I am 5ft 41.2in tall. I weigh eight stone. This gives me a body-mass index of 18.6, which is just on the cusp of underweight. It is an indication of quite how screwed up I am about food that this never fails to give me a small frisson of delight. Because I know that BMI is a load of - and I'm being polite - meaningless twaddle.
Based on weight and height measurements, BMI purports to determine whether someone is a healthy weight for their proportions.
It is the reason that, since 2005, all reception and Year 6 pupils have been weighed and measured in school. And it is the reason that, this week, government advisers called for all pupils to be measured from pre-school onwards. BMI, they say, is a cheap and easy way of checking for obesity.
But that's not what BMI is at all. It was pioneered in the 1830s by a Belgian astronomer who wanted to define "average man". He believed that those who deviated from the average physically were more likely to be social deviants. The obese, he reasoned, had criminal or sociopathic tendencies: weight was an indicator of moral laxity.
Yes. This is the same measure we are using on schoolchildren.
It gets worse. Most of the scientists responsible for popularising BMI had connections with the diet industry. They stood to gain, significantly, from a population terrified of being two chocolate biscuits away from obesity.
More importantly, BMI is not an appropriate measurement for bodies that are still growing. A child who is overweight in January might be six inches taller, and significantly thinner, come June, rendering any BMI calculations meaningless.
At a conference this week, Will Cavendish, of the Department of Health, reported that one in four reception children is overweight: cause for collective terror.
OK. Let's look at that again. One in four reception children is overweight. One in four five-year-olds. For heaven's sake. They're supposed to be overweight. There's even a term - baby fat - specifically for it.
Childhood should be a time for carefree gambolling, followed by equally carefree eating. Children need fat in their diets to develop healthily.
BMI's defenders say it is a measure of population trends: individuals should not take an "overweight" classification to heart. To which I say: yeah, right. That's not how people work. If a teacher sees that a quarter of her class is "overweight", she is going to teach dieting-is-good lessons, dressed up as "healthy eating". Parents, similarly, are going to start monitoring their children's eating habits.
But suggest to five-year-olds that they should be watching their diets, watching their weight, and you condition them to be scared of food. You raise a generation who equate dessert with self-indulgence, with being bad. It is a short step from this to skipping meals to make yourself feel worthwhile.
I know that feeling. As I said, I'm quite screwed up about food. Every time I eat a cake, a biscuit, a small square of chocolate, I descend into do-I-deserve-it excoriations. It's not fun. I wouldn't wish it on a whole generation of children. But apparently the Government does.
Adi Bloom, TES social affairs correspondent.


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Home / Alice Cooper / Cream / Guns n Roses / Janis Joplin / Jimi Hendrix The Beach Boys / Johnny Rivers / Led Zeppelin / Motley Crue / music / Otis Redding / Pink Floyd / The Doors / Van Halen / LA's Whisky a Go-Go Named 'Greatest Rock Venue Of All Time'
LA's Whisky a Go-Go Named 'Greatest Rock Venue Of All Time'
ItsNotYouItsMe Thursday, December 30, 2010 Alice Cooper , Cream , Guns n Roses , Janis Joplin , Jimi Hendrix The Beach Boys , Johnny Rivers , Led Zeppelin , Motley Crue , music , Otis Redding , Pink Floyd , The Doors , Van Halen
For decades, The Whisky stage was home to pre-legendary artists The Doors, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix The Beach Boys, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Johnny Rivers, Cream, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Guns n Roses and hundreds of other musicians.
If there's a characteristic shared by many great rock venues, it's that they're rarely about glitz, glamour, or Vegas-style flash. Oftentimes, the best venues have a raggedly dilapidated quality that feels part and parcel of rock music itself. Many great artists served apprenticeships and honed their crafts in such settings, performing on low-tiered rickety stages. With just a couple of exceptions, the legendary venues below prove that shifts in the direction of rock can sometimes occur in the unlikeliest of places.
Whisky A-Go-Go (Los Angeles, California)
The L.A. rock scene was essentially born on the day the Whisky A-Go-Go opened its doors in 1964. Located on Sunset Strip, the club served as the breeding ground for such acts as Alice Cooper, Buffalo Springfield and The Doors. As its name implies, the club also spawned the relatively short-lived phenomenon of go-go dancing. The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and countless other pioneering bands made their southern California debut on The Whisky's stage.
So lets raise a glass to the Whiskey for being the nesting ground for many wild acts of Rock and Roll!
The Doors. 1966, Los Angeles, Whisky a Go Go
Gene Clark Group. June 1966, Los Angeles, Whisky a Go Go
Debbie Harry of Blondie performing in a spray-painted wedding dress at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles in February 1977.
For the complete list of 'Greatest Rock Venue's' visit gibson.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Namaste Yoga Center 8177 Secor Rd. Lambertville for schedule you can go to www.namasteyogacenter.weebly.com or pick up schedule at the store.
Winter is here and so many of us have symptoms of sinusitis; nasal congestion, and pain around nose, eyes, and forehead. Sinusitis can be either acute (short term) or chronic. Acute sinusitis often develops as a result of the common cold virus. A virus can damage the tissues in the sinuses and then bacteria can invade, creating an infection. Acute sinusitis can also result from a fungal infection, especially in those with diabetes or compromised immune function.
Chronic sinusitis is usually a sign of a suppressed immune system, which leads to recurrent respiratory infections and chronic inflammation of the sinuses. Smoking, allergies, and exposure to irritants can also cause chronic sinusitis.
1. Allergies trigger inflammation that may block your sinuses.
1. Drink plenty of fluids (filtered water, diluted 100% fruit juice, and herbal teas) to dilute mucous secretions and promote drainage. Look for herbal teas that contain marshmallow, licorice and slippery elm.
2. Elderberry juice has antiviral activity.
3. Eat fish and ground flaxseeds that contain essential fatty acids that help reduce inflammation. .
4. Eat fruits and vegetables (especially berries, citrus, garlic, onions, and ginger) provide important nutrients and compounds that support immune function.
5. Horseradish helps break up mucous. Have ½ to 1 teaspoon of the freshly grated root three times per day. I have not tried this remedy.
6. Alcohol can worsen swelling in the sinuses.
7. Dairy products may worsen mucus secretions.
8. Minimize table salt as it may be dehydrating.
9. Sugar can hamper immune function.
v Many people with chronic sinusitis have food allergies.
1. Bromelain: An enzyme derived from pineapple, which has anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to in studies to reduce symptoms of sinusitis. Dosage: 250-500 mg three times daily between meals.
2. Echinacea: Helps support immune function, and studies show that it can reduce the severity and frequency of cold symptoms. It may also help prevent a cold from developing into sinusitis. I use Esberitox.
3. Vitamin C: Supports immune function and helps prevent oxidative damage to the lungs. Studies have shown that it can reduce the severity and duration of the common cold, which may reduce the likelihood of complications, such as sinusitis. During acute phase of illness you can take 1,000 mg buffered vitamin c every hour for the first day.
4. N-acetylcysteine (NAC): An amino acid derivative that helps break up mucus and clear the sinuses. Dosage: 300-600 mg daily.
1. Saline nasal spray or Neti pot is used to flush our sinuses regularly. You can make your own nasal spray using 1 cup filtered water, ¾ teaspoon sea salt, and pinch of baking soda.
2. Skinners salve is used to open nasal passages it can be rubbed on the neck or chest. We even use it on the soles of the feet to minimize coughing.
Save the Earth Tip: Be a BUDDy: When you're getting material for a do-it-yourself project, remember the BUDD rule: buy only what your need, use up everything you buy, or donate leftovers to a neighbor or community group, and dispose of waste responsibly.
Words to Live By: The smallest good deed is greater than the grandest intention.
Maple Roasted Root Vegetables you pick up some at our own Monroe Farmer's Market all winter.
Pour oil mixture over vegetables and toss to coat.
Roast until tender and golden brown (about 1 hour), stirring occasionally.


