For SaaS and subscription companies, winning a customer is only the first step of the journey to customer lifetime value (LTV). This is why it's imperative for B2B tech marketers to shift their focus from buying journey funnels to full-on customer lifecycle management. However, customer acquisition is where most marketing strategies stop. The traditional funnel is focused on net-new customer acquisition as the means to drive growth. This singular focus is a double-edged sword in recurring revenue and subscription business models.
For example, if you lose five customers this month, you'd need to acquire six new customers in the same month to create growth. This may seem doable when a company is small, but as customer volume grows, so do those requirements just to maintain a consistency in monthly recurring revenues (MRR).
In this blog, I'll cover best practices for B2B marketers to make the shift from funnels to lifecycles to increase ROI and help your customers stick with you for the long run.
Opportunities for churn arise throughout the customer experience. The more engaged and invested your customers become, the "stickier" the relationship. Marketers must seamlessly extend the experience that engaged and converted customers on the front end to one that will engage and grow their loyalty and satisfaction on the back end. This is your opportunity to ensure that you've developed customer experiences that result in happy and productive customers.
What do new customers need to implement and become proficient at using our solution?
Who are the new roles/people you need to engage?
Are they achieving their desired outcome?
How can you help them get more value?
How easy is it to do business with you over time?
Onboarding is a critical stage for new customers. Buying a new product or solution is about change management. Sending a welcome email is great, but nowhere near enough. Implementing the product is one thing, driving user adoption is quite another.
What content, tools, or resources can you provide to generate excitement and anticipation for using your solution? Do you have programs to help power users bring along those that are more reluctant to embrace new ways of doing things? Your customers won't continue to pay for shelfware. Marketers who proactively work to engage new customers by helping them facilitate change and see added value will help to increase retention.
Gaining the outcome promised during the buying process is the minimal viable return your customers will expect and demand. If the value your solution provides is not easily quantifiable, marketing can help to make it more tangible by showing customers how to validate it for other internal stakeholders. And, once that's achieved, show them how they can gain even more value. This leads to expansion opportunities via cross- and up-sell potential. Creating a strong customer retention strategy doesn't always mean focusing on getting more money, but can be just as effective when focused on getting more time. The longer a customer chooses to stay with you and use your products, the higher their lifetime value and the more profits for your company.
It's common that there's a champion who has worked tirelessly to help their company buy your solution. Unfortunately, one of the most common reasons for churn in SaaS or subscription customers is the loss of that champion—whether through resignation or role reassignment.
Once a customer is acquired, the smartest thing marketers can do is to expand relationships within the account. This has become a driving principle for account-based marketing, but it's an imperative for building customer relationships, as well. Similarly, if only one person at the company knows how to use your solution and he or she leaves, you're left with an orphaned solution destined to become shelfware, which leads to a lost customer.
Expanding your reach within the account should be a component of your customer engagement strategy. You'll need to work closely with your account managers or customer success teams to create this program, but the longevity of relationships that can be created by increasing the number of people who use and have knowledge of your product will pay off in longer-term, more profitable, and satisfied customers.
Expanding and deepening customer relationships also pays off in referrals and advocacy—two things that deliver big benefits for company growth.
When marketers focus on keeping customers for life, they are engaged with their customers continuously. Interactive content and personalization are two tactics that are high on marketers' goals lists. Think about how customer retention programs that employ those tactics can also inform your customer acquisition strategies.
One of the biggest challenges marketers face is understanding their prospects and buyers and breaking through the noise to engage them. Getting proactively involved in customer retention and working collaboratively with sales and customer success teams will help to remove that blindness and replace it with relevance that enables even better marketing strategies for customer acquisition. This is truly the time for fearless marketers to go boldly beyond funnels to focus on customer lifecycle management.


As a Carte Wealth Management Inc. Representative I am dually occupied as a registered mutual funds salesperson and a licensed Life Insurance Advisor and represent separate entities for each purpose. As such, you may be dealing with more than one company depending on the products purchased, or services rendered. Remuneration also varies with the products purchased, or services rendered. I will be representing Carte Wealth Management Inc. for the sale of mutual fund products and will provide you with the name of the entity that I represent while conducting business as a Life Insurance Advisor. The sale of life insurance products & services is not the business of, or under the supervision of Carte Wealth Management Inc., and Carte Wealth Management Inc. will not be liable or responsible for such activities.
I, Stephen Chow, am a registered mutual fund salesperson represented by Carte Wealth Management Inc.
I am also an independent licensed Life Insurance Advisor contracted with Carte Risk Management Inc. and Financial Horizons Group, insurance Managing General Agencies, entities through which I place my life insurance business. Any activity relating to my position as a Life Insurance Advisor is not the business of, or under the supervision of, Carte Wealth Management Inc., and Carte Wealth Management Inc. will not be liable or responsible for such activities.
I, Stephen Chow, wish this distinction to be clear, and if you are not sure of the difference, let us discuss it, or I can suggest sources from which you can obtain the necessary explanation. Our self-regulatory organization, The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA"), has rules which state that the distinction between these Dual Occupations must be clear and that clients understand the difference for the purposes of mutual fund related transactions.


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13 posts tagged "language"
'It makes you feel really powerful': Native students comment on preserving their language, culture
Gina Twardosz | Monday, September 9, 2019
Meet the Notre Dame students who are trying to ensure their Native culture, heritage and language doesn't become a thing of the past. Alan Mychal Boyd, junior For Lakota student and Notre Dame junior Alan Mychal Boyd, "one of the biggest linchpins of culture is language." It's a link to the past, he said, and
Ope, defined
Ann Curtis | Thursday, April 11, 2019
Have you ever accidentally bumped into somebody on the sidewalk and said, "Ope, sorry about that"? Have you ever run into someone's shopping cart at the grocery store and said, "Ope, I just need to sneak right past you to grab some Ranch"? Have you ever fumbled the handoff while turning in a paper to
The beauty of language differences
Stephen Hannon | Thursday, October 25, 2018
For me, one of the most interesting parts about coming to college and making new friends from across the country and around the world is the differences in dialect. I may tease my friend about his "Lwoong Island" accent, but I actually find the uniqueness of speech to be fascinating. Thanks to seemingly minor factors
Dasserghyans: Gwenno's 'Le Kov' and the Cornish Revival
Carlos De Loera | Friday, April 6, 2018
A few weeks ago I was listening to All Songs Considered's New Music Friday podcast and about midway through it, host Robin Hilton introduced an unidentified song by the artist Gwenno. It opened with a spacey synth which was met with a prolonged drum fill and then accompanied by a choir of strings; it was
Workshop explores impact, importance of language
Stephanie Snyder | Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Saint Mary's students, faculty and staff filled the Student Center conference rooms Tuesday for "Language Matters: An Ally Workshop." The department of gender & women's studies, the Student Diversity Board and the department of psychological sciences sponsored the event in order to educate allies about civil rights issues and LGBTQ communities. Associate professor of psychology Bettina
As American as … English?
BridgeND | Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Language is one of the most fundamental aspects of a culture. Siddhartha Gautama, "The Buddha," famously said, "Words have the power to both destroy and heal." This statement is exceptionally true; language has been famously cohesive as well as infamously divisive throughout history. Many a war has been fought to "unite" speakers of the same
Lecturer analyzes racist language and words
Gina Twardosz | Thursday, September 14, 2017
Luvell Anderson, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis, spoke about how those with different racial and social backgrounds experience and inhabit different realities. Anderson explored this topic through the analysis of the word "thug." Anderson said he is currently focusing his writings on understanding racial realities and how they differ from person
Friendship and society
Cole Feldman | Monday, April 24, 2017
Thoreau had three chairs in his cabin by Walden Pond: "One for solitude, two for friendship, three for society." I wonder if there are diminishing returns after two? If six or seven might be too many cooks in the kitchen. Especially when you're trying to have a conversation. But then again, this would be far
Irish, the language
Caelin Miltko | Wednesday, October 5, 2016
I'm about a semester and a half from finishing a supplementary major in Irish language. It's been a wonderful three years. I've had the opportunity to work with professors on anthropological research, study ancient literature, conduct my own research and spend a full 12 months in Ireland. It's also been three years full of questions.
There's a word for it
Raymond Ramirez | Monday, September 5, 2016
Written English can be especially confusing, with spelling rules that inevitably include myriad exceptions. For example, when writing the sound "off," you are comfortable enough with the straightforward spelling of the sound in words such as "offering," but the insanity starts with the spelling of words such as "cough," and "trough." Alright, so now you

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Explaining the product, Abudllahi said that FibreNet known as fibre-to-home is a cable connection unlike the conventional wireless GSM mobile connection which makes it to be "highly scalable, and highly resilient".
On the distinction, Abdullahi said "The speed of internet either on 3G or 4G is always in the neighbour of 7 to 70mbps but with the fibre-to-home you are likely to enjoy up to 700mbps".
He added that "there are close to 60 million smart phones users in Nigeria – Phones that have access to the internet" saying this has made people to be able to "run their office on the go or keep social contact".
On his part, Muhammed Sharraf, manager, Enterprise Marketing at MTN Nigeria, said the 3,000 residents of CITEC are assured of reliable and affordable internet.
He said the internet is highly subsidized for its users, adding that there are plans to spread it across the country.


