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<b>Monday 3 March: </b>Government takes the hard shoulder on congestion, Body Worlds encourage kids and crackdown on weekend party flats
Published on March 3rd 2008.
THE MANCHESTER to Birmingham motorway route could soon be the first to be allowed to use the hard shoulder in traffic jams. The congestion plan could be introduced to the busy M6 route following a successful trial on the M42. The government say the scheme will cut journey times by a quarter. However motoring groups have said a permanent solution would be to build an extra lane.
THE CONTROVERSIAL Body Worlds exhibition of dead bodies are offering free entry to teachers in a bid to encourage more school trips. Organisers say they are inviting secondary schools to visit the exhibition by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens as a way of promoting biology and PE education.
CITY CENTRE FLATS are regularly being used as hotels by people who hire them out for weekend parties, according to reports. Angry neighbours are now calling for the council and police to take action against the growing trend. In Manchester, luxury apartments can be rented by the night, disrupting residents with the noise. The council has said they will look into adopting a registration system for renting flats short-term.
MANCHESTER UNITED won 3-0 against Fulham over the weekend whilst City drew 0-0 against Wigan. Sir Alex Ferguson told mutv: "The team I picked today showed a great desire and worked very hard" whilst Blues Boss, Sven-Goran Eriksson remained optimistic, telling mcfc.co.uk: "The important thing is that we don't give up, go to Reading with the same spirit and hopefully get the goal that we deserve."
10 comments so far, continue the conversation, write a comment.
JoanMarch 3rd 2008.
Presumably the purpose of a registration scheme is to monitor the situation and to allow complaints to be dealt with. It also allows the council to see whether more restrictive controls are necessary and consider any general safety issues.
Descartes - you're not thinking like an apartment owner so I guess you're not one. I am, and don't want to feel as if I'm living in a reduced security version of a hotel catering for the stag-and-hen night brigade. Luckily it's not a problem in my block, but if it were then I'd be really pleased to have the council helping to control it.
ancoats girlMarch 3rd 2008.
City Dweller, have you ever lived next to a "party flat"? I can assure you it's extremely stressful. Short-term lets should not be allowed in the same buildings as permanent residents, who are often just trying to rest at the weekends after a long week at work. I have nothing against people having a good time, but the two worlds should be kept separate. Some short-term lets will be fine, but it would be impossible to pre-judge whether someone is a "good" short let candidate. And there is definitely a security issue - unlike dedicated apartment/hotel buildings, there is no security or reception, and no control over who accesses the flat in the wee hours.
DescartesMarch 3rd 2008.
Joan, I am thinking like an apartment owner, but riddle me this.... Will a registration system mean that a) private rentals are monitored properly and noisy schemes have some sort of ban placed on them. Or b) the council get a bit fatter from some new income but don't bother to respond to complaints or monitor things properly.Personally I think party flats should be applauded as clever business ideas first, but then banned as annoyances second. I don't see how registering an address as a private rental will stop anyone making noise, or make the police come out to quieten them down any quicker or do anything to sort the current situation out - it'll just make the council some extra notes on a new found tax.
Anthony McCaulMarch 3rd 2008.
Thanks to Confidential for highlighting the issue of Party Lets - if any residents reading this have problems get in touch and I'll let you know what action we're taking. Thanks - anthony@citycentrelabour.org.uk
shame on you city dweller - its easy to hide your agenda behind anonymous postings - people have genuine concerns about this, they raised it with me and I'm pushing for action. We need a new politics in the City Centre not this sniping bollocks - if you've got real concerns about homelessness or our public realm then get in touch and let me show you what I can do - working constructively rather than shouting ineffectively and snidely from the sidelines.
Joan, fair enough. But what difference is there going to be between two addresses with repeat noise complaints (one being a private residence and one being a so called party flat)? Are the police to respond differently, do we have extra fines and punishments for party flats than we do for normal residences making noise? Registering them is pointless, records should already be kept about noise. Do you really think the council could or would *ever* even think about banning the private rental of city centre apartments? Are you mental?
RobMarch 3rd 2008.
Well done for at last getting someway to sorting out the party flats... There are apartment hotels for people to rent out in the city centre by the night, why spoil the weekends for those living in town all the time and risk our security?
nathanMarch 3rd 2008.
If this was my next door, I'd of been round with some mates and very heavy baseball bat, but thats just uncouth really isn't it ?
City DwellerMarch 3rd 2008.
City Centre Party flats? What a nonsense of a story! Forgive me for saying so, but it's not like there aren't more important things for young Master McCaul to be investing his time in fighting - like Urban homelessness, and the visionless destruction of our public spaces by his friends in the town hall.God help us if he wins the City Centre election....


Use Mini T-shirts to show your customers what you can do.
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Mini T-Shirts are a great way to let customers see and feel the finished product on a shirt.
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Stahls' has a wide variety of heat press platens available to help you decorate everything from bags to shoes.
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I was never big on texting someone who is close enough that you can talk to them. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned in that way. But I find myself regularly texting my wife while we are in adjacent rooms, or even when we're in the same room. Because when a fussy baby starts to become groggy, you're not about to give up 45 minutes of progress just to ask your wife what's needed at the store later.
Until this week, I would do basic tasks obligated by having a human body as I felt the need to or on some type of schedule, i.e. using the restroom, eating, drinking, and sleeping. I'm now routinely realizing at 4:00 in the afternoon that I haven't eaten yet. Or that I've been "holding it" for three hours now because nearly everything else is more pressing. My basic morning routine has fallen by the wayside. On some days, lack of sleep goes undetected until I am literally falling asleep standing up.
It wasn't 'til baby arrived that I began frequently using my elbow to prop up bottles against couch arms and pull burp cloths and blankets away from my body. I've also made the discovery that knees can be used as door dampers when hands and arms are full and you're avoiding waking baby at all costs.
Before getting married, I didn't really have to do much prioritizing outside of work. Once married, there were some additional steps required each day. But things like serving my wife, doing household chores, and volunteering at church were pretty easily managed via Google Keep. But Google Keep can't "keep" up with the level of realtime prioritization that is at times needed as a parent to a newborn.
It's like playing Tetris; at first you can take your time deciding where to put each brick and find exactly the perfect spot for all of them. Then the bricks start falling slightly faster, and you have to start thinking ahead and strategizing more, but it's manageable. Then, without notice, they're falling everywhere, the brain has kicked into high gear, and you're just trying to get them not to land right on top of each other to keep the game going. You're missing opportunities that you never even saw because the goal has changed and the sense of urgency is so high, then suddenly the last brick touches the ceiling and the game is over.
Also, free time is now more of an abstract concept than it is a reality, and you haven't even gone back to work yet. Because while the baby sleeps, you're busy taking care of all the things you couldn't while she was awake (the bottles, the laundry, all that stuff).
As a new dad, that's pretty much how it is. It requires the kind of real-time prioritization and time management that would make a high-level corporate director's job look simple. The dishes need doing, fridge and cabinets are bare, your baby is crying and in need of a diaper change and also a feeding, but also all the bottles are dirty and empty. The living room is a mess and someone's coming in 30 minutes with food. Also you forgot that you needed to pee three hours ago (see point number 2 above). And the molehill of laundry is quickly evolving into a small mountain in front of the washing machine.
If you have a new bundle of joy, or even if your kids are grown out of diapers – you want to make some memories of them at whatever age they are, right? If you're in Gilbert, AZ or the surrounding area, I would love to help you capture this very moment in your family's story.


