The dramatic loss of ice in the Arctic is influencing sea-ice transport across the Arctic Ocean. As experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research report in a new study, today only 20 percent of the sea ice that forms in the shallow Russian marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean actually reaches the Central Arctic, where it joins the Transpolar Drift; the remaining 80 percent of the young ice melts before it has a chance to leave its 'nursery'. Before 2000, that number was only 50 percent. According to the researchers, this development not only takes us one step closer to an ice-free summer in the Arctic; as the sea ice dwindles, the Arctic Ocean stands to lose an important means of transporting nutrients, algae and sediments. The new study will be released as a freely accessible Open Access article in the online journal Scientific Reports on 2 April 2019.
The shallow Russian shelf or marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean are broadly considered to be the 'nursery' of Arctic sea ice: in winter, the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea constantly produce new sea ice. This is due to extremely low air temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Celsius, and a strong offshore wind that drives the young ice out to the open sea. In the course of the winter, the sea ice is eventually caught up in the Transpolar Drift, one of the two main currents in the Arctic Ocean. In two to three years' time, it transports the ice floes from the Siberian part of the Arctic Ocean, across the Central Arctic, and into the Fram Strait, where it finally melts. Two decades ago, roughly half the ice from Russia's shelf seas made this transarctic journey. Today only 20 percent does; the other 80 percent of the young ice melts before it can become a year old and reach the Central Arctic.
Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) came to this troubling conclusion after monitoring and analysing the sea ice's movements with the aid of satellite data from 1998 to 2017. "Our study shows extreme changes in the Arctic: the melting of sea ice in the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea is now so rapid and widespread that we're seeing a lasting reduction in the amount of new ice for the Transpolar Drift. Now, most of the ice that still reaches the Fram Strait isn't formed in the marginal seas, but comes from the Central Arctic. What we're witnessing is a major transport current faltering, which is bringing the world one major step closer to a sea-ice-free summer in the Arctic," says first author Dr Thomas Krumpen, a sea-ice physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute.
This trend has been confirmed by the outcomes of sea-ice thickness measurements taken in the Fram Strait, which the AWI sea-ice physicists gather on a regular basis. "The ice now leaving the Arctic through the Fram Strait is, on average, 30 percent thinner than it was 15 years ago. The reasons: on the one hand, rising winter temperatures in the Arctic and a melting season that now begins much earlier; on the other, this ice is no longer formed in the shelf seas, but much farther north. As a result, it has far less time to drift through the Arctic and grow into thicker pack ice," Thomas Krumpen explains.
Those ice floes that the Transpolar Drift still carries to the Fram Strait are for the most part formed in the open sea, i.e., in regions of the Arctic Oceans far from the coasts. Consequently, compared to ice from the shelf seas, they contain significantly fewer particles like algae, sediments and nutrients — because waves, wind and tides stir up far more particles from the seafloor in shallow coastal zones than on the high seas. In addition, rivers like the Lena and the Yenisei carry major quantities of minerals and sediments to coastal areas; when the water freezes, they become trapped in the ice.
Whereas in the past, sea ice from the shelf seas transported this mineral load to the Fram Strait, today the melting floes release it on their way to the Central Arctic; what reaches the Fram Strait is less material, and with a different composition. This finding is a result e.g. of analysis of samples obtained by means of sediment traps that AWI biologists have been conducting in the Fram Strait for about two decades. "Instead of Siberian minerals, we're now finding more remains of dead algae and microorganisms in our sediment traps," says co-author Eva-Maria Nöthig. In the long term, this altered sea-ice-based particle transport is likely to produce lasting changes in the biogeochemical cycles and ecological processes of the central Arctic Ocean.
The evolution of sea ice and the ecological processes in the Arctic Ocean are also key research questions that will be addressed during the MOSAiC expedition, which will begin this September. The German research icebreaker Polarstern will journey to the Arctic and drift with the Transpolar Drift through the Arctic Ocean for an entire year, intentionally trapped in the ice. 600 people from 17 countries will take part in the expedition, which will be regularly resupplied by aircraft and other icebreakers; moreover, many times that number of experts will use the resulting data to take climate and ecosystem research to a new level. MOSAiC, the greatest Arctic research expedition in history, will be spearheaded by the Alfred Wegener Institute.
Materials provided by Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Richness of Condylodon species (countries with darker colours are more species-rich). For a list of species and subspecies see the Checklist of Condylodon species or for valid names only see Condylodon species.
Species of Condylodon are known from the following countries.
This page was last edited on 20 January 2014, at 06:27.


A larger breast size means heavier and more pendulous breasts. This can lead to shoulder pain, neck pain and backache. More seriously, overlarge and pendulous breasts may induce mental stress accompanied by severe pressure, discouragement and loss of self-confidence.
The surgeon makes a straight line cut downwards starting around the areola. This is for all breasts regardless of their size.
The surgeon makes a round-shaped cut around and beneath the areola. This is more effective for oversized and pendulous breasts due to a large amount of tissues to be reduced.
A safe operation with almost no scarring.
Blood vessels, nerves and tissues are minimally disturbed by this a sophisticated operation.


text:
Most Powerful Hurricanes of All Time
Evan Comen, Thomas C. Frohlich
Last Updated: August 27, 2020 8:54 am
Detailed Findings
The most intense hurricanes as measured by minimum central pressure are not necessarily the deadliest or costliest storms. In most cases, the amount of damage caused by a hurricane does not only depend on its intensity but also on the amount and value of property at risk in the storm's path. Much of the damage caused by the costliest hurricanes was caused by inland flooding triggered by torrential rain. Many of the deadliest and most expensive hurricanes made landfall in states along the Gulf Coast, where the infrastructure and economies of major cities are based on proximity to oceans and rivers.
Many of the largest hurricane death tolls resulted from storm surges that caused the ocean level to rise 10 feet or higher. In the Great Galveston Hurricane in 1900, the deadliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history, a storm surge covered all of Galveston Island off the Texas Gulf Coast in 8 to 12 feet of water, destroying nearly all buildings in the vicinity and leading to the deaths of possibly 8,000 people by drowning or being crushed by debris.
While hurricanes may be growing more intense and frequent, disaster preparedness also is becoming more effective. Hurricane forecasting has advanced considerably over the last century and advanced warning has helped minimize the deadliness of many of the most powerful storms of the last several decades. Excluding 2005 — the year Hurricane Katrina directly killed about 1,200 people — the 10 years with the highest hurricane-caused death counts are all before 1960. Excluding Katrina, NOAA has reported 1,300 deaths caused by hurricanes since 1960, compared with 14,645 deaths reported between 1900 and 1960.
While hurricanes are becoming less deadly as damage mitigation strategies and disaster preparedness improve, they are also becoming more destructive. The 10 costliest hurricanes have all occurred since 1992. This may be partially because of the increased amount of property at risk today in comparison with previous decades. Adjusted for inflation, the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history were Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Hurricane Ike in 2008.
Tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Ocean often peaks in the late summer, when the temperature differences between the wind and sea surface are the greatest. Of the 70 most intense hurricanes since 1851, 63 occurred in August, September, or October.
To identify the most powerful hurricanes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane database (HURDAT 2), which tracks the date, time, location, minimum pressure (in millibars) and wind data for hurricane episodes from 1851 to 2017. Hurricanes were ranked according to their minimum pressure in millibars, where one millibar is the equivalent of 100 pascals in pressure. The lower a storm's minimum pressure, the stronger the storm is. For context, air pressure is 1,013 millibars at sea level.
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1 … 4 5 6 7 8 9
Read more: Special Report, Weather
States With the Most Tornadoes
17 World Changing Events That Shaped the Earth as We Know It
The Rarest Types of Weather on Earth
Worst Natural Disasters in the US in the Last 10 Years

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Volume 3, Issue 5, November 2013 Study of Processing . Volume 3, Issue 5, November 2013 took place in design of cement plant equipment the primary and secondary crushing process.
Cement Plant Manufacturer,Cement Plants India,Mini Cement . Cement plant manufacturers, cement plants india, complete cement plant, mini cement plants india, Pollution Control Equipment c.
Concrete Manufacturing. More than 250,000 people work in concrete manufacturing. Over 10 percent of those workers 28,000 experienced a jobrelated injury or illness and 42 died in just one year.
CO2 Cement Production Institute for Global ... Overview of Cement Production Cement is an important construction ingredient ... these sources are the principal raw materials used in the cement production process.
Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silicabearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates.
offers 1,912 cement processing equipment products. About 3% of these are other food processing machinery, 1% are mineral separator, and 1% are other mining machines. A wide variety of cement processing equipment options are available to you, such as free samples.
Astec, Inc. is a manufacturer of continuous and batchprocess hotmix asphalt plants, wood pellet plants and soil remediation plants and related equipment including plant controls, service and parts.
Cement Manufacturing Process Phase II: Proportioning, Blending Grinding The raw materials from quarry are now routed in plant laboratory where, they are analyzed and proper proportioning of limestone and clay are making possible before the beginning of grinding. Generally, limestone is 80% and remaining 20% is the clay.
Independent Specialists in Cement Process Technology Services. Trouble shooting process problems with cement manufacturing, kilns, mills and associated equipment.


text:
ITerating was a Wiki-based software guide, where users could find, compare and give reviews to software products. As of January 2021 the domain is listed as being for sale and the website no longer on-line. Founded in October 2005, and based in New York, ITerating was created by CEO Nicolas Vandenberghe, who saw that there was an industry need for a comprehensive resource to help evaluate software solutions.

