There are mainly three kinds of productivity labeled in the office and two of those are NOT desirable by any sane employer. One is the unproductive bunch which refers to employees who wander around not doing what they are supposed to do, not engaged in any productive activities, more of seat-warmers but they not posed any threats to the company's goals and objectives. It's not very hard to spot these unproductive lots; all you have to do is to look for the people who know exactly what part of them needed change to be more productive but they just refuse to do so.
Another undesirable group of employee is the counterproductive mix. This group of employee displays counterproductive work behavior, which refers to actions by employees that go against the goals and aims of their employer. There are numerous and broad driving forces to counterproductive work behavior such as environmental reason, training deficiency, harsh and harmful personality and many other external factors. The only group that a company wishes it had is the productive one.
Robinson and Bennett (1995), "A Typology of Deviant Workplace Behaviors: A Multidimensional Scaling Study", they categorize workplace deviants into four categories, production deviance that involves tardiness or goldbricking, property deviance such as theft or sabotage of equipment, political deviance for example gossiping or favouritism and personal aggression which includes physical aggression, sexual harassment and work bullying.
Counterproductive work behavior is not straight up corrupt or illegal behavior, but it exists in varying degree in many companies. If these behaviors are not being handled appropriately by the managers involved, a company might face a bigger problem that could potentially have negative impacts to their business.
If we look at the above category, production deviance can easily be identified by using attendance software; attendance data from the software can accurately point out who had been slacking in time management and with the same data, a company can identify the attendance pattern of each employee. Tardiness is not only limited to those who come late to the office. In the minds of many workers, as long as they don't check in late, tardiness has nothing to do with them. But when using advanced automated time attendance software like TimeTec, the definition of tardiness is wider than manual attendance could ever cover. Coming in late from breaks, miss punches, leaving from work early, leaving the office to do errands, unnecessary overtime and etc are considered tardiness and these deviant behaviors can be accurately traced by modern attendance software.
Tardiness is not only limited to those who come in late for work.
Trace employees tardiness using TimeTec for better workforce management.
Goldbricking is another deviance that inflicts employees at work but the perpetrators are not as easy to spot. Who are these goldbrickers, how to identify them? They are those who contribute less but always pretend that they are busy with work when actually they are not doing much. Some like to be seen as using the Internet vigorously as if they are deep in their task when in fact they are just cyberslacking. How to identify goldbricking activities using time attendance software? One way is to use job cost feature to combat this counterproductive work behavior. Job cost is a feature that times an employee on a certain task/project and it can be linked to a certain cost to monitor the progress and to manage the overall costing. With job cost, a company can highlight those who do not contribute sufficiently and in turn find a solution to counter the problem.
Job costing option is available for flexi working schedule to allow the management to monitor and manage costing.
Example of job costing analysis report generated in TimeTec.
Countering counterproductive work behavior is not only about changing the behavior of the staff, a company needs to create a work environment that has fair and equitable policies, which simply means everybody is subjected to the same rules, providing an even playing field. When employee perceives that everybody has to abide by the same rule, everybody's engagement to perform better in the office could improve. For example, if the policy of the company states that the time allowance for check in is 15 mins, those who come in after that 15 mins must have the tardiness recorded and if the tardiness exceeds a certain level, it has to be punishable. A manager can't commit the same tardiness and not be reprimanded. The staff must not feel that the company is playing favorites with some employees. Having an advanced automated attendance system can accomplish fairness in implementation of the rules and compliance where each employee is subjected to the same attendance policies and procedures imposed by the company in the system. Positive staff perceptions toward an organization often hold the key to preventing counterproductive workplace behavior from blossoming.
Tardiness are highlighted in red and short hours are indicated for easy reference.
The automated time attendance system also can allow employees to have a say in their work activities, providing employees with perceive ownership in their job responsibilities and transparency in their time activities. Employees can view their attendance data and if discrepancies found, meet the person in charge for explanation. When feasible, managers can also change up employees daily routines, challenge them with new projects or encourage them to improve the work they currently produce.
Managers also play an important role in identifying counterproductive work behaviors.
Managers need to be firm and stern in combating counterproductive work behaviors. They need to stress the importance of having positive work environment to ensure the success of a business, and do not lose the authority they have on their employees. Managers who have casual attitudes toward these deviant behaviors will not be able to eradicate this unwanted behavior because those who commit these counterproductive work behaviors sense and gauge the response of their superiors and they prefer those who do not react. By looking at the attendance data, if a company finds out that a few employees have started a "tardy" routine for a duration of time, remedy needs to be taken to correct the behavior by relevant managers. Installing a biometrics door access and time attendance hardware plus a few cameras can also be a solution to overcome property deviance and personal aggression because the data could tell who were in the space(s) during the time of the case occurrences.
Counterproductive work behaviors come with a price tag and it is unwise for any organization to keep a close eye on this prevalence. These behaviors cost America businesses approximately $50 billion annually and may account for as many as 20% of failed businesses (Coffin, 2003). The deviances are various, they can be employees who start negative rumours about the company, employees who make long-distance calls or mail personal packages from work, employee who goes against boss's decision or a boss who shows favouritism to particular employees, those who withhold information from the company and many more. Automated time attendance system such as TimeTec can be used as a tool to eradicate these counterproductive work behaviors by systematically capture employee's attendance and work activities, This time data is very useful for human resource to analysis to find a way to tackle the problem for a better future.


Rohit Bal couture collection 2016, 'Kehkashaan – The Return of Opulence', was inspired by the Czarist Regime of Russia. View the collection and read our review!
The latest Rohit Bal couture collection was showcased as a part of India Couture Week 2016 last week. Titled 'Kehkashaan – The Return of Opulence', this fashion show was all about the idea of extreme luxury.
The silhouettes included floor-touching gowns worn under long, embroidered jackets, and long skirts and lehengas worn with boleros or collared jackets. Menswear included sherwanis and bundhgalas worn with chooridars, and Indo-western jackets paired with slim pants. The color palette, like the silhouettes, remained the same as his previous Summer/Resort 2016 collection – blacks, off-whites and deep reds with gold embellishments.
There were some fresh elements, too, which we haven't seen in Bal's recent collections – including crowns (both for men and women), gold belts, a solid-colored long flared skirt and a long jacket with waist-high slits on either side. An empire-waist gown and a flared waistless dress were new styles too.
Translating royalty into Indian couture is Bal's signature thing, and opulence is hardly a new word in his dictionary. And yet, time and again, the fashion designer unveils designs that use the same philosophy but are praise-worthy nonetheless, all the while staying in his comfort zone. Which is not always a bad thing from business point of view – as Bal caters to the wealthy consumer. So yes, as far as silhouettes, fabrics, color palette and embroideries go, this collection is right up Bal's alley, and yet I am wowed altogether! Mission accomplished or an opportunity lost at the hands of a talented designer? You be the judge!
This blog is a good platform to guide the brides to choose the best Jacket Gown to wear for their wedding.


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Wooden Warrior v2.0, New Hampshire's Revenge
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:15 PM
Ride the Roar-O-Sarus... debuting Spring, 2014, at Story Land, NH. "Kiddie coaster" my eye...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhW8kF99DWs
You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)
+1Loading
Me like. Is this an exact duplicate of WW?
And.
I. Love. That. Train.
The amusement park rises bold and stark..kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1248054&...fr_id=1372
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 11:39 PM
It's a really beautiful train. I was really impressed! I haven't been on a ride with Timberliners yet, but they impress the crap out of me. And from what I hear from people who maintain the rides, they sure help a lot to reduce track maintenance.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog - Silly Nonsense
bjames
Why do all dinosaur themed rides rip off the logo of Jurassic Park?
Last edited by bjames, Thursday, November 21, 2013 12:29 AM
kpjb
Thursday, November 21, 2013 7:59 AM
Besides using a similar font, what else is even remotely similar to this?
James Whitmore
Another advantage I see that the Timberliners have, based on my experience on Wooden Warrior, loading is easier and quicker. No seatbelts for the guests to sit on and/or fiddle with and also don't need check by the ride ops. Ride ops needn't bend over so far to reach and check the lapbar. (And they're not reaching towards your private zone).
jameswhitmore.net
Raven-Phile
I am so excited for the direction TGG's taken with their rides. They look like they pack so much into a small area, that it's non-stop until the brakes. I really need to get out and try the Timberliners, too.
R.I.P LeRoi Moore 9/7/61 - 8/19/2008
slithernoggin
Thursday, November 21, 2013 10:11 AM
I love the name.
Tekwardo
Mike, it's not a clone. Wooden Warrior looks longer, but that could be the way it's laid out, but they're definitely not clones.
Website | Flickr | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
Clark Griswold
Too bad more parks didn't install these instead of all the spinning mice recently. Wooden Warrior is a lot of fun.
How about a Dueling Warrior?
Yes, please.
Mike Gallagher said:
No. Very similar concepts, but the ride layout is totally new. (Although I do LOVE the fact that both rides incorporate a tunnel)... :)
Yeah, it's been a coupla years since those wonderful rides on WW, so I wasn't sure. After watching this animation a coupla times more...and reading the responses contained herein from you and Tek...I realize they're not one and the same.
Last edited by Mike Gallagher, Thursday, November 21, 2013 3:39 PM
CreditWh0re
bjames said:
Because ever since 1923 when the Neuland font was created, people have used it for expressing the ideas of "primitive" in nature. Including Gary Goddard and the Landmark group who did all of the imaginary "theme park" stuff for the movie, and eventually the theming for the real life theme park attractions. I presume that included the generation of the logo and use of the "inline" variant of the Neuland font for the "park logo".
Charles Nungester
FYI Clark Grizwald. TGG hasn't ruled out spinny cars or launched or backwards or face to face or............. :)
While the cars are different than whats on Lost Coaster, The same thing can be done with them with cars sitting back to back or facing each other. :)
Last edited by Charles Nungester, Thursday, November 21, 2013 6:14 PM