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Robot Lawyer Gets It's First Client
dericiousknitty May 16, 2016 May 16, 2016 Evil Good and Good Evil, Eyes to See, Future Technology, New World Order, Total Control
An "artificial-intelligence attorney" created using technology from IBM's Watson has snagged its first customer, but that doesn't mean it'll be appearing in the courtroom anytime soon.
Law firm Baker & Hostetler said this week that it will use the "AI lawyer" ROSS as a resource for the 50 lawyers in its bankruptcy division, which has helped advise proceedings related to the Bernie Madoff case.
Essentially, ROSS is an advanced a research tool. It reads and draws inferences from existing laws to answer questions about specific cases or guidelines that users can ask using natural language. Its machine-learning capabilities allow it to continue improving its answers, and the system can also help keep lawyers up-to-date about new rulings. ROSS could save time for lawyers who need to master a huge, and growing, body of literature to do their job. Instead of reading carefully through every single case that might be relevant, lawyers could quickly get information from ROSS, leaving them free to spend more time analyzing complex details of the most relevant cases and laws.
Baker & Hostetler is one of the largest law firms in the world with around 900 attorneys in its employ. The chief executive of ROSS Intelligence, Andrew Arruda, said that other firms have signed on to use the product as well, though no others have made this public. Arruda's team plans to expand ROSS's capabilities beyond bankruptcy law to also cover intellectual property, employment, criminal, and tax law.
ROSS isn't the only AI resource to be thrust into the spotlight recently. Georgia Tech has been using a virtual TA to answer student questions, with such success that students didn't realize "Jill" was a computer and gave her "uniformly positive" reviews.
Original Article:http://gizmodo.com/a-major-law-firm-will-soon-be-using-a-robotic-lawyer-1776733245
Read More:Robots Now Serving In Education System As Teaching Assistants
advanced research tool, AI lawyer, andrew arruda, Artificial Intelligence, artificial intelligence attorney, baker & hostetler, future technology, IBM watson, largest law firm in the world, machine learning capabilities, robot jill, robot lawyer, ROSS robot
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Jennifer and I want to announce a big change for us: We have removed ourselves as on-the-road ambassadors for Roadtrek and have arranged the return of the van they provided us.
We want to explain why we have taken this step and to stress that although Roadtrek and it's corporate owner are going through some very challenging and uncertain times right now, our decision to leave their sponsorship reflects a personal decision about our own image and the public and sometimes industry perception that our reporting and video community was only about Roadtreks instead of the much broader RV Lifestyle.
It all had to do with the name we chose for our blog when we first began this adventure almost seven years ago. Back then, I had just "retired" from daily journalism – a career I have practiced for more than 40 years. We bought a used Class B RV and when we started a blog to share our travels with friends and family, we came up with the name "Roadtreking." After all, the used van we bought was a Roadtrek (a 2006 RS Adventurous at the time) and it just seemed to fit. But from the start, the blog was never meant to be about the brand of the van we drove, it was all about the RV Lifestyle.
Well, the blog took off. It was followed by a podcast. Then a YouTube Channel and then a newsletter. Sponsors came on board, including Roadtrek, which provided us vans to use. They got exposure of their products to our audience and we had use of a vehicle, something that is fairly common in the industry. We helped test two of their prototype vehicles, both heavily outfitted with lithium batteries and solar panels. I guess they figured if I could operate them (I am notorious for being UNmechanically-inclined), then anyone could use them.
Our reporting took us all across North America. We did photo shoots and videos and podcasts on the people and places we encountered and all the time, in social media and in our reports, podcasts and videos, we kept stressing that we were all about the RV Lifestyle.
But the perception was that since the blog was called "Roadtreking," our reports must be primarily about the Roadtrek.
It came to a head for me when we were attending the Overland East show in North Carolina in the fall of 2017 when Winnebago was introducing its very popular Revel Class B van, an innovative design aimed at the active lifestyle and RVers who love to camp off the grid. I was very impressed with the Revel and was in the midst of shooting a video about it when one of the Winnebago marketing types interrupted the shoot and asked us to stop. He said the company didn't want us to do the video because they thought it would be biased.
Why?, I asked, dumbfounded. "Because of your name… 'Roadtreking'," replied the sheepish marketing exec, who said he had been told by telephone from his supervisor to not allow us to continue .
I asked a couple of friends in the industry for advice. They candidly said the same thing, that the name we were branded under created an impression that offset our efforts to be inclusive of all rigs and focus on the lifestyle. "Everyone thinks you're primarily about Roadtrek," one well respected industry insider told me.
Clearly, we needed to change something in our own branding.
We're not sure. We're shopping. We've considered getting a unit from a rental fleet to use for awhile. Maybe we'll buy another used RV. Maybe we can even find a way to, gulp, purchase a new one. Or maybe we'll become brand ambassadors for another company. We both have some really specific features we want to have in our new van: Off-grid capacity, comfortable beds and a dedicated work space for me to use as a studio for video editing and our podcasts. I'm also a big-time geek and I want lots of technology for Internet connectivity and for controlling and monitoring the various systems on the van. It would be nice to have some suspension improvements and maybe some enhanced four season capabilities, because we are big fans of cold weather camping.
We may not find everything we want in one van, but we're looking for the best fit. And we need to decide fairly soon as we have an aggressive spring travel schedule planned and don't want to miss any of the gatherings, events and travel commitments we have made.
We want you to clearly understand that our reporting will review and showcase lots of different brands. Just look at our recent video on the Tampa RV Supershow. We show and tour models from Coachmen, Leisure Travel Vans, Pleasure-Way, Winnebago, Airstream, Regency, American Traveler, Roadtrek, Hymer and even Lance Truck Campers.
Last week, we visited the factory of one of the most luxurious (and expensive) Class B upfitters in the world. We'll have a video of that on Thursday. The following week, we'll have a video tour of another RV factory. The following week we'll have a video on two Do-It-Yourself Class B vans.
The point is, no matter what brand vehicle we choose, our reporting will be about the entire RV Lifestyle experience and when we visit RV shows we will freely and enthusiastically continue to report about all of the different brands out there.
Before ending, let me say a word about sponsors.
We need them. This all has evolved into much more than what I thought would be a retirement hobby seven years ago. It is a fulltime job. A real business, on many different platforms, with lots of expenses. I spend about 60-65 hours a week doing all this. I love every minute of it, but it takes a lot of time and effort and help from a growing number of people we pay for things like graphics and production and web hosting, design and maintenance. We are on the road half to three-quarters of the time. So we need sponsors to help with all that. But we are very selective in the ones we accept. We vet each one as best as we can. We don't accept any sponsors whose products we would not personally use or recommend to a friend, nor do sponsors direct or control the stories and content we publish. And we try to limit the number of sponsors we take on. At least once a week, we turn down a sponsorship request from a company that we don't think would be a good fit.
Sorry for all the words and the personal content of this post. But this is a big step for Jennifer and me (and Bo) and we wanted you to understand where we are and where we're headed.
This is all about the RV Lifestyle and I promise, that is what we will continue to be focused on.
Thanks, Ron & Judy! Your comments are much appreciated. Hope to see you out there some day!
We wish you well in your new venture, hope to see you again at one of the gatherings, Jacquie & Brian Neale!
Absolutely! We so look forward to the gatherings.
Love hearing about your travel.
We have a lot of shopping to do!
Hopefully you could do a book or E-book on how the process of looking for and negotiating the purchase of an RV…..?
I appreciate the clarity on what happened and the sponsorship issues. It was never very clear to me where you stood about any of that and if you owned your rig or were just using it. I look forward to the change in your focus, or rather in how I perceive your focus. Thank you.
We intend to keep on doing what we've been doing, enjoying the RV Lifestyle and sharing our adventures. Thanks for the note.
Perfect move Mr and Mrs Wendland (and Bo)!
Very well written Mike. Glad to hear that you and Jennifer will continue to be there for all of us!! Happy hunting for a new rig!!!
It is so eye-opening to see all the innovation and quality in today's Class Bs!
Hello, Just to let you know I found your page a couple of years ago, and like you said I thought it was all about Roadtrek vans. So I stopped following. We have a 2001 Dodge diy campervan we built. We retired in July & been to Maine to Ca. We're getting ready to hit the road again. So now that everything changed with you & its now Rvlifestyle, we'll start following again. Have a great day and travel safe.
Awesome, Ron! As I said, we had no idea where this would all lead when we chose the name Roadtreking seven years ago and although we have always tried to express that this is for ALL RVers, that spur of the moment name decision gave the wrong impression that we were only focused on one brand. Glad you are back!
Oh c'mon Mike–you knew very well that you were representing Roadtrek when you accepted the free vans from them. And remember all the Roadtrek sponsored events you promoted? Many of us Roadtrek owners already knew you were affiliated with Roadtrek so why deny it now?
I wish you well as you transition to less Roadtrek and more RV Lifestyle. I started following your writing and escapades before I knew what brand I wanted, and I clearly saw a Roadtrek bias—that was OK while Roadtrek was a brand I was considering.
But when I decided on a PleasureWay, I found that to participate in the group, I was always having to compare my Ascent to an Agile, because the majority of your followers seemed to be Roadtrek oriented.
Anyway, although I'm sure this break has created some angst for you, you've developed a loyal following. So I'm sure you'll emerge from all of it with success. Good luck! I for one look forward to your articles and comments.
Pleasure-Way is an awesome brand with an unparalleled reputation for quality and integrity. We have lots of friends with Pleasure-Ways, as well as other brands and with the new name RV Lifestyle we hope all will feel very welcome here and on our Facebook RV Lifestyle Group and RV Lifestyle Page. Please spread the news!
Very forthcoming in your words. I look to you with that insight and experience from the past 7 years in my venture into this lifestyle. Just retired and now need to see things I could not do so before. That premium builder you indicated (beieve I know the one) was at the top of my consideration of units but would cost prohibited. Wishing you and Jennifer many safe miles to go.
We are currently traveling North America trying to visit as many RV Manufacturers as we can to learn more about their different build procedures and the technology they are using in their rigs. We'll be showing videos of our discoveries over the next few weeks here on the RV Lifestyle Blog and our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel. If you haven't done so yet, please subscribe to our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/rvlifestyle We will be working hard to get the word out so please share if you can and tell people to subscribe. Making a change like this needs all the help we can get!
