (2) Society for Ethics in Egg Donation & Surrogacy (1) Sofia Vergara (2) Sophia Vergara (1) South Carolina (2) South Carolina Equality (1) South Dakota (2) South Dakota Department of Health (1) Spain (1) sperm bank (1) sperm banks (1) sperm donation news (19) sperm donor agreement (2) sperm donor information (8) Sperm Stem Cells (1) SSCs (1) Staci Swiderski (1) Stem Cell Research (1) Stephanie Haney (1) Stephen Page (1) Steve Snyder (4) Steven Snyder (2) Stork (1) Surrogacy (2) Surrogacy Agreement (3) Surrogacy Arrangements Act (4) surrogacy contract (1) Surrogacy Law (2) surrogate (22) Surrogate Bill of Rights (1) Susan Crockin (1) suurogacy (1) Switzerland (2) Taipei (1) Taiwan (2) Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy (1) Taiwan Pride (2) Target (1) Tennessee (2) Tennessee Reproductive Rights (1) Tetu (1) Texas (3) Texas abortion law (2) Thailand (1) The Lancet (1) The New York Times (6) The New Yorker (1) The Washington Post (1) Tim Schlesinger (1) Tokyo (1) Tommy Woelfel (1) Transgender (1) Translational Pediatrics (1) Trump (3) TwoDaddies.UK (1) TwoDads.U.K (1) Tyra Banks (1) U.K. Surrogacy Law (2) U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (3) U.S. citizenship (2) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1) U.S. State Department (5) U.S. Supreme Court (12) U.S. Surrogate Shortage (1) UK (7) UK Fertility Law (1) UK Law Commission (2) UK Surrogacy (9) UK urrogacy (1) Ukraine (1) Uniform Parentage Act (1) United Arab Emirates (1) United Kingdom (3) universal (1) University of Colorado (1) University of Pennsylvania (1) UPA (1) us armed forces (1) vaccine (1) veteran affairs (1) Veterans Fertility Services (2) Vietnam (1) Vogue (1) Washington (2) Washington Post (1) Wendie Wilson (3) West Coast Surrogacy (1) William Marotta (1) Williams Institute (2) Wisconsin (1) World Health Organization (1) wounded veterans (1) Wuhan (1) Zaccari (1)