I attended Monday's ANC 6D's business meeting, and one of the agenda items was the Safeway Task Force. Some of the issues the task force are trying to tackle include increasing safety in and around Safeway, opening more check-out lines during peak times, opening restrooms to customers, and properly labeling items with the correct prices. The ANC commissioners unanimously approved a measure to increase the number of members of the Safeway Task Force from three to ten. The current members of the task force include Commissioners Sobelsohn (6D 02), McBee (6D 03), and Siegel (6D 07). The seven other members will be comprised of citizens that live within the boundaries of ANC 6D - one person representing each of the seven single-member districts. Two people have already been appointed from 6D 02 and 6D 03. If you are interested in serving on the task force and live in one of the districts not yet represented, contact your ANC Commissioner.


We are proud to present Robin J. Miller, an award-winning retired NYC educator, curriculum developer, poet, author, public speaker and visual artist focusing on African American Heritage themes to present an entertaining program on The Influence of Jazz on ART. Visual imagery, poetry and a jazz performance on film explore how jazz inspired the work of master artists including Faith Ringgold, Henri Matisse, William H. Johnson, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Romare Bearden. Robinresides in New York City and Cape Cod where she is a resident artist at the Zion Union Heritage Museum.


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Valuation of Long-Term Interest Rate Swaps
by Eric Bank, MBA, MS Finance
Swaps can hedge the risk of volatile interest rates.
Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
1 Types of Derivatives to Hedge the Prices of Raw Materials
2 Note Swap Derivatives on a Financial Statement
3 Calculate Maturity Level in Accounting
4 How Does a Forward Contract Work?
If your company faces risks from changing interest rates, commodity prices or exchange rates, you might have some familiarity with swaps. A typical interest rate swap substitutes a fixed cash flow for a floating one. The swap is long term if the fixed-rate cash flow emanates from a long-term bond, typically one of at least eight years duration.
The "payer" is the swap party that pays a fixed rate and receives a floating rate of interest on a notional amount of money. "Notional" means an imaginary principal amount -- you specify it only to figure interest payments. The "receiver" accepts the fixed rate and disburses a floating rate to the payer. The floating rate is normally a short-term floating rate index, such as LIBOR or fed funds. An example long-term interest rate swap, based on a $1 million notional amount paying a fixed rate of 5 percent, would see the payer send $50,000 a year to the receiver. In return, the payer would receive the amount of interest on $1 million that the LIBOR rate dictates. If the average rate is 4.5 percent, the year's floating payment is $45,000.
You might ask why the example payer would want to swap $50,000 for $45,000. The reason involves the "forward rate" of the floating index, which is the future rate that the financial markets estimate for the index. In the example, the payer is counting on a forecast of higher forward rates that will eventually turn the swap to its advantage. The initial value of a swap is set to zero -- the present value of the fixed payments that the receiver demands equals that of the floating payments based on the forecast of forward rates, known as the swap curve.
Swap Curve
You derive the swap curve by plotting out the fixed interest rates, or swap rates, that receivers demand for swaps, arranged by increasing maturities. The swap curve incorporates the forward expectations for the floating rate, typically LIBOR. It also incorporates the credit quality of payers with a credit rating of AA. In normal economic conditions, the swap curve rises as the maturities increase, reflecting the increasing uncertainty of future interest rates and counterparty risk.
Swap Valuation
An interest rate swap's value is equal to the value of the bond minus the value of the floater. Although the initial value of a swap is zero, the value changes over time as dictated by the evolving swap curve. For example, the parties might strike a swap based on the 10-year swap rate. One year later, the nine-year swap rate might be higher, providing a net present value that favors the payer at the expense of the receiver. If the receiver becomes gloomy enough about the future prospects of the swap, it might choose to take the payer role in a reverse swap with another counterparty, thereby cancelling the overall position. Alternatively, a counterparty might terminate the swap early, but usually must pay a fee to do so.
PIMCO: What Are Interest Rate Swaps and How Do They Work?
New York University: Interest Rate Swaps
Green Interest Rate Swap Management: What Is an Interest Rate Swap?
Tennessee Independent: The Egregious Swap Termination Fee Paid to the GJN Swap Counterparty
PR Newswire: North Carolina Judge Blocks Wachovia Foreclosure in Lawsuit Involving Derivative Interest Rate Swap and Alleging Extortion, Fraud, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices
Rolling Stone: Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
Based in Greenville SC, Eric Bank has been writing business-related articles since 1985. He holds an M.B.A. from New York University and an M.S. in finance from DePaul University. You can see samples of his work at ericbank.com.
Bank,, Eric. "Valuation of Long-Term Interest Rate Swaps." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/valuation-longterm-interest-rate-swaps-67396.html. Accessed 17 July 2019.
Bank,, Eric. (n.d.). Valuation of Long-Term Interest Rate Swaps. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/valuation-longterm-interest-rate-swaps-67396.html
Bank,, Eric. "Valuation of Long-Term Interest Rate Swaps" accessed July 17, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/valuation-longterm-interest-rate-swaps-67396.html
The Elasticity Approach to Balance of Payments
Why Would a Company Hedge Against the Fluctuation of Its Cash Flow?
Examples of Financial Engineering
Factors That Affect Interest Rate on Corporate Bonds
Periodic Rate Functions in Excel
What Is Interest Rate Volatility?
Formula for the Future Value of an Annuity
The Differences Between Interest Rate & Yield
Bond Amortization Methods
Calculate Business Loan Payments
What Is the Difference Between an IRR & an Accounting Rate of Return?


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'Shame child predators' - Victim support exec urges Jamaicans to stop excusing sexual abuse by dirty old men
Published:Tuesday | June 25, 2019 | 12:21 AMJason Cross/Gleaner Writer
Joy Crawford, executive director of Eve For Life.
Jamaicans should stop glorifying and start naming and shaming "dirty old men" and "cradle robbers" – adult males who sexually prey on underage girls – Joy Crawford, executive director of Eve For Life, has urged.
A panellist at the Female Development World Organisation's 2nd Biennial Protect the Children Symposium at the University of Technology's Papine campus in St Andrew recently, she decried the fact that underage high-school girls glamorise their sexual relationships with far older men.
Crawford revealed to the audience that she lost her virginity at seven years old and that this somewhat triggered in her a preference for older men. As a young girl, Crawford said, she would scoff at the idea of dating a boy her age. It wasn't until she hit about age 40 that she began to acknowledge her unfortunate childhood experience as rape.
"That only happened because I was talking to a group of adult friends about growing up as a young girl and feeling very powerful that we don't date schoolboys. It was in that conversation that somebody said, 'Do you realise that all the men that you've been involved with are abusers and predators?' I had never named it as that before," Crawford said.
She continued: "If a girl at age 13 or 14 feels good about being involved with a 30- or 40-year-old man, something has happened to her mind for her to not even realise, acknowledge or name it, then we are in trouble. Sexual abuse leaves a lifetime scar."
Crawford stressed that the nation's children would not be safe from predators until perceptions are altered. She insisted that instead of glamorising child abusers as 'bups' or 'dons', they should be styled as paedophiles.
Crawford said that as head of Eve For Life, an NGO providing support to survivors of sexual abuse, and women and children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, she has seen more than enough to cause concern.
"I don't think we have ever prosecuted anybody in Jamaica and used the word paedophile. We need to change the narrative around this issue. There are a group of girls aged 14, 15 and 16, who I work with on a regular basis in the schools, who talk about being involved in certain sexual behaviours, and it is almost like they received stripes. I think we have more of this than we have of those who end up being killed unfortunately, or who we see on the news having committed suicide," she said.
Yesterday, retired cultural studies professor at The University of the West Indies, Carolyn Cooper, said paedophiles are driven by an "illness" to exploit children, some of whom are given tokens to keep silent.
"We have to get rid of these predators, but it is not easy because it is a question of supply and demand. As long as you have young girls and boys willing to be abused and used, you will continue to have people using and abusing them," she told The Gleaner.
Cooper pointed out that some mothers are still turning a blind eye to their children's sexual relationships with 'big' men for economic gain.
"That may be why there is not that much of a conversation about that form of abuse. It is kept under wraps. Sometimes it is what the young girls think the man can give them. It is the same thing with some of the boys and the male homosexuals who prey on them. They may not have any basic interest in homosexuality, but if they can use their body to get whatever it is a man can give, many young men and females are willing to do it," she said.
jason.cross@gleanerjm.com
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The cable ready apartment home includes air conditioning, a bathtub, closets, ceramic tile flooring, and washing machine. Get entertained in your fully-equipped modern kitchen. Amenities include bathtub, internet, TV and hot water. Set in a Cenral location, near every district. The apartment is an easy commute to District 1, 2, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan District, and the airport. Located within minutes of fine dining, shopping, and entertainment. Near to Mc Donalds.


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Apache Derby ist ein Projekt der Apache Software Foundation, das ein gleichnamiges Java-basiertes, relationales Datenbank-Management-System entwickelt. Derby gehört zu den leichtgewichtigen Datenbanken, da es bei der Auslieferung nur zwei Megabyte Größe hat und sehr einfach installierbar ist. Derby kommt hauptsächlich, aber nicht ausschließlich, in Java-Projekten zum Einsatz.

Geschichte
Die Software wurde ursprünglich von der Firma Cloudscape Inc., in Oakland (Kalifornien) unter dem Namen JBMS entwickelt. Die erste Version kam 1997 heraus. Das Produkt wurde später in "Cloudscape" umbenannt.