Well written. We appreciate the transparency and wish you continued success in this next chapter.
Change is good. Sounds like you and Jennifer have given this a lot of thought. As an follower, I am most interested in your honesty toward products and your experiences. I think this this change allows you to continue us the best that you have to share.
Good move, Mike and Jennifer. Hope to see you soon down the road.
Thanks, Chuck! So appreciate your friendship over the years.
Thanks for the transparency in your reporting. I respect your decision and am impressed by your motives. Best wishes as your adventure takes you around a new bend in the road.
W thrive on change and we love the road so we are very excited about what's next. Thank you for the encouragement!
I enjoyed your articles over the years and am looking forward to your future adventures. Would love to meet you on the road or in a camp ground some day and have a chat.
I must say that I am sad at the end of this chapter. My 2006 Adventurous was a dream come true. I have always been proud of the brand and being a Roadtrekker. However the community that you and Jennifer have built has always been about the lifestyle. Thanks to you both and see you out there!
I am feeling a great sense of loss for all things Roadtrek. Jim Hammill led Roadtrek to be leaders in innovation. You made a good team with him and Campskunk. We visited the Roadtrek factory last summer and met so many nice people. I don't want it to end.
Thanks for clarifying the change and why you did it. I enjoy your email newsletter, blog and videos. Keep up the great work of supporting the B-van RV lifestyle.
As a fellow Detroiter, I've followed you for years as an investigative reporter. When I found you later on as a RV lifestyle enthusiast, I immediately started watching and listening. I love your style and wish you, Jennifer and BO nothing but the best. Your heart and intentions are in the right spot; you'll do just fine. We just retired, and are joining the lifestyle this spring – as newbies. Good Luck with finding your new rig. I'll be curious to see which unit BO lets you buy!
I believe it will be good for you and your followers. I owned two Roadtreks and followed your posts and podcasts. We moved to a Leisure Travel Van in 2017, we felt a loss of love, a bit like outsiders, but continued to follow. I look forward to the change, I think in the end you will get more followers. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Roadtrek and wish them the best possible outcome. Fred J.
I gradually became addicted to your blog. I am glad you are making the change which will give all of us a broader perspective. I will be interested in what you select. We have had a Roadtrek 210 Pop purchased new for almos 11 years. We have made some slight modifications. My only regret is that it is not all season friendly as you are looking for. I look forward to see what you discover. I wish you the best and before you leave this world I hope you can run yourself through a copy machine.
Most RVers didn't know about your "free" vans before. Now you continue to be secretive with the visit to a factory. I find it hard to take any of your reviews or recommendations seriously as a result. I won't know what the back story is on any of your reviews. You can take me off your newsletter list.
Gary, speaking only for myself I am pretty sure they mentioned the partnership with Roadtrek multiple times.
They have checked out other manufacturers in the past per their comments but will be fun to see videos of factory visits.
Hope you consider "giving them another shot" but obviously respect whatever decision you choose.
I actually knew about their connection to Roadtrek and suspected they were given free vans to write their blog in their favor. While I appreciate that they finally came clean about this, I agree that it is too little too late for some.
Hi Mike. I am glad to hear of the change. I was giving up on this blog as just another corporate sponsored "Reality TV Series", publishing useless information for those of us who have to pay, for our RV lifestyle, out of our own pocket. Good luck to you both and I am looking forward to seeing the rig you buy as well as, more info on the true cost and down to earth reports of RV'ing.
Thank you for your open and honest update. Wish you the very best in your quest for the perfect RV. Also wish you continued success as the premium news source for all things RV. I have relied on your newsletter/blog ever since I bought my first SS Agile in 2012, and took my first (and scary) camping excursion ever.
Would like information on your dealings with finding a rental unit as my wife and I are also considering this as an option.
Wishing you and Jennifer the very best. This change will bolster your perceived journalistic integrity and provide you more opportunities. I often wondered how you afforded switching rigs so often. I suggest you try the rental programs (as you and Jennifer often recommend) during your research. Then report on your experiences as a consumer, and not just from the vendor viewpoints. I look forward to your factory tours. Your purchasing ebook will have more credibility if you are actually researching and purchasing your own adventuremobile.
Mike, these items you listed about wanting in a van are exactly what we have been looking for, yet could not find, so we DIY'ed into a Nissan Cargo Van(which we love).
But, we would still be interested in a van built as you mentioned. Please let these companies know that you are NOT the only ones with these same "wants".
One other goal we have is the GAS Sprinter 3500 which they are not making, only the 2500. We definitely do not want diesel, transit or promaster.
Mike and Jennifer, I look forward to this new chapter. I don't think I'm more perceptive than the average person, but I have long understood that Roadtrek had been giving you use of a vehicle. I'm not sure if it was because you were explicit about saying that, or if it was just implied, but you have always been forthcoming as far as I'm concerned. As a Detroit-area native, I recall your local news days, and found your travel coverage when I was scanning YouTube for Lake Huron eye-candy. I've followed ever since. I especially love the reports from Roger and Lynn Brucker. Keep up the good work!
Wish you well,you both have worked very hard and have put out a top notch product,would you consider buying a C or A type unit? Thanks for the honesty in your statement,look forward to your new adventures!
You've always let your subscribers know that it is about the B type RV lifestyle. Transparency and honesty have always been your corner stones. Looking forward to your new chapter.
Your efforts to not be brand-specific seem logical to me. I've been following some of your content for a couple years, and I pull a travel trailer! Much of your knowledge is as you say, about the RV lifestyle. I've learned from you, and taken advantage of some of your suggestions. Thank you for your time and energy. It is useful for all types of RVing.
Mike & Jennifer your videos, blog and publications are top notch. I am sure that you will easily find sponsors anxious to work with you. Susie and I recently bought a Riverside RV 18 ft. Retro trailer and a Subaru Ascent to tow it. We'll be hitting the road soon to take a break from the MI weather. Hope to see you out there.
Mike, may I suggest Nick at Gainesville FL Sunshine rv. Before recently acquiring a RT dealership, he dealt with only used B vans of all makes. He would be an excellent source of info for other brands of "B"s. He could also be a great source for another used rig of any brand. He has bent over backwards to help our local chapter in FL. He sponsors a lot of our rallys/get togethers and always brings a RV tech with him for free minor repairs/troubleshooting. No one else has done what he has. i know a few that have bought from him and rave about the attention to details. Give him a consideration. Hes earned his good reputation. No i didnt deal with him. I bought mine before i heard about him, but he has helped with his tech.I havent heard any negatives about him.
Hey Mike, Jennifer, & Bo!
In this hyper-sensitive world, transparency is everything. We have followed you for at least 5 years, and the RoadTrek thing was pretty obvious, despite your efforts to present an unbiased POV. Although these next few months will no doubt be challenging, if honesty is your best policy (and for you guys I am sure this is the case), then you all will succeed beyond all expectations.
Looking forward to seeing what your next ride will be, and where the roads will take you! Hope to see you out there!
I always thought your travels were more of the rv lifestyle then about the road trek vehicle you had.
Well done, and bravo on breaking loose from a corporation that had outlived its usefulness to you and your audience. That's what smart people do.
And never apologize for "all the words", no matter the topic. My mother, who taught English for 40 years, left me with many thoughts I've done my best to live by. One was, "God lives in the details of life. The Devil gets by on Cliff Notes".
Happy traveling your new [insert brand here].
Thanks! Your mother was a wise woman!
Yes, Pleasure-Way makes some beautiful coaches. It's a family-run business with an excellent reputation for quality.
I admit that I thought you were really definitely Roadtrek promoters and biased to them because they were sponsors. You are certainly setting the record straight. I look forward to your next adventuremobile and the travels that it brings. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Please don't get another sponsored vehicle because most of us are curious what RV would really purchase. You guys are definitely the most professional of any of the other RV channels. More fun less work OK?
Thanks for the explanation and I fully understand your decision. Unfortunately for me and my wife we bought a brand new 2018 Adventurous RS in December. Please know that our decision was strongly informed by the positive results reported on your various channels.
I in no way hold you responsible – please don't think that. But such is the power of internet influencers in today's world.
The old advice still applies – caveat emptor … nothing can shield us from bad actors in the market place.
Thanks for the update, but I hope you actually purchase your own RV and not get another "sponsorship".
You will never convince your audience of your impartiality if someone else is footing the $100K+ bill for your adventure wagon.
Finally got around to reading this. Thanks for the information and clarity. Always appreciated the RT info since we have one, but also the more general lifestyle topics.
Best wishes to you two, and Bo. Hope to see you on the road again, soon.
I like your idea of renting. I've been following you for the last six months. I retired several months ago and would like to get into this lifestyle while learning about the various vehicles before buying. If you were to rent, where would you rent from?
Mike and Jen, Diane and I really do appreciate the time and effort you put into your blogs, FB videos and podcast. We are on our second RT and have learned not only about the lifestyle but also about a lot of places across North America that we have been able to visit that you have featured. Keep up the good work, we are with you, God Bless.
I hope you do well in all of our new adventures!
Anyway, happy travels and I hope you find another RV that fits your travels, as well as the Roadtrek, did!
just seems a bit of a coincidence that your decision exactly coincided with the breaking news about the problems at EHGNA, at this point good thoughts about RT/Hymer not sitting well with me, the party line of 'business as usual' from EHGNA just does not cut it.
Mike & Jennifer, Thanks for your update on EHG-Roadtrek. Sad when things end and change, but exciting all at the same time! There are many more "small" builders who have the flexibility to get very interesting since I purchased by Aktiv. One coming soon right near you matter of fact, which I hope you will do a YT on, Recon campervan! Another interesting person started the business.
I keep trying to join one of your outings or run into you. I love the Aktiv that I'm using. I try to keep up with you on YT, podcast, IG. Hopefully I can catch you at a calm time on the road and have a wonderful chat with a both of you. Keep up the lifestye! See you on the road!


