Oink is just a few months old, but it has already lost the war against Foursquare. Although publicly the two companies are not rivals, I believe it's time for Team Milk to call it quits and move on to their next project. Foursquare is an unstoppable train on the quest for adding the geolocation mobile layer of our world, and no other company can compete.
Oink, the first product out of the startup incubator Milk, was launched in November last year to a highly anticipated audience. Oink is another geolocation mobile recommendation application. Oink's differentiator is, you rate things, not places. So if you go to a restaurant, you can rate a particular dish, rather than the establishment itself.
Oink has a lot of good things going for it, including an very talented team lead by Kevin Rose and Daniel Burka, but I believe it's time for the team to move on to their next project as Oink will never be able to compete with the juggernaut that is Foursquare. Here's a breakdown of why I think it's time to move on.
When our children look back at this period of the Internet, it may well be known as the era of the geolocation wars. The geolocation wars began when two opposing rivals launched similar products at the South by South West conference, those two rivals were Foursquare and Gowalla. The battle raged between the two rivals for a while, both furiously adding value and users to their products. Facebook fleetingly entered the battle with it's Places feature, but it was Foursquare that finally won the war when Facebook announced they were killing their Places feature and decided to acquire Gowalla in late 2011.
Oink is a late entry to the geolocation wars. While technically, the product is more about rating items, rather than locations, the two services really go hand in hand.
But the problem is, there really isn't room for two services that rate either an item or a location. If you're out in a new city, you are only going to pick one of the services to find a place to eat or a nightclub or bar to visit. Using two services is too complicated for the average person to make a decision.
The same goes for adding value to either of the services. When you find a bar you like, are you really going to add tips and photos to two services? At the minute you can rate an item in Oink and have that check you in on Foursquare, but then you lose the value of using Foursquare.
Foursquare has recently announced they have over 10 million users and over 1.5 billion check-ins. That means that Oink already has an inferior product because the aggregated data is so valuable to making high quality recommendations. Foursquare uses a much less intuitive way of surfacing good things to do a certain location through their lists and tips features. Oink really has nailed this aspect of their product because they make it incredibly easy to find the best item within that location. You can then compare items within different distances, whereas Foursquare is much more of a Yelp type experience, where tips are just written notes left by other users. But you have to ask yourself the question, how long before Foursquare adds a feature similar to Oinks item ranking?
One of the major differences between the two services are their respective business moats. By a moat I mean, what is protecting the company from rivals? At the minute, Oink's moat consists of a beautifully designed application, a talented team and a couple of unique features they have brought to the geolocation table. Unfortunately, this isn't a very big moat. Foursquare on the other hand have a very large moat in their huge user numbers and check-in data.
Oink and Foursquare share a common goal. To become a utility application that can make insightful recommendations to the user based upon their past actions, likes, friends activity and location. Foursquare have already made significant progress in reaching this goal by acquiring a huge data set and building their Explore and Radar features both in the mobile apps and on the web. I predict that before the end of 2012, Team Milk will decide to cut their loses and move onto their next project.


text:
Limbic Entertainment est un studio allemand de développement de jeux vidéo fondé en 2002 et situé à Langen.

Le studio est surtout connu pour sa collaboration avec l'éditeur français Ubisoft concernant la série des Might and Magic et Heroes of Might and Magic puisqu'ils ont notamment développé les opus Might and Magic Heroes VI, Might and Magic X: Legacy et Might and Magic Heroes VII. Le studio a développé le jeu Tropico 6. Le jeu sera édité par Kalypso Media.

Jeux développés

Notes et références

Développeur de jeux vidéo
Entreprise fondée en 2002
Entreprise de jeux vidéo ayant son siège en Allemagne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Nonku gets dragged after this picture of Ayanda was shared on social media see what they had to say
January 19, 2023 Tome Mark
Ayanda Ncwane is a popular South African actress, singer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is well known for being her late husband's manager while he was alive. He was the famous Gospel artist, S'fiso Ncwane. She is also the president of Africa Gospel Awards and CEO of Ncwane Communications. She is the founder of the Ayanda Ncwane Women's carnival which is held in Ndwedwe.
Continue reading Nonku gets dragged after this picture of Ayanda was shared on social media see what they had to say →
Meet DJ Tira's wife, Gugu Khathi, that left fans speechless with recent pictures on Instagram
Gugu Khathi is a South African social media sensation who has several titles, including mother, wife, and businesswoman. Born on August 25, 1990, the 33-year-old is known to South Africans and the rest of the globe as DJ Tira's wife as of 2023. She has been in the media before, but she gained greater attention after marrying DJ Tira. Gugu Khathi, who was born and raised in Soweto, comes from a very warm and lovely family, which motivates her to apply it in her own family.
The attractive award-winning entrepreneur is also known for her fashion sense and as a beauty expert. Gugu Khathi never leaves the house without looking great; she is always lovely in her clothing and makeup. She is incredibly self-assured and feels gorgeous even when she is not wearing cosmetics. The stunning wife of DJ Tira has recently taken admirers by surprise with her Instagram photos. Below are the photos she shared, which prompted many people to express compliments in the comments area.
Continue reading Meet DJ Tira's wife, Gugu Khathi, that left fans speechless with recent pictures on Instagram →
SkeemSaam: Ma'Ntuli Left Disappointed After Pretty Don't Want To Marry Lehasa But See What Will Happ
Pretty Don't Want To Marry Lehasa But See What Will Happ
By Mathebula (self media writer) | 12 hours ago
https://opr.news/s6254cff3230118en_za?link=1&client=news
The Prehasa transport is sinking. this episode was clashing for me Pretty picking her Tranquility and Lehasa understanding that she is a decent young lady.
Presently he realizes she wouldn't fret abandoning all the captivating stuff though Khwezi fundamentally constrained herself on him to continue to live. He'll currently get a hold of himself and manage Khwezi and her cronies.
Continue reading SkeemSaam: Ma'Ntuli Left Disappointed After Pretty Don't Want To Marry Lehasa But See What Will Happ →
"Love always wins" Nonku Williams recently shared adorable moments with her life partner.
Love is the most powerful tool that can conquer the most grievous pain caused by a hateful individual. Love can cause a person to do extraordinary things in order to win someone's heart and trust. Love will go above and beyond the normal procedure in doing well to others, just because they care.
Continue reading "Love always wins" Nonku Williams recently shared adorable moments with her life partner. →
3 friends opened a restaurant in Pretoria and they used to sleep at the restaurant
They have made great establishment for themselves, and they will become dependent on themselves. It may not be good to become dependent on someone or your partner. Having to make demands on someone's money it would not be good. For the three ladies, they have changed that of reality of life.
Continue reading 3 friends opened a restaurant in Pretoria and they used to sleep at the restaurant →
Sne Mseleku left Mzansi speechless with her latest post looking beautiful.
Sne Mseleku is a well recognized South African media personality. She is vibrant and embracing woman with massive thoughts on how to make her life better. She is beautiful and amazing woman who has a sense of humor and personality. She is talented and ambitious woman who is working very hard to achieve her goals and have a brighter future.
She is the daughter of the famous known South African businessman and pastor Musa Mseleku. She came to spotlight after her appearance on Uthando Nesthembu reality series on Mzansi Magic.
Continue reading Sne Mseleku left Mzansi speechless with her latest post looking beautiful. →
Lootlove celebrates her twins being four years old. Leaving fans amazed.
Sometimes we believe God's existence and his love for us through our little humans that we have. Because they are definitely magic. How they are able to comprehend everything at a young age, just screams God. We are blessed to have them and they make us want to change our lives for the better.
Continue reading Lootlove celebrates her twins being four years old. Leaving fans amazed. →
Connie Ferguson recently left Mzansi stunned with her latest post on social media.
Fitness goals are an essential part of your wellness journey. By setting goals, you are better able to hold yourself accountable, show yourself what you are capable of, and can also help you push through the more difficult moments to make a longer-lasting change.
Continue reading Connie Ferguson recently left Mzansi stunned with her latest post on social media. →
"Skeem Saam Must Fall" || Viewers Are Angry After This Happened To Lehasa On Yesterday's Episode
Skeem Saam is one of the country's top television soap opera that really makes people to be more happy with their content. It is an award winning telenovela that is said to be really informative and always encouraging viewers to do good things. Some viewers have said that it has touched their lives in a positive way that always leave them amazed. The cast is widely known for creating storylines that always teach people life important lessons at all times.
Just after some young kids ended their lives due to bullying, Skeem Saam cast saw it fit to make a storyline that will send a strong message to others. Bullying is one of the major problems being faced in the country, and what is more concerning is that some people have been victims of such even at workplaces. At workplaces people are supposed to live their lives comfortably and peacefully. This cast has made sure that they send a strong message about work bullying.
Continue reading "Skeem Saam Must Fall" || Viewers Are Angry After This Happened To Lehasa On Yesterday's Episode →
She' s got too much drama this one, people drag Maweni for blocking this person see who she blocked
Gogo Maweni is a well-known South African doctor, consultant, social media influencer, entrepreneur, and television personality
Continue reading She' s got too much drama this one, people drag Maweni for blocking this person see who she blocked →
← Previous 1 2 3 … 626 Next →