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cremation simply expedites the process of reducing a body to bone fragments through either a water-based process or a flame-based process.
Green cremation is a gentle, eco-friendly alternative to flame-based cremation or casket burials. It is a quiet process that uses water and potassium hydroxide to reduce the body to its basic element of bone ash. The ashes are then returned to the family. The process was adapted for funeral home use by the Mayo Clinic in their anatomy bequest program and is now becoming available to the general public. Bradshaw is the first and only firm in Minnesota to provide this revolutionary service.
Choosing cremation neither eliminates nor does it require a funeral service. Traditional or contemporary services are often planned before or after the cremation process. A funeral service followed by cremation may be exactly the same as a funeral service followed by ground burial. They can be elaborate or simple and traditional or nontraditional. Arrangements and ceremonies tend to be as individual as the persons for whom and by whom they are made.They may be personalized specifically to reflect the life of the deceased, and thus have a special meaning. Bradshaw Funeral & Cremation Services is able to assist in any and all of your Funeral Service needs. To obtain more information on funeral services click here or call 651-489-1349.


text:
The original item was published from 1/23/2018 4:57:00 PM to 12/3/2019 2:39:21 PM.
[ARCHIVED] Windsor Kindness Week Returns February 11-17
The Town of Windsor community is invited to participate in Windsor's second annual Kindness Week February 11-17.
Each day of Kindness Week, community members are challenged to participate in daily activities focused on fostering community support and kindness.
"The Kindness Week initiative was launched in January 2017 after our community was faced with great loss and challenges," said Kim Schutt, Windsor Kindness Week co-founder. "The movement, which was enthusiastically embraced by both individuals and businesses, provided an opportunity for acts of service and to start the New Year on a positive note.
"We hope to build on the enthusiasm of last year by continuing the initiative in 2018, creating a tradition that adds to the quality of life in our Windsor community."
The daily challenges include:
Sunday: Service Sunday, kick off the week with a good deed or act of service. Drop off donations for the Windsor Severance Food Pantry — nonperishable food items, diapers and other baby items, or school supplies — at Safeway and King Soopers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Monday: Senior Smiles, brighten the day of a Windsor senior citizen.
Tuesday: Reach Out and Write, connect with someone who has impacted your life. Printable notecards will be available on the Town of Windsor's Facebook page (facebook.com/windsorgov).
Wednesday: Share the Love — Pay it Forward, extend kindness to others rather than a person that may have directly helped you.
Thursday: Thank an Educator, recognize a teacher, mentor, or school staff member that has made a difference.
Friday: Recognize First Responders and Veterans, thank you banners for Windsor first responders and veterans will be available to sign at the Community Recreation Center and Clearview Library.
Saturday: Neighborly Nod, do something kind for your neighbor — shovel their walk, bring them goodies, or just spend time together!
Participants can share their daily challenge stories via social media by using the hashtag #WindsorKindness, by uploading photos/video into the Facebook event page, or by tagging/mentioning the Town of Windsor in their post. Select stories will be featured on the town's social media pages throughout the week.
"Windsor is such a close-knit and caring community," said Lori Couch, Windsor Kindness Week co-founder. "We look forward to hearing all of the stories from folks who participate in the daily challenges."
Windsor Kindness Week is organized by a grassroots citizen committee and supported by the Weld RE-4 School District, Weld RE-4 Education Foundation, Windsor Chamber of Commerce, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue, Clearview Library District, Windsor Rotary Club, the Downtown Development Authority, and the Town of Windsor.
To help spread the word, visit the Kindness Week media kit for social media graphics, flyers, website text, and more.


text:
next creator >
< previous creator
Primary Sources Indexed
Sources and characters created by
74 sources
2000 AD #1025 (14 Jan. 1997): "Case Two: It's Good to Talk"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #1 (Nov. 2005): "The Things They Say About Her: Part 1"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #2 (Dec. 2005): "What Do You Really Deep Down Want?"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #3 (Jan. 2006): "Help and Those Who Need It"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #4 (Feb. 2006): "Women and Children First"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #5 (Mar. 2006): "Do You Feel Better Now?"
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #6 (Apr. 2006): "Welcome to the Game"
The Brotherhood #7 (Jan. 2002): "Let Freedom Ring"
The Brotherhood #8 (Feb. 2002): "Loyalties"
The Brotherhood #9 (Mar. 2002): "The Eagle and the Serpent"
Catwoman (vol. 3) #32 (Aug. 2004): "Only Takes a Night"
Criminal: The Sinners #1 (Sep. 2009): "The Sinners, Part One"
Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #58 (Aug. 1992): "In the Wonderful Land of Clockwork"
Incognito #1 (Dec. 2008): "Part One"
Incognito #2 (Feb. 2009): "Part Two"
Incognito #3 (Apr. 2009): "Part Three"
JLA: Classified #19 (Late May 2006): "The Hypothetical Woman: Part Four"
Judge Dredd: The Megazine (vol. 2) #1 (2 May 1992): "Swimming in Blood (Pt 1)"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #1 (May 1993): "Even Deadmen Need Friends"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #2 (June 1993): "Stir It Up"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #3 (July 1993): "Cupid's Folly"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #4 (Aug. 1993): "Krumville 50"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #5 (Sep. 1993): "Kill Time Till Time Kills"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #6 (Oct. 1993): "Eating Pop Porn"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #8 (Dec. 1993): "God's Tick"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #9 (Jan. 1994): "Hysteria Knows No Gender"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #10 (Feb. 1994): "Small Wages"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #11 (Mar. 1994): "Eat Slap Die"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #12 (May 1994): "Eat Slap Die, Part 2"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #13 (June 1994): "The Heat"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #14 (July 1994): "The Devil's Last Stand"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #15 (Aug. 1994): "The Dinosaur"
Kid Eternity (vol. 3) #16 (Sep. 1994): "The Zone"
Kingpin #1 (Aug. 2003): "All the King's Men"
Kingpin #2 (Sep. 2003): "Sharks & Little Fishes"
Kingpin #3 (Oct. 2003): "Thug, Part 3"
Kingpin #4 (Nov. 2003): "Thug, Part 4"
Kingpin #5 (Dec. 2003): "Thug, Part 5"
Kingpin #6 (Jan. 2004): "Thug, Part 6"
Kingpin #7 (Feb. 2004): "Thug, Part 7"
Marvel Knights: Millennial Visions #1 (Feb. 2002): "Eat at Cap's"
The Minx #1 (Oct. 1998): "SexDeath"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #1 (Mar. 2003): "Out of the Cold"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #2 (Apr. 2003): "The Inquiry"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #3 (May 2003): "Secrets and Lies"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #4 (June 2003): "Illusions"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #5 (July 2003): "No Exit"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #6 (Aug. 2003): "The First Mistake"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #7 (Sep. 2003): "Dead Drop"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #8 (Oct. 2003): "Extraction"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #9 (Dec. 2003): "For the Wicked"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #10 (Dec. 2003): "Bulletproof"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #11 (Jan. 2004): "The Interrogation"
Sleeper (vol. 1) #12 (Mar. 2004): "The Road to Hell"
Sleeper: Season Two #4 (Nov. 2004): "Face / Two Face"
Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 3) #12 (Jan. 2006): "Private Conversation"
Spider-Man's Tangled Web #13 (June 2002): "Double Shots"
Supermen of America (vol. 1) #1 (Mar. 1999): "Fire from Heaven"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #397 (Oct. 2001): "Poptopia, Part Three: A Complete Unknown"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #398 (Oct. 2001): "Poptopia, Part Four: The Clash"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #400 (Dec. 2001): "Supreme Confessions"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #404 (Apr. 2002): "Army Ants"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #405 (June 2002): "Ballroom Blitzkrieg"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #407 (Aug. 2002): "Glaubiger, Heiler, Gefallener"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #408 (Sep. 2002): "Identity Crisis"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #409 (Sep. 2002): "Rocktopia, Part 8 of 5"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #413 (Nov. 2002): "Annie's Moving Story"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #414 (Dec. 2002): "Fall Down Go Boom"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #415 (Jan. 2003): "Secrets"
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #428 (Early Oct. 2003): "How Did I Get Here?"
Vertigo: Winter's Edge #1 (Jan. 1998): "Mazel Tov, Leo"
X-Men Unlimited
X-Men Unlimited (vol. 1) #33 (Dec. 2001): "The Blob"
X-Men Unlimited (vol. 1) #33 (Dec. 2001): "Survival of the Fittest"
X-Men: Millennial Visions #1 (Aug. 2000): "Bringing Up Baby"
# app.
w=writer
a=artist
d=director
William Aaron 1 a
Ajax 1 a
Aldo 3 a
Amanda 6 a
Ava Destruction 5 a
Azazel 8 a
Beckman 1 a
Brahma (Cal Usjak) 17 a
Calab 1 a
Cap'n Happy 1 a
Agent Carnicki 2 a
Claws 1 a
The Collector (Scotty Adsit) 2 a
Robert Francks 1 a
Josette 1 a
Agent Kelvin 2 a
The Loser (Theo Storm) 14 a
The Minx (Anna Schwarz) 8 a
Mitzy 1 a
Ms. Fingers 1 a
Zack Overkill 11 a
Phishy McPhish 1 a
Psilencer (Tim Thomas) 3 a
Pyrogen (Claudio Tielli) 12 a
Scaly Man 1 a
Jane Smythe 1 a
Soldat (Erich Cross) 1 a
Spud 1 a
Veronica St. James 8 a
The Supreme Pontiff 5 a
Trois 1 a
unnamed beast 1 a
Don "Shorty" Vansante 3 a
Devlin Waugh 20 a
White Lotus (Nona Lin-Baker) 14 a
Jason Williams 3 a