Theo is a Partner with Virtus Group in our Saskatoon office. Starting with the firm in 2008 as an articling student, Theo has progressed his career within the firm and joined the Partnership group in 2019. Theo works with clients in a variety of industries including real estate development, manufacturing, automotive dealers, professional corporations, residential and commercial construction, and various other wholesale, retail and service businesses. Theo is passionate about building and maintaining strong relationships with his clients, and provides expertise in the areas of tax planning, business advisory services, accounting and assurance, and succession planning.
Born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Theo graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. Theo earned his professional designation as a Chartered Professional Accountant in 2010.
Theo is a member of the firm's Client Service Committee. Theo is active in the community being a member of the Diocesan Finance Council of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon and the treasurer of the Ducks Unlimited Men's Committee Dinner for Saskatoon.
Away from the office, Theo enjoys fishing, hunting, playing hockey and spending time with his young family.


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Reinventing a classic is an audacious act that occasionally produces brilliance, as with the new, more violent Batman, presumably the inspiration for the new, more violent Christian Bale. For a legendary Chelsea boozer getting completely re-jigged, check out The Phene, opening today.
Supplying local bevs for over a century and a half before closing in '06, Phene's been completely reinvented as a modern gastro, with the ground-level hosting an oak-floor boozer outfitted with red leather banquettes, an open fire, and books intermingled with the bar's liquor lineup, plus an airy deli space with a marble breakfast bar and a retractable, Sky Sport-ing projector; upstairs sees an opulent, sofa-decked, proudly purple lounge, while outside's a heated terrace with hanging seats and tree stools, leaving you stumped for somewhere to sit. Starters run from steamed, lemon-butter-sauced globe artichokes to a ham-hock frisee/crouton/chopped egg salad, while bigger stuff includes an all-day English breakfast, the free-range minced steak "Phene Burger" w/ homemade ketchup & hand cut chips, and, served with minted pea puree, a beer-battered pollack, unsurprising given how the pollack is known to drink like a fish. The deli vends all manner of homemade sauces, oils, and jams, as well as daily baked bread and sandwiches from a salt beef/gherkin/cress number to the mozz/prosciutto "Italian Croque Monsieur", whose Croque Madame left him after he fertilized every other egg in town.
Enlightenment's achieved via traditional cocktails (Manhattans/Old Fashioneds to Caipirinhas/Mojitos); specialties like the Chambord-addled "Phene Colada" and the spiced rum/orange/mango/raspberry "Phene"; and ciders including Breton and four types of Polgoon, a Cornish variety made using the same techniques as Champagne, for a re-invention that could lead to a very violent dark night.


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Q: Use of '"s" only in possession? I am writing a scientific paper and I wonder if 's is only used refering to a possession.
For example, I think "bird's feathers" is a correct expression, but I wonder if "bird's exposure", meaning exposure of birds to something (here I write about pollutants), it's correct or it's written "bird exposure".
In general, I guess my question is about the use of 's as "[something]'s [something]" instead of "[something] of [something]". Another example would be "feather's formation" or "feather formation" instead of "formation of feather".
I hope I have explained myself properly.
Thanks!

A: If I understand your question (and I am not fully confident that I do), there are two basic ways to show "possession" in English.
"The man's job ..." or "the job of the man ..." are both grammatically valid. Notice, however, that the man almost certainly does not legally own his job, nor does he have his job in his jacket pocket. The grammatical notion of "possession" is broader than the concepts of legal possession or even physical possession. It extends to virtually any kind of relevant relationship.
So you can say "a bird's exposure to pollutants may lead to defective eggs" to mean "a bird exposed to pollutants may lay defective eggs."
By the way. "exposition" does not mean "exposure."
I hope this addresses your question.

A: The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston, Pullum, et al. (2002) lists six types of genitive ('s) construction, outlining them on p.467. They are: subject-determiner, subject of gerund-participial, fused subject-determiner-head, oblique genitive, predicative genitive, attributive genitive (with two subtypes, descriptive and measure genitives). Descriptive genitives include a glorious summer's day, a ship's doctor, fisherman's cottages, and none of these denotes possession.

A: "X's Y" and "Y of X" have basically the same meaning, they just sound different in different sentences, as others have pointed out in their discussions of the proper uses of the genitive. I'd like to discuss the other form you're using.
The form "X Y", in your example "bird exposure", is NOT forming a possessive. What this does is it creates a compound noun, with the more essential part of the noun coming last (head-final), and the other nouns modifying the final noun.
For example, consider "passenger train" and "freight train". If you were to describe either simply, you would say that it's a train. What's the difference, then? One is a train that carries  passengers, the other is a train that carries freight.
Contrast this to "passenger's train". This is still a train, but the train itself has no description except that this passenger "possesses" it in the various ways that the genitive might usually imply. Who is the passenger, though? You might make a construction like this if you were a taxi driver, and someone paid you to take them to the train station.

There was construction on the road, so we didn't make it in time for my passenger's train.

Relating back to your question, the construction "bird exposure" describes a type of exposure. Specifically, an exposure to birds or relating to birds. This kind of sounds like you're describing some adverse effect one might get from being near birds. Taking advantage of this construction to form a relevant sentence, you could try something like:

The pollutant exposure has caused the birds...

Similarly, "feather's formation" would refer to the formation of a feather, while "feather formation" would be a formation made out of feathers, or something similar.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Coral reefs of western Indian Ocean at risk of collapse: study
The findings warn that reefs along the eastern coast of Africa and island nations like Mauritius and Seychelles faced a high risk of extinction unless urgent action was taken. By TONY KARUMBA (AFP/File)
Rising sea temperatures and overfishing threaten coral reefs in the western Indian Ocean with complete collapse in the next 50 years, according to a groundbreaking study of these marine ecosystems.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Sustainability on Monday, warned that reefs along the eastern coast of Africa and island nations like Mauritius and Seychelles faced a high risk of extinction unless urgent action was taken.
For the first time, researchers were able to assess the vulnerability of individual reefs across the vast western reaches of the Indian Ocean, and identify the main threats to coral health.
They found that all reefs in this region faced "complete ecosystem collapse and irreversible damage" within decades, and that ocean warming meant some coral habitats were already critically endangered.
"The findings are quite serious. These reefs are vulnerable to collapse," lead author David Obura, founding director at CORDIO East Africa, a Kenya-based oceans research institute, told AFP.
"There's nowhere in the region where the reefs are in full health. They've all declined somewhat, and that will continue."
The study, co-authored with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, assessed 11,919 square kilometres of reef, representing about five percent of the global total.
Reefs fringing picturesque island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, the Comoros and Madagascar -- popular ecotourism destinations heavily reliant on their marine environment -- were most at risk, researchers said.
'Double whammy'
Coral reefs cover only a tiny fraction -- 0.2 percent -- of the ocean floor, but they are home to at least a quarter of all marine animals and plants.
Besides anchoring marine ecosystems, they also provide protein, jobs and protection from storms and shoreline erosion for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Obura said healthy reefs were "very valuable" and their loss would prove "a double whammy".
"For biodiversity, but also all sorts of coastal economies that depend on reefs," he said.
Climate change posed the biggest threat to coral health overall in the western Indian Ocean, where scientists say seawater temperatures are warming faster than in other parts of the globe.
Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, shielding land surfaces but generating huge, long-lasting marine heatwaves that are pushing many species of corals past their limits of tolerance.
But along the east coast of continental Africa from Kenya to South Africa, pressure from overfishing was also identified in this latest study as another major scourge on reef ecosystems.
This underscored the need to urgently address both global threats to coral reefs from climate change, and local ones such as overfishing, Obura said.
"We need to give these reefs the best chance. In order to do that, we have to reduce the drivers, reverse the pressure on reefs," he said.
In October, the largest ever global survey of coral health revealed that dynamite fishing, pollution but mainly global warming had wiped out 14 percent of the world's coral reefs from 2009 to 2018.
More Africa
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This Internet Protocol Address tracing information is software constructed for 146.255.75.166. The host has the IP (Internet protocol) 146.255.75.166.This IP (hardware Internet protocol) yields to valid specifications of an IPv4 IP (a.k.a. Internet protocol), which has a decimal value of 2466204582.
An organization that acquired 146.255.75.166 is One Macedonia. An Internet Service Provider (also known as ISP) that hosts the network hardware to maintain the query identity is One Macedonia.
The data for the tracking info indicates that the connection to this host has an assigned address in Pehcevo, Opstina Pehcevo, F.Y.R.O.M. (Macedonia).The timezone of the physical address of this host is Europe/Skopje.