1999 wurde Cloudscape von der Firma Informix Software Inc. gekauft, deren Datenbanksparte 2001 von IBM übernommen wurde. 2004 übereignete IBM die Cloudscape-Software der Apache Software Foundation unter dem Namen "Derby" als Freie Software.

Ab Anfang 2005 beteiligte sich auch Sun Microsystems an Derby. 2006 wurde Derby als Java DB im Java Development Kit ab Java 6 integriert.

Produktmerkmale
Die wesentlichen Merkmale von Derby sind:
 Größe Der Datenbankkern in derby.jar ist komprimiert etwa 600 kB groß.
 Plattformunabhängigkeit Da Derby zu 100 % in Java realisiert ist, läuft es auf einer Vielzahl von Plattformen
 Einfachheit Derby braucht keinen Administrator, es lässt sich einfach installieren und integrieren
 Standardbasiert Starke Unterstützung von Standards (Java, JDBC und ANSI SQL). Derby unterstützt die Standards SQL92, SQL99 vollständig sowie SQL2003, SQL2006 und SQL2008 teilweise. Als Programmierschnittstelle für Java wird JDBC in den Versionen JDBC 3.0 bis 4.2 unterstützt. Darüber hinaus werden die Java-Standards JCE, JME, JSR-169 (JDBC Optional Package for CDC/Foundation Profile), Compact Profile2 (JEP 161) und OSGi unterstützt. Als Programmierschnittstelle für C, C++ etc. wird über das XA/DRDA-Protokoll ODBC unterstützt.
 Kompatibel Die Inhalte von Derby-Datenbanken sind betriebssystemübergreifend kompatibel. Man kann also beispielsweise auf Betriebssystem A eine Datenbank erstellen, die Dateien auf ein Betriebssystem B kopieren und dort weiterarbeiten. Bei den meisten herkömmlichen Datenbanken müsste dagegen erst ein sogenannter Dump der Datenbank auf A erstellt werden, der mit einem Import- oder Recovery-Werkzeug auf B eingespielt werden müsste.
 Verschlüsselung Derby unterstützt die Verschlüsselung sowohl der Kommunikation mit der Datenbank als auch der Datenbank-Files selbst.
 Stored Procedures und Triggers in Java Da die Datenbank selbst in Java geschrieben ist, ist es möglich Stored Procedures, Datenbanktrigger und Tabellen-Funktionen in Java zu schreiben. Damit ist es beispielsweise möglich, Constraints der Businesslogik in der Datenbank wiederzuverwenden.

Apache Derby in Java-Anwendungen
Java-Anwendungen sprechen Derby über die JDBC-Schnittstelle an. Derby kennt einen eingebetteten JDBC-Modus und einen Netzwerk-JDBC-Modus. Im ersten Fall läuft die Derby Datenbank auf derselben Java Virtual Machine und im selben Prozess wie die Applikation. Bei einer im Netzwerk-JDBC-Modus (Typ-4 JDBC Treiber) betriebenen Derby-Datenbank hingegen greifen andere Java-Anwendungen über TCP/IP auf einen Derby Netzwerk Server zu, der wiederum über DRDA auf die Derby-Datenbank zugreift. Hierbei kann Derby auch als Master-Slave-Cluster betrieben werden, um eine höhere Ausfallsicherheit zu erreichen.

In einem dritten Modus kann Derby die Datenbank statt auf der Festplatte auch im Hauptspeicher halten. Dieser In-Memory-Datenbank-Modus ist insbesondere bei Tests vorteilhaft oder wenn die Daten nicht sofort persistiert werden müssen, weil bei dieser Betriebsart der einzelne Datenbankzugriff weitaus schneller abläuft als in den anderen Modi. Da Derby in allen drei Modi die gleiche Datenbankstruktur verwendet, kann etwa eine eingebettet angelegte Datenbank ebenso als Netzwerkdatenbank oder als In-Memory-Datenbank betrieben werden; sie wird dazu nur anders gestartet.

Werkzeuge
 ij zum Ausführen von JDBC-/SQL-Skripten
 dblook zum Extrahieren des Datenbankschemas
 sysinfo Hilfsprogramm, um Versionsnummern und den Klassenpfad anzuzeigen
 Eclipse Plug-in Datenbankwerkzeuge aus Eclipseaufrufen, Derby-Sicht hinzufügen

Siehe auch
 HSQLDB – alternative kleine Java-Datenbank
 McKoi
 Eingebettetes Datenbanksystem

Weblinks
 offizielle Webpräsenz mit Produktinformation, Dokumentation
 SQL-Unterstützung: wiki.apache.org/db-derby/SQLvsDerbyFeatures
 JDBC-Unterstützung: wiki.apache.org/db-derby/JDBCSupport

Derby
Freies Datenbankmanagementsystem
Relationales Datenbankmanagementsystem
Java-Programm
Java-Bibliothek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Stan Lee, the famed and creative genius behind Marvel Comics, died on Monday at 95 years old.
Lee was taken by ambulance to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he later died. The cause of death is not yet known, according to Kirk Schneck, an attorney for Lee's daughter.
Lee first began his career in 1939 at Timely Comics where he was a writer, editor and occasional illustrator. At the time, National Comics (later DC Comics), dominated the superhero industry. Lee was propositioned with designing a competing set of superheroes against the DC Justice League.
The theory behind his superheroes which made them stand out in competition with DC was they were more relatable; often embodying personal flaws and characteristics. Often the characters lived in New York City, as opposed to the Justice League, which dwelled in Gotham or Metropolis.
Between 1961 and 1964, Lee introduced the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men and Daredevil. The success of his characters dominated the comic industry and surpassed DC Comics in popularity.
Of all the superheroes, it was Spiderman who was the most notable character. His alter-ego was Peter Parker, a photographer who gained his crime-fighting characteristics after being bitten by a radioactive spider. His call-of-duty didn't necessarily resonate in crime-fighting; he was always concerned about his Aunt, and had a boss that breathed heavily down his neck.
Lee said in an interview with CNN in 2006, that of all the characters he created, Spiderman was the least likely he'd thought would be such a success. "I never thought that Spider-Man would become the worldwide icon that he is. I just hoped the books would sell and I'd keep my job," he said.
It could be heard at comic book conventions and events around the world.
Both Lee and Marvel enjoyed the success of comic books the form of multi-billion dollar blockbuster movies. Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion.