It was a warm and sunny afternoon when I found myself on an impromptu mini road trip to Arthur. With the top down on my convertible, the wind blowing through my hair and miles of empty road ahead of me, I couldn't help but feel a little rush of excitement for the afternoon I have planned. Arthur is considered the "The Heart of the Illinois Amish Country," and is located roughly 40 miles south of Champaign. While this charming town offers many well-known attractions in the area that include horse and buggy rides, several specialty shops, The Great Pumpkin Patch, Aikman Wildlife Adventure in Arcola, I decided to explore a few places that catered to my inner foodie.
Country Cheese and More was up first on my agenda and I was greeted with a friendly hello and a warm smile as soon as I walked through the door. The store showcases cute knick knacks for purchase as well as fresh bread baked daily, an assortment of cheese, Amish jams, jellies and butters and several sweet treats. It also functions as a café that offers several sandwiches and soups, and I could smell a delicious aroma wafting in the air. I headed toward the wide selection of cheeses and was pleasantly surprised to see how many different flavors they offered. Morel Mushroom and Leek Jack, Bacon Muenster, Mango Fire and Grumpy Goat were just a few of the names that jumped out at me. I stood there equally stumped and delighted about which cheese to bring home, a helpful, attentive and friendly employee was able to offer solid recommendations and advised to come back on Saturdays when they had samples available. She also mentioned that the Arthur Country Cheese Festival is September 1st through 3rd this year, and that there would be plenty more to go around. I happily ended up with three cheeses to take home and also scooped up a few bags of their delicious Energy Bites that are filled with peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, honey, sunflower seeds, and protein powder.
A few minutes later, I was back on the road and headed to Beachy's Bulk Foods when I began to see several horse-drawn buggies navigating small country roads. Every so often, a child would enthusiastically wave and smile as they saw my car drive by. Beachy's is a store run by the Amish community and houses a multitude of bulk spices, local cheeses and meat, and homemade bakery goods. I found myself taking the time to walk up and down every aisle to make sure I didn't miss anything. Stumbling upon a variety of teas and cappuccino mixes in different flavors and sizes was a pleasant surprise. I grabbed some for the road home and made the promise to return in the near future, so I can sample all of their unique and creative mixes. Continuing to walk down the aisle, I saw a sea of spices that seemed to go on forever. To close out my shopping experience, I once again found myself staring at a plethora of cheeses and selected with Bruschetta Jack and Desert Fire.
For the final stop on my foodie adventure in Arthur, I decided on a traditional buffet dinner at Yoder's Kitchen. This restaurant offers a set menu and daily specials but is well known for their buffet lined with classic country favorites. Broasted Chicken, homemade chicken, and noodles, mashed potatoes and meatloaf are just some of the items they have to offer that are positively delicious. The chicken in particular was extremely tender and juicy, with a perfectly crisp coating to really seal in the flavor. Yoder's buffet also offers an excellent salad bar and a dessert bar with amazing cakes, puddings, cookies, and ice cream to choose from. After having more than enough, I was led to an area where I had the option to purchase several items to take home before paying the bill. Homemade doughnuts, pies and their famous Amish Peanut Butter all looked so tempting as I struggled to make one final decision.
As I made my way back to Champaign contentedly with a car full of groceries and a belly exquisitely full from dinner, I promised torerurn to Arthur again soon. Whether you're looking for good food, to learn about the Amish, or find unique, one of a kind of experiences, this charming town has so much to offer and one visit certainly isn't enough. I encourage everyone to find their own local adventure and to take advantage of Arthur's close proximity and warm hospitality.
M-F 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
M-F 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.


Michael Eldridge Davine, 70, died Friday October 5, 2018. He was the son of Barbara (Eldridge) Davine and Richard Davine, was born on January 2, 1948 in Rutland, VT. Michael grew up in North Adams, MA with his parents, two sisters and a brother.
Michael was a graduate of Drury High School, Class of 1966. He also graduated from North Adams State College earning his teaching degree in 1971. Michael then went on to have a 38 year teaching career at Gabriel Abbott Memorial Elementary School in Florida, MA. Michael was a star basketball player for Drury High School helping to lead his 1966 senior team to the Boston Garden for the state championships. Michael also was a lifelong avid Red Sox fan.
Michael is survived by his three children: Chad Davine of Taunton, MA, Ryan Davine of North Adams, MA and Allison (Davine) Pluck of Westbrook, CT, six grandchildren and by his two sisters; Diana (Davine) Coughlin, Adriene Davine and Terry Davine all of North Adams, MA.
At Michael's request there are no funeral services. In lieu of flowers memorial donations are suggested for the North Adams Ambulance Service through the funeral home. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.
To send flowers to the family of Michael Eldridge Davine, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.
We encourage you to share any memorable photos or stories about Michael. All tributes placed on and purchased through this memorial website will remain on in perpetuity for future generations.
Provide comfort for the family of Michael Eldridge Davine by sending flowers.
Adrianne I am so sorry for your loss. I didn't realize that Michael had passed until I was looking at my mother's obituary.He was always so good to her and I always appreciated that. He was a great guy!!
My sincere condolences to all of you. Mike will be missed.
Our deepest sympathy on Mike's passing.
Very sorry to hear of Mike's passing. We worked with him at the school and we know he will be missed by everyone there. He had a special kind of humor and could make you laugh at his remarks. Our condolences to his family and friends.
Mike was always a bright spot in everyone's day. His smile lit up the room. His easy manner gained him many friends. We shared a birthday and that was always special to me. May he Rest in Peace, free of pain and continue to light our lives with good memories. My condolences to the family.


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Acoustic Labs Audio Editor
By Acoustic Labs Software | November 22, 2010
The Acoustic Labs Audio Editor is an easy-to-use, yet powerful, wave (WAV), MP3, WMA, OGG and PCM audio editor, player and recorder allowing users to open, edit, save and record audio files in any of these formats. The capabilities of the Audio Editor are perfect for creating and editing a variety of audio files and audio projects. Just some of the features of the Audio Editor include the ability to cut, copy, paste, amplify, mute, delete, reverse and apply various effects to audio. All of these features and more are included at a lower price than competing audio editor software packages. The Acoustic Labs Audio Editor can also be used as an audio converter, allowing conversions between all supported audio formats.
Windows 2003 Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows Vista Windows XP Windows 98 Windows Server 2008 Windows 7 Windows Me Windows


State law (the Uniform Commercial Code). Sections 2-314 & 2-315. Section 2-313.
For the full legal texts listed below, consult the supplement to this manual.
The FTC's Dispute Resolution Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 703.
REQUIREMENT I: The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Section 102.
REQUIREMENT II: The FTC's Disclosure Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 701.
REQUIREMENT III: The FTC's Pre-Sale Availability Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 702.
The FTC's Warranty Advertising Guides.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Section 106.
Titling Written Warranties as "Full" or "Limited"


Our annual April Fools Rallye has not yet been scheduled for 2016. We will update this page when more information is available.
Join us for the first Corvette event of the year.
Dust off your Vette and have a blast!
See our flyer for detailed information and registration form.
Is driver / navigator a NCCC member?
Have questions? Send us an email via the Contact Us link.


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Eric M. McGlinchey
Eric McGlinchey is assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University.
Chaos, Violence, Dynasty
Politics and Islam in Central Asia
By Eric M. McGlinchey
In the post-Soviet era, democracy has made little progress in Central Asia. In Chaos, Violence, Dynasty, Eric McGlinchey presents a compelling comparative study of the divergent political courses taken by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the wake of Soviet rule. McGlinchey examines economics, religion, political legacies, foreign investment, and the ethnicity of these countries to evaluate the relative success of political structures in each nation.
McGlinchey explains the impact of Soviet policy on the region, from Lenin to Gorbachev. Ruling from a distance, a minimally invasive system of patronage proved the most successful over time, but planted the seeds for current "neo-patrimonial" governments. The level of direct Soviet involvement during perestroika was the major determinant in the stability of ensuing governments. Soviet manipulations of the politics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the late 1980s solidified the role of elites, while in Kyrgyzstan the Soviets looked away as leadership crumbled during the ethnic riots of 1990. Today, Kyrgyzstan is the poorest and most politically unstable country in the region, thanks to a small, corrupt, and fractured political elite. In Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov maintains power through the brutal suppression of disaffected Muslims, who are nevertheless rising in numbers and influence. In Kazakhstan, a political machine fueled by oil wealth and patronage underlies the greatest economic equity in the region, and far less political violence.
McGlincheyÆs timely study calls for a more realistic and flexible view of the successful aspects of authoritarian systems in the region that will be needed if there is to be any potential benefit from foreign engagement with the nations of Central Asia, and similar political systems globally.


Another innovation development park, The Nest has been formally opened in Lagos with spotlight on making an empowering domain for innovation aficionados to flourish, team up and accomplish their ideal outcomes.
The center point, which is arranged at Yaba, prevalently called the "YabaCon Valley" has likewise uncovered designs to produce 10,000 youthful female coders before the finish of 2020.
To accomplish the 2020 focus on, The Nest said it had begun the 'Young ladies Code Academy', which as of late graduated around 250 female coders in the last two sessions, which commenced a year ago.
Prime supporter, The Nest, Peter Ogedengbe, at the disclosing, commented that the Innovation Park is consistently working in accordance with innovation and business visionaries' interest to guarantee that they develop and approach mentorship, business improvement devices and subsidizing.
Individual Co-Founder, Oluwajoba Oloba, who drove the media conference clarified what The Nest offered: "This has a 50-Seater, best in class and all around prepared preparing office that is sheltered, agreeable, tastefully satisfying, and open. The idea of work is changing, so we planned the workspaces to cook for your necessities, while you center around your activity.
"Hatching is accessible for new companies with items and arrangements inside Nest's center zones, giving financing the target of helping organizations change their thoughts into effective high development undertakings.
"Past these, the development park houses a business relax which enables The Nest individuals to get truly necessary profitable breaks from work, while guaranteeing they can system and pitch their plans to neighborhood and universal financial specialists in a peaceful domain. "Innovation clears the way to the future, and we are eager to have the capacity to make a smooth ride to this future for Nigeria" he said.
At the development park, giving the correct condition, notwithstanding specialized and coaching support, techpreneurs will appreciate an aggregate encounter; proficient direction to settling on the correct choices regarding specialized, lawful, advertise commitment and notwithstanding occupying or rotating of their organizations.
"Our park is a network that cultivates advancement, helping them to flourish by empowering experimentation, research, and selection of new and rising innovations, in another five to ten years, we will likely make the biggest IT centered innovation subsidize in Nigeria." he included.
Conveying the key note address, the Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Adebisi Shonubi, clarified that center points are required offices for technologists, social business visionaries, government, tech organizations, and effect speculators in the event that they are to flourish and in the event that we are not kidding about developing the economy.
"We have to lead the pack in giving empowering situations to new businesses and organizations to develop and to drive the human limit advancement of our childhood towards profitability through preparing, subsidizing, coaching and joint effort. We have to concentrate on the appropriation of developing advances to make information driven arrangements that are creative, cutting edge, practical and monetarily reasonable inside the economy "Shonubi said.


