Snap Up a Pair of Retro Earrings Today!
The introduction of polaroid cameras in 1948 meant that photographers could access their images instantly. By incorporating a special type of chemical process, prints from the negatives were accessible in under a minute. Polaroid cameras were hugely popular in the nineties, but lost their interest after the introduction of digital cameras and mobile phones.
These Vintage Design Camera Drop Earrings are a retro infused, fun and fabulous addition to any slowly expanding jewellery set. Featuring a choice of two colours they incorporate a classic "Nikon? style camera with faux-jewel lens. Choose between either black or white and allow yourself a fun piece of nostalgic fun!


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from pyLruCache import pyLruListCache

a = pyLruListCache(5)

for i in range(100):
    a.appendd(i)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Senior Meng'en Huang developed a virtual reality application, Escape Room, as an independent study project. The goal of her independent study was to explore the equipment and applications of a virtual environment. As a Computer Science and Visual Media Studies double major, Huang's interest in virtual reality stems from its ability to merge her interests.
Developed in Unity and enabled to interact with the DiVE through MiddleVR, Escape Room combines trendy entertainment and cutting-edge technology. It presents the user with a variety of puzzles that need to be solved before the room can be escaped, just like a real escape room.
In a real life escape room, a group of people are locked in a room and given many tasks to complete before being allowed to escape. The participants have access to hints if they are having trouble. Escape rooms combine both the social and the physical, enabling people to be entertained without a screen.
The application that Huang created is a virtual version of these escape rooms. It is an old-time wooden house which is inhabited by a soul who wants to be loved and understood. The soul communicates through a mask in the wall. The player may only leave the room when the soul's requests are met.
The house has an eerie feel to it. It is decorated with floating candles, no door, a mirror, and unintelligible clocks and paintings. When the player attempts to examine something closely, he or she is pushed away. Through exploring and experimentation, the player incidentally determines how to move things around in the room.
The DiVE wishes Meng'en the best in her post-graduation adventures!


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Police Chief Could Lose Job After Spam Filter Fail
By Sam Laird 2012-11-01 05:28:27 UTC
Oakland's police chief could lose his job after he missed a slew of important emails after setting his spam filter to reject messages with terms including "Occupy Oakland" and "police brutality."
Police Chief Howard Jordan had city staff put the email filters in place last October after a spate of violence following a police raid of an Occupy encampment in Oakland, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He said he did so because of a deluge of anonymous critical messages, but then missed emails from city officials and a court monitor overseeing a potential federal receivership — or takeover — of Oakland's embattled police department.
Also among the filtered terms: "stop the excessive police force" and "respect the press pass."
The Occupy movement has had a particularly staunch and violent presence in Oakland since 2011. Clashes between police and protesters have led to serious injuries, and many see the East Bay city of 400,000 as the radical movement's last true stronghold. Meanwhile, Oakland's police department has long been under fire for corruption and abuse, which is the reason for the possible federal takeover of the department.
Also among criticism of the department is dysfunctional communication channels between police administration and city government — which may now be partially explained by Jordan's spam filters.
Jordan, for his part, said in a federal court declaration that he had simply forgotten to remove the filters after last October's violence between police and protesters.
The filters were discovered after Jordan said he hadn't received an email with the subject line, "Disciplinary Actions-Occupy Oakland" from Robert Warshaw, the federal court monitor overseeing the department's compliance with court-ordered reforms necessary to avoid a federal takeover.
A judge will hear arguments in December about whether to hand the department over to a federal receiver, thereby costing Jordan his job. As December looms nearer, the spam filter fail certainly doesn't help Jordan's case.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59
Topics: email, spam, U.S., World

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Tag Archives: Italian music
by marchaegeman	Leave a comment
Italian tribute
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals
Lise de la Salle, piano
London Symphony Orchestra/Antonio Pappano
London, Barbican Hall, 31 January 2016
Two 20th-century composers, Rachmaninoff and Respighi, who by and large preferred to stay away from the atonal modernism of many of their contemporaries, formed the attractive pairing in this concert of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under Antonio Pappano. The subject was Italy, whether in Rachmaninoff's tribute to the Italian violin virtuoso Paganini, or in the fascination of Respighi with the Italian capital.
French pianist Lise de la Salle replaced at short notice the injured Alice Sara Ott in Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. There was much to admire in her pianism even if ampler rehearsal time would undoubtedly have resulted in a more finished performance. Granted, Pappano didn't make things easy. By his edgy, incisive and hard-driven yet precise approach he immediately made it clear this was a no prisoners event. It took De la Salle a while to settle the balance with the orchestra (she was drowned out in the opening pages) and make it clear she had something to say as well. Her steely fingers ran with admirable speed and articulation through the faster passages. At best it sounded as if soloist and conductor were sparking each other off, although her playing lacked shading and the power and excitement in the latter half of the piece all too often turned into breathlessness. Eventually it were the more introspective variations, where De la Salle's piano blended with the superb contributions from the LSO soloists, that best demonstrated her musicality. Pappano's sense of theatre was unfortunately heard at its worst in one of the schmaltziest eruptions in the famous 18th variation I have heard in a long time.
Ottorino Respighi's three symphonic poems about Rome, composed between 1916 and 1928, weren't meant to be heard in sequence and it takes some adjustment when doing so in order to avoid aural overkill. Maestro Pappano, whose affection for the music is not a secret, announced he would perform the trilogy in a different order than programmed. Instead of the chronological order he opened with Roman Festivals to conclude with Pines of Rome. To be sure, this setup makes for a more balanced evocation and moreover it allows ending the concert with the irresistible Appian Way march.
While Pappano's traversal wasn't without its weaker moments, the LSO was in stunning form throughout, including superb solos from all desks, a rock-solid ensemble, and a quite astonishing transparency in even the most demanding passages. This is spectacular music, but it takes a spectacularly gifted orchestra to tackle it with such jaw-dropping precision, panache and aplomb. And the LSO offered that in spades.
The colorful extravaganzas of Roman society and history were hammered home without any fear of excess or exaggeration by Pappano. Yet this was overall more Fellini's Rome than Corot's. Pappano's heady approach worked best in the Festivals and the Pines of Rome, yet less so in the subtler moments of Fountains. Colors generously splashed all over the Barbican and while Respighi's aural orgies knocked you out of your seat (as in the Circuses and the Epiphany), eventually I felt Pappano was leaning too much towards a loudness contest, at times sacrificing evocation to the purely demonstrative.
The Fountain of the Valle Giulia at Dawn opening the Fountains started too loud and was in spite of the superb strings and winds playing short on atmosphere. Pappano jumped dynamic markings again in the Triton Fountain by having the horn blasts as loud as the following rush of water. Trevi, too, was uniformly loud, without the surging crescendo, but the closing pages of the Villa Medici at Sunset acquired a feel of ravishing serenity.
In The Pines of Rome one had to admire the orchestral playing in the well-characterized Catacombs and the nocturnal evocation of the Janiculum (magnificent clarinet from Chris Richards), just as much as the very noisy cavorting kids in the Villa Borghese gardens or the deafening steamroller that flattened in a go for broke crescendo the Via Appia, adding superbly realized offstage brass. After all, this was more than anything the LSO's night. At the end of this concert they could confidently say, paraphrasing the popular Roman line: "Make way, we are the LSO!"
Copyright © 2016, Marc Haegeman
First published on Classical Net (http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/haegeman/20160131-delasalle-lso-pappano.php)
Categories: Concert reviews | Tags: Antonio Pappano, Barbican Centre, Italian music, Lise de la Salle, London concerts, London Symphony Orchestra, LSO, Ottorino Respighi, Pini di Roma, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43, Roman triptych, Sergei Rachmaninoff | Permalink.