The site aims to be a reference guide for the IT industry and includes reviews, ratings, articles, and detailed product feature comparisons. ITerating uses Semantic Web tools (including RDF - Resource Description Framework) to combine user edits with Web service feeds from other sites.

Designed for use by developers and industry consultants, ITerating allows users to contribute to categories such as Software Engineering Tools; Website Design & Tools; Website Software Tools; Website & Communication Applications & Social Networking; or to create their own category if does not exist yet.

Wiki Matrix
Iterating announced the addition of a Feature Matrix in June 2007, which allows users to dynamically create customized, side-by-side feature comparisons of software solutions.

References

Online databases
Computing websites
Software companies based in New York (state)
Defunct software companies of the United States

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Harriet Green was appointed chief executive of travel company Thomas Cook in July 2012, after she cold-called the chairman and told him she was the right person to lead the troubled group's recovery. She has transformed the struggling, debt-ridden company into a refocused, leaner business – on no more than four hours' sleep a night. Harriet was previously boss of electronic components distributor Premier Farnell, and has lived and worked on four continents. She was named "Leader of the Year" at last year's National Business Awards.


text:
moveUtils = function(){

  function facing(vector)
  {
  	var newangle = Math.atan2(vector.x, -vector.y) * 180 / Math.PI;
  	return newangle;
  }

   function seek(target,point)
  {
    var desired = Phaser.Point.subtract(target,point);
    return desired;
  }

  function seekSteer(target,position,curVelocity, maxForce, maxSpeed){

    var seek = this.seek(target,position).normalize();
    var desired = new Phaser.Point(seek.x*maxSpeed, seek.y*maxSpeed);
    var steer = MovementUtils.limit(Phaser.Point.subtract(desired,curVelocity),maxForce)
    return steer;
  }

  function limit(vector, max)
  {
    if(vector.getMagnitude() > max)
    {
      vector.normalize();
      vector.multiply(max,max);
    }
    return vector;
  }

  function loopWalls(vector, bounds)
  {
    if (vector.x < 0)
    {
      vector.x = bounds.width;
    }
    else if (vector.x > bounds.width)
    {
      vector.x = 0;
    }
    if (vector.y < 0)
    {
      vector.y = bounds.height
    }
    else if (vector.y > bounds.height)
    {
      vector.y = 0
    }
  }

  function lookAhead(position, velocity, lookMag)
  {
    var aheadNorm = Phaser.Point.normalize(velocity)
    var aheadVel =  aheadNorm.multiply(lookMag,lookMag);
    return new Phaser.Point.add(position,aheadVel);
  }

  function avoidWalls(vector,bounds,  buffer, stregth){

    var avoidance = new Phaser.Point();
    if (vector.x < 0+buffer)
    {
      avoidance.x = stregth;
    }
    else if (vector.x > bounds.width-buffer)
    {
      avoidance.x = -stregth;
    }
    if (vector.y < 0+buffer)
    {
      avoidance.y = stregth
    }
    else if (vector.y > bounds.height-buffer)
    {
      avoidance.y = -stregth
    }
    return avoidance;
  }

  function lineIntersectsCircle(ahead, ahead2, target, rad){

    var d1 = Phaser.Math.distance(target.x,target.y, ahead.x, ahead.y);
    if(d1 <= rad)
    {
      return true;
    }

    var d2 = Phaser.Math.distance(target.x,target.y, ahead2.x,ahead2.y)
    if(d2 <= rad)
    {
      return true;
    }
    return false;
  }

  function getRandomBetween(min, max) {
    return Math.random() * (max - min) + min;
  }

  return{
    facing:facing,
    seek:seek,
    seekSteer:seekSteer,
    limit:limit,
    loopWalls:loopWalls,
    avoidWalls:avoidWalls,
    lineIntersectsCircle:lineIntersectsCircle,
    getRandomBetween:getRandomBetween,
    lookAhead:lookAhead

  }
};

MovementUtils = new moveUtils();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Would you like to get repair your laptop/desktop at your home/office In Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56, (122011) Gurgaon? Then call to Computer Service Wala and fix any kind of issues related to hardware and software. We are running onsite laptop repair service in Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56, Gurgaon since 2010 and we have 25 expert technicians and have depth experienced in the same field and our technicians are certified from branded laptop. We fix software related problems like laptop window formatting or installation service, Data Recovery Service, Virus removal Service, No Display Problems and laptop hardware related problems like laptop hinges repair service, motherboard repair/replacement service, keyboard repair replacement service, hard disk repair/replacement/data recovery service, and so on. Call for any issues that you are facing in your device our expert authorized technician will be at your door within one hours to solve your pc problems in Kendriya Vihar Gurgaon or you can visit our laptop repair shop in Kendriya Vihar Guraon and it's our laptop service center in Kendriya Vihar Guraon.


What are the garden trends for 2016? It's always hard to predict what will be on the garden shopping list for the coming year, but thankfully garden wholesale buying events for the trade can give a good idea of what's coming to a garden centre near you.
What may be the most fashionable gadget or garden accessory one season may be the next item to be left gathering dust at the back of the shed after the summer has finished. However what doesn't change is the desire for gardens to be functional, practical and in many cases have at least an element of being up-to-date.
The word 'contemporary' does seem a little over-used nowadays but it's still a big word in the gardening market helping to sell a lot of products. Plant pots and planters in shades of slate grey and muted tones are still popular but also brightly coloured plant pots with dazzling designs are a must for anyone brave enough to break away from the dullness of another cloned black & white garden scheme. I hope sincerely that colour is coming back!
I cannot be the only person who thinks that plastic woven square shaped garden settees were ever the most attractive or practical furniture item. Quality timber garden furniture that's built to last decades is now popular again and so are hammocks and swinging seats suspended from trees. Large colourful cushions and seat covers are making summer gardens brighter – and more comfortable too.
It's always the case though that garden trends filter down through society. The plastic woven furniture started on the expensively landscaped terraces of the world before becoming popular and available to everyone. Similar is happening to wall planters and planting pockets that can be hung on walls and fences, more commonly referred to as vertical planting, these started as more large scale commercial products but they can now be had in smaller domestic sizes for both indoor and outdoor use and is probably going to be quite popular. No longer can you just have a spider plant on the window ledge but it can also be screwed to the kitchen wall in a designer planter too.
Out on the planting front there are some great products. There are companies perfecting new ways to plant seeds in small biodegradable cells that contain a single seed of peppers, tomatoes, sunflowers or herbs. Simply plant a single cell in a pot and the plant begins to grow, it's an excellent way to get into growing plants with no waste and guaranteed results and for any beginner gardener or kids it's easier that a potentially daunting packet of seeds.
There is one over-riding theme to all the products. It's that all the manufacturers are now making the garden even more part of the home and as the years go by the distinction between inside and outside becomes increasingly deminished. The furniture is becoming more comfortable and house-like, plants and containers are more like ornaments rather than just a plant in a pot and there are numerous items to hang in the garden or lights to illuminate features as one would indoors.
However the items in the shops and garden centres are fashion led and produced to meet a demand, until the next must-have item appears when we start all over again!


text:
Q: Retain cycle in a closure Swift I can see many examples of retain cycles in Swift. However many of them are incorrect, and reading the documentation does not make really simple examples that I can follow.
For the example:
class Dog {
    func bark() {
        print ("YAP")
    }
}

var dog = Dog()
let doSomething = {
    dog.bark()
}

doSomething()

Does the closure doSomething cause a retain cycle? I understand that the closure will execute quickly, but that is not the question. Does this inherently cause a retain cycle?

A: There is no retain cycle in the program you posted.
What is a retain cycle?
Consider each object (including each closure) in your program as one vertex in a directed graph. Consider a strong reference from object (or closure) A to object (or closure) B as an edge from A to B in the graph.
A retain cycle is a cycle in the graph: a path containing at least one edge (strong reference) that leads from a vertex back to itself.
For example, a typical retain cycle looks like this:

A view controller always has a strong reference to its view (if the view has been loaded). In this example, the view controller created a closure. The closure captured (has a strong reference to) the view controller. The view controller then stored the closure in a property on the view, creating a retain cycle.
What is the retain graph of your program?
Here's the retain graph of your program:

There are no retain cycles in this graph.