Yes! It's summer again. For fashion lovers like me, it sure is a season to stay rocking and try on as many amazing outfits as possible. Or. . . since I'm doing Project 333, dream about trying on all the outfits. Amidst all the heat, you have to go to work, attend school, be at events, go to the beach and stay classy at the same time.
Now, the most common challenge is finding the right combinations, but more importantly, the right fit for the occasion. These are some of the outfits that will spice up your summer. They are relaxing, chic and glam.
Off the shoulder and cut out tops.
Undoubtedly one of the sexiest forms of dressing in summer. They are cool, sophisticated and portray the 60s style.
Could be fitted or flowy; whichever suits your style. Off shoulders and cut outs are more alluring with embroidery designs, which is even cooler when you have a home embroidery machine from popular, but reliable brands as seen on Design My Costume. You could work it out yourself. On denim shorts, trousers or pants; you are so good to go.
Pleats were once considered old fashioned and trust me they're the real deal right now. Thankfully, they have evolved into many types; micro, mini and full.
The micro pleats create the boldest and most pleasurable means of enjoying the sweet summer breeze at the beach. But, a little swish here or there in the office won't wrinkle your style. Pleated skirts may be worn with off the shoulder tops, strapless tops and sleeveless tops. With the humid grip of summer, pleats allow for breathing space.
When dealing with stripes and floral prints, women often tag it "a fashion error" to wear stripes on stripes or prints on stripes. True, there are some fashion errors here and there, but these combinations are hardly one. Why worry when all you need is some guidelines?
Mix matching big stripes on small stripes or vice versa. This kind of mixture speaks volumes and adds excitement.
Micro prints even seem like the more difficult option to pull through because they are often considered not as bold as other kinds of print. It may look like full solid until you see the minute stripes. Pairing the micro stripe with a less clumsy floral print bottom will be perfection. It's striking and not too loud.
A bold floral print bottom has all the solutions to your doubts. It's advisable to notice the most prominent color and blend with that. Top choices may be plain or striped. These opposite styles find harmony in between and hence, create the needed balance. Big and bold accessories help finish the look. Pick another color relative to your statement making bottom. You'll be surprised at the result.
Another vital means to matching up prints is picking corresponding or complementary colors. For example, black and white with blue, often make a great combination because of their tones. No harm in pairing your black and white polka dot shorts with a blue and black striped top. Since they both have black in common, you may want to round it up with black accessories.
When trying out floral on other prints, you may want to keep it monotone. It doesn't become too bogus or overwhelming.
Have you imagined floral on floral? It is so possible. The trick is to make sure the flowers complement, add a sense of balance to the intensity and avoid being clumsy. If the top is of more intensity or too busy, opt for a simpler bottom and apply vice versa. Their contrast is the beauty in it. It does not feel too matchy, it speaks to fashiondynamism.
The low- high skirts, mullet skirts or high low skirts always have varying lengths. Short in front, long in the back, short side ways, long on the other side, etc. The skirt flows with the wind and therefore provides an easy to combine aura.
You may start by combining with a floral print top or a lacy embroidery design top. These match ups turn out to be much more interesting. A simple jacket might suffice. A crop top will do justice as well as any tank top of choice. Since the skirt may be so flowy, a fitted or not too blousy top is a great match.
The low-high skirts may be found in leopard prints, neutral colors, polka dots, stripes, floral prints and so on. These only provide a more open variety.
Sometimes, all you need is corky chic. Be it corky boots, sandals, flip flops or sneakers. Wearing boots sound rustic and old fashioned, I know. With fashion, there's no such thing as old. When styled correctly, corky chic can be very chic. It could be worn with flowing summer dresses, jeans, skirts, shorts, tops and crop tops.
The multi ring action in summer cannot be overemphasized.
First, find your balance by paying rapt attention to your fingers. Know which ring type suits each finger. You might as well add an element of surprise each time; thumb rings, pinky fingers rings. Others like the silver- gold combo. It's always catchy and dynamic.
These are more than a huge deal now. It's a trend you can't afford to miss out on. For the summer look, you may match it up with a tank top, flat sandals, neck piece and nice glasses. It's easy to tuck in a tank with a loose light jacket or fitted blazer and fire up on heels.
If the pant is a bold print, your best match is a neutral color to tone it down. The perfect crop top will suffice as well since printed pants are often high waisted. Alternatively, you may like to pair up with a vivid, yet classy tee. Wear a boot, sneakers or wedge sneakers. If your printed pants are tighter, you could pair them with an oversized shirt.
It is a fun summer look when you pair up your printed pants with a nice crop top and a floral hat; especially embroidered crop tops made with home embroidery machines from amazing brands like Singer, Brother.
It is so easy to stand out in floral hats. They're bright and bold. They even brighten your mood and dressing. Whether it's the wide brim floppy hat, fedoras or panama; floral does it. Any one of these mentioned styles are so appropriate that a floral hat comes as a spontaneous addition. It provides shade for your eyes and face and protects your hair as well. Floral hats with floral print bottoms will make you fall in love.
Summer is the highlight of all seasons of the year, allowing for freedom of expression through our dressing. Step out of your comfort zone this summer and try out new fashion trends.


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Posts Tagged "financial situation"
Sorting Among Money Managers and Wealth Managers
There are "financial planners" that hold themselves out as "money manager" or "wealth managers" or "Certified Financial Planner Professionals" or the like. …
How and Why Financial Planning Works January 19, 2023
Getting Someone Else to Pay Your Taxes – Strategies To Minimize Estate Taxes January 5, 2023
The Curse of Bias – What Your Brain Fails to Tell You December 23, 2022
The Magic and Misgivings of Big Money November 16, 2022
Rising Interest Rates Can Be a Good Thing for Your Portfolio November 9, 2022
Top Strategies for Avoiding Overspending When You Get an Extra Windfall October 18, 2022
Reverse Mortgages: A Great Tool for the Right Situation October 4, 2022
What Your 60-year-old Self Wants Your 20-, 30-, and 40-something Self To Know September 16, 2022
Why Avoiding Investment Potholes Matter September 2, 2022
The Ultimate Guide to Household Document Storage: What To Keep, How Long, and Why August 15, 2022
Options for Deferring, Managing, or Avoiding Capital Gains Taxes – Part 2 July 16, 2022
Don't Try This at Home: How to Build a Stable of Experts to Help with Financial Matters July 5, 2022
Why the Average Investor Underperforms the Market June 16, 2022
The Do-It-Yourselfers' Survival Guide to Hiring a Financial Planner June 2, 2022
Hiring a Financial Planner Starts With 20-minute Phone Calls May 16, 2022


You figure it out. The most recent time-travelling yarns in ASTOUNDING are BY HIS BOOTSTRAPS and RECRUITING STATION. BY HIS BOOTSTRAPS was about the most satisfying and enter-taining science yarn about time travel I've read so far. This plot was along the same lines as the short in Weird [underline] Tales [underline]--except that this one was infinitely more complicated. The hero didn't meet himself once, but many times, and at times there were as three separate editions of the same hero fighting each other--and the villain was the hero after he had aged! BY HIS BOOTSTRAPS rates highly with me. RECRUITING STATION--typically ASTOUNDINGish plot. For a future war, a great war-between-worlds, one of the participants estab-lishes "Recruiting Stations" throughout time, gathering fighting men from many centuries. It was [underline] a little different. It had as a plot a man and woman who both were ensnarled in the toils of the villains, only, as it turned out at the end, the villains were really the nice men. Ending is a little confused for me. Apparently girl is taken back to the time when she first met the recruiting officer for her "district." Just as she is about to drown herself. "Poor, unsuspecting superman!" she thinks as he approaches for what he thinks is their first encounter. Time goes on. Time! Joe Fortier had an interesting article in the January issue of SPACEWAYS. He claims that we are living in the fourth dimension--Time! Time is the fourth. I agree with Fortier. All hail the master. Which brings me to the end of my line. Eh, what? THE END Addenda by ye Ed. There is one point I would like to enlarge upon. That is, the situation of going into Time, coming back to your starting point, repeating the actions of your former trip without realizing it, for an infinite number of times. This might happen an infinite number of times, but it would not go on for an infinite number of years. For example: Draw a line. Take a compass, and intersect that line at a certain point. Call that point "A" From "A" draw an ard that intersects the line at another point. Label this "B." You now have an arc intersecting a line a two points: "A" and "B" Let the line represent time and the arc, the time traveller's course. The beginning of the trip, "A," the end, "B." Now--from "B" the time traveller continues his journy and comes back to A. With your com-pass, you have described a circle. Go over this circle again and again; you are following the lines of the time traveller. Yet always you follow the same course, never advancing along the line. So with the time traveller. He travels over the same circle, but at the very same time he did before. He does not advance with [underline] time, but is stranded at one point of it. he stays in the same rut, repeating his actions over and over again. When the end of the world arrives, he has long since disappeared, his time-travelling a thing of the past.


