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Home > Programmes > Nature Conservation > Saving Threatened Species > The KFBG Incense Tree Conservation Project
Illegal logging is a major threat to the population of Aquilaria sinensis (Incense Trees) in Hong Kong.
KFBG is looking into the genetic diversity of Incense Trees using DNA fingerprinting, as very little is known about its ability to adapt and survive natural disaster and human impacts.
There is an urgent need to study and conserve the population of Incense Trees in Hong Kong, as this species is predicted to have great impact on the forest ecosystems in Hong Kong.
Cultural background of the traditional use of incense
The Incense Tree is so called, because it produces a strong-smelling resin in response to the presence of a fungus. This resin is called Gaharu in Indonesia, Oud in Arabia, and Chen Xiang (沈香) in Chinese. Resins can be collected and be made into incenses. There is a big market for incenses, as they are frequently burned at religious ceremonies, and also recreationally. Agarwood is most popular in Asian and Arabian countries. The spiritual association of agarwood in many cultures has been recorded in some of the world's oldest written texts – the Sanskrit vedas, and the bible (Al-Woozain, 2016). Its significance goes beyond the burning of joss sticks and incense chips at ceremonies. In the Near East, in most of the Arabian Peninsula, oud (agarwood) is synonymous with hospitality, and it is believed that the smell can drive away depression, and produce a feeling of joy (Al-Woozain, 2016).
There are currently 21 identified species classified within the Aquilaria genus. The agarwood and resin from different species varies in its specific properties, and the quality also varies between species and localities, leading to a large variation in value of wood and resin from different sources (Oudselection, 2016). All species are currently listed as vulnerable to critically endangered on IUCN Red List.
Experts believe that the quality of the resin collected from Incense Trees is also heavily influenced by the age of the tree. It has been suggested that it takes over a century for the resin in Incense Trees to develop into top quality resins for collection (Al-Woozain, 2016). This makes sustainable harvesting of resin from Incense Trees impractical, as the development time is so long. It also highlights a major problem – that many illegal loggers are indiscriminate about the age of trees they cut down. This means many trees are felled before they have had a chance to fully develop their precious resource, and immature trees may not provide much resin at all.
The trade of agarwood is a vicious cycle. The demand for resin increases as it becomes rarer, and that in turn drives up the price further and creates an underground industry and a black market. A report in 2013 showed that oud sales has gone up by 68%, value at 3 billion USD globally (Al-Woozain, 2016). The top quality oud, referred to 'kynam', is described as the rarest wood on earth, and it can fetch a price that is 30 times higher than gold (Al-Woozain, 2016). The price and value of some of the best quality agarwood has led to an increasing amount of people investing in them, much like investment in famous artwork.
In China, an additional threat to the Incense Tree's survival is caused by its use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to relieve pain, asthma, and help with vomiting and hiccups dating back to the Song Dynasty. This market means loggers often target the species to sell the wood. Aquilaria sinensis, the species endemic to China and also found in Hong Kong SAR is mainly used for that purpose and, is currently under a major threat of poaching and illegal logging because of recent increase in use of TCM. Due to the great commercial value, Aquilaria sinensis has become a major target of exploitation, and is currently listed as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN (Lee & Mohamed, 2016).
The impact of poaching on the ecology and genetic diversity of Incense Trees in Hong Kong
Aquilaria sinensis (Incense Tree) is a sun-loving species, mainly reproducing in canopy gaps caused by large fallen trees after storm damage. They used to be common in Hong Kong's remaining old grown forests such as feng shui woods, (Chen et al, 2016), but the future of this species in Hong Kong is of immediate concern because of on-going poaching. Once the mature trees are gone, seedlings and young trees need bright light conditions to grow but such conditions are not common in the dense secondary forests of Hong Kong, making a natural recovery of that species questionable. There has been a recent explosion of illegal logging, which have had detrimental effects on the population density and genetic diversity of the species (Jim, 2015).
The catastrophic decline of the population of Incense Trees may have caused a huge loss of genetic diversity, therefore scientists are advising that there is an immediate need for a conservation genetic study in Hong Kong (Chen et al, 2016) to inform future management plans. It is currently unknown how the population of trees will respond to this reduction in variation, but it may badly affect the ability of the species to survive and reproduce. A reduction in variation may also make the population more vulnerable to changes in the environment in particular climate change, and more susceptible to diseases (Lee et al, 2018). Planting activities should therefore be informed by scientific knowledge, and KFBG has put in a substantial amount of effort looking into genetic diversity of the population of Aquilaria sinensis in the genetic laboratory on site.
Fresh cuts were found on a couple of Incense Trees at KFBG on 4 August 2018.
Pictures showing an Incense Tree being cut down, and the other wounded for resin.
Implementation of tree cages to prevent poachers from cutting down the trees.
The importance of genetic diversity for maintaining healthy populations
Genetic diversity is the variation in genetic makeup among individuals in a population. A larger genetic diversity in a population improves the chances of survival in changing environments, particularly when facing strong pressures caused by natural disasters, and human impacts (Lee et al, 2018). When the environment changes, some individuals may have particular genetic make-ups which allow them to survive better than other individuals (Jia et al, 2010). This genetic make-up will therefore be favoured by selection, and will lead to adaptation and evolution of the species over time. In a more genetically diverse population, there is a higher chance that some individuals will have a genetic make-up that allows them to survive well, and therefore there is a higher chance that the population will survive through changes in the environment, such as climate change.
KFBG is looking into the impact of illegal logging on the genetic diversity of Aquilaria sinensis. It is assumed that the genetic diversity of planted population would be much lower than the natural population unless informed management plans could be soon devised. Low levels or absence of gene flow among populations is a characteristic of many rare and endangered species (Schierenbeck, 2017). Human interference, such as logging, decreases mating opportunities between genetically unrelated individuals (Chen et al, 2016). An uninformed act of replanting could only increase the population size, but not genetic diversity. Thus the ability to survive cannot be achieved by the mere act of replanting.
At the moment very little is known about the current genetic diversity of KFBG's population of Incense Trees, therefore there is an urgent need to study the conservation genetics of this species. The amount of genetic variation present within a population is thought to determine its adaptability for long-term survival (Lee et al, 2018). We are currently using DNA fingerprinting in our genetic laboratory to look into the genetic diversity of the population in KFBG, and compare with other populations found in Hong Kong.
Pictures from behind the scene
An Incense Tree leaf sample taken in the wild.
Edwin, a KFBG-supported PhD student at The University of Hong Kong, is preparing the sample for DNA analysis.
A small amount of leaf sample is put into a microcentrifuge tube.
Dr Yang Feng puts various samples in micro centrifuge tube for DNA barcoding.
Tissuelysermachine to break down the leaf sample into powder form.
Dr Peter Yang stores final DNA samples in a freezer with marked individual barcodes.
KFBG management of Aquilaria sinensis
Recent research has looked into the genetic diversity of cultivated Aquilaria sinensis in protected areas, however there is very limited research looking at populations in natural habitats (Chen et al, 2016). KFBG site is special in that it serves as a natural habitat for the species. The goal of the research is to implement suitable conservation and management strategies of Aquilaria sinensis, in order to achieve a successful recovery and maintain a healthy population of the species in KFBG.
There are two directions in the management of populations of Aquilaria sinensis in KFBG. On one hand, KFBG is managing the population of trees that are found on site with the implementation of the seed garden project for ex-situ conservation, and a project on improving the protection of the species within KFBG by the set-up of steel cages around the trees, real time surveillance with cameras and regular patrolling. On the other hand, we are also trying to come up with conservation plans to plant and sustain a genetically diverse population within KFBG's premises. We hope to develop better conservation strategies from our experiences, and to share our knowledge on protecting and conserving the species in Hong Kong.
Understanding genetic diversity of the populations of Aquilaria sinensis is the foundation of informed implementation and formulation of conservation management strategies for forest in KFBG.
Click here to learn more about the ecology of Aquilaria sinensis
Click here to watch a documentary about the current situation on production of resin
Al-Woozain, A. M. (2016). Scent from heaven. Qatar: Al-Jazeera
Chen, G., Liu, C. & Sun, W. (2016) Pollination and seed dispersal of Aqularia sinensis (Lour.) Gilg (Thymelaeaceae): An economic plant species with extremely small populations in China. Plant Diversity 38(5), pp. 227-232
Jia, W. J., Li, E. X., Yang, B. Y., & Liu, D. X. (2010) Studies on genetic diversity of Aquilaria sinensis. Journal of Tropical and Subtropical Botany 18(2), pp. 159-164.
Jim, C. Y. (2015) Cross-border itinerant poaching of agarwood in Hong Kong's peri-urban forests. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 14, pp. 420-431.
Lee, S. Y. & Mohamed, R. (2016) The origin and domestication of Aquilaria, an important agarwood-producing genus. Agarwood: Science Behind the Fragrance, pp. 1-20.
Lee, S. Y., Ng, Wei. L., Lamasudin, D. U., & Mohamed, R. (2018) Inter-simple sequence repeat markers reveal genetic relatedness between natural Aquilaria populations in Peninsular Malaysia. Chiang Mai Journal of Science 45(3), pp. 1307-1317.
Manohara, T. N. (2013) Wasp-mediated seed dispersal in agarwood plant (Aquilaria malaccensis), a critically endangered and overexploited species of North East India. Current Science 105, pp. 298-299.
Oudselection. (2016, December 11). Do you know all the different species of agarwood trees? http://www.oud-selection.com/blog/know-different-species-aquilaria-trees/?locale=en
Schierenbeck, K. A. (2017) Population-level genetic variation and climate change in a biodiversity hotspot. Annals of Botany 119(2), pp. 215-228.
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Meghan McCain says SNL parody of her 'is a huge pop cultural honor'
By Travis M. Andrews
Politicians responding to being impersonated on "Saturday Night Live" is nothing new. Sometimes they seem pleased, such as when President George H.W. Bush both invited Dana Carvey to the White House to perform his impression and appeared on the show himself, playing along with it. Lately, though, President Trump, the show's primary target, has taken a more negative view of the comedic institution, to put it mildly.
Meghan McCain took a different approach than the current president's after she was impersonated by Aidy Bryant on Saturday's episode. That probably shouldn't be too surprising, considering she's the daughter of one of Trump's favorite punching bags, the deceased Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
"I'm not supposed to be on twitter because of hiatus BUT this sketch is hilarious, and being parodied by @SNL is a huge pop cultural honor," McCain tweeted, adding a reference to the sketch. "Signed, your old intern and 'the princess of Arizona.'"
The sketch in question was a comedic rendering of "The View," a show best described by SNL's version of Whoopi Goldberg, played by Leslie Jones: "We are five best friends with nothing in common."
The bit's primary take on the right-wing McCain centered on her (real-life) frequent clashes with the left-leaning Joy Behar, perfectly portrayed here by Kate McKinnon.
The show's McCain introduces herself forcefully, launching immediately into an argument with Behar.
"Can, can I just say something? As the princess of Arizona, there is a crisis at the border, and the border is right up in my Arizona, which was founded on sunburned women selling turquoise jewelry, not rando Mexicans," McCain says. "And that's not racist, because my makeup artist is gay."
The exchange that follows is a near-faithful re-creation of one that has occurred in real life.
"Okay, okay. This is the problem: You're demonizing entire countries full of nice people," Behar, spinning her arms around like a windmill, responds.
"I did not say that," says McCain. Then the two go back and forth with Behar saying, "Well, can you let me finish?" and McCain repeating "Well, can you let me talk?" several times.
Finally, McCain says, similarly to how she did on an actual episode of "The View": "Well, can you let me talk? Because it's actually your job to listen to me."
This time, though, the lights around Behar change as it looks like she might lose it. Abby Huntsman (Cecily Strong) munches away on popcorn in anticipation, and Ana Navarro (Melissa Villaseñor) takes her phone out to film the showdown. Before it begins, though, Goldberg sprays them both with water from a squirt bottle, as if they're a pair of misbehaving pets.
The scene recurs with minor variations later in the segment, after Jenny McCarthy (Emma Stone) comes on the show to talk about her anti-vaccination views.
"What the left fails to understand is that vaccinations are a personal liberty issue," McCain says.
"Okay great, let them go extinct," Behar shoots back.
The "Can you let me talk?"/"Can you let me finish?" cyclone begins spinning again until Behar says, "Can I punch you in the face?" and Goldberg again whips out the squirt bottle to spray them.
The real-life Behar had a slightly more muted response to the segment. "Finally an actual female is playing me," she tweeted. "Thank you Kate." In the past, that role was filled by Fred Armisen.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Content on webstage.keele.ac.uk and cms.keele.ac.uk is for internal preview only. For official, approved content, visit www.keele.ac.uk
'); }; // .webstage .cms.keele if (window.location.hostname == "www.keele.ac.uk" ) { $('html').addClass('liveKeele'); }; // .keele.ac.uk if (window.location.hostname == "webstage.keele.ac.uk" || window.location.hostname == "cms.keele.ac.uk" || window.location.hostname == "search.keele.ac.uk") { // start banner toggle styles $('.banner_instance, #footer').on('click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); /* Act on the event */ $('html').toggleClass('stagedev'); }); // banner instance toggle styles };// .webstage .cms .search // if (window.location.hostname == "webstage.keele.ac.uk" || window.location.hostname == "cms.keele.ac.uk" ) { // // append justice speed scripts // $('body').append(''); // // amd run justice // Justice.init(); // };// end webstage only if funciton //// // start .liveKeele class to keep old School styles alive // end .liveKeele class to keep old School styles alive ////	}); //document ready
2016 - Keele University
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New exhibition at Keele shines a spotlight on creativity and culture in Stoke-on-Trent
A new exhibition has opened at Keele University celebrating the remarkable creative lives of Pat Albeck and Peter Rice.
The 'Back to the Drawing Board' exhibition opened this week and runs until 26th January 2017, in the Chancellor's Building, Keele University. The exhibition celebrates the six prolific decades of innovative and inventive art and design from the remarkable creative lives of Pat Albeck and Peter Rice. Pat Albeck is one of the leading designers in modern Britain, having worked in the textile, pottery and paper industries and for John Lewis and the National Trust. Peter Rice was one of the pre-eminent stage and costume designers in modern British opera and theatre.
The exhibition explores a fascinating family dynamic, for Pat and Peter are the parents of Matthew Rice, husband and business partner of Emma Bridgewater. Matthew is a gifted writer, designer and artist with a passion for architectural history; Emma Bridgewater is famously leading a ceramics revival in Stoke-on-Trent.
Speaking at the official opening of the exhibition, Matthew Rice expressed his delight at the display of his parents' work, commenting:
"I think this exhibition is simply brilliant, I'm so pleased with the way it's gone. From its incubation 2 years ago, with a brilliant team from Keele, particularly the indomitable Kerry Jones, we've put together, in quite difficult circumstances, an exhibition that does seem to represent their long and varied careers - whether it's the dresses on the walls, or framed drawings, or the splendid film which is going to be shown in January - I couldn't be more delighted with what's happened."
Pictured, Matthew Rice
The exhibition journeys from Pat and Peter's early work in the 1950s right up to the present day, through designs and memorabilia made uniquely available by the family. Exhibits range from original drawings, prints, paper cuttings, wallpaper and ceramic and textile designs by Pat - including 30 tea towels, hung above the exhibition, enclosing the space with Pat's distinctive use of colour - along with some eye-catching dresses from the 1950's, 60's and 70's.
Pictured, a collection of Pat Albeck's tea towels hang over the exhibition.
Many guests expressed their surprise and delight at the variety of pieces on display, covering such a diverse range of media. Emma Bridgewater summed up the emotion of the exhibition launch, commenting:
"It's incredibly moving. I love seeing so much of their work in one place, and I'm particularly pleased that our kids get the chance to see it. For them to see just a small taste of the enormous amount of work they [their grandparents] both did is so exciting."
Further inside the exhibition are some of Peter's iconic costumes, designed for Tosca, along with models and drawings of set designs from throughout his career. Concluding the exhibition are some recent pieces - Pat's large 'Kitchen Dresser for Emma Bridgewater,' and Peter's iconic mural art, 'A Bright Past for Stoke-on-Trent.' (pictured below) Both pieces reflect the intergenerational creative bonds within the family and their links with the local area; there is a clear dialogue between some of Pat's later work and Emma's ceramics, but also a relationship between Peter and Matthew's work on Stoke-on-Trent.
Pictured, 'A Bright Past for Stoke-on-Trent' by Peter Rice, 2013.
Professor David Amigoni, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at Keele University explained:
"Peter's mural, A Bright Past for Stoke-on-Trent, is a wonderful vista of Stoke-on-Trent's architectural heritage, right through from buildings which are still part of the landscape, such as the Emma Bridgewater factory, to buildings which have disappeared. If you look carefully, you'll see that even Keele Hall is in there. It's very important to have this piece - the mural is in a kind of dialogue with Matthew Rice's book on the lost city of Stoke-on-Trent, and speaks of the interest that both Matthew and Emma Bridgewater have in the heritage of Stoke-on-Trent. In that sense, it also feeds into our interest in and support of Stoke-on-Trent's bid to be the City of Culture 2021. In many ways, the mural is expressing what might be the past of Stoke-on-Trent, but also what might be the future."
Pictured: Dr Rebecca Leach, Professor Trevor McMillan, Arts Officer Kerry Jones, Professor David Amigoni and Professor Fiona Cownie, backing the bid for Stoke-on-Trent for City of Culture 2021
The exhibition ties into Keele University's research into many themes, helping to develop understanding of the inter-generational links and creative bonds between pieces, the cultural heritage of the local area, community engagement and creativity in later life.
Professor Amigoni added: "There's another reason that this links into some of the research themes in the university; this mural was one of the last works that Peter Rice completed - we could say that it's an example of later life creativity - and that's something we're particularly interested to explore in our research at Keele, how art and design and creativity can enrich the lives of older people."
The exhibition opened on Tuesday night, with a reception for invited guests, including Pat Albeck, Matthew Rice, Emma Bridgewater and many from the arts community. The evening was introduced by Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice Chancellor of Keele University, who expressed his gratitude to those involved:
"We're very grateful to Pat and Peter and their family for lending many of the artefacts in the exhibition. We're also grateful to the many public museum and private collectors who have also contributed to the exhibition. We try very hard to play an important role in the cultural life of our surrounding geographic region, and this exhibition is a fine example of that."
Professor McMillan continued:
"If we get it right, culture and arts can cut across many boundaries, be they geographical, social or political boundaries, national borders and international cultures. And this is exactly what universities should be all about. We're very proud to provide a very vibrant programme of art, music and poetry, performances, lectures and other cultural events. Importantly, we recognise that the impact of what we do at the university is best achieved in partnership with others; for example we've recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Vic Theatre, building on our existing partnership, for the benefit of first time theatre goers in the area."
Pictured above, Pat Albeck
The exhibition was officially opened by Director General and Master of the Armouries Dr Edward Impey, a distinguished historian, archaeologist, and museum curator, and longtime friend of the Albeck/Rice family.
Dr Impey commented:
"I think the exhibition is wonderful, it's very exciting to see lots of the things I remember, because I knew Pat Albeck in the 1970s. It's good to see them in the flesh after all these years, with Peter's drawings and sets too - putting the two together reminds me of being in their house."
The exhibition is the culmination of a two-year project, coordinated by the Arts Keele team and led by Professor Fiona Cownie, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at Keele University, who commented:
"It's a great privilege for us to be hosting this event at Keele, and I've very much enjoyed managing this fantastic project. There is so much colour, so much excitement, and for me, to see it all come together now is just amazing. It's been a huge team effort, and I'm thrilled that it's all come together."
The exhibition, which is free to attend, runs until 26th January, and is open to the public from 10am-5pm Monday-Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturdays.
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A dimensional carpet with tonal nuances, Burlap tells a different story from every angle. Contemporary steel grey interspersed with the subtle umber tones give this carpet an artfully crafted appearance. A foundation piece for a variety of interior designs. Burlap Silver is available in our standard sizes of 3x5, 6x9, 8x10, 9x12, 10x14 and 12x16. Custom sizes, runners, squares and rounds available; contact us or Request a Quote for more information.