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Category: Ladies Home Companion
Christine Hopf-Lovette Marketed the 1970s Ladies Home Companion Calendar….Here is my interview with her
Half Moon Bay Memories (HMBM): What does "Bo-Tree�? mean and where was the business located?
Christine Hopf-Lovette: Bo-Tree is the tree under which Buddha sat when he attained enlightenment. Oddly enough, the name came from my mother, a librarian. I told her I was entering into a publishing venture. I failed to enlighten her about the exact nature of our first product, however.
The company was first headquartered in my apartment in San Francisco. After a year or so, we rented space in the back of an old Victorian on an alley off Union Street.
HMBM: What did Bo-Tree originally produce? Was there something before the Ladies Home Companion Calendar?
Christine: The Ladies Home Companion was our first product.
HMBM: This was, when? The early 1970s– or earlier? Producing books and calendars was very different then [note: I've had some experience with both.] You had to hire a typesetter & designer– please tell me about the process, how different it was from today.
Christine: The calendar grid and all the type was pasted on boards that were delivered to the printer along with the photos. The printer made plates and the job was printed by the offset litho method. I don't think the printing method has changed much but the preprint materials have changed tremendously since the advent of computers.
HMBM: You did the marketing: what did that mean? You contacted the press, got the books into the stores? Which bookstores? Nationwide? How did you sell, pre-Internet?
Christine: We marketed the calendars through gift and stationery reps. We found our first reps through a directory. Some worked but some did not. I remember that we had hired a rep in southern California—a firm that was recommended by our New York rep. Judy [Horst] flew down to the Los Angeles Gift Show. She called me after the first day to say that the rep wasn't even displaying the calendars. He seemed to be hiding them under the table. The rep was uncomfortable with the product, to say the least.
Continue reading "Christine Hopf-Lovette Marketed the 1970s Ladies Home Companion Calendar….Here is my interview with her"
Ladies Home Companion: Carol (Fulton) Turner Took The Pictures
Bo-Tree Productions published three Ladies Home Companion calendars for the years 1973, 74 & 75. Bo-Tree also printed photos of male models on a deck of playing cards, address and day book. Carol (Fulton) Turner and Judy Horst– who came up the fantastic idea of a male pin-up calendar– shot the photos of the models.
Both Holst and Fulton used Pentax cameras and placed the male models in scenes that evoked the aura of the Victorian era. The calendar could be ordered in "bordello red." It was a magnificent project carried off at the right time.
Here is my email interview with photographer Carol (Fulton) Turner, who, in 1973, casually dressed, drove to the shoots in her Porsche 914. Half Moon Bay Memories: How did you find and choose the models for the Ladies Home Companion (LHC)?
Carol (Fulton) Turner: I know many cute guys (including Mark Frasier)
HMBM: You are a photographer….What other projects did you work on before LHC?
Carol: I was actually a designer. I took a few night classes at a Junior College. Judy saw some fun nude shots I took of women I knew. They were done in the same sepia technique. I sold them in an auction which was a fundraiser. This look sparked the graphic concept for the calendars.
But I did not design the LHC calendar. I art directed the project but a good friend of mine, Paul Sinn, actually designed the calendar along with the playing cards. I think the design was a big part of the success of the calendar. It really was beautiful.
Continue reading "Ladies Home Companion: Carol (Fulton) Turner Took The Pictures"
1973: "Big Sister" Judy Horst Conceives the Male Pin-Up Calendar
This week, via email, I interviewed entrepreneur Judy Horst about the controversial male pin-up calendar, "The Ladies Home Companion," that she conceived in 1973.
Half Moon Bay Memories (HMBM): When did you found Bo-Tree Publications?
Judy Horst: believe it was 1972, and in the Spring. It was founded within weeks of when the idea for the calendar popped into my head. We had sample calendars ready for the May Gift Show in New York. We wanted to find sales reps there.
HMBM: What was your background?
Judy H.: I was a consultant, public relations, marketing communications, employee communications, and advertising—to many of the companies spawned by Fairchild Semiconductor where I had worked previously.
HMBM: How did you conceive of the male Pin-Up calendar?
Judy H.: I was with a good friend, her husband, another couple and my date, and we were laughing and talking about the recent Burt Reynolds centerfold in Cosmopolitan magazine as we walked in a jazz club in San Francisco. It was like a light bulb went off—I had no sooner said, 'someone should put together a male nude calendar'…than I saw it had the name for it, knew what the photos would look like, knew how to execute it and was certain we could market it. It was a once in a life time kind of experience, and I couldn't stop thinking about it all night long.
Continue reading "1973: "Big Sister" Judy Horst Conceives the Male Pin-Up Calendar"
Ladies Home Companion (1)
(Pictured: Then Half Moon Bay free lance photographer Mark Fraser, August 1973 pin-up, Ladies Home Companion Calendar, photo by Carol (Fulton) Turner.)
The 1960s and 70s were years of change in all the corners and folds of American society as many traditional customs between men and women were questioned or reversed meaning that women wanted what men had. Or thought they did.
For a time, I remember women boldly opening doors for themselves– not allowing a man to do it for them. It sounds trite, even funny today, but that was a very big deal back then.
Traditionally, it was expected behavior for the average male to open all kinds of doors for women, car doors, office doors, allowing the female to walk through first. A gentlemanly, polite practice– but to the newly liberated woman of the 1970s, the opening of doors by a man was symbolic of their dependence, the precise feeling they wanted to shed.
And opening doors for themselves made them feel equal to men as well as independent. It was a small statement but made a big impact.
Suddenly, if a man attempted the conventional by opening a door for a woman, she might cast him a withering look.
In the beginning of this social experiment, there was a lot of talk about women being the same as men, that there were no differences between the sexes (which has since been muted.)
It was in this environment, that Playgirl magazine was founded about 1973, featuring photos of attractive,unclothed men as well as articles of interest to the liberated female. The thought was that women shared the pleasure of seeing nude men as much as men did looking at pin-ups.
About the same time several women from San Francisco founded Bo-Tree publications, publishing the groundbreaking "Ladies Home Companion," a calendar of attractive, young nude males Some of the men were locals discovered at the Potter Plantation house in Half Moon Bay.
The project was profitable (they sold 50,000 calendars in 1973) but when you read the interviews, you'll see the calendar was a success for reasons different than the founders ever imagined. In addition to the calendar, there were other products, featuring nude male models on playing cards and address books.
This week I interviewed, via email, Bo-Tree Production's original founders Christine Hopf-Lovette and Judy Horst, as well as photographer Carol A. Turner.
I found every aspect of the project fascinating and wanted to know about their backgrounds, how they chose the models, got them to pose, their publishing experience as well as how the work was received.
Watch for the interviews soon.
Prelude to "The Ladies Home Companion"
Prelude to the "Ladies Home Companion� by June Morrall
(Photo of Michael Powers, circa 1974, by photographer Dennis Swenson).
In the 1970s, Michael Powers' Miramar home overlooking the surf was an artistic center of gravity.
Outdoors–that's where Michael could most often be found–carving designs into massive logs, building a unique and steep stairway down to the beach, hosting community events between an eye-catching A-frame with a concrete statute on top and a more traditional geodesic dome.
Michael climbed the nearby mountains and brought back hefty eucalyptus logs to fashion into a one-of-a-kind curvy staircases. He was (and remains) in superb physical shape, a long beach trot was part of his daily regimen– and one day when an abandoned golden retriever followed me home from the post office, it was Michael who made the dog his pet– a dog that loved the unrestrained beach life as much as his new master.
In the 1970s, there was no one like Michael Powers. Smiling, with arms akimbo, he talked enthusiastically about new projects to other artists and photographers that happened by the high energy "scene."{ Some of them stayed and helped Michael build the dome and A-frame.)
Michael Powers snapped pictures of the colorful flower- filled fields of Half Moon Bay, his young friends riding horses on the beach and playing in the surf in his front yard. Once a year he and his very gracious brother, Pat, also a photographer, packed up their collection of pictures, jumped into the car and drove to the East Coast to sell the images to the big greeting card companies. The annual trek became a signal for some Coastsiders that the summer was over.
Another high energy "sceneâ€? evolved at Bruce Pine's "Potter Plantationâ€? in Half Moon Bay– an older home on Potter Street with an authentic windmill (all still standing in the middle of a cluster of million-dollar subdivision homes). Bruce Pine's sundeck became famous for the beautiful, nude bodies that graced it.
According to one story Bruce Pine loves to tell, in the 1970s, neighbors within range, took out their binoculars to see who was tanning themselves on the deck that day. They might catch a glimpse of Jerry, Mark, Flower and many others–all basking. Bruce, himself, was often not at home at his Potter Plantation house, business taking him to cities all over the country.
Separated by four miles, the artists and photographers traveled back and forth between the deck at the Potter Plantation and Michael Power's tabernacle.
….more to come…
1973: Ladies Home Companion
Story Coming Soon…….


A classic off beat experience Dipang Lake doesn't make the oh-so-famous list of places to visit in Pokhara, but is worth giving a try. Filled with lotus's, has no particular boundaries, its existence is in the most natural form ever, home to very rare fishes and aquatic plants. The lake has been gradually decreasing in size year after year. Some blame it to the carelessness and ignorance of higher authorities towards nature. The fields surrounding the lake produce some rare variety of rice, aquatic plants and a very unique bio diversity. It's frustrating to see the kind of attention this spot gets because it is almost one of the most beautiful and natural lakes with the right amount of culture surrounding it. Worth a visit, spend a peaceful evening overlooking the lake with friends and family, admiring this forgotten jewel.


Any minor who commits an illegal act can face juvenile delinquency charges that could affect him/her for the rest of their lives. Taking this matter lightly and not seeking legal advice, regardless of the child's age, could put the child's future education and career in jeopardy. In addition, depending on the severity of the crime, the child may be held out of school for long periods of time that would require him/her to make up the time after the case is completed and/or the penalties are served.
It's extremely important to understand that most juvenile delinquency cases will not be taken lightly in New Jersey. It is never assumed that it will only be a "slap on the wrist" because the person in question is a minor. In fact, your child may be detained if the court deems it necessary. Moreover, bail is not available for juveniles in cases in which it would be available to adults.
It is imperative to have an attorney at your side that can greatly increase your chances of reducing the sentence, ensuring the charge will not appear on your child's future background checks, and to demonstrate that your child was not responsible for any crime at all. Fred Sisto can provide a defense that will ensure your child's future is not affected by a mistake that the police made or that he/she made due to immaturity. Call Fred Sisto today at 732-898-3232 to have someone help you and guide you through this difficult time for you and your family.


HTML code allows to embed Vans Off The Wall logo in your website.
Vans Off The Wall logo image sizes: 1024 x 438 pixels. Format: png. Filesize: 88 KB.
Please warn us if you consider Vans Off The Wall logo to be incorrect, obsolete or having wrong description.


Description: Did you know that your Arduino can spawn other Arduinos? Don't worry, it can't do it autonomously so you won't wind up with a replicator situation (-gate, not -Trek). The point is, the ArduinoISP sketch allows your Arduino to act as a programmer. You can use this awesome power to burn bootloaders onto ATMega chips, turning them into Arduino-compatible microcontrollers! In the past, this required a breadboard and a whole mess of jumper wires but we've just made it a ton easier on you with the AVR ISP Shield!
This shield, once assembled, gives your Arduino a 28-pin ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket so it can grab onto unsuspecting ICs. The socket is wired to work directly with the ArduinoISP code, but burning bootloaders isn't the only thing you can do with it. We've also connected the serial I/Os so that if you're a programming ninja you can do cool tricks like programming ICs using the bootloader on-the-go.