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Wodonga Council's year in review
The year 2021 was a unique 12 months.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted our city greatly and we were in and out of lockdowns throughout the year.
The pandemic meant council venues closed and reopened throughout the year and many of council's staff worked remotely for months on end.
Our organisation pulled through the tough times and was able to deliver council events where we could and even opened Hyphen in August.
Read on as we recap the year that was 2021.
Lindsay Hanchett is named Wodonga's Citizen of the Year for 2021.
Lindsay is best known for his annual co-ordination of the Wodonga Carols by Candlelight for the past 17 years. Lindsay has taken the carols, which are a highlight and bring plenty of joy to the community, to new heights including the introduction of proper staging and changes to the funding and donations to make the event one of the largest in the region.
Although Lindsay enjoys putting the carols together, the event has seen its challenges including grasshoppers, rain, smoke, electrical storms, high temperatures as well as the pandemic last year. However, Lindsay has persevered to make the event a highlight of the year.
Lindsay has also been actively involved in the Wodonga Brass Band. He was awarded the Bill Youngson Memorial Trophy in 2000 for the most dedicated band member. He was president of the brass band from 2002 to 2011. He is the current treasurer. He was made a Life Member in 2005.
In recognising the challenges posed by this time, the Wodonga Australia Day selection panel decided to award the Citizen of the Year category but not to select a Young Citizen or Community Organisation.
Works begin on Baranduda Fields with soil testing taking place ahead of the start of stage 1 of the multi-year project.
The site's master plan has also been reviewed and updated following environmental and flood modelling surveys undertaken late last year.
The updated plan allows the council to better optimise the whole site, as well as ensuring the environmental benefits of the precinct are retained and incorporated with the use of the sporting fields.
The main changes for stage one include moving the main entry and roadway, reconfiguration of the car parks and moving the soccer precinct further west. The tennis, lawn bowls, athletics track and highball facility have also been moved and the criterion circuit removed while further investigation is undertaken into the management of the wetlands.
The nationally significant Sloane's Froglet (Crinia sloanei) can be found in the wetlands area of the site. The Sloane's Froglet is a small, ground-dwelling frog distinguished by its repetitive call.
Wodonga receives $1.4 million in funding from the Australian Government's Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program for five projects across the municipality.
Upgrades, expansion and improvements at Kelly Park Birallee Park, Wodonga Racecourse and Belvoir Park will take place with this additional funding.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Dixon said the projects put forward under the program will see a range of projects delivered across the municipality, benefiting a broad range of residents, visitors and community groups.
The projects put forward and funded under the Local Road and Community Infrastructure program will see a range of projects delivered across our municipality, benefiting a broad range of residents, visitors and community groups.
The additional funding for Kelly Park will enable stage one and two of this project to be delivered simultaneously and include new female-friendly facilities, two additional changes rooms, a first aid room, public amenities, canteen and store room.
Birallee Park will fund part of stage two of the outdoor turf and synthetic cricket nets, a new access roadway and landscaping.
The $306,950 in funding for the delivery of Belvoir Park stage two - an extension of the play area including elements to cater for a broader range children.
A new accessible toilet block will be built at Wodonga Racecourse and Showground precinct.
Funding for the Birallee Park Pump Track - of which stage one opened early last year - will fund stage two of the track, a duplication of the track, doubling its size, and include a shade structure, additional seating, water bubbler and landscaping.
Wodonga Council and AlburyCity once again present Upstream - a mix of 33 events, activities and workshops that were delivered in a COVID-safe format.
Street artist Kasper is painting Wodonga one wall at a time and in the process bringing the city to life.
His latest creations include the rear wall of Mahoney's Newsagency and the DeliBean Cafe wall on the corner of Beechworth Rd and Wilson St.
As a self-taught painter and designer, Kasper has painted a sunflower design on the Delibean Cafe wall while Mahoney's Newsagency has a striking Murray Cod. The Murray Cod was painted as part of the Upstream festival, which begins on Friday, March 5.
"I thought I would do a huge Murray cod because we are right next to the Murray River," Kasper said.
"The reaction has been pretty cool so far. A lot of people have been really hyped on it and happy. There's been no bad reactions."
We met former Army cargo specialist Dale Weber who wants to help his community, in particular veterans in the Wodonga community.
Dale, who makes wooden military-style silhouette cutouts, is urging other veterans who are struggling to come and join him.
The Baranduda resident makes the cutouts as a reminder to the community that ANZAC Day is not just a public holiday but has a special significance to Australia.
"I just have different cutouts that mean something to myself, mainly, and my wife," he said.
"They are just about sharing the spirit that ANZAC Day is not just a public holiday. It's a celebration for those that have lost their lives to gain our freedom.
"I would like to help other veterans ... you know come around, have a coffee, sit down, make them, have a chat and you know, we can pump some of these out.
"It's just a get-together as a little working bee but actually get something achieved from it. I am all about helping veterans and helping ourselves."
We were at home taking part in lockdown activities with our families and jumping on zoom for work and a social life.
Wodonga Council adopted its Draft Budget for 2021-2022 and the Council Plan 2021-2025 at the June council meeting.
Following a zero rate rise last year, the draft budget includes a 1.5 per cent rate rise, which means that on average, households face an increase cost of about 1 dollar per week.
This proposed rate rise is in line with the Victorian Government rate cap.
Wodonga Council adopted the Revenue and Rating Plan 2021-2022 to 2024-2025 at the June council meeting.
It is a new plan required under the Local Government Act 2020.
The Local Government Act 2020 requires councils to develop a four-year Revenue and Rating Plan, which forms part of the Integrated Strategic Planning and Reporting Framework.
A revenue and rating plan provides a clear explanation of decisions made by a council in implementing their revenue and rating practices.
The Revenue and Rating Plan 2021-2022 to 2024-2025 has been predominantly developed on the content of the current Wodonga Rating Strategy 2019.
Wodonga Council employee Jessica Zuber was named this year's Coles Emergency Responder winner in the Heart Volunteer Awards.
When the young people's library officer is not organising programs and events for the city's library, she is often dedicating her time to the Chiltern SES.
This year she celebrates seven years with the important volunteer organisation, including four years as the unit controller.
"We have great people in the SES and it helps that it's fun to be around these people, especially when we have training on at 7pm and no one wants to go out in the middle of winter," she said.
Ms Zuber's hard work and commitment, often dedicating more than 10 hours a week to the role and recruiting many volunteers over the years, has resulted in a state award.
The Weekly Times, in conjunction with the Powercor Country Festival, named Ms Zuber as this year's Coles Emergency Responder winner in the Heart Volunteer Awards.
Wodonga's newest community space Hyphen - Wodonga Library Gallery opened to the public on August 2.
The opening of the $12 million facility follows an 18-month build and the temporary location of the library to High St.
Hyphen features three main galleries – Artspace Gallery, Playspace Gallery and Community Gallery – as well as the Hallway Gallery. It hosts the full library service and features three meeting rooms; the Community Studio overlooking the courtyard suitable for workshops, meetings and presentations; the Creative Studio for resident artists; Tech Studio and Sound Studio; and, a Sculpture Terrace.
The name Hyphen reflects the building's twin purposes of art and literature and its amazing architecture and dash-like shape – the signature cantilever over the building's main entrance.
The gallery spaces launch the Hyphen program with a captivating and intriguing opening offering.
A metal bonsai tree and a bronze bird top off a new sculpture for Hyphen.
Weighing almost 300kg, the mixed media sculpture titled 'That's Life' was created by Wodonga artist Ken Raff, who produced the Porta sculpture on the Lincoln Causeway.
Mr Raff is thrilled with the finished product that stands almost three metres tall on the outdoor Sculpture Terrace.
"Being a predominately steel fabricated sculpture, there was a lot of steel cutting involved using both a plasma cutter and an angle grinder with a cutting disc," he said.
"Once the shapes were cut, they were then welded into place using a mig welder.
"To clean the welds and edges up an angle grinder was used, first with a grinding disc and then finally with a wire brush.
"The form takes shape from the base plate up to the body of the work and then finally the spiral was shaped and fabricated."
Wodonga Council helped deliver the Victorian Government's Seniors Festival in October.
The festival returned as an online event due to COVID-19.
Stage two of the Birallee Park Pump Track is complete
Works included a second track which is a mirror of the existing track.
Additional seating and a water bubbler has been installed alongside additional landscaping and shade.
The two tracks side by side will naturally separate the beginners from the more experienced riders.
It will also provide the opportunity for racing type activities and events, as well as provide a pathway for young riders in the area to move into the local BMX or mountain bike clubs.
Improvements to the Belvoir Dog park are now complete.
There's now a separate section for quiet or timid dogs, the gate has been changed to be closer to the existing path, and there's additional seating.
Wodonga Council Chief Executive Officer Mark Dixon announces he will be leaving the organisation after almost three years.
He tendered his resignation to the Mayor. Mr Dixon said it had been a great privilege to serve the city.
"Our city has made tremendous transformational progress despite bushfires, storms, COVID-19 and even an earthquake.
We did it Wodonga.
The COVID vaccination tracker showed we officially surpassed 95 per cent mark for first dose and fully vaccinated. What an achievement.
Ten Wodonga Council staff members receive the National Emergency Medal for their support to the 2019-2020 bushfires. The staff members received their medal at Wodonga Council's all-staff forum.