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Home/Editorials/Music Elitism Needs to Stop
Music Elitism Needs to Stop
David GagnonJanuary 9, 2017
For as long as I can remember, I've always heard that metal was the music for the outsider. In the 2004 documentary Metal: a Headbanger's Journey, Rob Zombie commented, "it's outsider music and outsider subjects, and as a kid I was an outsider and the loner and I think that's where it begins." With my years of being a part of this community, I can't help but agree. Metal is outsider music. I don't hear bands like Behemoth or Obituary being played on the radio, and if I did I think it would be a very confusing moment. However, the further I go into this community; I can't help but see elitism pop up with certain scenes. I see people who enjoy the more extreme genres of metal mock those who like more mainstream bands for their "lack of taste."
That needs to end. If you alienate those who only want to enjoy the music they want to listen to, then you risk alienating the whole metal community to outsiders looking for a way in. Not only that, but you also give everyone else a bad name as well. Moments where I see bullying makes me disappointed to even be anywhere in this scene, and a part of this culture. Thankfully, my faith is restored in those moments where I see metalheads recommending new bands to people looking for something new to listen to, or when I see them appreciating the tastes of other people instead of shutting them down.
Metalheads need to stop acting like it's the only pure form of music in the world. I hate to break it to some people, but your favorite band is not that special in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't matter if you worship Black Sabbath as the creators of metal, or Metallica as one of the most celebrated bands in the world, you should not be putting down someone who enjoys music like EDM, rap, or country just because they prefer those bands over your favorites. Instead, you need to calm down and try to understand why they enjoy those sounds over the ones you do.
It also won't hurt to stop trying to exclude women from metal. This comes down to basic rules of human decency, but women have every right to enjoy the same music as you do. Take a look at female fronted bands like Arch Enemy, Nightwish, Delain, Epica, and the many others who came before them. Go to any show and watch women rock just as hard as guys do.
Elitism in music needs to stop, and the only person that can stop it is you. If you see yourself shutting down others because of their overall enjoyment of something else, then you need to rethink what you're doing. Instead, metalheads should be shaking hands with those who enjoy other things, and continue to enjoy metal in their own way. Metal will always be metal, and it will always be there for you to enjoy.
black metal death metal extreme metal heavy metal mainstream metal music elitism
David Gagnon
Born in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Dave has laid down his soul to the gods rock n' roll. He attended Columbia College Chicago as a major in Creative Writing. Some of his favorite things are heavy metal and pizza.
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The August 2018 Public Update releases for Office are now available! This month, there are 23 security updates and 23 non-security updates. All of the security and non-security updates are listed in KB article 4346823.


Day 21: Taking the next step.
It is time to say goodbye to some of your past behaviors and habits.
Begin by changing the way you think about and embrace yourself.
Each day state out loud to yourself: I am loved, I am valued, there is only one me. I am beautiful, I am worthy, I am happy, I am whole, and I love being me!
I am sorry what did you say? "I love being me!" Shout it out if you can. Dance in the street, and shout it from the roof top (not literally of course). Allow your whole body to fill up with that wonderful feeling you get when you dance, move your hips, arms, or what ever you can.
Wake up early and watch the sun rise, go to the park and walk. Make something fun for dinner.
During my recovery process I used an additional tool called Spiritual Response Therapy which accelerated my healing and strengthening. It is a spiritual tool designed to connect with energy, and shift it with expedience. I can facilitate that energy for you, you can book an appointment by clicking here https://toolsofenergy.appointy.com/.
To read yesterdays post click here. To Start with Day One Click here.
It is time for us to rise out of the darkness and into the light. This is my journey. May it bring you peace, and hope on your own journey, and as always make wise and safe choices.
To stay connected either click "follow" icon on this page or click here and join our sister site newsletter. Or scroll down to the bottom of the page and click like for facebook to receive daily inspiration.


I am so stinkin' excited to get to share my latest magazine project with you at long last. My Zebra Bolster is in Simply Crochet Issue 79 and I love it! But guess what, I didn't love it initially. I had an idea in my head for playing around with some zebra stripes, but I had to work through a few things to make it mag worthy.
When I thought of designing an animal print pattern - channeling my inner zebra seemed like a no-brainer. 煉 You know what's not a no-brainer? How to take orderly stitches and create an organic, varied pattern. Then having to re-insert regularity back in so that the maker a) didn't go crazy from micromanaging stitch counts and b) could be bite sized enough to fit in a magazine.
My initial pitch was for a table runner with the stripes going the short way across. I thought this seemed like a good accent for some animal flair in home decor, but I had my creative blinders on a bit. I have only been in 3 places in my life where that would fit in. 1) the ridiculously posh and over-decorated apartment of the new divorcee for whom I babysat in college 2) the lux, grandiose holiday house in Birmingham we stayed at for my brother's wedding and 3) a Rainforest Cafe franchise.
The editors sure know what they're doing. They liked an element of the pattern, but identified it as a better fit for a decorative cushion. As soon as they said this, I felt silly for not seeing it myself. When they were thinking a long bolster pillow, we started workshopping various options. Which way should the stripes go? Border or no border? Zipper or buttons? It was one of those reverse hourglass dialogues where you start with a contained idea, branch out into all kinds of divergent possibilities and then home in on a far superior finished product.
And superior it is. It was a bit of a beast to get it to play how I wanted, but it was so worth it. I love this one! I love the large, long layout. I love how the horizontal stripes reach, stretch and lengthen. I love the long, easy sewed on zipper. And I love, love, love how the black border join is like a classy picture frame for your work.
So check it out! If you can't access issue 79 of Simply Crochet, you can check out the pattern on Ravelry. Give it some love while you're there and let me know if you give it a try!


text: 34 MARCH 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA T he last Notre Dame head coach to win 10 games in his first year on the job might come as a surprise considering that coach's uncer- emonious departure from the position just two years later. Tyrone Willingham in 2002. The circumstances were much dif- ferent then than they are now for new Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man, who's set to embark on his first full season as the man in charge of Fighting Irish football this fall. Notre Dame hadn't reached double digits in the win column since 1993. The end of the Lou Holtz era couldn't quite compete with the glory days of it. The five-year Bob Davie experience was slightly better than average during his best seasons, a pair of nine-win cam- paigns, and below average during his worst, two five-win showings. Willingham came roaring out of the gates in '02. The Irish started 8-0 and rose to No. 4 in the country. Then they lost three of five to finish the season in disappointing fashion. The Irish of- fense wasn't spectacular that fall. The defense was good but it might have been a stretch to say great. Notre Dame just flat out won games, four against ranked foes. Another possible surprise? Willingham isn't just the last Notre Dame coach to win 10 games in his first season in South Bend. He's the only one who's done it. No Brian Kelly. No Holtz. No Ara Par- seghian or Frank Leahy. College football seasons had fewer games back then, of course, but the fact remains; Freeman is on the hook to do something only one coach in the history of Notre Dame football has accomplished. If he doesn't become the second, half a decade of history will get left behind. Notre Dame has won 10-plus games in five straight seasons for the first time in program history. The personnel pieces seem to be in place to extend the streak, but some questions remain. Can a new starting quarterback stay poised in harsh road environments? How will a coaching staff comprised of coaches from all over the country mesh while working for a first-year head coach? The expectations for Freeman are high. He has welcomed them. How many times has he said the words "national championship" since tak- ing over for Kelly in early December? He can't win one without winning 10- plus games. These days, it takes 14 or 15. Well, maybe 13 if an 11-1 Notre Dame sneaks into the College Football Playoff like it almost did this past season. Perhaps it's best for Freeman to just take it one at a time, though. He felt first- hand how hard it is to win in his debut at the Fiesta Bowl. He was outcoached by a savvy veteran in Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy. Lesson learned? Time will tell. A RETURN HOME As if Freeman's introduction to head coaching in the Fiesta Bowl wasn't dif- ficult enough, the first season opener of his career will come in an environment as hostile as it was friendly during his playing days. Maybe even more so. The former Ohio State linebacker will take the Fighting Irish on the road to Columbus for a matchup against what will in all likelihood be a preseason top- five Buckeyes team. Freeman has many fond memories of Ohio Stadium. He totaled 264 tackles in his OSU career. The Buckeyes reached two national championship games dur- ing his time there. But nobody in the Horseshoe is going to be thinking about a warm welcome when it's time to kick the ball off. This is 2022, not the mid 2000s. Ohio State and Notre Dame are two of five, maybe six or seven at the most, programs that have had reasonable Col- lege Football Playoff aspirations in each of the last five seasons or so. A victory in a game of this magnitude in Week 1 will work wonders in setting up the rest of the season to stay in line with those lofty goals. A loss? Questions and con- cerns come into play. That's all anyone in red will be fixated on. Notre Dame defensive analyst James Laurinaitis will also be making a home- coming. The All-American starred on the Ohio State defense at the same time as Freeman. Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington spent the last three seasons coaching the Ohio State linebackers. Welcome to the 2022 season, Freeman, Laurinaitis and Washington. And wel- come back to one of the most raucous at- mospheres in college football. Only this time, it's not working to your benefit. A NEW SIGNAL-CALLER Barring a completely unforeseen (and extremely late) transfer portal addition, Notre Dame is set to start a quarterback who has zero collegiate starting experi- ence for the first time since Ian Book started his first career game in 2017. Yep, it's been five years since an Irish quar- terback made his debut as a starter in a blue-and-gold uniform. It's not like offensive coordina- tor Tommy Rees is going to roll out a face Notre Dame fans do not recognize whatsoever, though. Sophomore Tyler Buchner. Junior Drew Pyne. Ever heard of them? Who hasn't? Buchner seems to be the favorite to win the job based on 2021 participation. He played 163 offensive snaps to Pyne's 53. He also appeared in 10 games to Pyne's two. There was a period of time in the middle of the 2021 season in which it felt like Notre Dame had no choice but to turn to Pyne as the starter. Graduate stu- dent Jack Coan was injured in the second half of the Wisconsin game and benched in the second half of the loss to Cincin- nati. Pyne relieved him both times. And yet, when Coan started the fol- DOUBLING DOWN? Marcus Freeman could become only the second head coach in Fighting Irish history to accomplish an impressive first-year feat Freeman lost his head coaching debut in the Fiesta Bowl, but 2022 is an opportunity for him to start his tenure in a strong manner. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER