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Ice Skating Store
Walden and Edwards
Official website of Pro Ice Duo Louise Walden and Owen Edwards
Competitive History
Re-homing teddy bears with the children of Brian House
Many years of competing on both the national and international stage has seen us accumulate a large amount of gifts which have been thrown on the ice for us at competitions. These soft toys have always been treasured by us as keepsakes and mementos from all our well wishers both at home and abroad who have come to support our skating. Each of these gifts has represented an individual persons kind thoughts and support towards us and there has been no greater honour than performing whilst knowing how much good will there is toward us as competitors.
As we look to the future and the continuation of our career we realised that we were unable to look after so many of these keepsakes in the fashion to which they deserve. As most had been piled up in rooms or bags for storage we decided that it may be time to pass them on to people who may appreciate them once more.
After speaking to Amanda Thompson at the Pleasure Beach it was suggested that it may be the perfect idea to donate them to the Children's wing of Trinity Hospice and therefore a time was arranged to go meet the children. Meeting the children was a very moving experience, reminding us how lucky we are to be able to do the things we do and a reminder to all that our lives are a wonderful gift to be cherished.
Brian House was amazing, the staff were so friendly and caring that it was great to see how much joy they got from working with these youngsters. For these children it is about building memories and relationships which can be built upon for the lives of both them and their families. In aid of this the facilities provided for them are second to none, somehow combining a beautifully soothing atmosphere with an adventure playground style fun. We would greatly encourage anyone to help these hospices fulfil their role in the community as each on is by far worth it's weight in gold, not only to the people they serve but also to their families.
We managed to get some lovely pictures from the day, which we've put up in our gallery. You can view them here.
We would like all our supporters to know that the love and joy we got out of the gifts you gave us will now pass on to another generation who may appreciate them once more.
Love and Best Wishes,
Louise and Owen
« A visit to Trinity Hospice Brian House – August 2013
Now and Next… »
© Copyright 2020 Walden and Edwards, Created by 2am Media


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Building API Community Power
Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney | Jun 9, 2020
The Asian Pacific Fund (APF) held a virtual annual API Summit to highlight how the API (Asian Pacific Islander) community was responding to the devastating impact of the pandemic. Frontline organizations shared stories on the rise in xenophobia, access to healthcare, and recovery and rebuilding efforts.
NBC's Raj Mathai moderated the conference which was sponsored by Comcast/NBC Bay Area.
The API community has been hit hard, said Mathai, kicking off the summit with a reminder that the pandemic affected physical and mental health, and also cost us jobs, while the harassment of Asian Americans has grown exponentially. Yet the most important response, he urged, was to remember the need to control the narrative of our story.
APF President Audrey Yamamoto was excited to report that the COVID response fund had collected over $500k in support of many API non-profits that have made "significant pivots to be able to meet the needs of our clients." These organizations have countered the impact of COVID-19 on the community by creating food delivery programs, new food pantries, and building new websites to collect data and improve service, while reimagining their services for remote delivery.
Yamamoto also reported that the historic "Give in May Campaign" fundraiser which honors API Heritage month, raised over 165k to distribute over 92 organizations across the country.
She cautioned participants about the unprecedented dangers they face as a community. The "unemployment rate for Asians is rising six fold – a faster rate than any other ethnic group". In California the API death rate is also significantly higher than the general population, and harassment and racial discrimination is causing an added threat to mental health. But Yamamoto remained hopeful, adding "we will find ways to step up and come together just as we are today to make sure that our most vulnerable get the support they need to be able to survive and thrive."
Keynote speaker Maulik Pancholy an Asian American actor, author and LGBTQ activist, described his experience growing up brown and bullied. "It was not exactly the easiest thing for me to be brown where I was growing up. If it was challenging being brown, you can also imagine how hard it was for me to realize that I was also gay."
Pancholy is best known for playing Jonathan on 30 Rock & Baljeet on Phineas & Ferb and recently published an award winning book The Best At It.
He shared his gratitude for family role models who engaged in service and philanthropy and taught him to become a louder advocate for his community. Today he lends his name to organizations and nonprofits that address issues about Asian American identity and being LGBTQ.
In 2014, Pancholy was appointed by President Obama to the President's Advisory Commission to examine the wide prevalence of bullying and hate towards AAPI kids. This led to the creation of the first ever AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Anti-Bullying task force in the White House.
Pancholy was also instrumental in creating the Act To Change initiative to end bullying for all youth including AAPI, Sikh, Muslim, LGBTQIA+ and immigrant youth. It's now a grass-roots non-profit that documents stories and provides support via social media and has recently launched a series of webinars called "Covid Convos".Pancholy hoped that the healing power of sharing painful stories and celebratory power of sharing successes would empower young people "to tell the authentic story of who they are."
A panel representing Bay Area grassroots nonprofits discussed what Sherry Hirota – (CEO of Asian Health Services) called a perfect storm of immigrant bashing(Public Charge), COVID-19 and Anti-Asian attacks.
Hirota reported that after the lockdown, AHS health clinics pivoted to telemedicine by purchasing laptops, mobile phones and data coverage. Their rapid response and radical transformation helped clinics return to 80% of normal visit volumes. Going forward, their solutions include telehealth, remote monitoring equipment and televised education and outreach.
According to Hirota, the AAPI community has a higher fatality rate than the average because they lack access to diagnostic tests and/or are more likely to die if infected. She believes there is a need for culturally appropriate and linguistically accessible public health testing and tracing, adding that, "We will not be victims, we need our own narrative."
Since the outbreak, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) has received over 1800 reports of hate directed at Asians (40% from CA with 40% – 19% from the Bay Area), says CAA Co-Executive Director Cynthia Choi. "We need to build solidarity within our community and across our communities to fight racism and structural inequalities."
Choi plans to fight racial discrimination and harassment with in languages resources, countering misinformation and propaganda that are primary drivers of hate, holding the government accountable for enforcing civil rights policies and challenging any policies that harm API communities.
She believes that this is the time "to speak up, organize and prepare for the onslaught of Anti-Asian violence," and to stand in solidarity with the black community, the LatinX, and Native American community, essential frontline workers, and people dying in prisons and detention. "When we begin to do this, we will see real change and begin to heal our country," said Choi.
Sarita Kohli, the President & CEO of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), highlighted an underreported aspect of this pandemic – the increase in domestic violence for women sheltering in place with their abuser. Kohli reported an increasing need for monetary support and use of SafeChat by clients. AACI has expanded staffing for this program.
The summit also featured a fireside chat with Debbie Chang President & CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation, who drew attention to the many issues being amplified by this pandemic. – inequities in how communities experience health, the vicious cycle of domestic violence, and the connections between economic inequality and poor health.
"The pandemic is making visible tangible forces that have been at work in our communities and systems for generations," said Chang.
The Blue Shield California Foundation is working on policy changes like paid leave for domestic workers and essential workers, and increasing outreach to immigrant communities.
Chang is hopeful that solutions will be found in innovations sparked by this crisis, for example, SafeChat, "We need to keep looking for opportunities like that," she added.
David Chiu, California State Assembly Member (AD17) and California API Legislative Caucus Chair, concluded the summit with a caveat.
"There is a lot to celebrate in the API community in the national and state political arena," he said, but "2020 has shown us that we are still foreigners. We are still viewed as the others."
However, the API Caucus is working with the Newsom administration to publicize resources for those experiencing discrimination. They advocated for the first immigrant relief fund for Californians who cannot get unemployment assistance because of their immigration status.
Asian American legislators also are pushing for more funding to support efforts like Stop AAPI Hate, research the disparate impact of Covid-19, advocate for a racial bias taskforce, and bring together law enforcement, civil rights communities, and non-profits to coordinate efforts to address discrimination.
"This moment has to be a wakeup call for our community. Corona virus has laid bare the challenges we have before us," said Chiu.
He believes that the biggest challenge we face as a community "is how fractured we are." But to build power as a community, Chiu believes, "We need to bring our voices together to speak as one."
"I look forward to see us all rise together."
Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney is a Bay Area resident with experience in educational non-profits, community building, networking and content development and was Community Director for an online platform. She is interested in how to strengthen communities by building connections to politics, science & technology, gender equality and public education.
Edited by Meera Kymal, contributing editor at India Currents


world had ever seen. Within a few short years population had reached more than 40,000 people and the tent town of Ballarat quickly gave way to a grand Victorian city of timber, brick and bluestone.
rush diggers, to the birth of a prominent, wealthy city. Explore Ballarat's grand Victorian streetscapes of opulent ''Boomtown'' architecture and become captivated by the history behind the facades. True tales of rebellion, tragedy and triumph, fortunes won and lost, along with the city's highest achievers and world famous visitors. Here is your chance to discover the city built by gold.
2013 - 2019 © Ballarat Heritage Tours | www.BallaratHeritageTours.com.au - All Rights Reserved | UBC Web Design.


Vision Hub Optometrists service Adelaide through their practices in The Hub Shopping Centre at Aberfoyle Park and Pasadena Green Centre in Pasadena.
We'll get back in touch to confirm your appointment.
We'll get back in touch with you to confirm your appointment.