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
ASEAN SURVEYING EDUCATION FORUM
FIFA 18 News: EA Sports Activities Reveals ESports Expansion Plans For Brand Spanking New Sport
marthapokorny77
Finest Buy has posted the boxart for FIFA 18. It ought to hopefully affirm – once and for all – the sports game's final name on Switch. EA additionally dropped a FIFA 18 teaser trailer, and dang, this sport is wanting good. Many will agree that all of these games look great thanks to the game engine and so FIFA 18on the Nintendo Switch could be worse off without it. We anticipate EA to take the FIFA 17 Internet App down for the transition a number of days previous to this. FUT Webstart will probably be accessible on the FIFA 18 Internet App for returning FIFA players. As with every year, EA Sports will launch the full model of FIFA 18 in early September, right after the top of the summer switch window. The announcement was made by EA's Peter Moore when he opened as much as say that a separate model of FIFA 18was being built exclusively for Nintendo's upcoming console.
As expected of the Switch's unique portability, players can convey FIFA 18 wherever they need by disconnecting it from the home dock. Due to this fact, if a participant isn't enjoying in the same league as the dad or mum membership, you may only see their stats for cup competitions. EA Sports FIFA 18 World Cup Recreation Mode Introduced? If a Participant is injured he should instantly be provided with a succesful substitute and the game should grant him go away for as much time as he want relying on the damage. Five a side sport mode, Ultimate Team? New Team Styles: gives A1 groups more selection, making them extra difficult opponents. The truth is, you would make the identical argument for any of the highest leagues on this planet, and due to this fact FIFA must be transferring in the direction of incorporating extra tactical elements into FIFA 18, and past. FIFA is also called FIFA soccer and FIFA soccer and FIFA 18 is the most recent video sport sequence of football association.
It occurred to be certainly one of three pictures New Zealand had in the game. Ronaldo previously appeared on the cover of competitor "Professional Evolution Soccer" on three occasions. Cristiano Ronaldo will grace the cover. Announced through his Twitter account, Kurt Angle would be the pre-order bonus for WWE 2K18. Included might be two playable variations of Angle: the WWE "American Hero" model and the ECW "Wrestling Machine" persona. Nevertheless quite a few business home owners will decrease the worth on the launch with a goal to promote extra which is a wise move and positively good factor for potential patrons. Moore also dropped a few different bits of information that present extra clarity on the Switch version. In most FIFAs the cover star is somebody who is extremely popular, in the past we have seen stars like Rooney (not anymore), Messi, Reus, Hazard and more. Along with naming Ronaldo as this year's cowl athlete and announcing the game's launch date, EA launched a brand new trailer showcasing some in-game footage of the upcoming title. For more information on cheap fut 18 coins have a look at our own internet site.
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text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

using KSP;
using UnityEngine;

/// <summary>
/// An Extended version of the UnityEngine.MonoBehaviour Class
/// Basically a template for a Window, has the MonoBehaviourExtended properties and extra bits to make drawing a window easier
/// </summary>
public abstract class MonoBehaviourWindow : MonoBehaviourExtended
{
    #region "Constructors"
    internal MonoBehaviourWindow()
        : base()
    {
        this.WindowID = UnityEngine.Random.Range(1000, 2000000);
        this.Hide();
        LogFormatted_DebugOnly("WindowID:{0}", WindowID);
    }
    ///CANT USE THE ONES BELOW HERE AS WE NEED TO INSTANTIATE THE WINDOW USING AddComponent()
    //internal MonoBehaviourWindow(string Caption)
    //    : this()
    //{
    //    this.WindowCaption = Caption;
    //}
    //internal MonoBehaviourWindow(string Caption, Rect Position)
    //    : this(Caption)
    //{
    //    this.WindowRect = Position;
    //}

    //TODO: Look at using this
    //  http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/445444/add-component-in-one-line-with-parameters.html

    //internal static MonoBehaviourWindow CreateComponent(GameObject AttachTo)
    //{
    //    MonoBehaviourWindow monoReturn;
    //    monoReturn = AttachTo.AddComponent<MonoBehaviourWindow>();
    //    return monoReturn;
    //}

    #endregion

    internal override void Awake()
    {
        //just some debugging stuff here
        LogFormatted_DebugOnly("New MBWindow Awakened");
        //base.Awake();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// WindowID variable - randomly set at window creation
    /// </summary>
    internal Int32 WindowID { get; private set; }
    /// <summary>
    /// Window position on screen, is fed in to the Window routine and the resulting position after GUILayout is what you read
    /// </summary>
    internal Rect WindowRect;

    /// <summary>
    /// Caption of the Window
    /// </summary>
    internal string WindowCaption = null;
    /// <summary>
    /// Style of the Window
    /// </summary>
    internal GUIStyle WindowStyle = null;
    /// <summary>
    /// Layout Options for the GUILayout.Window function
    /// </summary>
    internal GUILayoutOption[] WindowOptions = null;

    /// <summary>
    /// Whether the window is draggable by mouse
    /// </summary>
    internal Boolean DragEnabled = false;
    /// <summary>
    /// A defined area (like a handle) where you can drag from. This is from the top left corner of the window. Lets you make isso it can be only draggable from a certain point, icon, title bar, etc
    /// </summary>
    internal Rect DragRect;

    /// <summary>
    /// Whether the window can be moved off the visible screen
    /// </summary>
    internal Boolean ClampToScreen = true;
    /// <summary>
    /// How close to the edges it can get if clamping is enabled - this can be negative if you want to allow it to go off screen by a certain amount
    /// </summary>
    internal RectOffset ClampToScreenOffset = new RectOffset(0, 0, 0, 0);

    private bool Visible;

    public bool isVisible()
    {
        return Visible;
    }

    public void Show()
    {
        Visible = true;
    }

    public void Hide()
    {
        Visible = false;
    }

    override internal void OnGUIEvery()
    {
        if (Visible)
        {
            if (Event.current.type == EventType.Repaint || Event.current.isMouse)
            {
                //myPreDrawQueue(); // Your current on preDrawQueue code
            }
            DrawGUI(); // Your current on postDrawQueue code
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// This is the Code that draws the window and sets the skin
    /// !!!! You have to set the skin before drawing the window or you will scratch your head for ever
    /// </summary>
    private void DrawGUI()
    {
        //this sets the skin on each draw loop
        GUI.skin = SkinsLibrary.CurrentSkin;

        //keep the window locked to the screen if its supposed to be
        if (ClampToScreen)
            WindowRect=WindowRect.ClampToScreen(ClampToScreenOffset);

        //Are we using a custom style of the skin style for the window
        if (WindowStyle == null) {
            WindowRect = GUILayout.Window(WindowID, WindowRect, DrawWindowInternal, WindowCaption, WindowOptions);
        } else {
            WindowRect = GUILayout.Window(WindowID, WindowRect, DrawWindowInternal, WindowCaption, WindowStyle, WindowOptions);
        }

        //Draw the tooltip of its there to be drawn
        if (TooltipsEnabled)
            DrawToolTip();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Private function that handles wrapping the drawwindow functionality with the supplementary stuff - dragging, tooltips, etc
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="id">The ID of the Window being drawn</param>
    private void DrawWindowInternal(Int32 id)
    {
        //This calls the must be overridden code
        DrawWindow(id);

        //Set the Tooltip variable based on whats in this window
        if (TooltipsEnabled)
            SetTooltipText();