The freelancing market is more saturated than ever. New freelancers entering the market are met with endless competition and resistance. Where do you find paying clients? How do you compete with more experienced freelancers? How much do you charge? Should you work for free? How do you build your portfolio and get the experience you need to better your career?
For clients looking to hire those freelancers, things aren't much easier. How do you know which freelancer to hire? How do you know if you are getting a good deal? Where do you go to find them? How do you make time for managing another person in addition to all the work you are already busy doing?
Imagine a world where freelancers pick their clients on a first-come, first serve basis without any bidding or approval process. A world that allows them to enhance their skills, experience, and reputation while also turning a small profit for quality work. A world that helps them kickstart their freelancing career. And what if it was totally free?
Imagine if in that same world, clients could post projects they need done, sit back and wait for the work to be completed, and bypass the scouting and hiring process. What if they could download the files before paying? What if they could pay what they want for the work and leave a review, rather than negotiating rates upfront? What if that was also completely free?
Boonle is a new type of freelancing platform that turns the typical client/vendor paradigm upside-down. The incentive for freelancers is that they can get traction in a saturated market by doing work at a discounted price until they are ready to compete with more experienced and reputable freelancers. The incentive for clients is that they can post projects for free and pay what they want for the work.
The platform encourages good tipping by displaying the clients average tip amount on their public profiles. It also encourages high quality work by displaying the number of projects, appreciations, reviews, and reputation level on the freelancers public profile. Both profiles can be viewed before a project begins.
In April 2015, the Boonle platform was very well-received by hundreds of technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and investors at the NY Tech Day conference. Over 17,000 people attended and Boonle was a smash hit. Hundreds of people have signed up already, high quality work has been done, and great tips have been given. The system is working and has been validated by real users.
So why am I promoting Boonle? Well, I designed it. But more importantly, I believe in it. I believe it is a great platform for new freelancers looking to enter a heavily saturated market. I believe that it's an unprecedented tool for clients looking to avoid the traditional outsourcing process while getting quality work at well below market rate. I believe that the potential for a new type of freelancing has been born and I want you to be a part of it.
On Boonle, freelancers are called "Producers" and clients are called "Authors". You do both from within the same account.
Disclaimer: I normally wouldn't be in favor of this type of platform, but it effectively fills a niche market gap where my typical advice for freelancers simply doesn't apply… yet.
A collection of brutally honest tips for what you should remove from your portfolio website immediately before someone decides to not hire you (and what to replace them with instead).
I only experience problems with clients when I break my own rules. Accepting that position, attitude, and perspective is what enables you to learn and grow from your mistakes and make better decisions in the future.
Most freelancers don't spend time thinking about the best way to name an invoice, but caring about the seemingly trivial aspects of your business (that other freelancers ignore) is what will set you apart in the eyes of your clients.


Earth Energy: Resolution CD was made as a tribute to the Earth Energy Festivals held in the beautiful forests of Yamanashi, Japan in 2006.The artists on this CD came from all over the world to perform their music in Japan and create that special vibe.We hope this CD will bring back beautiful memories for those who participated and inspire others to dream amazing dreams.The musical journey begins with "Vishuddhi Chakra", a deep haunting ambient goa track from 01-N (Japan). Other highlights are two powerful and emotional tracks from Intersys (Israel). "Kinetic" by Hydraglyph (Sth. Africa) is destined to be a future classic with its sharp driving kick and basslines fused with spiritual vocals to create an original sound. "Space Travel" by Optokoppler (Germany) is a beautifully crafted melodic full-on track. Contrasted to this is the high energy track "Kiiilleerr Dose" by Chromatone (USA). All in all, Earth Energy: Resolution is a CD that will make you FEEL MUSIC and ACTIVATE IMAGINATION!!!We hope the Spirit Energy of the Earth will bind us all together to create a new and wonderful future.


text:
King and Parliament
Part of National Book League Readers' Guides
Author: H. Stanley Hyland
The National Book League was a precursor to the current Booktrust, and was set up in 1924 by the Society of Bookmen in order to promote reading, particularly among the young. To that end, the NBL issued Reader's Guides on a variety of subjects, each written by an author with expertise in that field and containing an annotated bibliography of recommended titles on the subject. This bibliography by H. Stanley Hyland, Senior Library Clerk in the House of Commons Library, first published in 1951, is in three sections: Section One lists books on the history of the monarchy, as well as on court procedure and information on the royal palaces. Section Two deals mostly with the history of Parliament in the various jurisdictions of the British Isles, and Section Three concerns the meeting of the monarchy and Parliament throughout history.
dimensions: 216 x 140 x 2 mm
Part I. The King:
1. Dynastic history
2. British heraldry and court ceremonial
3. The royal palaces
Part II. Parliament:
4. Parliamentary history
5. Parliamentary procedure
6. The Palace of Westminster
Part III. The King in Parliament.
H. Stanley Hyland
Japan's Parliament
The Cambridge History of Warfare
The Evolution of Coinage
Purbeck Shop
A Stoneworker's Story of Stone
The Historical Novel
Ocean Trade and Shipping
The Crisis of Russian Populism
A Historical Geography of Ghana


text:
Research bits on Handsome James Jackson
This piece includes some of the research bits relating to the previous piece on my blog that described Handsome James Jackson. There is more about his ancestry – the Jacksons of Drogheda on my website. SEE: Jacksons of Drogheda. I have recently updated this page, so I won't repeat myself here (or at least not too much).
The earliest known ancestor of handsome James Jackson was Richard Jackson of Drogheda (carpenter, sheriff and merchant) a man who seems to have been quite successful. His son, another Richard Jackson, became an Alderman of Drogheda and was also a successful merchant, although a number of pension requests in 1713-1715 lead me to wonder how well he was doing near the end of his life.
One of these two Richard Jacksons, probably Richard sr. had coins made to use in his business which included trade in both Ireland and England. It carried the image of an angel. One of them can be seen in the British Museum, not that I have seen it yet. One of his coins, or tokens, featured a praying angel, and was sold by Christies auctions for £345 in 2000. That is out of my price range. Too bad. I'd love to see what it looks like.
The second Richard, Alderman Richard Jackson, not only was father to the handsome James, but also had a son George Jackson who was clearly down on his luck. Dunton's book, The Dublin Scuffle, published in 1699, does not mention that James had a brother. What we do know is that by 1727, this luckless George was frequently pleading for money in order to place his two sons as apprentices. It is possible that one of these sons could have been my ancestor, the George Jackson (1718-1782) who was punted off to be a schoolmaster in Creggan Parish.
Looking sideways for clues in a scattershot manner to track down more about this James Jackson, there isn't much to see so far. There are some deeds to a James Jackson, Gent, of Dublin in 1710 who may or may not have been Handsome James Jackson. I suspect that he might have been the same JACKSON who leased lands in Oxmanowne in 1711 & 1722 and also land at Stephens Green in 1716. I would have to order the deeds and compare the signatures in order to find out. Curiously, in the same time frame there was also a James Jackson, Gent, of Dublin who leased some land in Londonderry in 1716 and as well there was also a James Jackson, merchant of Bandon, Co. Cork in 1720. Either there are a slew of James Jacksons in the same social class, or else there was one who really made the rounds. It may be a mix of both.
The Co. Cork connection may turn out to be significant because of another family story:
... eldest son David [of George 1718-1782], married Margaret Bradford, a violent tempered red- haired woman, who, disgusted at the money being spent to get back the Mt. Leinster property, burnt all the Title Deeds.
The Leinster property was in County Carlow and had been granted to some long-dead JACKSON ancestor in Elizabethan times. A particularly galling part of this story is that apparently, the deeds that Margaret burnt turned out to be only part of the jigsaw, but a significant part. One month after Margaret fed them to the fire, a man from Cork showed up with the other half of the deeds. I haven't a clue who he was, but the family story is that taken together, the cumulative documentation would have won the case for David. The family would have regained the lands at Mt. Leinster.
So the next question is: Was the man from Cork related to handsome James Jackson?
Two Orphan Snaps from France
Handsome James JACKSON of Drogheda
A Dozen Snaps of France


