Mennonite Brethren used four Confessions of Faith since their formation in 1860. For the first 42 years of their existence, they used the 1853 Mennonite Confession known as the "Rudnerweide Confession." In 1902, Mennonite Brethren leaders constructed the first "Brudergemeinde Confession," which took the Mennonite Confession and incorporated Baptist confessional language in the articles on Salvation and Baptism. Since then, two confessional revisions have taken place over the years, 1975 and 1999. Below is a listing of the previous Confessions of Faith used by Mennonite Brethren, with links to their reproductions—the German originals and their English translations.


Which camp – pro or con — is most guilty of wishful thinking about the Iran deal? Supporters who argue they have secured verifiable, significant reductions in Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons? Or opponents who argue that a "better deal" can be negotiated after rejecting this one?
For opponents to avoid being guilty of wishful thinking, existing sanctions must remain in place after killing the deal, until a new administration tries to do better. Since the Obama Administration won't be negotiating better terms, the current sanctions regime must hold as long as it takes for a new administration to resume negotiations. Also, the next American president must be able to convince all of Washington's negotiating partners to support better provisions than those rejected by the Congress. Plus, "tougher" sanctions must remain in place on all of Iran's significant trading partners for as many years as it takes Tehran to cry "uncle." All of these hopeful assumptions rest on the next president's ability, moral standing, and political backing — domestically and internationally — to negotiate a better deal.
Supporters argue that the deal doesn't rely on trust; it relies on intrusive monitoring provisions, included at suspect sites, where timelines for access are short enough to prevent "break out" or "sneak out" from key limitations. Tehran may well abide by its obligations, which is at least as plausible a reason for accepting them as for its intention to violate them. But if Tehran accepted these provisions because it intends to cheat, President Obama and his successors will know about Iranian noncompliance in time to take remedial action – including military strikes, if needed. Sending U.S. pilots and other forces into harm's way will, however, be a last resort. This option will remain in place after the terms of this deal lapse. As for Iran's misbehavior in the region, the Obama Administration is taking many steps to shore up friends, especially Israel and the Gulf states, with military assistance. Subsequent administrations will do so, as well. Rather than engaging in wishful thinking, supporters of the deal make sound arguments that they have put in place prudent hedges against worst cases. Critics don't argue with this hedging strategy; instead, they express doubt in presidential resolve.
Now let's examine the underlying assumptions behind the push for a "better" deal. Will existing sanctions hold between the time this deal is torpedoed by the Congress and the advent of the next administration? Realistically speaking, sanctions will fray because the Congress will be in no position to hold the line against every other trading partner of Iran, all of whom support this deal. Will America's negotiating partners agree on tougher constraints? All of them are telling the Congress that this is fantasy. Will the next U.S. president have the standing to negotiate better terms, the way that Ronald Reagan was able to secure deeper cuts in nuclear forces than the strategic arms limitations that Jimmy Carter negotiated?
Ronald Reagan got a better deal because he wanted deeper cuts, if not the total elimination of nuclear weapons in both the United States and the Soviet Union. In the Iran deal, the United States (and Israel) accept no nuclear constraints; all of the limitations are on Tehran. Besides, Ronald Reagan won't win the next election. The next American president will have to operate in the same severely partisan circumstances as President Obama – except that he or she will have less standing because Republicans in Congress have sided with a hard-line government in Israel against every other state that supports this deal. An America that is diplomatically isolated will be in no position to negotiate a "better" deal.
Realistically speaking, the probability of sanctions eroding if Congress torpedoes this deal is greater than the prospect of tougher sanctions. Tehran has been willing to accept significant, long-term constraints on its enrichment program in return for the lifting of some sanctions. It won't cry "uncle" as sanctions erode.
Sinking this deal is far more likely to result in no deal than a better deal. If Congress rejects this deal, if sanctions erode, and if Iran increases its enrichment capabilities – as opponents fully expect — an American president is left with basically two options. One option is to refrain from using military force. President Obama chose this option in Syria after Bashir al-Assad's regime used Sarin against his own population. But President Obama secured the removal and demilitarization of nerve agents from Syria in return for not using force. An American president would not have the option of doing nothing if Iran blows by constraints that are not in force because the Congress has rejected this deal. Only the second option remains: to initiate another war in the Middle East to prevent another country from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Although backers of a "better" deal rarely say so, their fallback plan is the same as that of the deal's supporters – the use of force. But there is a huge difference between making war against a country that violates the terms on an international agreement not to make nuclear weapons, and making war after rejecting an agreement could have avoided war in the first place. Nothing will weaken America's standing in the world or exhaust its armed forces and treasury more than fighting a second, unnecessary war in the Middle East to prevent a state from acquiring nuclear weapons.
This deal provides an opportunity to prevent worst cases, while being prepared for them. Torpedoing this deal increases the odds of worst cases. This deal is not based on wishful thinking: it is based on close monitoring and international support, backed up by U.S. military power. Those who expect that a better deal will result from killing this one on Capitol Hill win the contest for wishful thinking.
Note to readers: A shorter version of this essay appeared in the September 3rd issue of Defense One.
Well said. I wish the partisan naysayers would take their ostrich heads out of the ground.
We haven't met since UN days. I now live in Vermont and last evening had supper with Roger and Ellen Leeds. It's still a small world.
Roger and Ellen are the best.
We generally make that assumption, but sometimes I wonder how true it really is. The Clinton administration actively considered attack plans to prevent North Korea from acquiring a nuclear weapon but then achieved the Agreed Framework. The Republicans–who won control of Congress in the same month, if I recall–denounced it as appeasement and prevented the US from carrying out some of its key obligations to North Korea. (Bad behavior from North Korea aided this, but it was rarely, if ever, tied to its obligations under the agreement.) The Bush administration denounced the deal, threatened the regime, and tried to change the terms of the agreement retroactively. Eventually, the North Koreans broke the deal, which virtually everyone took as evidence that they couldn't be trusted to stick to an agreement in the first place. Yet, after all that, the Bush administration never attacked North Korea to prevent it from getting the bomb, and I dare say it wasn't because they blamed themselves for the agreement falling apart. The Bush and Obama administrations just lived with it. Perhaps it would have gone otherwise if we hadn't had two wars going already. Still, it makes me wonder how automatic a strike against Iranian facilities would be (regardless of the GOP's evident intent to follow the path of the North Korean agreement in every detail).
The North Korean scenario may well be replayed as Republicans on Capitol Hill seek (repeatedly) to block implementation and reimpose economic sanctions supposed to be lifted under the agreement.
While I understand the "pro" argument, I am bothered by 2 issues: (1) The plutonium problem. Iran seems to be free to conduct "research" in this area. It seems that sub-critical and hydronuclear experiments are possible under this deal. As North Korea has shown, you do not need much more. (2)The lack of unannounced inspectiontions, which every other country has agreed to, and the totally preposterous concept of letting Iran inspect itself using its own instruments with no US inspectors makes no sense whatsoever.
I'm not sure what you mean by "which every other country has agreed to." Uranium conversion and enrichment will be monitored 24/7. For 25 years, the uranium mines and mills will also be monitored. For challenge inspections of undeclared sites, they can delay for up to 24 days while arguing why the site shouldn't be expected, but that is an explicit limit on stalling that no other nation has agreed to. The notion that they will inspect themselves is based on a document that relates only to Parchin and is probably either a forgery or an extremely early draft.
In reference to your first point, as I understand it sub-critical and hydronuclear testing should be covered under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a document to which Iran is already party. There are no real applications for that kind of research that isn't directed towards nuclear weapons development, and undertaking it would constitute potential military dimensions that would make Iran in material breach of Article II of the NPT.
Why does the issue of plutonium bother you? The JCPOA cuts Iran's pathway to plutonium (A rebuilt Arak will no longer produce it).
The second issue you cite mis-characterizes the IAEA's agreement with Iran regarding PMD ("Iran inspect itself"), and mis-characterizes the safeguards agreements in place with other nations ("every other country has agreed to").
The AP, at best, misunderstood an early draft. Iran does not get to "self-inspect".
I cannot think of *any* country that has agreed to allow unannounced inspections of military facilities.
Not to mention we don't know what the state of Iran's military is going to be in 15 years. Look at what has become of the PLA(N) under Russian sponsorship in the last 15 years. It is doubtful Iran can come as far in a similar amount of time, but it will more than likely be leaps and bounds ahead of where it is now. This increases the risk to our pilots, thereby strengthening the argument for not going to war over a nuclear program.
Furthermore, the whole premise of this agreement is based on the bet that Iran will turn into a responsible international actor in the next 15 years, after which they can have all the HEU and space launch vehicles (ICBMs) they want. I think it requires an even higher degree of wishful thinking when it comes to betting the farm on Iran becoming responsible in the next fifteen years. Hey, it might happen, but there is far too much risk assumed for me to take that bet.
In the end both sides endeavor down the path of wishful thinking, but one side deals us a losing hand in the long term (the JCPOA) and the other is an unknown. I guess, personally, I would rather take the unknown than the losing hand. The unknown could be worse, but it also could be better.
The problem with this reasoning is that it assumes it was necessary for the US and/or the West to make a deal with Iran. That is simply untrue. We would have been far safer to keep the status as it was indefinitely than to accept the deal with Mr. Obama accepted.
The situation as it stood was stable only WRT the major powers and Iran; if you include Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, and Israel, it was showing signs of coming off the rails in a nasty way.
A US initiated war is only one of the ways we could have failed earlier. Failing to convince the Kingdom and Israel not to blast Natanz and Fordow and all the reactors would have been another.
The problem with that theory is that the status quo was not static,iran had an active and expanding program and the longer the west waited to make a deal the worse the terms of it would be or do you think you would get a better deal when iran had all 20,000 centrifuges at fordow up and running or when arak was finally commissioned?,dont forget at one point there way back during the first round of "negotiations" iran had been willing to accept a few hundred centrifuges in a couple of pilot cascades,it was the west with its mantra of zero enrichment,not one centrifuge that rejected that,iran has gone from a few hundred centrifuges to several thousand centrifuges and that was all thanks to the west sitting back and hoping that sanctions will force iran to cry uncle and I think we can all agree that has been a failure,doubling down on failure doesnt really seem like a very smart strategy to me.
The status quo was not going to stand still indefinitely. Either Iran was going to continue progressing towards bomb-making (or being only a screw turn away) or Iran was going to show restraint in exchange for sanctions relief.
If one looks retrospectively, one can perhaps argue that Obama/Kerry should have held out for a better deal. This foregone option, however, requires risking the possibility that the Iranian side might have rejected a deal that was even better for the rest of the world. Therefore, it is not known (and probably not knowable) that a better deal would have been possible.
The current reality is that one can either take this deal or leave it. There is no longer any third choice to hold out for a better deal. Accepting this deal now is better than the option of rejecting the deal, and better than the current status quo. The deal is also quite good in its own right, because it forecloses all the pathways for making a bomb.
Regarding the stability of the status quo, we should also keep in mind that the Europeans, Russians, and Chinese agreed to multilateral sanctions as a way to get an agreement from Iran, not necessarily as a permanent condition. If we refuse a deal, the whole thing could fall apart, or the other powers could negotiate their own deal without our input.
I think you have nailed all the arguments in a masterly way. Michael. At some point Indian and Iranian strategy was the same– have the capacity, but not necessarily the capability. But pressures, internal as external changed things. We can hope that the pressures around Iran, which are considerable, don't lead to a similar outcome.
"…by Sarah Bostock and Michael Sandelson .
The deal rubber stamping is scheduled to take place during a meeting at a General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
Environmental organisation Bellona comments that hazards include nuclear powered navigation beacons and lighthouses along Arctic coastlines.
How close were the Nazis to a nuclear weapon of their own?
The answer is they weren't very close at all. According to an investigation published this month in the journal Angewandte Chemie, 1940s uranium samples from Germany don't show evidence of a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction— the chemical underpinnings of an atomic bomb. The study adds scientific support to historical accounts that the Germans didn't succeed in their wartime nuclear aspirations. An international team carried out the investigation, led by Maria Wallenius, a radiochemist who coordinates nuclear forensics analysis at the Institute for Transuranium Elements, part of the European Commission's in-house science service.
ROME, N.Y., 18 Sept. 2015. U.S. Air Force researchers are asking industry for new ways to safeguard military communications amid the blast, radiation, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) caused by detonation of nuclear weapons.