A: Here is another "example" that runs outside of playground to showcase a retain cycle with a closure:
class ClosureClassStrongRefCycle {

    let str : String

    lazy var printStr: () -> () = { // self is captured
        print("\(self.str)")
    }

    init(str: String) {
        self.str = str
    }

    deinit {
        print("ClosureClassStrongRefCycle is being deallocated")
    }
}

Now when you call your class like this :
 do {

      let myClassWithClosureStrongCycle = ClosureClassStrongRefCycle(str: "closure class strong cycle")
      myClassWithClosureStrongCycle.printStr()

 } // 'myClassWithClosureStrongCycle' is NEVER deallocated -> Strong reference cycle between this class and it's closure

the instance of ClosureClassStrongRefCycle retains itself because the closure within it retains self
finally if you want to get rid of the retain cycle, you can add unowned self like this :
lazy var printStr: () -> () = { [unowned self] in // Unowned copy of self inside printStr
    print("\(self.str)")
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I already own all of her books, but there are some I've bought again.. just because I lose books after I shove them in my friends' faces for them to read.
I just discovered Ahlborn this year and I've already read all of her books except her latest, which is on my Amazon wish list!
I will read anything this woman writes no matter the subject and her books are always ones that I buy. ALWAYS. Even when I was unemployed I would ALWAYS spring for the latest Gayle book or the new paperback. She's just so brilliant that I know her books will demand to be reread.
Point in case --she's the writer of my FAVORITE contemporary companion novels and she's coming out with a horror novel, a genre I don't LOVE, and I WILL be buying it.
Also thirded by Jana! We girls have awesome taste!
I LOVE Sarah MacLean's historical romance and basically whenever I hear she's got another book coming out I'll go and pre-order it, I don't even really need to know what it's about, this lady is brilliant and knows how to bring the funny and the swoons! Highly recommended if you're looking to branch out into historical romance and not sure where to start.
Jill Mansell is my queen of adult contemporary romance, I think I own pretty much all her books. She always leaves me with lovely fuzzy feelings and a smile on my face at the end of a book and I love that.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY. Harry Potter defined my teen-hood, I mean, I probably wouldn't even be blogging if it wasn't for Harry Potter and my discovery of fanfiction and starting to read EVERYTHING in English and finding Goodreads and just a huge snowball effect. I also would probably never have picked up The Casual Vacancy if it hadn't had her name on it, because it really didn't sound like my kind of thing, but it was actually really great! But I secretly (or not so secretly) wish that she would write another fantasy novel, though I'm happy with anything that comes from her brilliant mind.
I've loved every book Tracey has ever written, but my favorite one will always be On the Island. This book is absolutely the most profitable gamble I've ever made, and I've gotten a great friend out of it!
10. Veronica Rossi/half of "Noelle August"
I LOVED Under the Never Sky so much. And I have also been loving the Boomerang books (can't wait to read Bounce!). It takes a great author to write YA swoon and NA swoon, so I basically love Ms. Veronica.
Who are your auto-buy authors??
Great choices. I love Margaret Atwood and own a lot of her books. JK Rowling is wonderful, too. I also wish she would write another fantasy novel.
How did I *not* know that Veronica Rossi had a pseudonym?! Going to check out these books now! And after reading Isla and the Happily Ever After, Stephanie Perkins is definitely on my auto-buy list!
Great list!! I included Stephanie Perkins this week as well. I'm currently reading the final Harry Potter book, but I'm not sure about Rowling's newer books. I'm sure I will get to them eventually. Sarah Maas is an author I plan on reading very soon. I already picked up a copy of Throne of Glass.
Stephanie Perkins and J.K.Rowling made my list too I love both ladies books. Many of the other authors you have chosen I really want to check out.
Wow, I've got some serious reading to do, I'm ashamed to say I haven't read anything by most of those authors *hangs head in shame*. I need to check out Under The Never Sky though!
Hey, this is an impressive list!
I'm sure J.K. Rowling will make her appearance on a lot of lists, as she's totally brilliant!
I've been wanting to read Margaret Atwood, Stephanie Perkins, and Sarah J. Maas for some time now; hope I get to them soon!
I am not familiar with the other authors you've mentioned, but I will check them out on Goodreads!
Ugh! Last comment was suppose to go on this weeks post but whenI clicked comments, it apparetly took me here. Weird... Sorry!


text:
SEMA 2010: Chevrolet Brings Two Track Focused Variants of the Corvette and the Camaro
For the 2010 edtion of the SEMA Motor Show, Chevrolet has brought not less than 6 new modified versions of its Camaro and Corvette sports cars. Some of these modifications are purely cosmetic while others include some performance upgrades. But the most interesting models are definitely the Camaro SSX and the Corvette Z06X, two track focused versions of the V8 powered cars.
To get it ready for the track, the new Corvette has been equipped with a SCCA (Sport Car Club of America) approved roll cage and an adjustable rear wing and suspension systems. The weight of the car has been reduced by the installation of racing seats and the use of special materials like a carbon fiber hood and a polycarbonate rear window. There is no doubt about it, the Corvette Z06X has the Dodge Viper ACR-X as its main target and its weapon will be the LS7 7.0L V8 engine.
The Camaro SSX also has benefited from a similar treatment by considerably reducing its weight thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber in parts like the hood, doors and trunk of the car. From a performance point of view, the LS3 6.2L V-8 from the Camaro SS now develops more than 500 Hp thanks to Chevrolet Performance Parts upgrades including new camshaft, cylinder heads and dry-sump oiling system.
Best of all, the two track cars are equipped with a six-speed manual transmission! More pictures of the beasts in the gallery below.
Corvette Z06X
Camaro SSX
[source: General Motors]
Tags: camaro chevrolet corvette SEMA 2010


text:
Insurance plans with higher out-of-pocket costs generally have smaller monthly premiums than plans with low deductibles. When shopping for plans, individuals must weigh the benefits of lower monthly costs against the potential risk of large out-of-pocket expenses in the case of a major illness or accident. Health insurance has many cousins, such as disability insurance, critical (catastrophic) illness insurance, and long-term care (LTC) insurance.
Details: Foreign nationals who live in the United States for a short enough period of time that they do not become resident aliens for federal income tax purposes are exempt from the individual shared responsibility payment even though they may have to file a U.S. income tax return. The IRS has more information available on when a foreign national becomes a resident alien for federal income tax purposes. Individuals who are exempt under this rule include:
If an employer pays the cost of an accident or health insurance plan for his/her employees, including an employee's spouse and dependents, the employer's payments are not wages and are not subject to Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes, or federal income tax withholding. Generally, this exclusion also applies to qualified long-term care insurance contracts. However, the cost of health insurance benefits must be included in the wages of S corporation employees who own more than two percent of the S corporation (two percent shareholders).
Beginning with 10% of blue-collar workers in 1885, mandatory insurance has expanded; in 2009, insurance was made mandatory on all citizens, with private health insurance for the self-employed or above an income threshold.[23][24] As of 2016, 85% of the population is covered by the compulsory Statutory Health Insurance (SHI)[25] (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung or GKV), with the remainder covered by private insurance (Private Krankenversicherung or PKV) Germany's health care system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded as of 2004.[26] While public health insurance contributions are based on the individual's income, private health insurance contributions are based on the individual's age and health condition.[23][27]
According to a 2007 study, about 59% of employers at small firms (3–199 workers) in the US provide employee health insurance. The percentage of small firms offering coverage has been dropping steadily since 1999. The study notes that cost remains the main reason cited by small firms who do not offer health benefits.[66] Small firms that are new are less likely to offer coverage than ones that have been in existence for a number of years. For example, using 2005 data for firms with fewer than 10 employees, 43% of those that had been in existence at least 20 years offered coverage, but only 24% of those that had been in existence less than 5 years did. The volatility of offer rates from year to year also appears to be higher for newer small businesses.[67]
The chief executive of Aetna, Ron Williams, argued against the public option based on issues of fairness. On the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Williams noted that a public option creates a situation where "you have in essence a player in the industry who is a participant in the market, but also is a regulator and a referee in the game". He said, "we think that those two roles really don't work well."[41]
Health insurance is a benefit provided through a government agency, private business, or non-profit organization. To determine cost, a provider estimates collective medical expenses of a population, then divides that risk amongst the group of policy subscribers. In concept, insurers recognize that one person may incur large unexpected expenses, while another may incur none. The expense, then, is spread among a group of individuals to make health care more affordable for the common good of all. In addition, public health programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP are federally-funded and state-run to provide additional medical coverage to those in vulnerable groups who qualify, such as seniors and those with disability.
Cost assistance is available to help lower the monthly expense of health insurance. Know as a tax credit or tax subsidy, federal money helps those that make between 100%-400% of the Federal Poverty Level. (For an individual that is between $11,770 – $47,080, depending on the state.) With cost assistance, individuals paid an average of less than $100 a month for a plan on the marketplace in 2015. That is a $268 savings each month.
High-quality health care affects health and wellness. A health insurance policy is a contract between an insurance company and a policy holder intended to safeguard against high and unexpected health care costs. Although policy-holders pay a monthly premium, co-payments, co-insurance, and deductibles, it is expected that the total is far less than that required if paid fully out-of-pocket.
California developed a solution to assist people across the state and is one of the few states to have an office devoted to giving people tips and resources to get the best care possible. California's Office of the Patient Advocate was established July 2000 to publish a yearly Health Care Quality Report Card[37] on the top HMOs, PPOs, and Medical Groups and to create and distribute helpful tips and resources to give Californians the tools needed to get the best care.[38]
Hospital and medical expense policies were introduced during the first half of the 20th century. During the 1920s, individual hospitals began offering services to individuals on a pre-paid basis, eventually leading to the development of Blue Cross organizations.[65] The predecessors of today's Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) originated beginning in 1929, through the 1930s and on during World War II.[67][68]
Workers who receive employer-sponsored health insurance tend to be paid less in cash wages than they would be without the benefit, because of the cost of insurance premiums to the employer and the value of the benefit to the worker. The value to workers is generally greater than the wage reduction because of economies of scale, a reduction in adverse selection pressures on the insurance pool (premiums are lower when all employees participate rather than just the sickest), and reduced income taxes.[20] Disadvantages to workers include disruptions related to changing jobs, the regressive tax effect (high-income workers benefit far more from the tax exemption for premiums than low-income workers), and increased spending on healthcare.[20]
The share of Americans without health insurance has been cut in half since 2013. Many of the reforms instituted by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 were designed to extend health care coverage to those without it; however, high cost growth continues unabated.[3] National health expenditures are projected to grow 4.7% per person per year from 2016 to 2025. Public healthcare spending was 29% of federal mandated spending in 1990 and 35% of it in 2000. It is also projected to be roughly half in 2025.[4]