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Pokemon Heart Gold First Impressions
Well, yes, it's another game that is terribly addictive. This is a remake of the Pokemon Gold and Silver games that came out nearly 10 years ago on the Gameboy Color. I remembered playing this on the Gameboy Color and well, nostalgia will hit again once I start playing this remake on my Nintendo DSi.
Alot have changed during the last 10 years with game mechanics and also the capabilities the Nintendo system had. Back in 2000 with the Gameboy Color, it could only show a certain amount of colors and there was no wireless features except the IR censor on the top of the system, but now with the Nintendo DS or the DSi, alot of change, thus more features were added.
Inside the box reveals instructions for the PokeWalker, which allows you to send a Pokemon over for something and use it without needing a DS and well, the game that comes in a separate package from the box.
Inside the game package is obviously the game and instruction manuals. So that is pretty much it. Anyways, if you are interested in my progress, I will write entries over at my Sideblog, Shiori's Diary with some screenshots. For now, I'm just going to get started with the game, so I will post a little later. :p
Anyways, what do you think about the remakes?
Also, I will still continue to blog about Anime despite playing this game… ¶
Tagged With: impressions, pokemon, review
Yumeka says:
March 15, 2010 at 12:22 pm • Magical Level: 67
I'm already 8+ hours into Soul Silver and I'm loving it. I'm assuming you've never played any of the other DS games since you mentioned all the new game mechanics (which are the same in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum). For someone who's only played up to Gold and Silver on the GBC to suddenly jump to HGSS on the DS, quite a lot has changed! But I've been playing all the new games consistently since the late 90s so I've adapted to the changes =)
.-= Yumeka´s last blog ..Five improvements for the next generation of Pokemon games =-.
March 15, 2010 at 1:41 pm • Magical Level: 2284
@Yumeka I have played Diamond and Platinum as well, but maybe I forgot to mentioned that when I played it… lol… I play pretty much the whole series from the Gameboy to the DS.
I have 500+hours on Diamond alone. so I pretty much know what is going on..
March 15, 2010 at 1:59 pm • Magical Level: 67
Ah, sorry, guess you have played a lot then =0 Wow, you have more hours on Diamond than I do (I only have 200+ hours but a complete poke-dex with 493 pokemon. Took forever to get that XD)
We should battle/trade sometime.
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Average temperatures in Orlando range from range from a low of 15 degrees in January to 28 degrees in July and August, meaning it's never really too cold to enjoy the parks.
In this subtropical city, rain showers are common all year round and while usually brief, in the hot and humid summer months heavy thunderstorms can occur almost every afternoon. It's also worth noting that in late summer or early Autumn there's the small chance of a tropical storm or hurricane.