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Helen Mirren Will Play The Villain in Shazam!: Fury of the Gods
Jake Abbate Tuesday, March 23, 2021
The Shazam! sequel has secured a big name to play Billy Batson's newest onscreen adversary. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Helen Mirren has signed on to play the villain in Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.
Mirren will menace Zachary Levi's titular superhero as Hespera, the daughter of Atlas. Although Hespera doesn't seem to have a counterpart in DC's comic book universe, Atlas certainly does. This version of the character (based on the Greek myth) was created by Jack Kirby in 1975. What's strange is that Atlas was a hero himself, so it's anyone's guess as to how the filmmakers will handle his portrayal in Fury of the Gods. THR's sources also claim that Mirren and co-star Rachel Zegler are playing siblings who "may or may not be of ill intent." Zegler previously joined the film last month, becoming the first new addition to the sequel's cast.
Mirren is a four-time Academy Award nominee, winning only once for her performance in The Queen in 2006. Although Mirren is primarily known for her dramatic work, she's also dabbled in action films before. Mirren will next appear in the upcoming ninth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise, F9. She also starred in both RED films in 2010 and 2013.
RELATED: Rachel Zegler Joins the Cast of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods
Levi is returning to headline Fury of the Gods, which is also expected to star Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer as the teenage Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman, respectively. David F. Sandberg is directing the film from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods hits theaters on June 2, 2023.
Are you excited to hear that Mirren has joined the film's cast? Do you have any theories about her character? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Shazam! Vol. 1: The Seven Magic Lands Part 1
Tags: dc, DC Extended Universe, Helen Mirren, New Line, Shazam!, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, warner bros.


English is an international language. Therefore, it has a very crucial role in the world communication. People tend to use it to communicate to one another when communicating with other nations, such as: when doing transaction (order or request), looking for a job, or going a board. Communication can be divided into two forms, oral and in writing.
Oral communication is easier because it rarely uses standard grammar. People can imitate speaking when they get interaction everyday in their life. In relation to the characteristics of spoken language, Derewianka (1990: 29) states that oral language is mostly used in face to face situations. The examples of oral communication can be found when we watch TV, listen to radio or talk to someone.
Belum ada tanggapan untuk "THE USE OF LITERACY APPROACH TO TEACH RECOUNT TEXT"


text:
Q: postgresql sequence getting max_value How to get max_value and min_value Postgres sequence?
I created the sequence using this statement
create sequence seqtest increment 1 minvalue 0 maxvalue 20;

I tried this query select max_value from seqtest gives error
ERROR:  column "max_value" does not exist
LINE 1: select max_value from seqtest;
HINT:  Perhaps you meant to reference the column "seqtest.last_value".

Output of select * from seqtest
test=# select * from seqtest;

-[ RECORD 1 ]-
last_value | 0
log_cnt    | 0
is_called  | f

A: t=# create sequence seqtest increment 1 minvalue 0 maxvalue 20;
CREATE SEQUENCE
t=# select * from pg_sequence where seqrelid = 'seqtest'::regclass;
 seqrelid | seqtypid | seqstart | seqincrement | seqmax | seqmin | seqcache | seqcycle
----------+----------+----------+--------------+--------+--------+----------+----------
    16479 |       20 |        0 |            1 |     20 |      0 |        1 | f
(1 row)

Postgres 10 introduced new catalog: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/catalog-pg-sequence.html
also:
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/release-10.html

. Move sequences' metadata fields into a new pg_sequence system catalog
  (Peter Eisentraut)
A sequence relation now stores only the fields that can be modified by
  nextval(), that is last_value, log_cnt, and is_called. Other sequence
  properties, such as the starting value and increment, are kept in a
  corresponding row of the pg_sequence catalog.

A: Alternatively, it can be achieved using psql prompt using the command
\d
postgres=# \d seqtest
                    Sequence "public.seqtest"
  Type  | Start | Minimum | Maximum | Increment | Cycles? | Cache
--------+-------+---------+---------+-----------+---------+-------
 bigint |     0 |       0 |      20 |         1 | no      |     1

A: select min_value, max_value from pg_sequences where sequencename = 'seqtest';

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/view-pg-sequences.html

A: But this query shows seqmax=9223372036854775807 (2^63-1) for any kind of sequence somehow.


Lynn has been doing life and health insurance since 2006.
She saw a need with her prior career for group health insurance and making sure loved ones are taken care of. She branched out to auto and home insurance in 2009. She is a field representative who is in the office on Wednesdays and Fridays.


Over the past several years, gamification has found itself assuming an ever-increasing role within organizations. Looking for a new way to engage, teach, reward, and retain employees, Companies now turn to gamification when dealing with HR-related issues. Gamified concepts have begun being incorporated in real-world processes such as recruitment, learning and development. A rapidly growing field, Game-mechanics are now instrumental in improving performance in sales, customer service and training.
Gamification is the use of game mechanics, behavioral elements and design techniques in non-gaming contexts. In layman's terms, it entails taking key elements that drive engagement in games, such as design, activity structures, visible achievements and competition, and applying them to things that are not naturally games (e.g. learning, buying airline tickets or completing work assignments). The most basic application of game mechanics, which has been most commonly used in gamified environments are points, badges and leaderboards.
Despite its potentially misleading name, gamification isn't simply games built for business purposes. Rather, it is all about expanding the implementation of an already existing experience or process in the business, as opposed to building something new from scratch. Gamification does not equate to games. However, in the workplace, gamification can definitely be a game-changer.
How can Gamification Boost Business Results?
Every company, organization or business wants its employees to reach their fullest- potential. A productive, engaged and motivated workforce heavily influences an organization's ability to grow and succeed. The main goal for most companies is to drive business performance. Engaging and motivating employees toward improvement and excellence in their area of expertise, in an effective and sustainable way is a surefire way to get there.
So, how can gamification be used to achieve that?
Employee engagement is firmly linked to key organizational outcomes. Properly-engaged employees can save companies billions of dollars. Studies show that properly engaged employees double their company's customer satisfaction rates. Conversely, companies plagued by a lack of employee engagement suffer. Gamification allows companies which lack a culture of engagement to create one from scratch, and for those with existing frameworks to considerably up their game (pun-intended). With gamified platforms, employees can easily track their own work progress, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and be directed toward actions that will help them progress and succeed. By making goals, achievements and benchmarks visible, gamification creates commitment and dedication among users, turning an otherwise mundane work aspect into a fun engaging activity. The recognition, status and acknowledgement employees gain through gamified feedback mechanisms such as social badges and kudos, motivates employees and drives them to outperform.
Gamification can revolutionize the way your company keeps employees up-to-date regarding newly-launched products and can train them according to dynamic guidelines. Additionally, gamified platforms can super-charge the onboarding process of new employees. Gamified learning will typically be characterized by adding game elements to areas such as task completion or participation. This will be done in the form of employees engaging with learning materials, solving quizzes, completing simulations and more.
Onboarding learning projects are generally shorter, since the knowledge being bestowed is essential for new employees' ability to complete assignments and get going at work. Onboarding can be made a more seamless and engaging experience using mechanics like game levels. Employees will start at the beginner level and advance as they grow in their understanding of the company regulations, processes, etc. This will help new employees adapt, experience success and form habits that will help them gain proper perspective regarding their roles.
When combined with Microlearning, gamification can yield an incredible ROI . Using small learning chunks and short tasks while rewarding employees on their engagement has helped companies onboard employees faster.
In this environment, employees complete more tasks and better relate to their skill levels, compared to simply watching instructional videos or reviewing presentations.
Companies that set out to conduct management changes often fall-short (or fail completely) due to lack of engagement. Organizations need to constantly adapt to a ceaseless stream of evolving technology, rapid market changes, and to fickle consumer tendencies. If their employees are unmotivated and unwilling to be a part of the change, organizations have no chance of succeeding. By gamifying the change processes, employees can receive instant feedback when they stray from the right path. They can be reminded why the change is necessary and of its objective, and enables managers to engage with their team members in insuring they are all onboard. Human competitive spirit, coupled with the excitement and desire to progress toward new levels keeps users engaged throughout, and helps smooth the process of adapting to changes .
Gamification drives behaviors and then measures them. To drive an increase in sales, gamification will encourage more calls, qualifying leads, meetings with clients, and more. Rather than focusing on results, gamification focuses on the activities that prompt sales. Gamification is a great way to promote the desired behaviors that lead to organizational goals. It is coming up as a software ingredient that connects between employees and objectives, along with organizational values. When properly designed and implemented, gamification leverages the motivations for feedback, rewards and achievements, and produces interactions that inspire employees to become better and better every day.
In closing, gamification can enhance performance in a variety of ways. Successful gamification projects will improve employee engagement, shorten onboarding and facilitate more efficient and meaningful learning experiences. Whether by aligning its workforce with company-wide goals or by smoothing out the adaption toward organizational change, companies benefit significantly from the unique elements of gamification.