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There is an app for everything in today's advancing technology, and that includes apps for electricians, meaning you can spend more time on the job and less time worrying about accounts and invoices.
There are a variety of electrician apps available, those that help you run your business, complete certificates, create invoices, take payment and even electrical calculators to help you on site. We have compiled an ultimate guide to apps for electricians, comparing costs, features and services so you can find the right app to suit your business.
This app is designed with electricians in mind. It is a pay monthly subscription services, but offers a month free trial to test it out with your business.
Powered Now can do invoicing, estimating and appointment scheduling, and also accept payment. All of your invoices are backed up automatically to the cloud, if you create a quote, you can turn it into an invoice with one click, VAT and tax calculations are done automatically, and it stores client information. It will also sync up with PayPal to take payment on site, meaning less chasing for money after you've finished the job, however payments via PayPal are charged at a 2.75% transaction fee.
It is a very comprehensive app that seemingly covers everything you could possibly need, including, expenses tracking, which is guaranteed to make filing your taxes easier and simpler. You can also use the app on any device, whether it's your phone, tablet or laptop/PC. Another handy feature is that, even if you are without signal, you can still access your data and record data, as everything is saved to the Cloud as soon as you get signal.
Perfect for invoices and quoting on the go, it offers professional template designs and allows you to track your expenses by taking photos of receipts. A benefit of using Invoice2Go is that it also accepts payment, through credit/debit card and Apple Pay (via Stripe), or PayPal, making it quicker and easier to take payments on the move.
When you issue an invoice for work completed, invoices are sent out with a date to be paid by and a 'pay now' button is also visible on the invoice for the customer. You can select your preferred payment method (card, Apple Pay or PayPal or all), and if they opt to pay via credit/debit card or Apple Pay, the payment is processed through Stripe and charged at Stripe's normal transaction fee of 1.4% + 20p. If they opt to pay via PayPal, then it is charged at PayPal's normal transaction fee of 2.75%. Both transaction fees are taken off the total amount paid before it is transferred into your bank accounts; Stripe payments can take 2-7 days and PayPal is instant into your PayPal account.
You don't have to worry about chasing payments either, as you can select when you would like to send payment reminders to customers, meaning you spend less time following up on payments. Like Powered Now, this app allows you to record data and access reports even when you are offline without phone signal. However, the only drawback with this app is most of the beneficial features are only available on the pro package.
This app is great for producing quotes and estimates, before turning them into invoices, which can be easily emailed to customers or printed off. After invoices have been sent, you can then track payments and if see you have money owing. You also have the ability to send payment reminders by the press of a button.
Within the app, you can also create material lists and templates for recurring charges. If you're managing a team, you can even schedule and assign work to different members. Updating your customers is important when building a strong working relationship, which Your Tradebase understands and allows you to send visit confirmations directly to your customers and can also set task reminders for yourself.
The app is guaranteed to make you feel a bit more organised with its variety of management features, such as job tracking, note and file storage, calendar to schedule jobs, appointments and surveys.
There is a free app available, Fixington, which is a calendar for tradespeople to help keep you organised, but it can also issues invoices, estimates and can take payment via iZettle card reader (transaction fee 1.75%). The only downside to the app is that if you want to access it on your desktop, you have to pay £10 a month to upgrade to Pro, but it operates perfectly on mobile and tablet devices.
However, if you are on site and want a free app to test out with no commitment or trial period, it is incredibly useful with some great features too. You can record payments, store customer details, email customers from your phone, see just how much you're earning, who hasn't paid, all of which is backed up automatically to a central server.
The app also allows you to work flexibly, either online or offline, meaning if you don't have a phone signal, don't worry – you can still look through the app, add jobs and edit existing ones. It automatically saves the next time you are get signal. You can also register your interest to find jobs with them for free, meaning no paying for leads.
The apps that stands out are PoweredNow, with prices starting at £4.99 per month, and Invoice2Go, with a pro package costing £99 a year. Both have a comprehensive list of features that is enough to manage any trade business. Invoice2Go has the bonus feature of being able to accept payments via credit or debit card on the app at the lowest transaction fee of 1.4% + 20p, via Stripe.
If you're after a free app with no trial period, Fixington stands out to be the handiest. Despite being free, it still covers a great range of features and even accepts payments through iZettle card reader.
If you are new to the trade, all paid for apps offer a free trial period to test them out, so make use of the trial period to find the app which works best for you and your business.
Although trade management apps, like Invoice2Go and Powered Now, will help you collate your invoices and track your expenses, you may still be interested in accounting software/apps for your business.
By using accounting apps, you can control your business financially, track your takings, all the while reducing costs and workload for an accountant.
They have three app packages for self employed and small businesses, all suitable for electricians or larger electrical companies.
If you have no employees, the self employed option is fine. But if your company is a bit bigger and you have a few employees, you'll need one of the small business packages, as this will also allow you to do your VAT and save on paying your accountant to do it.
Both packages with Quickbooks allow you to categorise your business expenses, track sales, expenses and profits, and also helps estimate/calculate tax. You will also never have to worry about backing up your data, as Quickbooks will do it every day for you.
The app will also connect to your bank, for quick and automatic bank transactions and importing. It is worth noting that you can also create and send unlimited invoices using the app, which is a bonus if you were looking for an accounting app that does it all.
Another bonus is that with the Quickbooks Self Employed app, you can also track your mileage for your business, which helps when it comes to claim your tax back on journeys. (Please note: mileage tracker is only availiable on Self Employed App, not Small Business app).
Another easy accounting software is Sage One, which offers two packages for small businesses and sole traders. You can create custom invoices, keep your accounts up to date easily and also have the handy feature of automatically calculating your VAT returns and submit them directly and securely to HMRC.
Sage One will keep your customer and supplier details safe, so you can quickly create invoices. The software is available via your desktop/laptop or a mobile app, so you can easily keep track of your payments and expenses on the go or at your desk.
Connecting to bank automatically, you can reconcile your business transactions quickly and manage your account via your deskop/laptop or via the free Expenses and Invoices app.
Although Sage may appear the cheaper option at packages starting from £3 a month, there are a lot of add ons to consider such as if you are running a payroll or you want to accept payments, whereas other apps include this in their packages.
Another online accountancy and management app that covers a variety of features that small businesses need, is Xero. With Xero, you can easily check the balance of your accounts to see how your business is doing on the app dashboard. You can track yours and your staff's expenses using a snap and go facility.
If you are a manager you can even approve your staff's expenses on the go. You can reconcile your bank transactions at any time on the mobile app, suitable for both iOS and Android. There is a built in payroll facility with Xero that even lets you send payslips to your staff.
Customer details are stored on the app to make it quick and simple to create new invoices and look up details. There are payment options available for Xero, with PayPal or Stripe. You can send both quotes and invoices to your customers with a single click.
You can also set up payment reminders for customers too, meaning you don't need to worry about chasing payments. Xero will also let you know when a customer has seen an invoice and when it has been paid. You can track and manage your VAT online and through the app, and you can also file your returns to HMRC online too. It works with all VAT schemes too, making it a universal fit for your small business.
If you are VAT registered, Sage One Accounting will carry a huge benefit as it will calculate and submit your VAT returns directly and safely to HMRC.
However, if you are under the VAT threshold, it won't matter to you and Quickbooks presents the simplest systems, with everything you need in one software.
Filling out certificates by hand is becoming a thing of the past, with electricians now turning to reliable electronic sources to complete paperwork and keep copies safe. If you're thinking of turning to electronic solutions for your certificates, here are three of the top electrical certificate apps, as recommended by those in the trade.
iCertifi is a popular choice amongst electricians because of the variety of certificate apps available from the company, including BS 7671 certificates, PAT certificates, fire certificates, gas safety certificates, and also electrical visual inspection certificates. iCertifi have a variety of apps available, all of which are sold separately.
With iCertifi, you can take your phone or tablet device to work, fill out the paperwork then and there, ultimately saving time. You can send an unlimited amount of electrical certificates, with no pay and go prices or invoice cap. The certificates comply with all Part P Scheme Providers.
One stand out app by the company is called iCertifi Cloud, which allows you to start a certificate on site on your phone or tablet, then complete it on your laptop. It is an upgrade on the standard iCertifi BS7671 app which only caters for iOS iPhone or iPad.
iCertifi has also released a Fast Calc, which is an instant electrical calculations app for your phone or iMac desktop and works even with no data connection. It covers a variety of electrical calculators, including 3 phase voltdrop, PFC, Resistance, cable calculator (voltage drop, percent drop, load) and Lux level.
The only drawback is that iCertifi Cloud is currently the only app by iCertifi which is available across all devices, whereas their single apps are available only through iOS devices.
This mobile app is available on both iOS and Android, and also has desktop access too. It comes with unlimited certificates, which you can customise with different colours, fonts, add company logos and scheme registrations logos too.
It comes with a complete selection of certificate templates to choose from, including BS7671 certificates, fire alarm and emergency lighting, solar PV and site survey forms. For a full list of all of the certificates catered for on EasyCert, click here.
You can share the certificates with your customers via email, or you can print them out or save to the cloud/another app. It also features online web back up to ensure that your certificates are safely stored.
For NICEIC registered electricians, they offer a pay as you go option for digital certificates. It is a free service just for those who are registered with NICEIC and is £1 per certificate. There is a full selection of certificates to choose from and no software is needed to complete them, it is all done via a web based system, which means you must have a phone signal to fill them out.
You also have the added bonus of once you finish a certificate, the NICEIC has full integration with building control, allowing you to easily notify building control with one click.
However, you can also fill the certificates out on your tablet, desktop or laptop as they are stored in the cloud. Although there are no fully customisable certificate templates, you can add photos of installations or faults, etc, for easy reference and you can rest assured that all certificates comply with BS 7671. For a full list of all of the certificates catered for on NICEIC, click here.
If you are registered with NICEIC, the pay as you go method is very simple and easy, as it will pre-fill certificates with all of your information straight away. You can have multiple people editing NICEIC online certificates at once, and it is accessible on desktop, mobile and tablet.
However, the NICEIC certificate option is only available with a internet connection. If you are looking for a more independent and rural option, then iCertifi is your next best option as you can create and access certificates offline, as well as being able to fully customise certificates. Both certificate apps allow for easy sharing with the customer, as you can email as a PDF, print, or save to the cloud.
Having a card machine with you on site is a huge bonus, which is why we are looking at payment apps that offer card readers. You can secure a deposit for a job there and then and also accept balance payments when the job is completed. At the end of the job, if a customer is happy with the work completely, asking them to settle the bill can mean no chasing for final payments weeks after completing a job.
Just remember that not everyone will be comfortable paying with a card machine and some customers may still prefer to pay via bank transfer or cheque.
The SumUp Air card reader charges 1.95% per transaction, which it takes off before transferring the money to your bank account. They claim to be the most advanced reader and the leading mobile point of sale company in Europe.
The Air card reader operates via Bluetooth and has a li-ion battery, with a battery life of up to 500 transactions. To charge, simply plug it in via a micro USB charging point. The card reader pays out into your bank account in 2-3 working days and offers full telephone and email support if anything goes wrong. After each transaction, you can send a receipt to the customer vis SMS text or email.
You can use the card reader together with SumUp's app, on iOS and Android, which gives you dashboard reporting to see how much money you've taken. The card reader comes with no fixed contract or monthly fees and a 1 year warranty.
iZettle is one of the most popular card reader choices, as it charges the least for every single transaction, at standard rate of 1.75%. With an 8 hour battery life, or 100 transactions, it's not as much as SumUp's but its features and low transaction fee make up for it.
The app also now allows you to produce invoices, a new feature, however they charge a transaction fee of 2.5% if paying via invoice. The card reader and app together will take payments from all major credit and debit cards, record sales, and allow you to create a personalised product library for recurring costs, like labour.
It keeps all of your receipts for you, just in case you ever need to re-issue or need them for your accounts, and they can also be emailed to customers. Receipts can be customised with your company logo and name.
Payments are deposited into your bank within 1-2 working days, and the iZettle GO app works well alongside it to produce daily and monthly reports for you to track how well you business is performing. The app can be accessed both on your mobile and on desktop, and the reader comes with no fixed contract or monthly fees and a 1 year warranty.
Arguably the most popular money app around, PayPal offers a card reader service for those with a PayPal account. Many of the management and accounting apps mentioned work alongside payment apps, including PayPal's.
Transaction fees vary, between 1.5% and 2.75%, depending on the amount of sales you take a month. If you sell less than £6,000 a month, there is a 2.75% transaction fee. If you sell between £6,000-£15,000 a month, there is a 2% transaction fee. If you sell between £15,000-£55,000 a month, there is a 1.5% transaction fee.
Working alongside its PayPal Here app, you can generate custom sale reports, manage an inventory of products, customise your receipts for your business and take any type of payment, contactless, via smartphone, chip and pin or swipe.
Once the card reader is fully charged, it can last up to 7 days on standby, or withstand 100 transactions before it needs recharging. There is no fixed term contract or monthly fees, the card reader has a 1 year warranty, and all payments are deposited immediately into your PayPal account.
iZettle card reader and app has the best transaction rate at 1.75%, compared to SumUp at 1.95% and PayPal's max 2.75%. However, the battery life of SumUp far exceeds the others at 500 transactions, whereas both iZettle and PayPal have a battery life of an average 100 transactions.
The app with the widest variety of payment types accepted is iZettle, and it is also the cheapest card reader of the three. The time for the money to arrive in your bank is also very good at 1-2 working days. You will find that some management apps will work alongside card readers like iZettle and PayPal, which is helpful for having the same information all in one place, for example Fixington free app accepts payment through iZettle.
Alternatively, if you are looking to keep your costs as low as possible, then it might be worth looking into Stripe, which is an online dashboard available via your desktop or laptop. You can take payments via the dashboard at a low transaction fee of 1.4% + 20p. Receipts are then emailed to the customer and payment is transferred into your bank in 7 days. Stripe then offer an app to track and manage payments on the go, called Stripe Dashboard.
To take money via Stripe, you have two options: Invoice2Go (Pro package £99) or PayApp (free app), both apps accept credit and debit cards and process them through Stripe, maintaining the lowest transaction fee of 1.4% + 20p.
PayApp is recognised by Stripe as an app that works alongside it. There is no card terminal needed and PayApp do not charge an additional transaction fee to use their app. The money still follows Stripe's process and will be transferred into your bank in 7 days. You are able to enter card details and email receipts, as well as 'capture card details' ensuring they are correct via digital detection.
If you are after the absolute cheapest transaction fee and a free app to take payment, then a Stripe account could be a great alternative for you.
Schneider offer a free quotation and management app, MySchneider Electrician, which aims to help speed up jobs and free up your time. The app requires you to become an Electrician Partner, which is their free scheme that helps support other small electrical contractors.
Once you join on as a partner, you are listed on their 'Partner Locator' which allows customers to find you on the Schneider Electric site. A great feature on the Partner Space is also the e-design tool, which helps your visualise installations and find the best solution for the job.
The app also has a quotation tool on it, which allows you to give customers an idea of costing then and there, which you can later follow up at home.
A new, free app on the market is Tooli, which operates like a social network for tradespeople and is free for everyone. At the core you have your profile, showing off your recent work and qualifications to potential customers and employers in a portfolio format.
From the app, you can get notifications of jobs in your area and special offers on tools and equipment too, you can post updates on current jobs, you can use the search facility to find jobs and contractors near you, and most importantly you can network with others.
Another bonus with the app is on your profile you can add an availability indication, to inform potential clients and employers of when you are free to work. If you are looking to hire an electrician for your company, you can even add a job advert offering a skilled position and also browse available contractors.
The Makita Mobile Tools app is available on iOS and Android and offers a variety of handy tools, all without ads and is free too. Features include a spirit level, torch, distance measure, sound level meter and levelling instrument. It is a great all round app to have on site with you and help save on tool bag space.
Cable Calc+ is a free app from Megger, which works without an internet connection. With the cable calculator, all you need to enter is the cable type, cable length, reference method and the max load of the cable in kW or watts. After, the app will then calculate and display the min cable size, the load current in amps and also the volt drop (displayed as volts and as a percentage).
Always remember to check the information produced against the cable manufacturers regulations, but the app is a great, quick and handy app to have on site.
Perfect for electrical contractors, MileIQ offers stress free solution for automatic mileage logging. While you drive, MileIQ works in the background of your phone, recording every journey you make, making it easy to compile a monthly report for your tax deductible mileage.
MileIQ is free for up to 40 drives every month, however if you are looking for unlimited drives each month, then take a look at their paid options.
For PAT testing, the free Seaward PAT Mobile app makes it simple and easy. Working alongside their Prime PAT testers, the app produces and saves digital log results. You can export your data, tag photos (especially useful for failed visual inspection items) and also print result labels (printing from your Android only).
Recommended to us by our electrical trainers, ProCerts offer a variety of apps for electricians, such as Cable Size Calculator, Ohms Law Calculator, Watts Amps Volts Calculator, Max Zs Calculator, Generator Calculator, and Electrical Tools & Reference (all of the apps in one).
The only downside is that you have to either download a few different apps for free and pay for one or two apps by ProCerts, or alternatively pay a small fee for all of them in the Electrical Tools & Reference app. These type of apps can prove to be invaluable on site and also save so much time looking up tables and doing calculations, so is worth considering.
Every electrician app offers something different and it is important that you use the trial periods available to test apps out with your business.
Look out for apps that work alongside each other for seamless business management, and ultimately allowing you to maximise on time spent on the job instead of in the office.