text:
By Renegade Inc
Smart Living | Bookmark to dashboard
No wonder extinction rebellion is in overdrive. Despite publicly backing the 2015 Paris deal to limit global temperature rises, one billion dollars has been spent on PR or lobbying by Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, Total and BP. Their aim is to operate and expand fossil fuel operations. But what if these archaic players are fighting the last war? What if their industry is about to undergo a shift that will render their current polluting business model obsolete? What if the market, not policymakers, is now picking a cleaner more efficient way to produce our energy?
Energy Strategist at Carbon Tracker, and contributing author to 'A New World: The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation', Kingsmill Bond, met up with Renegade Inc. to discuss how we've reached peak fossil fuels and are now making the shift to renewables.
The renaissance in renewables
The notion that the growth in renewable energy sources like solar, wind and batteries is a reality is hardly controversial. The real concern, though, is whether the market will be able to sufficiently adapt to the changing conditions in order to drive a peak in demand for fossil fuels in time to safe the planet.
According to Kingsmill Bond, "if renewable technologies continue on current growth rates, we'll see peak demand for fossil fuels in the early 2020s."
As with all previous shifts from one paradigm to another, the resistance to the current transition is being fought hardest by the entrenched players. So, for example, the situation in recent years is one in which the incumbents within the European electricity sector failed to foresee the peaking of thermal electricity and, likewise, their counterparts within the global coal sector four years earlier were unable to foresee the peak in demand for coal.
Bond points to two other examples – the global turbine market and the global car industry. The former, Bond says, "peaked around 2011."
However, the latter – who have "long denied the threat of the electric vehicle" – have, in the last two years, "completely transformed their attitude." This has happened at a time "when there's a thousand million cars on the road and only five million EVs. The entire global sector has realized that they need to transition to the new technology. So actually the peak can happen very very quickly and the financial market consequences are felt very soon", says Bond.
So although, it might be the case that incumbents will initially be resistant to change, they also recognize that in order to successfully compete in the market place, they need to respond to changing consumer demands. It therefore, follows, that those most likely to resist the transition from fossil fuels to renewables are actually the ones who find it very hard to stop it, particularly "when – as now – these technologies are on learning curves where the costs fall by 20 percent for every doubling in capacity."
Bond puts some numbers to this:
"The amount of investment in the renewable sector last year was over three hundred billion dollars and the oil sector maybe invested sub ten billion dollars", he says.
Within this scenario, therefore, it's easy to see that the giant fossil fuel companies who, traditionally, are among those least likely to transition, are the most likely to fall behind in the profit stakes, while those who invest the most in new technologies are the ones more likely to be responsible for driving the changes and hence to be the most profitable companies in the medium to long term.
Investing in renewables that command 20 percent annual growth rates, provides a "fabulous opportunity", says Bond.
Many of the companies who are positioning themselves for this shift are Chinese:
"You see a lot of new electric vehicle companies in China. You see Chinese companies dominating the shift to solar. You see Chinese companies dominating in long distance transmission of electricity, in electric bikes", says Bond, who adds:
"What this means is it gives these companies an opportunity to get global leadership in sectors where they have hitherto been laggards. So, for example, the automotive industry dominated by the West but actually now gives opportunities to new players to come in."
It's not just Chinese companies who are benefiting from the shift:
"You've got software companies in California, you've got innovators and entrepreneurs in Germany. All across the world this is the most extraordinary amount of creativity as a result of the cost falls which have made this all possible", says Bond.
Democratizing economies
What are the effects on local communities and economies of being able to access distributed energy?
"If in the past you were dependent upon buying fossil fuels from abroad and building very complex systems in order to get that energy to people who are widely distributed, your ability to grow was constrained. Some countries are spending up to 10 percent of GDP on importing the fossil fuels so you find it quite hard to develop", says Bond.
However, in an environment conducive to cheaply distributed renewable sources, the opportunity for democratizing local distributed energy arguably becomes greater. Indeed, "we see many cities and regions having their own energy policy. Providing the opportunities for local communities to determine their energy future I think is quite positive for everyone", says Bond.
Under these conditions, the global energy dividend would be potentially huge because the amount currently spent on things like defense and fossil fuels could be transitioned to domestic sources of energy. This would create more domestic employment. Eight out of ten people live in countries that import fossil fuels, so consequently this is more equitable. For most people in the world it's a huge benefit to have your own energy source.
"Whenever a country finds a domestic source of energy they eventually figure out how to use it and they figure it out quite quickly. Now suddenly we're in the position where every country in the world has got a huge new source of domestic energy. It's very inspiring", says Bond.
'It's difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.'
However, Bond concedes that in a debate traditionally dominated by incumbents unable to conceive of a new world, Upton Sinclair's idea remains the overarching ideology that tends to underpin prevailing political and economic establishment ideology. Central to this, is the denial industry. "We've seen this consistently", posits Bond. "First of all there's a group of people who denied there was global warming and now the same group of people are denying there's an energy transition. The key point to make is by doing this they're damaging their own interests."
Bond adds:
"If you fail to realize what's going on and you deny reality and you pay lip service. You go bust. "
The traditional business plan model adds to the complacency and mitigates against corporations making the necessary transition. There are exceptions – Danish company, Orsted which is providing visionary leadership in this area.
Bond adds some flesh to the bones:
"They recently transitioned from being Danish oil and natural gas to being one of the world's leading wind developers. Obviously given Denmark's location it makes sense because here's another example of a lot of local energy offshore which they were able to exploit."
Bond believes that we'll see other companies doing something similar. But in order for this to happen, we need innovative political leadership and new ways of thinking within the fossil fuel industry. "Many of the leaders of the current fossil fuel industry are clearly not fit for purpose", says Bond. Instead they pay lip service to transition:
"Privately… it's all green wash. They didn't see it as a real threat and they felt it was one they could ignore. But in their public statements they were positive. Of course what happened was that over the course of the succeeding decade, these companies ended up losing hundreds of billions of dollars of stranded assets, losing up to 80 percent of market capitalization and their management teams were replaced. And I think what we saw happen to the European electricity sector a decade ago is what will now happen increasingly across the fossil fuel complex", says Bond.
Lifting the veil
The transition from one form of environment to another is a consequence of the culmination of the adaptation of knowledge. "One of the glories of capitalism", argues Bond, "is that it tends to react relatively quickly because capital flows to the new and abandons the old. And I believe that the current degree of under-performance of the fossil fuel sector is acting as a bit of an early warning system to encourage people to make that shift."
"I can't stress enough that what the current fossil fuel industry does is not going to change very much. It can fight like King Canute against change but change is going to happen anyway."
However, change will be slow. Oil will remain the world's largest source of energy for the foreseeable future and the balance of global supply and demand will remain perilously narrow. "But don't forget", says Bond, "horses were the largest source of global transport supply in 1910 but they spent the next 50 years declining and that's the point. You're going to reach the peak just before you decline."
Ultimately, says Bond, "energy determines geopolitics, therefore a new energy environment will mean a new geopolitical environment."
"We live in a world very much dominated by the geopolitics of fossil fuels. If you think about the alliances, the pinch points, the links between countries and the fossil fuel sector are very very deep.
We are now shifting to a world where fossil fuels are being replaced by renewables. We'll end up eventually in a world where the primary energy source is renewables and that'll have significant consequences.
For all the countries which are currently importing a lot of fossil fuels, that means a very different political environment for them. It also means that they can possibly grow faster, they can have more local jobs."
Bond points to India as an example of one of those countries:
"Up to half of their imports have been historically spent on the import of fossil fuels. Now 140 million people are breathing air which is 10 times over the World Health Organization recommended limit. It's quite chilling. So actually they can solve a number of birds with one stone by implementing new fossil fuels. They can both improve the health of their people and reduce their imports and that will therefore – all things being equal – tend to drive faster domestic growth but also reduce pressures upon the currency. So we should actually see the rise in some of these emerging market currencies."
Bond highlights two other important aspect of the transition – the decline in the influence of fossil fuel exporters over time, and the rise and influence of the countries which dominate new energy technologies.
"The most interesting aspect of this shift to a new energy source is that it's led of course by China. It's very notable that whilst the US has been going backwards under its current president, China has been moving forwards and has been implementing both leading technologies but also they have a number of very clever policies."
Bond highlights the switch from sea power to land power and the importance the latter will play in relation to the transmission of energy between countries:
"That again is where it's been quite impressive to see how China is utilizing a series of infrastructure, transport and energy initiatives which going into a series of countries in order to expand their infrastructure links and thus increase its land power to its neighbors". This is what is meant by the term 'Belt and Road'.
How does Russia fit into this story?
"On the one hand there's a obvious threat for Russia which is the world's largest exporter of fossil fuels. But at the same time there's some tremendous opportunities", argues Bond, who adds, "So on the one hand Russia can avoid the kind of ideological error which is being made by the United States right now. Or the kind of errors being made by the UK government investing in a dying technology like Hinkley Point and nuclear.
On the contrary:
"Russia can have a much more pragmatic approach to what's going on and tailor its policy to suit its interests. Secondly, Russia is gifted with tremendous renewable resources both in terms of wind and solar and of course industrial expertise. I think it's very clear that Russia can seize the opportunity as it has done in the past to be a major player in this new world.
Russia's geo-strategic location is also a factor:
"It can act as the world's battery and both right now in order to balance the variability of renewables with its fossil fuel resources but also in the future because of its location to act as a kind of central environment for global electricity grids", says Bond.
Bond posits that the public are ahead of the politicians in terms of the their desire, globally, to shift to renewable energy sources, "You see it in poll after poll – even in the US – but particularly in Europe, China and India", says Bond, who points to investors as a second group to have woken up to what's happening:
"Investors of necessity are impacted by marginal change. Growth is increasingly coming from renewable energy sources", he claims.
Bond argues that it will be the politicians who will probably be last to wake up, because:
"One of the arguments we seek to make is that the economic tipping point – which has happened or happening – will drive a political tipping point where it becomes increasingly apparent to a new generation of politicians that you can actually have your cake and eat it. You can have less pollution, lower costs and more votes by switching to this new system."
The long term aspiration resulting from this is less war:
"The global environment where people have their own energy and are not dependent upon chasing after limited amounts of fossil fuels will certainly be a less stressful environment", says Bond.
Under the current transition era, it would appear that the incumbent has one of two choices to make – evolve or die.
This is certainly the view of Bond:
"It's not new technology-driven disruption. What is different in this particular instance is the very large size of the current fossil fuel sector.
I mean, we have twenty-five thousand billion dollars worth of fixed assets that will certainly need to be replaced by the end of the century and quite a lot of it will need to be written off at some stage. That causes a lot of stress.
What we're saying is 'Look there's a lot of short term pain, for some very significant long term benefits'. Now the short term pain is the risks of financial disruption, the impact on the incumbents, the stranded communities which arise as a result of the upfront cost of the transition. So there's undoubtedly short term pain."
Bond points to global warming as an illustration of a massive stress multiplier and argues that transition is one of the tools to resolve and reduce that. In addition, he argues that migration pressures and stresses between countries will also be reduced. "That's another very very clear benefit", he says.
When will this pragmatic utopia come about?