        //Are we allowing window drag
        if (DragEnabled)
            if (DragRect.height == 0 && DragRect.width == 0)
                GUI.DragWindow();
            else
                GUI.DragWindow(DragRect);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// This is the must be overridden function that equates to the content of the window
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="id">The ID of the Window being drawn</param>
    internal abstract void DrawWindow(Int32 id);

    #region Tooltip Work
    /// <summary>
    /// Whether tooltips should be displayed for this window
    /// </summary>
    internal Boolean TooltipsEnabled = false;

    /// <summary>
    /// Is a Tooltip currently showing
    /// </summary>
    internal Boolean TooltipShown { get; private set; }
    /// <summary>
    /// Whereis the tooltip positioned
    /// </summary>
    internal Rect TooltipPosition { get { return _TooltipPosition; } }
    private Rect _TooltipPosition = new Rect();

    /// <summary>
    /// An offset from the mouse position to put the top left of the tooltip. Use this to get the tooltip out from under the cursor
    /// </summary>
    internal Vector2d TooltipMouseOffset = new Vector2d();

    /// <summary>
    /// Whether the Tooltip should stay where first drawn or follow the mouse
    /// </summary>
    internal Boolean TooltipStatic = false;

    /// <summary>
    /// How long the tooltips should be displayed before auto-hiding
    ///
    /// Set to 0 to have them last for ever
    /// </summary>
    internal Int32 TooltipDisplayForSecs = 15;

    /// <summary>
    /// Maximum width in pixels of the tooltip window. Text will wrap inside that width.
    ///
    /// Set to 0 for unity default behaviour
    /// </summary>
    internal Int32 TooltipMaxWidth = 250;

    //Store the tooltip text from throughout the code
    private string strToolTipText = "";
    private string strLastTooltipText = "";

    //store how long the tooltip has been displayed for
    private Single fltTooltipTime = 0f;

    /// <summary>
    /// This is the meat of drawing the tooltip on screen
    /// </summary>
    private void DrawToolTip()
    {
        //Added drawing check to turn off tooltips when window hides
        if (TooltipsEnabled && Visible && (strToolTipText != "") && ((TooltipDisplayForSecs == 0) || (fltTooltipTime < (Single)TooltipDisplayForSecs)))
        {
            GUIContent contTooltip = new GUIContent(strToolTipText);
            GUIStyle styleTooltip = SkinsLibrary.CurrentTooltip;

            //if the content of the tooltip changes then reset the counter
            if (!TooltipShown || (strToolTipText != strLastTooltipText))
                fltTooltipTime = 0f;

            //Calc the size of the Tooltip
            _TooltipPosition.x = Event.current.mousePosition.x + (Single)TooltipMouseOffset.x;
            _TooltipPosition.y = Event.current.mousePosition.y + (Single)TooltipMouseOffset.y;

            //do max width calc if needed
            if (TooltipMaxWidth > 0) {
                //calc the new width and height
                float minwidth, maxwidth;
                SkinsLibrary.CurrentTooltip.CalcMinMaxWidth(contTooltip, out minwidth, out maxwidth); // figure out how wide one line would be
                _TooltipPosition.width = Math.Min(TooltipMaxWidth - SkinsLibrary.CurrentTooltip.padding.horizontal, maxwidth); //then work out the height with a max width
                _TooltipPosition.height = SkinsLibrary.CurrentTooltip.CalcHeight(contTooltip, TooltipPosition.width); // heres the result
            }
            else
            {
                //calc the new width and height
                Vector2 Size = SkinsLibrary.CurrentTooltip.CalcSize(contTooltip);
                _TooltipPosition.width = Size.x;
                _TooltipPosition.height= Size.y;

            }
            //set the style props for text layout
            styleTooltip.stretchHeight = !(TooltipMaxWidth > 0);
            styleTooltip.stretchWidth = !(TooltipMaxWidth > 0);
            styleTooltip.wordWrap = (TooltipMaxWidth > 0);

            //clamp it accordingly
            if (ClampToScreen)
                _TooltipPosition = _TooltipPosition.ClampToScreen(ClampToScreenOffset);

            //Draw the Tooltip
            GUI.Label(TooltipPosition, contTooltip, styleTooltip);
            //On top of everything
            GUI.depth = 0;

            //update how long the tip has been on the screen and reset the flags
            fltTooltipTime += Time.deltaTime;
            TooltipShown = true;
        }
        else
        {
            //clear the flags
            TooltipShown = false;
        }

        strLastTooltipText = strToolTipText;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// This function is run at the end of each draw loop to store the tooltiptext for later
    /// </summary>
    private void SetTooltipText()
    {
        if (Event.current.type == EventType.Repaint)
        {
            strToolTipText = GUI.tooltip;
        }
    }
    #endregion
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


OK... this one took a bit of work. Another track that was in my database with the words "information required" ... since I added it I guess I stopped looking (even though the internet got so much better since the 1990s), probably to the point where I may even have forgotten that it wasn't a Damon & Naomi original... although the French opening should have kept tipping me off.
Even now it wasn't simply a matter of typing the title (or some lyrics) into Google or Spotify, no this took a bit of serious Google-ing to get any sort of history for This Changing World... and what I have must not be considered in any way authoritative.
The original notes on my original Shimmy Disc copy of More Sad Hits (not to hand) must have credited the track to "J. C. Oliver" as that's how the song exists in the database. This undoubtedly contributed to my failed earlier research. J. C. Oliver is Jean-Claude Oliver (although Discogs suggests he's sometimes credited as Olivier). The recent 20|20|20 reissue of More Sad Hits credits the song to Oliver/Spyropolus/Valade ... this gave me a little more to go on.
I eventually tracked a version of the song down to Claudine Longet's 1970 album "Run Wild, Run Free" where the song was named "This Changing World (De l'automne a l'automne)" which was very similar to Damon & Naomi's version and was clearly the version that Damon & Naomi covered.
Claudine Longet has had an eventful live. She was married to Andy Williams, and later was convicted of accidentally shooting her boyfriend - there's plenty on the internet about her, I haven't gone much beyond her Wikipedia page for now.
Not for me? While this was the version that Damon & Naomi covered it clearly wasn't really the original.
In 1968, French duo Line et Willy represented Monaco in The Eurovision Song Contest with a song called "À chacun sa chanson" which was written by... J. C. Oliver and R. Valade, two of the three names on the More Sad Hits reissue. A bit more poking around found an EP of Line et Willy's Eurovision song, and on that EP was De l'automne a l'automne, also written by Oliver and Valade.
Jean-Claude Oliver (or Olivier) was the composer and Roger Valade wrote the lyrics to the song.
Sadly I haven't managed to track down a version of Line et Willy's original but if anyone has it please do let me know!
The third name was that of Diana Spyropolus who wrote the English lyrics for the second half of Claudine Longet's cover - I haven't managed to uncover much more about Ms Spyropolus - although I guess it could be this one ... but the 20 year gap between This Changing World and those books suggests otherwise).
Damon & Naomi's version was the closing track on their fantastic debut album More Sad Hits.
... although not as obscure as the b-side of the song that came fifth in a song for Norway in 1976.
Hmmm I think I may have gone a little too in-depth there!