text:
British Seaweeds
Seaweeds (marine algae) show a wide array of forms, colours and textures, and there are many different species of seaweed occupying different niches on the seashore. Some are able to grow high on the shore where it is dry for long periods of the day; others have developed defences against damaging wave action. These features and many more have been used by taxonomists to identify and classify them.
Within its botanical collections, Amgueddfa Cymru houses a herbarium of dried, pressed algal specimens. This herbarium provides an essential resource for studying seaweeds.
Browse through the images below to view a selection of seaweeds that can all be found on Wales' diverse rocky shores.
Publish date: 4 October 2011
Natural History Plants & Animals
Evenly Branched Mossy Feather Weed
Bryopsis plumose (Hudson) C.Agardh
CHLOROPHYTA (GREEN ALGA)
bryon: like a moss / plumose: feathery (Latin)
Resembling a miniature fern, Bryopsis fragments easily, with new plants able to grow from each fragment. They can even regenerate when the protoplasm (cell contents) of the plant is squeezed out and cultivated. This extreme ability gives Bryopsis an advantage over other species when colonising new areas.
Spindle Weed
Atractophora hypnoides P.L.Crouan&H.M.Crouan
RHODOPHYTA (RED ALGA)
atractos: spindle (Greek) / phoreo: I bare (Greek) / hypnoides: moss like
Spindle Weed is a red seaweed, rare in the UK with only a few known sites in Wales. It occurs on Skomer Island which is designated a European Special Plant Area for its algae as well as a Marine Nature Reserve. Skomer has a very high diversity of algae with over 240 species, a third of the British Isles flora.
Codium tomentosum Stackhouse
kodion: the skin of an animal (Greek) / tomentosus: covered with matted hairs (Latin)
This unusual looking green alga has branches resembling spongy green fingers which are made of a mass of filamentous tissue. The image on the left is a Nature Print [See image 4 Fucus vesiculosus] and on the right is a herbarium specimen.
There is one other species of Codium in Britain, Codium fragile. This is an introduced species and can only be separated from Codium tomentosum using microscopic details. By placing a small amount of the seaweed on a microscope slide and squashing it with another slide, the shape of the outer layer of cells can be seen. In Codium tomentosum the tips of the cells are rounded and in Codium fragile the cells are pointed at the end.
Cock's Comb
Plocamium cartilagineum (Linnaeus) P.S.Dixon
plokamos: a curl (Greek) / cartilaginous: flexible but firm and tough (Latin)
Cock's Comb is a very common seaweed throughout the UK, easily recognised by the comb shapes at the tips of the branches. It was thought to be one very widely distributed species, occurring throughout the world. However, a recent genetic and morphological study of Plocamium cartilagineum in Northern Europe showed there to be four distinct species.
Peacock's Tail
Padina pavonica (Linnaeus) Thivy
PHAEOPHYTA (BROWN ALGA)
padinos: belonging to a plain (Greek) / pavo: a peacock (Latin)
This specimen is from a bound book (exsiccata) of Jersey seaweeds created by Miss K. E. Scott in 1880. During the Victorian craze for collecting, specimens were often collected and arranged purely for decorative display. Some Victorian collectors though, such as Amelia Warren Griffiths and Mary Wyatt, have made huge contributions to museum collections and algal science.
Peacock's Tail has become endangered in the UK where it is now known from less than ten sites, with only one site in Wales. It is at the edge of its distribution in the UK, a situation which tends to make species isolated and vulnerable to extinction.
This seaweed absorbs calcium carbonate from the surrounding sea water, a fairly unusual characteristic in brown algae. It deposits this as aragonite crystals on the surface of its fronds, giving it a defence against wave action, high light levels and herbivores. This characteristic makes Peacock's Tail sensitive to small changes in the acidity of the sea water, so areas in which it can grow are extremely limited.
Purple Laver
Porphyra purpurea (Roth) C.Agardh
porphura: a purple dye (Greek)
Porphyra species are used to make laverbread in Wales and sushi in Japan. Some Porphyra are tough seaweeds that can grow high up on the shore where they are thoroughly dried out at high tide each day.
Bladder Wrack
Fucus vesiculosus Linnaeus
phukos: a seaweed (Greek) / vesiculosus: full of bladders (Latin)
This image is taken from a book published in 1859 called Nature Printing British Sea-weeds by W.G. Johnston and A. Croall. Nature Printing involves rolling the specimen between a lead and copper plate at pressure. An impression of the specimen is left on the soft lead plate which can then be used in the printing process.
Unfortunately this beautiful book has a dark story behind it. Henry Bradbury, who produced the Nature Prints, was accused of stealing the idea from the pioneer of the technique, Alois Auer. Even though Bradbury had improved on Auer's technique, he could not take the pressure of the accusations and killed himself by drinking acid when he was just 29.
For more information on botanical illustrations at Amgueddfa Cymru see '
Drawn from nature
Sea Beech
Delesseria sanguinea (Hudson) J.V.Lamouroux
Delesseria: after Baron Delessert, a French naturalist / sanguinea: blood red (Latin)
This is an image of a herbarium specimen in Amgueddfa Cymru's botanical collections. To create a pressed seaweed specimen:
half fill a shallow tray with seawater and tilt at an angle
place some acid-free paper in the tray with the seaweed on top
gradually pull the paper out of the water (from deep to shallow end), arranging the seaweed at the same time
cover the seaweed with muslin material (to stop the seaweed from sticking to the blotting paper)
place between blotting paper and press using weights or a plant press
keep in a dry area with good air flow (e.g. a drying cabinet) and change the blotting paper every day
The pressed specimen is then attached to larger herbarium sheets with a label recording the collection details. This goes into the herbarium, which is kept in alphabetical order by scientific name. The pressing process is so effective that specimens remain viable to study after hundreds of years.
Dotted Peacock Weed
Taonia atomaria (Woodward) J.Agardh
taonios: of a peacock (Greek) / atomaire: scattered with dots (French)
Although this specimen looks green, it is in fact a brown alga. Many marine algae can change colour when growing in different environmental conditions. Some common red algae can naturally be browner in colour, for example Carrageen (Chondrus crispus) or Pepper Dulse (Osmundea pinnatifida). Red algae tend to be blacker in low light areas and brighter red when growing in full sun.
Seaweeds show seasonal growth; many will begin growth in spring then die down in autumn and winter. As they decay late in the year, or when washed up on the beach, red algae can turn brown or yellow while brown algae turn orange or black.
With a strong south-western distribution in the British Isles, Dotted Peacock Weed is common in Ireland, Wales and the West Country. It is placed in the family Dictyotaceae, along with the common Forkweed (Dictyota dichotoma) and the rare Peacock's Tail (Padina pavonica).
Beautiful Fan Weed
Callophyllis laciniata (Hudson) Kützing
kallos: beauty (Greek) / phullon: a leaf (Greek) / laciniata: small divisions (Latin)
This is the only species of Callophyllis found in the British Isles. When reproductive cells form on the frond edges, they give it a ragged appearance (inset image).
There are three types of seaweed, red, brown and green; known as the Rhodophyta ('Red Algae'), Phaeophyta ('Brown Algae') and Chlorophyta ('Green Algae'). Although often grouped together, these types of algae are not closely related to each other. However, red and green algae do share a common ancestor with green land plants.
The accessory pigments that give the red and brown seaweeds their distinctive colour enable them to use a wider range of wavelengths of light for photosynthesis. This allows them to occupy more zones or niches in the sea or on the shore.
Shorter (blue) wavelengths of visible light penetrate deeper into water than longer (red) wavelengths. Red seaweeds contain pigments that absorb the shorter wavelengths enabling them to grow in deeper waters. The pigments reflect longer (red) wavelengths of light, making seaweeds such as this Beautiful Fan Weed, appear red.