Nationwide Credit (NCI) has long standing relationships with the world's largest banks and is considered a preferred vendor by many of our clients. Our global footprint allows us to scale quickly to meet the needs of each client while increasing their net back. In the U.S., we have coast-to-coast call centers to provide solutions for clients who require domestic U.S. service. Currently, we service all stages of the account lifecycle from acquisition to out of statute post charge-off recoveries. It is no wonder 7 out of 10 of the top credit card companies choose NCI.


Product Project Managers will be single-point of contact towards customers on sub-systems and product-matters.
Product Project Managers will be responsible for contractual obligations, HSE, Quality, Schedule, Risk and Cost.
The perfect candidate has excellent management and communication-skills, and ability to maintain focus and motivation also in face of stress and high demands.
•	Mobilize the project in compliance with the mobilization schedule.
•	Establish the project team in cooperation with resource owners.
•	Ensure a proper Contract Review. Confirm understanding of and implement all requirements, specifications and clarifications of the Contract.
•	Ensure product schedule is established, implemented and maintained.
•	Ensure work package budget is established.
•	Monitor and control project work and verify scope.
•	Manage Project variations and changes.
•	Report internally and externally on a regular basis.
•	Ensure proper close-out and handover of work package.
•	Organize project team according to TechnipFMC processes and clarify roles and responsibilities.
•	Lead project team including HSE, Quality, Schedule, Risk and Cost.
•	Create an environment for motivating the project team through communication, making decisions and delegating.


Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices.
The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.
Check out the http://www.geocaching.com site.
And then you will want to go out and buy a GPS too, so you can go and find a Geocache or two or three or four.


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

        <meta charset="UTF-8"/>
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/>
        <title>IT202 - Project 5</title>
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/document_styles.css" />

Project 5: 3-screen app for client

                In this project, you'll have the experience of building a product for someone that meets their needs.  The purpose is for you to go through the process:  determining requirements, creating the first version, testing and getting feedback from the client, then revising and delivering.  The amazingness of the app is not what this project is about.

                Your file should be /projects/project5.html.  Your app should have the following features:

Three screens with different content.  The content can be static (pictures of you, information they need to retrieve frequently, etc.) but the data should be different on each screen. (You can certainly choose to pull and present data from the world, but that's not necessary.);

Navigation that lets the user easily get to each screen.

Uses the MDLite framework.  Take a look at the layout components;  they will handle most of the app for you.

Includes a manifest and the meta tags necessary for it to be loaded on the device as an app (refer to the airhorner lab);

An additional screen ("About") with information about the developer.

Instructions

Choose a client - a relative or friend.

Ask them what information they look up frequently. If you know the person well, you may have a good idea of what they would find useful.

Choose an MDLite layout component (not template) and enter content.

Create a manifest.json file and add the meta tags necessary.

Test with the client. Document the feedback you get.

Revise and test your app, repeating as needed.

Deliver.

Evaluation

40% for functionality (does it function, not "is it amazing"

30% for visual appearance and completeness

30% for documented testing and feedback

Again, these can be screens of static content, but they should serve a purpose for the client.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
US-Feature
Betsy DeVos Plans To Establish A Nationwide TV Program Designed To "Cure Gays Through Television"
Betsy DeVos sits on the board of a "brain performance" center whose physician operator claims he can treat ADHD with television Dr. Majid Fotuhi, who emigrated from his native Iran in the 1980s while disguised as a mullah, oversees treatments at Neurocore, a controversial chain of medical facilities bankrolled by President Donald Trump's newly confirmed education secretary, reported The Daily Beast. Neurocore claims its treatment – which requires patients to watch videos such as "Frozen" or "Mad Men" on TV while hooked up to brain sensors – helps at least 90 percent of cases involving attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety. Critics say the treatment isn't effective and serves only as a placebo that gives patients unrealistic hopes and wastes time and money.
However, DeVos stands by her business partner with the same tenacity with which she stands by her new president. As a matter of fact, she has revealed plans of establishing a nationwide TV program designed to "cure gays through television" in a recent interview with The Miami Herald. "On one hand, I do understand the critics; it's probably very difficult to realize there was a way to help ADHD patients all along; a way that works perfectly, yet requires very little investment, and that nobody though about it before we did," she said. "I have known Dr. Fotuhi for quite some time and have the utmost confidence in his expertise. I urge everybody who doubts the work being done at Neurocore to interview past patients. Their reactions are really the only proof and reference anyone needs."
"What's more," she continued, "our innovative method of treating patients is so revolutionary that we are planning on expanding our services to include a similarly groundbreaking form of homosexual conversion therapy, which is a burning issue in American society today." Asked to elaborate further on the method in question, DeVos said that it is based on a "24-hour television program designed to influence gay peoples' subconsciousness on a molecular level," which will supposedly trigger a primordial reaction in the brain, causing the person to revert back to their deepest instincts, one of which is the urge to procreate. "I can assure you nothing like this has ever been attempted before," she added.
"I can't reveal too much at this time, since we're going to try to patent the treatment soon, but what I can tell you is that the program will be designed to reboot the most primitive responses in the patients' brains, causing them to revert back to their basic instincts. Higher brain functions will be preserved, of course, and the program will not affect straight people, as there is nothing wrong with their brain chemistry," DeVos argued. "However, the program will likely include some soft pornography, just to get the homosexuals' brains in the right mood. Eventually, through repetition, the brain will be re-trained to interpret male to female intercourse as a positive thing, ultimately triggering the genitals into a state of arousal. But, that's about all I can tell you right now."
"I'd also like to add that, if the gay conversion treatment becomes as successful as we believe it will, we will have broken through a barrier that's been holding back traditional medicine for decades. After that, who knows: AIDS, schizophrenia, an entire array of mental disorders, and ultimately leukemia and cancer – the sky is the limit. Heck, if we have time, we might even tackle male pattern baldness, just for the hell of it," she concluded.
World Feature
Trump Threatens To "Enforce 35% Import Tax On All Crappy British Cars" If British Parliament Continues Disrespecting POTUS
Sean Spicer: "No Reason To Consider Coretta Scott King's Opinion, What Could She Possibly Know About Racism?"
5 of the Most Lucrative & Best Franchises to Own in 2020
Redesign Your e-Commerce Website for Better Search Engine Optimization
Exploring 8 Different Benefits Of Digital Auto Lending Workflows
Looking Into the World of Store Credit Cards
Remediate Electronic Documents and PDF for Section 508 Compliance
Donald Trump Promises To Stop "The Crazy Muslims From North Korea"
Ted Cruz News: "Helping Texans Is Not Like Helping New Orleans, Hurricane Sandy Was Righteous"
Blogs Feature
Donald Trump Defeat His Own Crazy Tweets: "There Is No Way I Wrote Them My Self"