text:
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/In-Today-s-Berlin-It-s-Hip-to-Be-Klezmer-The-2972412.php
In Today's Berlin, It's Hip to Be Klezmer / The playful Jewish music is the rage in Germany's biggest city, and a community once wiped out is getting back on its feet
Steve Kettmann, Chronicle Staff Writer
Published 4:00 am PST, Sunday, December 20, 1998
1998-12-20 04:00:00 PDT Berlin -- The air of change enveloping Berlin would be impossible to ignore even if its streets weren't cluttered with more construction cranes than any city in the world. Rents are rising, spiffy new restaurants are opening all over the place, and Germans are struggling anew with the weight of history, a struggle that took vivid and surprising form during this year's Jewish cultural festival.
The two-week festival culminated with a mesmerizing performance from a robust 80-year-old "Oberkantor" -- widely seen as a symbol of Berlin's Jewish community. Estrongo Nachama survived the death camps and right away set about helping the Jews of Berlin on the long, slow road to cultural revival. His golden voice and persistence helped him succeed in this mission, and before the Berlin Wall finally came down, Nachama was able to come and go between East and West, using music to try to make Berlin's Jewish community feel like a community.
So when he ambled out onto stage at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt auditorium, as a finale to the Jewish Cultural Days, the crowd stirred with anticipation. Leaning on his cane and looking a little shy at first, the charismatic Nachama made the most of his classical training as a young man in Greece. He belted out a spirited German-language version of "If I Were a Rich Man," a tune penned back in the 1960s at a time when the idea of a Jewish cultural revival in Berlin was at least as unthinkable as the end to the Cold War. Dignified and dapper, the cantor grinned with boyish exuberance as he worked through the familiar refrain: "Bubba-bubba- bubba-bubba-bubba-bubba-bu."
His heartfelt performance before a crowd made up mostly of gentiles served as a fitting finale to the two- week festival, which starts each year on November 9, the day after the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The weekend before Nachama peeled away so many dusty layers of history, the stage under the long felt banner trumpeting "Judische" culture was also dominated by a man past 70, Julie Epstein.
He was the only Epstein from the famous Epstein Brothers klezmer band fit enough to make the trip from the United States, and he and his fellow musicians brought a courtly dignity to making merry music on a brisk Berlin night.
Like others in the klezmer tradition, they worked swing and jazz into their music and cut loose with real flair at times. But even the best wedding musicians fade into the background, and years without applause left Julie Epstein choking up at the repeated standing ovations he earned this year in Berlin at a festival that has grown annually since it started 12 years ago.
"It's like 'The Jews are back!' and that's an amazing phenomenon," said 57-year-old Philadelphia resident Jack Kessler, leader of the Klingon Klezmer Band, a rollicking group that earned four encores at the festival. "I lost my family in the war. They all went to Auschwitz. So for me to come here, that's a heavy statement . . . .."
In fact, in Berlin, it's hip to be klezmer these days. A Jewish population that barely numbered in the four digits just after the war has now grown to more than 15,000. That's just one-tenth of the prewar total, and it reflects a large influx of Russians.
"A Tickle in the Heart," an American documentary on the Epsteins and klezmer, became popular in Germany and helped prod Germans into a few cautious steps toward embracing Jewish culture. If the moral hygiene at work is a little too obvious in its attempt to address decades of guilt, no one working to bring Jewish culture back in Berlin was complaining.
"I'm confronted with history every day here, and it's not easy," said Shelly Kupferberg, the creative director and PR person for this year's festival. "It can weigh you down. But you have to learn to cope with it. The festival shows that Jewish intellectual life isn't dead in Germany. It's full of life. Klezmer here in Berlin is very popular. I'd say it's a little too popular. People say, 'Oh, Jewish music is klezmer.' But it's more than that, too."
The festival included chamber music and some offerings that may have tried the patience of the crowd, such as an extended monologue on life in a Viennese cafe. But it also gave an opening to a trio of Russian Jews led by the bearish Mark Aizikovitch. There was widespread applause when Nachama pulled Aizikovitch to the mike during the big finale to sing along with him.
"We sang a song about a father losing a son," Aizikovitch explained later. "It says that men cry only at night. No one sees the tears of men. They are bitter tears, because they're secret."
Aizikovitch used to have a rock band in the Soviet Union, and he once performed a series of concerts in Leningrad with the legendary Russian rocker Boris Grebenshikov, front man for the seminal band Aquarium and the first Russian to have a music video on MTV. Aizikovitch came to Berlin in 1990 because he wanted to help make a difference, and he's as much a symbol of the Berlin Jewish community as Nachama.
One of his projects is to make a CD of children's songs in Yiddish, to help keep the language alive. "I want to work with children so that they learn the language," he said. "The songs make them improve their vocabulary and make them think." Nachama sees Aizikovitch as a successor, another man blessed with a great voice full of expressiveness, another man who can bring people together.
"He sings more with his soul than with his voice," Aizikovitch said of his mentor. "He is my role model. He sees that it's the same with me." Aizikovitch likes it in Berlin, but he does not know if he can stay indefinitely, and he does not expect ever to feel quite at home in the city that will become the German capital again within the year.
"Most of the people who come to our concerts here are Germans, very few Russians or Jews," he said. "Why? I don't know. Maybe because of guilt feelings."
Kupferberg, 24, represents another part of Berlin's Jewish community. She went to Vienna to round up musicians and writers to take part in this year's festival, and she's part of a surprising wave of creative energy in this notorious city. The full German cabinet just met in Berlin for the first time since the war years, in preparation for the government's relocation.
Kupferberg actually spoke of her parents having "escaped" Israel and Israeli politics to move to Berlin when she was a baby. They've lived in Berlin ever since. Like many of her generation there, she seems almost defiantly determined to forge a new outlook.
That effort will take years to play itself out, along with the unfolding physical transition so unmistakable in the streets of Berlin. Imaginative young people like Kupferberg will do their best to look forward, and escape the heavy presence of history in a city with notorious landmarks like Bebelplatz, where Nazi students burned thousands of books by Jewish authors in May 1933.
But the effort to look forward cannot progress without borrowing from the past, and that's what makes the effusion of interest in klezmer in Berlin so striking. It's a giddy, playful form of music that has been evolving as long as it has existed. Eastern European immigrants brought folk tunes -- some picked up from gypsies -- with them to the United States in the postwar years. But what we think of as klezmer keeps changing, and the Klingon Klezmer Band were proud to make sure everyone knew it.
Kessler, a former cantor, hopped around on stage, joined by his 27- year-old son Josef, who was playing an electric blue electric violin (picked up in California) with enough kinetic energy to make even somber Germans smile.
If klezmer, once thought to be nearing extinction, can thrive and reinvent itself, it almost makes you buy some of the giddier hopes of Berlin's Jewish community leaders, struggling to provide good news at a time when the legacies of the Holocaust remain so painfully unresolved in German public life.
"We can put an excellent groove together," Josef said at the cast party after the close of the festival, grinning at the wonder of it all. "We don't feel we have to put klezmer on a pedestal and make it become a museum piece."
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Beverly Hills Arbitration Lawyer Salar Atrizadeh Home
Contact Los Angeles Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorney Salar Atrizadeh
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution that is very similar to traditional litigation. A neutral third party (i.e., arbitrator) resides over the arbitration process. As such, the arbitrator reviews the complaint, evidence, and motions in lieu of a final proceeding. This final proceeding is much like a trial. Unlike mediation, arbitration is binding on the parties. Additionally, the parties do not have the recourse of appeal if the final ruling is not in their favor. Unlike mediation, where the courts review certain conclusions, the court does not have the authority to review and approve binding arbitration judgments. Ironically, the inability to appeal brings a sense of finality to arbitration judgments. The parties cannot seek further recourse from the court, so they are forced to accept the judgment as it stands and move away from the legal dispute at hand. However, if a party can show that exigent circumstances exist – such as fraud, bias, or inappropriate conduct, then it may call on the judicial system to act on the binding arbitration judgment.
Nonetheless, arbitration is an attractive alternative to litigation because it allows the parties to select their own arbitrator and set the rules of evidence and procedures that will govern the proceedings. Arbitration also moves much faster than litigation and is more cost efficient. However, for the purpose of moving arbitration along, some parties may opt to severely restrict relevant evidence and governing regulations. It is important for parties to establish the framework that will provide for a neutral and equal resolution of the dispute. This flexibility also allows parties to resolve their resolutions more quickly since the framework is most conducive to the specific circumstances of the underlying matter. The parties may also decide to adopt the established rules of a particular institution that facilitates the arbitration, such as the American Arbitration Association.
In general, contracts will contain a binding arbitration clause that compels the parties to solve all future legal disputes via arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act protects contractual provisions that require resolution of legal problems through arbitration. This federal statute also limits the grounds upon which courts may review or set aside binding arbitration awards. Commonly, employers will include a mandatory arbitration provision in employment contracts.
Arbitration has been an especially prominent dispute resolution tool in cases involving allegations of cybersquatting. Under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, parties may initiate arbitration to establish rights to a domain name. Although, such technical and specific arbitration methods may take longer than average, the costs generally fall below the cost of traditional litigation. The involved parties may file suit under the arbitration system that the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") has created to provide a streamlined procedure for such arbitration.
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text:
Q: PLS-00103 error while creating package with overloading functions Please help in finding the error while creating the package with overloading functions.
Error shown:
PL-00103: Encountered the symbol "NUMOU"when expecting one of the following: language.
PL-00103: Encountered the symbol "Function" when expecting one of the following: end not pragma final instantiable order overriding static member constructor map.
code:
create or replace package over_load as

function print_it(numin varchar2) return number is numou number;

begin
numou := to_number(numin, '999,999.00');
dbms_output.put_line(numou);
return numou;

exception
when others then
dbms_output.put_line('Wrong string format');

return numou;

end;

function print_it(datin date) return varchar2 is datout varchar2(30);

dumcha varchar2(30);
dumdat date;

begin
dumcha := to_char(datin);
dumdat := to_date(dumcha,'FXDD-MON-YYYY');

datout := to_char(datin, 'fmMOn, DD YYYY');
dbms_output.put_line(datout);
return datout;