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According to the Kansas State driving laws, persons above the age of 16 would be able to obtain unrestricted driver's license, if they are able to prove through an affidavit that they had completed a minimum of 50 hours of practice driving. This practice driving should be under the supervision of a person above the age of 21 with a valid driving license. Further, out of these 50 hours, at least 10 hours should include driving at night under supervision. If no affidavit is provided, the restrictions for license would continue until the driver reaches the age of 17. Further, if there are two or more traffic violations during this period, the license would become restricted until the age of 17.
When we think about auto insurance, we should also consider unpleasant incidents like auto accidents, bodily injuries, and even fatalities. These factors could neither be ignored nor taken lightly. If you do not have auto insurance coverage and such things happen, then you might be financially ruined by the huge amounts that you might have to shell out as compensations. However, auto insurance coverages would protect you from all unforeseen eventualities.
Several types of coverages are available in Kansas State but you should understand the details of at least the major coverages that would protect you. Further, certain coverages had been made compulsory by the state and you should purchase them if you wish to drive any vehicle in the state of Kansas.
The official website of Sandy Praeger, Kansas Insurance Commissioner, states that the following coverages are statutorily required.
In Kansas State, the insurance industry is regulated by the Kansas Insurance Commissioner. The current Insurance Commissioner is Sandy Praeger. She is maintaining a website, http://www.ksinsurance.org/consumers/autoinfo.htm, to help the drivers in the state about all insurance related matters. Certain auto insurance basics related to that state are presented here for your knowledge.
The state of Michigan, similar to many other states, has made auto insurance mandatory to ensure each driver is paid in case of an accident. Every driver must have enough finances to cover the damages after an accident. There are two types of systems, the no fault system and the tort system. The Michigan state follows the no fault system. According to the no fault system, the driver of a car is paid by his own insurance company in the event of an accident. This is irrespective of whose fault it is. However, the state of Michigan does not follows perfect no fault system. Every state has a few modifications to the no fault system. The person at fault can be sued for damages in case the cost of damages crosses a pre decided limit.
Almost every state in the United States of America has made auto insurance mandatory. Mandatory auto insurance ensures that in case of an accident, the driver of the car is paid for the damages caused to his car. There are two ways to decide who will pay for the damages. The two ways are known as the tort system or the no fault system.
Michigan is a no fault state. According the no fault system, in case of an accident, a person's auto insurance company will pay for his damages irrespective of who might have caused the accident. Michigan does not follow pure no fault system. People do not want to pay when the fault is another person's. Drivers are allowed to sue the person responsible for the accident in case the damages cross a pre decided limit.
The state of Michigan has written a set of rules and regulations to ensure all of its citizens live in safety and harmony. Each of these rules must be followed. Any violations will be dealt with harshly and the violator will be penalised. With the number of accident increasing with the number of vehicles on the road, the state of Michigan has made auto insurance mandatory. However, obtaining insurance in the state of Michigan is slightly tricky.
There are a large number of motor vehicles on the roads today. Consequently, the number of accidents is increasing as well. If a person has been involved in an accident, the costs of covering damages caused during the accident will be very high. Hence, auto insurance has been made mandatory to ensure that each car in an accident will have an insurance company to pay for the damages.
The person paying for the damages can either be the owner of the car or the person deemed responsible for the accident. The system of rules followed by the state will decide who pays for the damages. In a tort system, the person responsible for the accident will pay for the damages. In a no fault system, the damages will be paid for by the insurance company irrespective of the fault.
Every state in the United States has made auto insurance mandatory. It is of utmost importance to ensure you know all the rules and regulations written by a state before your drive in the state. Any violation can pout your and other families in danger. Auto insurance has been made mandatory for a simple reason. If a driver is on the road and causes an accident, he must be able to take responsibility for the accident and pay for all the damages he caused. Now the auto insurance company can pay for any damages he might cause. This is in accordance with the tort system of rules.
Every state must have a code written to ensure the safety of its motorists. Each of these rules has to be followed at all costs. Any violation will be severely penalised. Any driver violating these will be putting his life along with many others's lives in danger. One of the most important rules for the motorists today is the mandatory auto insurance rule. Auto insurance has been mandatory in most of the states in America. This is to ensure that each driver on the road is capable of paying of paying for the damages he might have caused if he is involved in an accident.
Auto insurance has been made mandatory in many states and the state of Maine has followed suit. This rule is to ensure that every driver on the road today should be able to pay for any damages in case he causes an accident. This is in accordance with the financial responsibility laws. However, the state of Maine differs slightly in the fact that the minimum liability it has fixed is much higher than most of the states.
The minimum liability fixed is a high fifty thousand dollars for bodily injury per person and a hundred thousand dollars for bodily injury in total. It is also mandatory to have property damage coverage for an amount of twenty five thousand dollars. Uninsured motorist's coverage is not mandatory in most of the states. But it is mandatory in the state of Maine and so is a thousand dollars coverage for medical costs.
The number of vehicles on the road is increasing everyday. The number of accidents is too. In such a scenario, the rule making auto insurance mandatory seems to be a godsend. However, auto insurance can be quite expensive. The state of Maine has fixed very high minimum liability.
Minimum liability in the state of Maine is fixed at fifty thousand dollars per person for bodily injury and a hundred thousand dollars in total for bodily injury. It is also mandatory to get property damage coverage for an amount of twenty five thousand dollars. Though it is not mandatory in many states, the state of Maine has made Uninsured Motorist's coverage necessary. It is also compulsory to get coverage for medical costs for an amount equal to a thousand dollars.
With the number of vehicles increasing, the number of accidents is increasing as well. To ensure that every driver is able to pay for all the damages he might cause in case he is involved in an accident, states have made auto insurance mandatory. The state of Maine has also made auto insurance mandatory. These rules are in accordance with financial responsibility rules. The state of Maine also follows the Tort system of rules. According to this system, if there has been an accident, one of the drivers involved has to be found responsible. This driver and his insurance company have to pay for all the damages caused due to the accident. The victim is also allowed to sue the driver for damages.
The state of Maine has fixed very high minimum liability. Many states have made auto insurance mandatory and fixed a minimum liability that everyone must be insured for. This is to ensure that every driver will have enough finances to pay for damages caused during an accident.
The minimum liability in the state of Maine is fixed at fifty thousand dollars per person for bodily injury and a hundred thousand dollars in total for bodily injury. It also includes twenty five thousand dollars for property damage. The state of Maine has also made uninsured motorist's coverage mandatory. This policy helps a person when he is involved in an accident caused by a person not insured. It is also mandatory to have medical costs coverage for thousand dollars.
You are currently browsing the Auto Insurance Guide blog archives for October, 2009.


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Sex during the Covid-19 pandemic?
Sex during the Covid-19 pandemic? Dr. Elesha gives us the low down on what we should and shouldn't be doing during the lockdown - all things sex.
Before everything went into lockdown, I went on a girl's holiday. One night as all five of us had a group spoon in a super queen bed; we started watching a film called "Love in the time of Cholera". It was frankly terrible but also represented something I never thought would be an issue – intimacy during a pandemic. Whilst I am not thinking about love and cholera, I am thinking about sex and corona… a lot. Maybe not enough to accept the advances of the Medical Registrar inviting me into his isolation pod, but give it a week until the fatigue that a bout of suspected Covid-19 has given me, I may give in. So how with social distancing do we keep safe during sex?
Being trapped, whether this is your reality or more of a metaphorical sensation, can leave us feeling bored, anxious and irritable. Sex is often used as a release by many. It can soothe these sensations of restlessness and the explosive hormone release acts as a mood boost. This need to feel better could lead to us making unbalanced decisions whereby we don't accurately weigh up risks to ourselves as the perceived benefits of human contact seem so much greater. This has implications for our personal health (both general and sexual health) and public health. When we are in a time when it is difficult to access GP care and nearly all sexual health clinics are shut, this is not the ideal time to need an urgent check-up.
Can you get coronavirus from having sex?
As always, a quick physiology lesson from me. What we know as coronavirus, Covid-19 or the 'Rona is caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus. This virus spreads through body fluids. It has been found most predominantly in saliva, mucus (think nose and lungs) and faeces. It is believed to exist in faeces for many weeks after someone has got over the infection, though we don't know how long this remains infectious for. We have not found any evidence that it is found in semen or vaginal fluids. Whilst we don't know a lot about the transmission nature of the virus, we know that other viruses in the coronavirus family do not spread well through sexual contact. Now for the important part, what can I do about having sex during the coronavirus pandemic?
With social distancing measures and disease transmission, the safest sex during the coronavirus pandemic you can have is with yourself. Solo-sex comes with a multitude of health benefits and with plenty of time on our hands, it's perfect timing to tune in to your own pleasure. To avoid becoming unwell, it's important to wash your hands and toys with soap and water before and after use. This should be for at least 20 seconds, so sing Happy Birthday and think of Boris. If you need to feel someone else, the next best option is to have sex with someone within your household. If that doesn't work either, then it's crucial that you have as few sexual partners as possible and to avoid group sex. If we all sit tight with legs crossed for the next few months, then we will be free to gallivant wholeheartedly much sooner.
What about partnered sex?
There are a few steps to make partnered sex during the coronavirus pandemic as safe as possible during the pandemic. Try to avoid kissing as saliva to saliva often results in transmission. The other very risky sex act is rimming due to Covid-19 being present in both saliva and faeces. A dam would reduce the chances of transmission, much like any other infection. Condoms are also protective against the infection, particularly during anal sex. Make sure you have a shower before and after sex. It also advisable to wash the sheets, towels and disinfect surfaces which have been touched during partnered sex. There are times that you should really skip partnered sex altogether. This includes if you or your partner has confirmed or suspected Covid-19. This means if either of you is displaying any of the symptoms listed on the NHS/WHO/CDC website, then really don't do it. It's also important to avoid sex if your or your partner has medical conditions which could make you more prone to a more severe Covid-19 infection. Don't forget the risk of HIV, STIs and unplanned pregnancy still exists as strongly as ever.
For those of us who are dating or those who sex work, we have lost the ability of face to face contact with potential partners and clients. There has been a shift over to video dating, with many dating apps going as far as buying video platforms to give their patrons an almost authentic date experience. Sexing can also go so far into getting over the heat, especially if you bring teledildonics into this. For those who don't know, teledildonics are sex toys which can be remotely accessed and controlled. Investing in one these toys, such as the We-Vibe toys, can give you something more resembling mutual partnered sex.
Stay at Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.
I wanted to leave a note for those living with HIV. We don't know the exact risks at present, but if you have a low CD4 count or aren't on antiretroviral treatment, you are more likely to get unwell. It's important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, ensuring a balanced diet, plenty of sleep, regular exercise and good adherence to medication. Try to get a longer supply of your regular medications so you don't have to keep leaving the house. Make sure you stay well connected with those around you via phone calls and social media and try to limit face to face contact.
As somebody who works on the frontline of the NHS every day, I want to say thank you for everything you're doing to protect others. Staying at home is the worst but you are probably doing more to save lives than I am.
Written by Dr Elesha Vooght, Sexual Wellness Doctor at Kandid
Dr Elesha Vooght is the sexual wellness doctor at Kandid. By day (or night), Dr Elesha is an NHS junior doctor with her clinical experience spanning from gynaecology and urology to psychiatry and public health. Pleasure and its role in health is her passion in all areas of her practice.
Follow Dr Elesha on Instagram @dr.elesha


Life Lines is a publication brought to you by the University's Employee and Family Assistance Program Provider, Homewood Human Solutions. With the aim of "Improving Your Quality of Life – One Step at a Time", this month's edition focuses on "What to do during a difficult event".
Read Life Lines September 2014 to learn more.