'Coming Out' – we're told it's one of the bravest things a person can do. It's personal and different for everyone, and not everyone 'comes out' the same way. Some people 'come out' to everybody in their lives, others only 'come out' to a few. Still, 'coming out' requires a great deal of bravery.
Why is that? Because 'coming out' has risks. When a person 'comes out' they could risk losing emotional or financial support from their family. 'Coming out' could put a person at risk of physical danger and violence.
Sometimes family won't understand. They will try to pressure you into being someone you're not. School friends, teachers, or university lecturers may bully you and try to make you feel a sense of guilt or shame.
Yes, facing all those risks and choosing to 'come out' anyways is a brave thing to do. Especially in 2019, as highlighted in the video below by comedian Neel Kolhatkar.


Why the hell did Mattel make NASA's astronaut Barbie pink?
Good news, everyone—Mattel has made an astronaut Barbie! Anything that promotes this male-dominated job to girls is The Right Stuff. And it's sanctioned by NASA, too. The bad news: once again they have fallen into stereotyping by making the helmet and other parts of the suit pink.
Was there any need for that? If there are no astronaut suits with pink elements, why make them pink? "Because girls like pink" is probably their weak non-argument.
But still, that's a minor annoyance. If this small step for a doll ends with a woman taking a giant leap for all Humanity on the surface of Mars, we all can be happy about it.


Describing energy security as "tantamount to national security," US Energy Secretary Rick Perry urged Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and diversify its energy sources.
Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas "is truly a cause for concern," Perry said in remarks at the closing session of the Three Seas Initiative's Business Forum in Bucharest on September 18.
Perry also affirmed US President Donald J. Trump's opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will deliver gas from Russia across the Baltic Sea to Germany and Western Europe. Supported by Berlin, Nord Stream 2 received an endorsement from Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen at the first day of the Three Seas summit on September 17. Central European countries and the United States oppose the project.
On September 18, hours after US President Donald J. Trump announced his decision to impose 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, China struck back. Beijing retaliated immediately, announcing tariffs on an additional $60 billion in US imports.
The new Chinese tariffs will target more than 5,000 US goods, including meat, nuts, alcoholic drinks, chemicals, clothes, machinery, furniture, and auto parts—nearly everything that China imports from the United States.
The Chinese tariffs, just like the new US ones, will go into effect on September 24.
The latest escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China is further proof that US President Donald J. Trump has no intention of quickly coming to an agreement over a new trade relationship with China, according to Bart Oosterveld, director of the Atlantic Council's Global Business and Economics Program.
"The [Trump] administration has no political or economic incentive to tone down these trade wars," Oosterveld said.
On September 17, the Trump administration announced 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in an attempt to pressure China to change trade practices that the president says are hurting US businesses.
Turkish Outbreak: Risk of Emerging Market Contagion?
US President Donald J. Trump on September 12 issued a new executive order (EO) authorizing sanctions in response to interference in US elections, likely as an attempt to stave off two bipartisan bills circulating in the Senate that would mandate significant sanctions against Russia. The EO is a mixed bag; it directs cabinet officials to produce reports on interference following every US federal election—a good step toward showing seriousness—but the sanctions in the EO do not substantially change the status quo, especially from the perspective of providing an effective deterrent to Russian aggression.