Exception
when others then
dbms_output.put_line('Wrong input date format');
return '0';

end;

end;

A: In Oracle RDBMS You MUST specify package (for public methods) and package body containing implementation for all public methods and optionally You can add some private methods.
Package specification:
create or replace package over_load as

  function print_it(numin varchar2) return number;
  function print_it(datin date) return varchar2;

end;

And body:
create or replace package body over_load as

  function print_it(numin varchar2) return number is
    numou number;
  begin
    numou := to_number(numin, '999,999.00');
    dbms_output.put_line(numou);
    return numou;
  exception
    when others then
      dbms_output.put_line('Wrong string format');
      return numou;
  end;

  function print_it(datin date) return varchar2 is
    datout varchar2(30);
    dumcha varchar2(30);
    dumdat date;
  begin
    dumcha := to_char(datin);
    dumdat := to_date(dumcha,'FXDD-MON-YYYY');

    datout := to_char(datin, 'fmMOn, DD YYYY');
    dbms_output.put_line(datout);

    return datout;
  exception
    when others then
      dbms_output.put_line('Wrong input date format');
      return '0';
  end;
end;

NOTE THAT:
To enable output from DBMS_OUTPUT in SQL*Plus You must enable serveroutput:
SQL> set serveroutput on size 30000;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The Great barracuda is amongst the top predators in their environment and use very highly developed smell and vision senses to locate their prey. When attacking, the barracuda will charge at fast speed (approximately 12 ms-1) and ram their target. They then unleash the power of their jaws which allows them to slice through their prey, even those larger than the barracuda itself. The jaw of the barracuda is formed in such a way that the upper and lower jaws form 'rows' of teeth. The top jaw has smaller serrated teeth on the outside and larger canines on the inside, and the teeth of the lower jaw fit between them when the mouth is shut. When the jaw closes this acts like scissors and slices through prey with ease.


text:
Limitations of Internet searching for understanding the commissioning and delivery of health services: findings from a systematic review of diagnostic ultrasound services
Chambers, D. orcid.org/0000-0002-0154-0469, Booth, A. orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-3880, Baxter, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-6034-5495 et al. (2 more authors) (2016) Limitations of Internet searching for understanding the commissioning and delivery of health services: findings from a systematic review of diagnostic ultrasound services. In: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Society for Social Medicine, 60th Annual Scientific Meeting, 14-16 Sep 2016, University of York, UK. , A96-A96.
Background Diagnostic ultrasound services are commonly provided by direct access to hospital-based facilities for GPs. Services may also be delivered in primary care or community settings, for example by appropriately trained GPs or mobile services. As part of a larger project, we used an Internet and grey literature search to identify current providers and models of service in the UK NHS (primarily England). Methods Internet searches were performed using the Google search engine. We also searched OpenGrey (European grey literature database) and the website of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Diagnostic Evidence Co-Operative (DEC) Oxford, which specialises in diagnostic tests suitable for use in primary care. The first 100 results from Google searches were examined. Websites of companies providing diagnostic ultrasound services in NHS community settings and of 'NHS community diagnostic centres' (providing diagnostic ultrasound alongside other tests) were searched for evaluations or fuller descriptions of the services and any information on governance, accreditation and similar issues. Results We identified details of 22 companies providing diagnostic ultrasound services, one of which appeared to be an exclusively private service. Details available on the company websites were highly variable. Commonly reported features included time standards for appointments and report delivery and patient satisfaction ratings. Links to the NHS were emphasised by most of the companies. It appeared that many staff worked part-time for the companies and the remainder of the time for NHS organisations. Services were generally commissioned through the 'any qualified provider' (AQP) system. All the services appeared to follow the model of a mobile service operating through GP surgeries and other community sites. Services were staffed by radiographers (and healthcare assistants) with access to consultant radiologists as required. We also identified websites for four 'community diagnostic centres' and five 'primary care centres' (diagnostic services integrated with GP surgeries). We did not identify any listings of what types of services are being commissioned and by whom or any reports of evaluations of services. Conclusion Community-based services run by non-NHS providers with links to the NHS for governance and quality control are common. However, our findings should be regarded as a snapshot rather than a comprehensive list. At present it appears difficult to compile information about service delivery and evaluation from Internet sources. There is an urgent need for more comprehensive information to support commissioning decisions and inform the public.
Chambers, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0154-0469
Booth, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-3880
Baxter, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6034-5495
Johnson, M.
Goyder, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-1888
© 2016 BMJ. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
Accepted: 14 September 2016
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH 13/05/12
https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208064.194
Filename: Author%2520Accepted%2520Manuscript%2520-%2520JECH%2520Poster.pdf


Why Gandalf, what big sleeves you have!
It is in the nature of fantasy that you often encounter individuals who are a little eccentric. This character has a unique world view, which although perfectly rational to them seems to us a little 'off'. This is their soundtrack.
There's magic in the air and a difficult task is dealt with in short order with the merest swish of a wand.


