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October 3, 2016 December 26, 2017 by mvbookreviewer
Review: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
Brooding Hero, Emotions Wrencher, Endearing Hero, Endearing Heroine, Favorites, Outstanding Read, Paranormal, Red Hot Reads, Review, Scarred Hero, Scorcher!, Signet, Tortured Hero
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood, #3
Publisher: Signet Book
Hero: Zsadist
Heroine: Bella Soang
Date of Publication: September 1, 2006
Started On: August 02, 2016
Finished On: August 08, 2016
"I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came… and I was awakened."
Let me just take a moment before I begin my review to thank J. R. Ward for telling Zsadists's story as it is, without pretensions and bringing to us a character that is so very flawed, yet the best of the Brotherhood. Yes, the best. Fact that Ms. Ward could have dragged Zsadist's story on as a secondary tale in the series up till readers were ready to go into a tizzy with wanting, something many authors tend to do when they identify with a character readers absolutely want to read about; the fact that Ms. Ward saw it fit to deliver this story as the 3rd installment in the series is something that at least I am eternally grateful for.
Zsadist's story is by no means an easy tale to tell. Having been taken on as a blood slave by a woman that had kept him practically chained in the bed for her pleasure and violated him in every single way possible to do that to a person, well, needless to say Zsadist comes from dark stock. The only woman who had been able to shake him out of the deep and dark aura that surrounds him had been Bella, even be it for a brief moment, a daughter of a family considered quite high in rank in vampire lineage, something which makes Zsadist more wary.
Zsadist keeps himself apart from the rest of the members of the Brotherhood. He doesn't feed as they, doesn't take pleasure in sex as they do; he considers himself dirty, something to be left on the sides of the streets for stray dogs to come and pick on. But his twin brother Phury refuses to let him be so, but even his attempts to reach out to Zsadist gets him that far.
It is upon Bella's abduction by a Lesser who had wanted her for himself that forces Zsadist to step out of his comfort zone and face all of his fears, one by one. Zsadist is relentless in his hunt for Bella, and once he finds her, he is the one who nurses her back, even if it kills him to see his body react in that "ugly" manner towards her femaleness. For anyone made out of lesser stuff than Bella, making Zsadist come around would have been an impossible feat.
I have rarely come across novels that feature sexually abused heroes. Heroines, yes, multiple times. Heroes, I can practically count the books in one hand. And one who has been violated to Zsadist's extent? Never. Amazing is how Ms. Ward handled the whole situation so beautifully. Giving Zsadist the time to adjust, to face his nightmares, to learn that his responses towards Bella are inherent in him as a male warrior would for his mate for life. Bella's utter patience when it comes to Zsadist, even when it kills her at times, the attempts Zsadist makes numerous times to push her away, Bella does hold on strong.
It was indeed an interesting facet of the novel to see Bella come into her needing in this novel, the first of its variety that has been described since the series began. Needing is the time when female vampires go into their fertile period, the need for them to mate so incredibly painful that there is no male in scenting distant to be unaffected by it. Zsadist had practically decided by that point in time that he would not be able to bed Bella and consider himself unsullied. What a glorious and healing experience did Bella's needing turn out to be for Zsadist! And what an erotic experience for Bella, not to mention the readers! Not that it was easy for Zsadist to give in, but the nature of his beast didn't give up until Zsadist experienced what pleasure is like, why mates would kill for their women and why bonding is such an integral part of vampire biology.
To say that I loved Zsadist's story would be a grave understatement. I loved, adored and reveled in how Zsadist made me feel. There is nothing, absolutely nothing I would have changed in his story. Ms. Ward definitely pulled all the punches when she wrote Zsadist's book, and it shows. Having read around 5 books in the series so far, I believe that a hero that could topple Zsadist from the position he is in my heart would be an impossible feat. I am looking forward to Rehvenge's book however. And I believe I am not alone in feeling this way.
I recommend Zsadist's story even if you are not a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The fact that Zsadist wanted to become a better version of himself before claiming Bella in the end just made me love him more! The little epilogue tucked at the end, the first of its kind I believe in this series, was more than enough to make this heart of mine melt. Just read the first three books. Trust me, it's more than worth it!
Final Verdict: Raw and powerful, Zsadist's novel is a stunning masterpiece by J. R. Ward!
"Zsadist?"
"Yes," he whispered.
"Relax your mouth for me."
Careful not to crowd him, she propped herself up on her forearms and got in close again. His lips were shockingly soft except for where the upper one was scarred. To make sure he knew the imperfection didn't matter to her, she deliberately attended to that place, returning there again and again.
And then it happened: He kissed her back. It was just the slightest movement of his mouth, but she felt it all the way to her core.
But then he frowned and looked at her. "Wait, I'm supposed to kiss you on the mouth first, aren't I? I mean, males start at the top and work their way down, don't they?"
What an odd question… like he'd never done this at all?
Before she could reply he began to move back, so she sat up and captured his face in her hands.
"You can do whatever you like to me."
His eyes flashed and he held his position for a split second.
Then he lunged at her, taking her down onto the bed.
His lips parted, and his tongue led the way as he dipped down. His mouth was warm on her flesh, so very tentative, kissing, then sucking her nipple inside. He tugged, then ran a languid circle around her, then drew her in again… and all the while his hands stroked her waist and her hips and legs.
How ironic that he'd worried he wouldn't be gentle. Far from brutal, he was positively reverent as he suckled, his lashes down against his cheek as he savored her, his face worshipful and rapt.
"Christ," he murmured, moving to her other breast. "I had no idea it would be like this."
"Bella, I don't think I can stop. There's this… roar in my head telling me to keep my mouth on you. How can I make this… okay for you?"
"Make me… finish me," she said hoarsely.
He blinked as if she'd surprised him. "How do I make you come?"
"Just keep doing what you're doing. Only faster."
He was a quick study as he figured out what made her go wild, and he was ruthless once he discovered how to give her an orgasm. He drove her hard, watching her as she shattered apart once, twice… many time. It was as if he fed from her pleasure and was insatiable.
"Make love to me," she said.
He moaned and started to move like a great wave on top of her, that thick, hard part of him stroking the inside of her.
"Oh, shit…" He dropped his head into her neck. His rhythm intensified, his breath shooting out of him, rushing into her ear. "Bella… shit, I'm scared… but I can't… stop…"
With a groan he propped himself up on his arms and let his hips swing freely, each thrust nailing against her, pushing her farther up on the bed. She grabbed for his wrists to hold her body in place under the onslaught. As he pounded, she could feel herself getting near the edge again, and the faster he went, the closer she got.
Her orgasm slammed into her core, then raced throughout her body, the force stretching her out so she was infinitely long and infinitely wide.
As if he sensed what she needed, he twisted his body around so he could stay inside of her while giving her access to his throat.
"Feed," he said hoarsely, his body moving into her and pulling back. "Take what you need."
She bit him without hesitation, piercing right through the slave band, going deep into his skin. As his taste hit her tongue, she heard a roar leave him. And then the strength and the power of him washed over her, through her.
He closed his eyes, so exhausted he could barely breathe. He was flat on his back, legs splayed out, arms lying wherever. He'd been in that position since he'd rolled off Bella maybe an hour ago.
He felt like it had been a year since he'd come back into the room the night before. His neck and wrists burned from the number of times she'd fed from him, and the thing between his leg was sore. The air around them was saturated with the bonding scent, and the sheets were with with a combination of his blood and the other thing she needed from him.
He wouldn't have traded a moment of it.
Bella eased up and slid the it inside of her. As beat as he was, he groaned in ecstasy. The feel of her was something he couldn't he enough of, and he knew it wasn't because of her needing.
She rode him, planting her hands on his pecs and finding a rhythm with her hips because he couldn't thrust anymore with his. He felt himself gearing up for another explosion, especially as he watched her breasts sway with her movement.
"You are so beautiful," he said in a hoarse voice.
She paused to bend down and kiss him again, her dark hair falling around him, a gentle shelter. When she straightened, he marveled at the sight of her. She was glowing with health and vitality from everything he had given her, a resplendent female who he…
Loved. Yes, loved.
"Go to hell, Zsadist. Go there right-"
He moved fast as a lightning strike, taking her down hard to the bed, tackling her with his weight.
"I am in hell," he hissed, pushing his hips into her. He swiveled them against her core, that massive erection pushing into the soft place he'd just had with his mouth. With a curse, he pulled back, unzipped his leathers…
and thrust into her, stretching her so wide it almost hurt. She cried out at the invasion, but tilted her hips up so he could go in even farther.
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Hello, my name is Tom McKenna and I'm a criminal defense lawyer with over 30 years of experience defending the rights of people arrested and accused of criminal offenses. I have personally handled thousands of criminal cases in my career, and my clients have included students, parents, husbands, wives, career criminals, professionals, and CEO's of large corporations.
My goal is simple: to represent your legal interests with the utmost diligence, excellence, and compassion. Also, in that regard, I understand that privacy is important to my clients. I have had many high profile cases and I have declined appearances on Oprah, Dr. Phil, The Today Show, and Good Morning America for the purpose of protecting my clients' privacy. Promoting or marketing my business is not my priority; the outcome of my clients' cases and their privacy takes precedence.
My philosophy is simple: I believe in quality representation at all stages of the criminal proceedings, such as before, and after arrest, through all proceedings in court, and I am always available to my clients when the case is closed.
The criminal process can be very confusing and intimidating for the accused and the accused's family. Thus, I believe in educating my clients and their families not only on the judicial process, but also on every legal aspect relevant to the case.
When you call I will give you honest answers. Beware of lawyers who claim they never lost a trial or that you need a team of lawyers to defend you.
I am most proud of the cases that never made it to court. I look forward to meeting you and/or your family.