Social media and other forums receive comments ranging across the board. As the runner progresses in his running life, viewpoints and expectations change over period of time. I am weaving such changes into other aspects of life which we will easily recognise. So the next time you read a comment on social media or other forums, please bear in mind what phase of ones running life the runners is in.
2. You buy every running accessory. In a running store, you are like the proverbial kid in the sweetmeat shop.
3. You hang on to every word s/he speaks.
4. You eagerly read every post related to running.
7. You hold your fart in.
8. Your uncle and cousins are at home when you come back from your maiden 10K all eager to listen to your act of valour. You wife cooks a lavish meal.
11. Your Garmin and HR monitor are eagerly tracked after each run. You ponder over your aerobic threshold numbers.
12. You smile as you run. You cannot get enough base building miles into your log. You take part in monthly events of all formats.
13. Running injuries are for sissies.
15. You splash photos of your first 5K running medal. It is your DP picture for months.
1. Expediency matters. Its CCD now. Barista or Costa on special occasions.
2. You know what you want. You buy your usual and come out after quickly browsing to see if anything is new.
3. When s/he starts the sentence, you know where this is going.
4. You read the first para and skip the usual rest.
8. Your wife mentions your Full Marathon to her mom on the phone. She wrinkles her nose as you open a beer.
1. Nescafe at home over the morning newspaper.
2. You window shop and pass by.
3. You raise the newspaper.
4. You usually ignore all running gyan.
6. Your doctorate from the UGLA ( University of Google in Los Angeles ) entitles you to openly differ.
7. Did I just fart?
8. Wife instructs you to take off your shoes outside, while the weekend task list is kept ready.
11. Your HRM is used a watch. You know your pace and HR by feel.
12. You do not care for your training plans anymore. You are at peak anyways.
13. Your gait has a distinct wobble. Your Physio gets a Diwali gift hamper each year.
14. You do not visit FB/ RFL groups unless you get 'notified'.
15. Most of your running medals are rusted and not worth photographing anymore.


text:
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Visa Proposes Method for Offline Digital Currency Payments
Visa has proposed an offline payment system for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in a new research paper.
The payments giant's paper, "Towards a Two-Tier Hierarchical Infrastructure: An Offline Payment System for Central Bank Digital Currencies," acknowledges the benefits of CBDCs—but says they should, when they finally become available, be able to be made without an internet connection.
CBDCs are digitalized forms of fiat currencies that could run on a blockchain, but don't necessarily have to use distributed ledger technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin, a CBDC would likely be controlled by a single entity (such as the Bank of England).
In order for payments to be made offline, Visa proposed a system that would use "open source technology and public key infrastructure" so transaction messages could be signed without the need to be connected to the internet. The proposal outlines a protocol that can be developed in the future—but no code for such an idea has been written yet.
"Recipients can submit signed, offline payment messages to an authorized wallet provider with guaranteed settlement of those transactions in order to withdraw funds from the offline payment system," the paper reads.
According to Visa, one of the main reasons central banks are exploring digital currencies is because it would help connect unbanked individuals to a "vibrant ecosystem of accessible Fintechs and other financial products."
NY Fed: CBDCs Will Be More Private Than Big Tech Digital Currency
The idea is that an offline payment system "creates an experience similar to physical cash," says Visa. "But instead of paper in your wallet, it's bits and bytes in your phone."
Despite the research conducted by Visa, it is only really that—research. Most countries interested in such a technology are still in the very early stages of developing a CBDC.
Some countries are further along. The Bahamas launched the first phase of its own digital currency in October and Chinese citizens are taking part in trials of a digital yuan.
TechnologyRead More
In Decrypt


Dimensions:38x15x5mm 40.2KHz Piezo Ring transducer,Applications: Bolt-clamped ultrasonic transducer, Ultrasonic Sensor, Vibration Sensor, Pressure sensor, Vibration generation, Biodiesel mixing transducer, Piezo expansion sensor, compression sensor, Piezo Welding, Tonpilz Transducer and others.
Resonant Mode: Radial mode by the impedance analyzer.
In recent years, with the rise of new technologies such as electronic technology, space technology, laser technology and computer technology and the development of basic theory and testing technology, people have created various kinds of functional ceramic media.
(1), electronic functional ceramics such as high temperature and high voltage insulation ceramics, the high thermal conductivity of insulating ceramics, low thermal expansion ceramics, semiconductor ceramics, superconducting ceramics, conductive ceramics.
(2), chemical functional ceramics such as various sensors, chemical pumps and so on.
(3), electro-optic ceramics and optical ceramics such as ferroelectric, piezoelectric, thermoelectric ceramics, translucent ceramics, light-colored ceramics, glass fiber and so on.


text:
Fraud in Avoiding Antidumping and Countervailing Duties
Whistleblowers have successfully used reverse False Claims suits to stop companies from dodging customs duties in cases such as Jackson vs. Linde.
Customs duties are a top revenue source for the U.S. government, second only to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). That means customs fraud puts a big dent in government coffers and attracts a lot of attention from law enforcement. In recent years, customs violations have increasingly been prosecuted under a legal statute with strong whistleblower provisions known as reverse False Claims.
Reserve false claims is a section of the False Claims Act (FCA), America's first whistleblower law and one of the strongest whistleblower laws in the United States. The core principle of reverse false claims is that a wrongdoer has prevented the government from collecting what it is owed. When goods are knowingly falsely stated, undeclared, undervalued, or misclassified on a customs form, an entity has kept the government from receiving proper compensation.
If you need help or want to contact an attorney, please fill out a confidential intake form. To learn more about how NWC assists whistleblowers, please visit our Find an Attorney page.
Jackson vs. Linde
Since the FCA was amended in 2009 by the Fraud Enhancement and Recovery Act (FERA), further strengthening reverse false claims, multiple whistleblowers have filed successful cases exposing violations of customs and import laws. A recent such case involves a former employee of a multinational engineering corporation who won $3.7 million in a whistleblower suit against the company in one of the largest False Claims suits involving customs fraud to date.
Linde AG is a multinational industrial gas and engineering company headquartered in Germany. Its U.S. component, Linde Engineering North America, has operation centers in Oklahoma, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
Crystal Johnson is a former logistics and procurement manager in the company's Oklahoma office. According to her complaint filed in U.S. district court, Johnson noticed that her superiors were intentionally filing customs declarations with inaccurate or incomplete descriptions of imported goods in order to avoid tariffs and antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD).
In one example, the company declared Chinese stainless-steel piping subject to high tariffs and duties as carbon-steel piping, thereby evading more than $7 million in fees. Linde also allegedly declared assembled tanks as unassembled to avoid the higher tariffs and duties placed on assembled components.
Another common tactic involved the failure to declare extra work and materials associated with their products that would command higher duties and tariffs. The United States levies these duties to compel foreign companies to use U.S. materials and labor. In Linde's case, the company used engineers in India at a fraction of the price of U.S. engineers, but didn't include that information in their customs declaration.
According to the complaint, Jackson took her concerns to Linde's vice president and other company executives, but her concerns were dismissed. She left the company in 2016 and filed suit on behalf of the government in 2017, which the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ultimately joined. Linde agreed in October 2020 to pay $22.2 million settlement on the FCA violation charges, according to a DOJ press release. Jackson will receive approximately $3.7 million for her contribution to the prosecution.
Under the FCA's qui tam provision, anyone with knowledge of fraud against federal contracts or programs—known in legal terms as a relator—can bring a suit on behalf of the government, so long as no one else has filed a suit first. Whistleblowers who provide original information that results in a successful prosecution are awarded between 15% and 30% of the collected proceeds. These rewards are often substantial, since under the False Claims Act, the criminal is liable for a civil penalty as well as treble damages.
These powerful incentives have resulted in multiple whistleblowers filing successful FCA cases exposing violations of customs and import laws. In addition to Jackson, whistleblowers have been integral to a 2019 suit against a British womenswear retailer who avoided customs duties by splitting up shipments, resulting in a $610,000 fine, and a $1.1 in 2013 by an Ohio manufacturer for avoiding duties by misrepresenting the Chinese origins of its products on customs forms.
Crucially, the FCA is applicable to conduct outside the U.S. – so long as there is federal spending, procurement or contracting, and the information reported is suitable for building criminal cases as well as civil. Additionally, under the FCA, it is possible for anyone to serve as a whistleblower, including non-U.S. citizens and NGOs.
Whistleblowers are responsible for 72% of the funds recovered since the FCA amendment in 1986. With the recent advances in what is covered by reverse False Claims, this record of success is expected to continue, with additional customs violations brought to light.
To learn about the False Claims Act in more depth, read The New Whistleblower's Handbook, the first-ever guide to whistleblowing, by the nation's leading whistleblower attorney. The Handbook is a step-by-step guide to the essential tools for successfully blowing the whistle, qualifying for financial rewards, and protecting yourself.
Combatting Fraud in the Oil and Gas Industry
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High Risk of Fraud in the Oil and Gas Industry
Financial Challenges Facing Oil and Gas Companies
High Risk of Fraud in Firms Auditing Fossil Fuels
Exposing a Ticking Time Bomb: A NWC Report
Oil & Gas Case Studies
High Risk of Fraud in the Coal Industry
Coal Case Studies
What Fossil Fuel Whistleblowers Need to Know
Oil & Gas Whistleblower FAQ
Coal Whistleblower FAQ
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Find A Whistleblower Attorney