text:
Bargain Finder 46: AccurateShooter's Deals of the Week
At the request of our readers, we provide select "Deals of the Week". Every Monday morning we offer our Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it's gone for good. You snooze you lose.
1. Amazon — Discovery Scope Level $12-$16 (1″, 30mm, 34mm)
If you shoot long range, you need a scope level. This Discovery scope level is fully CNC-machined to close tolerances for a good fit. It is available with three inner diameters to fit scopes with 1″, 30mm, or 34mm main tubes. The 1″ version is just $11.99 while the 30mm model is $13.95 and the large 34mm version is $15.95. You could easily pay $35.00 or more for a 30mm scope level. Purchasers have praised this product: 89% of verified buyers rated this five stars.
2. CDNN Sports — Smith & Wesson SW1911TA E-Series, $999.99
This is a very accurate, high quality Smith & Wesson 1911. The SW1911TA Tactical E-Series™ ("Enhanced") sells elsewhere for around $1170.00 so this CDNN $999.99 special is a very good deal. This pistol features tritium night sights, front rail, high-quality wood grips, and snakeskin-style slide serrations. We've shot this S&W pistol. With our handloads, our sample SW1911TA was more accurate than a $2850.00 Wilson Combat CQB 1911 we tried for comparison. YMMV but expect excellent accuracy and a really fine trigger right out of the box. Some folks may not like the external extractor, but in our mind it's a smart feature that improves reliability. Think about it, the most reliable semi-auto handguns — Sigs, Glocks, HKs — all have external extractors.
3. Amazon — Plano Double Rifle Case with Wheels, $118.64
This Plano Double Scoped Rifle Case is an Amazon Best Seller for good reason. It offers the functionality and durability of an SKB-type hard case for HALF the money. This is under $120.00, while the equivalent SKB is around $240.00, so you can buy two Planos for the price of one SKB. The 51.5″ interior will fit most scoped competition rifles up to about 29″ barrels (measure your own rifle to make sure). The handles are convenient and beefy and the wheels make this case easy to move through airports and parking lots. This is a very tough, roomy case for the money.
4. Grafs.com — $99.99 Electronic Earbud Headset 31dB NRR
This is a totally new kind of hearing protection. Walker's Razor-X and Razor-XV operate like electronic muffs — allowing you to hear commands and conversations while still blocking gunshots and other loud noises. The Razor-X combines a collar unit (containing the electronics) with retractable, foam-tipped ear buds. Unlike conventional earmuffs, the Razor-X system doesn't interfere with your cheek weld. The patent-pending earbuds allow the user to be in loud environments without damaging their hearing, providing an impressive 31dB of noise reduction.
To ensure a good fit (for optimal noise reduction), the Razor-X and Razor-VX come with two styles of noise-reducing foam tips. The Razor-X also features an auto-shut off after 4 to 6 hours. An AC wall adapter with USB port and a one-meter micro USB cord is provided.
5. Natchez — Special 5 Reloading Press Kit, $199.99
This is an excellent entry-level reloading kit, which is on sale for $199.99 at Natchez Shooters Supplies. We like the relatively compact Special 5 press for most reloading duties. Eventually you many want to add an additional large heavy press, but this will get the job done. This kit includes an RCBS Powder Measure, Digital Scale, Powder Trickler, Hand Priming Tool, Load Manual, Loading Tray, and more. It's hard to beat this combination of tools for under $200.00.
6. MidwayUSA — Pro Series Folding Shooting Mat, $89.99
We like this folding shooting mat for three main reasons. First, it has nice half-inch-thick EVA high-density foam inside. That 0.5″ padding makes this mat MUCH more comfortable than thin mats when shooting from concrete or hard ground. Second, at 76″ long x 35.5″ wide, the mat is big enough for tall guys and there's plenty of width for log-books, ammo boxes, and other gear. Third, the multi-cam pattern is distinctive. When you're at a big match with many competitors, this mat is easy to spot, so you can quickly find your place on the firing line. The Multi-cam Pro Series Folding Shooting Mat is currently on sale for $89.99, marked down from $189.00. It is also offered in OD Green for $89.99.
7. Amazon — Long Range Shooting Handbook, $13.02 plus s/h
This 250-page book is Amazon.com's #1 Top Seller among shooting books. The author, a former U.S. Army Sniper Instructor, knows his stuff. Ryan's Long Range Shooting Handbook contains a thorough discussion of MOA and MilRadian concepts. The handbook is broken down into three section: Part One covers equipment, terminology, and basic principles. Part Two covers the theory of long range shooting. Part Three offers practical advice on implementing the information taught. This book has earned rave reviews — 91% of verified purchasers gave the book Five Stars. Note, we show the Prime Price. However, this book is available from other Amazon sellers starting at $13.02 plus $3.99 shipping.
8. Sportsman's Guide — Frankford Arsenal Case Tumbler Kit
For just $69.99, this Frankford Arsenal Kit provides everything you need to clean brass: Vibratory Tumbler, Rotary Media Separator, Bucket, Corn Cob Media (3 lbs.), and Brass Polish. The Case Tumbler holds up to 600 9mm cases or 350 .223 Rem cases. The separator system is generous, with a 3.5-gallon bucket. NOTE: Sportsman's Guide Buyers Club members can purchase for $62.99.
Share the post "Bargain Finder 46: AccurateShooter's Deals of the Week"
Permalink Hot Deals, Reloading 1 Comment »


text:
Experts Debate the Need for Upfront vs Late Stem Cell Transplant in Multiple Myeloma
By Alice Goodman
Kenneth C. Anderson, MD
Paul G. Richardson, MD
Timing of Stem Cell Transplant in Myeloma
Until the results of randomized trials come out, high-dose melphalan consolidation should be considered the standard of care for all transplant-eligible patients with myeloma.
—Sergio A. Giralt, MD
Early vs late transplant appear similar with novel therapies…. My conclusion is that not all newly diagnosed patients need early transplant therapy.
With powerful new drugs capable of achieving sustained and deep remissions in multiple myeloma, the role of upfront stem cell transplantation is being questioned by experts, who debated the pros and cons at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 9th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, held recently in New York.1
In Defense of Upfront Transplant
Taking the pro position, Sergio A. Giralt, MD, Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service and Melvin Berlin Family Chair in Multiple Myeloma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, maintained, "The preponderance of evidence supports the use of high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant as upfront consolidation therapy for myeloma. Until the results of randomized trials come out, high-dose melphalan consolidation should be considered the standard of care for all transplant-eligible patients with myeloma."
It is agreed that complete remission is an important surrogate for long-term disease control and survival in myeloma, Dr. Giralt continued. "Patients who do achieve a [complete remission] to induction therapy represent a particular group. But even in those patients, high-dose therapy seems to be associated with high rates of prolonged disease control," he added.
Patients can be stratified for risk, Dr. Giralt continued. A recent multivariate analysis identified the following prognostic factors for progression-free survival in multiple myeloma: less than a complete remission at induction, del(17p) and/or translocation (4:14), International Staging System score > 2.2
A landmark analysis of the nonrandomized E4A03 study found that upfront transplant improved progression-free and overall survival in patients under age 65 as well as in those between age 65 and 70.3 "Going to transplant upfront reduced the burden of disease," Dr. Giralt said.
Adding newer drugs to the transplant regimen can improve outcomes. Pooled data from four randomized trials found that the addition of bortezomib (Velcade) to transplant improved both progression-free and overall survival, but the overall survival benefit was not observed in the individual trials, only in the pooled data, he said.
"We believe that bortezomib should be part of induction for transplant-eligible patients," he told listeners.
The rationale for upfront transplant rests on the idea that the more intense the treatment, the better the outcome, he continued. Data suggest that double transplant is better for patients with poor-risk cytogenetics, but the results of the STaMINA trial will provide definitive results, Dr. Giralt said.
Until that time, the current expectation comes from the results of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 100104 study, which demonstrated a median time to progression of 4.5 years in patients who received lenalidomide maintenance. Finally, Dr. Giralt noted that Raghavendra et al reported at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting that significantly more patients were alive at 10 years if they had initial transplant compared with those who did not.4
An ongoing study initiated in 2009 is using newer drugs as induction therapy (the VRD triplet [bortezomib, lenalidomide (Revlimid), dexamethasone]) and should shed light on the issue of early vs late stem cell transplant in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma transplant-eligible patients. This study, known as IFM/DFCI 2009, is being led by Paul G. Richardson, MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston.
A separate study is comparing early vs late stem cell transplant in 402 patients younger than age 65, but it is too early to see an advantage in overall survival.5
Risk stratification is an important factor. New surrogate markers of myeloma activity, such as minimal residual disease by flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction may be helpful in this regard, Dr. Giralt said.
Not All Patients Need Upfront Transplant
Taking the antagonist role, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, noted that in the pre–novel therapy era, transplant achieved limited improvement in survival compared with no transplant in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.
"We have shown that we can do better with novel therapies. In the past 15 years, a number of novel agents have become available and these have been integrated in to the treatment paradigm. Now we are at the point where we can ask the question, 'Do we really need transplant?'" he told listeners.
In the current era using triplet combinations, patients almost universally respond, including some molecular complete remission. "This is an unprecedented time in myeloma, and I believe it is getting even better," he said.
A recent study with carfilzomib (Kyprolis)/lenalidomide/dexamethasone as first-line therapy in newly diagnosed patients found that all patients achieved at least a very good partial response, and 85% achieved a near-complete or complete response.6
It is possible to achieve minimal residual disease status with novel therapies, he continued. In the past, minimal residual disease could only be achieved with transplant.
"It is a new day in myeloma. We are catching up with chronic myelocytic leukemia [CML]. Now we are worried about one myeloma cell in 1 million cells. In a separate study of carfilzomib/lenalidomide/dexamethasone followed by lenalidomide extended dosing,7 among 27 patients who achieved complete remission, 100% were minimal residual disease–negative by flow cytometery. This is an unprecedented response without transplant," he stated.
The investigational agent ixazomib, an oral "son of bortezomib," may represent an advance over bortezomib. In a study of weekly ixazomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone, 48% of patients achieved 100% reduction in M protein, and these reductions were seen at multiple dose levels.8 Of nine patients with minimal residual disease samples collected in this trial, 88% were minimal residual disease–negative.
"This is very early data, but there have been few relapses," Dr. Anderson continued.
A separate study of this triplet combination showed that the depth of response increased over the course of treatment.9 Of patients who achieved stringent or standard complete remission, 82% of 12 patients who provided samples were minimal residual disease–negative.
"The extent of response is quite high," Dr. Anderson said.
The burning question is whether early or delayed transplant is preferred in the era of novel agents. Thus far, studies suggest that there is little difference in progression-free survival with early vs late transplant in patients who are treated with novel therapies upfront.
Cytogenetics matter, Dr. Anderson continued. Patients with high-risk genetics do slightly worse, but when bortezomib or lenalidomide are used together as maintenance, high-risk patients do better, he explained.
"At our center, we use lenalidomide/dexamethasone or lenalidomide/bortezomib/dexamethasone. We can tell you what we think, but does that really matter? We need data to inform NCCN guidelines," Dr. Anderson continued.
Two ongoing trials are looking at early vs late transplant in patients treated with novel agents: the European Intergroup Trial and a study at Dana-Farber called DETERMINATION.
"In today's world, we have a new era of novel agents that achieve unprecedented responses. They can achieve [minimal residual disease] whether or not transplant is included. Again, maintenance therapy with novel drugs can prolong progression-free and overall survival. In the past and today, early vs late transplant appear similar with novel therapies. Ongoing trials will establish the added value of early vs late transplant. My conclusion is that not all newly diagnosed patients need early transplant therapy," Dr. Anderson stated. ■
Disclosure: Drs. Giralt and Anderson reported no potential conflicts of interest.
1. Giralt S, Anderson K: Debate: Is there a role for upfront transplant in the current management of symptomatic multiple myeloma? NCCN 9th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies. Presented September 20, 2014.
2. Cavo M, Salwender H, Rosiñol L, et al: Double vs single autologous stem cell transplantation after bortezomib-based induction regimens for multiple myeloma: An integrated analysis of patient-level data from phase III European studies. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 767. Presented December 9, 2013.
3. Siegel DS, Jacobus S, Rajkumar SV, et al: Outcome with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone followed by early autologous stem cell transplantation in the ECOG E4A03 randomized clinical trial. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 38. Presented December 5, 2010.
4. Raghavendra M, Al-Hamadani M, Go RS: Long-term (10 years or more) survivors of multiple myeloma: A population-based analysis of the US National Cancer Data Base. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 760. Presented December 9, 2013.
5. Gay F, Cavallo F, Caravita T, et al: Maintenance therapy with lenalidomide significantly improved survival of young newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 2089. Presented December 7, 2013.
6. Jakubowiak AJ, Dytfeld D, Griffith KA, et al: A phase 1/2 study of carfilzomib in combination with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone as a frontline treatment for multiple myeloma. Blood 120:1801-1809, 2012.
7. Korde N, Zingone A, Kwok ML, et al: Phase II clinical and correlative study of carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone followed by lenalidomide extended dosing (CRD-R) induces high rates of MRD negativity in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 538. Presented December 9, 2013.
8. Kumar SK, Berdeja JG, Niesvizky R, et al: A phase 1/2 study of weekly MLN9708, an investigational oral proteasome inhibitor, in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma (MM). American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 332. Presented December 10, 2012.
9. Richardson PG, Hofmeister CC, Rosenbaum CA, et al: Twice-weekly oral MLN9708 (ixazomib citrate), an investigational proteasome inhibitor, in combination with lenalidomide (Len) and dexamethasone (Dex) in patients (Pts) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM): Final phase 1 results and phase 2 data. American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Abstract 653. Presented December 9, 2013.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Catch a Break! Scholarship Program is offering 4-year, renewable scholarships up to $10,000/year. The program is intended to enable recipients to graduate debt-free following four years of study. Applications are open to Minnesota residents who demonstrate academic potential and financial need and who plan on attending a four-year public college or university in Minnesota.