I have been training with Jentzen for around three months. I play club volleyball and wanted to increase my vertical jump and lateral speed. In the first 2 weeks of training I increased my vertical by 2 inches and it has since increased at an average rate of 2 inches every two weeks. My vertical started at 11 inches and is now 21 inches. As for lateral speed, I am getting to my blocking pins easier and faster allowing me to get more blocks. This is one of the best decisions I have made to increase my volleyball skills and make me an overall better player. Jentzen makes it fun and enjoyable to train, and he is very encouraging and motivating.


Little Rock connection: Born in Little Rock and valedictorian of Little Rock High School class of 1951. Family members are still in Little Rock and Central Arkansas. He later wrote a fictional account of growing up in Little Rock in the book The Exact and Very Strange Truth.
Tony Awards connection: Starred in cast of original Tony winning production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? longer than anyone else in original run or subsequent revivals. Participated in workshops and readings with the author Edward Albee during the development of the play as well. Also shared the stage with many other Tony winning and Tony nominated actors including James Whitmore, Shirley Booth, Jane Fonda, Claudia McNeil, Sandra Church, Alfred Drake, Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, fellow Arkansan Melinda Dillon, Mercedes McCambridge, Nancy Kelly, Carrie Nye, Rosemary Murphy and William Daniels.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? closing on Broadway.


To ensure that we are able to continue providing a first class delivery service of our control panels - we have now bought a first class truck to suit!
The new Volvo FMX which benefits from a second telescopic arm, to achieve higher lifts when loading, had to be custom built to cater for our bespoke needs.
The lorry was purchased through our supplier in the UK, who had visited the manufacturer in Italy to design the crane to our specific requirements.
Not only can we design, build, test and install your custom Motor control centre, but our digitally programmed remote controlled crane operation means that we can deliver your Motor control centre in even the most challenging environments.
With our specialist in house team available to install at a time convenient to you and your processes, the lorry is a great addition to our fleet.
Volvo are so delighted with the results in fact, that they have now added this custom specification going forward!


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Sex abuse images involving minor under 2 years old prompt Maryland man's arrest, police say
By FOX 5 DC Digital Team
Updated 10:09AM
NEW CARROLLTON, Md. - A 55-year-old Prince George's County man has been arrested and faces multiple charges including rape and child pornography after police say they found images of him sexually abusing a minor under the age of two.
Police say Eladio Alfaro-Sarmiento was arrested Wednesday at his New Carrollton home after they received online tips regarding the distribution, possession and production of child pornography.
Investigators say images produced by the suspect sexually abusing at least one minor who was under two-years-old provided them with enough information to locate the child to ensure their safety.
Alfaro-Sarmiento was then arrested and charged with 13 counts of distribution of child pornography, 13 counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of production of child pornography, four counts of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second-degree rape.
He is being held without bail at the Prince George's County Department of Corrections.
Investigators are working to determine if Alfaro-Sarmiento is connected to other victims.
Multiple pedestrians, including children, struck by vehicle in Prince George's County: officials
Car involved in crash that killed 2 teens in Fairfax County reached speeds of over 100 mph: police
Teenager shot outside of Northeast DC school