By popular demand we are producing another batch of Space Force. Get it before it's out of stock! Only available for a LIMITED TIME!
This is some great coffee! Used to order from black rifle. Had a taste of Gun Barrel and there has been no turning back! Keep up the good work gents!
I am a coffee drinking through and through. I love almost any coffee. Since trying this at the Kane County Flea market, I have switched to these guys. But the best review I can give it; my boyfriend doesn't drink coffee, doesn't even like it, and he has started drinking this with me.
A business customer gave a 12oz bag of Space Force to my husband yesterday. We brewed our first pot of it ths morning. And here I am ordering more, what does that tell you?!


text:
The resources and knowledge you need to evaluate, choose, and implement contract management software for your business
Defining terms
What is contract management? Are you managing your business contracts...or are your contracts managing your business? What is a contract, and why must it be managed? Contract management process
Benefits of contract management Who uses contract management software?
How to implement contract management software How to improve contract management
The future of contract management
Contract management is the process of managing agreements made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. But it's more than that: It's your business' biggest opportunity, and it's likely one you're missing out on.
50% of business leaders report that contracting inefficiencies have resulted in lost business.
While contract management has included methods from filing cabinets to email inboxes over the years, the term today is used to describe the process when a business uses a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform. Using CLM software can help you reduce contracting time, decrease contract volume, and reduce external counsel spend.
The typical stages of the contract management process are:
Is your business managing your contracts… or are your contracts managing your business?
Contracts hold your business together. They sit at the core of every major part of your company, guiding every decision, relationship, project, and transaction. Contracts contain more risk and more reward than any other part of modern business—yet, they're often the most chaotic and mismanaged.
Nearly every business' contract management processes are rigid and time-consuming, causing friction and delays that prevent your company's ability to close deals and execute on important business operations. Ultimately, this leads to many negative outcomes for your business, including isolated decisions, increased risk, and revenue leakage that may occur from bad management like missing a renewal date.
In-house legal teams end up spending all their time and energy trying to manage contracts instead of focusing on strategic initiatives that help drive the business forward.
Contracts are viewed as static, one-time documents, rather than what they truly are: Dynamic, data-rich documents that have the potential to unlock massive value for businesses.
Enter: Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), created to help contracts and anyone who handles them, including in-house legal and legal operations teams, realize their full potential in driving business value.
What is a contract, and why must it be managed?
A contract is an agreement, either written or spoken, between two or more parties that creates a legal obligation.
There are many types of contracts used in business, like Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), vendor agreements, order forms, Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Statements of Work (SOWs), and many more.
While in-house legal counsel usually reviews or approves contracts, they're necessary for every other department in the business, too, from procurement and finance to HR, sales, and marketing.
That's exactly why it's so hard to manage contracts: Every department handles them differently, creating an isolated and disjointed system that slows down the business and puts it at risk. Contract management has always been a cross-functional problem without a cross-functional solution.
"Who said a contract needs to be a document in the first place? At its core, a contract is really a collection of data. Once you digitize your contracts, you're unlocking a treasure trove of business critical information."
Mary O'Carroll Chief Community Officer, Ironclad Former Legal Director, Google
Elements of a contract
Contracts are hard to manage because most businesses have settled for an outdated perception of what business contracts need to be. For example, if you're thinking about contracts as static digital paper, you're missing out on how contracts can drive your business forward.
Companies like Mastercard, L'Oréal USA, Asana, Lyft, Dropbox, Glassdoor, Bitmovin, and more have shifted to a new way of thinking about contracts. Although this includes new and evolved elements of the contract process, here are the 6 essential elements of a contract that remain the same:
Offer: Something your business or counterparty wants and who will be held responsible for it.
Acceptance: A response to the offer. If the offer is accepted, this can include conditional acceptance, acceptance by action, or option agreement. When it comes to digital contracts, you can choose the best mode of acceptance for the agreement, from electronic signatures for high-negotiation agreements to clickwrap for no-negotiation agreements.
Awareness: Mutual acknowledgement of the agreement. With digital contracting, this is no longer a step that requires one version of the contract to be sent back and forth for signing. CLMs allow both parties to acknowledge and sign the same version of the agreement, no email or postage required.
Consideration: The value, monetary or otherwise, of the goods or services the contract is providing.
Capacity: All signatories must demonstrate that they clearly understand the contract before signing it.
Legality: Acknowledgement that the contract is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it operates. Since these clauses are different for every area of jurisdiction, digital contracting can help by having pre-approved templates and workflows with the correct language for your location.
See anything missing from this list? Here are some of the "necessary evils" of contracts you may be assuming that actually aren't required:
PDFs that are difficult to sign, hard to track, and become neglected in your inbox. Digital contracting means you'll always have contracts that are easy to sign, track, and store, and ensures your team is always working on the latest version of a contract.
Negotiation that happens in phone calls, email chains, and hundreds of contract drafts. Why should negotiation happen outside the contract itself? Digital contracting enables you to collaborate, negotiate, and align with counterparties on the same draft, in real time.
Fear of redlines and revisions. Digital contracting makes it easy to edit within the contract and collaborate with colleagues on a shared platform. Even better? Ironclad has a DOCX-native experience to integrate seamlessly with your existing documents.
Losing track of contracts and the important information inside them. Digital contracting makes it so that you'll never have to ask where a contract lives again, and you'll never miss a future renewal.
Digital contracting is the missing piece of contract management that not only simplifies the contract lifecycle within your organization, but it also drives value and uncovers new opportunities for success.
"Because of Ironclad, we're able to see how contracts are living, breathing documents that really support the business."
Tom Sarakatsannis, GC at L'Oréal
Contract management process
The contract management lifecycle involves many stakeholders and steps, so it's important to choose a CLM that simplifies the process so users don't have to worry about it.
This will make things easier on your entire cross-functional team—Legal will be happy because they'll get fully formed, enforceable contracts without the complexity of having to explain the legal process to business users with each contract. In turn, business users get to go through a simple series of prompts and end up with a fully-formed, legally enforceable contract.
Let's explore the eight steps of the contract management process: Create, negotiate, approve, accept, fulfill, analyze, optimize, and renew.
During the contract creation or generation step:
You set the tone for the rest of the contract management process.
Contract requests are sent to the legal department.
Stakeholders are determined and internal alignment is confirmed.
The legal team creates the contract.
With Ironclad:
Empower business users from all departments to self-service their own contracts.
Legal is only looped in when they need to be.
Create easy-to-use workflows that are customized to your specific contract process.
During contract negotiation:
You communicate with your counterparty to come to an agreement.
Negotiate, redline and edit contracts.
Use Ironclad Editor to collaborate internally, make edits, and resolve redlines.
Gain full transparency into your contract's status.
Enjoy a DocX-native experience.
During the contract approval stage, you'll:
Run the contract by every business stakeholder for review.
Come to an internal agreement to proceed with the contract.
Internal review and approval can all happen within the same platform.
Automatically send to the correct reviewers at the right step in the process.
During the contract acceptance stage, your business will:
Decide how to sign the contract (wet signature, electronic signature, clickwrap).
Sign the contract.
Choose the best mode of acceptance.
You can sign contracts of any negotiation level.
During the contract fulfillment stage:
Both parties are held accountable to their contractual obligations.
The Data Repository serves as another layer of accountability for renewals and other obligations.
During the contract analysis stage, you:
Collect and review metadata from your contracts.
Store your contracts in a repository.
Unlock data and new opportunities using your contract metadata and the Data Repository.
Answer questions about contracts faster by having one reliable place to keep and search for them.
During the contract optimization step, you'll:
Put your data to work, using your findings to improve processes, increase efficiency, or drive business.
Use intelligent alerts, process automation, and cross-system integrations to improve business operations and find opportunities for growth with the Data Repository.
During the contract renewal step, you'll:
Decide whether or not to renew your contract.
Create alerts for upcoming renewals and stay on top of any additional action needed using the Data Repository.
"With our previous CLM solution, it took months to figure out simple tasks like getting a turnaround time. The system had a lot of redundancy and was generally hard to use."
Heather Quinn, Contracts Administrator, Cofense
Benefits of contract management
Innovative companies with ambitious long-term goals are turning to CLM platforms because it is the only true way to make sure their contract process keeps up with the pace of modern business. Here are some of the benefits these organizations experience.
With digital contracting, you'll eliminate the headache and hurry-up-and-wait culture surrounding contracts by implementing one robust platform that anyone can use.
Reduce turnaround time: Dropbox uses Ironclad to fast track 2000 Inbound Services Agreements and Statements of Work per year, reducing turnaround times from 2 weeks to minutes and eliminating hundreds of contract tickets.
Save time creating workflows: Glassdoor used Ironclad's code-free interface to design 8 workflows in less than 2 hours, enabling the processing of 2,405 contracts
See how Dropbox reduced Legal's turnaround time from two weeks to two minutes.
Reduce contract volume.
Digital contracting allows you to scale and automate much of the contract process, which means you'll reduce the number of individual contracts to be created and reviewed.
Encourage collaboration.
CLM software makes it easy to collaborate within one unified platform, making edits everyone can see and accepting redlines once and for all. It also allows you to work more quickly and get answers to your leadership's pressing questions.
See how Asana improved sales and legal collaboration to close deals faster.
Reduce risk.
Many businesses believe that saving time on their contract process is equivalent to cutting corners, which would put them at larger risk than manually creating and reviewing each contract. But with the right CLM solution, this isn't a concern at all—in fact, digital contracting keeps your team accountable, provides transparency, and creates alerts to maintain and increase your security and compliance.
See how AppDynamics achieved 100% sales compliance.
Increase revenue and savings.
When it comes to using CLM platforms to save money during the contract process, Fitbit is a great example, with over $60,000 saved annually from contract generation and routing automation alone.
Reduce external counsel spend.
Bitmovin's GC used Ironclad to expedite high-volume sales agreements, achieve substantial savings on outside counsel, and ensure all of their contracts were organized in a central repository. This resulted in an estimated $400K reduction in outside counsel spend.
"If we didn't have Ironclad, could we extend a day to have 48 hours instead of 24 hours? Because that might be what we'd need. It would've been difficult without tools like Ironclad. "
Anushree Bagrodia, Senior Managing Counsel & Legal Transformation Lead, Mastercard
Who uses contract management software?
Innovative companies with ambitious long-term goals are turning to CLM platforms because it is the only true way to make sure their contract process keeps up with the pace of modern business. Here are some of the benefits these organizations' experiences.
General Counsel and the in-house legal team, which may include legal operations, usually own the contract process within an organization. They use legal contract management software on a daily basis to oversee the entire contract lifecycle, from creation to renewal. Legal teams will most likely be found creating workflow templates, writing clauses, negotiating terms, or reviewing revisions within the contract management software.
HR processes a lot of contracts in the employment process, which is why it's necessary for them to have access to contract management software. You can find them sending standardized contracts that have been pre-approved by legal, like offer letters, Non-Disclosure Agreements, and Statements of Work.
Sarepta Therapeutics used Workflow Designer to create HR-specific workflows, routing each contract to the appropriate approver, streamlining the process overall and driving adoption throughout the organization.
Since procurement teams are responsible for obtaining goods and services for the company from third parties, procurement contract management is an important aspect to consider when evaluating CLMs. Procurement teams can frequently be found making contract requests to legal, so choosing a CLM platform where they can self-service their own contracts is key.
Finance teams rely on contract management software to help them inform the budget, forecast revenue, and find billing information.
When COVID-19 hit, Ironclad's own finance team was able to use our CLM platform to quickly identify the company's current and upcoming payment obligations. They created a procurement workflow that identified payment obligations for contracts that were in-flight before they were even signed, allowing them to plan more strategically for the financial unpredictability of the pandemic.
Sales teams need to move quickly to close deals, and contract management software helps them do just that. By using a workflow and template created by legal, they're able to self-service their contracts and integrate with other systems they use, like Salesforce.
Before they started using Ironclad, Asana's sales team encountered friction and delays in their sales contracting process. But with a CLM that encourages collaboration, the relationship between sales and legal is stronger and more efficient than ever.
Marketing teams make many contract requests, some for services, like vendor agreements for a new software or tool, and others for working relationships, like contractors that require influencer agreements or photography releases.
They have campaigns to launch and goals to reach, so it's imperative they have a CLM that can keep up.
L'Oréal USA used Ironclad to scale their strategic influencer agreements, and in turn, created a "laboratory of innovation" in 15 countries.
Connect with teams like yours
If you're looking to connect with others like you, learn from top legal leaders, and gain innovative insights about your contract process, the Ironclad Community is for you. It's the world's leading digital contracting community, created to define the future of contracts together. Find out more here.
"I was blown away by Workflow Designer. No one else has Workflow Designer, at least not like Ironclad. So to give somebody like me, who is tech savvy and who loves building processes, a tool that I can master fairly quickly and use to build things that we need in real time and adjust in real time was probably what won me over the most"
Sydney Dimick, Contracts Administrator, Sarepta
How to implement contract management software
If you're thinking about implementing contract management for the first time, here are a few things to consider:
Experience the software: Find a CLM solution that will let you experience their platform first-hand before you make your decision. Sandboxes are a critical part of the CLM evaluation process because you can clearly understand what you'll be using day-to-day.
Choose a long-term partner: 50% of CLM implementations fail (Gartner), and that's because companies pick the easiest, cheapest route with little-to-no support. Make sure you're partnering with a CLM platform that has the experience (Legal engineers and customer support) and expertise to help you implement successfully and drive adoption throughout your organization.'
Focus on your most pressing contract type first: When you implement a new CLM solution, it's tempting to use it for all of your contracts right away, but the best way is to start with one contract type and go from there. This speeds up your time-to-value, meaning you'll start getting value out of the product as soon as you stand up your first workflow.
Look for resources: An indication of a strong CLM choice is the amount of resources they provide for continued learning and inspiration, like implementation guides and articles on contract management. Make sure your CLM will continue to help you reach your goals.
Here's why customers have successful implementations with Ironclad:
It's simple to set up and easy for any member of your team to use.
Make any changes or iterations without consulting your IT team.
Find the support you need with legal engineers and customer success teams.
Your entire business will love using Ironclad.
Learn more about partnering with Ironclad for a successful CLM implementation.
"User adoption is the key signal that you did something right. Everyone in our sales org is using Ironclad."
Ashlee Best, Legal Operations Lead, Asana
How to improve contract management
Reporting: Is your CLM set up to gather the most helpful data for your business? When creating workflows, think about what questions you'd like your contracts to help answer.
Data analysis: How long does it take to turn around a contract? Where do they get stuck? Instead of testing theories, analysis of your contract data helps you make informed decisions that will increase the ROI of your platform.
Automation: The best way to scale the workflows that are already working and save time every step of the way.
You want to choose a CLM solution that will grow with your business and be a reliable long-term partner. Prioritize platforms that are easy-to-use for all business users, with features like Workflow Designer, Editor, and Repository.
The future of contract management is digital contracting that allows you to accelerate, control, and understand all of your contracts, from high-to-no-negotiation. In fact, the pillars of digital contracting are:
Accelerate the creation and execution of contracts
Understand contract terms, trends, and data
Control contracting across the business
When evaluating solutions, don't be afraid to ask your team specific questions about your use case and what updates are on the roadmap that you can look forward to. You want a solution that can handle any level of agreements while also focusing on the user experience and continuing education for all users.
See if Ironclad is the right fit for your organization