text:
You are here: Home / Editorial / Show Preview / Social Distortion to Play the Fillmore Charlotte
Social Distortion to Play the Fillmore Charlotte Reviewed by Frederick Gubitosi on August 19, 2017 .
California Screaming Social Distortion is playing the Fillmore Charlotte and…
Social Distortion to Play the Fillmore Charlotte
By Frederick Gubitosi 0 0
Tags: " the Germs, Bad Luck, Barry McGuire, Black Flag, Claude Bessy, cow punk, Editor: Sheila Walsh, Eve of Destruction, Fillmore Charlotte, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, I Was Wrong, It Wasn't a Pretty Picture, Johnny Cash, Lexicon Devil, Mommy's Little Monster, Orange County CA, Pearl Jam, Ring of Fire, Road Zombie, Slash Fanzine, Social Distortion, Southercasse, Story of My Life, The Decline of Western Civilization, The Dickies, writer fred gubitosi
California Screaming
Social Distortion is playing the Fillmore Charlotte and the Ritz Raleigh, bringing the roots of American punk to the South. They were one of the earliest punk bands from the Orange County area in California in the early 80s. Social Distortion influenced many grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, as well as the following generation rockers. There was a whole development in that region in the late 70s; bands were reacting to the dinosaur groups that dominated album oriented rock radio. The aesthetic changed. Orange County was and still is a pretty well off suburban area. Out of boredom, the teens (in many casses privileged) of Orange County rebelled against their parents, the status quo, and baby boomer rock with punk. As Claude Bessy, editor of Slash Fanzine, an infamous LA area punk publication at the time said in the 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, "Not everyone was grooving to the same vibe anymore." In fact, "it's an ugly vibe," to paraphrase Bessy.
There was a certain degree of resentment toward classic rock's talent and financial prosperity that many of these LA bands carried, which resulted in a new aesthetic. Sometimes the songs got shorter; bands like the Germs and Black Flag would do 30 second tracks that packed a punch with concise librettos. Extended jams were out of style. Some bands like The Dickies would ridiculously speed up depressing hippy protest songs like Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," making the dirge sound happy-go-lucky. Out of this revolution in Orange County and LA, Social Distortion found their place in the annals of American music.
The band's first album Mommy's Little Monster was released in 1983. It is a slice of California punk bleakness. "It Wasn't a Pretty Picture" from their debut album shows the band's eloquence in storytelling, but at the same time expressing the fatalism that much of the Orange County school was known for.
As the 80s progressed, Social Distortion pioneered in a new genre called cow punk, which manifested itself in their 1990 cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." The marriage of Cash's angst and Social Distortion's raw sound is a good example of the cow punk hybrid. The intro is similar to The Germs' classic "Lexicon Devil" and was on one of their best known studio albums, self-titled Social Distortion.
Over the decades Social Distortion has had different line-ups, and their most recent studio release, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, was released back in 2011. The band has produced some great writing, though they are always strong on lyrics with tracks like "Bad Luck," "I Was Wrong," and "Story of My Life" which are reflective little ditties. Many of these songs have that twang that you find in Southern Rock. Amidst all the lyrical yarns that are on Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, there are tracks like the instrumental "Road Zombie" which veer from the SD formula. It is a good rocking track.
So if you are in the Carolinas, try to make it to the Fillmore Charlotte or the Ritz Raleigh to hear veteran songsmiths.
Or win tickets to tomorrows show!
RT- for a chance to win a pair of tickets to @SocialD1 at @RitzRaleigh #socialdistortion #giveaway #twitfromthepit #punklove pic.twitter.com/n1aeQlW80k
— Shutter 16 Magazine (@shutter16) August 18, 2017
Frederick Gubitosi
Brooklyn native, Frederick Gubitosi, is a musician, artist, songwriter, and music journalist. Alumnus of Pratt Institute and Brooklyn College, the former teacher writes as an insider to world of music and the humanities. In the '90s he had two solo painting exhibits in NYC and was involved in a performance art group which merged live music, improv theater and multimedia. In 1995 he participated in Philadelphia's first performance of John Zorn's "Cobra" as a musician. In 2005 he wrote, directed, and created the musical score for his comic play, "Love, the Happy Disease." He now participates in events for Brooklyn's Creators Collective making improvised music for modern dancers.
Warped Interview Series: GWAR's Pustulas Maximus talks about Touring, music, and gory shows
August 18, 2017 Columns
Ted Nugent & Co. make a stop in NY
August 20, 2017 National Music Coverage
Pam Taylor's Haunting Cover of "House of The Rising Sun" For Film Score Is an Artistic Revelation
LA La Land – Angels in Guadalajara?
About A Song: Our Lady Peace, BUSH, LIVE, and the Altimate Audience
Attention Carolina Music Fans! AreYou Ready For An Uprising?
Papa Roach "Elevate" The Queen City With A Passionate Performance
Giveaway: Meet and Greet and show tickets for Tenille Townes
National Music Coverage
Preview: Gov't Mule Will Bring On The Music In Asbury Park, New Jersey and Beyond


text:
You are here: Home / Style / Seaside Style / Katie Burns
Katie Burns
By Sue Mayfield Geiger on December 24, 2016 Filed Under: Seaside Style Leave a Comment
Each month, Coast Monthly visits with some of the most charming people on the Texas Coast to see a few of their favorite things.
Photo by Chris Kuhlman
When Katie Burns was 3 years old, she got a Tinker Bell makeup kit. She's been obsessed with makeup ever since.
Today, her studio/mobile makeup service in Friendswood keeps her busy, but she also values her free time. Living next to a canal in Kemah allows her to relax with boyfriend, John, who shares Burns' affection for anything and everything coastal.
They enjoy boating, cruising around the neighborhood in their golf cart or just hanging out at home after Burns whips up a seafood supper. Burns is passionate about cooking — so much so, she dreams of one day owning a small cafe that specializes in breakfast. But Alaskan cod baked in the oven with a bit of lemon, sea salt and cracked pepper is a favorite dinner specialty.
Burns was Homecoming Queen at Houston's Dobie High School, danced during halftime at the 2004 Super Bowl, and worked for cosmetic giants MAC and Chanel, while getting an associate degree in business management.
Burns, who describes herself as a "people person," likes helping her clients feel good about themselves, she said.
"It makes my day knowing I helped them look and feel their best," she said.
Her fashion style is a mix of casual, trend and comfort. She prefers to have fun with clothes, she said.
"Before I moved to the water, I dressed a bit more snazzy, but here, I'm all about being casual and less formal, particularly when it comes to shoes," she said. "Michael Kors makes a very comfortable heel."
Here are a few of her favorite things:
1. Panama Jack cruiser: "I love my orange and pink bike. John and I ride around the marina and often take our bikes down to the Galveston seawall."
2. Tory Burch sneakers: "A combination of mesh, suede and printed patent leather, these are funky, fun and go well with anything casual."
3. TAGHeuer watch: "A gift from John on my 30th birthday. I only wear it on very special occasions."
4. Virgin Gorda cap: "I got this cap while visiting Virgin Gorda, an island in the British West Indies. It was a life-changing trip, because I felt such peace there."
5. Elephant and calves: "I collect elephants, this one being my favorite. It reminds me of my mom and my two sisters. My dad passed away when I was 5, and my mom raised us on her own."
6. Waterproof pink purse: "Made of shiny plastic, this is perfect for taking out on the boat or to the pool — anywhere near the water."
7. Yellow jacket: "My favorite winter jacket. It's sporty and dressy at the same time. I can take it out on the boat or wear to dinner."
8. Red scarf: "My mom gave this to me. I love the color, the beads and sequins."
9. David Yurman bracelet: "It's a sterling cable bracelet with cultured pearls and 14-karat gold. I wear it every day."
10. Flower arrangements: "I like faux flower arrangements around the house. They add light and color and I don't have to water them."