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Dennis Haysbert & Mike Colter Interview: Breakthrough
by Joe Deckelmeier
in Interviews
Dennis Haysbert is an American actor. He portrayed baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League films, Secret Service Agent Tim Collin in the 1997 political thriller film Absolute Power, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit. He is also known for playing U.S. Senator (later President) David Palmer on the first 5 seasons of 24. Mike Colter is best known for his role as Luke Cage in Marvel's Luke Cage, The Defenders, and Jessica Jones. He has also appeared as Lemond Bishop in the television series The Good Wife.
In an interview for their new film Breakthrough, they discuss faith and science and how both and mix with the other to have a mutual understanding of how the world works.
Congratulations on the film, guys. It's a heart wrenching and heart warming as well. And I don't think I felt like crying so much throughout a whole movie.
Dennis Haysbert: Oh, let it go, man.
But first of all, did you guys hear about this story before taking the project?
Dennis Haybert: And on that note, I mean, I think that there has to be a record of a movie being made from a book, of an incident that happened, to two years from the incident to the book. To the movie. I don't think, I don't think anything has moved that fast.
Yeah. It's 2015 was where everything. Mike, you play the first responder, that's an atheist. Can you talk to me about Tommy's journey?
Mike Colter:Tommy, you know, I think a lot of times, people talk about faith and people will tell you God works through people sometimes. You know that sometimes you yourself become a conduit or a messenger. I think Tommy, his job is to save lives. You know, he's the first responding comes out, he did everything he can do to resuscitate, to get the person to the hospital, to just, you know, stabilize him. And he's done it so many times. I think it becomes common, but at the same time, this is a special incident because this kid doesn't give up. You know, his mom doesn't give up. Tommy did it. Okay, it's done. And then he looks around, he looks on TV, this kid is still alive? Wait a minute. Also he's pulled in. He's pulled in on the journey that the mother is taking them on. Everybody's taken on his journey. The town, the school, the pastor, his character, the doctor, you name it, the father, even the father at some point, I think it gets it. Okay enough, I can't, you know, this is not going to work. And I think that's what Tommy taught me. He's that guy that starts out from zero and now by the time the movie, I think he's a little closer to believe, you know.
And with your character, he's the doctor that is the best at what he does. But there's an inherent debate about faith and science. Can you talk to me about how that kind of plays well into this film as well?
Dennis Haysbert: Well as a doctor, this character in particular, you can't afford to let faith enter into it. You have to look at your work. You've got to look at all the tests and you'd have to see what's going on factually. Basically, you don't have time to sit there and say "Well, I really wish, I really hope this happens," but when it does happen, you have to take it back a second and say, look, all these things I am, this is not the way I was trained. You know, I'm not supposed to feel this, but I can't help but say that this is a miracle. You know, and it's hard for a scientist to say what's a miracle? Because you make the miracles. You know, by science, I mean, and you can, and you're limited to what you're able to do with medicines and whatever. And when you have that one intangible come through and it says, no, we're going to take it over here. And not, it just blows his whole, preparation out of the water
Cinematically we live in a world of superheroes. You're familiar with playing one. What can people take away from real life heroes that are depicted in this film?
Mike Colter: Anyone can be one. You don't have to have a super special ability to be a hero. Sometimes you just have to be the right place at the right time, and you have to have the will. And that's all it takes.
Dennis Haysbert: Inspiration to do it.
More: John Smith & Marcel Ruiz Breakthrough Interview
Key Release Dates
Breakthrough (2019) release date: Apr 17, 2019
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text:
McNaughtan's Bookshop & Gallery
We buy and sell rare, collectable, and second-hand books of all kinds. Our gallery space hosts Typewronger Books, offering new books and secondhand typewriters. We are the oldest second-hand and antiquarian bookshop in Scotland, and the only open shop in Edinburgh to be a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, the oldest trade body in the antiquarian book world. This website lists a selection from our rare, antiquarian, and collectable books, while our shop also contains thousands of second-hand books which are not listed on the internet at all.
As members in good standing of the ABA we uphold their code of fair dealing, the strongest in the book trade.
If you are looking to sell books, please visit the Contact Us page for more information on our buying policies.
McNaughtan's Bookshop was opened by Major John and Mrs Marjorie McNaughtan, following the Major's retirement from the army. After renting premises for a brief time they bought number 3a Haddington Place in 1957 and slowly built the shop's reputation as one of the best places to buy or sell books in Edinburgh. The Major fell ill and died in 1972, and Mrs McNaughtan continued to run the business on her own until she retired in 1979 and sold the business to her assistant, Elizabeth Strong.
Under Elizabeth's leadership the shop continued to thrive and Elizabeth served a term as president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, overseeing the 35th Congress of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (and an accompanying bookfair) held in Edinburgh in the year 2000.
In 2015 Elizabeth retired and the shop was taken on by Derek Walker and Anna Fomicheva, formerly of Blackwell's in Oxford.
The premises are two of the 'laigh' (or low) shops in an 1825 Edinburgh New Town tenement building, designed by Robert Brown (who also assisted Robert Reid with the Signet Library), and Grade A listed by Historic Scotland. The building is important as one of the few extant elements of a large estate plan by the descendants of John Hope, professor of Botany, for land that had formerly been part of the botanic gardens before their 1820 move to Inverleith. The plan was derailed by the ascendance of the West End as a more fashionable location and only numbers 1-8 of the Haddington Place buildings were completed.
In 1957 when the McNaughtans bought number 3a, it was full of refrigeration equipment which they had to clear before the space could be converted into a bookshop. Shelves were installed piecemeal as they were acquired at the lane sales of local auctioneers, though the entire middle room was fitted with uniform shelving from the Dunlops' bookshop on George IV Bridge, which was then closing. A few years after Elizabeth took over, the opportunity arose to acquire the adjacent premises (formerly a betting shop) and McNaughtan's expanded to nearly double its original size. In 2010 part of number 4a was converted into a bespoke gallery space.
As a basement premises in a listed building unfortunately we are unable to provide wheelchair access to the shop.