text:
Another New Croatian Bridge Planned for Central Dalmatia
September the 26th, 2022 - Peljesac Bridge might have taken all of the limelight away from, well, just about everything else for a while, but there will soon be another Croatian bridge in town.
As Morski writes, by the end of this year, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste) will announce a tender for the technical and design solution of the new bridge over Kastela Bay, which will connect Split and Kastela and at the same time represent the fastest connection of the second largest city in the country with a highway, this state-owned company confirmed for tportal.
This facility is part of a wider project called ''New entrance to Split/Novi ulaz u Split'', and it includes the construction of a new road from the Vucevica intersection on the highway, through the Kozjak tunnel and over the two-lane road to Kastela, then over the aforementioned bridge into Split and then finally to the ferry port. It is worth several billion kuna and four years ago it was included in the list of strategic projects of the Republic of Croatia.
It was announced that the part from Vucevica to Kastela will be financed by Croatian Roads from its own resources, including the tunneling through Kozjak, and for that part of the investment, the public procurement procedure for the execution of the works for this new Croatian bridge has already been initiated. The documentation for the bridge itself will be prepared for financing from European Union (EU) funds.
While it won't take anywhere near as long as Peljesac Bridge did to come to fruition, the completion of the entire project for this new Croatian bridge in Central Dalmatia is not expected before the year 2027.
In addition to the traffic connection of the congested Split agglomeration, the ''New entrance to Split'' project should result in a welcome a twenty-kilometre shorter journey between this city and the City of Zagreb, and finally enable Kastela to have a direct connection with the highway. In addition, it will bring a new road access to Split itself, a city located on a peninsula, which has been dependent on two roads on its eastern part for many decades now.
Apart from the confirmation of the tender for the new bridge, Croatian Roads did not want to provide any additional information on this topic.
Across the wider Split area, Croatian Roads currently implementing several projects worth several billion kuna, but despite the announcements, physical works haven't yet started in most of them. It is precisely in this area that the two busiest points in all of Croatia are located, the intersections of Solin and Stobrec, which are used by about 60,000 vehicles on a daily basis, while the ferry port with five million passengers a year is almost impossible to access during the hot summer months.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.
New Croatian Road Rules in Force Today: Here's What's Changed
July the 30th, 2022 - There are some brand new Croatian road rules in force as of today, so let's take a look into what's changing.
As Index vijesti writes, new Croatian road rules are in force today following amendments to the Law on Amendments to the Law on Road Traffic Safety, which introduces significant innovations in the legal regulations in the field of road traffic safety across the country.
It regards some comprehensive changes to the umbrella legal regulation on driving in Croatia, for which detailed preliminary analyses were made in order to improve existing practices from every perspective necessary for greater safety and more practical driving conditions, and all related professions and institutions were consulted during the drafting process as were people and road users themselves, they stated from the Ministry of the Interior (MUP).
Below are some of the most important changes to the Croatian road rules
New categories of vehicles – Personal means of transport such as electric scooters, etc
For the first time ever, the participation of electric scooters, electric unicycles, segways and the like on the country's road system has been fully and legally regulated. They have been classified into a special category of vehicles, for which a common name - a personal means of transport - was introduced.
A personal means of transport is a vehicle that isn't classified in any vehicle category in accordance with special regulations. It doesn't have a seat, and the working volume of its engine isn't greater than 25 cm³, the continuous power of the electric motor isn't stronger than 0.6 kW and when on a flat road, it doesn't develop a speed greater than 25 km/h. This of course regards self-balancing vehicles, such as unicycle with motor or electric drives, scooters with motor or electric drives, etc.).
Due to this new definition of the aforementioned means of transport and the introduction of a new term for it, other provisions of the Act relating to their safe participation in traffic have also been adjusted. The new law prescribes the right and manner of using the surfaces on which they can travel and the conditions that must be met by these vehicles and their drivers when using the roads.
Additionally, drivers of these so-called ''personal vehicles'', as well as bike riders, in accordance with the new Law, may not drive their vehicle using headphones, as this would reduce their ability to react quickly and safely drive the vehicle with their full focus. In case of a violation of the prescribed obligation, a sanction is prescribed, i.e. a fine in the amount of 300 kuna.
The new Act additionally prescribes areas where the driver is obliged to adjust the speed of their vehicle. As such, there are so-called ''other surfaces'' so that these new regulations, at least in that part, would also be applicable to new categories of vehicles, i.e. to vehicles which fall into the ''personal means of transport'' category. In addition, the new Croatian road rules allow drivers (category B) to drive motorised tricycles in Croatia, but this is subject to certain conditions.
The temporary incapacity to drive and the obligation of a doctor
The amendment to Article 233 introduces an obligation for all doctors, i.e. the doctor who examined or treated the driver or the patient's chosen doctor (GP) to warn the driver of their temporary incapacity, which cannot be longer than six months. Doctors are obliged to record the given warning in the patient's medical documentation.
After the expiration of the period of the driver's temporary incapacity, the driver will not be referred for another medical examination, and misdemeanor sanctions are prescribed for doctors who fail to notify the driver of their temporary incapacity to drive and who fail to properly record this information in the patient's medical documentation.
Sanctions are also in force for drivers who drive a vehicle on the road when they have been issued a doctor's warning about a temporary health condition which stops them from doing so.
However, it's important point out that the provisions on the temporary incapacity of the driver to drive a vehicle will come into force on the day of the adoption of amendments to the Ordinance on health examinations of drivers and candidates for drivers, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health.
A deadline has been set for the Health Minister (Vili Beros), with the prior consent of the Interior Minister (Davor Bozinovic) to harmonise the Ordinance on health examinations of drivers and candidates for drivers ("Official Gazette/Narodne Novine", no. 137/15, 132/17 and 10/20) with the provisions of this Act within 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Act.
In relation to safety and health factors, the new Croatian road rules prescribe a sanction of 300 kuna for a driver choosing to drive a vehicle without a first aid kit in it when using the road, in accordance with the rulebook (pravilnik) prescribing the technical conditions of vehicles participating in road traffic.
A corridor for the passage of emergency vehicles
Crisis situations over the last two years have shown insufficient prominence and knowledge of the necessary reactions of road users in order to allow emergency vehicles and personnel uninhibited, urgent access to incident locations as easily and quickly as possible.
Therefore, these new Croatian road rules clearly define the need for a corridor for the passage of emergency services vehicles on roads with more than two traffic lanes in the event of an incident situation. This will be done in order for drivers to acquire the understanding of the need for the move, and to alter driving culture itself in the sense of there needing to be a uniform way of ensuring a safe corridor for the passage of emergency services vehicles. The corridor defined by the Law is uniform with other member states of the European Union.
An introduction of new terms and higher fines for speeding
New terms as part of new Croatian road rules have also been defined, such as "traffic zone in a protected cultural-historical entity'', ''contact zone", "assistive pedestrian means", "rider" and "automated vehicle".
For the first time, the participation of ''riders'' in road traffic has been regulated, and a new term has been introduced that describes a fully automated vehicle, i.e. a vehicle that can move along the road without the presence of a driver (a fully automated vehicle without a steering wheel).
In this regard, a sanction has also been prescribed for drivers who use vehicles with built-in driver assistance systems (partially automated vehicles) in such a way that the vehicle steers independently, and at the same time, i.e. while driving, the drivers don't even sit in the driver's seat, which means that they aren't in the proper ''form'' to react quickly in unexpected situations or unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, these new Croatian road laws regulate the ban on parking vehicles in places intended only for the charging of electric vehicles and enable the sanctioning of negligent drivers, as well as the relocation of vehicles that don't use charging services and are parked in places intended only for charging electric vehicles.
In accordance with the examples from practice, the obligation to submit credible data about the person who was driving the vehicle at the requested time has also been changed or expanded.
Namely, according to the new Croatian road rules, the user of a vehicle is required to provide reliable information about the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offense at the request of a police officer or an official from a local self-government unit. Since the current amount of the fine seems to have failed to deter drivers from committing violations, the new Croatian road rules have seen an increase in the amount of the fine issued for speed violations (which is most often imposed in the event of a traffic accident) from 500 kuna to 1,000 kuna.
Other important changes
The latest amendments to the Law also clarify the provisions of the article of the Act that refer to the responsibilities of a person who has access to dual controls of a vehicle during a driving test. In addition, license plates with red and green numbers and letters have been abolished.
It has been made much easier for both legal or natural persons to carry out the work they are engaged in (the production, upgrading, servicing, transport or retail sale of vehicles), i.e. the use of portable/removable license plates is now permitted for the purposes of transporting vehicles to their place of technical inspection and vehicle registration, for which until now, the use of test license plates was prescribed.
Persons who have completed at least an undergraduate university study or an undergraduate professional study, lasting three years in the traffic department (urban), are now allowed to perform the work of vehicle technical inspection supervisor and the work of vehicle testing and documentation processing, considering the compatibility of the education programme for the mentioned professions.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
870 Million Kuna for Croatian Roads, State Guarantees Full Amount