Over a century ago, up to one million Attwater's prairie-chickens graced the coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana. Each spring, males gathered to perform an elaborate courtship ritual.
They inflated their yellow air sacs and emitted a strange, booming sound across a sea of grasses. Today, less than one percent of coastal prairies remain and the Attwater's prairie-chicken has been pushed to the edge of extinction.
The Attwater's prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) is an endangered grouse that is unique to Texas and Louisiana gulf coastal areas. It is a barred brown and tan bird with a short, rounded, blackish tail. It weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Check a bird book and you'll find it is listed as a slightly smaller, darker form of the greater prairie-chicken that lives farther north in tallgrass prairies.
If you visited a lek, it is hard to imagine why the inconspicuous, grass flat attracts a frenzy of activity each year. A lek, or booming ground, is an area typically used year after year for courtship activity. They may be naturally occurring short grass flats or even artificially maintained areas such as dirt roads, or oil well pads.
For males, a lek is their stage. Here, they perform each morning and evening from February through mid-May. Holding their tails erect and wings drooped, they inflate their air sacs, then drop their heads to deflate the sacs with a low sounding "whur-ru-rrr" while stomping their feet extremely fast. Jumps and charges at other males are interspersed throughout this booming activity. It's hard work to attract a mate.
Once the female chooses and breeds with a male, she leaves the lek to nest in a shallow depression on the open prairie, usually within a mile of the booming ground. If her nest is destroyed early in the season, the hen returns to mate again.
The hen lays a dozen eggs and if she's lucky, they'll hatch about 26 days later. Only some 30 percent of all nests escape predators that include opossums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, snakes, and domestic dogs and cats. Less than half the chicks make it to adulthood. Heavy rains can mean even lower nesting success.
Chicks stay with the hen for at least six weeks, dining mostly on nutritious insects. As the chicks grow older, they join the adults in pecking the leaves, flowers, and seeds of prairie plants in addition to insects.
Attwater's prairie-chickens were once found on six million acres of prairie along the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi, Texas, north to the Bayou Teche area in Louisiana and inland some 75 miles. Grasses and flowering plants of many species waved in the winds including little bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass.
Acre by acre, coastal prairies diminished as cities and towns sprouted up, industries grew and expanded, and farmers plowed up native grasslands for croplands or tame pasture. Suppressing prairie fires allowed brush species to invade the prairies.
Many grasslands species slowly found they had nowhere to go, including the Attwater's prairie chicken. Concern over the rapidly disappearing habitat prompted the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy to purchase about 3,500 acres of prairie in the 1960s. This land was purchased by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1972 and today is the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. To ensure this species continues to grace the Texas landscape, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge staff manages the refuge for the benefit of this species and have made protecting it and its habitat a top priority.
More than a century ago, the Attwater's prairie-chicken population was estimated to be up to a million birds. By 1919, the grouse species had disappeared from Louisiana and by 1937 only about 8,700 birds remained in Texas, signaling the end of hunting for a once common game bird. It was listed as endangered in 1967 and in 1973 the Endangered Species Act provided immediate protection. The Attwater's prairie-chicken is considered one of the most endangered birds of North America.


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Doyle stokes in a thousand shrewd touches with no effort at all. Wonderful.
Rex Stout
Rex Stout's quotes
I still can't decide which is more fun - reading or writing.
As a professional writer of detective stories, I string along with the ballplayers. I love a ball game.
One of the hardest things to believe is that anyone will abandon the effort to escape a charge of murder. It is extremely important to suspend disbelief on that. If you don't, the story is spoiled.
To read of a detective's daring finesse or ingenious stratagem is a rare joy.
Everything in a story should be credible.
The Glass Key is better than anything Hemingway ever wrote.
If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the unanswered mail will have to manage without me if one of the books is a detective story.
Hemingway never grew out of adolescence. His scope and depth stayed shallow because he had no idea what women are for.
Every Sherlock Holmes story has at least one marvelous scene.
I have never regarded myself as this or that. I have been too busy being myself to bother about regarding myself.
To say that man is a reasoning animal is a very different thing than to say that most of man's decisions are based on his rational process. That I don't believe at all.
A character who is thought-out is not born, he or she is contrived. A born character is round, a thought-out character is flat.
I have a strong moral sense - by my standards.
There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.
The minute those two little particles inside a woman's womb have joined together, billions of decisions have been made. A thing like that has to come from entropy.
I think one or two of the later Holmes stories are among the best.
Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that today is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.
Every American deserves to live in freedom, to have his or her privacy respected and a chance to go as far as their ability and effort will take them - regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or economic circumstances.
Achievement is not always success, while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances.
You really should not do this job unless you're willing to put in that enormous amount of effort. You should not do the job unless you're willing to take risks. And you shouldn't do the job unless you're willing to lose the job, too.
Anthony A. Williams
When families observe a later, deeper stage of cult involvement they may find it necessary to consider the involvement of a professional such as myself in an intervention effort.
Much effort, much prosperity.
No one will deny that the excessive use of alcohol and alcoholic beverages would do more than any other single factor to make impossible a total war effort.
Success requires first expending ten units of effort to produce one unit of results. Your momentum will then produce ten units of results with each unit of effort.
I'm not the type of person who goes through all this effort for a movie, and then doesn't care if anybody sees it. I want them to see it, and I want them to see it on the big screen.
It wasn't my plan to create such a record. All I did was put in the effort to win every match I played and it went on for weeks, months and years until my defeat to Ross Norman in Toulouse in 1986.
Jahangir Khan
Periods of wholesome laziness, after days of energetic effort, will wonderfully tone up the mind and body.
A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.
I'm always making a conscious effort to be viable and accessible.
A strenuous effort must be made to train young people to think for themselves and take independent charge of their lives.
If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavor alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable.
I know, to banish anger altogether from one's breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God's grace.
Mohandas Gandhi
Sport is the habitual and voluntary cultivation of intensive physical effort.
The Russians obtained a number of plants under Lend-Lease, which had been authorized by Washington, that I thought were not justified for their war effort. They wanted them for postwar use.
W. Averell Harriman
I find it an effort to keep up appearances.
I am pleased to see that information campaigns, such as the America's WETLAND effort, are getting the message out, and people are beginning to realize that wetlands loss in Louisiana affects us all.
Mr. Speaker, genocide is the most potent of all crimes against humanity because it is an effort to systematically wipe out a people and a culture as well as individual lives.
We're going to make every effort to keep the Saints as Louisiana's team.
Paul Tagliabue
The paintings may communicate even better because people are lazy and they can look at a painting with less effort than they can read a poem.
It is to be deeply regretted that the clergymen would oppose an effort to teach the people the Bible truths; nevertheless, we find much opposition everywhere, and many clergymen will attempt to prevent the people from reading what is here written.
Great art is never produced for its own sake. It is too difficult to be worth the effort.
This is a group effort. This is group theatre. This is no big star turn. You could do things with it to do that but it would just be out of kilter. This is one reason I like this play. This is a unit.
Individual effort is almost relatively impossible to cope with the big problem of poverty as we see it.
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
To fail is a natural consequence of trying, To succeed takes time and prolonged effort in the face of unfriendly odds. To think it will be any other way, no matter what you do, is to invite yourself to be hurt and to limit your enthusiasm for trying again.


For the unit of mass, see Stone (unit).
A stone is a piece of rock. It is a mass of hard, compacted mineral. The word "stone" also refers to natural rock as a material, especially a building material. A Natural stone used as building material include granite, marble and sandstone. Manufactured, artificial products, such as concrete or clay bricks, are not stone.
Stone was one of the first materials used to make tools and buildings. It is a very sturdy material. It is less affected by weather than wood or brick. Depending on the type of rock, stone weathers away much more slowly. A stone in the river is reshaped by the water and sediment flowing around it.
Stones can be used as primitive weapon. Person can throw it at enemy or animal, or use it to make more damage in hand-to-hand combat.
A stone is larger than a grain of sand, gravel or pebbles. A boulder is a very large rock or stone.


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Culper Investigations Group was founded by president and owner Martin Steiger. He is a licensed and Bonded New York State Private Investigator with over 25 years' experience in both the military and law enforcement communities.A veteran owned and operated company, Culper Investigations Group derives its name from the Culper Spy Ring, an organization which is said to be our nation's first active intelligence agency. Formed and operated by local residents from the North Shore of Long Island, this group gathered information about British Army operations and movements in and around New York. This information proved to be critical in the success of the Continental Army and ultimately in the formation of a new country "United States of America".
Private Investigators operate today with basically the same goal in mind — to gather information. The key difference is how that information is obtained. While some of the same techniques are still used, the technology of today offers the investigator far more resources to acquire information.
At Culper Investigations Group we utilize all the resources at our disposal including experienced investigators and the latest technology and equipment to produce a successful case outcome. Our goal is to deliver our clients a superior end product at a reasonable cost.
We offer free consultation along with patience and understanding of our client's particular situation. We will openly discuss the best possible solution, our strategy, and the costs associated with it. Please take a look at our website and call to speak with one of our experts.
MARTIN J. STEIGER, B.A., M.S.
Martin began his law enforcement career with the New York City Police Department in 1986. Over the course of 25 years he has gained the knowledge and expertise in all traditional law enforcement operations and investigative techniques.
Martin's last assignment with the NYPD was with the Counter Terrorism Bureau. There he held the rank of Lieutenant and performed duty as the Watch Commander in the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, a state of the art Counter Terrorism Command Center. He was responsible for the supervision of an operations staff of Sergeants, Detectives, Police Officers and Intelligence Analysts whose primary mission is to detect, preempt, disrupt and investigate terrorist operations by using the latest surveillance technology.
Martin also had a long career with the military serving 24 years in the United States Army Reserve. The majority of that time was with the 800th Military Police Brigade, a Long Island Based Unit. Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center Martin was deployed twice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In January of 2002 Martin received his first orders for OEF where as a U.S. Army Captain he served as staff officer to the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) Provost Marshal, responsible for Taliban and Al-Qaeda detainee operations at theater level.
Martin was once more deployed in 2003 to Iraq with the 800th MP Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). He served as a staff operations officer responsible for Enemy Prisoner of War and Civilian Internee Operations. His duties also included the responsibility and supervision of the Force Protection and security stance at Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca and other internment facilities throughout Iraq. He was also appointed to serve as a Tribunal Officer for the purpose of conducting interviews and interrogations of detainees eligible for repatriation. Martin retired from the United States Army Reserve at the rank of Major in 2005.
Martin holds a Masters Degree in Security Management from Long Island University and has received extensive training through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) that include: Hostile Surveillance Detection, Dignitary Protection, Pro-Active Terrorism Recognition Interdiction and Observation Tactics, WMD Radiological/Nuclear course for Haz-Mat Technicians(DOE), Critical Infrastructure Protection Course, Maritime Infrastructure Protection course, Advanced Explosive Trace and Detection Course, Personal Radiation Detection Course, Port Awareness and Incident Management/Unified Command for Terrorism/CBRNE incidents, U.S. Air Force Level 2 Anti Terrorism Course, Seaport Security-Anti Terrorism Training Program.