The Kitchen and Bath People's Design photos only begin to exemplify today's kitchens, baths and other cabinetry projects. There are multiple catagories but one common "thread" – quality.
Whether you are remodeling or building a kitchen, bathroom, library, office, or media center, The Kitchen and Bath People will work with you from the initial design to installing the final detail.
Make cooking, dining, and entertaining easy with a kitchen that is full of style and amenities and fits your family's needs. Get inspired by these amazing before and after kitchen makeovers, and start planning a kitchen redo of your own.
Take a look at some of our more recent work with some "Before" and "After" pictures here in our Gallery.
A kitchen is not just a place to whip up meals—it's also a homework zone, a gathering spot, an entertaining headquarter, and everything in between.
Proudly built by Capitol Builders Group with The Kitchen and Bath People designing the kitchens and bathrooms.
Glass tiles and frameless cabinetry in a bamboo veneer give this kitchen a modern sparkle. Wall-mounted light fixtures highlight the specialty tile, accent lighting in the cabinetry highlight a decorative collection, and an adjustable height, decorative light fixture brings light to the kitchen island. The built-in Meile coffee system and wall ovens give this kitchen a high-end, custom appeal. Granite and etched glass give the opportunity for a truely custom kitchen.
We designed this beautiful kitchen featuring state-of-art functionality that every kitchen should have. The light fixture has the ability to go up or down. The deep drawer allows you to store all your pots and pans. And to top-it off we have featured bamboo which is considered a "green" element.
Lots of space and a bright breakfast area makes this kitchen family functional. A bar height counter and open flow between this kitchen and the living room allows the cook to interact with family and friends while still preparing meals. This kitchen features granite counter tops, a tile backsplace plus a stainless backsplash at the stove, stainless steel appliances, and glass cabinet doors.
Proudly built by The Kitchen and Bath People.
Open shelving and basket storage in the center island give a perfectly charming style to this kitchen. Ample natural light provided through sky lights in the vaulted ceiling and a large picture window, along with adjustable, recessed lighting, provide appropriate brightness for kitchen tasks.
This kitchen addition was proudly built by Capitol Builders Group and designed by The Kitchen and Bath People!


text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<playlist>
<video url="../flv/brees.flv" caption="Drew Brees" />
<video url="../flv/Manning.flv" caption="Eli Manning" />
<video url="../flv/peterson.flv" caption="Adrian Peterson" />
<video url="../flv/sanders.flv" caption="Bob Sanders" />
</playlist>


Here's a great opportunity to check out some of Washington's best restaurants. It's the fifth annual "Taste of D.C.," an outdoor food festival for the family, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, on Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 14th streets.
Fifty restaurants will be serving classic American cuisine along with international dishes representing more than 12 nations. In past years the festival has drawn about 1 million people, and one of the reasons is the free entertainment -- the Temptations, Little Feat, the Ohio Players, Joan Jett and Burning Spear. These performers are among the more than two dozen headline and local entertainers scheduled to appear on three separate stages. Children can enjoy storytellers, mimes, clowns, dancers and magicians at the Family Fun Stop and the Little Monster Parade on Oct. 9.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. Admission is free. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the D.C. Central Kitchen, the Third & Eats Restaurant Training Program and the Children's Cancer Foundation. Call (202) 724-5430. Each fall thousands of visitors return to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons for Patuxent River Appreciation Days. This year's celebration on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. is the 18th annual event, which is held to promote interest in the river and help fund its restoration and maintenance.
For the second year the festival will focus on the river's contribution to World War II. During the war there were three naval bases in the area and one, the Patuxent Naval Air Station, still exists and is a co-sponsor of the festival.
Activities include history and environmental exhibits, music, a craft fair, a parade on Saturday at 2 p.m., free boat rides, model boat races, canoe rides and lessons and food.
There will be free shuttle service. Festival admission is also free. The museum is on Route 2 in Solomons. Call (410) 326-2042.