April the 29th, 2022 - Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) is set to get credit in the amount of 870 million kuna, and the state is the one who will guarantee it all.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, several days ago, the Croatian Government approved a debt payable to Croatian roads with a state guarantee in the amount of 870 million kuna. With this massive long-term loan, the state-owned company Croatian roads will finally manage to close all of its liabilities on existing loans and secure further financing for various projects and other business plans this year.
It will settle liabilities in the amount of 66.7 million kuna on the loan provided by PBZ (Privredna banka Zagreb) and 214.4 million kuna on the loan provided by a community of banks including Erste, HPB (Hrvatska postanska banka), OTP, PBZ (Privredna banka Zagreb) and Zagrebacka banka (Zaba).
The remaining loan amount of 589 million kuna will provide liabilities for a total of sixteen different projects, the most valuable of which are the Sava bridge near Gradiska, totalling 95 million kuna, the Vukmanicki Cerovac-Mostanje and Farkasevac-Bjelovar roads, as well as the eastern bypass of Novi Marof.
For a new loan, Croatian roads received an offer from the aforementioned Erste, HPB, OTP, PBZ, RBA and Zaba banks in the public procurement procedure, at a fixed interest rate of 1.15 percentage points per year.
The term of the loan is the end of 2022, ie the current year, and the final maturity is set to take place on the twelfth anniversary of the contract being taken out. This state guarantee covers 100 percent of the loan amount to Croatian roads.
Srijem Border Thoroughfare to be Completed in Maximum 4 Years
April 5, 2022 – Minister Oleg Butković visited the Vukovar-Srijem County on Monday, where he held meetings discussing the construction of the Srijem border thoroughfare.
As Glas Slavonije writes, the project will be completed within a maximum of four years.
The Minister of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković paid a working visit to Vukovar-Srijem County on Monday, held a meeting in Ilok with the representatives of the County, and attended the inaugural conference of the project "Construction of the Apševac and Lipovac Thoroughfares".
This is a project by Hrvatske Ceste, which represents the first of the remaining three phases of the Srijem Border Thoroughfare construction project, and includes the construction of a road that will bypass the D57 section of the state road through the villages of Apševci and Lipovac. The grant agreement was signed in March last year, with the total eligible costs of the project amounting to 106 million kuna.
"We have secured funds for one of the most important infrastructure projects in this area, which is being implemented in phases. A few years ago, looking for an opportunity to get started, we obtained the necessary European funds and signed a contract as soon as we had building permits. Our plan is to obtain all building permits by the end of this year, and it is up to Hrvatske Ceste to speed up this process. We will ask for either European funding or as a state take charge of this and some other projects, and therefore I cannot say exactly when the Srijem Border Thoroughfare will be completed", said Butković, explaining that the duration of construction is affected by complaints and tenders, that is, something that is beyond the power of the minister, but that he will give strong support to the project as a matter of priority. He emphasized that the realization of this project involves much more than the transport infrastructure itself, given that construction is of importance for the demography as well as security of eastern Croatia, so he will try to do as much as possible during the mandate of this Government.
"We will not finish everything in two years, it is impossible, but I believe that it will be realized in four years at most. It was previously estimated that the entire project will cost one billion kuna, but we are witnessing an increase in the prices of energy and materials, which makes it difficult to calculate how much it will amount to", stated Butković.
The Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect Damir Dekanić emphasized that they discussed several strategic projects that will deal with the development of the economy and the return, i.e. the staying of the population in the Vukovar-Srijem County.
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109 Bridges Throughout Croatia To Be Inspected
ZAGREB, 19 Dec, 2021 - The state-run Croatian road operator Hrvatske Ceste (HC) is about to start inspecting 109 bridges throughout the country, according to a report released recently by the Večernji List daily.
The network of state roads in Croatia includes over 1,000 bridges with one or more spans with the length of five or more metres.
In 1995, when the legislation on this matter was adopted, the HC company introduced a system for the maintenance and supervision of roads and road structures.
The job of inspecting the 109 bridges is estimated at HRK 2.5 million (€333,000) without Value Added Tax.
To ensure uniformity and objectivity of the inspection, evaluations are conducted using a standardised procedure called HRMOS, based on the system used by the Danish Road Directorate.
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Can Peljesac Bridge Withstand Bura, Earthquakes, Maritime Incidents?
October the 18th, 2021 - With the construction of Peljesac bridge finally drawing to a close and with access roads being hurried along, questions about Croatia's most important strategic project which has united its territory have arisen. Can the bridge cope with strong bura or will it need to be closed? What if an earthquake strikes or if a large vessel runs into one of its pillars? An expert provided answers.
As Morski writes, Peljesac bridge with its elegant 2404 metres has surrounded Mali Ston Bay and finally connected Croatian territory. It blends harmoniously into the Dalmatian landscape, but also into a landscape that is not completely safe, either. The bridge is located in an area known for its very frequent seismic activity, where bura and other coastal winds are common and strong. Might a stronger earthquake bring it down, how many gusts of jugo or bura can it withstand, what if a ship crashes into it, and how will its load-bearing capacity and stability be monitored over the years to come?
The answers to these pressing questions came from Croatian roads/Hrvatske ceste, that is, directly from Goran Legac, the engineer who is leading the historic project of the road connection of southern Dalmatia with the rest of the country, as reported by tportal.
His job is to prepare the project, organise, control and supervise all of the participants and their activities and ensure that everything being done is in line with the set plans in terms of deadlines and finances. Simply put, he and his team of experts from various professions, along with the help of numerous surveillance services, are the ones ''hanging'' over the heads of the Chinese workers who are building Peljesac Bridge, the Greeks (Avax) and the Austrians (Strabag) whose task is to build all of the accompanying access roads.
''For the quality delivery of the construction work itself, the most important thing is announcing and controlling all of the technical specifications through project documentation that must be completed by the contractor. Conditionally speaking, we perform the project with the same goal, but often with a different approach. The contractor strives to optimise the project in order to earn as much as possible while achieving the required quality. The designer, on the other hand, deals with all the highest standards and norms in order to make the construction as durable as possible. And that's in the interest of the client, in this case Hrvatske ceste, because of the maintenance costs involved,'' explained Legac.
In the case of Peljesac bridge, maintenance costs will be of course by very high. In theory, these costs are calculated by dividing the value of the structure by the expected period of use.
''It's common to expect that in the projected life of a construction, let's say we're talking about a 100-or-so-year period, the construction and equipment of the bridge through regular and extraordinary maintenance will be completely repaired and then replaced. So if the construction cost two billion kuna, then at least that much more will be spent in 100 years on maintenance alone. Of course, these costs will be lower in the beginning, and will increase later in accordance with the contractor's guarantees,'' stated Legac.
What exactly has been done to make sure Peljesac bridge will withstand those 100 years, and hopefully much longer, without shortening its ''shelf life'' due to some of the natural disasters such as earthquakes or strong winds Croatia is no stranger to?
Several tectonic faultlines are located very close to the bridge...
Southern Croatia is one of the most seismic areas in the entire country. According to seismologists, the maximum intensity of earthquakes that can hit Dalmatia ranges from 6.3 to 7 degrees on the Richter scale. The fact that there are several faultlines very near to Peljesac bridge isn't particularly encouraging in this case, which is evident by looking at the scientific database of all European seismic faults.
Legac confirmed all this, but also pointed out that there is no room for fear.
''It's true that the bridge is located in a zone which has very high levels of seismic activity, with a design ground acceleration at the foundation level of 0.34 g, which is extremely strong. However, the structure is designed and constructed to withstand what earthquakes can cause without collapsing. The level of usability ensures sufficient rigidity so that the bridge can be used even after an earthquake strikes. So, Peljesac bridge can withstand even the strongest earthquakes that can be reasonably expected to strike the area,'' assured Legac.
He added huge steel pipes with a diameters of 1.8 metres and two metres, were used to base the pillars in the sea itself. Their length ranges from 36 to 130.9 metres. For comparison, the height of the Zagreb Cathedral is 108 metres. These pipes were driven down firmly into the seabed, with the 130.9-metre one being the world record holder because it is the largest ever to be driven down into one piece, as pipes of these lengths are usually put in in extensions.
In addition to being located in a highly seismic area, the location of Peljesac bridge is known for some extremely strong Dalmatian winds. Will we have the same situation as we unfortunately did with the Maslenica bridge, which closes to traffic when bura or jugo blows?
Legac assured that this will not be the case. Namely, during the design and construction, the problem of local winds was taken into account and the construction of the bridge was tested in an air tunnel, writes tportal.
''The analysis predicts wind gusts of as much as 180 kilometres per hour. From my experience, because I've lived near the bridge for about three and a half years now, in Mali Ston Bay the jugo is much more intense than the bura wind is. Along the entire length of the bridge on both sides there will be windbreaks 3.2 which are metres high. You can see similar windbreaks on the Baricevic viaduct on the highway near Sv. Rok. They are a guarantee that the traffic will run smoothly in almost all weather conditions up to a wind speed of 180 kilometres per hour,'' Legac pointed out, adding that there are windbreaks on the construction site and they are waiting for installation as well.
The pillars of Peljesac bridge can withstand the impact of a ship of 10 thousand tonnes.
In addition to natural issues such as earthquakes and wind, the design of the bridge had to take into account its navigation profile, which was insisted on by neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and some Bosnian politicians were known for their negative stance towards the very construction of the bridge. This guarantees extra protection for both vessels and the bridge itself. But what if a large ship crashes into one of the bridge's pillars? Can he knock it down?
''There are currently no shipping lines in this area. Nonetheless, a waterway passing through the central range is envisaged. Large ships will be able to sail under the bridge. This will prevent large ships from hitting the pillars,'' Legac said.