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Charles William Wiles
Southwell Nottinghamshire
Charles William was the son of Alfred and Jane Wiles (née Meakes). His father Alfred was born in in Southwell in 1862, the son of Charles Wiles, a gardener, and his wife Elizabeth. In 1871 Alfred and his two older brothers were living with their parents at West Gate Southwell. However, by 1881 Alfred was a footman in the household of Sarah Hutchinson (73) 'gentlewoman' and her four unmarried daughters of 'no profession' at Westgate 'Palace' (sic), Southwell. Sarah also employed a cook and a housemaid. His mother Jane was born in Buckinghamshire in April 1861 (baptised Lane End May 1861), the daughter of George Joseph and Elizabeth Meakes. Jane was one of at least eight children. Alfred and Jane were married in 1886 (reg. Cambridge) and had eight children: Ethel Elizabeth b. 1887 and Alfred Edwin b. 1889 who were born in Cambridge and baptised at St Botolph's church, Dorothy Mary b. Blaby Leicestershire 1891 bap. Thurlaston, and the five youngest children who were born in Southwell, Margaret Ellen b. 1894, Jesse birth registered 1896 (J/F/M), Janet Emily birth registered 1898 (J/F/M), Charles William b. 20 March 1899 and George Joseph b. 1901. With the exception of Joseph, the four other children were baptised at Southwell Holy Trinity, Charles on 28 May 1899. In 1891 Alfred, a butler, his wife and their children Ethel and Alfred, were living at The Bolfields, Thurlaston, Blaby, Leicestershire. However, from information on the baptismal records, the family was living at Westgate, Southwell, by 1894 when Margaret Ellen was baptised, at Brackenhurst, Southwell, in 1898 and at Westhorpe in 1899. Two years later in 1901 Alfred, now a warehouseman (flour mill), was living in Normanton with his family of seven children, the youngest, George, was born later that year. By 1911 Alfred, a gardener (domestic), his wife and four of his children, Jesse who was working on a farm, Janet, Charles and George, together with a grandson, Eric John Wiles (b. Dec. 1907 reg. 1908 Southwell), were living at New Hill, Farnsfield, nr. Southwell. Ethel was living in Carlton, Nottingham, with John Watson, a railway platelayer, and their two-year old daughter Doris (Watson); the couple later married. Alfred was a footman at Park Hall, Weston Coyney, Longton, Staffordshire; also on the premises, which may have been servants' accommodation, were a cook, head parlourmaid and three housemaids. Margaret (Maggie), occupation housekeeper, was living with her widowed uncle Jesse Wiles, a gardener, at Trinity Place, Southwell, along with another niece, Elsie Tongue, whose occupation was also given as housekeeper. The fourth daughter, Dorothy, has not yet been traced on the 1911 Census. The family later lived at 18 Querneby Road, Mapperley, Nottingham. Charles' father completed a form for the army in February 1920 listing his son's surviving relatives: Parents: Alfred and Jane Wiles, 18 Querneby Road Mapperley Brothers: Alfred Edwin (31) 79 Holborn Avenue Sneinton Dale Nottingham. Jesse (22) and George (19) 18 Querneby Road. Sisters: Ethel Watson (33) 3 Cottage Square Carlton Road. Dorothy Wiles (27), Margaret Wiles (23) and Janet Wiles (21) 18 Querneby Road. Alfred snr. died on 19 September 1934. He and Jane were then living at 217 Wilford Road, Meadows, but had lived there for some years as their daughter Janet was married from that address in 1926 (GW Fisher, St Faith North Wilford). In 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled, his widow Jane, daughter Margaret, a fruit shop assistant, and grandson Eric, a maintenance fitter with Nottingham Corporation (Gas), were living at 50 Dornoch Avenue, Nottingham. Jane died in February 1948. Charles' brother Alfred Edwin also served in the war. He attested at Newark on 23 September 1914 on a Territorial Force engagement (4 years service UK). He was 25 years 4 months old, occupation footman, and living at 18 Querneby Road. According to his record, he had previously served with 'H' Coy. 8th Bn. Notts & Derby Regiment (four years, time expired). He was posted to the 8th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment), 2568 later 305642 Private (later Corporal, 1 December 1918). He served in the UK from 23 September to 1 March 1915 (1y 60d) then with the BEF France from 2 March 1915-26 February 1919. On 23 April 1916 he was posted to 3rd Army School as CO's servant. His service record shows that he was granted leave from 9 February 1918 although the period of leave was not given. However, Alfred must have had previous periods of leave as he married Edith Morris in 1917 (A/M/J Nottingham); they had one child, Charles Samuel (b. 1919 O/N/D d. 1949). Alfred returned to the UK on 27 February 1919 and was later discharged from the 8th Bn. Notts & Derby Regiment at Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, to 18 Querneby Road.
Address given on enlistment
18 Querneby Road, Mapperley, Nottingham
15/17th Bn The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
15/17th Bn. The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment). Formerly 85298 Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment). Charles enlisted in Nottingham on 21 September 1916 and was transferred to the Army Reserve the following day, 22nd September 1916. He was aged 17 years and 175 days, occupation shopkeeper. He lived at 18 Querneby Road, Mapperley, and nominated his father, Alfred Wiles, of the same address as his next of kin. He was mobilised after a medical examination on 1 May 1917 and initially posted to a Training (Reserve) Battalion then to the Sherwood Foresters, possibly in another Training (Reserve) Battalion based at Rugelely Camp (illegible amendments to the information on his service record). However, on 1 April 1918 he was transferred to the 6th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment and then to the 15/17th Bn. on 14 April, joining the Battalion on 17 April. Charles suffered a gun shot wound to his left thigh on 8 June 1918. He was treated initially at a Field Ambulance, then at No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station after which he was transferred to the Stationary Hospital Boulogne, probably on 30 June. Charles may have been transferred to another hospital in Boulogne on 4 August, but by 18 August was at the Depot in Etaples from where he returned to his battalion on 24 August. Charles was killed in action two months later on 25 October 1918 and is buried in Estaimbourg Churchyard, Hainaut, Belgium, which has 12 CWGC graves. Estaimbourg Churchyard is about 10 km from the town of Tournai. He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his father Alfred was his legatee. Nottingham Evening Post, 'Deaths', 20 September 1934: 'Wiles. On September 19th, at 217 Wilford-road, Alfred, beloved husband of Jane. At rest.' (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Mapperley - War Memorial Woodthorpe Drive & Plains Rd War Memorial as Wiles CW
Charles William Wiles - Buried in Estaimbourg Churchyard, Hainaut, Belgium. (www.cwgc.org)


A video tour of the oceanfront Ho'olawa Point Subdivision in Haiku Maui Hawaii. It's an off grid neighborhood using solar power to live more sustainably. This beautiful community has access to a small bay and fantastic views of the ocean and surrounding nature. There's still some vacant land for sale here so be sure to inquire about the oceanfront lot at 460 Ho'olawa Road.


April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $58 an ounce higher Thursday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May silver is expected to be up about $1.25 an ounce.
At 7:57 a.m. EDT, spot gold was trading up $2.13 to $942.25. In overnight activity, spot gold prices Thursday hovered near the previous day's highs as the market consolidated following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to start buying long term Treasuries and mortgage backed securities in an effort to kick start the credit markets.
Just follow this link for live spot gold prices.


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Ty Herndon
2:00pm 6:00pm
Jul 08 (multiple shows)
Grammy-nominated and Dove Award winning, Ty Herndon has lived a life and career of extreme highs and lows and for the first time brings his full journey from darkness to light and back again to his music with JACOB, a new album of highly personal songs touching on themes ranging from addiction, recovery, and mental fitness to lost love, self-discovery and personal freedom.
Herndon burst onto the country music scene and made his chart debut in 1995 with "What Mattered Most," which became his first No. 1 song and garnered a Song of the Year award (Music Row Magazine). It was also the title track to his first album, which debuted on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and had the biggest first-week shipment in the history of Epic Records Nashville.
Between 1995 and 2002, Herndon charted 17 singles, including his three No.1s and numerous top 10 hits, such as "I Want My Goodbye Back," "Loved Too Much," "A Man Holding On," and "Hands of a Working Man." He topped the charts in 1996 with the single "Living in a Moment" and again in 1998 with "It Must Be Love."
In 2020, Herndon found himself back at No. 1 - this time on iTunes with his remake of "Orphans of God," a collaboration with Kristin Chenoweth and Paul Cardall featured on his holiday release, Regifted. JACOB is his first album of all new music since 2016's House on Fire.