Last week at the Woodcliff Lake Cars & Coffee my buddy Bill with the NC1 Copper Red Soft Top said he needed an oil change, so I volunteered to do it for him. Great! Today was the day to do it, perfect weather… lots of time since it's the weekend, and besides the oil change we flushed the rear diff too.
Bill's NC is pushing 104k miles, so it's got a few more than mine. The area where the trans pairs to the engine was a bit covered with oil, which I guess may be normal for that age. It certainly looks similar as my high mileage Ford Explorer that my mom drives. There was also a lot of grime on the engine cover so I spend much of the time cleaning as the actual oil change took very little time. Actually, it took us the longest to figure out where to jack the car up correctly since his has an Appearance Package with side skirts that stick out beyond the pinch welds that I normally jack my car by.
The dreaded Sports Appearance package side skirts… look good from a distance, make the car seem lower to the ground, but a bit tough to work with especially when jacking the car up (and having to remove the jack leaving jack stands in place to lift the other side).
All done, first test drive to Advance Auto to recycle old oil and to buy gear lube to flush the rear differential.
Back in the air and leveled for the diff flush.
I was hoping that the Castrol Syntrax I used in my car's last diff flush was going to work out but it seems to me that the quality of Mobil 1 is better so I recommended Bill get Mobil 1 instead.
Discovered one of Bill's end links had broken off it's mounting point to the sway bar, so he is going to order some new ones. These are the same pieces that make the clunking sound on my car ever since we replaced my stock shocks with OEM Bilstein's.
Off on another test drive to get a feel for the rear end of the car… all Good!
Thansk for stopping by Bill!
This is my 3rd oil change this year, not sure if one more will be necessary before winter time… depends how many races I volunteer.


text:
Newly Public Sabre Plans to Eliminate 350 Technology Positions
- May 16, 2014 7:30 am
Sabre layed off several hundred Travelocity employees last year, but the pain at Sabre is not over as the company intends to eliminate 350 positions in 2014. The spin is that the cuts will better enable the company to focus on product development. Yes, less is obviously more.
While Sabre began restructuring its Travelocity business in North America and Europe last year, the corporate reorganization continues as Sabre revealed it plans to reorganize its technology organization in 2014, eliminating 350 positions.
Part of the technology organization makeover may continue into 2015 as Sabre stated it intends on completing the majority of the changes this year.
Sabre employed 10,000 people as of the end of 2013, and its technology organization consisted of 4,000 employees and contractors.
The company has detailed its reorganization plans in recent financial filings, including a quarterly report filed May 15. In addition to what's left of Travelocity, Sabre operates a global distribution system for travel agents and suppliers, an airline IT business, and hospitality solutions.
The reorganization of Sabre's technology group began in the fourth quarter of 2013, and is geared to "better align costs with our current business, reduce our spend on third-party resources, and increase focus on product development," the company states.
Although not specifically mentioned, the restructuring is also designed to trim costs and spur profitability. Sabre reported a $2.84 million net loss in the first quarter.
In tandem with Sabre's agreement to outsource Travelocity North America's technology, supplier relationships and customer service to Expedia Inc., Sabre also began in the fourth quarter of 2013 to restructure Travelocity Europe, including lastminute.com.
Sabre stated it streamlined Travelocity Europe's operations to make it more efficient and to set it up as a standalone operation.
As part of all the restructuring moves, Sabre expects to incur $11 million in additional charges in 2014 related to contract terminations and employee benefits.
Sabre initially estimated that its restructuring liabilities would be $3 million higher than its current estimate, but the company reduced the estimate to $11 million when it avoided having to pay some employee termination benefits as an unspecified number of Travelocity employees transferred to Orbitz Worldwide when it acquired the Travelocity Partner Network from Sabre.
Tags: sabre, travelocity
Photo Credit: Sabre CEO Tom Klein took the company public in April 2014, and is overseeing the restructuring of its technology organization and lastminute.com. Sabre
Southwest Joins NDC Exchange for More Efficient Airline Booking
Sean O'Neill, Skift
U.S. Airlines Face Computer Outages About Once a Month
How Sabre Is Tackling Its Airline Tech Challenges
Qantas to Levy Surcharges on Travel Agencies That Don't Join Program Starting in August