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Kim Gordon Hits Vancouver on Solo Tour
Her "No Home Tour" will travel North America, the U.K. and Europe
Kim Gordon has revealed plans a North American tour, with the trek including a Canadian stop in Vancouver.
Following the trip to Europe and the U.K. in May and June, Gordon will head to the northeast of the U.S. in July as part of her "No Home Tour," starting in Minneapolis on July 17.
She'll kick off the West Coast portion of the tour in Vancouver on September 11 at the Commodore Ballroom, marking her only Canadian date. After that, the tour will head south, ending in San Francisco on September 15.
See the full itinerary down below.
Tickets for the upcoming shows go on sale this Friday (February 28).
Gordon released her first solo album, No Home Record, last fall.
03/06 London, UK 6 Music Festival
05/24 Brussels, Belgium - AB Ballroom
05/25 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05/27 Manchester, UK - Gorilla
05/28 Bristol, UK - SWX
06/02 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
06/03 Lyon, France - L'Epicerie Moderne
06/08 Berlin, Germany - Astra Kulturhaus
06/09 Cologne, Germany - Gloria Theatre
07/17 Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
07/21 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
07/23 New York, NY - Webster Hall
07/24 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
07/25 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
09/11 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
09/12 Seattle, WA - Showbox
09/13 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
09/15 San Francisco, CA - The Filmore
More Kim Gordon
Kim Gordon Unveils New Book 'No Icon'
Kim Gordon has announced she will be releasing a new book. Called No Icon, the Sonic Youth hero's latest literary work will arrive on Octobe...
Sonic Youth Unload Another 12 Archival Releases to Bandcamp
Sonic Youth have once again done a massive Bandcamp drop, with the group adding a dozen new archival and side-project releases just in time...
Kim Gordon Endorses Bernie Sanders by Baking a Cake
Kim Gordon is marking Super Tuesday with a PSA for Bernie Sanders. The Sonic Youth and recent solo star has shared a video endorsement f...
Stephen Malkmus Gets Jason Schwartzmann, Sharon Van Etten, Mac DeMarco for New Video
Stephen Malkmus is set to return with a new solo effort called Traditional Techniques next month. He's already announced a hefty batch of to...
Floria Sigismondi's 'The Turning' Soundtrack Features Courtney Love, Mitski, Finn Wolfhard
Italian-Canadian director Floria Sigismondi's latest film is an adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw called The Turning, and it...


Clever thoughts for lift ops: safety netting, organizing lift shack information, and a do-it-yourself bullwheel cover.
The arrival deck for a chairlift, like any raised platform, needs a good way to protect people and stuff from falling off. A railing—the standard solution for protecting people at height—is obviously impractical, so netting, as shown here at Canaan Valley, W.Va., is often the best solution. This arrangement provides a margin of safety for riders who, for whatever reason, fail to unload at the proper point on the unloading ramp, and for lifties as they are working on the deck. Plus, it catches gloves, helmets, goggles, and other personal items that might get dropped as riders approach the top terminal and prepare to unload. One caution: use care when extracting anyone from the netting, as they or their gear might get tangled up. This especially applies to persons in a sitski or using other modified or specialty ski gear.
There can be a lot of information a liftie must know to do the job right. This bulletin board in a lift shack at Beech Mountain, N.C., displays relevant info—including procedures and policies relating to lift operations, what to do in an emergency, and to accident investigation—in a clear, concise, and conspicuous way. And it does so in a neat and organized fashion; it's a visual representation of how we want our lifties to function and to present themselves. The greatest strength of this board, though? That would be the two phones: one for resort-wide use, the other a dedicated line between the top and bottom of the lift to keep the line of communication open at all times.
It's not necessary to put a roof over every top terminal bullwheel, but it's often a good idea to do it anyway. And Hall lifts, like this one at Mount Peter, N.Y., require it. Mountain manager Karl Kullberg and the Mount Peter crew replaced an aging wood roof with a metal one to protect the bullwheel from the elements and prolong the life of the bullwheel bearings, prevent icing, and to protect riders from dripping fluids—which can be an annoyance at a minimum, and often a cleaning expense for the resort. For older lifts such as this Hall, icing can interfere with the drop dog backup brake. The team fabricated the new roof from scraps found in the area's boneyard and attached it to the terminal mounting bracket as shown. Cost: only the labor involved.


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test-analytics-ng
=================

Fork of the Google Test Analytics project

How to build?
----------------
You need Maven (http://maven.apache.org/) to build the test-analytics-ng project.

1. Clone this repo

2. If you have Maven version 3.0.X change the appengine-maven-plugin version in pom.xml to 1.8.3-maven3.0

3. Run
>mvn compile

4. Run
>mvn package

How to run development server?
-----------------

You can take a brief tour through test-analytics-ng by making steps 1 and 2 of the previous section and then running:

>mvn appengine:devserver

Deploying test-analytics-ng in AppScale
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AppScale (http://www.appscale.com/) is an open-source GAE (Google App Engine) implementation. You can deploy and use test-analytics-ng in it.