9 out of 10 based on 690 ratings. 3,952 user reviews.
www›Search›volvo penta repair manualFind great deals on eBay for volvo penta repair manual. Shop with confidence. Skip to main content. eBay Logo: Shop by category. 1 product rating - Seloc Volvo Penta Stern Drive 1968-1991 Boat Engine Repair Manual : SL3600. $52. Buy It Now. Free Shipping. 1 new & refurbished from $52.
The Volvo Penta manual is a great reference for service and repair information on your Penta marine engine. The Volvo Penta manual provides maintenance information for 1968-1991 boat engines.
wwwneengine›Manuals›Seloc›Volvo Penta SterndriveSeloc manual 3600 (book) covers 1968-1991 Volvo Penta single- (SP) and duo-prop (DP) sterndrive models powered by Ford, GM or Volvo 4-cylinder, V6 & V8 engines.
wwwneengine›ManualsVolvo Penta Stern Drives 1968-1991 Repair & Service Manual: List Price $45: Your Price $32: Seloc manual 3600 (book) covers 1968-1991 Volvo Penta single- (SP) and duo-prop (DP) sterndrive models powered by Ford, GM or Volvo 4-cylinder, V6 & V8 engines.


text:
Browse: Home / 2004 / December / 23 / The Lassie Foundation: Face Your Fun (Northern Records, 2004)
The Lassie Foundation: Face Your Fun (Northern Records, 2004)
swc / December 23, 2004 / Leave a comment / Reviews
There are those albums that we encounter that bring us back to our youth. This happens to be one of those albums for me. The Cure, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Big Country: these are the bands of my youth. Lassie captures the essence of the 80's and updates it for today. Face Your Fun is energetic, fun, and catchy. It is indie-pop at its best. What is more is that the musicianship is fantastic. Campuzano brings his signature bass work to this disc along with Happy's subtle use of the vibraphone. Shroeder's guitar is soaring and perfect with Everett's percussion and his vocals. Everett has definitely grown as a vocalist and shows his growth with powerfully effective vocals.
"Don't Stop Your Heart" is a great pop song with driving percussion and guitar. It is apparent from the very first note of Face Your Fun that Lassie has re-created or re-visited a grand 80's sound. "Heart" is one of those fantastic pop songs with powerful music and melancholy lyrics. Like Loquat, they are masters at catchy music with a sadder message. Having heard it from Everett, the song is about a youth who deals with a bad relationship with his father and how that plays out in his life. It's evident that the son is looking to find out how to love his father in spite of their damaged relationship. Following "Heart" is "Sunset." A song that references the "bands of the past" from the get go and really has a driving 80's song complete with key boards and high hat driven percussion. As it is with many of Everett's lyrics, he references his need for music to keep him alive. The guitar sound on this album is huge, recalling Echo and the Bunnymen mixed with a bit of Big Country.
"You're Just Lucky" changes the pace of the album a bit and brings in a bit more melancholy feel. Campuzano plays exquisite bass on this song with subtle, shimmery guitar accenting Everett's perfect vocals. "Lucky" seems to echo a theme that is running throughout the disc, that of getting older and following one's dreams through music and love. This song shows definite influence from Echo and the Bunnymen; yet, Lassie just makes this genre their own. It's always amazing to find a band that can go back to a sound from their youth and really make it fresh, and Lassie has done this with spades. "Blow It Away" is a very catchy anthem about believing about love. "Take off your sober dynamite/you can blow it away/and forget all the bad times/you can blow it away and remember the good times" sings Everett. This song not only captures that grand 80's sound, but it also captures that 80's optimism that our culture enjoyed during that decade before Nirvana and Pearl Jam brought their pessimism to the table.
"Money Money" is a guitar driven song with catchy hooks and lyrics that really comment on our culture and its priorities. Here, the bad side of "Money" is displayed. Everett sings "can't somebody appease the greedy beast of our days." The character in the song that has come upon such a huge amount of cash is told to "make the balance right" and basically use the money he has attained for the betterment of others. Another aspect of this album that is incredible is Everett's vocals. Honestly, I didn't think that his perfect vocals could get any better, but this is certainly his best vocal performance to date. He seems a seasoned singer and he encapsulates the energy of this disc. It is obvious that the band really enjoyed making this disc and it comes out in all of their performances and the unity of the compositions. "Face Your Fun" seems very autobiographical for some of the members of the band. This song, as in "Lucky," has the theme of growing of old and trying to keep one's dreams alive in spite of the twilight of life. Having kids and growing more stable in one's older age should never stop one from making music or following one's dreams. "Can your new life be a new lover and can your new life face your fun" Everett asks. There are certain U2 elements to this song, but I really don't want to give the impression that Lassie has taken all these 80's influences and just copied them. As they have done in the past, they have truly made them their own and shaped them into their own sound.
"Saturday Night" recalls all those nights in the 80's clubbing, dancing with flashing lights and just having a good time letting go. It certainly recalls my own youth, listening to New Order, The Psychedelic Furs, etc while enjoying time with friends and dancing in Westwood, California. Shroeder's guitar work on this track, heck, the whole album, is amazing. He really has grown with the rest of the band musically and this unity of growth really brings excellence to the sound of the disc. "What the Beat is For" displays Everett's ability to use imagery to tastefully demonstrate sexual flirtation. "She was standing their with jeans and tank top/I was feeling like a loaded gun/lose lips, swinging hips into my direction." Of course, this flirtatious lady plays the drums, like Everett. "Eye of the Pirate" is a fanciful song that has a catchy beat with brilliant sprinkles of flowing keyboard. It is a great conclusion to this album with its themes of looking to the future with anticipation of new beginnings and looking back to memories of our youth to furnish optimism for that future.
Tags: Pop
← Viva Voce: The Heat Can Melt Your Brain (Minty Fresh, 2004)
Starflyer 59: The Last Laurel (Independent, 2004) →


Great stepparenting skills can be learned. In fact, over the next 6 days we'll be discussing exactly how to hone your natural abilities and shape them into effective stepparenting skills.
If you will spend just 5-7 minutes with me for each of these self-study modules, I promise they will dramatically affect your abilities as a stepparent. You will learn about yourself, about the act of leadership as a stepparent, and about how to influence others in a positive way.