According to Carbon Tracker calculations, "we will see peak fossil fuel demand in early 2023"
"The point then from a geopolitical perspective is that people look ahead. One error that's very often made is people say, 'Well, we're a very long way from renewables being 100 percent of all energy therefore when it's 100 percent wake me up.' But the world works on marginal change. It's very notable, for example, that when we switched from wood to coal after 1800, coal didn't become the largest global energy source until 1905. But the whole of the 19th century was spent working out the consequences of the rise of those countries which exploited this new energy technology. So if you are looking at the percentage share and thinking that's going to protect you from transition you are being delusional."
Renegade Inc. is a new mainstream media platform which creates and broadcasts content aimed at those who think differently.Its mission is to inform, illuminate and inspire, focusing initially on three sectors: entrepreneurship, self-learning and the arts.
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Time is money has become the mantra in the West. This mentality means that "busy" is now a modern badge of honour, a social currency that's competitively traded amongst peers, friends and colleagues.
But if hectic is the new metric, is all this running around chasing cash and servicing debt actually getting us closer to real wealth or are we all trapped on a treadmill that's squandering the most precious resource we have? Time.
Alasdair Macleod, head of research at GoldMoney, and gold markets analyst, Jan Skoyles, joined with @Renegade Inc. to discuss the time-money paradox.
https://vimeo.com/328446977/b3844299af
The time-money equation
In capitalist society, the pressure people have to do more, quickly, runs up against a number of problems. As Jan Skoyles acknowledges, the 'time is money' paradigm not only inhibits the creative process but, perhaps counter- intuitively, also undermines efficiency:
"I think we see that often with governments", says Skoyles. "They have a four or five year window. They think they have to achieve things quickly [but]...actually nothing's really achieved in the end....We also have to think about how our time is becoming increasingly an economic activity...Even when we're in our homes people can be using our time for their own financial gain."
Skoyles illustrates how much more economic value is extracted from the technologically more advanced societies of today compared to the traditional, stable 'nuclear families' of the past:
"My grandfather would get home from work [and the family]... would sit around the dinner table, and have a conversation", says Skoyles. "Nobody can be making money from that. Maybe they'd sit and listen to the radio..[which is]...something that's already been paid for. Nobody can really be making any more money from that. Now we'll get home from work, we'll sit around the table, we'll hopefully have a conversation, but nine times out of ten someone's got their phone out."
Consequently, data companies, advertisers, websites and Amazon are all making money [on the back of it]. "You're constantly being advertised to and listened to and so our time is actually becoming increasingly valuable. But at the same time more and more decisions are being made for us which have a bigger impact", claims Skoyles.
As the analyst acknowledges, with reference to Brexit, this comes with not only financial but also health costs:
"People are stressed - that's money in itself. So I think 'time is money' is definitely becoming more and more of an economic concept than I think it's ever been."
A capitalist system that's wrapped up in an ethos in which time and money increasingly overlap and which the notion of being busy is fetishized, imbues a sense of guilt for those who are not busy.
Skoyles explains the phenomenon with reference to the 'new mum' perspective:
"Everyone works more than an eight hour day. But if you had a full time job beforehand and then you go to looking after this little baby and it needs you, the fact that you're focused on one thing - which to many people that's the most important job in the world - but.. you feel quite guilty that that's all you've been doing all day."
Skoyles continued:
"My partner will get home from work and he'll say, 'What have you been up to today?' and I feel really defensive. I'm like, 'Well you know, this happened'... because you feel like you have to be busy"..And you're justifying all the things. It was only - probably not even 50 years ago - when that was totally the norm...You would stop...and do those things or you would retire and you would do nice things that you've been working really hard for. Now retirement is being pushed back - which is great if that's what you want to do - but people feel guilty [about it, as if it's awful]."
Skoyles analysis emphasizes the impact time pressure has on society which is increasingly perceived to be concomitant to the accumulation of money.
Speeding up the treadmill - who benefits?
In the view of Alasdair Macleod, the beneficiaries of this conception of time and money is a subjective evaluation. He posits a rather different perspective:
"Imagine you're driving down Devon road - and there are lots of retired folk in Devon. You're trying to get from A to B and the problem is that the person in front of you is elderly and holding you up. You could take the view that the elderly person has not got a lot of time left in this world and they should make the best of it - in other words get a move on. The point I'm making is that there's so many ways of looking at this....My wife complains when I'm...looking at my telephone....She thinks it's impolite.
Macleod continued:
"There is another aspect to this and that is possibly what I'm doing looking under the table at data and all the rest of it and giving data to Google in the process...is probably a transient thing because the Googles of this world live off our data. That business is not going to exist forever. We already see governments are trying to work out how to get into it; how to make money out of it. So their model will evolve... away from [this concept]...into something else. And I think instead... that something else is bound to be, 'I want something therefore I will pay for it'. The scale of the operation [will mean]... that it will be very very profitable."
The changes envisaged by Macleod involve the complete mobility of electronic information embodied in 5G:
"I think 5G [has the potential to significantly]... change things for the Googles of this world who are broadband access and store huge great databanks....I think the model for tomorrow is where time comes in," asserts Macleod, who adds, "The thing about time is that it gives us the evolution".
The concept of the significance of time is what governments are slow to react to. Indeed, they tend to lag behind the technological curve and are slow in playing catch up. In other words, they metaphorically skate to where the puck is currently located as opposed to skating towards it's likely future destination. Governments tend to respond to the most recent information we've got. Macleod claims that this is insufficient for the future. "They will have to evolve....In the future we will do things differently", he says.
Thus, a company like Google will have to adapt to changing circumstances initiated by the shift in the public's on line behaviour. "I think anyone in that industry understands that things change so rapidly. Time is of the essence", adds Macleod.
The time-data-credit bubble triangle
A significant corollary to the time and data aspects outlined, is the implied notion that the creation of a massive credit bubble - against a backdrop of deteriorating credit - is concomitant to an optimum market condition. To this end, post the 2008 crash, politicians and central bankers reflated the credit bubble. According to Alasdair Macleod, the policy central banks pursue of trying to stimulate the economy early in the cycle is predicated on the anticipation that it will soften or remove the depression, thus enabling everything to carry on as normal. But as Macleod says, "time and time and time again [this] has been disproved."
Macleod adds:
"What we do know....is that the initial stimulus into the economy - the rescuing of businesses which should otherwise go bust - stores up problems for later. This time round the cycle has got....completely swamped in money".
"The sort of thing where we're all at the same time consumers, savers and producers...goes back to something that Keynes expressed as a wish in his General Theory. He thought that savers were completely superfluous...We are continually destroying the value of savers by producing yet more and more money [that]...over a period of time works into the economy and reduces the purchasing power of the existing money."
As Macleod, asserts, this process goes against the ethos of the idea of the frugal saver who is constantly "trying to have something that's going to retain value. And then it is taxed as well, which makes it worth even less... We are now a credit society. The role of money, therefore, is solely to facilitate those things."
Jan Skoyles argues that we have become a society that is incentivized to be in debt and not to respect time. "My generation have all saved up for things, But now there's very little need or desire to have that patience", claims Skoyles. because the internet generation "are able to do so many things instantly."
On the issue of being a new parent, Skoyles makes the point that:
"If I run out of nappies at 8 am on Monday morning I realize I can have them by 4pm Monday afternoon delivered by Amazon. We can have everything instantly and therefore why should I save up for something?"
Skoyles adds:
"Not only are we not incentivised because of low interest rates and because it's very easy to borrow money - we're not incentivised to save because of the way that companies now sell to us...We don't need to have that. It's just a completely different mindset and it's terrifying."
Alasdair Macleod locates where we are in the credit cycle:
"We've had a fairly long period of initial recovery and then what they call economic growth. But underlying that there's been quite a lot of progress in our standards of living. Things like Internet availability and so on and so forth. All these things which aren't recorded as such have been benefiting us which is wonderful. But there comes a point where the accumulation of credit at the wrong price begins to undermine the whole system.
"[This marks the end]... of that expansionary period [after which]... you get a credit problem which is normally called a credit crisis. The banks then come under strain. They begin to worry about counter-party risk so they will hold off from lending. Businesses which have invested capital unwisely discover they've invested unwisely and so they start drawing in their horns and everything sort of starts going the other way. "
"I think we are on the cusp of that change from that expansionary period to one where things start sliding down the other side."
Jan Skoyles believes that the issues around car financing loans and food banks are indicative of society already teetering on the edge. Pertinently, she wonders how we have got not only to this point but the point at which:
"governments are able to take more and more power [against a backdrop in which the public]...make less and less decisions and [hence[...have less control. [Consequently]...the people at the bottom of the pyramid become increasingly worse off and unable to predict when that crisis is going to happen and [therefore are unable to]... manage it accordingly."
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help"...
Ronald Reagan's famous aphorism intended as an adjunct to seemingly unmanageable crisis at the bottom is as much an historically failed embedded neoliberal economic theory as it is an explanation for the inability of the establishment to deal with contemporary economic conditions. The introduction of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the resultant destruction of the US farming sector 90 years ago which concealed monetary inflation and hit the stock market, are indicative of a set of economic circumstances relevant to today. Alasdair Macleod explains:
"Just at the moment when the current economic cycle appears to have peaked, we have America trying to impose tariffs on Chinese goods. And there's also the threat of American tariffs against EU exports to America,-particularly in the motor industry. To me, this is similar to the situation we had in 1929. Smoot-Hawley tariffs. Top of the cycle. This time it's American tariff policies, trade policies, protectionism. Top of the cycle. If my analysis is correct we're in for a very substantial bear market in equities."
Macleod continues:
"We've got the further problem that in 1929 to 1934 - well certainly to 33 - you could exchange your dollars for gold. There is now no backing at all for the dollar. This to me looks potentially quite dangerous. There is an answer to it and that is the central banks have to reintroduce gold into some sort of backing for their currency. They can't obviously back it all, but they need to set it at a price where it can sufficiently back the paper currencies."
In Macleod's view this helps explain why Russia and China are buying gold.
In circumstances in which Western currencies are seriously undermined due to the banking system and wider economic disruption, the only way in which governments can contain the resultant rocket in borrowing is to go back onto a gold standard.
Linking China to the discussion about time, Jan Skoyles argues that as opposed to the actions of Western governments, the country has learnt from history and is taking a long-term gold approach to its economy which in the West, he contends, is viewed as a barbaric form of racism.
Protecting wealth and spending time productively
Skoyles argues that a drastic change in mindset is needed in order to encourage Western populations to use their time more productively so it benefits everybody as opposed to blindly accepting the racist propaganda that benefits the few.
It's no longer sufficient for workers to park their financial responsibilities on to organisations like banks in the expectation they will act in their best interests.
However, the reality, as Skoyles acknowledges, is that in the UK very few people can afford to save. But even if they could, there is no incentive for them to do so. "We need to stop thinking short termism", says Skoyles, who adds, "We have to have plans in place, not only to educate people in terms of money and the cost of living, but we need to provide a situation where people can live smart so they know how to shop efficiently or where they should be putting their money."
"I think another aspect to this which is hidden from everybody", says Alasdair Macleod, "is the continual debasement of the currency and the transfer of wealth from us to the government, the central banks, the banks and the banks principal customers."
He adds:
"This has been going on and its accelerated and under recorded. We are being impoverished as we sit here by the monetary system and that's the thing which you've got to get people to understand."