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I had contemplated about using source control before.
Those deal with more of the software side of things. I want to explore the physical set up a little. I don't have the definitive answer, just thinking out loud perhaps.
The client is considering a ramp-up of development efforts (good thing). We were asked to think about an environment to allow parallel development. This is no easy task in OBIEE as the RPD can be a bottleneck.
While talking about it though, it sounded a lot like classic software development and source control. You pull down the code locally, fix/create/update it, and then merge that up into your trunk (subversion lingo anyway). You merge it up into a common repository.
Find the common code (init blocks, connection pools, etc) shared by all subject areas. Especially relevant if setting some variables or something for security.
Create virtual (or physical) machines with the full OBIEE environment (services, rpd, web cat) set up for each subject area and only that subject area. Of course this would include all components identified in step 1.
Easier to import than merge?
How do you handle physical tables shared across subject areas?
I need some good contrarians out there to discuss this with.
I don't know if this has merit or not, but I wanted to put it out there. Good or bad, I'm OK with. The goal is to give the client the most reasoned, researched, supportable analysis that I can.
I learned something new today...you can't use week date format qualifiers in TO_DATE.
Lo and behold the Error messages manual didn't have it (at least where I would expect it).
Now I just need to figure out how to transform that week into a month.
I'm trying to generate some test data for a quick...test.
I switched to using SYSDATE as that would allow more more flexibility to transform the other way.
Oracle's latest acquisition has created a need for an Oracle DBA in Philadelphia, PA.
The Oracle DBA will be supporting multiple environments from Development, Quality Assurance (QA) and Production databases running Oracle 10g in a clustered environment. Experience working in a production UNIX/Linux environment is required for this position. Experience in performance tuning, change implementation, backup and recovery, monitoring and installation are key requirements. Candidate will also be expected to provide application-level support for our in house J2EE applications running on Tomcat and OC4J. Ideal candidate will be a self-starter and a team player with a strong organization, process and communication skills. This is a permanent position, not a contract. No 3rd parties please. No H1's or L1's.
Computer Science, or related science/Engineering degree (B.S. or equivalent).
At least 2 years of experience with Oracle Real Time Application Clusters 10g or 11g with ASM or NFS.
Familiarity with Oracle's Business Intelligence suite, Informatica and J2EE administration is a plus.
Will require after-hours or occasional weekend work to make changes during outage windows.
Compensation is negotiable and based on experience.
Relocation package is not available.
When generating SQL for testing, make sure you set the database to the database you will be running against.
I found this out the fun way, of course, by going through, grabbing the SQL from the logs, and then modifying said SQL to run against Oracle. I should have paid attention to that "Check Consistency" warning.
mostly small stuff, but annoying none-the-less. Strangely (to me anyway), this was the SQL submitted to an Oracle database...without errors. I'm guessing that somewhere, either in OBI or in the driver itself, the SQL is rewritten.
After I realized what had happened, I went back into the RPD and updated the database properties.
Then selected "Revert to Defaults"
Run the Consistency Checker again and voila!
So don't waste your time like I did. Make sure you use the Consistency Check Manager and make sure your database defaults match.
In Dan Norris fashion, I am announcing the acquisition of Thomas Roach by Oracle Corporation.
I've had the please of knowing Mr. Roach since before moving to Tampa as he was the President of the local users group, Suncoast Oracle Users Group (SOUG). He's also helped me out numerous times in both an advisory role and...well, just getting stuff done for me.
A few weeks ago I got to help him by letting him rehearse his MAA presentation on me. That apparently sealed the deal for him. Oracle Corporation flirted with acquiring him late 2008, but didn't pull the cord.
I've been teasing him the last few weeks about anouncing him as the Tom Kyte successor, as he'll be working in the Public Sector group that Mr. Kyte worked for a few years back. He said he didn't want the "Rittman Effect" so I am playing nice.
Mr. Roach is a great guy and this position (whether Mr. Kyte's old job or not) is very well earned. Congratulations Mr. Roach. Perhaps you can help out Mr. Kyte with his small niche site...since you share the same name.
I'm trying to get an Oracle instance configured with OBIEE for an Exadata POC. Mostly, it just getting all these disparate "security" tables into a single database.
As I was building out some reports to drive some iBots, I kept getting connection problems. I thought it had to do with the fact that I had multiple Oracle clients installed (10g and 11gR2), as I had problems with that before.
Copyright (c) 1997, 2010, Oracle.  All rights reserved.
just fine, but I couldn't connect.
I then removed any references from the PATH to the 10g client.
Ah...interesting. The server isn't even running. WTF?
I then edited that, removing the FIXED_DATE setting and voila! I was up and running again.
Does embedding an analytic function into a view cause a WINDOW SORT every time the view is called?
I say no, only if it is specifically referenced.
Now if I just select the columns I want/need, will Oracle perform the WINDOW SORT?
Oracle is smart enough not to perform the WINDOW SORT if the column is not selected.
Saying something like that really endears you to a vendor.
Thankfully, I know Jeff Smith of Toad from his recent trip down to Tampa.
At dinner later that evening, I told him as much. He finally got it out of me that it isn't really Toad's fault, but the developers that use it. I agreed.
Unfortunately when I said it at COLLABORATE (jokingly of course), one of his colleagues heard me. Uh oh. Anyway, I had to explain why it is I "hate" Toad and think he was mostly happy with my answer.
Ultimately, a tool that helps you increase your productivity is a good thing. I like and have used the DBA pack that comes with Toad. However, many "developers" I have worked with can't live without Toad...and that's where I have a problem.
So trying to be fair, I asked Mr. Smith to walk me through Quest Code Tester. I "like" testing and think it is one of the bigger problems in the database developer community; in that we don't do it very well. Java, .NET, and many others have it built in (mostly anyway) to what they do. How many times have you seen a database developer run through unit tests on his or her code? I've seen exactly 1 shop (where I learned it).
From that demo, I would say it has much, if not more, of the functionality in SQL Developer. I haven't had a chance yet to really use that one either.
I covered everything conference related early today here.
My stay at the Excalibur was uneventful. I wouldn't stay there again, unless it was free and I had no money. I'd still have to think about it though.
The walk from there to Mandalay Bay however was...interesting. Not once did I navigate the maze without having to backtrack. I know/understand that is on purpose...but it's still annoying. Maybe that's taking marketing (or whatever it's called) just a bit too far. If people want to gamble, they'll gamble.
Last night I got lost in the Luxor for an hour. I could have gone outside, but I was determined to figure it out. I had help from beer too.
The other highlight of my day was eating lunch with Mr. Floyd Teter. No adjective is descriptive enough to describe him...I'll settle for Awesome though.
I did manage to get some shopping in today...I hate shopping, but the family deserves something. So I got them all "My dad/husband went to Las Vegas and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" t-shirts.
Since my flight didn't leave until 1 am (Friday morning), I had time to kill. So I parked myself in front of a slot machine and within minutes lost $10. I then played roulette, only to lose $20 in 3 minutes. I blame Mr. Mark Rittman...he paid me for the iPad I got him in cold, hard cash. It burned. It had to be spent. I think it was payback for my little stunt the other day.
So I left the hotel(s) and went to the airport so I wouldn't spend any more money. Though those stupid slot machines behind me are calling my name. I can't wait to get out of here if only for the silence.
I finally managed to make it to the OEM 11g release session, which was just a satellite feed from New York that everyone else in the world could see. However, had some live Oracle people here to answer any questions after the presentation.
Unfortunately, I did not get their names as I was 40 minutes late.
I haven't used OEM in years so it was all new stuff to me. The additions did look pretty cool though especially the ability to drill down into specific applications to locate performance problems.
I stayed to listen to the questions people had as sometimes that's the most interesting stuff.
I then headed over for lunch with Mr. Floyd Teter and we were eventually joined by Dave Ferguson and his wife Paula. We ate at Burger Time which was quite good.
Mr. Teter's enthusiasm is infectious to say the least and his energy level is out of this world. It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know him in real life.
Somehow he talked me and about 10 others to join him in a podcast with Mr. Bob Rhubart of ArchBeat fame (and the best voice ever) to discuss our experiences at COLLABORATE 10.
Mr. Rhubart said that he would have it posted sometime next week. I'll link it up when it's released.
The day started out with the realization that I pulled off the best (COLLABORATE - self annointed) prank ever. Twitter was...all atwitter about the fact that Mark Rittman was Oracle's Person of the Year. Of course it wasn't true. If you look at the picture, you'll realize that he's wearing exactly the same clothes in the magazine cover as he is in real life.
I ate lunch in the exhibition hall. Sat down at my table, opened my soda and it exploded. Everyone at the table seemed to ignore me after that. What can you do?
From there I spent the next 2 hours writing and "relaxing" (sitting down).
Then I went to the Exadata SIG.
On the way there though...I finally met @tyf who spotted me (probably my dirty oraclenerd). We had been trading tweets for the last couple of days but could never seem to meet. Within about 3 seconds I realized that she was one of those rare, awesome people. You know, the ones where you instantly feel comfortable with?
So I asked for a picture with her which turned into an absolute fiasco. We tried twice holding the camera out in front of us...and I'm not very good at that apparently. I finally asked a passerby to take a picture and he agreed, only to spill his ice all over the floor at the base of one of the escalators. We kicked the ice out of the way and finally got a picture.