What is the best free CDN Service to boost a Wordpress Blog?
I am looking for a CDN service for my blog? My Blog is kind a small one, so I want CDN to be free.
i think they let u compare cloudflare and incapsula download speed live in case u decide to choose either of them.
If your blog is kind of small, there probably isn't much use for a CDN in the first place.
Anyway. First of, one would have to know whether you are using a hosted WordPress solution e.g. from wordpress.com or you are self-hosted. While there are WP plugins for CDN not all of them will give you much benefit or will work with any CDN network.
Next up you HAVE to evaluate your content and how a CDN will effect it (your site).
The idea behind the CDN is that your content is distributed using servers close to your visitor(s) and using multiple domains so they are not effected by per-server-connection-limits or latency.
So before digging into CDN and stuff you may just want to see what you can already do by yourself.
Like, you can already speedup your sites performance by having the content loaded from e.g. "www.example.com", images via "images.example.com" and for example scripts and CSS via "static.example.com". This way your already triple the connections a single user has to retrieve the content.
If your site is using HTTP 1.1 you might want to try switching to draft 1.0. Most browsers support more connections per server on the 1.0 draft. Assuming the httpd allows persistent connections via draft 1.0 you are already in for a speed-up.
For testing purpose you can try using Coral or CoBlitz. They don't require any real setup but using a custom URL to access your site.


text:
O Castelo de Abercorn foi um castelo do século XII perto de Abercorn, em West Lothian, na Escócia.

O castelo estava na posse de William de Avenel em meados do século XII, antes de passar para a família Graham por casamento e depois foi passado para a família Douglas, também por casamento. No dia 18 de abril de 1455, o castelo foi capturado e destruído pelo rei Jaime II da Escócia, após um cerco.

Bibliografia
 Coventry, Martin. Castelos dos Clãs: as fortalezas e assentos de 750 famílias e clãs escoceses. Musselburgh. (2008)

Aber
Património histórico do Reino Unido

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Iteration each elements of a list to split it based on a condition - Python I have this list :
names = ['pipeline-1__YearBuilt',
    'pipeline-1__NumberofBuildings',
    'pipeline-1__NumberofFloors',
    'pipeline-1__PropertyGFATotal',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Low-Rise Multifamily',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Medical Office',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Mixed Use Property',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Office',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Other',
    'onehotencoder__x0_Refrigerated Warehouse',
    'onehotencoder__x5_Yes'
]

I would like to iterate through each elemens of my list to change it (to clean it for a better readability).
I guess I am close but it doesn't work when I try this :
for n in names:
    new = []
    if n.startswith('pipeline-1'):
        n = n.split('__', 1)[-1]
    else:
        n = n.split('__x', 1)[-1]
    new.append(n)

I only get :
new = ['5_Yes']

I want to keep only the last part of my string.
If anyone can help please. Thanks

A: [wrong code]
for n in names:
    new = []
    if n.startswith('pipeline-1'):
        n = n.split('__', 1)[-1]
    else:
        n = n.split('__x', 1)[-1]
    new.append(n)

in this way you create a new list called new n times, where n is the names length.
You must do something like this:
new = []
for n in names:

    if n.startswith('pipeline-1'):
        n = n.split('__', 1)[-1]
    else:
        n = n.split('__x', 1)[-1]
    new.append(n)

A: I think this will help you:
new = []
for n in names:
    if n.startswith('pipeline-1'):
        n = n.split('__', 1)[-1]
    else:
        n = n.split('__x', 1)[-1]
    new.append(n)

Your array new was overwritten on each loop therefore you see only the last element. Just put it in front of the loop.

A: new = []
for n in names:
    if n.startswith('pipeline-1'):
        n = n.split('__', 1)[-1]
    else:
        n = n.split('__x', 1)[-1]
    new.append(n)

If new is inside your loop each iteration of the loop will reset new to []

A: The problem is that you are starting an empty array for every object in your names array, you should have new = [] outside the for loop

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
THE KILLER INSIDE ME – Sundance Movie Review
by Americ Ngwije · January 25, 2010
I just watched the world premiere of THE KILLER INSIDE ME, a feature adaption of Jim Thompson's novel of the same name. The movie stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson.
Writing a review for The Killer Inside Me is a delicate task as it is not an easy movie to watch. The story depicts the downward spiral of a mild mannered Sherif Deputy named Lou Ford (Casey Affleck). Ford meets a prostitute Joyce played by Jessica Alba and after a very rough introduction, begins a torrid love affair with her that ends in a brutal and deadly way. From then on, things go from bad to worse as Lou is starting to be surrounded by a pile of dead bodies and he doesn't seem to know how to stop. Think of this as a season of the Showtime Hit Series Dexter but in this case, Dexter is just a serial killer who is trying to get away with murder and not avenge anyone.
The Killer Inside Me is a movie is filled with unspeakable violence and controversial scenes that make you cringe and feel uncomfortable. Weirdly enough, it is also filled with moments of tenderness, especially between Lou and the women in his life. This creates a very strange balance that allows to not completely hate the character of Lou. In addition, Casey Affleck does a masterful job of wielding the right set of emotions throughout the movie. Although he displays a thin veil of stoicism, you can see that behind it there is a lot of anguish and despair. Overall, his performance makes the character believable as a psychotic killer who feels justified in what he is doing, yet also feels remorseful.
Affleck is not the only one bringing a solid performance. Jessica Alba shines in this movie as she portrays a seductive and smitten prostitute and Kate Hudson shows a lot of maturity and sweetness in her role as Lou Ford's official girlfriend. These ladies both are subjected to an unspeakable treatment by Ford and these actresses delivered on that pretty well. Also a honorable mention to Mr Simon Baker whose role as the DA in this movie doesn't stray too far away from his TV role as The Mentalist so that should please his fans. (Fun fact: it's funny to hear him speak with a southern accent).
All and all, The Killer Inside Me is a brilliant movie with strong and believable characters and a powerful story. It is certainly not a movie for everyone, especially if you tend to be squeamish around violence, however I would recommend that you see it if you want to see some fantastic acting and a brilliant story.
PS: After the screening, some members of the audience were somewhat outraged by the level of violence against women in the movie. The director explained that the violence was in the book and that it was portrayed as faithfully as possible. Although that was a satisfactory answer in my opinion, some members of the audience still felt uneasy about Winterbottom's choice of graphically showing the violence against the women in the movie. My personal take on this is that violence is violence and that it doesn't matter whether it's a man, woman or child, it is always hard to watch. If Winterbottom had decided to hide the violence and only hint at it, I think it would have taken away from the movie and no one would have felt the sense of horror that you felt after watching Lou Ford act the way he did.
Tags: 2010 Sundance Film FestivalCasey AffleckJessica AlbaKate HudsonMichael WinterbottomSundance Film FestivalThe Killer Inside MeThriller
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THE MECHANIC Movie Review
Excellent review. Sounds like a hardcore, intense movie that the general milquetoast moviegoer will not be able to accept. I wouldn't expect less from Winterbottom, he is a great director.
THE KILLER INSIDE ME – Sundance Movie Review Read more: THE KILLER INSIDE ME – Sundance Movie Review | Kate Hudson Web
[…] source Share and Enjoy: […]
Sundance Buzz: The Killer Inside Me « The Movie Overdose
[…] Daemon Movies wrote: All and all, The Killer Inside Me is a brilliant movie with strong and believable characters and a powerful story. It is certainly not a movie for everyone, especially if you tend to be squeamish around violence, however I would recommend that you see it if you want to see some fantastic acting and a brilliant story. […]
THE SHOCK DOCTRINE – Sundance Documentary Review | Daemon's Movies
[…] (who is the only director that had two movies at Sundance this year; the second one being The Killer Inside Me) and Mat Whitecross, puts in image the book written by Naomi Klein (pictured above), The Shock […]
New Movies In Theaters This Friday, June 18, 2010 | Daemon's Movies
[…] out Cyrus this weekend. However, I would recommend you also check out The Killer Inside me, which Eric saw back at Sundance earlier this year and really loved. But that's not all that's coming out this weekend, […]
Next story GASLAND – Sundance Documentary Review
Previous story THE LAST AIRBENDER Character Posters of Aang and Zuko