How-to coming soon.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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« Studies on GMO Risk Assessment
GM Brinjal in India and Conflictual Scientific Hypotheses for its Evaluation »
Ecological Agriculture is Climate Resilient
Title : TWN Durban Briefing Paper No.1
By Lim Li Ching (Third World Network) and Doreen Stabinsky (College of the Atlantic, USA)
Agriculture is the most important sector in many developing countries and is central to the survival of millions of people. Most agriculture production in these countries involves small land holdings, mainly producing for self-consumption. Women are the key agricultural producers and providers. Hence agriculture is critical for food and livelihood security, and for the approximately 500 million smallholder households, totaling 1.5 billion people, living on smallholdings of two hectares of land or less (De Schutter, 2008). Smallholdings account for 85 percent of the world's farms.
However, climate change threatens the livelihoods and food security of billions of the planet's poor and vulnerable, as it poses a serious threat to agricultural production. Agriculture, in the dominant conventional and industrial models that are practiced today, is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
At the same time as they pose a huge climate threat, industrial agricultural systems are highly vulnerable to climate change. The industrial model and the crop varieties designed to work well within it depend on energy- and water-intensive irrigation as well as other fossil fuel-intensive inputs such as mechanized harvesting, fertilizers and pesticides. Highly vulnerable to reductions in the availability of fuel and water, and in the long-term economically unsound, the model will not survive (Vandermeer et al., 2009). Nothing less than a system change is needed in the face of the climate change threat.
A focus on the climate challenge to ecosystems and livelihoods is therefore needed, particularly as the adaptation needs of developing countries are paramount. As such, we should heed the call of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development[1] (IAASTD, 2009) to the international community and national governments to systematically redirect agricultural knowledge, science and technology towards sustainable, biodiversity-based ecological agriculture and the underlying agroecological sciences.
This is because the ecological model of agricultural production, which is based on principles that create healthy soils and cultivate biological diversity and which prioritizes farmers and traditional knowledge, is climate resilient as well as productive. Ecological agriculture practices are the bases for the adaptation efforts so urgently needed by developing country farmers, who will suffer disproportionately more from the effects of climate change. Many answers lie in farmers' fields and farmer knowledge, for example, how to create healthy soils that store more water under drought conditions and how to grow a diversity of crops to create the resilience needed to face increased unpredictability in weather patterns.
Ecological agriculture to meet the climate challenge
Climate change will require a range of adaptation approaches across many elements of agricultural production systems, from small changes in the crop varieties grown to decisions to abandon cropping completely. For example in some rainfed regions in Africa, there just will not be enough predictable moisture to continue to grow crops; in these areas, agriculturalists may change to livelihood strategies based entirely on pastoralism, or they may need to move to other regions or to cities. In other areas more animals may be integrated into the farming system to reduce dependency on crop production (Jones and Thornton, 2008).
In all areas, farmers working to adapt to climate change will need to adopt new practices that help to increase the resilience of their cropping systems – through building healthier soils, increasing the biological diversity of the system and, particularly in rainfed regions (where most poor farmers farm), incorporating more water harvesting and water management techniques. These are practices that governments and other funding agencies must prioritize as they promote transitions to climate-resilient agricultural systems.
Building healthy soils
By increasing the health of soils, farmers can increase the water-holding capacity of the soil and the infiltration capacity – augmenting the speed at which water can percolate into soils and thus the ability to take more advantage of heavier rains that are expected under climate change (Tirado and Cotter, 2010). Moreover, by building healthier soils, farmers can increase productivity. Given that climatic changes will likely significantly reduce yields over time, any increase in productivity through better soil health and fertility will serve to moderate the productivity reduction expected. For example, research from 30-year side-by-side trials of conventional and organic farming methods (involving leguminous cover crops and/or periodic applications of manure or composted manure) at the Rodale Institute in the USA has shown that organic corn yields were 31 percent higher than conventional in years of drought[2].
Many well-established agroecological practices increase soil health and fertility, and with these, productivity. Prominent among these practices is the addition of manure or compost. At the same time that these additions bring necessary nutrients into the system, they also improve the structure of the soil, making it better able to hold onto both nutrients and water. And by improving the soil structure, water is able to infiltrate better, capturing more during periods of intense rainfall. Evidence from the Tigray region in Ethiopia shows that compost can increase crop yields significantly; on average, composted fields gave higher yields, sometimes double, than those treated with chemical fertilizers (Edwards et al., 2009).
Other ecological agriculture practices that can improve soil structure and increase fertility include growing green manures (crops that are tilled into the soil after they are grown to add nutrients and structure), cover cropping to add nutrients and keep soil covered during a fallow season, mulching, and crop rotation (Magdoff, 1998). These are all standard practices in agroecological systems, which work to increase fertility naturally, and use the diversity of the system to control pests and diseases, while increasing habitats for pollinators and other beneficial organisms.
Building resilience through diversity
System resilience can be built through increasing biological diversity (Altieri and Koohafkan, 2008). Practices that enhance biodiversity allow farms to mimic natural ecological processes, enabling them to better respond to change and reduce risk. Experience suggests that farmers who increase diversity suffer less damage during adverse weather events, compared to conventional farmers planting monocultures (Altieri and Koohafkan, 2008; Ensor, 2009; Niggli et al., 2009).
In cropping systems diversity can be increased through increasing the variety of crops grown at one time on the parcel of land, and by adding trees and/or animals into the system. Farmers can also increase the diversity of the system by increasing crop diversity itself – growing different varieties of the same crop that have different attributes, for example shorter season varieties that may be beneficial if the season is shortened by inadequate rainfall, or varieties that provide more nutritious forage for animals. Supporting soil health increases the diversity of organisms in the soil, which are responsible for benefits such as increased access to nutrients and reduction of overall disease burden. Diverse agroecosystems can also adapt to new pests or increased pest numbers (Ensor, 2009).
It is important to note here the role of women, as they play a key role in managing biodiversity, and thus in adapting to climate change. For example, women in Rwanda produce more than 600 varieties of beans; in Peru, Aguaruna women plant more than 60 varieties of manioc (CBD 2009).
Emphasizing water management and harvesting techniques
Adapting to climate change will require even more emphasis than is currently given to improving water management and water harvesting in rainfed regions. Many traditional techniques already in use to improve rainwater use efficiency can be shared using farmer-to-farmer methods.
For example, the za๏ techniques of the Sahel have received much attention: water pits used by farmers in Burkina Faso and Mali to reclaim thousands of hectares of degraded lands in the last decades. Farmers have become increasingly interested in the za๏ as they observe that the pits efficiently collect and concentrate runoff water and function with small quantities of manure and compost. The practice of za๏ allows farmers to expand their resource base and to increase household security. Yields obtained on fields managed with za๏ are consistently higher (ranging from 870 to 1,590 kg/ha) than those obtained on fields without za๏ (average 500–800 kg/ha). There are many other successful traditional water-harvesting techniques in active use around the world by farmers in rainfed environments, a number of them described in detail by Altieri and Koohafkan (2008).
Increasing productivity in the face of climate change
Given the threats of climate change to crop yields, it is important that agriculture practices are able to maintain and even increase productivity. Fortunately, the practices that enhance climate resiliency that are found in ecological agriculture also work to raise productivity, primarily because they improve soil structure and increase fertility.
For example, in a comprehensive meta-analysis, Badgley et al. (2007) examined a global dataset of 293 examples and estimated the average yield ratio (organic : non-organic) of different food categories for the developed and developing world. On average, in developed countries, organic systems produce 92 percent of the yield produced by conventional agriculture. In developing countries, however, organic systems produce 80 percent more than conventional farms. The data also suggest that leguminous cover crops could fix enough nitrogen to replace the amount of synthetic fertilizer currently in use.
Many other specific examples exist of ecological agriculture practices increasing productivity. These are summarized in Lim (2009). Some examples that focus on ecological agriculture practices particularly important for increasing climate resilience are highlighted:
Soil and water conservation in the drylands of Burkina Faso and Niger have transformed formerly degraded lands. The average family has shifted from being in cereal deficit of 644 kg per year (equivalent to 6.5 months of food shortage) to producing an annual surplus of 153 kg.
Projects in Senegal promoted stall-fed livestock, composting systems, green manures, water harvesting systems and rock phosphate. Yields of millet and peanuts increased dramatically by 75–195 percent and 75–165 percent respectively.
More than 1,000 farmers in low-soil-fertility areas in the North Rift and western regions of Kenya increased maize yields to 3,414 kg/ha (71 percent increase in productivity) and bean yields to 258 kg/ha (158 percent increase in productivity) as compared to traditional agriculture, by incorporating soil fertility management, crop diversification and improved crop management.