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Cancer Stalks a 'Toxic Triangle'
By Ralph Vartabedian
March 30, 2006 12 AM PT
SAN ANTONIO -- On nearly every block surrounding the former Kelly Air Force Base, small purple crosses sprout from front lawns, marking the homes where cancer has struck.
The residents call their neighborhood the "toxic triangle," alleging that the Air Force poisoned it with an industrial solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE. It was casually dumped at the base for decades and spread for miles through a shallow aquifer under 22,000 nearby houses.
Texas health authorities have found elevated rates of liver cancer among residents, as well as higher-than-normal rates of birth defects. Though state health officials say it is impossible to prove that TCE causes the sickness here, this blue-collar community has little doubt about the connection.
"We are dying day by day," said Robert Alvarado Sr., who has lived in a small clapboard home for 36 years that sits about 14 feet over the TCE plume. "I have kidney failure, my wife has thyroid cancer, my neighbor just died of breast cancer."
What's happening in this neighborhood of modest low-slung homes, crisscrossed by railroad tracks and dominated by aircraft hangars on the horizon, has been playing out for years at other cities that are home to military bases, industrial plants, nuclear weapons laboratories and NASA centers.
Hundreds of communities with major TCE contamination have waited more than a decade for scientists to explain the cancer risks created by exposure to TCE. The clear solvent used to take grease off metal parts is officially branded as a probable carcinogen by half a dozen state, federal and international agencies. It is most often linked to liver and kidney cancer, as well as birth defects and childhood leukemia.
But scientists representing major polluters, particularly the Department of Defense, have successfully delayed action on scientific assessments that TCE is a far graver threat to public health than recognized by federal standards. When the Environmental Protection Agency drafted a TCE assessment in 2001, finding that it was far more toxic than originally believed, the issue was wrested from the EPA's control.
A panel of elite scientists organized by the National Academy of Sciences will issue a report this summer that is supposed to shape government policy on TCE. The report is all but certain to intensify the battle -- no matter what it says.
If the academy endorses the view that TCE is a big risk, it would lay the groundwork for stricter cleanup standards across the nation and probably lower permissible levels of TCE in the environment. If it rejects the EPA's earlier research, it will trigger a political rebellion by exposed communities.
"If the national academy comes out with some kind of a weaker standard, it is going to ignite this all over again," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who has fought regulatory delays along with other Democrats and Republicans in Congress. "We are headed for a battle."
The national academy has been working on its report for more than a year and is now as much as six months behind schedule. One member of the group, Harvard University professor Thomas J. Smith, said the group was dealing with many missing pieces of a difficult puzzle and many bits of data that don't seem to fit anywhere. "It is a complicated picture," Smith said.
Even after the national academy issues its report, the matter will go back to the EPA for another risk assessment that could take another two years. Any further regulatory action to reduce public exposure to TCE could take several more years. The EPA first began amassing scientific data in the mid-1990s and began assessing the risks in 1997.
It is a pace that has left TCE exposure victims disheartened and angry.
Anne Elizabeth Townsend died a month ago in Moscow, Idaho, the result of liver disease and TCE exposure, according to her death certificate and a liver biopsy.
She was married to Tom Townsend, a former major in the Marine Corps who was based at highly polluted Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, after returning seriously injured from combat duty in Vietnam in 1965.
The Townsends lived at the Paradise Point housing complex, which was served by a base water-supply system that carried 1,400 parts per billion of TCE, a later investigation by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry would disclose.
The current EPA limit on TCE in drinking water is 5 ppb. The standard might have dropped to 1 ppb had the risk assessment conducted by the EPA in 2001 been adopted, experts say.
In 1967, the Townsends had a son born with cardiovascular birth defects. He lived only three months.
"We had an autopsy done and there wasn't a system in his body that wasn't screwed up," said Townsend, a retired college administrator and a former city councilman. "That autopsy report had 10 pages of findings. It was a mercy that he didn't last.
"They wiped out two members of my family," Townsend, 75, added. "I am proud that I served in the Marines, but there are some days I want to forget that I did."
The Marine Corps was alerted to the TCE contamination in 1980, but did not disclose the pollution or make any changes to its water system until 1985. It was a five-year period in which thousands of Marines were exposed.
At the request of Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), the Government Accountability Office is investigating whether the Marine Corps covered up the TCE problems at the base.
"Nearly 20 years have elapsed since the last contaminated well was closed at Camp Lejeune, and we are still unable to address the related concerns of former residents," Dole wrote in 2004.
"We have an obligation to provide them with definitive answers to their questions regarding the circumstances and extent of the contamination as well as the likely adverse health effects."
Among Dole's concerns is the slow pace of a study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A still-incomplete study of 12,598 children born at the base from 1968 to 1985 found 103 cases of cancer and birth defects, including 22 cases of leukemia, double the national average. No studies have been conducted of the adult men or women who drank the base water.
Jerry Ensminger, a former Marine drill sergeant, lived at the base in the 1970s and his wife gave birth to a daughter in 1976. Their daughter, Janey, died of leukemia at age 9.
He has been fighting to force the Marine Corps to notify tens of thousands of Marines, their families and civilian employees exposed to TCE. He formed a group, "The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten," -- along with a website (www.tftptf.com) -- to reach out to Marine families.
"The Marine Corps has done everything in its power to not notify the people who were exposed," Ensminger, 53, said. "There is something wrong with our government."
TCE is the most widespread water contaminant in the nation, present at 1,400 Defense Department pollution sites, according to Air Force documents.
The Defense Department contends that scientific evidence that TCE causes cancer is weak and that the EPA needs to conduct more studies before tightening its standards or ordering tougher cleanups.
Certainly, not all TCE contamination was caused by government agencies. It is estimated that at least hundreds, perhaps thousands, of current and former industrial sites across the nation have TCE pollution.
When the National Academy of Sciences held a public hearing at UC Irvine last year, Amanda Evans showed up carrying an urn with her father's ashes. Gary Evans died of liver cancer in 2002, after working as a vice president at a View-Master factory in Beaverton, Ore., owned by Mattel Inc. The company acquired the manufacturing plant in its 1997 merger with Tyco Toys and closed the factory in 2001.
The plant used TCE extensively to degrease metal parts for the stereoscopic viewers produced there, though TCE use had ceased long before Mattel acquired the plant. The TCE was released into the soil, where it contaminated an aquifer that supplied the plant's drinking water. A later government investigation found the aquifer had TCE levels of 1,670 ppb.
As many as 25,000 workers were exposed to TCE at the plant since the mid-1960s, according to a 2004 report by the Oregon Department of Human Services. Based on a list of about half of those workers, the study found nearly triple the expected rate of kidney cancer and double the expected rate of pancreatic cancer.
Evans, who works in the entertainment industry, founded Victims of TCE Exposure and hopes to produce a documentary on TCE. When she showed up in Irvine with her father's ashes and what she calls the "Wall of 300 Victims at View-Master," national academy officials refused to allow her to set it up.
"I told them I don't have a PowerPoint presentation, I have this wall," Evans said. Campus police were called but declined to take any action.
Evans said she was suing Mattel, but the matter must first go through a workers compensation claim. Donald Stewart, a former U.S. senator from Alabama representing Evans, acknowledged that such toxics litigation was complex and not always successful. "But you have good people on juries who recognize that these substances do cause harm," Stewart said.
Civil suits involving TCE have typically wilted because it is difficult to prove that illnesses result directly from exposure.
In "A Civil Action," author Jonathan Harr recounted the prodigious efforts of an attorney from a small Boston law firm who tried -- but largely failed -- to prove two major U.S. corporations had caused health havoc in a New England town after releasing TCE into the water supply. The story was later made into a movie starring John Travolta as attorney Jan Schlichtmann.
In San Antonio, the former Kelly Air Force Base ranks among the nation's largest TCE sites, with contamination that migrated several miles past the base boundary.
So far, the Air Force has spent more than $300 million on the cleanup and expects to spend another $155 million over the next 15 years. Residents want the cleanup completed much sooner, though Air Force officials say the plume is shrinking.
The community that lives over the contaminated water has about double the expected rate of liver cancers, said Melanie Williams, senior cancer epidemiologist at the Texas Department of State Health Services. A twofold rate of excess cancer is "not a huge margin," Williams said, but she noted that the excessive cancers have continued for 10 years.
"The consistency is a concern," she said.
Despite the huge petrochemical industry in Texas and all of the environmental health issues that go with it, Kelly is one of the highest-priority toxics sites in the state, Williams said.
In addition to cancer, the department has found excessive rates for three types of birth defects involving the heart, stomach and lungs, according to Peter Langlois, a birth defects epidemiologist at the department. The birth defect rates range from two to three times higher than expected.
But Williams and Langlois said they could not establish any definitive link to the TCE contamination in the community. Kelly was a major repair depot for the Air Force and used TCE to clean oil and grease from metal parts. Giant tanks of TCE were drained directly into the ground, former workers have said.
The TCE contaminated a shallow aquifer about 14 feet below the surface. The aquifer is not used by the city and little proof has surfaced that the TCE-tainted water ever penetrated down to the 1,000-foot-deep water drawn for the municipal drinking supply, said Dr. Fernando A. Guerra, director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
Mark A. Weegar, senior project manager at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said it was impossible for the contaminated water to migrate from the shallow aquifer into the city's water supply.
But residents say Guerra and Weegar have consistently underestimated their exposure. Dozens of unauthorized shallow wells were sunk into the TCE-contaminated water and used for drinking, bathing and gardening, according to residents and federal officials. The Air Force has capped 75 such wells in the last decade.
"We know that people used the wells in the shallow aquifer for drinking water," said George Rice, a hydrologist who has studied the neighborhood's problems. "You have to assume that people used those wells to water their lawns, wash their cars and the children used those hoses the way kids use hoses."
The Air Force also dumped TCE and other chemicals into open pits on the base for years, which periodically flooded during heavy Texas rainstorms and sent the overflow through surrounding neighborhoods that lacked storm drains, said Yolonda Johnson, a community activist who lives a few blocks from the base boundary. Johnson's daughter and two of her granddaughters have kidney disease.
No air monitoring tests inside homes have been conducted for TCE, even though the contamination is in a shallow aquifer. Soil tests for vapors indicated there was no cause for concern, Texas authorities concluded.
Outside health experts say the shallow contamination alone should have prompted air monitoring tests long ago.
Adam G. Antwine, the civilian who manages the local cleanup for the Air Force, suggested that some "pathways" might have potentially exposed the community to TCE.
"I don't know that we want to totally dismiss any potential pathways," he said.
"This is a low-income minority population and that raises concerns of environmental justice."
The base shut down in 2001 after 80 years of operation. Because the latency period for many cancers is 10 years or more, higher TCE levels long ago might only now be causing illness.
Former Kelly workers describe conditions inside the base during its heyday as an abysmal toxic nightmare.
Mary Lou Ornelias, a frail 59-year-old woman, worked in the Kelly plating shop for 18 years.
With her bare hands, she would dip cotton cloths into buckets of TCE and then wipe grease from aircraft parts. The air in the plating shop was a steamy, solvent-rich brew that turned the walls yellow and had a stench that made visitors wince, she said. The exposure made her dizzy and caused outbreaks of scaly rashes.
"I would scratch and scratch the sores," recalled Ornelias, who has no claims or suits against the government.
The sores would not be her last or biggest problem. Ornelias tires easily, looks gaunt and sometimes falls down -- all part of her life with liver cancer.
"In 2002, I started throwing up blood," she said.
Outside the plant, community activists have pushed for a faster cleanup, but say progress has been slow and the problems have festered.
"Living in this contamination area is a miserable burden," said Armondo Quintanilla, a former employee at Kelly who has spent most of his life in the neighborhood. "It is shameful. People deserve better."
Ralph Vartabedian
Ralph Vartabedian is a former national correspondent at the Los Angeles Times and became a special contributor in April 2020. He joined the newspaper in 1981 and has covered many technical subjects, including aerospace, auto safety, nuclear weapons and high speed rail. He has won two Loeb awards and was a Pulitzer finalist, among many other career recognitions.