text:
Why publish in JSWSC?
Topical Issues open for submission
All issues Volume 6 (2016) J. Space Weather Space Clim., 6 (2016) A34 Full HTML
Brightness Variations of the Sun and Sun-like Stars and Resulting Influences on their Environments
J. Space Weather Space Clim.
https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2016027
2. TSI observations ...
3. SOVAP operations summary
4. SOVAP TSI ...
5.1. TSI absolute ...
J. Space Weather Space Clim., 6, A34 (2016)
Total solar irradiance as measured by the SOVAP radiometer onboard PICARD
Mustapha Meftah1*, André Chevalier2, Christian Conscience2 and Stijn Nevens2
1 University of Paris-Saclay, University of Paris VI, CNRS, LATMOS, 11 Boulevard d'Alembert, 78280 Guyancourt, France
2 Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180 Uccle, Belgique
* Corresponding author: Mustapha.Meftah@latmos.ipsl.fr
From the SOlar VAriability PICARD (SOVAP) space-based radiometer, we obtained a new time series of the total solar irradiance (TSI) during Solar Cycle 24. Based on SOVAP data, we obtained that the TSI input at the top of the Earth's atmosphere at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Sun is 1361.8 ± 2.4 W m−2 (1σ) representative of the 2008 solar minimum period. From 2010 to 2014, the amplitude of the changes has been of the order of ± 0.1%, corresponding to a range of about 2.7 W m−2. To determine the TSI from SOVAP, we present here an improved instrument equation. A parameter was integrated from a theoretical analysis that highlighted the thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the radiometric cavity. From this approach, we obtained values that are lower than those previously provided with the same type of instrument. The results in this paper supersede the previous SOVAP analysis and provide the best SOVAP-based TSI-value estimate and its temporal variation.
Key words: Sun / Total Irradiance / Solar activity / Solar Cycle / Spacecraft
© M. Meftah et al., Published by EDP Sciences 2016
Solar activity (i.e. total solar irradiance (TSI), solar magnetic field, ultraviolet radiation, etc.) is an important contributor to natural climate variability. Thus, the long-term monitoring of the Essential Climate Variable (ECV) TSI is important in order to understand the change of climate with time. Since 1978, the absolute value of the TSI and its temporal variation have been measured from space. Prior to the launch of the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft in January 2003, the consensus absolute value of the TSI was close to 1365.4 W m−2. The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument onboard SORCE measured deviating values around 1361 W m−2 (Kopp & Lean 2011). This result was independently obtained by the PREcision MOnitor Sensor (PREMOS) instrument onboard PICARD (Schmutz et al. 2013). Before its launch, PREMOS had been calibrated relative to the cryogenic Total solar irradiance Radiometer Facility (TRF) of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). PREMOS was also calibrated against the World Radiometric Reference (WRR) to get a consistent picture. The measurements of the SOlar VAriability PICARD (SOVAP) space-based radiometer yielded a TSI value quite close to TIM and PREMOS results (Meftah et al. 2014). To obtain this value, the instrument equation was updated accounting for the thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the SOVAP radiometric cavity. Moreover, the 35-year Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) TSI satellite composite time series has been revised (Willson 2014) using algorithm updates and corrections to ACRIMSAT/ACRIM3 results for scattering and diffraction derived from testing with the TRF. Thus, ACRIM3 has lowered its space TSI value after the comparison of an ACRIM engineering model with the cryogenic TRF. Finally, the Variability of Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) experiment (Fröhlich et al. 1995) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) provided a new absolute value of the TSI (new scale) that is 0.42% lower than the original scale (~1365.4 W m−2). The VIRGO results (VIRGO new scale, VIRGO-PMO6 V and VIRGO-DIARAD) are available at ftp://ftp.pmodwrc.ch/pub/data/irradiance/virgo/TSI/.
Space observations with these experiments are consistent with a mean TSI value of 1361 ± 1 W m−2 (2σ), which is a representative absolute value of the 2008 solar minimum period. Despite the advent of the space era, the question addressing the absolute TSI determination remains open. Indeed, the debate about absolute TSI determination remains in a large way limited to the determination of realistic uncertainties. In 2005, it was suggested (Butler et al. 2008) that every TSI team should critically investigate its own instrument, and that on-ground comparisons between radiometers in power and in irradiance modes should be made. The latter recommendation has led different teams to take their radiometers to the LASP/TRF facility, in which a radiometer under test can be compared in vacuum for power and irradiance measurement with a reference cryogenic radiometer. We point out that the SOVAP instrument (Conscience et al. 2011) was not calibrated at the TRF facility.
In this paper, we report on the TSI measurements of SOVAP, which were carried out during the PICARD mission from July 2010 to March 2014. We provide our best estimate of the absolute value of the TSI as seen by SOVAP. We correct the determination of the SOVAP thermo-electrical non-equivalence between the right and the left cavity during deep space measurements. Finally, we provide a SOVAP TSI composite that includes all measurement modes normalised to the mean TSI of the nominal modes.
2. TSI observations by RMIB since 1983
The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMIB) has in its 33-year space history, since Spacelab in November 1983, launched six different TSI instruments of the DIfferential Absolute RADiometer (DIARAD) type on 11 space flights. Figure 1 displays the long-term TSI time series of the main space-based TSI radiometers developed by RMIB. Only the SOVAP TSI data were corrected for the thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the cavity (Meftah et al. 2014).
TSI published time series for the left and right channels of the main space-based TSI radiometers developed by the RMIB: the SOLar CONstant instrument (SOLCON) on Spacelab and onboard the space shuttle, the Solar Variations (SOVA 1) experiment onboard European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), VIRGO-DIARAD onboard SoHO, the Sun Monitoring on the External Payload Facility of Columbus-SOlar Variable and Irradiance Monitor (Solar-SOVIM). New TSI time series of SOVAP onboard PICARD are displayed for the different modes with the correction for non-equivalence included.
The DIARAD instrument consists of two electrical substitution radiometers driven by a servo-system. The radiometers are symmetrical cylindrical cavities, mounted side by side on a common heat sink. Both cavities see the same thermal environment through accurately known circular precision apertures (Conscience et al. 2011). Part of the light reflected from the precision aperture illuminates the baffle and, especially in vacuum, heats it. Both effects increase the measured signal as scattered light and infrared radiation from the baffle enter the cavities. For all of the classical radiometers, this effect has been extensively studied at the TRF facility, where corrections for PREMOS and ACRIM3 were determined. This effect is negligible in the DIARAD type radiometers due to the ingenious construction of the primary aperture as a spherical mirror which focuses this undesired incoming light into the centre of the front-most view-limiting aperture and out of the instrument. On the other hand, the DIARAD design has a fundamental limitation due to a distributed thermal impedance on the surface of the sensor and an electrical heater which covers a larger area than the solar beam. This effect is present in all RMIB radiometers, and a specific correction for each radiometer is needed to correct formerly obtained results.
In 1983, a cavity-type absolute radiometer was flown on Spacelab where a TSI value of 1361.5 ± 2.3 W m−2 (at one standard deviation (1σ)) was obtained (Crommelynck et al. 1987), which is atypical compared to other RMIB results. The Spacelab radiometer has a different thermo-electric sensor, which in hindsight may explain why it measured a much more accurate value of the TSI. The thermal conductivity of the faces of this instrument's sensors is different from most RMIB radiometers, while the size of the heater elements is the same. The thermo-mechanical properties of the Spacelab cavity cylinders and their interfaces to the sensor are also different. These results may explain the difference of this radiometer relative to the others mentioned in Crommelynck et al. (1987). This needs further investigation.
One of the RMIB radiometers, VIRGO-DIARAD (Dewitte et al. 2004), acquired TSI measurements as part of the VIRGO experiment (Fröhlich et al. 1995, 1997) onboard SoHO from 1996 until the present, which represents one of the longest TSI-measurement time series. As a reminder, the DIARAD radiometer is part of VIRGO together with two PMO6V-type radiometers as discussed in Section 1. Having two radiometers of different designs may help to understand the behaviour of the radiometers in space and hence provide a more reliable estimate of TSI from a combination of the results from both. This combination is called VIRGO TSI (new scale, version 6).
Our understanding of the long-term behaviour of space-based TSI radiometers has increased substantially. The RMIB uses the measurements of DIARAD as a stand-alone instrument, which could be problematic because this type of radiometer could show a non-exposure-dependent sensitivity change. This effect cannot be corrected internally by comparing with a less exposed radiometer. Indeed, it is important to characterise the long-term behaviour especially for the 20-year record of VIRGO. For long-term characterisations of SOVAP, in this paper we use the RMIB VIRGO-DIARAD TSI values to compare these two radiometers based on the same technology and methods. The new scale of VIRGO values, which are based on both instruments (VIRGO-PMO6V and VIRGO-DIARAD), are consistent within uncertainties with the SOVAP absolute value of the TSI.
DIARAD is an electrically calibrated cavity radiometer, based on a differential heat-flux meter. The main advantage is that both cavities can be used for solar measurements and their arrangement views the same thermal environment. In the nominal operation modes, the radiometric equation for each cavity (left or right) is given in Eq. (2) with all the details described by Meftah et al. (2014). The modes are called "Auto 2" and "Auto 3" for left and right operations, respectively. For each mode, the sampling period is three minutes (a sequence of 90 s open and 90 s closed) and provides an instrument demonstrated repeatability around 0.1 W m−2. The "Auto 2" mode was intended to track on-orbit degradation of the primary right cavity ("Auto 3" mode) via infrequent exposure of the left cavity (roughly every month). The left channel provided a TSI measurement with the lowest absolute uncertainty (±1.39 W m−2) as shown by Meftah et al. (2014).
The "Auto 3" mode was used intermittently from July 22, 2010 until August 28, 2010. Few measurements were achieved with the SOVAP-DIARAD right channel ("Auto 3" mode). The "Auto 2" mode was used to measure the TSI absolute level as well as the TSI variability for half an hour every month from August 28, 2010 to October 27, 2010.
Early on in the mission, the "Auto 3" mode was abandoned due to a failure of the right shutter mechanism that left the cavity permanently open. A change in the operation was needed where an alternative mode was used. During this new "Rad 10" mode, the right shutter is permanently open and the left shutter is kept closed. This mode was used starting with the first occultation period on the 18th of November 2010 (after an update of the flight software). Thus, the SOVAP right shutter was permanently open and the left shutter was kept closed from November 2010 until January 2013. The main difference in the radiometric Eq. (3) of the "Rad 10" mode is that the power fed to the left cavity in closed state (Pcl,l) is not representative for the right channel and a correction called KRad10 has to be introduced. Moreover, the shutter correction has to be changed to only take into account the emission of the cavity to deep space instead of the difference of this to the shutter emission in the closed position. This shutter correction now is only dependent on the temperature of the cavity which is known. Furthermore, we need to calibrate KRad10 and this is done by measuring deep space in "Rad 10" mode which is then the only unknown in the equation. The "Rad 10" mode had the advantage of increasing the measurement time resolution. In fact, SOVAP measurements were organised in packets of 90 s, containing several frames of 10 s measurements each. TSI acquisition was made at seconds 20, 40, 70, 80 and 90. In the "Rad 10" mode measurements, the active cavity is always in thermo-electrical equilibrium. Therefore, all TSI measurements at seconds 20, 40, 70, 80 and 90 can be used and no C6 correction (dynamic non-equivalence between electrical and radiative response) is needed as shown in Eq. (3). In DIARAD design, the sensors are in the feed-back loop, but the cylindrical parts of the cavities aren't. We determine the C6 parameter in flight by comparison of the response of the normal sampling time of 3 min (90 s open and 90 s closed) with a doubled sampling time of 6 min (180 s open and 180 s closed) to ensure the system reaches thermal equilibrium.
In early 2013, it was decided that the PICARD space mission would end at the beginning of March 2014. Thus, it was no longer necessary to protect the integrity of the left cavity for ageing determination. Normally, the degradation is tracked with the cavity that is less exposed to solar radiation in order to minimise the degradation due to solar UV radiation. We tried and succeeded to close the right shutter and then turn on the "Auto 2" mode and it was then used from February 2013 until March 2014. This operating mode was intensively used after several months in space.
4. SOVAP TSI equation and measurement uncertainty
TSI is defined as the power of the incoming solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area at one astronomical unit (1 au). The SOVAP TSI Eq. (1) follows this convention (1)where TSI(i=r,l) is the total solar irradiance (W m−2) of the right cavity (r) or the left cavity (l) at 1 au. SI(i) is the solar irradiance (W m−2) measured at the spacecraft's distance from the Sun, z is the distance between the PICARD spacecraft and the Sun (km), the astronomical unit is equal to 149,597,870.700 km, c is the speed of light (299,792.458 km per second) and t is the time (second).
4.1. SOVAP TSI equation – "Auto 2" and "Auto 3" modes
SI(i) is derived from the measurement of the electrical power supplied to the active cavity of the radiometer to maintain this cavity with the same heat sink flux in the open and closed states as described in more detail by Meftah et al. (2014). The measured solar irradiance for the nominal modes is given by Eq. (2), where the constants are defined in Table 1 except for C6 that is not needed in the "Rad 10" mode and was explained earlier (end of Sect. 3).
SOVAP radiometer parameters' definition and typical values for the "Rad 10" mode.
The estimated uncertainty on the TSI absolute determination for the "Auto 2" mode is ±1.4 Wm−2 at 1σ and for the "Auto 3" mode the estimated uncertainty is ±1.5 Wm−2 at 1σ (Meftah et al. 2014).
4.2. SOVAP TSI equation – "Rad 10" mode
To calculate the TSI in this case, a slightly changed instrument equation is required where both channels are used to determine the SOVAP TSI. Solar Irradiance (SI(R10)) for the SOVAP right cavity during the "Rad 10" mode is derived from the measurement of the difference between the electrical power supplied to the closed cavity (left) and the electrical power supplied to the open cavity (right).
where Pcl,l is the electrical power (W) fed to the left cavity in closed state of the shutter, Po,r is the electrical power (W) fed to the right cavity in open state of the shutter and KRad10 is the thermo-electrical non-equivalence between the right and the left cavity of the SOVAP radiometer (obtained during space calibration). The definition of the parameters of Eq. (3) with typical values is provided in Table 1. Each parameter is described in more detail in the SOVAP instrumental paper (Conscience et al. 2011), except C′3 that is temperature dependent and is given in Table 1 for the mean temperature of the closed shutter.