after the crazy night we had, my sister and i unconsciously just decided to stay home all day friday and lock ourselves in our room. what with the really painful headache and hangover, we couldn't really move around. so we spent the whole day watching How I Met Your Mother or taking turns using the computer. we did get bored by 7:00 PM and at one point decided to go to SM and go shopping but we were too lazy to take a shower and dress up. it wasn't until 10:00 PM that we felt that we needed to go out and since watching How I Met Your Mother always makes me hungry, i convinced Aimee to grab some pizza and hot wings.
so we drove over to Banilad Town Center and visited Yellow Cab Pizza what we needed to cure our hangover was an oily and cheesy pizza and the super yummy Yellow Cab hot wings. and since we were already there, we had ourselves some frozen yogurt from Yo-Go Boy too. if you're asking what those round toppings on the fro-yo are, those are the awesomely yummy reese's puffs. the puff just melts in your mouth and the peanut butter and chocolate just explodes in your mouth! perfect combination to the blueberry and cashew nuts! the pig-out was definitely worth the 20 minute drive from our house!
Hehe!!! Hot wings and pizza. Funny!!!!
Okay. So I love this post. The sandals look awesome with the blue nail polish and leggings.
Cool looks in this post!
Mmmmm ice cream and great flip flops!! Love it!
cuteness much! You and your sister are bundles of pretties! Am totally crushing over your fairy necklace.
Thank you for the sweet comment you left on my blog by the way.
mmmm, i love Yellow Cab! haven't had their pizzas in a while, but i'm super addicted to their hot wings. my mouth is watering just thinking about them!
YOU LOOK ADORABLE AS ALWAYS. I love these pictures, actually! The background reminds me of the tiles in my bathroom! And, for the record, I really like the tiles in my bathroom!
Sounds like a chill day! SUPERBBBB.
simple but it is so YOU!!!
your sister is lovely too…hope to see you soon-ish!!!
Love that sporty look! So fun!


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Canopy Imaging
When the automobile was invented the use of gas stations were non-existent. As cars became more popular, and easier to obtain, gas stations started to bloom. At first gasoline had no reason not to stay a unified product, however, in the late 1910s and early 1920s gas stations started sweeping the nation and because of this competition spiked in the gasoline industry. As the onslaught in car owners continued to skyrocket, gasoline companies wanted a way to stand out in the fresh new market. Thus imaging was created.
Imaging is a way that gasoline (or petroleum) companies can standardize their stations. Companies such as Mobil/Exxon, Shell, Gulf, Citgo (and many others) have used Corporate imaging programs as a way to ensure that customers can recognize their stations. Before gas station canopies, these company used color schemes, logos and even specific styles to make sure that a customer could tell it was their station. Around 1915 signs started to be placed by the roadside to clearly identify the station. In the 1950s the use of an overhead canopy became an indispensable component to gas stations. These canopies became a place that a company could clearly and very largely display the company logo, name and signature colors.
With time all things change, this is no different in the world of gas stations and branding today. Many companies that had stations in 1920 still have stations today, but the image has conformed to the current trend. Now petroleum companies are one of the top buyers for overhead canopies but in the infancy of gas stations that was not the case. What images have changed from when you were a kid?
If you have questions on imaging or are interested in a custom image for your stations please contact us we look forward to helping assist with your corporate image branding or unbranded station details.
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OPEC members and other oil-producing countries convene in Vienna this week to discuss lowering their output, as they scramble to buffer their earnings against plunging crude prices, while also coming under heavy US pressure to ensure that the commodity stays cheap.
At the recent G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said they were renewing a pact to cap output next year.
But ministers from the two oil-producing giants and their partners will have their work cut out for them if they hope to strike a deal at the plenary sessions on Thursday and Friday and to restore their market credibility.
If the 20 or so members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations -- which account for more than half of the world's oil -- continue to pump at current record levels, they risk seeing prices continue to tumble.
Prices have already plunged more than 30 percent over the past two months and a barrel of Brent crude, the European benchmark, currently stands at around $60.
But if oil producers close the taps, they risk choking off the global economy, which needs affordable oil to keep running.
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, in particular, finds itself in a delicate position.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly hit out at the oil cartel and accused it of keeping prices artificially high.
Riyadh will also be keen not to incur Trump's wrath as relations between the two countries become increasingly complicated in the wake of the murder of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Nonetheless, "low prices are not an option for Saudi Arabia as it puts (Mohammed bin Salman's) domestic reform agenda at risk. So, it will be key to reach an understanding with Trump," analysts at Energy Aspects wrote in a research note.
For its part, Washington's position might also change rapidly, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, who noted that US shale producers need oil prices to be high to ensure the profitability of their operations.
"We believe that memories of late 2014, when OPEC failed to cut production and Brent oil prices nosedived to $45 per barrel in January 2015, remain fresh," Staunovo said.
That price fiasco sharply dented OPEC's credibility.
But at the end of 2016, in a move to get the market back under control, the cartel teamed up with non-OPEC members such as Russia to agree swingeing production cuts to reduce the supply glut.
The unprecedented collaboration paid off, and by setting production targets and keeping to them, the oil producers stimulated a rally that lasted until the start of October 2018.
Last June, producers decided to change the methodology for setting production targets in order to allow Russia and Saudi Arabia to make up the expected shortfall in Iranian output following the US decision to re-impose sanctions against Iran.
But Moscow and Riyadh may have been too quick off the mark.
At the last moment, the United States agreed exemptions at higher levels than the markets had been expecting.
That has sent prices into a tailspin over the past two months, a drop that effectively wiped out the gains so painstakingly achieved since the beginning of 2017.
It therefore remains to be seen whether the alliance will decide to cut output again and, if so, how the burden will be shared out.
Negotiations could be fraught, as some members resent the clout that Saudi Arabia wields in setting OPEC policy.
While Doha accounts for only around two percent of OPEC output, Iran, the group's third-biggest producer, has accused Saudi Arabia of being in thrall to the United States.


Composer: The Merry Blackbirds (Performer)Composer not specified | 1951-00-00 | Folk music, Merry Blackbirds, South Africa, Southern African, Xhosa, ILAM | Further details refer ILAM record number: CR3658.
1900-01-00 | Eastern Cape, Indigenous music, South Africa, Southern African, Vocal, Xhosa, ILAM | Further details refer to ILAM CD number: BC78.
Composer: The Wesley House Quartette of Fort Hare (Performer)Composer not specified | 1950-00-00 | Hymn, Indigenous music, Piano, Rattle, Southern African, Wesley House Quartette of Fort Hare, Xhosa, ILAM | Further details refer to ILAM record number: CR3093.
1900-01-00 | Clapping, Eastern Cape, Indigenous music, Khalana village, South Africa, Southern African, Vocal, Xhosa, ILAM | Further details refer to ILAM CD number: BC78.


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Plastic Heroes
Plastic Heroes Slider
Plastic Heores 1
BECOME A PLASTIC HERO NOW!
To encourage behavioural change towards plastics reuse and create self-awareness regarding the environmental footprint of our actions, "Plastic Heroes" is designed as a serious game with focus both, on eLearning elements and a fun gameplay that aims in incentivizing people to engage and actively support plastic-as-an-asset practices where the revalued material enters the new plastic circular economy.
The player slips into the role of one of these Plastic Heroes which are kind activists all over the world that have the common goal to protect the environment by collecting and reusing plastic waste and to enlighten themselves and others with useful information on the topic.
Visit Google Play to download and play "Plastic Heroes" in your Android device.
Play the Plastic Heroes game now!
Gamification in Sustainability Award
The PlasticTwist "Plastic Heroes" game won the Gamification in Sustainability Award in the Gamification Awards 2019 competition!
The Gamification Awards are global awards for gamification that celebrate the leading examples of gamification practitioners' projects and applications each year and showcase just how much you can achieve in this growing industry.
In the words of the organisers: "The entries to the Gamification in Sustainability Award were so strong and each of our finalists have done fantastic things to help raise awareness of sustainability issues around the world. Creating behaviour change and educating people on ways they can help save our planet through gamification is a great way to get people acting quickly. When it comes to saving our homes, animals and oceans from pollution, time is not on our side!"
The judges loved that we were raising awareness and teaching users about the different types of plastic through quizzes. Here is what they said about the "Plastic Heroes" game:
- "A very interesting and well-developed project that utilises game theory to educate clearly."
- "A great problem to gamify!"
- "A really necessary game!"
- "I really like the idea of having a serious game connected to a marketplace/networking platform, this is like two solutions in one."
- "Brilliant creativity & design."
And how did our developers felt:
"I think winning this award is a great achievement as this gives us an affirmation of the work we have been doing for the past months and the experts judges recognize what and how we work to accomplish sustainable use of plastics under the PlasticTwist project. The team of the project as well as Nurogames is proud to be able to reduce plastic to make the world a better place!"
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 780121
2018-2020 PlasticTwist Consortium.