text:
Friday, April 15th, 2016
BYTES: MASTERS WEEK GARNERS "BEST EVER" MARKS FOR GOLF CHANNEL DIGITAL
NBC SPORTS DIGITAL "BYTES"
April 15, 2016 – Vol. 88
NBC Sports Digital "Bytes" is a collection of highlights, information and metrics for NBC Sports Digital properties. Previous editions can be found on NBCSportsGroupPressbox.com.
Masters Week Garners "Best Ever" Marks For Golf Channel Digital
The Masters last week helped propel Golf Channel Digital to some of its best metrics ever, including the best week ever for total video starts (3.2 million) and total unique users (4.0 million), and the second best week ever for page views (36.4 million). GolfChannel.com scored its six best days of the year for unique users last week, and Golf Channel's mobile platforms set high marks with its three best days ever (Wednesday-Friday, April 6-8). To help GolfChannel.com engage new audiences, the digital team also maximized its partnership with Yahoo!, which contributed to a boost in video starts on the website throughout the week.
Additionally, "Golf Live Extra" saw a 23% increase in streaming coverage over 2015 for Golf Central Live From the Masters coverage, the best ever for Masters Week on record.
Warriors' Historic Season Leads to Record Numbers for CSN Bay Area Digital
As Stephen Curry led the Warriors to their historic 73rd regular-season win on Wednesday, fans have consumed 96.1 million minutes of Golden State Warriors games on CSNBayArea.com and via NBC Sports Live Extra (through 70 games), up 443% compared to the 2014-15 championship season.
CSN Bay Area Digital set a network record with 3.19 million minutes streamed for last night's historic Warriors-Grizzlies game, surpassing the previous high, last Sunday's Warriors-Spurs game (3.15 million minutes streamed).
NBC Sports Digital Shorts & NBCSports.com Surround Leicester City's Unlikely Title Run
With a little more than a month until Premier League "Championship Sunday" (May 15 at 10 a.m. ET on the networks of NBCUniversal), NBC Sports Digital Shorts and NBCSports.com surrounds the story of Leicester City as the Foxes are on pace to become the most unlikely champions in the Premier League. Leicester City pulled off the "great escape" last season to narrowly avoid being relegated out of the Premier League, before returning with a remarkable showing this season – remaining unbeaten in all but three matches.
"What Were They Thinking?" – NBC Sports Group's Premier League commentators had some opinions about Leicester City's chances at the beginning of the season.
"What You Need To Know To Jump On Leicester City Bandwagon" – How to speak intelligently about the team to pass for a fan.
"A Quick Look at Why Leicester Are on the Brink of the Premier League Title" – A recap of the Foxes' remarkable journey this season told at warp speed by White.
The SportsTalk sites on NBCSports.com hosts a version of "The Biggest Cinderella Story" in their respective sports.
"Who is Leicester City?" – ProSoccerTalk's fact file on the team.
ProSoccerTalk's Joe Prince-Wright details the "Perfect Storm" of why Leicester are top of the league.
Yahoo Sports – NBC Sports Network Delivers 3.5 Million Minutes in March – Ranked No. 2 Among All Sports Digital Sites
The Yahoo Sports – NBC Sports Network delivered 3.5 million minutes in March, up 30% over March 2015 and ranking No. 2 among all sports digital sites, according to multiplatform data released by comScore.
CSNNW Simulcast Trail Blazers Pre- and Post-Game Show, The Scoop, on Facebook Live
CSNNW simulcast its Trail Blazers digital pre- and post-game show, The Scoop, on Facebook Live this week. The Scoop airs one hour before and immediately after every Blazer game, and previously streamed only to CSNNW.com. The new dual stream to the website and to Facebook Live captured over 12,000 viewers in its first airing.
ICYMI on NBC SportsWorld, NBC Sports Digital's Long-Form Website
On the Warriors' record-breaking night, an old friend reached out and stole the spotlight. For one fabulous final night, Kobe Bryant would not be denied, says Joe Posnanski.
Despair, they name is Spieth – for now. Jordan Spieth's collapse for the ages at the Masters could haunt him for a long time coming. Joe Posnanski writes about collapse – and coming back.
With the mind of a scientist and the skill of a prodigy, Bryson DeChambeau took the Masters by storm. Joe Posnanski tells the story of the amateur sensation at Augusta National.
— NBC SPORTS DIGITAL —