And he has to be. In the quickly evolving songs industry, artists come and go at a furious pace. But don't count on Christian leaving anytime quickly. Even though he's just obtaining began, the chatter encompassing Christian Tv is as hot and heavy as one of the tracks off his debut album.
Managers handle your bookings and act as your advocate with club owners, labels and producers. The better linked they are inside the free music industry contacts, the more beneficial they can be for your band. The best way to find a supervisor is via referrals. Talk to other musicians and people within the business to get their ideas and pick their brains. Find out what type of reputation each of the prospective customers has, get an idea of their personalities and make sure they signify your fashion of songs. If you are a country band and Mr. X only represents difficult rock bands, this would clearly not be a good fit.
Promo Tip #69 Make sure you make it easy for potentials sales to happen whether or not on your website or at a show. Make the payment process, secure, safe and Easy.
Mixing shellac is easy, although you might question why you'd want to when it can be bought premixed. Shellac has a six month shelf lifestyle as soon as combined with alcohol using an older answer of combined shellac will outcome in longer drying times and much more susceptible to drinking water recognizing.
BC: I just like it. I used to be in musical theatre and there is one watershed second that I can keep in mind: I was in a production, and there had been eight microphones, and I was the ninth most important character in the play. There had been a quantity of singing roles but I did not rate a microphone. The vocal mentor of the production stressed to me the importance of filling this 1200 person room with my voice, with no amplification. I remember performing tons and tons of exercises, strengthening my diaphragm and learning how to project and fill that space with my voice. And that procedure is, I think, what helped produce the voice that I have today.
The song is as important as at any time in today's modern songs. A tune can make or split an artist, as is demonstrated each working day on the radio. How numerous occasions do you listen to a hit tune on the radio with an typical singer? Each day many leading recording stars might struggle with their careers attempting in vain to find another strike song. As in the case of Michael Jackson's last document, they invested about $50 million recording and promoting the record. But there had been no strike tunes and revenue had been way off their projected figures. They misplaced big money on that one.
Content. It's all about content- you gotta release content, and it's received to be quality content. I'm usually creating things that I want to put out and occasionally it doesn't come out if it's not good enough high quality as it ought to be. You place out quality content and it retains your fan foundation, and grows it also simply because those people tell individuals and those people inform other individuals- [it's like] a grapevine.
Find your own fashion. Uniqueness and originality are essential in writing tunes. If you blend in to what is already in the market, you may ultimately be forgotten. Among the tune writing tips that may help you make your own tunes is to make it stand out, make it original and make it some thing that people want to pay attention to. Know your target audience as well. This will help you find an simpler market and fan foundation for your tunes. Of program, not all songs can make sure you all people but see to it that it can please a bigger group.


Dr. Murray has a special interest in skull base disorders, such as vestibular schwannomas, skull base meningiomas and pituitary adenomas, as well as microvascular compression syndromes, including trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.
Dr. Murray was born in Tucson, AZ and spent his early years in South Africa, where he obtained a medical degree from the University of Stellenbosch. Upon his return to the United States, he completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Vermont, followed by subspecialty fellowship training in skull base and micro-neurosurgery at Louisiana State University, and endoscopic brain and skull base surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
Dr. Murray has co-authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and North American Skull Base Society.


The little-known Southern Californian poet Albert Brush (dates unknown) travelled in Bohemian circles in Greenwich Village in the 1920s, where he worked at the Washington Square Bookshop with Egmont Arens, acted in theatrical productions of the Provincetown Players, and was involved with the Theatre Guild. Brush spent some time in Paris in the early 1930s, and spent most of his life moving in the artistic circles of Southern California, living in Venice for some time; he appears briefly in the biographies of figures such as Christopher Isherwood and Charles Laughton. In the later 1930s he helped write Laughton's famous English adaptation of Bertold Brecht's Life of Galileo.
This elegant little pamphlet was Brush's first of four known books of poetry. He published his remaining three books with small presses as well, including Egmont Arens's Flying Stag Press at the Washington Square Bookshop, the Ward Ritchie Press in Los Angeles, and the Wings Press in Mill Valley, California.


In a previous article, General Tips for Millennials, I gave a quick insight into how social media and the entire Internet is impacting our lives as young people. This impact is sometimes negative and other times positive. The basic truth is that social media and the Internet in general is a basic innovation that's out to make life easier for us, it then depends on how you use it. That is why there's no straight answer as to whether social media has done more harm than good. Social media and the Internet in general is a good thing that has Come to stay.
A lot of awful things happen on the Internet, it is the breeding ground for a lot of evil things that we know about today. One aspect of the Internet that many people do not know about is the dark net. It is the market place for illicit drugs, weapons, terrorism and so on. It is also a useful tool for investigative Journalism. Haven highlighted some of the horrible aspects of the Internet, it is equally important to bring to our knowledge that the Internet is one of the best things that has ever happened to humanity.
As a young person, it is important that you positively harness the power of the Internet to your advantage. What ever you do in life, I bet the Internet can be of help in achieving your dreams. It is no news how young minds like John Paul, Cameraman.ng, Edusko, SabiApp, Riby, Twizzle Online etc are all using social media to promote what they do. This same Internet has also led to the destruction of may young people. Of course that isn't a news. I promised to share with us how social media prevented a young lady from getting her dream job. She Applied to an Admin position in the company, well qualified eloquent and elegant young lady, she passed the interview but then when we checked her activities on social media, it was obvious that she spends most of her time on social media. The frequency of her tweets and Instagram posts clearly shows that she was going to use the companies Internet on social media and would not focus on the job. She was denied the job and later called upon to fill a position in social media management for the company.
It was important to check out this lady's social media life because who we are online is a reflection of who we are in the real life. Infact for most of us, we show our real self online more than we do in the real life. Online media has made us dual citizens and this has made it more difficult for our parents to monitor who we truly are.
•	Be mindful what you post online, what you say on social media can come back to hunt you in the future.
•	Paedophiles I.e Men and women who have sexual interest in children often use social media to blackmail their preys, advise your kids on do's and don'ts on social media.
•	Learn to positively use professional networks like LinkedIn. It is a platform you certainly must be a part of and utilize no matter what you do.
We cannot exhaust all safety tips as there are a number of them, just make sure not to engage in anything that you do not feel comfortable about. Contacts me if you are Confused about anything happening in your online life.


A poisonous zombie covered in black headcrabs!
current 01:23, 13 July 2005 256 × 384 (19 KB) Campaignjunkie (talk | contribs) A poisonous zombie covered in black headcrabs!
This page was last modified on 13 July 2005, at 01:23.


This arrow through heart design is so romantic for a Valentine design. A pierced heart design, that reminds me of cupid with his bow and arrow.
This is a sweet pattern for anytime of the year. It is a well recognized design that can be made out of any color of glass.
This pierced heart design would make an elegant heart pendant or heart pin. Simply follow the directions to assemble and design this cupid heart. The pattern for this design is located at the bottom of this page.
2. Park the portions on the correct colorful glass and draw about the model with a permanent pen. Generously coat the traced design with beeswax or Chap Stick.
3. A glass saw is needed to cut the outline. Make a point of cutting close to the shape to keep the shape and all the minute fine points.
4. Launder with dish soap and dip in clean water or employ glass cleaner to get rid of all pen marks and residue. Use a lint free towel to completely dry the individual pieces.
5. Arrange the sections on a ready kiln shelf and arrange the shelf inside the unit. At all times hold the glass by the border to avoid fingerprints.
6. Close the top or door. Switch on the kiln.
7. View the job at nearly 1325 degrees Fahrenheit. When gazing at your hot glass have on glasses with IR and UV protection.
8. Once the project has your sought after look, shut down and disconnect the unit. If the unit is put together with dense fire bricks, you can allow it to cool off by it's self. On the other hand if it is constructed with ceramic fiber, the unit must remain on and checked so that it does not cool down any more than roughly 300 degrees Fahrenheit an hour.
9. As soon as the pyrometer drops lower than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the kiln can be opened.
10. After the project has cooled down to room temperature, add a brooch back. Adhere the brooch back with a two part epoxy.


text:
Devil's Due Comic Books Coming to Mobile Phones Through uclick
Chris Dooley
Devil's Due Publishing has announced an agreement with uclick, a leader in digital entertainment, that will bring several titles from their dynamic line of original comic book properties to mobile phones.
The Devil's Due titles will debut next year on uclick's GoComics Mobile Comic Book Reader, available on all major carriers including Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.
"We're always looking for ways to bring our comic books to new audiences," said Josh Blaylock, President of Devil's Due Publishing, "By partnering with uclick we have the opportunity to get our books to readers who might have never set foot in a comic shop before. uclick is pioneering the delivery of comic books to the mobile phone market, and I'm proud that Devil's Due is able to be a part of their GoComics lineup."
Known for spearheading the "'80s Revival" in comics with the revamp of G.I. Joe in 2001, Devil's Due has gone on to become one of the largest comic book publishers in the United States. The publisher's diverse line of original comic book properties includes Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Lost Squad, Voltron, the cult-favorite Hack/Slash, and the upcoming Mercy Sparx.
The new additions to uclick's GoComics mobile comic book lineup are a cross-section of Devil's Due's extensive publishing output from the past, present and near future, including:
Xombie: An undead man fights to protect human lives from evil zombies.
Drafted: An alien invasion forces our world to unite like never before.
Kore: A blundering college slacker releases evil from an ancient tomb.
Breakdown: A superhero becomes a deadly vigilante after the murder of his family.
Misplaced: A powerful outcast from Utopia finds her new life on Earth.
Defex: Five student scientists discover hidden powers in human DNA.
Penguin Brothers: Three teenage penguins become the heroes of Chill City, Antarctica.
Warstone: Only a long lost half-elf, half- human can stop a dark sorcerer from ruling the Earth.
Mercy Sparx: A devil girl is contracted by Heaven to hunt down rogue angels.
These new titles join a diverse collection of exciting comic books optimized by GoComics for mobile phone screens. The star-studded lineup includes Jeff Smith's wildly popular Bone series; the Shakti-style epics of Virgin Comics; the sci-fi fantasy hits GØDLAND and Elephantmen; the webcomic-turned- comic-book PvP; the manga and anime horror import Guilstein; high-flying martial arts fun starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many more. The Mobile Comic Book Reader is available on all major carriers, including Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.
"In just a few short years, Devil's Due grew from a small publisher into a Death Star-esque, fully operational comic books powerhouse," said uclick Manager of Product Development Harold Sipe. "The GoComics Devil's Due collection is made up of exciting original material, and we're happy to be delivering these titles to mobile comic book readers."
For more information on uclick's GoComics mobile line, visit gocomics.com/comicbooks.
Filed Under: Breakdown, cell phone, CellPhone, Defex, devils due, DevilsDue, Drafted, Kore, Mercy Sparx, MercySparx, Misplaced, Penguin Brothers, PenguinBrothers, Uclick, Warstone, Xombie