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Q: Changing the appearance of the login and URL of Cloudtrax for client access Background: We currently manage a wireless network for a store, which is used by its customers when they want free Wi-Fi which we control using Cloudtrax linked to our Open-Mesh access points.
Requirement: The client wants to have control via this interface, but we don't want the client to see that they are using Cloudtrax, we want to "skin" the login and admin pages so that they see only our branding, and our URL, thus not leaving even a mention of Cloudtrax.
Question: How would I go about doing something like this?
Thanks in advance for anything helpful! it's much appreciated

A: loudtrax offers the ability to add a custom logo to your Cloudtrax network. This logo will be seen when you or your customers log in to Cloudtrax, as well as on any vouchers you may decide to print. By default, this will be set as the default Cloudtrax logo.
Follow these steps to change your network logo:
Log into your Cloudtrax network.
Navigate to "Edit Network", which can be found in the top right hand corner of the Cloudtrax login page.
In the top left corner, you will see the Cloudtrax logo, with the word "replace" that is green and underlined. Click "replace".
After you have clicked the link, a "browse" button will appear. Simply click this button, and navigate to the image you have saved. After you have selected the image, hit "submit".
If everything has gone correctly, you should see your updated logo where the Cloudtrax logo was previously located.
There are some restrictions on the logo: it can be no larger than 100K, and must be a supported file type such as png, jpg, or gif. If these requirements are not met, you will be displayed an error stating that your image does not meet the requirements, and the logo will be reset to Cloudtrax.
Logos are set on a per-network basis. If you have multiple networks, you'll have to upload a custom logo for each one.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


1400 years ago people thought that rocks can fall to the ground and that's it. Nobody believed that rocks sink further underground. However today we know that this is false. Rocks can sink hundreds of kilometers deep.
The highest point on Earth is in the Himalayas at Mount Everest 8.8 km high. It turned out that this mountain has roots about 250 km deep.
The larger Asian plate forced the Indian plate deep into the mantle - a process called subduction - sinking it at least 155 miles (250 kilometers) down under the surface, a new study in the May edition of the journal Geology suggests. This plunge is double the depth of previous estimates.
This subduction carries water inside rocks from the surface down to the middle mantle. Scientists found huge amounts of water inside a mineral 410 to 660 km below the surface.
The deep Earth holds about the same amount of water as our oceans. That's the conclusion from experiments on rocks typical of those in the mantle transition zone, a global buffer layer 410 to 660 kilometers beneath us that separates the upper from the lower mantle.
"If our estimation is correct, it means there's a large amount of water in the deep Earth," says Hongzhan Fei at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. "The total amount of water in the deep Earth is nearly the same as the mass of all the world's ocean water."
The high pressure down there breaks down all rocks. But from this discovery we know that the water and rocks from the surface sank more than 400 km beneath Earth's surface. However this was portrayed in the Quran 1400 years before it was discovered.
"Others that descend in awe of Allah" here the rocks and water are descending but the Quran didn't say "rocks" or "water" anymore because at that depth rocks break down and the water is not liquid anymore but rather in the form of ions inside a mineral.
How could an illiterate man who lived 1400 years ago have known that rocks can sink inside Earth?
For "others that crack and water comes out from them" see Rocks Crack.


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Winter Literature
Here are 10 winter literature writing prompts you can use to ring in the season with your classroom or your own personal journal. If you enjoyed these prompts, buy the entire collection of 1,000 Writing Prompts for Seasons on Amazon.
701. A proverbial saying related to winter states that a rich man gets his ice in the summer and a poor man gets his in the winter. What do you think that means and why? What other things might a poor person not be entitled to that a rich person could have all year long?
702. In the 16th century, winter was used in literature as a symbol of old age. In what ways does winter make you think about aging? If you were writing a poem about winter, would you use winter to symbolize something different? Why or why not?
703. Shakespeare's play A Winter's Tale sets half of the play in the winter during the reign of the cold-hearted King Leontes. Do you think that some people act differently during the winter? Why or why not? Might these same people literally become warm emotionally during the warmer months? Why or why not?
704. The phrase lion in winter, used as the title of James Goldman's play The Lion in Winter, refers to a strong and important person who has become old and less important because of age and hardship. Do you think that you will get better with age? Why or why not? Why might it be tough to be strong when you reach a certain age?
705. Richard III, another Shakespearian play, refers to a time of unhappiness as "the winter of our discontent." Have you ever had a winter of discontent? If so, what made your winter so unhappy and why? If not, imagine and write about what you would have to do to get yourself out of a winter funk.
706. George Herbert, a poet famous for his pattern poems, once wrote that "every mile is two in winter." What might he mean literally and figuratively by that? What are some of the aspects of winter that seem long and why?
707. British poet Edith Sitwell wrote that winter is a time for home. Why do you think home is especially important during the winter? Imagine that you had to spend winter far away from home. How would it be different?
708. Anne Bradstreet, who wrote the first book by a woman that was published in the United States, wrote that "if we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant." Would you agree with that statement? Do we need to have the unhappy side of something in order to fully experience its happier side? Why or why not?
709. Writer and fiction editor for The New Yorker Katherine S. White, once wrote that one of the three gardens of winter was "the garden of the mind's eye." What might she mean by that? What are some of the things you might use your imagination for during the winter and why?
710. In Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, the character Biron says that there are certain things that make sense in each season. He wouldn't want a rose in winter just like he wouldn't want snow in the spring. Do you ever hope for warm weather in the winter? Why or why not? Do you think having an appropriately snowy winter is important? Why or why not?
Did you enjoy these winter literature writing prompts? Buy a book full of seasonal writing prompts today!
Done with Winter Literature Writing Prompts? Go back to Seasonal Writing Prompts.
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Third and Fourth Grade Writing Practice
Fifth and Sixth Grade Writing Practice
1,000 Creative Writing Prompts
Written by Bryan Cohen
Bryan Cohen is the author of more than 30 books, many of which focus on creative writing and blasting through that pesky writer's block. His books have sold more than 20,000 copies. You can find him on Google+ and Facebook.


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Home Scandal and Gossip Kristen Stewart heads out to Toronto film festival wearing Robert Pattinson's IRIE...
Kristen Stewart heads out to Toronto film festival wearing Robert Pattinson's IRIE t shirt.
Now the proof you have been waiting for: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are really back together.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson reunite. Fooled us all with disguises….were seeing each other all along.
Really? Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson said to have had dramatic makeup.
Kristen Stewart opens up about Robert Pattinson: 'We're going to be fine.'
Liberty Ross walks for Alexander Wang Spring 2013 collection. 'I'm Still a hawt bixch Kristen Stewart!'
Kristen Stewart looks very lonely on the red carpet without Robert Pattinson.
All eyes were on Kristen Stewart last night as the Twilight actress headed out from Los Angeles airport to make her way to the beginning of the Toronto Film Festival where she is expected to make her first red carpet appearance (she will be promoting her new film, 'On the Road') since news of her having a dalliance with British director Rupert Sanders behind her until recently live in boyfriend, actor Robert Pattinson.
Although Pattinson has resisted to make comments about the fracas involving Kristen Stewart (he has in the interim ceased being involved with her but the former couple's beleaguered fans are hoping a re union is in the works) the actress on the other hand hasn't been shy about affirming her love for Robert nor was she shy about it either last night.
Conspicously wearing an IRIE shirt as favored by her estranged boyfriend (is it even the same one?) the actress in her way sought to address controversy over her behavior and the many looming questions as to whether their relationship will ever reignite.
Then there is the colloquial meaning that the word offers as well, which Stewart must have hoped to communicate with her fans.
Irie is defined in the Urban Dictionary as meaning 'the way you feel when you have no worries – to be at total peace with your current state of being.'
Meanwhile press at the upcoming film premiere where the actress is expected to appear have been instructed to keep questions regarding the actresses personal affairs at bay although that hardly has put at bay the rampant speculation as to the actresses state of mind and whether she stands a chance of reuniting with Robert Pattinson.
With respect to the festival itself, a source told RadarOnline: 'Kristen Stewart hasn't been able to get a wink of sleep in the run-up to the film festival.
'She's been fretting over the film's premiere. She hopes it goes well and that news of her personal affair will not color the premiere.'
Of course that in itself is probably wishful thinking as the controversy of the actress has only probably heightened interest in any project that she may undertake going forward, then again this comes with the territory with being the highest paid actress in Hollywood one supposes…
Kristen Stewart tells British Vogue she doesn't know who she is after affair
Robert Pattinson's sisters would kill him if he re unites with Kristen Stewart.
Yes, Robert Pattinson can't help reading about the Kristen Stewart affair either.
Oh my! Is Robert Pattinson making a break back to London now?
Liberty Ross struts in her its bitty shorts and heels as husband mulls her marriage demands.
Liberty Ross steps out once again without her wedding ring.
Kristen Stewart seeks self help books to forgive herself for breaking Robert Pattinson's heart.
Robert Pattinson looks like a wreck on Jimmy Kimmel. 'Feels homeless…'
Kristen Stewart t shirts hit at all time low as actresses is dumped on.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are given permission not to attend Twilight conventions.
Is Kristen Stewart mutilating herself? From bad to worse…
Rupert Sanders