The latest of our work to go live… this is a large ecommerce site for a timber & building supplies company: Beers Ltd.
We're really pleased with how Beers turned out and we've got another ecommerce project under our belt. If you're looking for an ecommerce solution for your business, we'd recommend you check out our similar work on Factory Direct Flooring and Lingerie Outlet Store, too!
Niko boasts a depth of experience in a variety of services, including Wordpress Development, SEM/CRO & Affiliate Marketing. For over 12 years, Niko has succeeded in catapulting clients to conversion in competitive arenas.
Factory Direct Flooring Goes Live!


Lili here, Chucklefish art director, and producer! And despite being working on Wargroove since day 1 this is my first Dev Blog! I grew up in Sweden but I've lived in London for the past 9 years and I've been working as a game developer for 5 years.
I'm taking a quick break from our busy development schedule to tell you all about one of Wargroove's (in my opinion) coolest features, that's been implemented quite recently.
Wargroove is filled with maps that will encourage strategic battles. But our campaign isn't all just about the clash on the battlefields – the story will also be presented to you through cutscenes! These cutscenes are created in our very own cutscene editor. I worked closely with our programmer Krakauer to make sure the cutscene editor is up to scratch with the team's expectations… And I have to admit that it's really fun to use!
To show off the editor, I've made a little demonstration cutscene just for this blog post. Here we can see everyone's favourite good boy Caesar bounding into action to chase after that pesky undead Felheim army.
We've certainly come a long way since the cutscenes shown in our original announcement trailer from last year! As you can see below initially all cutscenes were static portraits with on-screen text only, but we found this just wasn't giving us the flexibility we needed to tell the stories we wanted.
The cutscene editor will be fully available across all platforms of the game, and you can access it as soon as you boot up Wargroove for the first time. It's really simple to use, so you'll be able to create your very own campaign cutscenes and share them online with your friends in no time. I can't wait to see what stories you create!
Now I have to go back to creating some Wargroove cutscenes. See ya!
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the cutscene editor on our forums or the Wargroove subreddit!
You can also follow us on Twitter and join our Wargroove Discord channel to keep up with the latest news or check out our official wiki!


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Source : United Technologies
Image : United Technologies
United Technologies reports $2.5B profit in 2Q 2019
United Technologies reports $2.5 billion operating profit in the second quarter of 2019, and $4.6 billion for the first half of the year. The strong performance was partially helped by the ongoing Boeing 737 MAX global fleet grounding.
The company's sales totalled at $19.6 billion in Q2 2019. This marks an 18% growth in comparison to corresponding period in 2018, of which 6% was organic sales growth.
The strong second quarter results were helped by the ongoing Boeing 737 MAX global fleet grounding. Airlines are looking to keep old planes in service longer, which drives an increase in demand for maintenance parts.
"[...] while it's bad news for that the 737 MAX isn't flying, it means that some of the older aircraft have to remain in service a little bit longer and that's also driving some of this volume," Greg Hayes, United Technologies Chairman and CEO admitted during the company's Q2 2019 earnings conference call.
However, Hayes also warned investors not to get too excited by saying: "It's great performance across the business. But it's not going to repeat at this level in the back half".
For the first half of 2019, the company disclosed $4.6 billion operating profit, and remains optimistic about the future, raising outlook for the full year.
Hayes also revealed making "significant progress" integrating Rockwell Collins. United Technologies announced plans to acquire it in September 2017. In November 2018, the merger was finally completed, forming new UT's business unit called Collins Aerospace Systems. In H1 2019, the business unit has generated $2 billion operating profit.
The seperation of Otis and Carrier as independent companies is still expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.
United Technologies to merge with Raytheon Company
United Technologies and Raytheon Company confirmed merger plans on June 9, 2019. Both companies are to enter an "all-stock merger of equals" to create one super-provider of aerospace and defense technologies.
MRO aviation finance United Technologies Rockwell Collins Boeing 737 MAX


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Q: how to delete a specific characters within a column in R? I have a data file looks like:
chr1 2
chr1 7
chr3 9
chr4 88
chr32 300

I want to delete the letters from the first column so the output would be:
1 2
1 7
3 9
4 88
32 300

any suggestion please?(my real data is really huge)

A: What about:
df <- data.frame(col1=c("chr1","chr2","chr3","chr4","chr32"), col2=c(2,7,9,88,300))
df$col1 <- gsub("chr", "", df$col1)

  col1 col2
1    1    2
2    2    7
3    3    9
4    4   88
5   32  300

A: We can use sub
df1$col1 <- as.numeric(sub("\\D+", '', df1$col1))
df1
#  col1 col2
#1    1    2
#2    1    7
#3    3    9
#4    4   88
#5   32  300

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Angular @Input value not changing when changed from Parent Component I have added same child component three times in a single parent component

And below is the change function called on one of the children's components to change the selectedName in other two child components
The @Input is type of string if I change it to object it work fine.

And this is how child component looks like

A: Your issue seems to be one of value vs. reference types.
The reason it works as an Object is that Objects are reference types: when you pass an Object to a component, you are passing its reference, not a "copy". That means that when you mutate that Object (in a child, for example), any component with a reference to that Object will "see" the change.
The same isn't true for value types. When you pass a string, number, or boolean to a component, you are passing the value, completely unlinked from the source variable.
You shouldn't be mutating something inside a child component which is relied upon by its siblings and/or parents. You should either be using a service (with methods for mutation) or an @Output to bubble the change event upwards from the child.