Traditionally, metal amalgam (mercury) fillings were the material of choice to treat dental decay and cavities. There is an ongoing controversy as to whether having mercury fillings in our mouth poses any risk. Depending on your opinion you may opt to have tooth coloured fillings instead.
With the advancement in dental technology, there are many other alternatives to amalgam such as direct composite (tooth coloured) fillings, and indirect porcelain fillings (Inlays/ Onlays). At Dental Boutique, we believe in your freedom in material of choice, and will explain to you the advantages and disadvantages of each material for you.
Dental porcelain has the properties which looks similar to tooth enamel. It is a tooth coloured substance that is partly translucent, that absorbs and reflect light to mimic the properties of a pearly white shine.
A porcelain inlay or onlay, on occasion, has superior properties over that of a traditional filling.
If you need a filling in your tooth please do not hesitate to contact us for an appointment.


Elit Çikolata ve Şekerleme A.Ş. was established in Istanbul in 1924 under the name "Elite Çikolata, Meyveli Şeker ve Karamela Fabrikası". Initially specialized in pastry products, Elit later diversified its portfolio to retail products.
Today, Elit's giant production range encompasses almost every kind of chocolate from chocolate-covered dragee to madelaine and tablet chocolates to be enjoyed by chocolate lovers all around the world. With its high quality raw materials, refined taste, and meticulous service, Elit Çikolata is proud to carry its mastership into the future.


They're looking for talented and passionate individuals who are interested in a career dedicated to software engineering. If that sounds like you apply today because the positions are filling up fast!
For application and more information check here.


We will continue to promote an individual style of care, delivered in the way our residents wish it to be. We will strive always to find ways in which we can ensure their wishes are safely met. Safety is paramount and is the corner stone of all aspects of care we deliver.
It is easy to say NO. The Bleak House philosophy is to always, where possible... find a way to say YES.
We believe in the right to a voice and for that voice to be heard.
We are confident that in the future we awill continue to prosper because of the individual quality of care we offer. We believe that our principles are sound principles and that the unique family unity we provide will stand us in good stead.
We believe in the right to a voice and to express that voice. We also strongly believe that people have a right to take risks with their life choices. Where we can, we will always positively manage risk.


Hipsters vs Old People - Who's Cooler?
Have you ever compared a hipster to an old person? Turns out, they're basically the same!
I'll never look at hipsters the same again. Or Grandma.
Next story Keep Calm. Kill Zombies.
Previous story Don't forget to stop and smell the asses.


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New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Christie, a leader in creating and sharing the world's best visual and audio experiences, is pleased to announce that Lotte Cultureworks, a newly-established subsidiary of Lotte Group that oversees the operations of Lotte Cinema, has purchased 120 Christie cinema projectors for deployment in its new multiplexes in South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia.
This acquisition, the largest by the South Korean multinational conglomerate to date, comprises the Christie CP2220 and CP2230 DLP® , lamp-based cinema projectors delivering 22,000 lumens and 33,000 lumens respectively for medium to large-sized auditoriums. Designed for ease of use and maximum reliability for the majority of screens in commercial exhibition, the Christie CP2220 and CP2230 cinema projectors offer the highest performance with the lowest operating costs in their class.
"Since the establishment of Lotte Cultureworks earlier this year, we have been focusing our efforts on expanding our cinema exhibition footprint in South Korea and beyond, particularly in Vietnam and Indonesia," a Lotte Cultureworks spokesperson said. "Christie projection systems have been used extensively across our existing cinema circuit and are known for their performance and reliability. Through the investment of these 120 cinema projectors, I'm confident that Lotte Cinemas will continue to offer the best movie-viewing experience for all our patrons in the years to come."
Lin Yu, Vice President, Cinemas Sales for Asia, Christie, commented, "Christie is delighted that Lotte Cultureworks has chosen our trusted range of cinema solutions for its new theaters under Lotte Cinema in South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia. The CP2220 and CP2230 are among our most widely deployed cinema projectors globally, offering customers a lower cost of ownership and greater reliability than the competition. With successful implementations of more than 60,000 projector installations around the world and over 10 million screenings, Christie has accumulated a unique wealth of knowledge and capability to deliver the most memorable cinematic experiences to audiences."
The Christie CP2220 and CP2230 cinema projectors, among the first digital projectors based on Texas Instruments' Series 2 DLP Cinema technology and compliant with the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) specification, more than meet exhibition and post production studios' demands for 2D and 3D presentations, showing feature film and alternative content the way filmmakers intended. Available with Christie High Frame Rate (HFR) technology, Christie digital cinema projectors offer choice in frame rate, brightness and resolution, and deliver value with reliability and low total cost of ownership.
About Lotte Cinema
Founded in 1999, Lotte Cinema is the second largest multiplex operator in South Korea. It currently operates 119 cinemas with 847 screens in South Korea and 53 cinemas with 275 screens in China and Vietnam. It has also established a foothold in Indonesia with plans to start distribution and exhibition by 2019, and aims to expand to 140 cinemas in Southeast Asia by 2022. For more information, visit https://www.lottecinema.co.kr
About Christie
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual and audio technologies company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world's most advanced projectors, complete system displays, and cinema audio solutions; Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images, accompanied by awe-inspiring sound. Visit https://www.christiedigital.com.
Barack Obama Reveals His Top Books, Movies And Music Picks Of 2018
Ava Max Claims Her First No 1 On The UK Singles Chart With "Sweet But Psycho"
Pete Townshend, Jackson Browne, Don Was Are Fans Of Aussie Singer Tal Wilkenfeld
Chris Brown Releases New Single "Undecided"
Lady Gaga Enigma Headlines Grand Opening Of New Las Vegas Resort, Park MGM
The O2 Has Had Another Record Year!
Christian Rapper YB Releases New Single 'Dear Soldiers'
Chaka Khan Funks It Up On "Hello Happiness"!
21 Savage's 'I Am > I Was' Album Debuts At No 1 On Billboard 200 Chart
Global Foundation's 19th Annual Winterfest To Feature Steve Forbert, The Weeklings, John Eddie, And More
Ariana Grande Cancels Las Vegas Concert Due To Health Issues
Alfonso Cuaron's ROMA To Be Released In 70mm
Russell Moore Announces New Member Of IIIrd Tyme Out
Elizabeth Colour Wheel Partners With The Flenser And Announces East Coast Tour Dates
More Than 1/4 Of All Music Streamed In The USA In 2018 Was Hip-Hop!


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Q: AWS Neptune - How Can I Migrate My 1.0.5.1 Based Cluster to Serverless? The Problem
I have an Amazon Neptune cluster with an instance running in db.t3.medium DB instnance class. I do not see a choice to move this to the Serverless instance.

How can I migrate this instance?

A: Root Cause
You can only migrate an instance running Neptune Engine version 1.2 or later.
How to Fix
You need to migrate your Neptune Engine version first to 1.2. Once that is done, you will get the migration option to Serverless.
The engine version is controlled not in the cluster instance but at the cluster level and if you are running an older version of the engine, you may need to incrementally upgrade to from the highest version in the major version group, then move up to the next higher version. If you are running 1.0.x, you will first need to go to 1.1.0 R7 then move onto 1.2.
As with any major version upgrade, you could incur some downtime during migration.
To change the engine version, "Modify" the cluster (not instance) settings (the top right button on the console page) and select the latest possible DB engine version. You can keep the rest of the settings, and you can apply the change to take effect immediately if you can afford to initiate a downtime shortly after. Continue to upgrade to the next higher level until you reach 1.2. Each upgrade can take a while.