Latvia was confirmed as a memberstate of the ISCM on November 11, 2004 in Bern, capital city of Switzerland, and first started to participate in ISCM General Assemblies in 2006 with its own delegation (Ligita Ašme, Zane Prēdele, Indra Riše). The Latvian ISCM section leader was composer Uģis Prauliņš.
The first Latvian music represented in 2007, at the ISCM "World Music days" held in Hong Kong, was the work Solitude by Andris Dzenītis, but Indra Riše was a delegate at the General Assembly and was a member of the international jury which evaluates young composer's (til 30 years of age) works.
In the 2008 "World Music Days" festival organized by the ISCM in Vilnius Latvian music was already represented by two Latvian authors – Santa Ratniece with her a cappella choral work Saline, and Janis Petraškēvičs with the work Arktos for 7 instruments. Composer Andris Dzenītis joined the composers' discussion. Since the spring of 2008, Latvia's ISCM section leader is composer Indra Riše, she represented Latvia at the ISCM General Assembly in Vilnius.
In turn, Latvia was represented in Sweden in the 2009 festival in September by Anitra Tumševica's Klusuma mirdzums [The Shine of Silence] for brass band, Indra Riše's Vējš, zeme un smaržas [Wind, Earth and Scents]for string orchestra and a piece for organ Uguns rituāls [Fire Ritual].
In 2010, the World New Music Days (WNMD) festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) was held in Sydney, Australia, and Latvian music was represented by Alveoles, a musical piece for a string quartet by composer Santa Ratniece. Santa Ratniece also participated in this festival as the delegate of the ISCM – Latvian Section to the General Assembly.
In 2011, the ISCM WNMD Festival was held in Zagreb, Croatia. This time Latvian music was represented by 5 Songs from the Tin Soldier Repertoire for a percussion duo written by composer Indra Riše and performed by the Croatian percussion ensemble BiNG BaNG under the artistic direction of Prof. Igor Lesnik.
From 2013 to 2016 the ISCM – Latvian Section was headed by composer and musicologist Santa Bušs.
TransparenT, a musical piece for a piano solo by Santa Bušs, and Concord, a sound installation by Voldemārs Johansons, were performed in Belgium in 2013. Monologue, a musical piece for a double bass solo by Sabīne Ķezbere, was performed in Austria/Slovakia in 2013. Thistle, a musical piece for a mixed choir by Gundega Šmite, was performed in Poland in 2014.
Composition 10, a musical piece (influenced by a work of art by V. Kandinsky) for an ensemble by Renāte Stivriņa, was selected by an international jury from six works submitted by the ISCM – Latvian Section in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2015. The musical piece was performed by Slovenian musicians under the artistic direction of conductor Slaven Kulenović at the Slovenian Philharmonic on 1 October.
Sonnet No 28 for a chamber choir by Oskars Herliņš was performed in the interpretation of the Incheon City Chorale Choir and conductor Jong Hyun Kim in Tongyeong, South Korea in the spring of 2016.
ISCM World New Music Days 2017 were held in Vancouver, the largest city on the western coast of Canada, from 2nd to 8th November 2017. Composer Anna Veismane took part in the General Assembly as Head of the ISCM – Latvian Section for the first time. Mercurium, a musical piece for the piano by Gundega Šmite, was chosen by the Festival organisers from six works submitted by the ISCM – Latvian Section. The musical piece was performed by Canadian pianist Rachel Iwaasa at the Vancouver Playhouse Concert Hall at the end of the Festival on 8th November.
In 2018, the ISCM WMD Festival took place in Beijing, China. Trataka. Point Noir, a musical piece for a string quarter by Andris Dzenītis, was performed at the White Angels concert by the American string quartet Mivos at the Beijing Central Conservatoire Hall on 23 May. The Festival was attended by composer Andris Dzenītis and Head of the ISCM – Latvia Section Anna Veismane, thanks to the support of the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation (SCCF) and the Latvian Composers Union (LCU).


The present study which attempts to look at the textuality of the introduction section focuses on three aspects that provide part of textuality specifically paragraphing language device and syntactical variation. Utilizing a combination of D' Angelo's (1977)paradigm, Lannon's (1982) categorization,Halliday & Hasan's (1976) description (with adaptation) and Umar Yunus (1989) stylistic approach, the study examined the three preceding aspects using corpus-based investigation.The corpus chosen comprise twenty articles from the International Journal of Educational Research. The Endings exhibit some dominant patterns regarding the aforementioned aspects. Pedagogical implications of the study are also discussed.


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Tag: teamwork
Meet Margarita: Our Xcellent Account Manager
In late September our team had the pleasure of sitting down with Margarita Crespo, a talented account manager here at Xcellent ATL. Xcellent ATL is a marketing and sales firm headquartered in Atlanta, with a focus on exactly that- excellence. Margarita Crespo has been with the company since July of 2018 and has made huge strides in success in the months following her first day.
Margarita Crespo was born and raised in Chicago, until moving out of the city at the age of 25. As a child, Crespo walked the line between outgoing and social, and shy and reserved. It wasn't until her sophomore year of high school that the account manager fully found the outgoing personality we all see today. "Before high school, I was very shy," says Crespo, "but after getting involved in so many sports teams I became much more outgoing." The young athlete could be found on a basketball court, a softball field, or a swimming pool at any moment of the day. "Swimming was definitely my favorite sport," says Crespo, "I love the water, I'm a fish." The successful businesswoman credits much of her professional confidence to those days on high school sports teams. "Being on a team at that age teaches you that you can't do anything alone," says Crespo, "Even as a swimmer, I would swim in that lane alone, but I couldn't do it without my team." Crespo also credits her professional coaching ability to those days as a young athlete.
After high school graduation, Crespo headed to Northeastern Illinois University where she would study pre-law. "After I graduated college I completely changed what I wanted with my future," says Crespo, "I spent time working with criminal lawyers at the Chicago Bar Association, and what I saw was not what I wanted to do with my life. So I decided to get an MBA from DeVry with a focus in information systems technology." Crespo's next stop in her career was the classroom. The account manager spent multiple years teaching high school students and still remembers those days fondly. "I fell in love with teaching," says Crespo, "but I wanted to get into technology, so I moved onto IT management." Crespo has packed her years in the professional world with ample experience in multiple sectors, the businesswoman would even go on to manage a small home health company before joining the Xcellent ATL team.
Crespo started with Xcellent on July 3rd, 2018. "The team mentality of the company is what pushed me to start," says Crespo, "there was just a true opportunity to grow. Other jobs it was more of choosing your position and where you start is where you'll be 20 years from now, I didn't want that. I wanted a future and I wanted growth- I knew I could find that here." For Crespo, the cherry on top was the strong team mentality she found at Xcellent ATL. "When you have a great team there's no reason why you won't be successful," says Crespo.
As for the culture at Xcellent ATL, Crespo fit in immediately. "The company revolves around the team," says Crespo, "being part of this team makes you grow and develop as an individual, so much of what we learn in the office can be applied to our lives." Crespo has no shortage of positive words for her team and the development culture of Xcellent ATL.
Despite Crespo's dense and diverse professional history, her experience with the Xcellent team has not lacked lessons. "I've learned how to address different customer needs and different types of individuals," says Crespo, "with everything you do you come across people, and before this job, I don't think I knew how to have effective conversations with others. My focus now is teaching people to work at the best of their ability and learning to satisfy everyone." As for her daily responsibilities, Crespo has harnessed her teaching ability in the office and in the field. "On a daily basis I am teaching," says Crespo, "It doesn't matter how long you've been here, it matters how fast you learn, so I am constantly teaching others in the office. I am responsible for team building and helping others grow, that is my favorite thing."
The past three months have been a whirlwind for Crespo, but she shows no signs of slowing down. "My goals are to continue helping others grow," says Crespo, "I hope to be promoted to assistant management and beyond- if I can teach people to be better than me, I love that." With a work ethic and determination like Margarita Crespo's, there is no limit to success.
4 Steps to Becoming a Great Team Leader
By Robert Glazer
The job of CEO is decidedly team- and direction-focused. CEOs need to set the course, ensure consistency and develop and reinforce core values. After that, the job is simply to hire great people and get out of their way. Ultimately, what has made Acceleration Partners (AP) successful is my team.
Of course, it's not really that easy to create and lead a successful team-based company. It helps to focus in on the following four key areas. Advancing in these areas will help you become a better leader, one whose employees will thrive both on the job and off.
HERE are 4 steps to becoming a great team leader.