Forty-five thousand families in Honduras and Guatemala have increased crop yields from 400–600 kg/ha to 2,000–2,500 kg/ha using green manures, cover crops, contour grass strips, in-row tillage, rock bunds and animal manures.
The states of Santa Catarina, Paranแ and Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil have focused on soil and water conservation using contour grass barriers, contour ploughing and green manures. Maize yields have risen from 3 to 5 tonnes/ha and soybeans from 2.8 to 4.7 tonnes/ha.
The high mountain regions of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are some of the most difficult areas in the world for growing crops. Despite this, farmers have increased potato yields by threefold, particularly by using green manures to enrich the soil. Using these methods, some 2,000 farmers in Bolivia have improved potato production from about 4,000 kg/ha to 10,000–15,000 kg/ha.
Towards climate resilience through ecological agriculture
Adaptation of agricultural systems to changing climates is an enormous challenge that will take the concerted effort of governments, researchers and farmers, working together and starting immediately. Because temperatures will continue to rise over the coming decades, we find ourselves in a race against time, to an unknown destination. The effort to create climate-resilient agricultural systems must be prioritized at all levels – from the local to the global, with an important role for national governments to coordinate efforts. Lack of well-coordinated and well-funded adaptation strategies threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions.
An essential component of climate-resilient agriculture, as explained above, is ecological agriculture. To move on the road to a climate-resilient agriculture, agricultural practices and policies, at the national and international levels, must be systematically and urgently redirected towards ecological agriculture, in order to ensure it can reach its full potential, especially in addressing this enormous challenge.
Farmers, in particular women who make up the majority of the world's small producers, must play a key role on the road to climate-resilient agricultural systems. To do so, they must be integrated into the research and development systems and given tools to do their own on-farm research and the capacity to share their knowledge with other farmers in farmer-to-farmer networks. The challenges facing agriculture are too great to ignore the important potential of farmers, their knowledge and their innovation skills to contribute in the creation of climate-resilient agricultures.
In stark contrast to the positive role that farmers will play in creating climate-resilient systems are the few transnational companies that make up the world seed, agrochemical and biotechnology markets. These companies have a vested interest in maintaining a monoculture-focused, carbon-intensive industrial approach to agriculture, which is dependent on external inputs (Hoffmann, 2011). In 2004, the market share of the four largest agrochemical and seed companies reached 60 per cent for agrochemicals and 33 per cent for seeds, up from 47 per cent and 23 percent in 2007 respectively (World Bank, 2008). Efforts are needed to address the challenges this situation raises.
Five essential elements are crucial to move towards climate resiliency:
1. Increasing investment in ecological agriculture
Ecological agriculture practices contribute to resilience and increase adaptive capacity through: improving and sustaining soil quality and fertility; developing and supporting communal water conservation and water catchment systems; enhancing agricultural biodiversity; and developing and supporting agroforestry systems, including conversion of degraded lands to perennial small-scale agroforestry. Governments must specifically reorient agriculture policies and significantly increase funding to support climate-resilient ecological agriculture.
2. Managing climate risks and reducing vulnerability
Public financing and transfer of appropriate technologies by developed counties are needed, not only for the adoption of ecological agriculture but also to put in place the required infrastructure, communications, and other enabling conditions to ensure that developing countries can adapt to climate change. Governments and funding agencies must focus on building adaptive capacity and resilience, thereby reducing vulnerability, as well as improve social safety nets to enable farmers and the rural poor to be able to cope with climate-related disasters. This includes implementing a range of policies that support the economic viability of small-scale agriculture and thus reduce their vulnerability. Special attention and specific support should be given to women farmers.
3. Stopping climate-destructive agriculture by dismantling perverse incentives and subsidies that promote unsustainable and high-emissions agriculture
Current agriculture polices are geared to promote conventional agriculture practices that are responsible for the bulk of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Perverse incentives, including those perpetuated under the current international trade regime governed by the World Trade Organization and bilateral free trade agreements, entrench this unsustainable system. Agricultural incentives and subsidies therefore need to be redirected away from climate-destructive monocultures and climate-harmful inputs (e.g., synthetic fertilizers) towards climate-resilient practices of the small-farm sector.
4. Implementing a research and knowledge-sharing agenda towards ecological agriculture and climate resilience
Too often, national and global agricultural research agendas have been dominated by conventional agriculture approaches and the promise of new technologies. Ecological agriculture has been sidelined; yet it has thrived and has proven successful despite the lack of public support (Pretty, 2006). Farmers' knowledge is a basic and important component of the research/development continuum and research from the scientific community should complement and build on this knowledge. Research and development efforts must be refocused towards ecological agriculture in the context of climate change, while at the same time strengthening existing farmer knowledge and innovation. Moreover, current agriculture research is dominated by the private sector, which focuses on crops and technologies from which they stand to profit most from and which perpetuate climate-vulnerable and GHG-intensive industrial, input-dependent agriculture, rather than solutions for the challenges facing developing country farmers.
5. Building supportive international policy frameworks
A range of international institutions can make positive contributions by supporting and enabling the adoption of climate-resilient, ecological agriculture, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the CGIAR centres, the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. These institutions should support the range of efforts to be undertaken at national and regional levels described above, and cooperate and coordinate efforts to mobilize necessary resources at the international level.
The world needs climate-resilient agriculture.
Agricultural adaptation and food security in a changing climate will provide the world with a Red Queen challenge – it will take all the running we can do just to keep in the same place, just to continue to produce the same amount of food as we do currently.
Prioritizing agricultural adaptation and the link to food security then must be paramount. This necessary emphasis should be explicitly reflected in the UNFCCC approach to and work on adaptation, both within the context of the recently established Adaptation Framework and within consideration of the means needed for implementation: financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building.
Clearly, ecological agriculture is and should be central to agricultural adaptation. Ecological agriculture is climate resilient, and the benefits to farmers in developing countries in particular would be manifold. Concerted effort is therefore needed to facilitate the transition to ecological agriculture. Anything less would put the lives and livelihoods of millions at risk.
Altieri, M.A. and P. Koohafkan (2008). Enduring farms: Climate change, smallholders and traditional farming communities. TWN Environment and Development Series 6. Third World Network, Penang.
Badgley, C., J. Moghtader, E. Quintero, E. Zakem, M.J. Chappell, K. Avil้s-Vแzquez, A. Samulon and I. Perfecto (2007). Organic agriculture and the global food supply. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 22: 86-108.
CBD (2009). Biodiversity, gender and climate change. Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal. http://www.cbd.int/climate/doc/biodiversity-gender-climate-change-en.pdf
De Schutter, O. (2008). Building resilience: A human rights framework for world food and nutrition security. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, to the UN General Assembly (A/HRC/9/23).
Edwards, S., Arefayne Asmelash, Hailu Araya and Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher (2009). The impact of compost use on crop yields in Tigray, Ethiopia, 2000-2006 inclusive. TWNEnvironment & Development Series 10. Third World Network, Penang.
Ensor, J. (2009). Biodiverse agriculture for a changing climate. Practical Action, UK.
Hoffmann, U (2011). Assuring food security in developing countries under the challenges of climate change: Key trade and development issues of a fundamental transformation of agriculture. UNCTAD Discussion Paper No. 201. UNCTAD, Geneva.
IAASTD (2009). Agriculture at a Crossroads. International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development. Island Press, Washington DC. www.agassessment.org
Jones, P.G. and P.K. Thornton (2008). Croppers to livestock keepers: livelihood transitions to 2050 in Africa due to climate change. Environmental Science & Policy doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2008.08.006
Lim L.C. (2009). Is ecological agriculture productive? TWN Briefing Paper no. 52. Third World Network, Penang.
Magdoff, F. (1998). Building soils for better crops. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.
Niggli, U. et al. (2009). Low greenhouse gas agriculture: Mitigation and adaptation potential of sustainable farming systems. April 2009, Rev. 2 – 2009. FAO, Rome.
Pretty, J. (2006). Agroecological approaches to agricultural development. Background paper for the World Development Report 2008.
Tirado, R. and J. Cotter (2010). Ecological farming: drought-resistant agriculture. Exeter, UK: Greenpeace Research Laboratories.
Vandermeer, J., G. Smith, I. Perfecto and E. Quintero, E (2009). Effects of industrial agriculture on global warming and the potential of small-scale agroecological techniques to reverse those effects. The New World Agriculture and Ecology Group, Ann Arbor.
World Bank (2008). World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. World Bank, Washington, DC.
[1]The IAASTD is a comprehensive assessment of agriculture and was co-sponsored by the World Bank, FAO, UNEP, UNDP, WHO, UNESCO and GEF. Its reports, which drew on the work of over 400 experts, were approved by 58 governments in 2008.
[2]http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/fst30years/yields
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November 29th, 2011 | Category: Ecological Agriculture & Food Security