The KRad10 parameter is obtained during space calibration (stellar calibration and Earth eclipse seasons) where the right cavity was not exposed to sunlight. The evolution of the KRad10 parameter is displayed in Figure 2. The KRad10 parameter changes over time and stems from a changing difference between the two channels. The physical explanations for the change in KRad10 over time could be an overall warming up of the instrument/heat sink, a modification of the main characteristics of the thermo-electric sensor (heat-flux transducer), a creep of the thermo-electric sensor that is mounted between the cavity and the heat sink (indium thermal interface material), and probably an evolution of the specific torque of the attachment of the thermo-electric sensor. KRad10 evolves between 2.7 × 10−3 and 3.1 × 10−3 W. Thus, the SOVAP TSI variability time series ("Rad 10" mode) is shown in Figure 3 using Eq. (3) with the different parameters of the Table 1 such as KRad10. Uncertainties of the absolute determination of TSI for the "Rad 10" mode are given in Table 2 in parts per million (ppm) and in W m−2. Electrical chain (general effects, transfer of calibration and ground parasitic resistance) uncertainties take into account the two cavities (left and right). Thus, the "Rad 10" mode uncertainty is of the order of ±1.7 W m−2 (1σ), which is higher than nominal modes due to the lack of shuttering.
The blue curve corresponds to the "zero solar flux" on the open cavity (KRad10). The PICARD spacecraft is in a sun-synchronous orbit and goes into Earth eclipse seasons from November to February. During these eclipses, the spacecraft passes into the penumbra (solar flux through the Earth atmosphere) and the umbra of the Earth that implies high variability of Pcl,l − Po,r.
The red curve corresponds to the "Auto 2" sequence of measurements (left channel). The green curve corresponds to the "Auto 3" sequence of measurements (right channel). The black curve corresponds to the "Rad 10" sequence of measurements (right channel with the left channel as reference).
Uncertainties of the TSI measurements for the "Rad 10" mode.
5. SOVAP TSI time series, results and discussion
The SOVAP radiometer made TSI measurements from July 2010 to March 2014. These measurements are compared to TSI time series of existing data and may help to resolve some of the differences in existing long-term time series of TSI. Thus, comparisons were carried out between the Level 2 SOVAP data, VIRGO-DIARAD measurements, TIM measurements and PREMOS measurements. Moreover, a comparison between SOVAP measurements and Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction for the Satellite era (SATIRE-S) semi-empirical model (Yeo et al. 2014) was performed. The TSI levels for main operation modes of SOVAP-DIARAD are presented in Figure 3, which are the same data as in Figure 1. SOVAP instrument equations (see Sect. 4) were used to obtain these levels. From Eq. (3), we get the evolution over time of the SOVAP "Rad 10" TSI.
5.1. TSI absolute value from SOVAP nominal modes – "Auto 2" and "Auto 3"
In 2010, the first measurements made by the SOVAP radiometer correspond to a state where the instrument was as characterised on ground. The radiometer had not yet suffered degradation due to the effects of the space environment and radiation. A combination of solar irradiation and instrumental contamination can cause polymerisation of organic material and, subsequently, irreversible deposition of this material on the radiometer. Moreover, the black paint used in the cavities degrades due to radiation. These first measurements are fundamental with respect to the determination of the TSI absolute value. In these conditions, the "Auto 2" SOVAP measurements give a TSI value of 1361.1 W m−2 with an uncertainty of ±1.4 W m−2 (1σ). Similarly, the "Auto 3" SOVAP measurements provide a TSI value of 1363.0 ± 1.5 W m−2 (1σ). By normalising these measurements using VIRGO-DIARAD TSI (data extrapolation) with respect to the 2008 solar minimum period, the "Auto 2" SOVAP TSI is close to 1360.9 W m−2 and the "Auto 3" SOVAP TSI is close to 1362.8 W m−2. The two completely characterised measurements differ by ~2 W m−2, where the reproducibility of the thermo-electric sensor characteristics and its integration has a fundamental impact on the differences. Thus, the most conservative approach to determine the absolute value of the SOVAP TSI is to take into account both channels of the radiometer. The absolute TSI as seen by SOVAP is 1361.8 ± 2.4 W m−2 (1σ) for the 2008 solar minimum period. The new value is significantly lower than DIARAD type values – prior to the launch of TIM – of 1365.4 W m−2, but still slightly higher than the TIM (1360.8 ± 0.5 W m−2) or re-calibrated PREMOS and ACRIM values. The DIARAD type radiometer has been kept as an independent absolute radiometer, not calibrated against other radiometers, but only compared to other radiometers for validation. We note that for the SOVAP-DIARAD radiometer, we introduced a new term in the radiometric equation that accounts for the thermo-electrical non-equivalence based on a thermo-electrical model (Meftah et al. 2014). Introducing this term lowered the TSI value of the SOVAP measurements.
5.2. SOVAP TSI time series
The determination of the SOVAP TSI time series has required the establishment of modified instrument equations. For the nominal modes, a parameter (ΔPo) has been integrated from a theoretical analysis, which highlights the thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the radiometric cavity (open and closed). For the "Rad 10" mode, another parameter (KRad10) has been integrated from space calibration, which highlights the thermo-electrical non-equivalence between the right and the left cavity. TSI time series for different operation modes of SOVAP-DIARAD are displayed in Figure 3 using instrument equations. Thus, continuous time series of TSI observations have been constructed from the set of measurements made by the SOVAP radiometer from the different operation modes. The presented SOVAP composite (Fig. 4) includes all measurement modes normalised to the mean TSI of the "Auto 2" and "Auto 3" modes at the beginning of the PICARD mission.
TSI time series for different space-based TSI radiometers (VIRGO-DIARAD (left channel), SOVAP composite, TIM and PREMOS). The black curve displays the TSI time series of the SATIRE-S semi-empirical model (SATIRE-S has no ability to determine the absolute scale).
Three main parameters (thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the active cavity, correction of the thermal radiative effects of the active shutter and efficiency of the left cavity) can vary over time due to ageing. The thermo-electrical non-equivalence of the active cavity may evolve during the mission and the characteristics of the thermo-electric sensor (temperature dependence) and its attachment (thermal contact resistance) may change over time due to space environment. However, this variation is difficult to assess. Thus, the thermo-electrical non-equivalence requires a ground calibration to get an idea of the impact of various parameters and a potential link with SOVAP housekeeping data. Correction of the thermal radiative effects of the active shutter and efficiency of the left cavity parameters depend on the thermo-optical properties (solar absorptance and emissivity) of the SOVAP cavity's coating. The SOVAP cavity is covered with diffuse black paint (Nextel black velvet). Measurements of the reflectance and ageing characteristics (0.32–14.3 μm wavelength range) of common black coatings were performed by Dury et al. (2007). They highlight that the diffuse reflectance remained flat and below 4% for wavelengths between 0.32 and 2.5 μm (solar absorptance is close to 0.96). Moreover, the diffuse reflectance component exhibits a slight increase (1%) due to solar ageing (solar absorptance variation is close to 0.01). This effect would change the SOVAP TSI measurements by a maximum of 0.5 W m−2 over time. Dury et al. (2007) shows that the coating is sensitive to thermal ageing effects (thermal cycling). Physical inspection revealed that the surface of the coating had become cracked after thermal ageing. A representative test of the SOVAP cavity thermal cycling as seen in space may be useful to assess the evolution of the coating. The emissivity of the cavity (15 °C that corresponds to a wavelength of 10 μm) can also influence the TSI measurements. The emissivity of the SOVAP cavity is close to 0.94 and can vary up to 1.5% (Dury et al. 2007). C3 correction that depends on the emissivity takes into account the contribution of the internal thermal emission of the active shutter and its variation during the mission (less than 0.05 W m−2). To conclude, it is difficult to have a complete evaluation of the cavity degradation. However, the left channel cavity degradation is very small from February 2013 to March 2014. If we take VIRGO as reference, it is less than 0.1 W m−2.
Figure 4 displays the total solar irradiance as seen by the VIRGO-DIARAD radiometer (non-revised by RMIB), SOVAP composite, TIM, PREMOS and SATIRE-S semi-empirical model from July 2010 to March 2014. Time series of SOVAP composite, TIM, PREMOS and SATIRE-S show lower TSI than the canonical value of 1365.4 ± 1.3 W m−2 used a decade ago. The VIRGO TSI measurements (new scale) are consistent with the SOVAP values and highlight the interest to revise the TSI absolute values of all DIARAD type radiometers.
Figure 5a displays the standard deviation of average data time (6 h) of the SOVAP composite measurements ("Auto 2", "Auto 3" and "Rad 10" modes). Repeatability is less than ±0.1 W m−2 and shows the dependence on the temperature of both SOVAP shutters and radiometric core (Fig. 5b). It also highlights the importance of developing cryogenic radiometers to possibly avoid these effects. Scientific requirements of this type of radiometer could provide a TSI-measurement uncertainty (absolute determination) of ±0.5 W m−2 (±367 ppm), a measurement repeatability of ±0.01 W m−2 (±7 ppm) and a long-term stability better than ±0.05 W m−2 (±37 ppm) during a solar cycle.
(a) Standard deviation of average data time (6-h high-cadence data points) of the SOVAP TSI composite. (b) Temperature evolution (daily average) of the main components of the SOVAP radiometer. The black curve displays the temperature evolution of the left shutter (Tog). The magenta curve displays the temperature evolution of the right shutter (Tod). The cyan curve displays the temperature evolution of the radiometric core (Tbas).
5.3. TSI time series comparisons
The correlation coefficient (R2) between SOVAP and the semi-empirical model (SATIRE-S) TSI variations is close to 0.92. Thus, there is a very good correlation between these two sets of data based on the Pearson definition. All correlations are given in Table 3. The correlation coefficient between SOVAP and TIM observations is less good. All SORCE instruments ceased operations from July 30, 2013 to December 22, 2013 due to an anomaly of the spacecraft (battery degradation). The discontinuity in the TIM data may influence the results.
Pearson's linear correlation coefficient (R2) between SOVAP, VIRGO-DIARAD, TIM, PREMOS and SATIRE-S TSI time series.
Figure 6 displays relative differences between SOVAP and each radiometer (VIRGO-DIARAD, TIM and PREMOS) or model (SATIRE-S) TSI variability. Positive or negative trends of the relative differences highlight non-identical behaviours between SOVAP and the considered radiometer. Relative differences between SOVAP and space-based radiometer (VIRGO-DIARAD, TIM and PREMOS) TSI variability are lower than few hundred ppm. Moreover, relative differences between SOVAP and semi-empirical model (SATIRE-S) TSI variability are lower than few hundred ppm (Fig. 6). Between February 2013 and November 2013, negative trends of the relative differences are observed that are less than 80 ppm (~0.1 W m−2). During this period, the SOVAP "Auto 2" mode was operational. Thus, this is probably linked to a degradation of the SOVAP left channel cavity.
Relative differences between SOVAP and each instrument (VIRGO-DIARAD, TIM and PREMOS) or model (SATIRE-S) TSI variability. Direction of differences is SOVAP minus instrument or model.
PICARD provides important contributions to TSI variation monitoring during Solar Cycle 24.
The SOVAP TSI time series has implemented our state-of-the-art revised instrument equations.
SOVAP absolute TSI is equal to 1361.8 ± 2.4 W m−2 (1σ) for the 2008 solar minimum period (VIRGO-DIARAD TSI data extrapolation).
From July 2010 to March 2014, the amplitude of the TSI changes has been of the order of ±0.1%, corresponding to a range of about 2.7 W m−2.
SOVAP data show very good correlations with VIRGO-DIARAD and SATIRE-S.
The radiometric equations for all other DIARAD type radiometers (and thus the absolute value of the TSI coming from these) should be revised to account of the thermo-electrical non-equivalence.
Part of this work was supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the RMIB and the Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence (STCE). Finally, the authors thank the anonymous referee, Claus Fröhlich and Greg Kopp for many helpful comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript. The editor thanks André Fehlmann and Claus Fröhlich for their assistance in evaluating this paper.
Butler, J.J., B.C. Johnson, J.P. Rice, E.L. Shirley, and R.A. Barnes. Sources of differences in on-orbital total solar irradiance measurements and description of a proposed laboratory intercomparison. J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol., 113, 187–203, 2008. [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Conscience, C., M. Meftah, A. Chevalier, S. Dewitte, and D. Crommelynck. The space instrument SOVAP of the PICARD mission, in: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, vol. 8146 of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, 814613, 2011, DOI: 10.1117/12.895447. [Google Scholar]
Crommelynck, D.A., R.W. Brusa, and V. Domingo. Results of the solar constant experiment onboard Spacelab 1. Sol. Phys., 107, 1–9, 1987. [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Dewitte, S., D. Crommelynck, and A. Joukoff. Total solar irradiance observations from DIARAD/VIRGO. J. Geophys. Res. [Space Phys.], 109, A02102, 2004, DOI: 10.1029/2002JA009694. [Google Scholar]
Dury, M.R., T. Theocharous, N. Harrison, N. Fox, and M. Hilton. Common black coatings reflectance and ageing characteristics in the 0.32–14.3 μm wavelength range. Opt. Commun., 270, 262–272, 2007, DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2006.08.038. [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Fröhlich, C., D.A. Crommelynck, C. Wehrli, M. Anklin, S. Dewitte, et al. In-flight performance of the Virgo solar irradiance instruments on SOHO. Sol. Phys., 175, 267–286, 1997, DOI: 10.1023/A:1004929108864. [NASA ADS] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Fröhlich, C., J. Romero, H. Roth, C. Wehrli, B.N. Andersen, et al. VIRGO: experiment for helioseismology and solar irradiance monitoring. Sol. Phys., 162, 101–128, 1995, DOI: 10.1007/BF00733428. [NASA ADS] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Kopp, G., and J.L. Lean. A new, lower value of total solar irradiance: evidence and climate significance. Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L01706, 2011, DOI: 10.1029/2010GL045777. [Google Scholar]
Meftah, M., S. Dewitte, A. Irbah, A. Chevalier, C. Conscience, D. Crommelynck, E. Janssen, and S. Mekaoui. SOVAP/Picard, a spaceborne radiometer to measure the total solar irradiance. Sol. Phys., 289, 1885–1899, 2014, DOI: 10.1007/s11207-013-0443-0. [NASA ADS] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Schmutz, W., A. Fehlmann, W. Finsterle, G. Kopp, and G. Thuillier. Total solar irradiance measurements with PREMOS/PICARD, in: American Institute of Physics Conference Series, vol. 1531 of American Institute of Physics Conference Series, 624–627, 2013, DOI: 10.1063/1.4804847. [Google Scholar]
Willson, R.C. ACRIM3 and the Total Solar Irradiance database. Astrophys. Space Sci., 352, 341–352, 2014, DOI: 10.1007/s10509-014-1961-4. [Google Scholar]
Yeo, K.L., N.A. Krivova, S.K. Solanki, and K.H. Glassmeier. Reconstruction of total and spectral solar irradiance from 1974 to 2013 based on KPVT, SoHO/MDI, and SDO/HMI observations. A&A, 570, A85, 2014, DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201423628. [NASA ADS] [CrossRef] [EDP Sciences] [Google Scholar]
Cite this article as: Meftah M, Chevalier A, Conscience C & Nevens S. Total solar irradiance as measured by the SOVAP radiometer onboard PICARD. J. Space Weather Space Clim., 6, A34, 2016, DOI: 10.1051/swsc/2016027.
Assessing the beginning to end-of-mission sensitivity change of the PREcision MOnitor Sensor total solar irradiance radiometer (PREMOS/PICARD)
An assessment of the solar irradiance record for climate studies
J. Space Weather Space Clim. 4 (2014) A14
Determination of time-dependent uncertainty of the total solar irradiance records from 1978 to present
Solar total irradiance in cycle 23
A&A 529, A81 (2011)
Evidence of a long-term trend in total solar irradiance
A&A 501, L27-L30 (2009)
Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate
Editors-in-Chief: Anna Belehaki and Jean Lilensten - Editorial board