Doug Knox is a senior executive with over 35 years experience establishing and managing international partnerships, technology licenses, acquisitions and strategic alliances. Doug has managed both large corporate product divisions and developed small technology-based businesses. He has been the senior analyst at Bioenterprise Corporation for over 13 years.
Doug spent 11 years with Unisys Corp. where he held worldwide responsibility for the Education Line of Business. Doug has been an advisor to a variety of technology companies including e-commerce, RF Wireless, RFID, 3-D graphics, internet software, underground radio, broadband on copper, internet training, precision laser manufacturing of electronics. Most recently with several sensor and precision agriculture companies.


To collaborate with our distributor partners on TE's global distribution vision, strategy and business initiatives by aligning our goals to drive faster growth and better serve our mutual customers through the delivery of unsurpassed service and value.
It takes more than strong performance to build a great company. Leaders embrace an unwavering commitment to embodying core values when serving their customers. At TE, we demonstrate – each day – our commitment to our standards of ethical excellence. It also requires an unwavering commitment to the core values of TE. We are committed to conducting our business in responsible ways that provide an advantage to our employees, customers, and shareholders by making a sustainable and positive impact in our communities.
It is important that we focus our corporate responsibility efforts on those issues where we can have the greatest impact. For this reason, we undertook a materiality analysis to identify the corporate responsibility issues of greatest significance to both TE and to the broader communities in which we operate.


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text:
Allica Bank raises £100m Series C
By Daniel Lanyon on Monday 5 December 2022
Alternative LendingDigital Banking
Allica's latest cash comes from venture capital firm TCV, which has also backed fintech giants Nubank and Revolut.
Image source: Richard Davies/Allica.
Allica Bank, a UK neobank focused on SMEs, has closed a £100m Series C funding round.
The new cash comes one year after its £110m Series B round, as AltFi exclusively revealed at the time, as well as less than six months from an interim top-up of £55m in June of 2022.
TCV, a backer of Revolut, Brex, Mambu, Mollie, Nubank, Qonto, Razorpay, Toast and Trade Republic, led this new Series C round, with existing investors Warwick Capital Partners and Atalaya Capital Management also taking part.
"From the moment we sat down with TCV it was clear we shared the same vision to transform SME banking in the UK, by taking on the mainstream 'high street' banking market," Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank.
"It's a massive vote of confidence in the team we've built at Allica to attract backing from such a world-class technology investor under the toughest of market conditions, and this £100m funding round will enable us to support far more of Britain's established and growth companies, who have been underserved for too long," he added.
Davies, a former senior exec at Revolut, joined Allica at the start of 2020 and had predicted the company would be profitable on a monthly basis last year.
By June it had done so, helped by the purchase of a £600m loan book of SME loans from AIB shortly before its Series B was announced.
Allica Bank


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Polina – imię żeńskie
 Polina – wieś na Słowacji

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Ben's research integrates the disciplines of parasitology, immunology, ecology, evolution, and genetics to study the underlying causes and principles of host-parasite specificity. Host-parasite specificity, or Who is infected with whom and why?, is one of the unifying principle concepts in parasitology. Host specificity, in a broad sense, defines the parasite's niche; each parasite species inhabits a specific and unique variety of host species. However, the ultimate and proximate determinants leading to the success or failure of host-parasite combinations are not well understood. Ben's overall research goals are to comprehend the processes that shape host specificity, and to study factors influencing host-parasite interactions.
In order to understand mechanisms leading to host specificity we must first have a solid understanding of the filters responsible for mediating host-parasite interactions. These filters include factors such as ecosystem structure, genetics, immunology, and behavior. By fully understanding the filters involved, it will be possible to put together the 'recipe' needed by successful host-parasite combinations and identify 'ingredients' that are lacking from unsuccessful combinations.
Work at UNM focuses on exploring these filters and understanding how they influence compatibility. Study of these filters has led Ben's research to be expansive and interdisciplinary involving fieldwork, taxonomy, phylogenetics, laboratory experimental infections, molecular genetics, and genomics. For his work, he is focusing on hairworms as a model system, which has allowed him to the unraveling of their life cycle, transmission dynamics, ecology, and evolution.
Ben has recently started studying the interaction of the immune system of parasites and their hosts. He is interested in 2 questions: First, can parasites evolve to use their immune system to protect hosts? When parasites destroy the host's immune system, can the parasite amend the host's defenses? Second, can parasites evolve to use the host immune system to protect themselves? Many parasites live in hosts with well working immune systems and feed by cuticle absorption, allowing them to avoid pathogen encounters. In these cases, can the parasite evolve to simplify its immune system and rely on the absorption of host defense molecules to amend their own defenses? Gaining a better understanding of how these immune systems interact will elucidate whether matching of such systems plays a part in host-parasite specificity. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of ecological/evolutionary parasitology, this type of work attracts students with a variety of backgrounds and skills, and undergraduate and gradu ate student research can be incorporated into all aspects of my work. Depending on the student's interests and time constraints, they can be involved in fieldwork, lab work, necropsies, host and parasite identifications, animal husbandry, taxonomy, systematics, genomics, and immune assays.
Matt's research interests are in the area of parasite ecology, evolution of parasite life cycles, and parasite taxonomy. He utilizes parasites of amphibians and aquatic invertebrates in order to investigate parasite ecology and evolution because lower vertebrates and invertebrates have invaded a multitude of micro-habitats and exhibit a striking diversity of life histories, reproductive strategies, body sizes, foraging modes, and trophic relations. They serve as both intermediate and definitive hosts and their parasite fauna is diverse.
Therefore, these hosts provide a good model to Matt for studying biotic and abiotic ecological factors that determine parasite species' distribution, abundance, and movements through ecosystems. This system enables Matt's laboratory to investigate questions of how host and parasite life histories co-evolve, and affect parasite community structure, parasite biogeography, and distribution in time and space.
The main focus of the research of Andreas is the morphology, taxonomy and phylogeny of horsehair worms. Apart from this he is very interested in the life cycle.
Andreas uses different microscopical techniques to receive information on the external and internal anatomy of nematomorphs. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is an ideal tool to reliably document fine structures of the cuticle, which is a prerequisite for exact determination. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of thin slices allows detailed information of the internal anatomy. Information from serial sections allows the reconstructions of organs. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy is used to document the architecture of structures previously labelled specifically by fluorescent markers. Currently the musculature and the nervous system of larvae and adults are investigated.
The establishment of high magnifying techniques such as SEM have made the recognition of fine cuticular structures more reliably than it was possible before. However, many species have to be reinvestigated, because their documentation is not sufficient enough. New species are constantly discovered, but also "old" species and even genera are recognized to be synonymous to already described ones. One aim of Andreas is, in collaboration with various colleagues, to provide reviews and keys for all nematomorph genera. In most cases, such reviews do not exist and the vast primary literature has to be considered if one wants to determine a specimen.
The recognition of species is made difficult by the fact that some characters such as body size, colour, but probably also some cuticular characters vary from specimen to specimen within one species. In such cases, molecular markers can help to distinguish specimens of almost similar looking species from differently looking specimens of one species. Such work is currently being done for a population of Central German horsehair worms which might represent two species.
To learn more about any of these labs or the reserachers, please click HERE and follow the appropriate links.


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Q: Velleman Sound to Light Kit Questions I recently purchased a Velleman Sound to Light soldering kit. I thought it would be easy to understand even as a beginner electronic hobbyist but I am having some issues.
Please take a moment to check out the kit schematics:

I have limited knowledge about how all these works but there are some parts of the circuit that are particularly troublesome for me to understand. Here are a couple of questions:

*

*What is the purpose of the C4 capacitor? Is this what it's known as the bulk or smoothing capacitor?

*Why does't the T3 transistor have a resistor on the emitter leg? Don't you need that resistor (for negative feedback) to be able to stabilize the transistor such as preventing thermal overrun, minimize beta variations effects between transistors etc?

*What is the purpose of resistor R8? It looks like its on a weird place being in series between the power supply positive lead and and half of the circuit, what is up with that?