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Statistical approach, Sensory analysis, brief application of Bioinformatics Tool, Melanin, Allicin and Glucosinolate presence in Mango pulp for Pharmacological Benefits
Information on important flavor components for fruit and vegetables is lacking and would be useful for breeders and molecular biologists . In this study five acid treatments, were formulated and the effects of Citric Acid (CA) and Malic Acid (MA) levels on canned mango pulp (Mangifera indica L.) flavor perception was evaluated . Depiction of pulp components was executed in the Rasmol V 2 7.1 visualizing pectin, melanin and allinase compounds as a part of brief bioformatic analysis of the pulp. Melanin content, allicin and glucosinolate's presence were assessed and their % concentration variations against different treatments was depicted . As we correlated the values of TSS and pH by different statistical analysis methods like Pearson's correlation coefficient, Spearman's and Regression plots by a statistical software we found that these two variables are positively correlated to each other. We have the alternate hypothesis H1 with p value < 0.05 being accepted for the sensory quality estimation based on Larmond's 9-point hedonic scale sensory evaluation. The lowest levels of allicin was found in T2 about 0.14% where as the highest was noted to be about 4.28% in T3. The T5 treatment showed low concentration of melanin about 3.98% and the highest was about 9.43% in T4.The glucosinolate concentrations also varied according to the treatment administered. Low level of about 3.34% in T3 and about 7.9% concentration was observed in T4 . All these findings can further invariably help in extending the shelf life and increasing the marketability of the mango based products
Author(s): Saranya Chitturi, Venkata Gopichand Talatam and Suneetha V


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Evolution Shaken to Its Foundations
by Daren Jonescu · Published July 4, 2018 · Updated July 4, 2018
If you are an evolutionist in any of the currently understood and mainstream senses, the following study — conducted by mainstream evolutionists — simply cannot be true.
From World Magazine:
Researchers are shocked by the unexpected results of a large new genetic study that appears in the journal Human Evolution. The findings indicate that either most animal species and humans originated at approximately the same time, or some major population crash wiped out most of the original species.
In the past, researchers studied DNA in the nucleus of cells, which differs markedly from one species to another. But the new study analyzed a gene sequence found in mitochondrial DNA. (Mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, produce about 90 percent of a cell's chemical energy.) Although mitochondrial DNA is similar across all humans and animals, it also contains tiny bits that are different enough to distinguish between species. This difference allows researchers to estimate the approximate age of a species.
The researchers analyzed these gene sequences in 100,000 species and concluded that the event—either the simultaneous appearance of humans and most animals, or a population crash—occurred about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. That proposal challenges the bedrock of evolutionary theory.
The story is picked up at Phys.org:
It is textbook biology, for example, that species with large, far-flung populations—think ants, rats, humans—will become more genetically diverse over time.
But is that true?
"The answer is no," said Stoeckle, lead author of the study, published in the journal Human Evolution.
For the planet's 7.6 billion people, 500 million house sparrows, or 100,000 sandpipers, genetic diversity "is about the same," he told AFP.
The study's most startling result, perhaps, is that nine out of 10 species on Earth today, including humans, came into being 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
"This conclusion is very surprising, and I fought against it as hard as I could," Thaler told AFP.
That reaction is understandable: How does one explain the fact that 90 percent of animal life, genetically speaking, is roughly the same age?
These findings are only "startling," in and of themselves, if you begin from the presumption that a scientific hypothesis that has never been sufficiently supported by the kind of physical evidence such hypotheses demand simply must be true because the "scientific community" has circled the wagons for it — in spite of the fact that this insufficiently-supported hypothesis, in the modern form in which it owns the academy, is barely a hundred and fifty years old. Those of us who do not make our living by believing what everyone else believes, and who therefore have always maintained a certain healthy skepticism about Darwinian evolution, may skip over all the shock and awe stuff, and simply be amused.
Amused to watch Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson worm their way out of this one. (Let's hope Tyson does a little better here than he has done on global warming.)
Amused to see the only empirically verifiable microevolution occurring — yet again — not in the biological world, but in the academic discipline of evolutionary biology itself, as the discipline's careerists and popular advocates mutate once more to meet the harsh demands of life lived on a planet so uncooperative to the theory at whose teat they suckle their livelihood and sense of self-worth.
For what it's worth, I have always been underwhelmed by Darwinism in all its guises, and nonplussed by how impatiently, angrily, so many people just need me to believe it. (That impatience and anger is, for me, always a sure sign that I ought to think it over a little more before believing it.) It just seems so trivial and flimsy a theory compared to what a truly serious thinker would do with the thought of the "origin of species." That is why, whenever I have had the chance to do so, I have always introduced students to the cosmic cycle of Empedocles as the only theory of evolution that, from a philosophical perspective, I can really take seriously. Aristotle, though believing his own biological findings were more grounded in the evidence, nevertheless returns often to Empedocles as a springboard for his own thought. What important thinker, by contrast, could gain any height jumping from the lowly Darwin? That, rather than any mythological hang-up, is why, as a matter of historical fact, no significant philosopher so far has ever allowed his own thought to be influenced much by modern evolutionary biology.
The best Darwin has done so far, in the realm of serious thought, is the few passing references he gets from Nietzsche, such as this one from The Gay Science:
Once more the origin of scholars.— The wish to preserve oneself is the symptom of a condition of distress, of a limitation of the really fundamental instinct of life which aims at the expansion of power and, wishing for that, frequently risks and even sacrifices self-preservation. It should be considered symptomatic when some philosophers–for example, Spinoza who was consumptive–considered the instinct of self-preservation decisive and had to see it that way; for they were individuals in conditions of distress.
That our modern natural sciences have become so thoroughly entangled in this Spinozistic dogma (most recently and worst of all, Darwinism with its incomprehensibly onesided doctrine of the "struggle for existence") is probably due to the origins of most natural scientists: In this respect they belong to the "common people"; their ancestors were poor and undistinguished people who knew the difficulties of survival only too well at firsthand. The whole of English Darwinism breathes something like the musty air of English overpopulation, like the smell of the distress and overcrowding of small people. But a natural scientist should come out of his human nook; and in nature it is not conditions of distress that are dominant but overflow and squandering, even to the point of absurdity. The struggle for existence is only an exception, a temporary restriction of the will to life. The great and small struggle always revolves around superiority, around growth and expansion, around power–in accordance with the will to power which is the will of life. [Gay Science, Kaufmann translation, §349]
Tags: Darwinevolutionorigin of species
When Punks Rule the Earth
by Daren Jonescu · Published April 18, 2021 · Last modified April 19, 2021
Authority, the Individual, and the State
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Letter: Single-party sweep highlights need for voting reform
Our voting system has distorted the will of Canada's electors, handing an un-earned majority to one party.
To the editor;
Canada's winner-take-all voting system has significantly distorted the will of Canada's electors, handing an un-earned majority to one party. Today, we do not have the government that we voted for!
Nationally, Liberals earned the votes of 39.5 per cent of Canadian voters, yet the voting system handed them over 54.4 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons as a result. This is a majority government…on only a minority of the vote. The desire for change was clearly evident in the results, but our winner-take-all system granted the Liberal Party many more seats than their vote merits, and shut out other voices.
The First Past The Post voting system yielded the Trudeau Liberals a solid majority (elected or leading) of 184 seats, more than the 170 threshold for a majority. A number of experienced long-time Members of Parliament were swept away with the Liberal landslide.
A proportional voting system would have granted 134 seats to the Liberals (less than a majority), 108 seats to the Conservatives, 67 to the NDP, 16 to the Bloc and 12 to the Greens. Today we should have a minority government in place in Canada.
Regional distortions are also evident. The Bloc, with its geographically concentrated 4.7 per cent of the vote gained 10 seats, but the Greens, with diffuse support and 3.4 per cent of the vote, only achieved one seat.
Last month, over 500 Canadian academics, including several Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, 29 Canada Research Chairs and two Professors with the Order of Canada, called on all political parties to work together to bring in a fairer electoral system.
It should no longer be acceptable to have a system that disenfranchises a third of the electorate, forces people to vote strategically, or distorts the will of voters. It's time we modernized our dysfunctional democracy so that election results truly reflect they way electors vote.
Fair Vote Langley is part of Fair Vote Canada, Canada's national multi-partisan citizens' movement promoting fair voting reform at all levels of government.
Timothy Jones
Fair Vote Canada (FairVote.ca)
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