LEWISTON, N.Y. (WKBW) — George Clinton brings his funky ways to Lewiston, this summer. Clinton's Farewell Tour, One Nation Under Groove, will make a stop at Artpark's Amphitheater on June 11th.
Clinton will be performing with the Parliament Funkadelic machine, Galactic, Fishbone and Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf.
Tickets go one sale Friday, April 19 at 10am.


The academic and student associations that have endorsed the Academic Boycott of Israel are found below.
NOTE: For all issued condemnations of the ASA boycott please click HERE.
Unanimous support of membership for "National Association for Chicana/Chicano Studies Resolution to Support the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institution" at National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Annual Conference in San Francisco (Passed April 15-18, 2015).
Delegate Assembly Meeting (Failed on January 7, 2017) - ""MLA delegates did not approve a resolution to endorse a boycott of Israeli institutions. They voted to postpone a resolution to condemn attacks on academic freedom in Palestinian universities. The assembly voted to move forward for consideration by the entire MLA membership a resolution to refrain from endorsing the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel."


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Home » Course Review
Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State University: Challenging, scenic golf in Raleigh
By Jennifer Mario, Contributor
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Until July of 2009, N.C. State University suffered from a bit of an inferiority complex. Its neighbor (and rival) universities, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, each boasted championship, award-winning golf courses, while State had no course to call its own.
From the 11th hole at Lonnie Poole, golfers get a postcard-worthy view of downtown Raleigh.
Plan your Triangle golf with NorthCarolinaGolf.com
Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State University
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Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State University was designed by Arnold Palmer with the help of N.C. State graduates Erik Larsen and Brandon Johnson. It's home to the university's men's and women's golf teams but it's open to the public as well. It's a favorite among locals who claim it's one of the toughest golf courses in the Triangle.
18 Holes | Public golf course | Par: 72	| 7358 yards | Book online | ... details »
Also see these nearby courses:
Raleigh Golf Association
Stockholders Nine at Raleigh Golf Association
North Carolina State University Club
Carolina Country Club
401 Par Golf
All that changed after the opening of Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
A $3 million gift from businessman, alum, and namesake Lonnie Poole made the vision a reality. Now the Audubon signature course fills an important role for the university, providing a home for the men's and women's golf teams, as well as any area golfer.
Sustainability is a key word at Lonnie Poole. The Arnold Palmer Design group accomplished this by leaving many areas untouched -- resulting in a beautiful, meandering golf course that fits into and protects the environment.
Lead architects Eric Larsen and Brandon Johnson, both NCSU alumni, left large buffer areas in place and created a course pleasing both to the eye and the conscience. You won't see a single house along the fairways, but you might catch a glimpse of a red fox, blue heron, or even the resident beaver.
In January of 2014 the course moved to the next level with the opening of the two-story, nearly 30,000-square-foot Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse. Walk through the clubhouse and you'll get a sense of the course's connection with the university: you'll pass the pro shop, the locker rooms, and, wait, classrooms?
The classrooms in the clubhouse are testament to the role of the course as a living laboratory for golf course management and turfgrass students. The course itself becomes an extended classroom, serving as a teaching and training facility for students at the College of Agriculture and Life Science and in the Professional Golf Management Program in the College of Natural Resources.
But make no mistake, N.C. State students, faculty, and the men's and women's golf teams aren't the only ones who benefit.
Head Professional Nick Dillman is careful to emphasize that Lonnie Poole is a daily-fee public course, and all are welcome. Frequent-golfer plans are available, as are staff and student discounts, and twilight rates.
Lonnie Poole: The course
So besides the university atmosphere, what does Lonnie Poole offer?
First and foremost it offers a challenge. The course is long -- 7,358 yards from the back tees, with a 74.8/145 slope and rating. But the white "Wolfpack" tees play from 6,027 yards, and the forward tees a very manageable 4,869. You have six tee boxes to pick from, so if you bite off more than you can chew, you'll have only yourself to blame.
There's no easy A on this golf course. The sloped and undulating fairways that make the course so scenic also increase the difficulty level significantly -- there are few flat lies to be found. Learn how to play the ball below or above your feet to improve your score.
So how do you make the grade?
"It's tough to make par if you miss the fairway," Dillman said. "Your tee shot is critical."
Either you're in great position or you've lost your ball -- there's not much in-between. Pro-tip: work on your accuracy and ball placement. And bring an extra sleeve of balls. Or two.
Members Bill Burton and his wife, Ann, play here exclusively, three or four times a week. They find the course difficult but fair, and they credit the course for improving their games.
"This is not a resort course," Bill said. "Every shot's gotta be good. If you can score well here, you can score well anywhere."
Raleigh residents Lucinda and Curtis Cook include Lonnie Poole in the roster of area courses that they enjoy. They appreciate the convenience to downtown Raleigh and the natural beauty, but pay the course due respect.
"Ego does come into play," Lucinda said. "But you know it's a championship course coming in, so you should play accordingly."
Curtis, a 14 handicapper, calls the course difficult but fun.
"If you keep the ball in play it's enjoyable and you can score," he said. "But if not, forget it."
Lonnie Poole Golf Course: The verdict
Lonnie Poole G.C. is a scenic, challenging course that lives up to its championship reputation. At 7,358 yards from the competition tees, the course can accurately be described as a monster. But the six tee boxes mean you don't have to punish yourself (unless that's your thing).
The well protected pins tempt risk-takers, but there's always a bail-out path for the less adventurous. Missing the fairway will cost you big. With natural grass, numerous bunkers, and environmentally sensitive areas on every hole, an errant tee shot will likely result in a lost ball or a long, unfruitful search.
As a young course, Lonnie Poole is still coming into its own. Many areas were under repair when I was there, as bunker renovations were being completed, but the final project will be gorgeous when it's finished later this year. Walking is permitted but the course's length and elevation changes make it a tough workout. Cart paths can be confusing and sometimes require doubling back -- more signage would be a plus.
What it lacks in seasoning, the course makes up for in amenities: The clubhouse and instruction are state of the art, conditioning is excellent, the staff is warm and friendly, and the carts have GPS (a rarity in these parts).
Lonnie Poole Golf Course offers a full driving range and putting green, a short-game practice area for members, three indoor hitting bays, lessons, and video instruction and ball-flight and swing analysis.
Jennifer Mario, Contributor
Jennifer Mario is a regular contributor to the TravelGolf Network and the author of "Michelle Wie: The Making of a Champion" (St. Martin's Griffin, 2006). A graduate of Duke University, she lives in the Triangle area of North Carolina with her family.
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January 17, 2023 1:00 AM ‐ Podcasts • Paranormal • Television
Danny Robins has announced that his paranormal podcast "Uncanny' will return in 2023 for a second series plus some television specials on BBC Two and iPlayer.
It was October 2021 when Danny Robins dropped the first episode of his hit paranormal podcast series, 'Uncanny', in which he investigates real-life stories of paranormal encounters. With 15 episodes, the series ran until early 2022, but now a year on, listeners are anxiously waiting for more tales of ghosts and the paranormal delivered in that chilling and enthralling way that only 'Uncanny' can.
Luckily, fans of the podcast have had several specials to keep them going since the first series came to an end. Back in June, Danny dropped three summer specials, which made it in to the top 10 most listened to podcast on BBC Sounds for the whole year. Late in 2022, Danny treated followers to two Christmas specials, which this time went top five in the list of podcasts streamed throughout December on the platform.
The first of these festive offerings told the story of a young child and his mother, who shared a council house in a Scottish village, but as objects started to inexplicably move they got the feeling that they are not alone. This was followed by an episode recorded live at the London Podcast Festival 2022 and featured a very special guest with links to the paranormal, Mark Gatiss. The pair discussed their mutual passion for ghosts, and investigated some new listener-submitted stories of weird goings-on.
If these Christmas specials have left you wanting more, then fear not, there is more to come. At the end of the first of the festive episodes, Danny told listeners that they can not only expect a new series of the podcast in the coming months, but also a move to television for the podcast series. Of course, this meant that Danny was on the look out for more strange stories.
He told listeners in the podcast, which dropped on BBC Sounds on December 21, "I wanna hear your own stories of strange experiences, because 'Uncanny' will be back with a brand new series next year, and very excitingly, some TV specials on BBC Two and iPlayer." He added, "so if you believe you have seen a ghost, or a UFO, or had any other encounters you would class as potentially paranormal, from strange beasts to dark folklore, get in touch."
We're not sure which is more exciting, the news of a second series of 'Uncanny' or the announcement that there is to be a television spin-off. Little is known about the television series, other than the fact it will be more than one episode, as Danny said "some TV specials," but he did say they were coming in 2023, which implies we might get several specials - perhaps dropped as one-offs throughout the year.
2022 was… busy. 2023 is looking busier still, with more #Uncanny (both as a podcast and on TV), more #InsideGhosts, and lots of stuff we're *really* excited about… but can't talk about yet.
We've loved making it all, so thanks so much for listening… and see you next year! x pic.twitter.com/Aanf6c6zLl
— Bafflegab Productions (@Bafflegabble) December 31, 2022
There's also not much to tell about the second series of the podcast yet, other than the fact Danny has said he and his team at Bafflegab Productions have already been working on it. We can also guess that the series won't drop until at least mid-February, because there's something else to look forward to from Danny before then.
An hour-long bonus episode of Danny's other current paranormal podcast series, 'The Witch Farm' is coming to BBC Sounds in early February, so 'Uncanny' isn't likely to resume until after that.
'The Witch Farm' was an eight-part series that came to an end in December, but Danny promised listeners one extra bonus episode, which will give listeners the chance to ask their questions about the case that unfolded at a remote Welsh farmhouse that lasted for six years from 1989. The episode is being recorded in Cardiff, and will feature Liz Rich, the mother at the centre of the haunting.
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Former Chairman and CEO | Starbucks
Howard Schultz built Starbucks Coffee Company into one of the world's most recognized and respected businesses, a company committed to strengthening communities through human connection and innovation.
Howard grew up in public housing in Brooklyn, and was the first in his family to graduate college. As a young entrepreneur, he set out to build a different kind of company, one that delivers business excellence through a culture of compassion. Under his leadership, Starbucks grew from eleven stores to more than 28,000 in 77 countries, while pioneering programs like comprehensive healthcare, stock ownership and free college tuition for full and part-time employees. In 2018, Starbucks ranked fifth on Fortune's list of "World's Most Admired Companies."
Along with his wife, Sheri, Howard also is co-founder of the Schultz Family Foundation. His most recent book, "From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America," (2019), chronicles his childhood experiences alongside his journey to redefine the role and responsibility of a company in society today. Howard's groundbreaking initiatives through Starbucks and the Schultz Family Foundation have extended employment and educational opportunities to hundreds of thousands of people.
In June 2018, Howard stepped down from Starbucks and became chairman emeritus.