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Orit Schwartz
Clinical Instructor, Rehabilitation Sciences
Participation Among People with Disabilities
Community-Based Participatory Research
oschwa2@uic.edu
1919 W. Taylor St., AHs 560-C AHSB
Orit Schwartz MS OTR/L is a clinical instructor in the undergraduate Rehabilitation Sciences program. Orit is interested in community-based services and participatory approaches to educational and clinical work. Orit began her career as an adult educator with a focus on adult and family literacy. She taught, developed programs and trained literacy educators at the Howard Area Community Center and other Chicago based CBOs. After becoming an occupational therapist, Orit continued working with children and families in the Chicago Public Schools and through the early intervention system. Most recently, Orit has been an early intervention provider in the Child and Family Development Center at UIC.
Orit received an MA in Adult Education from National Luis University, where she later taught courses as an adjunct instructor, and an MS in Occupational Therapy from UIC. Orit has taught in the undergraduate rehabilitation sciences program since January 2017.
Orit is working with the Hyde Park Refugee Project, a local community group dedicated to the resettlement of refugee families in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. Over the last 18 months, this volunteer-based organization provided intensive resettlement support to three refugee families.
MS, Occupational Therapy; University of Illinois at Chicago
MA, Adult Education; National Luis University
MA, Medieval History; Northwestern University
BA, History of Art, Tel Aviv University
BS in Rehabilitation Sciences
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Julia and I spent a cold November night at Rigg near Gretna, just over the border in Scotland, marvelling at this magnificent aerial ballet provided by thousands of starlings.
The video lasts about 7 minutes - we actually stood watching for nearly an hour - these are the highlights.
Make sure you watch the end when, within a few seconds, the whole flock descends into the wood to roost.
The video was shot on my Canon 60D with my Canon 100-400mm lens, mounted on a tripod.
I had to add music (Handel's 'Fireworks' music - quite apt I thought?) to drown out Julia's 'oohs and aahhs' on the camera's soundtrack!