Vision Techniques have been making innovative products for over 25 years focusing on specialist heavy duty vehicle safety solutions that improve transport safety.
The company was established by its founder, Michael Hanson, who maintained the long family tradition of working in the engineering and transport industry.
Since 1988, Vision Techniques has expanded its safety product range to satisfy the demands of many industries and sectors, including: Municipal, Quarry & Mining, Emergency Services, Materials Handling, Road Haulage, Passenger Transport, Cash in Transport, Prisoner Transport or Public transport.
As a consequence of our commitment and success, millions of lives have been entrusted to the care of Vision Techniques, from workers in hostile and hazardous environments to small children crossing the road, Vision Techniques has played a vital role in their protection as a prominent distributor of technology based safety equipment throughout the UK.
So that we can be sure that every vehicle safety solution we install meets our exacting standards, our dedicated in house product support team test every one.
We believe in "good old fashioned customer service" where nothing is ever too much trouble. There is always someone at the end of the phone to personally see an enquiry through and our service lines are open 24/7.
We are proud to extend our customer service focus and quality commitment to our online store, set up to fulfill a requirement for our higher volume, self-installation products to be purchased online. We can now offer a selection of our existing products as well as some new and exciting products, all designed to improve vehicle safety, increase security and enhance productivity, at an extremely keen price and available from stock to fulfil your prompt delivery expectations.
In line with current market trends and the distinct shift from high street retail and B2B transacting, our online store is simply an extension of our already established and trusted business which, we believe, will be quite unique within our industry.
By offering a specialist sales, consultation and installation service, together with an online store for our 'less technical' product lines, it is our belief that we will strengthen our position within the market place and provide our customers with the most 'complete' and efficient service available. This will stand Vision Techniques in good stead for the future and will enable us to continue developing and innovating new and exciting technical products that will bring numerous benefits to your transport operation.
THE VT STORE IS POPULATED, MARKETED AND MANAGED BY CYBERCOW - "OUT OF THIS WORLD WIDE WEB SERVICES"


a) You'll generally spend less for a newer home than an older one. A brand new house will attract savings of between 8 to 15 percent from a good number of insurance companies. This is because every feature in a new home will normally be in the best of conditions.
If the structure is in perfect state the probability of a claim becomes reduced to the minimum. This means less risk to an insurer and cheaper home insurance quotes for you.
b) Your homeowner insurance rates will be more or less depending on the material used for your home's construction.
A brick house will attract less expensive home insurance quotes in the East. The reason for this is that brick is much more resistant to wind damage than frame. On the other hand, frame is a better material if you reside in the West.
Due to the fact that earthquakes are perils that are predominant in the West, frame homes, which are more resistant to earthquakes are preferred given more affordable home insurance rates.
Insurers will offer discounts or lower your premiums by between five to fifteen percent if you make the right choice in your case.
However, whether you made the right choice or not you can lower your home insurance rates by a huge margin if you get and compare quotes now from reputable insurance quotes sites. For the best results, get and compare quotes from at least three reputable quotes sites.


Part 1: Given a string, reduce it by removing pairs of letters that are the same letter but different cases. Repeat until you have a minimal string.
Part 1: Given a log of guard shifts and times asleep/awake, calculate the guard that was asleep most often and which minute they were most asleep for.
Part 1: Given a list of overlapping regions defined by (left, top, width, height) count how many integer points occur in more than one region.
Part 1: Given a list of strings, count how many contain exactly two of a letter (a) and how many contain exactly three of a letter (b). Calculate a*b.
Part 1: Given a list of numbers (positive and negative) calculate the sum.
Let's do it again! I'm starting a day late, but much better than last year 😄!
This time around, I'm hoping to solve each problem in both Python and Racket, both to show an example of how the languages differ and … well, because I can 😇.
EDIT 2018-12-05: Yeah… I'm not actually going to do these in both Racket and Python. The solutions are ending up being near direct translations. Since there are probably fewer people solving these in Racket, I'll do that first and Python eventually™.
As always, these problems are wonderful to try to solve yourself. If you agree, stop reading now. This post isn't going anywhere.
I have a large number of keyword bookmarks in whichever browser I happen to be using at the time that I've been building up over the years1. One of the ones I particular enjoy is text: data:text/html, <html contenteditable>. What that does is open a new tab where I can take notes, completely locally. It's really handy… but there's one big problem: I often accidentally close the tab and lose whatever I had been typing. So I decided to take a few minutes to write up a simple extension of the idea that would save the data to LocalStorage.
header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=16070400; includeSubDomains;"
HTTPS everywhere is a worthwhile goal. Even when you have traffic that isn't super interesting or sensitive by itself, the fact that you're encrypting it makes traffic that really does need to be encrypted safer against tools that grab all of the encrypted traffic they can to decrypt later if/when possible.
One of the downsides of using HTTPS though is that without certain things in place, many users will still type domain.com in their address bar from time to time, completely missing out on the https://. While you can immediately redirect them, that very first request is a risk, since if a man-in-the-middle attack happens to catch that request, they can downgrade the entire connection.
Enter HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS). It's a HTTP header that you can send on the first HTTPS connection you establish with a compatible client. Once you've done that, any further requests (until the header's TTL expires without being renewed) will be sent to https:// no matter what the user types. Which solves the first request problem for all sessions… but it still doesn't fix the very first time you have to get the header. So how do you fix that?
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, I wrote up a script that I used to take an AWS S3 bucket and count how many objects there were in the bucket and calculate its total size. While you could get some of this information from billing reports, there just wasn't a good way to get it other than that at the time. The only way you could do it was to… iterate through the entire bucket, summing as you go. If you have buckets with millions (or more) objects, this could take a while.
One problem that has come up a time or two is dealing with email-based domain validation (specifically in this case for the issuance of TLS certificates) on domains that aren't actually configured to receive email. Yes, in a perfect world, it would be easier to switch to DNS-based validation (since we have to have control of the DNS for the domain, we need it later), but let's just assume that's not an option. So, how do we 'catch' the activation email so we can prove we can receive email on that domain?


text:
from tensorflow.examples.tutorials.mnist import input_data

mnist = input_data.read_data_sets("../datasets/MNIST_data/", one_hot=True)

# 训练数据分为两部分 Training Validating
print("Training data size: ", mnist.train.num_examples)
print("Validating data size: ", mnist.validation.num_examples)
# 测试数据
print("Testing data size: ", mnist.test.num_examples)

print("Example training data: ", mnist.train.images[0])
print("Example training data label: ", mnist.train.labels[0])

# 获取image 单条数据的长度
print(len(mnist.train.images[0]))

batch_size = 100
xs, ys = mnist.train.next_batch(batch_size)
# 从train的集合中选取batch_size个数据
# 训练数据集 X shape: (100, 784)
print("X shape:", xs.shape)
# 训练数据结果集 Y shape: (100, 10)
print("Y shape:", ys.shape)


text:
Q: Read in csv file from a website in Python3 I am trying to read in a csv file directly from a website. Below is the Python3 code:
import pandas as pd
url = "https://www.w3resource.com/python-exercises/pandas/plotting/alphabet_stock_data.csv"
data = pd.read_csv(url)

But I got the following error:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HTTPError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
Input In [6], in <cell line: 3>()
      1 import pandas as pd
      2 url = "https://www.w3resource.com/python-exercises/pandas/plotting/alphabet_stock_data.csv"
----> 3 data = pd.read_csv(url)

File ~/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/util/_decorators.py:311, in deprecate_nonkeyword_arguments.<locals>.decorate.<locals>.wrapper(*args, **kwargs)
    305 if len(args) > num_allow_args:
    306     warnings.warn(
    307         msg.format(arguments=arguments),
    308         FutureWarning,
    309         stacklevel=stacklevel,
    310     )
--> 311 return func(*args, **kwargs)

Any clue? Many thanks.

A: I like to use requests with pandas.
from io import StringIO

import pandas as pd
import requests

def get_data() -> pd.DataFrame:
    url = "https://www.w3resource.com/python-exercises/pandas/plotting/alphabet_stock_data.csv"

    with requests.Session() as request:
        response = request.get(url)
    if response.status_code != 200:
        print(response.raise_for_status())

    return pd.read_csv(StringIO(response.text), sep=",")

print(get_data())

A: You should specify the storage_options argument:
import pandas as pd

url = "https://www.w3resource.com/python-exercises/pandas/plotting/alphabet_stock_data.csv"
storage_options = {'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'}
df = pd.read_csv(url, storage_options=storage_options)

Taken from: https://stackoverflow.com/a/68816828/5304366

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


7.4 454 Throttle stiffness adjustment!
Discussion in 'General Maintenance/Repair Questions' started by Oscarlyy, Sep 24, 2015.
Quick question. Just seeing if anybody knows how to adjust the stiffness on my throttle as it backs off slowly while on plane so I have to keep my hand on it all the time. It's a 1989 Sea Ray 345 with twin mercruiser 454's with the generic separate throttle and shift.
Had the same issue with my 340 - drives ya nuts doesn't it!
Thanks Mike! I'll check the manual!
Hi Mike, I have the same issue with my throttles on 1991 350/370 Sundancer . Like to know if you were able to find anything in the manual or else where on the adjustments. I have been looking with no luck.Appreciate any help you can offer.
You all have those same throttles. All the inboards from that era had them, just like all of the next generation SRs had the gold knob throttles. I had them in my '89 340 Sedan Bridge. Make the adjustment that Mike posted and should solve your prob.