After an informative Exadata SIG meeting where I got to meet Arup Nanda (again actually) and a couple of Oracle folks including Jean-Pierre Djicks (JP) of The Data Warehouse Insider blog.
With a 2 hour wait until the Beach Party, I headed back to the room. On the way back, I ran into Floyd Teter and we talked for a bit before being hassled by one of the "wives of fishbowl" and her husband Rick.
I then headed back to my room and got completely lost.
Obviously I did make it back...but it took close to an hour.
I met Debra Lilley today. She's the keeper of Stanley. Of course I asked if I could take a picture with Stanley, you know, oraclenerd meets Stanley photo.
Tommy: Richard? Is this your coat?
Tommy: Fat guy in a little coat. Fat guy in a little coat.
Tommy: [singing] Fat guy in a little coat. / Fat guy in a little coat.
Richard: Take it off, Dickhead, I'm serious!
It wasn't quite Universal, but I had fun.
What was to eat? Scallops...mmmm...scallops.
Due to "inclimate" weather, it had to be moved inside. By "inclimate", I mean it was only 60 degrees outside.
Sadly I couldn't find the OAUG crew...the helped me out quite a bit this week (as well as getting me a pass). Allison Dixon was my laison and she was awesome.
After the lights were dimmed (remember that in kindergarten?), we sat outside the room and played...beach ball. Yeah, it was interesting. Then tiki statues somehow were incorporated into various dances. Interesting indeed.
From 4 to 5 today, I attended the Exadata SIG.
Dan Norris was supposed to be there, but he got caught by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano.
Here's what I got from the meeting.
1. The database software that runs atop the hardware is 11gR2. Exactly the same software that I run on my OEL virtual machine. It is no different.
2. Exadata is a "game changer." The word I was thinking about was it represents a paradigm shift. What do I mean? Well...the consolidation of roles means that IT has to figure out how to deal with Exadata. Who's going to be the point person on support issues?
If you read that article I just linked to, it talks about the consolidation of roles...meaning that the DBA can (should?) handle all things Exadata. In other words, no system administrators, no storage administrators...just the DBA.
From my point of view, this is exactly what technology is supposed to do.
I'm hoping to volunteer for future endeavors with the group...you'll be duly notified.
I managed to attend a session today.
The basic gist of his presentation was that if you can understand HTML and how a page is rendered, you can do just about anything you want with the page.
- Way To Solve Multiselect Prompt Bug - Mr. Ranka did not actually get to this one, but it's definitely worth sharing.
Sadly I didn't write down the rest of the examples.
Not only was I the "AV geek", I was also the collector of names/business cards for prizes to be handed out at the end.
Bex Huff - Bezzotech and IRA Merge Into One!
The EPPM Blogspot - Thank you for joining us @ Collaborate!
IOUG blogs by Unknown - COLLABORATE 10: Users Rule!
These were pulled mostly from the OraNA feed with a few coming from the Oracle Blog feed. If you know of any others, please let me know and I'll add them here.
Despite going to bed at around 4 am Vegas time (7 am my time), I managed to get up around 8 (Vegas time).
I headed down and visited with some of the vendors to get some information on what they do, what they provide, etc.
I found a spot in the main lobby and parked myself there to start writing.
Ten minutes in, this guy comes over and we started to chat. He had just given a presentation on the MODEL clause so we spoke about that for a few minutes. His name was John King, which is my mother's maiden name. Talked about some other stuff before he took off for his next session.
Shortly after he left, this woman sits down next to me and we start to chat. I notice she has an ODTUG shirt on and I ask her if she is a member. "I'm on the board of directors." How cool. I then told her about pestering Mike Riley (and then Mark Rittman) about getting a blogger pass to the event.
If you've seen the site recently, specifically the "T-Shirts in the Wild" slide show at the top right of the page, you would have seen David Peake (APEX Product Manager) and this other woman. Turns out I was sitting next to the "other woman". Barbara Morris was her name...I quickly showed her that her picture was up on my blog (since replace by Superman, Brian "Bex" Huff). Small freaking world.
When I was rested up, I went back into the exhibition hall where I ran into Mr. King again. I asked him if he was stalking me. He denied any such behavior. The exhibition hall was closing so that could prepare the food (and beer) for the 5 o'clock rush. I had asked him if was leaving and he said, "No, I'm an Exhibitor"
I then told him about pestering Mr. Riley (and Mr. Rittman) and told him I had met Mrs. Morris just after I first met him. I'm thinking that I was meant to attend ODTUG as a blogger...or at least that's what the universe was telling me.
Had my requisite beer(s) while perusing the exhibition hall finally ending up at the IOUG "booth"
I then followed these young ladies to the BIWA SIG event where many more IOUG workers were hanging out.
This is also where I found out about Mark Rittman's "Person of the Year" award too...so I'm glad I attended.
After that it was off to the Fishbowl Solutions and (finally) an early night for me.
In what appears to be, to this writer's knowledge anyway, the first "Person of the Year" has been awarded to Mr. Mark Rittman.
Mr. Rittman, a shy man by nature is an Oracle ACE Director in the BI/DW world. He's also one of the principal owners of RittmanMead consulting.
Mr. Rittman was given this high honor in a private ceremony in the Oracle Magazine party this evening. Sadly, this reporter was not invited to the event to cover this momentous occasion.
Congratulations to Mr. Rittman. His wife, Janet, was on hand (which tells this reporter that he knew about the award prior to coming to Las Vegas). The only comment I could get out of him was, "I am very humbled by this prestigious award" (spoken in a British accent of course).
No conference would be complete without the vendors.
I don't have exact numbers, but there seem to be quite a few. If I had to guess, it would be around 100.
So far, I've mostly visited the ones where I know someone, but today I will try to get around and meet more of them so there is no bias in my reporting.
Some may dislike the vendors, and I may have said the same at one point in time, but I have come around (or turned to the darkside). Back in 2004 I raised 50K to start my own business and managed, somehow, to keep it going for almost 2.5 years. I understand that the marketing and sales part is very, very difficult.
If you are one of those vendor haters...I'll just say they give away cool stuff, mostly. There are a few iPads, Kindles and other such cool devices being raffled off. Just give them your contact information and your good to go.
Here's a list, and pictures, of the ones I have visited so far.
Bezzotech is a St. Paul-based software consulting and development firm, specializing in Oracle's Enterprise Content Management product suite, formerly Stellent.
The name Bezzotech is derived from the word Bezzo, which is a 17th century Italian coin. This name is a constant reminder that technology is worthless unless it can deliver genuine value to its users.
Originally implementRadvantage, The acquisition of Bezzotech Inc, has fused two of the most respected and experienced Oracle Enterprise Content Management solution providers in the industry into THE Premier Oracle ECM Solution Provider.
implementRadvantage was founded by Jason Clarkin, who has been a leader in delivering Oracle Enterprise Content Management Solutions to clients around the world over the past decade. An avid contributor to the ECM community, he is a moderator of the "intradoc user group" - a user group focused on Oracle Enterprise Content Management. He is also a speaker, sharing his knowledge of Content Management at such conferences as Crescendo & Collaborate. implementRadvantage has grown into a full service consulting company, attracting some of the most experienced and knowledgeable ECM talent in the industry.
Bezzotech Inc was founded by Brian "Bex" Huff, who was a senior software developer for Stellent, before it was acquired by Oracle. He is the author of The Definitive Guide To Stellent Content Server Development, and was awarded the title Oracle ACE Director by Oracle for his work in the developer community.
This combination of talent has created a ECM "Dream Team", that can be put to work for you today!
I got to torture these guys for awhile, threatening them with the telling of one of my most favorite stories. I think I needed a few more beers though. When I initially read their press release and I saw mention of EDI, I about threw up...I had the wonderful experience of working with some of the healthcare 820 and 835 formats. Thankfully, their software would save me from such torture.
SEEBURGER is a leading provider of global business integration solutions designed to optimize transactions throughout the extended enterprise by automating trading relationships with all partners, regardless of their size and technical resources. Launched in 1986 to provide integration solutions to the automotive industry in Germany, the company today serves more than 7,800 customers in 50+ countries and more than 15 industries through its flagship B2B Gateway and related products and services. SEEBURGER has global offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.
This is where the famous Billy Cripe went to after leaving Oracle. Guess what he was wearing today?
There is no easy "About Us" section for me to copy and paste in here, check out their site for more information. I did receive a brief demo of their iPad application which was very cool.
I'll write about more in Part II and Part III.
Yes, it's 4 in the morning. Yes, I'm still on east coast time. Yes, I'm tired...but I'm having fun.
First, a special nod to Larry (@larry_slo) from Perceptive Software...he hooked me up with a USB charger for my blackberry. I can now maintain contact with the family without having to resort to extraordinary measures.
So I asked the security desks at both the Excalibur and Mandalay...and they had a hundred different chargers, just no BB chargers.
I then wandered up to the OAUG Headquarters and asked them. Allison Dixon (@COLLAB_10_OAUG) came to my rescue again and helped me to get a temporary charge. Then Larry came through big time with the loan.
With phone ready, I was able to go through the exhibition hall with no worries. First stop, beer. Tecate. It was 5...and everyone else was doing it, so why not me? Besides, I was asked to deliver one to Jeff Smith (@hillbillytoad) and Todd Sheetz (@toddsheetz).
Almost forgot, I am no longer an Oracle employee (imagine that, me with a short stint somewhere).
That was Allison's doing. OAUG staff is awesome.
I also met Craig Shallahamer of OraPub fame, who presented at SOUG a couple of weeks ago (I missed it as I was out of town).
He had eyes and legs...I don't eat shrimp like that.
Great day...I'm exhausted...going to bed. Start over again tomorrow.