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Home / News / MAAD Releases New Music Video For "BAAD"
MAAD Releases New Music Video For "BAAD"
RJ Frometa May 19, 2019	News Leave a comment
If you didn't already know that the New York-born, Los Angeles-based pop-soul singer MAAD was a DJ as well as a recording artist, you'd be able to figure it out from the songs she makes. Her discography is comprised of records that sound contemporary, but which make their debt to the classic sounds of the past evident. Her slinky, synth-spiked, bass-driven songs fit into modern R&B playlists perfectly – but listen carefully, and you can hear echoes of Donna Summer, Diana Ross, and vintage Stax and Motown sides, too. So no, MAAD doesn't have to boast about the depth of her record collection or the many contexts in which she's spun vinyl, which include shows for Tiffany, Cartier, Samsung, Instagram, and others. Her impeccable taste is apparent in everything she does. (Her sense of history is, too.)
Consider, for instance, "BAAD," her latest single. She's coaxed a couple of frequent collaborators to the producer's chair: Raleigh Dunn, Songwriter, Producer & Co-Founder of THEVAMP collective / indie label, and Amsterdam-based electronic artist Midas Hutch, whose 2018 single "I'll Go There" featured a stunning vocal turn by MAAD and engineering by Dunn. Hutch, who co-produced the track alongside Dunn (THEVAMP), is an acknowledged master of '80s-style pop-funk and R&B, and together they've brought a period-specific sheen and a club-floor bounce to MAAD's sultry modern soul. And while MAAD's vocal performance is an undeniable come-on, it also crackles with an electric edge that hints at jazz and vintage rock. These musicians are drawing from a big, overstuffed crate, and everything in there is worth spinning.
"BAAD" builds on the success of MAAD's debut EP Le Funk, which was praised for its retro sound by High Snobiety and ThisIsRnB.com, and follow-up single "New Religion," which demonstrated her facility for electropop and cutting-edge R&B. "BAAD" splits the difference between the two approaches, and testifies to the breadth of the singer's skills. It's no wonder she's worked with such an impressive array of artists in her young career – A$AP Ferg, The Stereotypes, Ro James, many others – all of whom have recognized her talent and her creative flexibility.
She's also brought back the director of "New Religion" to shoot the clip for "BAAD." In Paulo Berberan's last MAAD video, he placed the singer in a post-apocalyptic desert scenario; for "BAAD," he's aiming for a different sort of provocation. MAAD plays a video girl selling fantasies over the Internet to men who find her irresistible. The visual showcases a fusion of female empowerment and the current state of our collective human social & economic behaviors. While in character she's generous enough to give her clients options: American Girl (complete with flags), a splash setting in a kiddie pool, a Million Dollar Bae at a stripper pole. As a visual metaphor for MAAD's versatility, it's an effective one – and a sexy one, too.
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How to get to the Amalfi Coast?
The Amalfi Coast is located to the South of Naples.The main and closest connection points are: Naples, Salerno and Sorrento. The main public transport serving the Amalfi Coast are SITA buses and, in the summer, ferries and hydrofoils.
The first city of the Amalfi Coast you'll find coming from the north is Positano. Continuing along the Highway 163 you reach Praiano, Amalfi, Minori, Maiori, Cetara and Vietri sul Mare. The only railway station is located in Vietri sul Mare and is connected with Naples and Salerno.
TRANSFER SERVICE:
Get to the Amalfi Coast, especially if you land in Rome, it is not quite that simple. The most comfortable and cheap (if you are many people traveling) for stress-free travel is to book a transfer service from the airport to hotel/B&B.
HOW TO GET TO THE AMALFI COAST FROM ROME
Traveling from Rome to Amalfi Coast can be very long: consider minimum of four hours from the time you land, if you're lucky with all the connections. If your plane lands in the afternoon, consider the option of spending a night in Rome or Naples before you travel to the Amalfi Coast.
FROM ROME FIUMICINO AIRPORT
From the airport take the Leonardo Express, train to the city's main Roma Termini railway station. From here you can take a train to Naples or Salerno
There are different types of train from Rome to Salerno:
Eurostar Freccia Rossa (TAV) is definitely the most comfortable option but also the most expensive. In about two hours you'll be at the station of Salerno. Trains leave every hour for this category and are usually extremely punctual. It costs about 40€.
Intercity: are mid-range trains and connect Rome to Salerno in about three hours. It costs about 20€.
Interegional: trains that stop at every station and every town. It takes about 4 hours to go from Rome to Naples. The ticket costs 10,00 Euro but we recommend it only if you are traveling with a really tight budget.
The train ticket from Rome to Naples or Salerno can be purchased at the station (classic ticket office or automatic) or online at Trenitalia. By purchasing a ticket online in advance you can get great discounts. Attention: often purchased tickets with special offers are not refundable.
Once arrived at Naples Central Station - Piazza Garibaldi, follow directions to Circumvesuviana (the regional light railway, it is located on the lower level of the station) and take the train to Sorrento. You will be in Sorrento in about one hour.
At Sorrento train station you will find the bus stop Sita headed to all destinations of the Amalfi Coast.
Once arrived at Salerno Station, follow directions to Tourist Port, near "Piazza della Condordia" (it is exactly 200 meters in front of the train station) and take the ferry to Amalfi or others destinations. You will be in Amalfi in about 40 minutes. In Amalfi you will find the bus stop SITA headed to all destinations of the Amalfi Coast.
FROM ROMA CIAMPINO AIRPORT:
Once in Rome Ciampino, you can take a bus that will take you to Roma Termini Station and from there follow the directions above.
BUS CONNECTIONS FROM ROMA TIBURTINA STATION:
Another option is to reach the station Rome Tiburtina (blue line subway) and from there take one of the Marozzi bus routes connecting Rome to Amalfi and Sorrento.
For Amalfi there is only one bus that leaves at 7:00 am, arriving at 12:00.
For Sorrento, however, there is one at 07.00 and one at 15.00.
HOW TO GET TO THE AMALFI COAST FROM NAPLES
If you land at Naples Capodichino, to reach the Amalfi Coast you'll have to get to the town of Sorrento.
Curreri bus to Sorrento immediately outside Terminal 1. It costs about 10€ and you pay directly to the driver.
Buses to the center of Naples "Alibus", to be taken outside Terminal 1, which takes you to Naples Central Station (Piazza Garibaldi). The ticket costs about 3€ and can be purchased directly on board.
Once at the station you have twho choices:
If you want to reach Sorrento, take the Circumvesuviana, the local train that is situated on the lower level of the station. From there, take the train that in about an hour will take you to Sorrento.
Once you reach the local train station to Sorrento, you have to take one of the SITA buses that connects the Sorrento Peninsula to the Amalfi Coast.
If you want to reach Amalfi, Maiori, Minori, Ravello or Salerno, take a regional train to Salerno (40 minutes), and from there take a ferry from the tourist port or Sita bus from the main station.
Sit on the left side of the bus to admire the breathtaking view! Salerno by the bus takes about 45 minutes to reach Amalfi If you have to go over Amalfi, you'll have to change buses at Amalfi. The road is full of bends, take precautions if you suffer from car sickness.
Airport, bus and taxi, the useful sites:
Naples Capodichino Airport
Alibus
Radio Taxi Napoli
Radio Taxi Salerno
SITA BUS SALERNO AMALFI
In order to reach Positano, Amalfi, Maiori and the others villages of the coast, once arrived at the train station of Salerno, you should head to terminal bus, which is located in via Vinciprova. It is only 10 minutes walking from the main station. Here you can find the Sita buses running almost every hour to the Amalfi Coast. Once in Amalfi, to continue to Positano, you can catch another bus.
Download the Schedule of SITA bus from Salerno to Amalfi Coast e viceversa:
The trip takes approximately 75 minutes and the fare is € 3.40. Tickets can be purchased in all retailers and must be stamped on board.
HOW TO GET TO AMALFI COAST BY SEA
In summer there are convenient connections by sea with hydrofoils and ferries departing from Salerno and docking in Positano and Amalfi (and vice versa). The place of departure is at Concordia Square, opposite the train station. It is so very convenient if you travel by train. Routes usually run from 1 April to 31 October. Other ferries to Amalfi and Positano leave from Sorrento.
Ferries Fares and schedule are available here
HOW TO GET TO AMALFI COAST BY CAR
During the months of July and August and during the holiday the traffic on the Coast can be completely blocked and, as far as the landscape from the window of the car can be breathtaking, it is never a pleasant experience. On the other hand drive along the Amalfi Coast it is the best way to explore the coast, stopping when and how much you want in the most panoramic places. But if you're not used to drive on narrow roads, your best option is to use the public bus service or, if your budget allows it, a chauffeur driven car.
Avoid traveling by car:
In the summer: from Naples to the Amalfi on the morning of Saturday, Sunday and throughout the month of August.From Coast to Naples the late afternoon of Saturday, Sunday and throughout the month of August.
In winter: the road is usually clear. Just be careful on Sunday morning when the sun is shining: the SS163 becomes the favorite meeting place of motorcyclists from all over the Campania region.
Reach the Amalfi Coast by car is easier than you can imagine. The reference is the A3 motorway, exit Castellammare di Stabia or Vietri sul Mare.
Parking on Amalfi Coast may be difficult and expensive, here you are a Guide about where to park in Amalfi Coast: areas and fares.
Metro Timetable
Book your ferry
Amalfi Coast by ferry


The identification of DNA-protein and protein-protein contacts in transcription complexes is currently a necessary stage of the description of each novel promoter. The experimental approaches used for this purpose allow affiliating the given promoter to the regulon of one of seven alternative σ subunits of E.coli RNA polymerase and determining the dependence of its activity on known protein and non-protein factors. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter DNA itself contains this information; therefore, if the transcription start point is known, the promoter type and the pattern of its protein regulation can be predicted with a high probability. An opposite task is much more difficult. The detection of the gene regulatory region usually does not permit identification of the transcriptional start point even if σ-specificity and the type of regulation are estimated. Several promoter-like signals are typically predicted, and the true promoter usully (>50%) does not gain the maximal score. This happens due to the extreme sequence variation within consensus elements and participation of other promoter-specific elements in the transcription complex formation, which are hardly taken into account. They include modules structure-specifically interacting with RNA polymerase α subunits as well as elements determining the overall architecture of the transcription complex by kinking or bending. Informational content in some regions upstream from the conservative elements is rather high, reflecting the presence of these additional elements. Their functional manifestation depends on the positioning in the promoter DNA, and it is generally assumed that they should be phased with the conservative elements recognized by σ.
Surprisingly we found, that informational content of the upstream sequences tends to decrease rather than increase if they are aligned in respect to the conservative elements. That means that structure-specific and sequence-specific elements in the promoter DNA are independent from each other and assumes probable linkage of additional elements with the transcriptional start points. Position-dependent scoring of these elements as additional promoter-specific determinants allowed correct detection of the start points for more than 80% of known promoters, which was much higher than in the case when only conservative elements were taken into account. The transcription start point selection by the RNA polymerase may, therefore, be dependent on the remote elements. Gene expression data were used to estimate the correlation between the values of thus estimated promoter scores and the transcription efficiency of corresponding genes in vivo. The set of analyzed genes contained both constitutive and regulated species. Thus the overall correlation was not high but the data obtained provide a possibility to select genes subjected to positive or negative regulation assuming a possibility to use our software as a classifying tool for yet uncharacterized genes.
Supported by RFBR grant 03-04-48339 and RFBR-Ministry of Industry and Science (Moscow Region) (grant 04-04-97280).