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HomePosts tagged 'The Baby-Sitters Club'
Conversation-starters in the new Baby-Sitters Club series for parents and kids
July 12, 2020 July 12, 2020 katiefoss Media Literacy Activities	adaptation, media literacy, parenting, The Baby-Sitters Club
The Netflix Baby-Sitters Club adaptation is delightfully engaging in such a way that parents and tweens can watch it together. And they should. The 10 episodes of season one are more than just a nostalgic nod. This adaption truly brings Ann M. Martin's series to life, infusing the 1980s stories with contemporary characters and a surprising array of complex issues. Prosocial without the cheese, this show presents a number of topics that emerge naturally in the narrative. From a parenting perspective, these moments are great segues into discussions about (sometimes difficult) topics. Hopefully, you've had a chance to watch the series. Otherwise, spoilers ahead.
BSC Conversation Starters: Overarching Themes
Entrepreneurship and Innovation. An easy one since the whole premise is a 13 year-old's business idea, plan, and implementation. You can discuss why the BSC ultimately succeeds, while the Baby-Sitters Agency does not. Ask your kids what kind of business they would like to have. What would it take to carry out the business (i.e. cost, supplies, people involved, marketing, etc.)? Is it feasible right now? Or in a few years? You could also read more about successful kid entrepreneurs.
Friendship. What are the characteristics of a good friend? How can you resolve a fight? We see several escalations smoothed out in the different episodes.
Adaptation. Fans of the books and graphic novels cannot resist discussing narrative and character adaptation in the series. What was kept the same? What was changed for TV? Why? In this conversation, you can talk the importance of diversity in representation and that subbing in different physical characteristics doesn't mean that the character isn't well-portrayed. Blue-eyed blonde Dawn in the books became a dark-haired Latina in the Netflix series — retaining and extending the traits of the original character. More broadly, you can discuss the process and challenge of adapting books into movies and TV shows (check out this post on adaptations).
BSC Conversation Starters: Episodic Themes
The Netflix adaptation doesn't shy away from difficult topics. In fact, it seamlessly integrates many issues in a non-threatening, stigmatizing way.
First Periods & Menstruation. Given the age group of the BSC, it makes sense that menstruation might come up. It's nice to see this natural part of growing up addressed, briefly in the pilot and then directly in "Kristy's Big Day" (adding a second meaning to the "big day").
Gender Identity. A topic that is so important, yet may be difficult to bring up out of the blue. "Mary Anne Saves the Day" by defending her babysitting charge, Bailey, insisting that the health professionals treating her use the correct pronouns. Not only does this moment highlight problems of trans-treatment and patient advocacy in health care, it also demonstrates the agency and empowerment of young people. Earlier in the episode, Dawn casually explains gender identity to Mary Anne in a non-judgmental, easy-to-understand manner. Their fictional conversation prompted a good real-life chat for my kids and me.
Internment of Japanese Americans. The forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II is often omitted in historical recaps of the era. In "Claudia and Mean Janine," Grandma Mimi's stroke leaves her painfully recalling memories of an internment camp as a child. This storyline naturally leads to a history lesson about what happened in the U.S. during WWII that isn't usually talked about.
Protesting Injustice. Dawn and Claudia lead a peaceful protest against the staff in the "Camp Moosehead" episodes about the inequality of camp activities. It's a relatable narrative that's easy to connect to bigger, real-life issues of injustice.
We shouldn't dismiss the value of enjoyable popular culture. Rather, we can use shows like The Baby-Sitters Club as a bridge to important discussions. Considering how hard to reach tweens and teens can be, it's helpful to have a ticket into these conversations.
Why We Need the Netflix Baby-Sitters Club Reboot (and Its Timeless Appeal)
May 29, 2020 June 11, 2020 katiefoss Media Literacy Activities	Book Series, Netflix, Reboot, Television, The Baby-Sitters Club
As an avid (well, obsessed) BSC fan in my youth, I was excited when Netflix announced its reboot of The Baby-Sitters Club, scheduled for early July this year. Three months later, as I am drowning in the stress of working and parenting in a pandemic, paired with my school-aged kids needing something to do, the timing of this release has never been better.
From my days reading the original titles in the '80s, Ann M. Martin's concept has evolved into multiple series of over 200 books, a TV show (1990), soundtrack (1992), feature film (1995), video game (1996) and 7 graphic novels (2006 — ), with six more scheduled to be released over the next few years. Why do these characters continue to translate across platforms and generations?
To me, The Baby-Sitters Club was much more than just a series. I enjoyed other books, but only in Ann M. Martin's world did I feel completely immersed. At one point, I even thought The Baby-Sitters Club actually existed. I dreamed about moving to Stoneybrook and joining Kristy and the gang, imagining which role I could take on in the club (snack-supplier? Poster maker?). My identification with these characters as I read, and reread (and reread) their stories helped me to escape my own reality, particularly when life became tough at home due to my parents' divorce and subsequent remarriage.
I suspect that new generations embrace the BSC for the same reasons I did from age 8–13. While the technology has definitely changed from Claudia's landline, the foundational themes of this series continue to be relevant. Most tween and adolescent readers can relate to making new friends, learning to be independent, dealing with a bully, living with a chronic condition, taking care of kids, dating, losing a grandparent, divorce, moving away, adjusting to camp, and the many other issues addressed in these stories.
The varying perspectives of the BSC also help to explain its longevity. Each book features a different central character as the narrator rotates among the seven club members, offering a variety of traits, fashions, and interests. As a reader, each character's perspective interested me for different reasons. I was most like Kristy personality-wise, found Stacey's diabetes and Mallory's big family to be intriguing, envied both Claudia's artsy style and Dawn's natural ways, wanted to learn sign language like Jessi, and admired Mary-Anne's journey toward independence. With so many characters, it's easy to identify with one, even across generations.
Netflix couldn't have planned for better timing. My 40-something age-group desperately needs a taste of comforting nostalgia that can be shared with our kids right now. Thankfully, they are well-acquainted with the BSC characters, thanks to the graphic novels — a genius marketing crossover that refreshed the series. As with Fuller House, it will be nice to step into another familiar narrative that I can view with my girls, allowing us to escape into (what appears to be) a 1990ish-type relatively carefree teen TV world. Unlike our current reality, the BSC is always predictable and optimistic — a perfect show for a pandemic. Plus, I still dream about its existence, especially as I work from home without childcare.