*What is the point of having R12 and R5 as two separate resistors? Can't those two resistor be replace with a single resistor and achieve the same affect?

*Why aren't the biasing resistors (voltage dividers) on T1 and T2 not identical? Its the exact same transistor so why is the voltage divider biasing different (specifically on R2 and R10)?

Thanks.

A:
What is the purpose of the C4 capacitor? Is this what it's known as the bulk or smoothing capacitor? What is the purpose of resistor R8? It looks like its on a weird place being in series between the power supply positive lead and and half of the circuit, what is up with that?

As @respawnedFluff explained, its likely a simple RC filter.

Why does't the T3 transistor have a resistor on the emitter leg? Don't you need that resistor (for negative feedback) to be able to stabilize the transistor such as preventing thermal overrun, minimize beta variations effects between transistors etc?

No. T3 is acting as a simple Emitter-Follower Switch. It's purpose is to switch T4 On and Off only.

What is the point of having R12 and R5 as two separate resistors? Can't those two resistor be replace with a single resistor and achieve the same affect?

Not for the intended purpose. R12 is a weak pull-up designed to keep T4 biased to V+, while R5 is a strong pull-down resistor for T4. When T3 is on, T4 is turned on via R5, overriding R12. Otherwise T4's base would be left floating when T3 is turned off.

Why aren't the biasing resistors (voltage dividers) on T1 and T2 not identical? Its the exact same transistor so why is the voltage divider biasing different (specifically on R2 and R10)?

T1 and T2 are both set up as amplifiers. T1 is a pre-amp boosting the small changes from the mic, while T2 is a second stage amp. Hence the different gain values used. They likely found these values the best for their kit. As @RF commented, they can have the same gain in some situations.

A: Regarding 1 & 3 (i.e the power supply arrangement): Given the position of C4 (which does what you think) it looks like R8 is being used as a filter (poor man's inductor) to keep some noise from from the right/LED-side from getting to the sensitive microphone [+its amp] side. Also the LEDs presumably blink on and off resulting in large variations in current on the right-hand side. And you want to have a sort of basic stabilization on the left side. But a capacitor big enough to well stabilize the LED side (as well) would presumably be much larger & expensive. R8 prevents the C4 capacitor from discharging too quickly toward the right. A voltage regulator separating the two sides would, of course, be a superior solution, but more expensive.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Action Heroes
King Leonidas
King Leonidas, also known as The King of Sparta and a possible descendant of Hercules, is a character with great strength and power. While he is a violent and brutal man, he also has a kind side to him where he cares deeply for his family and the men of his army. If you've seen the movie, 300, then you may remember the famous quote, "This is Sparta!". In case you haven't seen the movie, there is a good chance you've seen the meme that went viral because of this quote. Into violence, fighting, and unrealistic body types? Check out the movie 300!
King Leonidas is portrayed by Gerard Butler with a height of 6'2" (1.88 m).
How tall is King Leonidas?
King Leonidas is 6 foot 2 inches (1.88 m) tall as portrayed by Gerard Butler.
Action Heroes Questions
What are the traits of an action hero?
The traits of an action hero include having bravery, conviction, courage to complete their tasks, and determination. An action hero is also often helpful, full of honesty, inspirational, and carries moral integrity. They are also protective, selfless, and have more strength than the average person.
When did action movies become popular?
Action movies started to become popular in the late 1960s and 1970s but did not become popular until the 1980s. Early action movies featured physical acrobatics and dangerous stunt work featured in the movies of Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung. Modern action movies are often modern variations of martial arts films.
Who is the greatest action hero?
The greatest action hero of all time is a debated subject, but it is considered to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has had a long career and has starred in various action roles and James Cameron movies. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the protagonist of various action films of the 1980s and 1990s.
Heroes Questions
What are the qualities of a hero?
A hero has various qualities that make him admired by everyone. Some of these qualities include sacrifice for something valued, determination to resolve issues, loyalty to other, and courage to meet danger. Other qualities are dedication, being selfless, compassion for others, and gallantry. A hero should also have perseverance, fortitude, and a vulnerable flaw.
What is the purpose of a hero in storytelling?
Heroes in storytelling are able to serve 3 purposes for readers. They heal physic wounds, inspire readers to action, and promote personal growth. Heroes in storytelling perform actions that are highly valued by the community. The classic hero is the underdog and audiences identify, root, and sees heroes to be inspiring when they triumph and accomplish their mission.
Can ordinary people be heroes?
Yes, ordinary people can be heroes. They can by standing up for what is right and making actions that are good for the world. Also, people can volunteer and join organizations that help others. Everyone has a hero in their personal lives and it can be their family members, school teachers, or mentors. People can also be heroes through their professions like firemen, police, or soldiers.
Action Questions
What makes a movie an action movie?
Action movies are made up of action scenes that feature fighting, stunts, car chases or explosions that take more importance over other elements like characterization or complex plots. An action movie typically has a strong hero, revenge plot, montages and scenes of the hero training, car chases, and a final fight between the hero and antagonist. Action movies are often paired with the thriller or adventure genre.
What are the typical conventions of action movies?
The typical conventions of action movies include a hero, victim, and villain, a goal to stop the villain force and save the victim, and a power divide between the hero and the villain. Other typical conventions include a speech in praise of the villain. The men in action movies are generally portrayed as strong and brave, the women as vulnerable and beautiful, while the villains are seen as evil, devious, and nasty.
What is an action thriller?
An action thriller can be defined as a genre that blends both anticipation and suspense. Action thrillers aim to keep audiences alert and looking at the screen at all times. The protagonist in the films are placed against a problem and have a mission that will showcase the danger that the protagonist faces. Tension is tied to the main problem and continues to build throughout the film, leading to a provocative movie climax.
Historical Questions
Why do we study history?
We study history because it allows us to learn about the past, understand the present, and predict the future. We study history to learn why the world is the way it is today. People tend to say that 'history repeats itself', but by studying history and seeing how it affected society we can learn from the failures to avoid repeating them in the future.
What is a period drama?
A period drama also known as a period film, costume drama, or heritage film is a production set in an earlier time period. Historical period dramas may include other genres like historical fiction, romances, and adventure. The time in which a period drama is set in can be as general as the 18th century, Middle Ages, or Roaring Twenties. A period drama can include references to specific events, but is generally focused on fictitious story.
What is historical fiction?
A historical fiction is a genre in which the plot takes place in the past. Historical fictions are also referred to as historical novels. The main elements of historical fictions are that they are set in the past and pay attention to the social manners, social conditions, and other details of the period it is set in. Historical fiction is often criticized for lack of authenticity because of the expectation for accurate period details.
Fantasy Questions
What is the fantasy genre?
The fantasy genre features magical and supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world. Sometimes within the fantasy genre, the real-world takes place as the setting with fantastical elements that create imaginary universes with their own laws, logic, and population of imaginary races and creatures. The fantasy genre does not refer real or scientific standards.
What are the main elements of a fantasy story?
The main elements that a fantasy story needs are a magic system that refers to the events that happen within the story and cannot exist in the real world, a well-developed setting, and a set of complex characters that provide interest and keeps readers engaged. Other elements of a fantasy story are a central conflict and a power structure or system of rule that exits within the created fantasy world.
Why are fantasy stories popular?
Fantasy stories are very popular as they involve adventures, battles or journeys and are typically made up stories. Fantasy stories also serve as a form of escapism from the stresses of work or school. Due to this fantasy stories are popular and are unite audiences regardless of background, age, or culture. Some examples of fantasy stories include Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Movies | Film Questions
King Leonidas elevations (assorted)
Wikipedia - Leonidas I
Wikipedia - 300 (Film)
Wikipedia - Action Hero
Wikipedia - Action Film Actors
Movies | Film
Kim Capria
Action HeroesPop Culture
Action Heroes are really brave. They are usually people that we see in adventure stories and films who get into all sorts of trouble and have to get their way out of it using their various skills. Action heroes usually engage in a lot of physical action, such as fighting, running, and driving.
John Wick (2014)
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018)
5'10" | 1.78 m
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
T-800 Terminator
The Terminator (1984)
1977 (Episode IV: A New Hope)
Mad Max (1979)
Django Unchained (2012)
Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie)
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander)
Tomb Raider (2018)
William Wallace
Braveheart (1995)
Dirty Harry (1971)
5'10" | 1.78 m
The Hunger Games (2012)
James Bond (Craig)
Alien (1979)
Die Hard (1988)
Ethan Hunt
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
James Bond (Connery)
Gladiator (2000)
Man with No Name
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
James Bond (Brosnan)
James Bond (Moore)
James Bond (Dalton)
Santa's SleighHoliday Characters
Justin BieberPop Stars
James Bond (Brosnan)James Bond
Coco ChanelCEOs | Entrepreneurs
Barack ObamaUS Presidents
Black PantherMarvel Comics
Gigi HadidFashion Models
Paul Thomas AndersonDirectors
Paris HiltonReality TV
Cho ChangHarry Potter
DementorHarry Potter
Cardi BRappers


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Q: Информация о сообществе вк Нужно получить информацию о сообществе вк через VKApi в Java.
Делаю так:
VKRequest request = VKApi.groups().getById(VKParameters.from(VKApiConst.FIELDS, "21398398", "members_count"));

но выдаёт ошибку №100 "VKError (API errorVKError (code: 100;; One of the parameters specified was missind or invalid: groups_ids is undefined)). Может, я не так написал id группы?
A: Решение:
VKRequest request = VKApi.groups().getById(VKParameters.from(VKApiConst.GROUP_ID,  "21398398", VKApiConst.FIELDS, "members_count"));