Even if such a situation were to occur, Peljesac bridge's strong pillars are designed to withstand the impact of a vessel, with those in the middle, between which the waterway passes, being able to fully withstand the impact of a medium-sized ship of 100 metres in length and weighing up to 10,000 tonnes.
Given the strategic importance of Peljesac bridge, the project envisages the installation of equipment for its continuous monitoring. Through it, various parameters will be monitored in real time.
''Concrete isn't eternal, as some claim it to be. You have the example of the Krk bridge, which has undergone four major reconstructions in 40 years. However, Peljesac bridge is built from concrete that has the most modern additives and is much stronger class than the concrete typically used before. Chemical technology has advanced the most in the field of construction, and all of this is a guarantee that Peljesac bridge will be able to serve us for a very long time to come,'' concluded Legac.
Croatian Motorways Believes it Can Continue With Excellent Results
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of September, 2020, the obligation of Croatian motorways (Hrvatske ceste) is to take care of the entire network of state roads, which consists of more than 7200 kilometres in total. In the last four years, they have designed more than 530 kilometres of new state roads, of which 137 kilometres are city bypasses throughout Croatia, they built 116 kilometres of new roads, and reconstructed more than 405 kilometres of existing roads. In the same period, Croatian motorways was the second largest contracting authority in the Republic of Croatia.
"I'm proud to note that we've managed to improve traffic safety in the programme period in question. Namely, in 2019, we had a 13 percent increase in traffic, and as much as 12 percent fewer accidents with deaths. We have prepared and withdrawn 100 percent of the EU funds available to us from the "Competitiveness and Cohesion" Operational Programme. It goes without saying that the Ciovo bridge, which has been talked about for more than 50 years, occupies a special place here, and we finished it despite it being an almost hopeless situation. The Nin bridges which were destroyed during the great flood of 2017, were opened this year, much to the delight of all who had the opportunity to see them.
Every project in which we solve bottlenecks, especially around Split, Vodice, Rijeka or Vinkovci, are of special importance. The crown of all these projects is the historic project of building Peljesac Bridge, which we've been dreaming about for decades, listening to stories about for years, and now we're building it thanks to European Union money. This was a period in which the work of Croatian motorways was recognised through recognitions such as the "Rexpo 2018. Best New Investment Award" for the Ciovo bridge project or the Vecernji list reader award for the construction of Peljesac bridge as an economic event in 2019. These are recognitions for all of our employees for their work,'' said Josip Skoric, President of the Management Board of Croatian motorways.
What is important to emphasise is the fact that in the last four years, Croatian motorways, in cooperation with the Croatian Government, carried out the financial and operational restructuring of society and digital transformation.
"Within the project entitled The Modernisation and Restructuring of the Road Sector (MARS), a review of the company was performed and measures and activities were defined to raise efficiency. We've set clear and measurable goals and indicators through which our managers monitor every investment and every employee, and I believe that we'll further improve our business in the coming years. Furthermore, a thorough digital transformation of the company has been initiated and largely implemented over recent years. Four key areas of transformation have been defined: project management, document management, road asset management and business information systems,'' said Skoric.
''We've made great progress in the application of the so-called BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology and methodology that we implement in all phases of the construction process - planning, design, construction and maintenance. By the end of the year, we expect the procurement and selection of a contractor for the Road Property Management System (RAMS), software that will have two key functions: a reliable and accurate data inventory easy to use for roads, buildings and other road infrastructure elements and an assessment tool which will give priority and the estimation of the costs of future periodic maintenance and remediation needs, using the latest developments in international practice. I'd also like to mention that we've published the WEB GIS portal of all public roads in the Republic of Croatia on our website,'' said Skoric, adding that the completed projects are a reminder of a successful period, perhaps a motive for launching new projects, and an idea to make greater use of the development potential of transport in the Republic of Croatia.
"We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but thanks to continuous work, state roads are becoming safer and more fluid, and by building key facilities, we're significantly raising the quality of life for people. Everything done in the previous period in terms of social development and business modernisation shows I'm right when I say that we have the necessary courage and knowledge to continue with the successful results of Croatian motorways, making maximum use of EU funds, even during the pandemic,'' concluded Skoric.
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Losses for Croatian Motorways Amid Pandemic: "We'll Survive"
As much as 20 percent of Croatia's GDP is made up by tourism as one of the country's strongest economic branches. Given the fact that Croatia is a destination to which many European tourists drive (with the exception of the UK and Ireland, the nationals of which tend to use air transport), Croatian motorways are usually packed at this time of year with license plates from across the continent visible across the country. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, those same Croatian motorways have experienced expected losses.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of August, 2020, Ivan Ribicic, the director of the toll collection sector at HAC, told Dnevnik N1 what the situation currently looks like on Croatian motorways, which is a state-owned company.
"HAC is operating with a deficit of 30 percent, which is 540 million kuna," stated Ivan Ribicic, but the opening of the tourist season has indeed improved revenue when compared to the way things stood earlier on in the year, he stressed. Given the fact that the ''lockdown month'' for Croatia took place back in April and that Croatia has experienced more toursim than the previously dire predictions suggested, this is logical.
"HAC is in its restructuring phase, we were well on our way to getting better. The crisis caught up with us, but thanks to banks and to our creditors, we managed to get our hands on some stand-by arrangements, so we do have room to breathe and we'll invest the money for the future. If revenues remain at this level, then we will survive,'' the Croatian motorways director explained.
Some workers at HAC have been retiring, taking severance pay along with the move, and that's how they're dealing with unfortunate redundancies, he says.
"It's good that people are using ENC devices more and more, and the campaign is contributing to that. We organised and monitored the hourly loads at Croatia's toll stations, ans so we were able to organise ourselves accordingly,'' said Ribicic.
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IGH Institute Signs Contracts with Croatian Roads Exceeding 12 Million Kuna
As Novac writes on the 26th of June, 2020, following the carrying out of the necessary public procurement procedures, the IGH Institute was awarded three new contracts with Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) for the construction supervision and reconstruction services of three traffic routes with a total value of around 12.3 million kuna.
This is a complete supervision over the construction of a highway of more than six kilometres in length through Karlovac in the direction of Split, which will improve traffic safety and capacity, especially during times of increased summer traffic. In addition, the new road will completely bypass Turanj, a settlement that has been extremely congested so far, and will connect to the already built Korana bridge. As already mentioned, IGH together with its partner will supervise the construction, and the value of the contracted work for the company stands at 4,606,992.00 kuna.
The second contract signed with Croatian roads is also for the complete supervision over the construction of the 3.2-kilometre-long bypass of Beli Manastir, which will better solve the need for the reduction of traffic, especially transit, through the very centre of Beli Manastir. This is extremely important because it is expected that the further construction of the Corridor Vc motorway will further emphasise transit traffic. The value of these contracted works for IGH amounts to 3,379,990.00 kuna. The deadline for completion of works is 22 months from commissioning.
Finally, the third contract with Croatian roads includes the supervision over the reconstruction of the new pavement structure of the state road between the settlements of Normanci and the Municipality of Petrijevci, with a total length of slightly more than 17 kilometres. Of particular interest in the project is the planned construction of 14 kilometres of new bike/cycling paths with the reconstruction and extension of 9 kilometres of pedestrian paths. The deadline for construction is 24 months, and IGH will conduct a complete inspection, while the value of the contracted work for the company amounts to 4,300,020.00 kuna.
In addition, they recently signed a contract for the supervision and quality control of the rehabilitation of the Krk Bridge worth a little more than 1,000,000.00 kuna.
IGH currently has around a thousand active contracts for the full range of services it offers, primarily in construction, making it a leading engineering company in the construction sector. Additionally, during the last and this year, IGH hired more than 100 new colleagues, which saw it exceed the number of 500 employees, and in the coming period it plans to hire even more manpower.
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Croatian Roads: Here's Who Could Build Country's Most Expensive Road
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of December, 2019, so far, five bids have arrived to Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste) for the construction of the state road D-403 in Rijeka, according to a report from Novi list.
Bids for the construction of the most expensive piece of road in the Republic of Croatia were opened on Monday morning by the company Croatian Roads, with the consortium consisting of Slovenia's Kolektor, GP Krk and Sarajevo's Euroasfalt, in the amount of 456.35 million kuna excluding VAT, or 570.44 million kuna with the VAT being the most financially favourable offer of all so far.
Following that comes the offer from Chinese CRBC, the company that is responsible for the construction of Pelješac bridge down in southern Dalmatia, in the amount of 586.34 million kuna with VAT, followed by an offer from the Italian consortium led by Rizzani deEcher, which would build the D-403 road for 598.38 million kuna in total.
The fourth bid to have arrived at Croatian Roads by the Austrian company Strabag comes with a price tag of 638.94 million kuna, while the most expensive offer has come from the Croatian-Turkish consortium consisting of Poduzeće za ceste (PZC) from Slavonski Brod and Yapi Merkezi, offering an amount of 718.37 million kuna, with the value added tax included, to carry out the works on the road.
The estimated value of the works in the procurement process stood at a massive 461 million kuna, excluding VAT, meaning that the only bid by the aforementioned Slovenian-Croatian-Bosnian consortium, which is even lower than that by 5 million kuna falls within the previously estimated amount, and the Chinese state owned company's offer is also close to that, but unfortunately exceeds the estimated amount by just over eight million kuna.
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