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HQU Team Led by Tian Chengbo & Wei Zhanhua Publishes paper in Advanced Materials
Recently, the research team led by Associate Professor Tian Chengbo and Professor Wei Zhanhua from the Institute of Luminescent Materials and Information Displays and the College of Material Science and Engineering of HQU and Researcher Meng Lingyi from the Institute of Rare Earths, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a paper entitled "Well-defined Fullerene Bisadducts Enable High-performance Tin-based Perovskite Solar Cells" inAdvanced Materials.
With a 2022 Impact Factor of 32.086,Advanced Materialsisa top-ranked international journalin materials sciencepublished byWiley.
Under the instruction of Associate Professor Tian Chengbo, Professor Wei Zhanhua, and Researcher Meng Lingyi from Institute of Rare Earths, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the research was jointly completed by PhD student Sun Chao and postgraduate student Yang Panpan from HQU and Dr. Nan Ziang from Xiamen University (XMU). The research was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, and theResearch Foundation of Huaqiao University.
Link to the paper:https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202205603


Here is a brief description of what I'm offering.
Please note! This service is for a SINGLE FLYER FORMAT ONLY (for example: A4 only, A5 only, 4'x6′ only and so on)!! If you need the flyer in more than 1 format (for example: both in A4 & A6, or both in A5 & 4×6 inches), you need to pay a bit extra. Thank you for your understanding.
Important! The number of revisions is unlimited! I will keep making changes to the flyer till you're happy with it.
Also, the turnaround can be shorter or longer than 7 days, depending on the graphic complexity.
2. Size of the flyer – 1 Single Size (for example: A4, A5, A6, US Letter Size-8.5×11 inches and so on)! If you want more than 1 size format, you need to pay a small extra fee.
3. All the text you want on the flyer – it's very important for me to have all the text before starting the work (or at least to know how much text you intend to add to the design).
I can't start the work on a creative graphic without this info, because it will be very difficult to change the design to accommodate more text afterwards.
4. Logos (EPS, AI, PSD, PNG with transparent background) or any photos you want on the flyer.
5. Color preferences. If you don't have any, I'll use what I see fit.
6. Examples of flyers / graphics that you'd like your work to look like.


The Children's Center for the Visually Impaired in Kansas City, MO, held a very special Easter egg hunt on Wednesday. The brightly colored eggs emitted a high-pitched beeping sound to help the children find them.
For parents, the opportunity to experience an activity that would otherwise be very difficult is simply priceless. "I'm just so impressed and just very exited to have this organization in my daughter's life. I really don't know if I was in any other state, you know, what I would do with my daughter to keep her up with kids who don't have special needs," said one father, Ryan Davies.
The annual event was held at Loose Park for the 25th time.


Audio for Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato. Lyrics below: [Verse 1] Oh no, here we go again Fighting over what I said I'm sorry, yeah I'm sorry Bad at love, no, I'm not good at this But I can't say I'm innocent Not hardly, but I'm sorry [Pre-Chorus] And all my friends, they know and it's true I don't know who I am without you I got it bad, baby Got it bad [Chorus] Oh, tell me you love me I need someone on days like this, I do On days like this Oh, tell me you love me I need someone On days like this, I do On days like this Oh, can you hear my heart say Ooohhhh, ooh No, you ain't nobody 'til you got somebody You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody [Verse 2] And I hope I never see the day That you move on and be happy without me Without me What's my hand without your heart to hold? I don't know what I'm living for If I'm living without you [Pre-Chorus] All my friends, they know and it's true I don't know who I am without you I've got it bad, baby I got it bad [Chorus] Oh, tell me you love me I need someone on days like this, I do On days like this Oh, tell me you love me I need someone On days like this, I do On days like this Oh, can you hear my heart say Ooohhhh, ooh You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody My heart's like Ooooh, ooh No, you ain't nobody 'til you got somebody You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody [Bridge] Everything I need Is standing in front of me I know that we will be alright, alright, yeah Through the ups and downs Baby, I'ma stick around I promise we will be alright, alright [Chorus] Oh, tell me you love me I need someone on days like this, I do On days like this Oh, tell me you love me I need someone On days like this, I do On days like this Oh, can you hear my heart say Ooohhhh, ooh You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody [Outro] My heart's like Ooooh, ooh Everything I need Is standing in front of me I know that we will be alright, alright, yeah No copyright intended. I do not own this song.


Android is the largest mobile platform in the world, and Google's app store is filled with all sorts of applications. Now, not all of us are gamers, so you might not have any games installed on your device, but chances are most of you use at least one messaging platform on a daily basis. There are tons of options currently available in the Google Play Store, ranging from WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger, to Hangouts, Skype, Telegram, etc. That being said, we're here to talk more about a rather interesting app which might come in handy to you if you use WhatsApp frequently, read on.
WhatsApp is now owned by Facebook. This messaging service is huge, tons of people all over the world use WhatsApp in order to communicate every day, and if you're one of them, read on. Now, the app in question is called 'Magic Cleaner for WhatsApp', and it's kind of self-explanatory. This app will basically scan your phone and find WhatsApp junk photos you might want to remove. Once the app finishes scanning, you'll be shown a number of images which the app suggests you should delete, you can either take the app's advice and remove all those images, or simply choose the ones you want to remove and save the rest. This app doesn't really do all that much aside from scanning your phone for WhatsApp images, but it has an 'invite' feature built-in as well. You can basically invite others to start using this app directly from the app itself, but that's more or less it.
The 'Magic Cleaner for WhatsApp' might come in handy if you're an avid WhatsApp user, and your phone simply doesn't have all that much storage on it. You can pick and choose which images to save and which ones to delete, and the UI is quite nice as well, even though we're not looking at Material Design here, not even close. There are a number of official images available in the gallery down below, if you'd like to take a look at those before you decide whether to download this app or not. If you'd like to know more about the app, or download it maybe, click on the Google Play banner which is located below this article.


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Q: Prove that the following two definitions of the convex hull are equivalent. I was wondering if a topology expert could help me solve this proof, as I have no idea but want to understand these concepts.  This is not for homework.
Let X be a point set, not necessarily finite, in R^d.  Prove the following two definitions of the convex hull are equivalent.

*

*The set of all points that are convex combinations of all points in X.

*The intersection of all convex sets that include X.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convex_hull
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convex_combination
I can visualize in my head why this is true, but cannot convert it to mathematical terms.  I would really appreciate any expert's help on this, as it is very simple but I have taking it away from just geometry, to a general proof.

A: There is a standard procedure when showing equalities like these: Let $A$ be the set, and define $\text{Conv}(A)$ as the set of all convex combinations of $A.$ You want to show that $\text{Conv}(A)=\bigcap\mathcal C$ where $\mathcal C=\{C\mid C\text{ is a convex superset of }A\}.$ So you should show that $\text{Conv}(A)$ is itself convex and contains $A,$ that tells you that $\bigcap\mathcal C\subseteq \text{Conv}(A).$ Then show that $\text{Conv}(A)$ is in each convex superset of $A,$ that tells you that $\text{Conv}(A)\subseteq\bigcap\mathcal C.$
The second inclusion is harder than the first. Let $B$ be a convex set containing $A.$ Use induction: Assume that for $n\in\mathbb N$ all convex combinations $\sum_{i=0}^n t_i x_i,\ t_i\ge 0,\ \sum t_i=1$ are in $B$, then try to express $\sum_{i=1}^{n+1}s_i x_i$ as $tx_{n+1}+(1-t)\sum_{i=0}^n t_i x_i$ for some $t\in[0,1]$.

A: I'm not an expert, but still hope to be capable of answering.
The intersection of all convex supersets is the same as the smallest convex superset (why is it convex?). So it is enough to see that the set from the first definition is convex (obvious), "superset" (obvious) and "the smallest" (for example by induction on the number of nontrivial elements in the convex combination).


Actual Size: 17" x 15" x 52"
This Classic Is Now Bigger and Better Than Ever! Take the party outdoors with this oversized block stacking game. These aren't like the big game you can buy online. These are more than 30% larger! Add it to your order today to increase the activities offered to your guests!
Over 4 feet tall when the game begins, How tall can you make it go?


Hotel Tuula is situated in Helsinki, Finland's most modern city, which is now home to a wide selection of shopping, restaurants, bars, cafes, and art spaces. Hotel Tuula offers modern travelers a vibrant blend of innovative ideas that are far removed from the conventional charm of hotel chains. Prepare to be stolen away from everyday life at Hotel Tuula. Between art, architecture and the waterfront, you'll find a balance of man-made and natural splendor.


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NOWCAST WPBF News at 11 p.m.
Authorities: 4 inmates found dead at maximum-security prison
Updated: 2:27 PM EDT Apr 7, 2017
Four inmates were found dead Friday morning in a dorm at one of South Carolina's maximum-security men's prisons, authorities said.The inmates were found at Kirkland Correctional Institution in the capital city of Columbia, Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told The Associated Press.Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.Stirling said he asked the State Law Enforcement Division to assist Corrections police with their investigation. Coroner Gary Watts confirmed he was investigating four deaths at the facility, but wouldn't give any details about how the inmates died.Kirkland operates a specialized housing unit for the state's most dangerous inmates, an assessment and evaluation center for new inmates sentenced to more than three months, and a 24-bed infirmary, according to the Corrections website.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) —
Four inmates were found dead Friday morning in a dorm at one of South Carolina's maximum-security men's prisons, authorities said.
The inmates were found at Kirkland Correctional Institution in the capital city of Columbia, Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told The Associated Press.
Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.
Stirling said he asked the State Law Enforcement Division to assist Corrections police with their investigation. Coroner Gary Watts confirmed he was investigating four deaths at the facility, but wouldn't give any details about how the inmates died.
Kirkland operates a specialized housing unit for the state's most dangerous inmates, an assessment and evaluation center for new inmates sentenced to more than three months, and a 24-bed infirmary, according to the Corrections website.