text:
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Will Blow Your Mind
ViewKick > Posts > Cars & Motorcycles > Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Will Blow Your Mind
The digital concept of that beast will make your jaw drop - 5 years ago by Ivaylo
During the 66th international motor show held in Frankfurt, Germany the amazing crew of Bugatti showed the audience the next step they are about to take, that will undoubtedly skyrocket them into a undisputed top spot in sports cars world. They are actually doing a once virtual prospect and for everyone's absolute joy they are turning it into reality. The French giants introduced the "Vision Grand Turismo" – digitalized shots of the infamous speedster celebrating both racing history and their absolute masterpiece of motor technology. It is in a way Bugatti's effort to pay tribute to the traditions of the old days, all the way back to the 20's and 30's of the 20th century and the glorious victories in the amazing Le Mans 24 hour race.
The true inspiration for this incredible design they took from their own history books and in particular the "type 57 tank". The designers also brought back the absolute classic blue two tone color that brings the spirit of the old school French race cars from that particular period. This virtual masterpiece was created with the help of the infamous Bugatti engineers in order to preserve the spirit of the brand in full detail so this furious giant can actually have a real function. According to them it is based on the incredible racing technology and the most precise aerodynamics analytics there are.
It may just be a virtual design for now but the designers have given it their best to put the soul of Bugatti and the unique style into the project of this magnificent car. But not everything is taken from the old models. Some things are influenced by today's models (which are pretty damn good if I may add) like the side view for example. The design for it is taken directly from the famous lines of the newest models of the French motor giant. Alongside those lines they put the horse shoe, a symbol of one of the most recognizable brand in the world. The front looks absolutely insane with the amazing headlights designed in particular for the "Vision Gran Turismo".
Here are a few words from the head of Bugatti design Achim Anscheidt for the inspiration and process:
"The bugatti design team normally works only for the exclusive and very distinguished circle of the brand's customers. Now bugatti vision gran turismo has given us the opportunity, for the first time, to do something special for our fans as well." – describes head of bugatti design, Achim Anscheidt.
"When the target group suddenly grows from 450 veyron owners to several million fans, gamers and high performance aficionados, it is a very exciting matter. We had a lot of fun with this project. In the bugatti veyron, we have developed a super sports car which unites two characteristics, the beauty and the beast. The bugatti vision gran turismo embodies the performance beast. It has a more radical and extreme style. This is a thorough-bred bugatti for the virtual race track, not for the street."
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Typhoon holders, in their very basic kind are an enclosure around the candle to protect it from the end and elements. These types of stands are used as garden and patio decorations where it can be hung on pillars or as table centerpieces as they keep the candle stay put in in the wind. These types of cases produce a lovely soft light dependent upon the color of the wax used. Custom printed votive candle holders are one other popular kind of holder which is commonly made out of crystal or perhaps glass because these materials were easier to work on to etch or imprint emails and complex designs. The luster of the crystal was your reason it became a popular moderate for household décor frequently used by the wealthy of the time. Flute and crystal holders could possibly be cut, stenciled, engraved or painted to give subtle results. Votive candle holders were originally used to hold candle lights. But nowadays, the humble candle light holder has been creatively utilized to become more than just for keeping candle lights. Its use has been extended to become party favors, marriage favors, garden and veranda decorations, table centerpieces as well as gifts and home favorite.
Nemiri - How to hit a double end bag youtube. Learn how to hit a double end bag properly to improve your timing, rhythm, accuracy, and hand speed it's a great workout to develop higher level boxing skills category sports;. How to hit a double end bag how to box expertboxing. Every fighter needs to train on the double end bag! but for some reason, it's only the more advanced fighters that do it i'll tell you why the pros do it and then i'll tell you how to hit the double end bag what is the double end bag? the double end bag, also known as the floor to ceiling. How to: hit a double end bag youtube. How to: hit a double end bag next up in our how to series is, hitting a double end bag! here's some good tip for how to start out and progress into stronger technique this is a great skill to. Double end bags: how to hit it correctly mma life. Hitting a double end de bag requires a faster response time that hitting a heavy bag that is why hitting a double end bag is invariably different than hitting a heavy bag, or even a speed bag below are tips to hitting a de bag 1 begin with quick, small, and light combinations using small, [ ]. Double end bag drills how to box expertboxing. Make sure you read my first guide on how to hit a double end bag it'll help you get started! as you already know, you should be able to hit the double end bag with constant combinations solid, steady, quick little punches are the way to go remember: the double end bag is more like a speed bag. How to hit a double end bag fighting and self defense. How to hit a double end bag how to hit a double end bag more information how to hit a double end bag find this pin and more on fighting and self defense by mike mursuli tags. How to use the double end bag for boxing wonderhowto. Adolfo explains how to use the double end bag this will help your boxing by allowing you to learn the timing and coordination between your hand and target you always have to be thinking offense and defense. How to determine size for double end boxing bags sportsrec. A double ended boxing bag, also called a "crazy bag," "crazy ball" or "jitterbag," is a head sized bag attached to a pair of bungee cords the cords secure the bag between the floor and ceiling so it jerks for several seconds when hit. What are the benefits of double end bags for boxing. The first time you hit a double end bag, you will quickly realize that punching bags actually do hit back these elastic secured bags rebound ferociously after a solid hit, so if you're unaware or a bit too slow, the rebound can literally be in your face but this is part of the charm and advantage of this staple. Hit a double apparel for all sports. Hit a double batting cages and baseball softball store with a website supplying footwear, fanwear, team uniforms and apparel for all needs.


Vector Isometric set of A tool icon set with lots of construction or DIY tools including level, saw and many others. Design elements. Perfect set for any other kind of design. Isolated. Layered. Fully editable. Contains of EPS10 and SVG graphic files.


text:
Комарово — село в Алапаевском районе Свердловской области. Входит в Махнёвское муниципальное образование.

География
Село Комарово Махнёвского муниципального образования в 55 километров на север от города Алапаевск (по автодороге — 64 километра), на правом берегу реки Мугай (правый приток реки Тагил) в 1 километр выше устья реки Комаровка.

История
В начале XX века отмечалось, что село Комаровское Верхотурского уезда, находящееся от епархиального города в 240 верстах, на проезжей дороге из Верхотурья в Ирбит, на правом берегу реки Мугая, первоначально было деревнею, находившеюся в приходе села Мугайскаго. В течение 1885 года приход оставался закрытым вследствие отказа прихожан выполнять свои обязательства, какие были ими даны при открытии прихода по отношению к духовенству. Число прихожан в 1902 году было 651 мужского и 725 женского пола. Главным занятием жителей было хлебопашество; многие из прихожан промышляли извозом, работали на обжигательных печах в заводах, брали подряды на рубку дров, доставку угля в заводы: Алапаевский, Салдинские и Богословские. Большим подспорьем прихожанам была добыча кедровых орехов в урожайный год. В состав прихода входили деревни: Тычкина — в 1 верстах, Губина — в 2 верстах, Малая Белоусова — в 3 верстах, Большая Белоусова в 5 верстах. Церковно-приходская школа была открыта в 1900 году и имела собственное здание.

Рождество-Богородицкая церковь
Каменная однопрестольная церковь во имя Рождества Богородицы, строившаяся с 1873 года по 1876 год, была освящена 26 сентября 1879 года, став самостоятельным приходом.
В 1927 году церковь была закрыта. В настоящий момент не восстанавливается, декор внутри и снаружи здания практически не сохранился.

Население

Примечания

Населённые пункты Махнёвского муниципального образования

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Selfies are one of the most prominent phenomena of the burgeoning smart-phone era. Soon you may sign into your computer, your phone, your online accounts, and your favorite web services by snapping a picture of yourself. That shot will be tied to a social-media search to generate a score indicating how likely you are who the computer/system/application expects you to be.
By combining the social-media search with its facial-recognition technology, Socure is able to authenticate people who don't have online bank accounts and don't perform other transactions online, but who do have a "healthy" social-media presence.


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The EU's Green Deal proposals for aviation and the UK Decarbonising Transport Plan: Initial thoughts
Global | Publication | julio 2021
As the global aviation industry looks towards post-pandemic recovery and less turbulent skies, it is the topic of decarbonisation that is increasingly top of everyone's agenda. There have been a number of eye-catching announcements around the world in recent weeks, from United Airlines announcing its intention to purchase 100 electric aircraft, an increased focus on the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from several airlines, and Korean Air utilising the green bond markets.
Significantly, on the same day last week the EU Commission published its update to the Green Deal known as "Fit for 55", including its proposals for aviation, and in the UK, the Government published its Decarbonising Transport Plan (the UK Plan).
This article looks at the headline items in each of the sets of proposals.
The UK Plan
Update to the EU Green Deal - proposals for aviation
The UK Plan sets out – on a holistic basis – the Government's plans for decarbonising all aspects of the UK's domestic transport sector. However, unlike the EU announcement, the UK Plan does not yet include the details of proposed legislation.
As regards the proposals for the UK's aviation sector, the more notable elements of the UK Plan include:
Consulting on the Government's "Jet Zero" strategy, which will set out the steps to reach net zero aviation emissions by 2050, and consulting on an accelerated target for UK domestic aviation to reach net zero by 2040.
Supporting the development of new and zero carbon UK aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute programme, and funding zero emission flight infrastructure research and development at UK airports.
An increased UK focus on SAF, including an intention to "kick-start commercialisation of UK SAF" and a commitment to consult on a UK SAF mandate.
A commitment to improve the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, including a review of free allocations, but notably only referring to its interaction with the global offsetting scheme for aviation, CORSIA, with no mention of any advances in linking the UK ETS with the much larger EU ETS, which had been mentioned in the UK's post-Brexit agreement with the EU.
The UK Government acknowledges, however, that international alignment is essential in making progress on decarbonising the aviation industry. The stated intention is the adoption of an "ambitious long-term global emissions reduction goal" through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) by 2022. This is stated to be a further and separate aim in addition to ICAO's CORSIA.
Although the UK Plan is inherently limited to actions to address the UK's domestic position, it is clear that the UK Government hopes to lead by example. Industry players will await further detail of the UK Plan and related legislative proposals with interest.
The EU's update to the Green Deal, known as "Fit for 55" (referring to the 55% target reduction in carbon emissions by 2035) contain detailed proposals, with the headline announcements accompanied by a raft of draft legislation to implement the plans. The proposed measures will impact the aviation industry from a variety of angles. Key among them are the following:
Mandated minimum use of SAF: EU-wide harmonised rules for SAF that will apply to fuel suppliers and airline operators under a new EU Regulation, RefuelEU Aviation. Under the Regulation airlines will be obliged to uplift SAF-blended aviation fuel when departing from EU airports. Fuel suppliers will be required to include increasing percentages of SAF into jet fuel, starting at 2% by 2030 and culminating with 63% by 2050. The proposal promotes advanced biofuels and synthetic fuels produced from green electricity and in line with the sustainability requirements under the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
Tax on traditional aviation fuel: Minimum tax rates are introduced for aviation fuels used on intra-EU flights under the revised Energy Taxation Directive. The proposed tax rates on aviation fuel will increase gradually over a ten year period to reach a minimum rate of €10.75 per gigajoule EU-wide, while sustainable and alternative aviation fuels will enjoy a zero minimum tax rate. An exemption for cargo-only intra-EU flights is proposed, in order to preserve a level playing field between EU and third country cargo-only carriers, who have a high market share of cargo-only flights and cannot be taxed due to international agreements.
Significant reform to emissions trading:
Allowances allocated to airlines for free will be phased out over time. The overall cap on emissions would be adjusted in 2023, with a new linear reduction factor of 4.2% applied each year to bring emissions into line with the EU's 2030 economy-wide reduction target of 55% below 1990 levels.
The EU will apply CORSIA to international flights, to offset aviation emissions which go beyond 2019 levels.
A new Emissions Trading System would be created to cover emissions from fuel supplies to the transportation (and buildings) sectors from 2025, based on the full auctioning of allowances.
Electricity supply for stationary aircraft: A proposal for an Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, replacing the current Directive, would introduce the obligation to provide electricity supply to all stationary aircraft instead of jet fuel. This obligation will apply to all gates from 2025 and to all outfield posts from 2030.
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): The Commission's proposed CBAM would affect the manufacturing of aircraft and engines by requiring the importers of certain raw materials, such as steel, to pay for the carbon content of their products. Importers would need to buy special certificates, priced according to the weekly average price of daily EU Allowance auctions, to surrender to the Commission at the end of each compliance year.
The scale of these measures, applying as they would to the 27 member states of the EU, will be sweeping and represent a huge shift for the industry. However, some proposals are likely to face resistance from governments and some industry players alike and their final form is by no means guaranteed. What is clear is that, as with its Taxonomy for sustainable activities, the EU is taking measures on sustainability which will have an impact on both EU and non-EU airlines.
It has always been the case that decarbonising aviation requires a combination of bolder government action, technological innovation, operational and consumer change, greater international cooperation and support from the finance sector to meet ambitious targets. While the proposals issued are bold, industry players will be keen to receive further details of the UK Plan and will keenly observe progress regarding the EU proposals.
There will be some, especially amongst environmental groups, who feel the planned measures do not go far enough and feature less 'big government' intervention than the challenge of decarbonising and addressing climate change warrants, with the fear that input from stakeholders may ultimately result in diluted obligations. Airlines, manufacturers and other key market participants may also feel that if they are primarily to shoulder the financial burden of ambitious decarbonisation targets which can only be met in part through very long-term investment in new technology, greater government incentivisation and financial support for the aviation sector would be welcome.
Andrew Williams
andrew.williams@nortonrosefulbright.com
Katie Knight
Knowledge Of Counsel
katie.knight@nortonrosefulbright.com