Today individual solutions are demanded more and more often, including the selection of colour for the design of residential and work space. The perfect solution to this is a tinting system that can produce an almost unlimited number of colours, making sure there is something for everyone. The Eskarocolor tinting system is a tool suited for current trends in design that greatly simplifies the search for the colours and combinations that are perfect for you.
Gives you any colour you want, from a shop or by delivery, from our database of more than 15,000 colours.
Helps you achieve the perfect colour match for repeat orders.
Uses the Life Style system of prepared colour combinations.
Significantly reduces the number of products that need to be held in stock.
Integrates perfectly with the components of the Eskarocolor tinting system.
Lets you install equipment and train your personnel to work with our tinting system.
Uses concentrated tinting with VOC-free pastes (Volatile Organic Compounds).
The Eskarocolor system uses universal pastes. They do not contain binders and are used for tinting both water-based and alkyd products. The Eskarocolor system allows you to tint water-based and alkyd paints and enamels in the colour of your choice, and also the varnishes and structural plasters that are produced by Eskaro Group under the Eskaro, AURA and Condor brands. All these materials have been specifically designed to provide an accurate match in the colour you choose, a uniform distribution of pigment in the tinting, and long-term storage of the tinted material. The range of materials that can be tinted is so wide that the tints can be used in all areas of finishing – for facade work, exterior and interior work on wood or metal, or for finishing both dry and humid premises. You can use coloured varnishes and paints tinted with the Eskarocolor system everywhere.
To give colour to our varnishes and paints we use concentrated pigment pastes that are produced to orders from the Eskaro Group by leading European manufacturers of pigments and pigmented materials. Our pastes do not contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and comply with VOC-Directive 2004/42/CE. The pigments used in manufacturing are durable and have bright colours. Special pastes have been created for façade paints that are based on inorganic pigments to increase resistance to fading and unfavourable weather conditions.