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Irish Tour de France hero Sam Bennett to ride in Vuelta a España
Ireland's Tour de France green jersey winner, Sam Bennett, has confirmed that he will be lining up a...
Stephen Doyle dubsoulrebel
5:30 PM - 14 Oct 2020
Ireland's Tour de France green jersey winner, Sam Bennett, has confirmed that he will be lining up at the Vuelta a España next week.
Just three weeks after his incredible achievement in France, capped off by winning the final stage up the Champs Elysees, Bennett confirmed on Twitter that he will be part of the part of the eight-man Deceuninck-Quick-Step team for the last Grand Tour of the cycling calendar.
This will be the first time that the Carrick-on-Suir cyclist has competed in two Grand Tours in the one year.
"Delighted to get the call up for La Vuelta," Bennett tweeted this afternoon.
"This will be my first time doing two Grand Tours in one season. It will be great to push my limits and see what I'm capable of."
Delighted to get the call up for @lavuelta. This will be my first time doing 2 grand tours in 1 season, it will be great to push my limits and see what I'm capable of. #TheWolfpack https://t.co/3KuiuMPV5A
— Sam Bennett (@Sammmy_Be) October 14, 2020
Unsurprisingly, Bennett chose not to compete at the UCI World Championshipships which took place less than a week after his Tour de France success.
Next week's Tour will begin in the Basque town of Irun on Tuesday and the 29-year-old will be hoping to back up his performance in last year's event when he won two stages, although it might be more difficult with this year's Tour being reduced from 21 stages to 18.
"Our team is a mix of youth and experience, who can deliver some really nice results in Spain," said Deceuninc-Quick-Step sports director Rik Van Slycke.
"Sam is going there after a great Tour de France, and he'll count again on a strong lead-out train, Styby was very motivated to race a Grand Tour this year after dropping out from our Le Tour squad due to that knee injury, while the three young guys on the team – two of whom are neo-pros – will make another important step in their development.
"We will give our best out there and hopefully have a good and rewarding three weeks."
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Benin Museum 'Petit Musee de la Recade' Receives Over 20 Looted Artifacts from France
Artifacts including but not limited to scepter, and objects of worship that were stolen by France during its colonial occupation of Benin have been returned to the West African nation of cotonou.
The Artifacts were Looted from the Kingdom of Dahomey by France during its colonial occupation of Benin, Cotonou.
The antique dealers of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, friends and patrons of the Petit Musée de la Récade acquired these objects in 2019 in Nantes during an auction with the intent of returning them to their rightful owners.
The returned artifacts, which numbers over 24, include 17 scepters that were looted from the once-powerful ancient Kingdom of Dahomey.
Currently the 28 objects are housed at the Petit Musee de la Recade, a small museum on the outskirts of the capital Cotonou.
Petit Musee de la Recade
"The return of our remnants, the recades of our Kings to their native land, has made an impression and continues to awaken the consciousness of our audiences," the museum's curator, Marius Jidé Dakpogan, says in a statement. "May this effect endure over time! Especially for a youth that knows almost nothing of its history."
When the Petit Musee de la Recade opened in December 2015, it had 37 spectres and six other artefacts donated by the antiquarian group and private collectors.
"We have 28 new items in our collection," said Marion Hamard, director general of the centre for the arts and culture housed within the museum.
"Among them we have two sculptures, eight swords, 16 sceptres and two daggers."
Related: Umemulo: the Traditional Coming of Age Ceremony for Zulu Women
"This will allow us to expand our collection considerably," she added.
She hoped the new acquisitions would help boost visitors to the museum from 7,000 to 10,000 by the end of the year.
With French support, Benin is also building a new museum in Abomey, once the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey and the plan on ground is to return stolen artifacts including 26 statues and thrones that were looted by French forces from the Kingdom of Dahomey.
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French Speaking Countries in West Africa
Society & Culture Talk Africana - November 25, 2021


Talented people from across the area and from Ottawa, come to play in a friendly and open atmosphere. Bill Martin knows how to lead a group for a fun filled evening! All levels of talent are welcome! Come and show off your original music and amazing covers!
The Juke Joint is the ideal spot for singles, duo's and Trio's to strut their stuff to a very appreciative audience, we provide a professional PA system and microphones all you need is your instrument and we'll get you set to go. Each performer or group have time to do 3 songs and once through the list we will start from the top again for another turn. There are amazing food specials every week and Monday's craft beer specials $6 a pint. I'm looking forward to seeing you again this week !! Reservations are encouraged as seating is limited. Cya !!