Baby Valentine — Patricia H. Ladew Foundation, Inc.
Baby Valentine had a rough start. When she was barely two months old, she was left at a pet store. She had ringworm and a pretty bad upper respiratory infection. After a few weeks of TLC and medical intervention, Baby Valentine started acting like any normal kitten would.
She found her forever home on 4/7/2018 and is starting to love life with a family! Happy life sweet girl!!


This is a placeholder page for Sheryl Ballard, which means this person is not currently on this site. We do suggest using the tools below to find Sheryl Ballard.
You are visiting the placeholder page for Sheryl Ballard. This page is here because someone used our placeholder utility to look for Sheryl Ballard. We created this page automatically in hopes Sheryl Ballard would find it. If you are not Sheryl Ballard, but are an alumni of Broad Ripple High School, register on this site for free now.


23-Nov-2018 C-PORT (Conference of Professional Operators for Response Towing) held its 32nd Membership Meeting on November 12, 2018 at Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL. Along with committee reports and industry issue discussions, the membership elected its 2019 C-PORT board of directors and name the 2019 C-PORT executive board.
Appointed to the executive board for 2019 were Phil LeBlanc, Safe Sea/TowBoatU.S. Narragansett Bay, chairman: John Donaldson, Sentinel Marine Services/Sea Tow Sebastian, vice-chairman, Jon Gridley, Lake Tow Inc./Sea Tow Clarks Hill Lake, treasurer; and Harold "Smitty" Smith, Miller's Towing & Salvage/TowBoatU.S. Sandy Hook, secretary.
John Ward, Aquanaut Towing & Salvage/Sea Tow Pensacola-Destin.


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FSANZ Internet Publications Consumers' awareness, attitudes and behaviours towards food fortification in Australia and New Zealand – survey (2013)
Consumers' awareness, attitudes and behaviours towards food fortification in Australia and New Zealand – survey (2013)
In 2013, FSANZ commissioned Newspoll to conduct a population survey of Australians and New Zealanders to understand their awareness, attitudes and behaviours toward food fortification. Using computer assisted telephone interviewing, the survey included a range of question formats, including: single response; multiple response and open-ended. In total there were 800 Australian and 802 New Zealand respondents.
The research was commissioned after the gazettal of Proposals P295 – Consideration of Mandatory Fortification with Folic Acid, P230 – Iodine Fortification, and P1003 – Mandatory Iodine Fortification for Australia. The Ministerial Council agreed that the standards needed to be monitored to assess the effectiveness of these public health interventions. The survey was one part of FSANZ's contribution to the monitoring work. Further information on the monitoring work is available from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's website.
Download the survey (PDF 1.5mb) | (Word 405kb)
Download the PowerPoint presentation (PPTX 6.4mb)
Read the qualitative research
Monitoring of folic acid fortification
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The Decline of Frankincense: An Iconic Tree In Peril
by Emmaline Soken-Huberty August 12, 2019
written by Emmaline Soken-Huberty August 12, 2019
In the story of Jesus' birth, the newborn is visited by three wise men or Magi. They bring gold, myrrh, and frankincense. We all know what gold is, but what about those last two? Both come from the resin of trees and are used to make incense, other fragrances, and some medicines. However, frankincense in particular is at a crossroads. In recent years, resin harvests from the iconic tree have been dropping off. Sustainability is becoming a huge problem, and given new research, the decline of frankincense doesn't appear to be slowing down. What is happening?
Holy harvest
Before we get into decline of frankincense, let's talk about its rise. Frankincense comes from the resin of five species of tree (though only two are currently tapped), and people have been harvesting for thousands of years. The oldest known reference comes from 1500 B.C.E in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus. Other ancient records include both the Old and New Testaments from the Bible, and a 6th-century A.D. Chinese herbal recipe. The trees have never been domesticated, however; they basically just grow where they want, and then stay there. There's no central trunk, which is odd, so the trees appear to grow right out of the rock up to 7-8 feet tall. To get the resin, harvesters scrape a tiny opening and let the resin ooze out and harden. For the best results, trees should be cut just 2-3 times a year. The more opaque, the better the resin. Once dry, it's chipped off and taken to be sold. Back in the day, you could find traders carrying frankincense on the Incense Trade Route and the Silk Road.
Holy history
Historically, people used frankincense for medicinal and religious purposes, which is the most famous. Dried shards were burned at important events like weddings, funerals, and religious ceremonies. It's seen as a symbol of the presence of the divine, which is why Catholic churches still use it during mass. Sometimes, a melted form was smoothed into hair, while soot from burned incense was used for makeup and tattoos. Because of the flavor and supposed medicinal benefits, resin has also been used in coffee and to treat toothaches and coughs. To protect trees, harvesters made up stories to scare away the competition. Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, wrote that small winged serpents guarded groves.
Frankincense has remained important and valuable, especially for the Catholic Church, who uses 55 tons every year.
Frankincense today
Frankincense has remained important and valuable, especially for the Catholic Church, who uses 55 tons every year. However, the trees are in danger, especially the B. papyrifera species. In 2011, NPR reported on research from Dutch scientist Frans Bongers, who said that frankincense production could be cut in half in 15 years. Over the next 50 years, numbers could shrink by 90%. In some countries, like Yemen, the trees are almost completely gone. Why is this happening?
Old trees are being tapped too often or killed by insects attacks, while young saplings aren't able to grow because of fires or grazing cattle. In a report from 2019, Bongers didn't change his assessment. The same problems – cattle, fire, reckless tapping, and so on – persist. More sustainable practices are needed, but the issue is complicated, because people depend on frankincense for their livelihoods. Asking them to stop tapping so much and bring in less money is probably not going to go over well. However, the decline of frankincense will only accelerate if things don't change.
For once, it looks like climate change isn't actually the primary cause for the decline of frankincense. However, that's not the case for plants like coffee and stone fruit. Those and more of our favorite foods are in danger.
#Naturefrankincense
Emmaline Soken-Huberty
Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer specializing in topics such as healthy living and cookbooks. She lives in Oregon with her husband. When not working, she enjoys reading, baking, and exploring nature.
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Pong Breaker – Classic Arcade Game
Destroy some bricks in Pong Breaker. Just like the classic brick breaker game, your goal is to send the ball towards the opponent field to break their bricks.
You also need to defend your own bricks. During the game, various buffs will appear on the field. Hitting these buffs with the ball will produce various effects that make the game more interesting.
Play this game with a friend or against an AI.
Start playing here!
Pong Breaker - Classic Arcade Game, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating
Brick Bust Brick Bust is a recreation of a popular classic game. To complete each level, you have to smash the bricks using a moving ball. Before it lands on the ground,...
Brick Breaker Arcade Game Brick Breaker is a classic arcade game with a fun, modern twist. Use the ball to destroy all the bricks. Then, use the paddle to catch the ball and prevent it from...
Classic Pinball – Arcade Game Don't let the ball drop! Classic Pinball is a simple but fun arcade game wherein you launch a little ball and watch as it bounces around the field. Players earn...
Breakdown – Classic Arcade Game The balls are ready to wreak havoc in Breakdown! Instead of controlling the ball to break the bricks, you have to build up bricklayers to defend against the balls. There...
Wild West Bandits – Classic Arcade Shooter Game How long can you survive in a desert wasteland? Find out in Wild West Bandits, a retro-inspired top-down shooter game! Armed with a pistol, players will have to blast their way...


"When you've spent decades, and sunk huge investments, in building your way of doing business, it's just plain hard to see the elements of your past success as hurdles to your future success."
Legacies are great in wills, especially if you're the heir. For organizations in the midst of sweeping change, legacy technologies and practices become serious hurdles in the path to success, or even survival.
Consider the breakup of the former AT&T system if you know, or perhaps remember, its history. Once a monopoly, "Ma Bell" was eventually broken up so the marketplace could be opened up. Today's AT&T bears little resemblance to its predecessor.
Massive waves of experimentation, change, and even failure marked the communications industry's struggle to adapt, and the decades since have seen foundational disruption in industry after industry. Financial services is right in the middle of its own transformation.
There's no way to know how it will all turn out.
Traditional FIs—banks and credit unions—have a (narrowing) window of opportunity to get in front of the race. Many are responding resolutely and innovatively. But all are facing multiple hurdles posed in large part by their own history of success. That is to say, by their own entrenched business models, siloed organizational structures, traditional practices, and perhaps especially their legacy technologies.
When you've spent decades, and sunk huge investments, in building your way of doing business, it's just plain hard to see the elements of your past success as hurdles to your future success. The good news is that, more than ever, people and businesses need financial services, and require stability and security. In every other respect, it's time to reconsider everything. It's not just a race against more competitors, it's also a new racecourse. Double hurdles.
Just Do It: The Bank of the Future Doesn't Include Excuses. Financial Brand. This article recognizes how the intersection of new technologies, delivery channels and competitors predict a very different future for the financial services industry. But it pulls no punches in citing systemic belief systems "so ingrained that bankers won't, or in some cases can't, see past them." By the way, we at Alogent vote for can't—our thousands of clients are among the most willing to adopt new perspectives.
Back-office upgrades key to customer-focused banking, survey finds. American Banker. A new study by Accenture shows that 40% of respondents said that "the limitations of their legacy systems are among the top three impediments to digital transformation." Notably, this reflects a change in strategic priorities from compliance and cost management (hear the parallel to AT&T?), to improving the customer experience.