text:
<?php
class IndexAction extends BaseAction {
    public function index(){
	   $this->display();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Image Title: Outdoor Roman Shades Scalisi Architects With Design 6. Filename: outdoor-roman-shades-scalisi-architects-with-design-6.png. Image Dimension: 555 x 416 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Amani Connelly. Uploaded Date: Wednesday - June 13th. 2018 09:58:15 AM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: homestyler.com.
Tap The Thumbnail Bellow to See Related Gallery of "Outdoor Roman Shades Scalisi Architects With Design 6"


text:
FacebookLinkedinYouTubeTwitter
Ethics & Values in Business Speaker Presenter
Frank Bucaro
Are these your ethical issues?
June 2, 2017 By fbucaro
In an article by Anne Federwisch on the Ethical Issues in the Financial Services Industry, she refers to the research of Ronald F.Duska and James Mitchell. It seems that these 5 issues can be the same issues in any number of industries.
Here they are:
1.Self-interest sometimes morphs into greed and selfishness.
2.Some people suffer from stunted moral development.
3. Some people equate moral behavior with legal behavior.
4. Professional duty can conflict with company demands.
5. Individual responsibility can wither under the demands of the client.
What is interesting to me is that the concept of "moral" was mentioned twice,i.e. "stunted moral development" and "moral behavior." Yet all five issues have a "moral basis, right? If so,who,in one's organization is qualified to teach/train people in moral development and how to act morally? Further thinking on this led to consider these other issues as well.
Are these issues also issues in your industry,your organization or company?
Or how about these additional issues. Are they of concern as well?
1. Always act in the best interest of clients.
2. Looking beyond the question of what is legal to what is ethical?
3. Do the right thing, at the right time for the right reason.
4. When in doubt, don't.
Quite a lot to think about eh? Yet like in so may other instances, we all can be made aware of these things, yet what is done about them? Who really could disagree with the research of Duska and Mitchell and yet are these issues being taken seriously enough to be included in any substantive training,i.e. new hires, risk management, leadership development, compliance, etc..?
Just Thinking!
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries. With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody's responsibility from the top down. His goal is to help organizations to: a.	Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation. b.	Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent "high road" behavior as a business advantage. c.	Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development. Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level. Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!
Why your Organization may need an Ethics Consultant.
Coach or Consultant: How do decide which you need?
Lip service to ethics education is no education!
How can you improve your ethics training in 2017?
Having a right and doing what's right are not the same, right?
What is a "right" decision?
LISTEN TO "THE TRUST PUZZLE," A PODCAST WITH FRANK BUCARO
What People Say About Working With Frank!
"I've known and trusted Frank for many years after first seeing him do an amazing keynote. Later had Frank help us build a company code of ethics which served to guide us during rapid growth. Most recently I had Frank in to conduct a 90-minute ethics workshop for my Midwest leaders. He's energetic, passionate, funny and one of the top experts in the world on the topic of ethical leadership."
VP President Midwest Division Corporate Partnership and Bartlett Tree Investing solutions
Download Hi-Res Photos
Frank Bucaro, CSP, CPAE
Works with organizations that value:
Business and Corporate Ethics, Employee Engagement, Integrity and Reputation Safeguarding
© Frank C. Bucaro, LLC


Thanks Nathanael. Is it stronger than ThunderBolt.ctg?
I will load a mirror.
Why the extension is .exe, it should have been .rar, right?
The file is an executable, because it contains bitmap graphics which require a graphical user interface to display (the picture of the fish). I have extracted my own personal copy from the .exe file. I can assure you it is safe.
I know its absolutely safe.
I was just curious about the extension.
Synanceia Verrucosa - Ivailo Genov named his book after what many consider to be the most poisonous fish known on earth.
The reef stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. Its dorsal area is lined with 13 spines, each of which has two venom sacs. The spines are sharp and stiff and have been known to pierce boot soles.
Effects of the venom include severe pain, shock, paralysis, and tissue death. A large dose can be fatal to humans, generally young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Medical treatment includes the antivenom. A local anesthetic can reduce the pain. First aid includes immersion of the affected limb in hot water; this is thought to help denature the proteins in the venom. The immobilization of venom at penetration site using a tourniquet or firm constrictive bandaging is no longer recommended. Surviving victims may have nerve damage, which can lead to local muscle atrophy.


The technique of interventional radiology is one of the foremost technologies that are helping the physicians in diagnosing as well as treating various diseases that afflict mankind. In order to streamline the process of providing efficient interventional radiology services to the public various luminaries from the field of medical sciences have come together and formed the society for interventional radiology. The foundation principle of the society is to provide an improved public health services to the people who are in need of such specific diagnosis as well as treatment. The society for interventional radiology is committed to developing ways as well as means to provide innovative and better image guided techniques to the people who need such treatments.
The minimally invasive imaging techniques are revolutionary ways of diagnosing as well as treating some of the most dangerous diseases. The society for interventional radiology is dedicated to the further advancement, development as well as minimally invasive image guided therapies. The society and its members believe in the innovative development of the imaging techniques through the advancement of the medical knowledge along with the practice of evidence based medicine. The commitment of the society towards maintaining excellence in their endeavors while at the same time sticking to the rudimentary ethical behavior and keeping the interest of the patients at the forefront of all their efforts.
The society for interventional radiology has a good history of providing their patients with some of the best advice while dealing with them and also in offering the best diagnosis and the treatment while using the various imaging techniques. The society is famous all across the world for its dedication towards public service and its desire to further enhance the imaging techniques to help the needy patients.


Gearing up for a busy racing season. We are running the 2016 Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. As well we will be entering two teams in the Copper Basin 300, a team in the Kusko 300, the Yukon Quest 300 and possibly a couple of other races just so we don't get bored!
In anticipation we are putting on some long training miles this month. There isn't much snow in our area so we are travelling up to the South Canol highway each week to put some long runs in.
Join us on our journey……….


Kozmofol is a blog and platform focusing on landscape related subjects.
Since 2007 it has given place to essays, articles, interviews about landscape architecture, garden design, land art, urbanism, technology and design, public space issues.
It is the research branch of Praxis Landscape, focusing on landscape media workshops and landscape culture publications.


text:
Cameras are catching sexual harassers in the act
— Cameras are catching sexual harassers in the act
On Behalf of The Armstrong Law Firm | Dec 28, 2018 | Sexual Harassment |
Let's be perfectly clear: You can't go around recording private conversations without permission, so don't start trying to catch sexual harassment on film unless you're completely sure it's legal to record.
That being said — you may not have to deliberately try to catch a harasser in the act on camera for it to happen. Gone are the days that every sexual harassment case boiled down to a matter of "he said, she said." Now, there's a strong possibility that an act of harassment will get caught on tape.
Cameras are simply everywhere in American society. Security cameras are installed all over workplaces in an effort to protect employees and data systems from danger, and they're perfectly legal. In addition, almost everyone has a mini recording device right on the cellphone they're carrying in their purse or pocket.
It's also perfectly legal to use a recording device in public places where there's no expectation of privacy — and people are constantly snapping photos and making videos for Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.
Lately, cameras have played important roles in two high-profile sexual harassment incidents. One involves a series of incidents on the set of the CBS drama Bull. Actress Eliza Dushku contended that she was sexually harassed by series star Michael Weatherly — then promptly fired when she complained about the treatment.
CBS somewhat dismissed the star's behavior as an ill-played joke and implied that, just maybe, the actress didn't have room to complain since she'd used some pretty bawdy language herself while on set.
Except the film they rolled out to show mediators didn't end up showing Dushku's bad side after all. Instead, the cameraman had actually caught some of the harassment she'd suffered on tape. CBS settled her suit for $9.5 million — the balance of her contract.
In another incident, actor Kevin Spacey stands accused of sexually harassing a young server in a bar, groping him without permission. The young man filed a criminal complaint against the actor — and information has come to light that he actually sent film of the harassment to his girlfriend as it was happening through a Snapchat video.
If you've been sexually harassed, don't overlook the possibility that the act has been recorded. If there's any possibility, bring it to your attorney's attention immediately so that he or she can aim to preserve the evidence as quickly as possible.


Opened the box up hungrily and checked them out. Nice little 6mm Boers and Colonial Brits, European Knights and foot and Muslim fighters. All look really good. Will they be better than the 10mm troops I have to compare with? Not sure yet. I need to paint up some samples of each.


No. The world is not on fire.
This rather striking image is an exaggeration.
NOAA and NASA held a joint press conference to report that 2016 was the hottest year on record since circa 1880 when surface temperature record keeping around the world began. This is the third year in a row that has set high temperature records!
A list of seventeen of the years with the highest average surface temperatures of Earth shows that 16 of them have occurred since the year 2000.
"The temperature record is like going up a staircase. Now, with 2015 and 2016 [data], we've seemed to go up another step. We may oscillate around this higher level for a few years, but I don't think we'll ever go back to the values we've seen in previous years."
We may not be hearing many statements from either NOAA or NASA in the future. In late 2016-JAN, two days after their joint press conference, Donald Trump took his oath of office as the 45th President of the U.S. He has stated in the past the "alternative fact" 4 that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese government to create difficulties for American business. In the future, there may not be any NOAA or NASA scientists willing to report on the reality of climate change and thereby threaten their own future employment with the U.S. government.
The graph's baseline temperature, shown as the horizontal line marked 0.0 ºC, is the average of temperatures over the interval 1951 to 1980.
Image: © Kevin Giszewski. Downloaded from Dreamstime Stock Photos.
An "alternative-fact" is false information, divorced from reality, that is intended to spread falehoods and sway opinions. There is only one truth. However, there can be many "alternative-facts."