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OUR WORDS MATTER
Even when words don't seem enough, they matter.
#IWD2020 - Dangerous Women
Seizing our Covid-19 advantage
Opinion article written by Stacey Shortall
Ever feel like you're the only one in the room who doesn't get it?
The discussion around Covid-19 has landed me in that unnerving spot several times. I have listened to the epidemiologists and other public health experts explain how the Covid-19 virus operates. I have watched the press briefings and media interviews detailing our sobering tally of confirmed cases and sad deaths. I have read the online reports of how overseas countries are grappling with the pandemic. And, like you, I suspect, I have accepted that Covid-19 is here in New Zealand and future outbreaks are possible, if not likely.
Now I am as keen as the next New Zealander to get us all moving about freely and our economy opening back up. I know that what started as a health crisis in our country is quickly exploding into an economic crisis. Reported forecasts about unemployment, debt, businesses collapsing and other hardship are bleak to say the least. I see the strain of the lockdown in my home, on my street, throughout my community and across the country. So, don't get me wrong, I want us out of alert level three with reopened businesses, schools and other public spaces fast.
Yet as we move from saving lives to saving livelihoods, I admit to being a little concerned that news about mass testing and more tracing isn't filling our headlines. Because I am certainly up for it, and I suspect so, too, are many of you.
Without question, our team of five million has does an incredible job over the past weeks to stifle the spread of Covid-19 here. With the glorious benefit of hindsight, there will inevitably be criticism and recrimination. But none of us could properly contest that government and its officials have worked hard to keep us safe. We have dug in deep together and are now being applauded around the globe for our efforts.
Because of such efforts, we get to consider re-opening our economy and our lives. Yet, as we all know, reducing alert levels cannot only be about saving or creating jobs, or letting us live more. It must also be about removing the uncertainty that could plunge us back into total or even partial lockdown again. For unless we do everything possible to remove that uncertainty, we risk ending back at the starting line but with a weary and less well-equipped team. That is the last thing any of us wants.
So maybe I am missing something but I admit to feeling a little nervous about New Zealand reopening on a broad scale without mass testing and tracing being done for Covid-19 infection.
That's not to say we aren't trying hard. To be tested, we have generally needed to meet certain criteria like exhibiting cold or flu-like symptoms. On 8 May 2020, the Ministry of Health reported that more than 175,000 tests have been completed in New Zealand. That doesn't sound too bad. Except that there are over 4.8 million of us. This suggests that only around 3.6% of us have been tested. In other words, a relatively small number of tests have currently been done for Covid-19 infection in our country. We also have all read the media stories about issues with New Zealand's contact tracing regime. Not only does it appear that we need more workers to handle tracing efforts, but it seems that the launch of a smartphone tracking system is not imminent.
New Zealand now reportedly has the capacity to test up to 12,535 people per day. With 175,000 of us already tested, assuming we start immediately checking this number of new people each day, it will be over a year from now before everyone is tested - once.
I accept that our testing rate is comparatively similar to Australia. According to the Australian Department of Health website, 757,250 tests have been conducted there. With a population of 25 million, this means only around 3.03% of the Australian population has been tested too. However other countries, like Germany, have done much more. Striving to test its entire population, Germany made its own antibody tests and began conducting extensive diagnostic screening. According to the New York Times, Germany is testing at least 120,000 people every day. While that might be proportionately similar to New Zealand's current ability to test on a daily basis, the difference is that they started it early and during their lockdown. Not at the end of it.
OECD data indicates that Iceland, Luxembourg and Estonia have tested more of their populations for Covid-19 than any other countries. Granted thanks in part to its small population, one in eight of Iceland's population has been tested, including those with no symptoms. This testing showed that around 50% of people infected with coronavirus had not shown symptoms at the time of testing. Wide-ranging testing and tracking has also been credited with playing a very important role in South Korea being able to contain the spread of the virus.
Without wishing to diminish all the great testing work underway in New Zealand, and acknowledging that I am no medical or pandemic expert, I still would like to understand why we cannot do more here. Perhaps greater widespread Covid-19 testing in New Zealand remains currently unavailable or unaffordable. Maybe there is a shortage in the swabs and other equipment needed to conduct extensive screenings or more rapid tests. Not to mention the number of medical personnel who might be required to conduct more tests. It could be that more blood tests or serology-based antibody tests do not make medical sense in current circumstances. Possibly the labs that would need to undertake tests are overrun. For all I know, more expanded testing is planned and will soon be rolled out. But given that we don't yet seem to have a robust system to trace everyone who has been in contact with an infected person, I am not totally convinced.
I get that building substantial testing and tracing capacity is hard. But New Zealand is filled with smart, pragmatic, resourceful, innovative people who relish overcoming a challenge. Just look at what we have done over the past weeks.
We are beating the odds, but we have not won the game. We all know there is a long road ahead. Even if one can be found, a vaccine is many months if not years away.
In the absence of a Covid-19 vaccine, with the risk of further flare ups in New Zealand, and the uncertainty that all creates, surely we must find a way to really ramp up testing and tracing.
From what I have seen, heard and read, wide-ranging testing and excellent tracing is the key to slowing the spread of any outbreaks by identifying and isolating cases while they are infectious. It must also enable important medical treatment to be administered earlier and chances of survival to increase.
Sure good hygiene and social distancing will help minimise any spread too, but I admit to only cautious optimism that those measures will truly hold the fort especially as schools head back and regular life seeks to resume. Rather lots of testing and robust tracing is what must really prevent us from going back into lockdown and shutting down our economy again. Done well, it could even let us get back to alert level one.
This is not just about government. This is also about involving business and being smart by developing and investing in more test-and-trace infrastructure.
Just imagine what business and government could do together to develop an extensive testing regime and ability to trace contacts of those who test positive. We would get to keep and create jobs, not to mention continue to lead the world in how we respond to this deadly virus. Pharmaceutical and biotech industries could flourish. All the while also looking to best protect New Zealand from Covid-19 into the future.
Take Iceland again. Its broad-based testing rate of almost 135 per 1,000 people is down to a public private partnership, which involves a genetic research company conducting tests on people. That work is morphing into efforts to map the molecular epidemiology of Covid-19 there so as to provide helpful data to other countries. Such work is grabbing international attention. This is just the sort of ground- breaking work that New Zealanders thrive on. Given that our efforts to date in suppressing Covid-19 are being touted internationally, there must be an opportunity here for New Zealand to grab attention for our innovation as well as our discipline in lockdown.
But, as I said earlier, maybe I've missed something obvious. It might be that mass testing and better tracing is in the works, such that my nervousness is misplaced.
Possibly I just don't get it. Or just maybe I do, and more of us can come together to do something about it.
Podcast | Connecting with Denise Cloughley
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Even when words don't seem enough, they matter. They help us create connections, make meaningful contributions and overcome some of the deep-seated issues facing our country.
© 2019 Our Words Matter


Walls often require acoustic treatment to prevent the passage of sound from one internal room to another or between dwellings. The TVS portfolio caters for all airborne and noise control requirements when specifying wall treatments. This includes both high performance isolation products and damping materials.


text:
President Remengesau Accredits New Korean Ambassador to Palau
April 3, 2018	in Local News / Beches el Chais
Serial No. PR-18-104
President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. on March 22nd accredited His Excellency Han Dong-man as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Palau.
President Remengesau congratulated Ambassador Dong-man for his appointment and highlighted the significant role Korea has played in building Palau's tourism industry, cooperation and technical assistance through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) among other programs between both nations.
"Korea has played a significant role in building Palau's tourism industry – thanks to Korean Air and Asiana Airlines and of course the growing number of tourists from Korea", stated President Remengesau. He further added, "I recognize the potential of Korea's contributions to strengthening our tourism and I hope to enlist your contribution to the enhancement of Korea's tourism role in Palau's industry."
The President extended the Republic's desires for the Government of Korea to renew outreach programs previously offered through the KOICA and to partner up with Palau for the upcoming 2020 "Our Oceans" Conference, stating "Palau and Korea share an oceanic yard and take pride in knowing that we are at the forefront of maintaining sustainable sources of seafood and sea-related products as well as the health of the ocean in general."
Ambassador Dong-man expressed his willingness and commitment to foster Palau-Korea relations on matters mutually beneficial for both nations.
The presentation of Ambassador Dong-man's credentials took place on a date significant to both Palau and Korea. 23 years ago on March 22, 1995, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of Korea formally established diplomatic relations.
Click on the following link to download this press release: Press Release re. New Korean Ambassador to Palau_30MAR2018_FINAL


Not many people are a fan of crop tops, but I love them. They're perfect for the Summer. Pair them with a maxi skirt or loose linen pants and you're good to go!
Quick post before I head to work.
Madewell denim top, Zara skirt, Madewell clutch, Vintage necklace, Miu Miu pumps.
Wore this beautiful Powder Blue silk dress I got from H&M to do a little shopping and spend the day with my love.
Dress: H&M (Alternative here and here), Shoes: Christian Louboutin Crosspiga, Bracelet: J.crew, Lipstick: Sephora in Maniac mat.
Just started selling some items on Threadflip.
I will be adding new pieces every week. If you have any questions or suggestions, email me!
Yo nunca e sido fan de pantalones blancos. Supongo que nunca habia encontrado un par que me quedara bien hasta que me probe un par de Madewell. Me tomo un segundo para decidir que los queria.
J.crew shirt(alternative shirt here), Zara trousers(alternative pants here), Asos clutch, Marc Jacobs sandals(alternative Sam Edelman here and Nine West here.
Spending this beautiful Sunday with my beautiful Mother.
This past Wednesday was the Rebecca Minkoff sample sale. (I think it's still going on) Of course I had to check it out. I was so overwhelmed with all the beautiful bags. I had about 6 bags hanging on my arms, but I ended up with this bag for men by Ben Minkoff. I love the shape, the color, the texture, and especially the fact that I can fit so much in it. That's always a plus.
Did you go to the RM sample sale? What did you get?
Zara blouse, Lulus skirt (another alternative skirt) Louboutin Crosspiga Pumps, Kate Spade earrings, Jcrew necklace, Vanessa Mooney Clara bracelet and Jcrew bracelet.
Took advantage of the beautiful day we had just a few days ago and wore my new favorite skirt by Lulu's.
Aproveche el hermoso dia que tuvimos hace unos pocos dias y me puse mi nueva falda favorita de Lulu's.
Sigo disfrustando de mi nuevo corte de cabello. Me pregunto lo que sera siguiente.
Romwe jacket--Madewell jeans-- Vince Camuto sandals-- Madewell necklace--Madewell fabric bangles--Jcrew neon bracelet--Vanessa Mooney bracelet.