Bhang, as many backpackers slouching through South Asia would know, is a degraded form of cannabis, commonly known as hash. In parts of India, balls of bhang can be purchased at government... In parts of India, balls of bhang can be purchased at government...... Make bhang in your own home and enjoy the mental and physical benefits it provides. This is an easy-to-follow recipe from your friends at RQS. This is an easy-to-follow recipe from your friends at RQS.
Make bhang in your own home and enjoy the mental and physical benefits it provides. This is an easy-to-follow recipe from your friends at RQS. This is an easy-to-follow recipe from your friends at RQS.... The process of making bhang seems a bit much, I would just as soon to have a cup of spice tea with milk and cannabis oil. Saggit Arius All you need is a carrier with a lot of fat in it.
Culinarycannabis.org Bhang is the official �Holi� drink and is somewhat labor intensive to make since it is meant to be a Hindu offering to Shiva, who is also known in India as �Lord of Bhang�. For this reason, Hindus believe cannabis is holy. how to make strawberry wine youtube Get a Cannabis cookbook: (Affiliate) My Cannabutter recipe episode: Be sure to hit me up on Facebook: Cannatea, Weed Tea, Bhang�it goes by many names.
Easy Thandai Recipe with step by step photos. Thandai sherbet or drink is made mostly during Holi Festival and Maha Shivratri. Generally for Holi bhang is also added to � how to play teacher at home Thandai is a very popular drink from Rajasthan made with dry fruits, saffron and milk. The recipe is super simple to make and and healthy too. The addition of black pepper, kesar and poppy seeds adds to the punch and flavor of Thandai.
Combine the Bhang paste, water, pre-made tea, milk, oil, sugar, and spices in a pan and bring the mixture to a boil. When it starts boiling, lower the heat and let the substance simmer for about 15-20 minutes to let the Bhang paste blend well.
Boil spring water. Pour over your favorite tea. Let steep for at least :20-:30 min. Heat and spice up, your creamer, while waiting. By adding Chia, to bring the out zing in the tea.


text:
package petrovich.rules

import petrovich.data.Case
import petrovich.data.PersonPart.Gender
import petrovich.rules.Tag._

import scala.annotation.tailrec

case class Rule(gender: Gender, test: List[String], mods: Seq[String], tags: Tags) {