text:
Why dabbl?
The companies behind the food you buy
During last week's unseasonable bout of sunshine, a walk into your typical local supermarket for a quick glance around the shelves would have given you a little bit of insight into the state of the food economy. Barbeque favourites – from charcoal briquettes to cheese burgers – will have been piled high, however the relationship between the company you can invest in and the brand you see on the shelves is often a rather complicated one. You're guaranteed blank looks if you walk into your high street bank and ask for shares in Mr Kipling or Hovis – in fact you're probably guaranteed a vacant stare regardless – but here we take a look at the food brand you know and the business behind it.
So if you see Sainsbury's Taste the Difference pork sausages flying off the shelves, it's more than likely these were made by a company you've never heard of called Cranswick. They are known as a British supplier of premium fresh and added value food products, focused specifically on the chicken and pork markets, and are worth an impressive £1.5 billion*.
If there's a throwback to the 1970's for instant powdered deserts in various lurid colours (OK, so it's unlikely, but bear with us) there's a product called Angel Delight that still lurks in packets, often near the frozen sections of supermarkets. You're not going to find shares in this company on sale, but instead you need to look to Premier Foods, the company behind such varied brands as Mr Kipling cakes and Lloyd Grossman pasta sauces.
If shoppers are inspired by their latest advertising campaigns, Magnum Ice Creams (apparently the world's best-selling ice cream bar) might be looking like a winner but the company behind this – and other products as diverse as Surf washing powder or even Dove soap is the giant, FTSE-100 listed Unilever.
Barbeques and beers go together like a UK summer and intermittent showers so thirsty Brits will be reaching for the lager, but if you see the Stella Artois flying off the shelves, this isn't the preserve of some quaint boutique brewery in Belgium. No, it's now owned by the international drinks giant ABInBev which is admittedly still headquartered in Belgium, last year had sales of over $55 billion** and has now grown into a conglomerate that includes South Africa's SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch (the creators of Budweiser).
If beer's not your tipple then perhaps you'd prefer a Gordon's Gin to sip on while you try not to burn the sausages. But again you'll have to scratch around to find the company with the shares if you want to buy a slice. It's Diageo, the world's second largest distiller and the company that's perhaps best known as the maker of Guinness.
Want something soft? A brand called Rubicon making various exotic fruit juices like Mango seems to have surged in popularity in recent years but if this is a hit this summer, it's going to be the Scottish makers of Irn Bru, A.G. Barr, that you'll want to be investing.
And depending how the afternoon of sunshine and partying has been going, you might well find that you're reaching for either the Nurofen or the Durex. They're both owned by Reckitt Benckiser, a household goods conglomerate that will perhaps always be best remembered for adverts featuring its overly enthusiastic brand ambassador "Barry Scott" as he showed off the virtues of the Cillit Bang cleaning product.
* – RNS no. 5951J issued by Cranswick, April 2018
** – ABInBev 2017 Annual report
For information purposes only, not intended to constitute financial advice from us. The customer should assess the risk of potential loss carefully and individually before investing in any financial products. Dabbl Group Limited is authorised by the FCA under the reference numbers 767263 as an appointed representative of its Principal firm VIBHS Financial Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the reference number 613381.
A.G Barr, Angel Delight, Cranswick, dabbl, dabblinvest, invest, investing, Irn Bru, SABMiller, stela artois
UK stockmarket at record level as oil price rallies
Broadband prices set to be cut by a third by 2021
Free investing on dabbl in December
What's it all about?
Investing in financial markets
Have you heard the news today?
Investing like Warren Buffet
For those who dabbl, life is full of opportunities.
dabbl brings you a fresh new look to investing. Jargon free, no nonsense information to help you make your own investing decisions.
Sign up to our Android waitlist
Add your email address to be amongst the first to know when our Android app is ready
Add to Android Waitlist
Get the latest news from from our jargon free email updates.
Let your voice be heard. Come and join the conversation on our social media.
Execution Policy
Remember, with investing your capital is at risk, and the amount you get back may be less than you originally invest. © All rights reserved. Dabbl Group Limited is an appointed representative of VIBHS Financial Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under the reference number 613381.© 2016 Dabbl Group Limited. Dabbl ® is the trading name of Dabbl Group Limited (Company no. 09145174) a company registered in England and Wales.
Made with by dabblers
By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our privacy policy.


text:
Women's Soccer Rallies Late to Defeat Francis Marion
UNCP found a rhythm offensively late in the second half, scoring all three of their goals in the final frame. PN photo/Trevon Knight
A fantastic second-half save by Gina Ryan, the team's sixth consecutive home shutout and three late goals highlighted UNCP's seventh win of the season, a back and forth 3-0 effort over Francis Marion on Oct. 17.
Both teams struggled to generate any real offense in the first half.
The Braves rattled off 13 shots in that half but were unable to convert the chances into points, while the Patriots were stifled by the UNCP defense and limited to five shots and only one on goal as the first half closed at a 0-0 stalemate between the two Peach Belt Conference foes.
Deadlock continued into the second half, leading up to a huge, momentum-changing play for UNCP.
The Patriots had taken control and kept the ball in the Braves' half of the field, bringing pressure and threatening to score on multiple occasions. On their best attempt, Francis Marion took a wide-open kick from the corner of the box that looked sure to be the first goal scored against the Braves this season before Ryan made a leaping, one-handed save and tipped the ball over the back of the net to stop the threat.
"When a keeper makes a save like that, you have to as a team look back there and say 'Okay, if she's playing like that, we have to find a way to do our job. Our job is to score...' It's a morale boost, it's something that should pump you up. It puts the onus back on you," coach Lars Andersson said of the big play.
Avoiding the potential disaster of being down 1-0, the Braves were energized by the play and seized momentum in the final 20 minutes.
Bree Mason logged two goals in roughly a two-minute span, scoring the first off an assist from Stacey Scott that Scott placed right through the hands of the Francis Marion goalkeeper for Mason to tap-in, finally breaking the tie.
"I felt like if we could get one goal, maybe there would be more to follow," Andersson said.
Now holding a 1-0 lead, Mason knocked in a wide-open kick from the far side of the net into the opposite corner on a broken penalty kick to bring the lead to 2-0 and break the will of the opponents down the stretch.
Maya Grimes knocked in a dagger goal in the final two minutes off a lucky bounce between the keeper's legs and pushed the score to 3-0 and cap UNCP's third consecutive victory.
After the game, the team heaped praise on Ryan for the spectacular save that sparked the late rally for UNCP, but the ever-so focused goalkeeper treated the play like any other.
"Whenever those saves happen I just see the ball, try my best to get to it, make a save, do what I can to help our team out. When I saw it was out and not in the goal I was happy and relieved..." Ryan said.
#Sports #UNCPAthletics #UNCPWomensSoccer #soccer #UNCP #college #students #life


text:
Defeat the Mandates! Tens of Thousands of Americans to March on DC in Defiance of Tyranny
Whistleblower Cop Who Wants Legal Pot, Running for Sheriff of Nation's 2nd Largest County
Jack Burns May 3, 2017
When Dominick Izzo first approached The Free Thought Project, he knew consenting to the interview would cost him his job as a police officer for the Round Lake Park, Illinois Police Department. After blowing the whistle on his boss, Police Chief George Filinko, his employment was terminated. However, that didn't stop Izzo from continually criticizing a man he believed to be inept, unqualified, and undeserving of his position as chief.
Not content with sitting on the sidelines, Izzo has now set his sights on a new mission; becoming the Police Chief of Cook County, Illinois in 2018, the same county where Chicago is located.
In a Facebook announcement Friday night, Izzo made the following statement, which one could say is quite confident.
Decision made.
I'm running for Sheriff….
And I'm going to win.
Izzo for Cook County Sheriff 2018
Izzo successfully outed his boss as a heavy-handed and unethical police chief whose department spied on its officers using their own police-issued body cameras. But more importantly, he brought awareness to police corruption at the highest levels of a small-town police department, exposing how the PD, and county, sent an innocent woman to jail and arrested whistleblowers, like the coroner, who dared question their arrests and prosecutions.
Flipping the script, Izzo now sees big-city issues as something he thinks he can solve, on a county level. Taking on the responsibility of being the sheriff of Cook County, IL is no small endeavor. The county is home to 3.2 million residents, second only to Los Angeles County, and rife with what Izzo calls political corruption.
Izzo has gone against the grain of trendsetters like sitting Attorney General Jeff Sessions, by saying weed really hasn't hurt anyone, has been used for years to fill jail cells and arrest quotas. In his post, he wrote about reducing the number of those in jail.
I WILL CREATE A REDUCTION IN INCARCERATION, BENEFITING BOTH THE COUNTY RESIDENTS AND THE INMATES THEMSELVES VIA EMPOWERING OFFICERS AND CORRECTING THE BEHAVIOR OF THOSE WHO BREAK THE LAW.
Izzo' decision to run for Cook County sheriff seems to be due, at least in part, to the recent beating of two Cook County corrections officers. Izzo said the inmates stopped short of killing the officers, because they knew their limits, but the incident appeared to weigh heavy on his mind. He wrote:
They're not "pre-trial detainees" they are inmates.
Remove political correctness, call those who err what they are, and create an incentivized stigma for them to not error again.
The goal of county holding / jail is to created a corrected, learned behavior through an environment of discipline and respect of those who run the facility, the Corrections Officers, so that a person will want to improve in society by learning to respect themselves and NEVER want to return again.
In true, in-your-face fashion, Izzo promises to end corruption in Cook County, if elected. It's still unclear how he intends to do so, but believing whistleblowers will likely be a start. Since his testimony of what was happening at the Round Lake Park Police Department was largely ignored by the majority and the village, this police officer promises to shake things up when and if he wins. He wrote:
Last night's statement was no impulse. It was fact.
I'm putting all the corrupt of Cook County on notice… you have no clue the kind of war I'm bringing your way.
You've never seen a candidate like me before.
And you'd best get ready for the Sheriff I will be and the Warriors I will work for.
#izzoforsheriff2018
Izzo is also outspoken against the war on drugs and revenue generation by cops.
Izzo understands that the war on drugs creates criminals by making their personal choices illegal. According to Izzo, his courageous posts about the truth of the drug war on social media have led to numerous threats against him. Unfortunately, some officers cannot handle the truth.
Izzo is also outspoken against certain police tactics that lead to the unnecessary deaths of so many unarmed people in America. But this cop not only talks the talk, he walks the walk. In 2015, Izzo was awarded Round Lake Park's Exceptional Duty medal for the way he handled an extremely dangerous situation.
On April 19, 2015, Izzo was confronted by an aggressive and distraught man armed with a knife — a situation in which other cops would almost instantly resort to deadly force. But not Izzo.
When Izzo attempted to calm the man down, the man pulled a knife and approached him in a threatening manner. Instead of killing him, Izzo courageously disarmed the man without injury to either of them. A true hero indeed.
Below is one of these videos in which Izzo blows the war on drugs and revenue collection wide open.
The Free Thought Project is an apolitical organization which is more concerned with libertarian issues than who decides to run for political office. And while we respect Izzo for being a whistleblower and turning in his boss as a corrupt individual, we do not endorse Izzo for sheriff. We do, however, think it's pretty cool that a whistleblower could go from being rejected by his fellow boys in blue to potentially winning an election for sheriff of the nation's second most populated county. That's the kind of stuff which makes headlines.
About Jack Burns
Jack Burns is an educator, journalist, investigative reporter, and advocate of natural medicine


Parthenon produces the largest ostomy catalog in the United States serving customers in-store, on-line and via catalog. Parthenon sells wound care, urologicals, skin care and incontinence products too. We at HPFY stores, offer Ostomy Powder, Chewable Internal Deodorant Tablets, Absorbent Gel Packets etc.