A total of 52 Laotian employees recruited by POWERCHINA recently went to China's Sichuan province for a four-month pre-job training program, making the front page of the Pasaxon (The People), the newspaper of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
The Lao government and all sectors of society have praised POWERCHINA's contribution in fulfilling social responsibility and its local role in Laos.
After intensive training, the Laotian employees will be assigned to hydropower stations in the Nam Ou River basin to undertake production and operation tasks. They will become the backbone of the production technology and play an important role in the electric power production of the Nam Ou River project.
A Laotian staff member who has worked on the Nam Ou River project for many years said that POWERCHINA has done a good job in resettlement and livelihood restoration from construction to operation, actively fulfilling social responsibilities and establishing relationships with local governments and villagers.
The implementation of whole-life cycle innovation management and the realization of mutual benefits from the project have written a new chapter in the China-Laos relationship.
"From the perspective of a Laotian, we must welcome more powerful and responsible Chinese enterprises such as POWERCHINA to Laos, develop Lao resources, promote the economy, and enrich Laotians," he said.
The Nam Ou River project adheres to the philosophy of "building a country's projects, fulfilling social responsibilities, and benefiting local communities."
The project has provided more than 8,000 jobs in Laos. The whole river basin relocation project covers 10 counties in 10 provinces, with a total immigration of more than 2,300 households and a resettlement population of more than 12,600 people.


Watercolor of anchor, representing commissioners husband with initials, and daisies, representing commissioners mother.
Watercolor of hummingbird and flowers.
Updated location to Hugo, Minnesota, United States.
I'm a full-time server/housekeeper and part-time pca looking for more artistic opportunities to transition into. I've been drawing and doing art since I was young. I've illustrated a book called The Perfect Lamb that is currently published online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I've designed tattoo's for friends and family, and worked during the summer as a full-time face painter at an amusement park for children. I make my own planters, love to watercolor, and live to draw.


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For over 100 years MRS has provided expert training and rescue services across the UK for those who work in confined spaces.
Confined space training courses are for those who need to be competent when working in confined spaces. The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 state a confined space is "any place, including any chamber, tank, vat, silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well or other similar space in which, by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably foreseeable specified risk".
When considering if the space is a confined space, it may not be the actual nature of the space, but the planned work activities that determine if it should be classified as a confined space. Where this is the case, it will be a confined space until the work activities have ceased and the atmosphere has returned to normal.
Over the years, work in confined spaces has resulted in many fatalities and injuries to workers across a range of industries. This led to the introduction of the Confined Space Regulations 1997.
Compliance with these regulations should remove the risk of fatalities and injuries to persons who may need to work in confined spaces. These persons should be trained to be competent.
Not sure if you have a confined space?
We are able to offer first class practical training, in state of the art confined space facilities, to prepare and train anyone who works in confined spaces. We offer a range of Confined Space courses that comply with current regulations and the requirements of the National Occupational Standards to the City & Guilds 6150 suite of qualifications. At MRS we work with City and Guilds to create the qualifications for confined space training and we also work with the sector to set the standards for confined space entry and rescue.
We have years of experience in working in confined spaces and our trainers have performed confined space entry and rescue under the most hostile of environments. They continue to do so today and our instructors and assessors are also operational rescue team members – so have real life stories to make the theory come alive.
We have training centres throughout the UK and each has tunnels built into the fabric of the buildings, to prepare and train anyone who works in confined spaces. Here we can simulate how to prepare for entry, how to work in a safely while in a potential dangerous environment and then create emergency situations where candidates are taught to escape in a safe manner.
We're always looking for new ways to spread the word about how to improve the safety of working in confined spaces.
Our fully equipped, state of the art City & Guilds approved mobile confined space training units are designed to provide everything we require to teach our confined space courses at your office, site or factory. Our units are able to replicate conditions and situations found within confined spaces so course attendees can learn practical skills at anywhere.
All our units are towable – meaning we can be on your site when needed. From our units we can provide both training and competence assessments.
We originally turned to MRS for Confined Space Entry training following our dissatisfaction with the consistency of delivery of our previous training providers. Ensuring the safety of our 100 strong team is our passion. Utlising MRS for the delivery of the relevant City and Guilds courses gives us the peace of mind they have received the training that is both suitable and sufficient for the industrial maintenance Rema Tip Top Industry undertake in high risk environments.
I needed some 'not your average' confined space training for some quite specific tight spaces – I really didn't want to just learn about A frames! MRS listened to my needs and delivered a great course that really helped drive home the need for care and safety and provided the knowledge required when dealing with confined space that altered the trainees' ways of working.
MRS is our Company of choice to deliver Confined Spaces training because the quality of the service we receive from them is second to none. We receive a personalised service each and every time we enquire / book training and are confident that our employees receive a first class quality training experience. Having built our reputation on having highly skilled staff, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend MRS to help you do the same.


I'm inspired to write by a desire to create. All human beings have this desire to some extent–just watch a small child build a house of blocks or draw a picture. Creating a character and the world in which he or she lives–along with a backstory–fulfills my creative juices.
I draw up a sketchy outline of scenes and how the character/s will react in that scene. But, once the scene starts, I'm often surprised by how things develop.
I always feel my characters are like actors on a movie set; they are just out there on the fringes waiting to be told what to do and how to do it.
I give the same advice over and over again. To write well, you must read and read and read and read. Reading much means writing much. Reading well means writing well.


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Q: I have derived a new formula for π. What should I do with it? I mean I know that I should publish it somewhere but have no idea about how to write it in a professional manner and where to publish it. Can anyone guide me?

A: What would be correct is $$\pi = \sqrt{1+\sum\limits_{n=1}^\infty \frac{6\times 2^n-n^2}{2^n \times n^2}}$$ which is close to what you said in your comment
As @lulu notes, this is essentially $\sum\limits_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac {1}{n^2}=\frac {\pi^2}6$ and is not novel - it is called the Basel problem
Your expression converges slowly to $\pi$: using the first ten terms gives about $3.049522$ while the first hundred gives $3.132077$


Lutheran Development Group rebuilds communities near our city's churches through real estate development, community initiatives, ministry investment, and church engagement.
We at LDG aren't theologians, so we're grateful that Jesus gave us a straightforward commandment to follow: LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.
At LDG, faith compels us to ask, "Who is my neighbor?" We live in a time when many of us can choose our neighbors. Acting with the best of intentions to provide better opportunities for us and our families can leave us isolated from our neighbors of greatest need, making resources many of us take for granted, harder for these neighbors to access.


Some of you may recall that there was a bit of a hoo-ha over Google's no-fake-name policy when Google+ launched three years ago. And it never really went away.
The Web giant was so antsy about the rule that it accidentally kicked William Shatner off its then fledgling social networking site in the belief that it wasn't really William Shatner. But it was. The former captain of the Starship Enterprise subsequently had his account restored.
In an about-face, the Mountain View company on Tuesday surprised many by giving the green light for account holders to use any darn name they like – as long as it hasn't been taken, of course. Whether it's silly, weird, non-sensical, or just plain bonkers, Google+ will now welcome you and your made-up name with open arms.
"We know you've been calling for this change for a while," the post said. "We know that our names policy has been unclear, and this has led to some unnecessarily difficult experiences for some of our users." Though hopefully Shatner's over it by now.
The Web company will be hoping that by lifting the naming restriction on Google+ it'll be able to boost its user base by attracting new members who were previously put off by the idea of having to use their real name.
So, were you a fan of the old rule? Sad to see it go? Sound off in the comments below.