  /**
   * Apply found rule to given name
   */
  def apply(name: String, gcase: Case): String = gcase match {
    case Case.Nominative ⇒ name
    case _ ⇒
      @tailrec def rec(s: String, tl: List[Char]): String = tl match {
        case Nil ⇒ s
        case Rule.Dot :: _ ⇒ s
        case Rule.Dash :: xs ⇒ rec(s.substring(0, s.length - 1), xs)
        case x :: xs ⇒ rec(s + x, xs)
      }
      rec(name, mods(gcase.index).to[List])
  }
}

object Rule {

  private val Dot = ".".charAt(0)

  private val Dash = "-".charAt(0)

  type RuleSet = List[Rule]

  implicit class ToRuleSetOps(val self: RuleSet) extends AnyVal {

    /**
     * Local search in rulesets of exceptions or suffixes
     */
    def search(gender: Gender, name: String, matchWholeWord: Boolean, tags: Tags): Option[Rule] = {
      @tailrec def rec(tl: RuleSet): Option[Rule] = tl match {
        case Nil ⇒ None
        case rule :: xs if tags.diff(rule.tags).nonEmpty ⇒ rec(xs)
        case rule :: xs if rule.gender != Gender.Androgynous && gender != rule.gender ⇒ rec(xs)
        case rule :: xs ⇒
          val s = name.toLowerCase
          def matchSample(sample: String): Boolean = {
            if (matchWholeWord) {
              s == sample
            } else if (s.length > sample.length) {
              s.substring(s.length - sample.length) == sample
            } else {
              false
            }
          }
          if (rule.test.exists(matchSample)) Some(rule)
          else rec(xs)
      }
      rec(self)
    }
  }

  implicit class ToOptionRuleOps(val self: Option[Rule]) extends AnyVal {
    def apply(name: String, gcase: Case): String = {
      self.fold(name)(_.apply(name, gcase))
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Lot #198 - Circa 1880`s Carved Black Forest Liquor Set with Wooded House supporting the decanter & korduls - hgt 13" w 13" d 9". Good condition.
Circa 1880's Carved Black Forest Liquor Set with Wooded House supporting the decanter & korduls - hgt 13" w 13" d 9". Good condition.


Finally we had shopping. It's 6:30. I have to prepare. I wear the beautiful blue dress. I put lip gloss on my lip. I put foundation on my cheeks. I went out.
"Chris will like you."KC said. "I don't know." I said. Then the doorbell rang."I think it's him. I will hide. Go out. Good luck with your first date,"KC said."It's not a date." I said. I opened the door.
"Hi," I said nervously."You look great,"Chris complimented."Thanks," I said."You should sit beside me,"Chris said. Chris opened the door of the taxi. I get in. Chris is sitting next to me.
"Are you okay?"Chris asked."I'm nervous," I replied. Chris held my hand. Did I ever thought that after 6 years this will happen? It's my first day at New York. I will take my first dinner at New York with Chris Colfer and Darren Criss.
"Where do you want to eat?"Chris asked."Spotlight diner." I replied. I haven't heard Darren's voice."Okay,"Chris replied. We're still heading to Spotlight Diner.
"Darren is not speaking, Chris." I whispered."Did someone called my name?"Darren asked."No."Chris replied. He's still holding my hand.
I can't breathe."Hey."Chris said."Why?" I asked."I'm worried about you. Are you thinking about something?"Chris said."No." I lied."I know you."Chris said."I'm not trying to hide something. I'm just waiting for the perfect time to tell it." I said.
"Are referring to your secret?"Chris asked."Yes I am," I replied."I'm not forcing you to tell it now but you have to tell me. Promise?"Chris said."Promise," I replied.
"Your cousin,"Chris said."What about her?" I asked."Does she hate me?"Chris asked."She doesn't hate you." I replied.
"I think here we are."Darren said. Darren opened the door of the taxi. Then I went out.
"This is Spotlight Diner. Huh?" I said."Come on."Chris said. So we went inside Spotlight Diner. We sat in the couch. Chris called a waiter. The waiter took the order. The waiter walked away.
I saw some girls giggling and they're looking at Chris. They asked if Chris could come with them and Chris agreed. Darren and I was left at couch.
"Do you like Chris?"Darren asked."No." I lied."I know you're lying."Darren said."I'm not." I said."If you don't want to tell the truth, I will tell them right now that you love Chris."Darren warned me.
"I like Chris. Happy?" I said."I knew it. By the way I'm Darren Criss."Darren laughed."I knew you. I'm a big fan of yours." I said."So that's your secret?"Darren asked."Yes but please don't tell him about it." I said."I will,"Darren promised.
"Chris is correct. You're sweet and adorable."Darren said."Thanks for the compliment." I said. I saw Chris walking.
"What did I missed?"Chris asked."We're talking right now."Darren said."Good."Chris said. Then Chris sat.
"Why did you picked Spotlight Diner for dinner?"Chris asked."To be honest, it's the only restaurant that I know in New York," I replied."What?!"Chris and Darren said shockingly.
"I don't live at New York. I just got here today." I said."So you took your first dinner in New York with us?"Darren asked."Yes and it's weird," I replied.
"Can I take your cousin's number?"Chris asked."Yes you can." I replied. I gave KC's number.
"Where do you live before going to New York?"Darren asked."Philippines," I replied."So how's your first day in New York?"Chris asked."Unbelievable," I replied."Why?"Chris asked."Because at my first day in here, I met my favorite couple on Glee," I replied.
"You still love Klaine?"Darren asked."That is the reason why I went to New York," I replied."I can't believe that they're still Klainers out there,"Chris said.
"I'm making a project which is named "The Klainers' Dream Project 2014-2020". This is a project for Klainers to meet Chris Colfer and Darren Criss personally." I introduced.
"A tour?"Darren replied."Exactly. I have selected thousands of them," I replied."Where's the first location?"Chris asked."Vietnam," I replied.
"Who are we visiting there?"Darren asked."My best friend, Kien but we call him Hund because that's what he want." I replied."Is this person a boy or a girl?"Chris asked. "He is a bisexual." I replied.
"Where did you met him?"Darren asked. "I met him at Twitter. I DM him and we talk and talk all night. It was like I met him several years ago," I replied."Interesting story,"Chris said.
"How's the career?" I asked. "It is great,"Darren replied."Same here,"Chris said."Here's the food," I said. Then the food was served.
"So this is what New York tastes like." I said."You'll get used to it,"Chris said."When will be the start of the tour?"Darren asked."After getting the shake house done." I replied.
"You've got many dreams,girl,"Darren said."My cousin and I planned that Glee stars will be there. It's time to relive the music. I miss Glee," I said.
"We will help you to make your dreams come true."Chris and Darren said."I also want to make a book after the tour. It is all about our tour around the world," I said."You're so awesome,"Chris said."I just wanted to prove that dreams do come true," I said.
"Have you taken college?"Darren asked."No, I've just finished high school," I replied."When is your birthday?"Chris asked."On May 8," I replied. "That's awesome,"Darren said.
"What do you want to do on your birthday?"Chris asked."By the way I'm turning 18. When I was 12, I wanted Glee stars to be there. That's what I always wanted," I replied happily. "Why are you always including me on your plans?"Chris asked.
Darren and I was starring at each other.
"My plans won't work without you," I replied. "So sweet,"Chris said."How about me?"Darren asked."Don't be sad you're also involved," I replied.
"So this is what it feels when you're hugged by a star?" I asked."Don't call me a star. We are your friends now,"Darren said."Really?!" I said shockingly. "You've almost told us everything,"Chris said. Then Darren gave his number and I also gave mine.
"Thanks for the number," I thanked."My pleasure,"Darren said."When is the making of the shake house?"Chris asked."When I finally got a job," I replied. Chris and Darren are talking about something.
"You have a job now,"Chris and Darren said."What job?" I asked."You're now officially our assistant,"Chris and Darren replied. Then I hugged them both. Everybody in Spotlight Diner started clapping."This is too much," I said."You deserve it,"Darren said. Then I started crying.
"Why are you crying?"Chris asked. I didn't answer. I hugged him and he hugged me back."Finally you've been hugged by your..""Darren.." I interrupted.
"Darren are you hiding something?" Chris asked. "Yes,"Darren replied. "What is that?"Chris asked."It's my secret, Chris," I interrupted.
"I think I should go. Bye," I said. Then I went out of Spotlight Diner. My hands were held by Darren and Chris."We will walk with you," Chris and Darren said.
Part 3 over. Love is in the air, Catherine. I bet Darren will tell Chris tonight the secret. I hope you enjoyed it.


Business expands into lending throughout England and Wales and BFS joins the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) and subscribes to its code of conduct.
Group company BFS Home Loans becomes authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
BFS is shortlisted in North West Finance Awards in ' Outstanding Business Performance' category.
BFS turns 10 and breaks through the £100m milestone. The company commences partnership with England & Wales Institute of Chartered Accountants with event sponsorship.
Business increases office space to accommodate growing team, with business continuing to grow by over 25% compound year on year.
Bridging Finance Solutions is nominated for three SFI awards including BDM of the Year, Development Finance Company of the Year, and Bridging Lender of the Year.
Bridging Finance Solutions are shortlisted for Bridging Lender of the Year in the SFI Awards.