text:
Q: Best way/data structure to send arguments to method Through my several Python projects, I have been wondering what was the most efficient and at the same time beautiful way to send multiple arguments to a method.
Let's say we have a method accepting the following parameters foo, bar, spoot, rick, astley, whatever the number, types and relations.
What way would be the most efficient, pythonic and elegant according to you ?
Simple argument parameters:
def my_func(foo, bar, spoot, rick, astley):
    # Do some stuff

my_func(foo, bar, spoot, rick, astley)

Through a tuple:
def my_func(some_tuple):
    foo, bar, spoot, rick, astley = some_tuple
    # Do some stuff

my_func((foo, bar, spoot, rick, astley))

With related tuples and simple parameters for lone arguments:
def my_func(related_parameters_tuple, other_related_parameters_tuple, spoot):
    foo, bar = related_parameters_tuple
    rick, astley = other_related_parameters_tuple
    # Do some stuff

my_func((foo, bar), (rick, astley), spoot)

A dictionary:
def my_func(dictionary):
    # Do some stuff
    # dictionary['foo']
    # dictionary['bar']
    # ...

my_func({
    'foo': foo,
    'bar': bar,
    'spoot': spoot,
    'rick': rick,
    'astley': astley
    })

Related dictionaries and simple parameters for lone arguments:
def my_func(related_parameters_dictionary, other_related_parameters_dictionary, spoot):
    # Do some stuff
    # related_parameters_dictionary['foo']
    # related_parameters_dictionary['bar']
    # other_related_parameters_dictionary['rick']
    # other_related_parameters_dictionary['astley']
    # ...

my_func({
    'foo': foo,
    'bar': bar,
    'spoot': spoot,
    'rick': rick,
    'astley': astley
    })

Thanks for sharing your opinions !


text:
Lisette L
Snoskins
Fountain Fashions
Clothes With A Statement...
Owner, Kay Kinder established Fountain Fashions in 1973 with customer service as her top priority. Kay and the girls are ready to serve you anytime to find the most fabulous fashions. If you have something special you are looking for, they will do their best to get it for you.
Don't miss out on this spectacular array of fashion for the discriminating shopper, and be sure to visit them in Fountain Hills.! If you can't make it into the store, Kay and the girls are happy to accommodate you by taking your phone order, and if received by 2pm, it will go out the same day if it is not a special order and it's in stock.
So be sure to visit Kay and the girls for the ultimate shopping experience.
Their staff is always here to help.
Owner Kay Kinder -
"We Deliver" says Kay Kinder, owner of Fountain Fashions in Fountain Hills. She means that in more ways than one. Forty years ago when she opened her ladies' boutique at the village Bazaar, the town of Fountain Hills was just three years old. Kay established Fountain Fashions with customer service as her top priority. She and her late husband, Don Kinder, who was then senior vice president of Pratt properties, one of the developers of the popular, scenic area, moved to Fountain HIlls in 1972. In December 1973, she opened Fountain Fashions.
In April 1999, she relocated her store. Expanding it from 840 square feet to 2,600 square feet.. And today, loyal customers drive from all over the Valley to select from the store's casual & upscale line of clothing and to experience Kinder and her staff's version of exceptional customer service. Much of the store's success, of course, is due to the careful selection of merchandise Kay make on her five yearly trips to Dallas. "Our goal", says Kay, "is to carry dressy and business clothes as well as the casual clothing women really love to wear. We also select things that have a little flair. We care an extensive line of many designers."
When Kay says, "We deliver," she really means that. "This is a small town still, and we love it," she says of Fountain Hills. Sometimes a customer can't come in during the normal store hours, so Kay or one of her staff will open the doors early or stay late to accommodate busy schedules. They've also been known to deliver clothing to customer's homes. "Customer service is the name of the game," shares Kinder. "We have so much fun here. The atmosphere is very positive, and people can sense it when they come in." In 1990 Kay was honored wth the Annual Myron Mayper Businessperson of the year award as well as countless accolades & articles written about her and her amazing "Fountain Fashions" Boutique.
Betty Emerson -
Raised in Minnesota, and from Wisconsin - Betty moved to Fountain Hills in 1985. She has loved being apart of the community for 28 years. In 1994 Betty started working at Fountain Fashions. She has made many new friends and has enjoyed so much working in the fashion industry. Kay Kinder has ben a joy to work for and she considers her not only to be her employer, but a close friend.
Carol Theisen -
Carol grew up in Morris MN, lived in Boulder Colorado, and moved to Fountain Hills in 2006. Originally working in Scottsdale for 9 years at "Hot Rags" boutique, when Carol finally moved to Fountain HIlls, Kay invited her to be part of the Fountain Fashions Family. She loves working at the store with Kay and the girls. She enjoys getting to know her customers & helping them find that perfect outfit. Carol strives to make sure each customer has a personal, wonderful & FUN shopping experience at "Our Store" often going on a mission to ensure that each client finds exactly what they are looking for!
Kim Scott -
Originally from Kansas City, MO - Kim found herself over time in Phoenix. She has worked for Nieman Marcus in the Couture department. Her eye for clothing and passion for putting the customer first had her on track to be an amazing associate. As opportunities go, she then came to Fountain hills to work in Sellzy's boutique. She found her home at Fountain Fashions. "Kay has the longest established women's boutique in Fountain Hills and I love working for her!" Kim has a passion for Joseph Ribkoff & Conrad C
© 2017 Synnon Multimedia Contact Us


People living at Portishead Marina are pressing for additional double yellow lines to be painted on roads around the development – even offering to pay for the work themselves.
The move follows increasing frustration about the lack of parking restrictions at the marina, with motorists often parking inconsiderably, blocking access for vehicles.
North Somerset Council was forced to paint double and single yellow lines along Phoenix Way and Newfoundland Way last year due to badly parked cars blocking access along the route for larger vehicles.
And this month bus operator First withdrew the X3A service – which runs in the early mornings and evenings – from Newfoundland Way or Phoenix Way because of continuing access problems.
Residents living in other areas in and around the marina are now asking North Somerset to introduce further restrictions.
And where the authority says it doesn't have the cash to fund the work, residents are offering to raise the money themselves.
Councillor David Pasley, who represents the marina, said: "We are being asked to expend the double yellow lines on roads in and around the marina.
"Residents are becoming so frustrated with the inconsiderate and bad parking that they are even offering to fund the work themselves.
"We regularly see incidences of cars parked on side roads and also on the pavements, making access difficult for other vehicles.
"Request have been forwarded to our highways department for consideration.
"We have already seen bus services cancelled because of the issues with badly parked cars on the marina.
However increasing the amount of regulations may not be straight forward as parts of the marina are still in the hands of the developers and have yet to be adopted by the council.
Mr Pasley said enforcement of the newly painted double yellow lines is being 'stepped up'.
"We are treating this seriously due to the ongoing threat to bus services, " added Mr Pasley.
The parking issues have also caused problems for other large vehicles such as refuse and recycling trucks which have been unable to get along the routes.
Inconsiderate parking has long been a bug bear of residents and visitors to the marina.
Concerns have also been raised about emergency vehicles being to access homes and businesses.