Explore the exclusive selection of the most stylish places to stay in Italy, Europe. All the luxury boutique hotels in Italy are personally visited and selected by The Style Junkies.
Ah, Italy: the land of romance, ragu and rolling hills. Everyone's familiar with Italy. In fact, this European virtuoso is full of surprises. All the regions of Italy are unique and cater to different kinds of vacation – from designer shopping in Milan, enjoying Puglia's rustic tranquillity, drinking the best wines in Tuscany and road-tripping along the Amalfi Coast to admiring palaces in Rome and sun-seeking on the jet-set island of Capri. Besides a variety of stunning landscapes, it's got art, style, architecture, good food and fine wines.
Italy is sure to satisfy any type of traveller: the hedonist, the foodie, the historian, the nature-lover, the beach freak and even the adventurer. Without a doubt, Italy is a dream destination and for good reason. Wherever you choose to go in Italy, and whatever you choose to do, you'll be impressed and inspired.
Italy on your holiday hotlist? Searching for the best places to stay in Italy? Don't look any further.


 how to setup picap in xlights?
I'm sorry but i'm searched out and cannot find what i want. This is my 1st year with pixels and I want to know how i set up Xlights for the picap? I cannot find a link or video on this. I just want the 1 PI to be the master and I believe the PICAP uses pins 18 and 19.
Re: how to setup picap in xlights?
I'm thinking I set it up as a E1.31 with the IP that is on the PI ut I dont know how to distinguish between pins 18 and 19?
you can use e1.31 with your pi Address. Then at the layout screen use the "controller Connection" screen to direct that prop to either port one or two.
I'm having issues as well getting the PiCap to output to anything other than port 1 string 1. The second prop inline on port 1 wont work, and nothing on port 2 will work. I have a thread started on this with my settings but so far no one has any answers for me.
Have you tried to manually enter the info in the pixel section of fpp?


text:
<?php

namespace ImgManTest\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon;

use ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon\ClientManager;
use ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\AmazonAdapter;
use ImgManTest\ImageManagerTestCase;
use Zend\Mvc\Service\ServiceManagerConfig;
use Zend\ServiceManager\ServiceManager;

/**
 * Class AmazonAbstractServiceFactoryTest
 */
class AmazonAbstractServiceFactoryTest extends ImageManagerTestCase
{
    /**
     * @var ServiceManager
     */
    protected $serviceManager;

    public function setUp()
    {
        $config = [
            'imgman_amazon_client' => [
                'AmazonS3Client' => [
                    'secret' => 'testSecret',
                    'key' => 'testKey',
                    'region' => 'testRegion',
                    'version' => 'latest',
                    'name' => 'S3'
                ],
                'AmazonCloudFrontClient' => [
                    'secret' => 'testSecret',
                    'key' => 'testKey',
                    'region' => 'testRegion',
                    'version' => 'latest',
                    'name' => 'CloudFront'
                ]
            ],
            'imgman_amazon_s3_service' => [
                'S3Service' => [
                    'client' => 'AmazonS3Client',
                    'bucket' => 'test'
                ]
            ],
            'imgman_amazon_cloud_front_service' => [
                'CloudFrontService' => [
                    'client' => 'AmazonCloudFrontClient',
                    'domain' => 'testdomain',
                    'origin' => 'testorigin'
                ]
            ],
            'imgman_amazon_adapter' => [
                'AmazonStorageAdapter' => [
                    's3_client' => 'S3Service',
                    'cloud_front_client' => 'CloudFrontService',
                    'name_strategy' => 'default',
                    'name_strategy_config' => [
                        'prefix' => 'test'
                    ]
                ]
            ]
        ];
        $this->serviceManager = new ServiceManager(
            new ServiceManagerConfig(
                [
                    'abstract_factories' => [
                        'ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon\S3\S3ServiceAbstractFactory',
                        'ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon\CloudFront\CloudFrontServiceAbstractFactory',
                        'ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\AmazonAdapterAbstractFactory',
                    ],
                    'factories' => [
                        'ImgMan\PluginManager' => 'ImgMan\Operation\HelperPluginManagerFactory',
                        'ImgMan\Hydrator\NameStrategyManager' => 'ImgMan\Hydrator\NameStrategyManagerFactory',
                        'ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon\ClientManager' => 'ImgMan\Storage\Adapter\Cdn\Amazon\ClientManagerFactory'
                    ]
                ]
            )
        );

        $this->serviceManager->setService('Config', $config);
    }

    public function testAmazonAbstractServiceFactory()
    {
        $this->assertTrue($this->serviceManager->has('AmazonStorageAdapter'));
        $this->assertInstanceOf('ImgMan\Storage\StorageInterface', $this->serviceManager->get('AmazonStorageAdapter'));
    }
}


Went to the transform properties of the ContentContainer and changed the scaleX and scaleY to .9 and also changed the center point to 0,0.
Download the project if you'd like. Or just grab this style style that generated below.


We've all heard horror stories about self-storage. From the businessman's important paperwork destroyed by water damage, to the collector that had his vintage records destroyed by humidity, to the couple who found their storage unit wide open with pieces of a smashed lock the only possession they had left.
These kinds of incidents are not inevitable. In fact, with a minimum of effort you can store your property safely. Self-storage can be a secure experience if the customer simply takes a few precautions.
Make certain that the site you are using has working security cameras that provide a record of all individuals who go near your storage unit.
Some self-storage businesses have employees who work 24 hours a day at the site. This added measure of physical security can is a distinct security advantage.
Ask yourself, "Is the site well lit?" The cameras can't catch a would-be thief if all they are filming is pitch blackness.
Get your own lock. Make certain it is a hefty lock that would be time consuming for a thief to cut through.
Does the site have entrances and exits that are only accessible by paying customers? A key pad requiring a code or a guard who requires an ID? If not, you should take your business to another site.
Put your most expensive items towards the back behind boxes of less valuable property. Don't have the $1,200 flat screen TV be the first thing someone sees when the door is open.
A bad neighbor at a self-storage site can be just as annoying as a bad neighbor at home. Everything from a freezer that your neighbor didn't bother to defrost to a leaky water bed can end up in the unit right next to yours and you end up with puddles of water damaging your property. This can be easily guarded against by using the pallets that are available at every quality site. If keep your items from touching the ground this will protect them against water damage from your neighbor's storage unit.
Always bubble wrap your breakables, tape them up tight in sturdy boxes and then put plastic wrap or a tarp over the boxes. You guard against damage by gravity and dust that way.
Be aware of the seasons and what kind of temperatures your property will have to endure. Many sites are indoors with air conditioning provided and if you have items that would fair badly in extremes of heat or cold then these sites are your best bet.
Label everything so that if you return to your unit to retrieve one item you don't have to break open every box and risk damaging items during a frantic search.
Self-storage does not need to be a nightmare experience. Taking a few precautions and choosing the site that best suits your needs can easily eliminate hardships and keep your property safe.


Combine above ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a microwave-safe bowl until fully blended. Microwave for 60 seconds. Grab a spoon, stir in chocolate chips, and eat!
I can definitely see this in my future!
I tried this out the other night after seeing the recipe in another post, and it was amazing! I made it with Justin's almond butter, which is admittedly a little hard to mix, but after some effort it came together. It seemed a little dry to me, but came out tasking amazing.
hi. In this warm chocolate chip cookie bowl is very nice recipe . I like this recipe.
I love your posts and your fun recipes!! Thank you.
This recipe looks delicious. Can I use regular flour instead of almond, and peanut butter instead of almond butter?
@Shana: yes! I used chickpea flour and pb…also I did not have a banana. so I added a tbsp sukrin gold brown sugar substitute , 2 tbsp cashew milk, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Amazing!!!


I have spent way too much money lately on two electronic items that I seriously believe no PhD student in English should be without.
I love my Kindle. Yes, it was really pricey, but I already have over 200 books on my Kindle (90% of them have been free because they are classics..those that aren't free are really cheap). The $260 investment in the Kindle has already saved me over a thousand dollars in book costs...probably a lot more. The thing is that there are so many classics that I am interested in reading, but so many are out of print. Finding copies of these books by obscure authors or books seldom read by popular authors is expensive. Usually, you have to search antique book stores or find a used copy online for $20 (on the really cheap end) up to over $100. Interlibrary loan is often a futile endeavor for such books because the item you end up with is in really bad shape or too delicate to read. Even if you get a good copy, if you want to write about it you still need your own copy...and who wants to mark up a collectible book? The Kindle allows me to do a few things. 1) I can read the book for free. No investment, so if I decide I hate it or I can't use it, then I haven't wasted any money on the book. 2) the Kindle allows me to take notes and highlight passages. So, I avoid ruining an old, expensive book. This really is a life saver for me...and I don't have a ton of books around me. I love my books, but I am starting to resemble those people on "Hoarders."
Item #2: The IRIS pen.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this thing! Many MA/PhD students would love this one. It is a scanner pen. I have spent countless hours of my life typing passages from books into a word document. The IRIS pen scans lines of the book directly into my document. I LOVE IT. The only drawback? Well, for me, a large part of learning comes from the repetition of typing the passage after having read it. However, I am on a deadline, people. So, the IRIS pen is my new best friend.
Well, that is about it. But, I just had to share because these two things make me extremely happy!