I saw a tweet from @TechForLifeUK the other day which said they were going to run a code dojo where they would be writing the game of rock, paper, scissors on the microbit.
The game design I came up with was as simple as I could get it - shake the microbit and it would make a random choice between one of the three options. When it had decided on an option, it will display an image representing that choice and keep it on the display for a few seconds. After that the display will clear and you need to shake again to pick another random shape.
It's up to you to throw your own shape, compare with the microbit and keep score.
The most challenging part of the program, as usual with developing games for the microbit architecture, is coming up with suitable images to represent game concept, in this case the rock, paper and scissors. Luckily I have a background in creating icons for Windows application but even that is not much help when the system is constrained to a 5 x 5 LED grid.
Eventually I settled on an oval shape to represent the rock, a document kind of icon to represent paper, and an extremely rough approximation of a pair of scissors.
To provide a little bit of a clue to what the player can expect, I cycle through the three alternatives at the start of the game using display.show with the list of images.


The Giara range has a chic and delicate design. With a high quality chrome finish the Giara Basin Mixer with Basin Waste radiates sophistication. Its clean lines and small profile makes it ideal for modern bathrooms and smaller spaces such as en suites.


text:
Futureproof With Jonathan Mccrea
Irish businesses to be 'at the forefront' of rebuilding Ukraine
A businessman has founded a group so that Irish businesses can be "at the forefront" of effor...
17.53 31 May 2022
A businessman has founded a group so that Irish businesses can be "at the forefront" of efforts to rebuild Ukraine.
Following the Russian invasion of the country, Ukraine's economy is forecast to shrink by 45% this year alone. Buildings have been flattened, young families have fled, soldiers and even Holocaust survivors have been killed by Russian bombs. Even if a peace agreement is soon agreed, the country is expected to endure many years of hardship as it rebuilds.
John O'Connor, founder of O'Connor International, recently visited Kyiv and came away impressed at the stoicism of the locals and determined to help it get back on its feet.
The result is Úcráin Nua - Irish for New Ukraine - and he is urging businesses across the island to get in touch:
"The idea is that that will act as a business bureau for Irish companies predominantly," he explained to The Pat Kenny Show.
"Although funnily enough the first company will probably be an Argentine one which has got a lot of Irish investors in the biofuel area.
"It's quite difficult to set up in Ukraine now and it's okay if you're one of the really big boys. You can go in and get organised and sit there for a couple of years without any deal flow and just eat the costs.
"But if you're a midsized company, that's hard to do and there's quite a lot of bureaucracy.
"So what we're offering is a one stop shop. So if you want to take part in this restoration and you want to be there now because the Ukrainians will be aware of who is there now and who are the Johnny come latelys who turn up when it's safe to do.
"So I think it's important to be there now… and to bring in people behind me who I think have something to offer."
00:00:00 / 00:00:00
Mr O'Connor also believes the war presents a huge opportunity for Irish companies as well; in the short-term there are export opportunities for Irish companies who can fill the void left by businesses that are now inoperable because of the war.
First responders arrive at the scene after a Russian rocket strike on the centre of Kharkiv, 17-04-2022. Image: ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock Photo
Last month the EU announced the end on all import duties on Ukrainian goods in what the bloc described as an "unprecedented" gesture of solidarity through trade liberalisation:
"The EU has never before delivered such trade liberalisation measures, which are unprecedented in their scale: granting Ukraine zero tariff, zero quota access to the EU market," Valdis Dombrovskis, EC executive vice-president and commissioner for trade, said.
The decision is also a significant milestone in the bloc's efforts to fast track Ukraine's application for EU membership.
Main image: Mariupol, Ukraine. 17th Mar, 2022. Residents seen on the street after emerging from bomb shelters. Picture by: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live News
Business Ukraine
Tripling PRSI contributions for self-employed is 'absolute insanity'
Game of Thrones boosts economy... but what happens now that filming's over?


Josh Marshall is asking: :Why does CNN report the news like the public is made up of a bunch of circus idiots?"
Uh. Josh? Because we kinda are. I mean sure, maybe you, me, and a few others aren't. Hell, a pre-court-decision majority of the country might not be Barnum Bros. quality. But as it currently stands - until/if Bush is beaten in November . . . .
To be fair, it's chicken and egg, isn't it? Who were the first circus idiots? The press or the people who believed them?
Update: Second best question from Josh: "In the last six weeks, how many documents has the Bush administration declassified for the exclusive and explicit purpose of attacking a political enemy?"