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How our stack evolved - Frame.io
Geoffrey Keating on December 9th 2019
If there's one thing we've learned over the last half-decade, it's that companies obsess over building their tech stack and picking the right analytics and growth tools. Should we use Amplitude or Mixpanel? Should we use Redshift or BigQuery? All tool categories will have hundreds of players whose feature sets will allow you to accomplish 95% of your use cases with ease.
We've now seen 15,000+ stack evolutions over 6+ years and we've learned one thing. It's not about picking the perfect tool. It's ALL about being in a position to quickly adapt your stack to changing business needs and the ever-changing martech ecosystem.
Over the next few months, we're bringing you a series of real-life stories from those who have seen their stacks evolve in extraordinary ways. You'll get a behind the scenes look into the growth of companies like Datadog, Pagerduty, and Gusto, as they share the how and why behind some of their key technology decisions.
This week, we talked to Frame.io's VP of Growth & Analytics, Kyle Gesuelli. Founded in New York City in 2015, the video collaboration software company has grown to 120,000 monthly self-service and enterprise users. Their stack has seen similar growth. Since joining in 2017, Kyle has scaled its tech stack from a handful of tools to well over 100.
Fresh off their Series C announcement, Kyle sat down with us for a wide-ranging chat on:
The inflection points in their business that drives the adoption of new software
How he keeps so many different tools in sync
Why focused, point solutions beat all in one software
What he looks for in new technology
Dive into the interview below.
How Frame's stack evolved
Geoffrey: Kyle! Thanks for joining us. When you arrived at Frame, how did you determine the health of your tech stack?
Kyle: I arrived at Frame in 2017, when we were about 17 people. Back then, there was no one on the marketing team. There was no one on the data team. It was just a few engineers, designers, and customer support.
As a result, our tech stack was pretty simple. We had probably 300,000 registered users and 30,000 monthly active users, but really, Mixpanel, Amplitude, and Intercom and a few other tools were all we needed.
Frame.io's stack in 2017
Geoffrey: What was the first change you made, and why?
Kyle: When you come in as the first growth hire, your ability to build new experiences is pretty limited until you hire a team. You can only focus on the areas that you can control, areas like communications, both in the product, outside of the product, whether that be email, retargeting, advertising, that sort of thing. It's more about bolstering existing areas as opposed to diving into new ones.
Firstly, someone gave us the smart idea to install Segment. I think it's probably because we share Accel as an investor! We started pretty simple; it was implemented client-side on a few core events. At that stage, we certainly weren't tracking everything across Frame.io.
The second thing I did was help implement Autopilot for more robust journeying capabilities. Our previous tool, Intercom, was great for customer support and in-app messaging, but we found it less useful for communicating things like product launches. I wanted to be able to create richer email content that aligned with our brand, which is very visual and design-heavy, that I couldn't do in Intercom.
I also added Clearbit Enrichment to get a better sense of who our customers were, what their job titles were, etc. Then I connected all of the ad platforms – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – so that we could use the key events we were logging in Segment as conversion values. This would tell the ad platforms that customers in these campaigns were doing X, Y, and Z and go find more customers who would exhibit the same behaviors.
Geoffrey: What have been the most significant changes in your stack to date?
Kyle: I think as we've grown, we've seen a growing trend towards specialization, which has affected the makeup of our tech stack. As we've grown, we require tools that go deeper than the ones we already have, which then drives the adoption of new tools.
For example, we loved Intercom for support and documentation but wanted to connect our sales team with live visitors so adopted Drift. We liked Drift, but we needed a way to enrich anonymous IP addresses, so we adopted Clearbit Reveal.
Yes, there's probably one product that could do all of this, but not in the depth or sophistication that we need for a business of our size.
Where Segment is really valuable is that it helps us discover and connect with all of these great point solutions.
For example, when we needed a tool to capture net promoter score, our first step was to look in the Segment catalog, and see what tools are available there. What's going to be the easiest thing to quickly turn on in one click. It was in the catalog that we found Promoter.io, which wasn't a standard source in the Segment catalog, but that you could set up easily via an HTTP source.
Geoffrey: With so many different tools and so many different data sources, does it become hard to keep track of all of these tools at once?
Kyle: When we bought Segment Personas, that changed things significantly for us. One of the issues of having Segment connected to a lot of marketing tools, in particular, CRMs, is that event properties get sent as user traits.
This becomes hard when you're tracking as much data as we are. I'd guess we're in the top 1% of Segment customers in terms of just how much data we're logging. It's probably unusual for a company of our size, but we log everything, even every button click. We have about 700 different events that we log, each of which has its own set of unique properties.
Personas enabled us to craft traits about our users and then send those cleaned traits out to all the tools so that they're all in sync. That got ratcheted up even further when Personas released SQL traits. That was the holy grail for me. I can now crunch statistics or traits about users from not only the data that Segment collects on them but from our own database of transactional data.
So I write queries in Segment, in Personas, I connect Segment data and transactional data to get these traits that I want. And then I federate those traits out to all of the tools that need them.
So if I want to know if a user is associated with an enterprise plan and Frame.io, I can craft that trait on my transactional data, understanding all the relationships a user has with multiple accounts. It will then give a true/ false answer as to whether they are associated with an enterprise account.
Then I can send that data out to Intercom and Salesforce and Autopilot and Facebook, and I'll be able to tailor communications and other experiences accordingly.
Geoffrey: I feel like businesses are often sucked in by the latest and greatest marketing technology, and will just rip and replace older tools as opposed to iterating on what they currently have. How do you approach new technology at Frame?
Kyle: I don't think we've ripped out anything just yet. I think we're coming to that point today where our scale begets a change. Maybe you're getting too big for a certain system or that company the company might have changed its pricing, and it just doesn't make sense to use them moving forward.
But in general, our technology has all been additive, to supplement our existing technology with new functionality. For example, even though we use Intercom, we also brought Appcues in a few months ago. Appcues can do NPS, product tours, and in-app messaging. I'd probably spend twice as much as I need to on all of that if I tried to consolidate all of that into one tool. I think we'll end up gradually move towards consolidation, but we're not necessarily at that scale yet.
The endless debate - all-in-one consolidation vs. best of breed
Geoffrey: Most marketing technology platforms fall into one of two categories. They're either point solutions that specialize in solving a deep, defined subset of challenges. Or suites that offer multiple tools and and solve the "tool overload" challenge facing many marketing organizations. Do you prefer best of breed solutions or consolidation?
Kyle: It is a case by case basis. I would love to consolidate, but sometimes these all in one tools will get you 90% of the way there, but then fail at that last 10%. For example, Intercom has certain features of Drift, and Drift, has certain features of Intercom, but they don't necessarily do 100% of what the other one does. That's why we have two, and we will continue to add more and more as time comes about.
In general, we're big fans of point solutions that specialize in a specific area. For example, the impetus for Appcues was that we had spent four months building our homegrown product tour and realized we needed to be able to quickly iterate without lots of hardcore development work. That's just not a good use of our time.
And so we'll look for that point solution, but in discovering the point solution and trying to bring it on board, we'll say "Oh, maybe there's an opportunity for consolidation here". It very much depends. We're now a five-year-old company, with over 100 pieces of software used across the entire business. Segment is connected to 20 plus alone.
Stack changes are correlated with specialization
Geoffrey: Wow, so it sounds like you've moved from a tech stack of just a few tools to one of hundreds. I'm interested in whether there were key inflection points that caused you to adopt new tools? Product launches, new hires?
Kyle: I think scale and specialization allows for more advanced tools to be introduced. When a company is small, with limited resources, they'll typically purchase more user-friendly, approachable tools that the product team can get into and understand easily (Intercom, Mailchimp, Amplitude, etc.). As the company scales and gets more sophisticated, more complex and powerful tools are introduced (Salesforce Marketing Cloud, AutoPilot, Looker).
For example, we recently moved off Amplitude. It was an incredible tool for lightweight analytics, where you didn't manipulate the underlying data. It was simple and out of the box – perfect for smaller companies. But when you start to build up more and more tracking in your platform, you really need the ability to manipulate the underlying data, so we replaced Amplitude with Looker two years ago.
So there's a variety of reasons why a tool needs to change, but ultimately it boils down to three.
You've scaled past it in terms of many users it can hold in a functioning way, and it can't handle the volume of data and usage that you're throwing at it.
You've moved past it from a sophistication level. It was simple enough back in the day, but now that you have just more nuance, more complexity, you need something that can handle that complexity.
You're starting to focus on new areas, and your existing tools only do so much.
The final thing I'll add is that you have to find tools that help you pull those all together. Fortunately, Segment is an incredible pipeline for us as well as a core analytics and tracking tool. Over the years, as we've brought on more and more tools, we bring a lot of data from these other sources into our warehouse via Segment.
So Intercom is sending us conversation data back into our warehouse via Segment. Stripe, the same thing. Salesforce, the same thing. Segment is the connective tissue of our tech stack.
How Frame.io invest and experiment with new technology
Geoffrey: Are there any key criteria you look at when you're evaluating a new technology? Is it cost, interoperability, scalability, all of the above?
Kyle: First and foremost, we ask ourselves: "What would it take for us to build this?".
At the scale of the company is at right now – we're 115 people – it usually doesn't make sense to devote our resources to building our own solution or hiring a new engineer to build it. I'd rather buy a tool that doesn't need a one-on-one every week than hire a person that does.
I have 10 direct reports, and can't add more. So first and foremost, I need a tool that can do the job of a human, but that doesn't require the same level of oversight.
The second is cost. Is the cost of that tool not outlandish? There's a level at which you care about price and a level that you don't, which you don't. If a tool is in the < $20,000 a year range, cost doesn't really too much in our decision making. It's when you get to $20-50,000 a year, you start putting this tool in the context of your existing stack, and wondering whether it can become a consolidation or replacement for other tools.
Then if you're talking >$80,000 a year, you have to do your due diligence and consider what the alternatives are and what the real value you're getting out of it is.
But often you're moving so fast that you just need to get the thing done. By spending more of your team's time evaluating the tools, you're wasting more resources than just buying the tool.
Geoffrey: What are some of the new technologies you've experimented with recently and have found most valuable?
Kyle: Well, the good thing is, between Segment and Zapier, almost anything is possible, especially for someone who doesn't write Python.
But beyond that, I like to experiment with technologies and use cases that I can't do. So that could be adopting a new customer interface that I can't recreate without an engineer, like Appcues. Or it's a technology that I can't recreate. One of the things we're really hot on right now is Clearbit X because they have some crazy matching technology in their backend that gets me a 50% match rate on B2B email addresses in my social tools.
I just can't do that. That is a unique capability of the five years of work Clearbit put into that company. I'm not going to be able to recreate it.
So I would say my unique superpower is understanding how to take data from different contexts and using software to stitch it together to create an experience for a user.
Geoffrey: As we wrap up 2019 and look ahead to the new year, what new technologies are you eyeing for the future?
Kyle: Right now we're looking for a better data pipeline. We're collecting so much data from Segment, that we need a tool that ensures accessibility and real-time data for all parts of our customer communications, as well as in our analytics.
The second is that we are shifting heavily to becoming enterprise-grade software. With that comes a need for account-based marketing, prospecting, and coordination of relationships with companies to sales team members that own those relationships.
This means making sure there are named accounts in Salesforce, which is connected to Drift, which is connected to Segment Personas. This ensures we have a 360-degree view of the named accounts we're going after and all the accounts that we have in the opportunity stage to sell to.
What's most exciting is that we have found tools that go beyond the company. Instead of account-based marketing, it's actually person based marketing at those accounts. So we use a tool called Influ2, which does person-based marketing. Monitor and control who sees and clicks your ads, by name, which helps us be super focused on enterprise decision-makers. So if I'm targeting somebody from Target, my ad can be to that specific person at Target and the creative will include something about Target.
Then I'm getting data back into Salesforce or in back into my database about when that company hit, or when that person saw 5, 10, 50 impressions or when they clicked one, two or three times. Then I'm connecting that Outreach.io sequences. So once I get enough impressions or engagement, I'm then starting a drip-email campaign, then I'm changing the onsite experiences based on all the impressions that we've gotten from that company and the likes. So rather than going for a broad solution, we're rolling our own, based on a bunch of different tools.


This task consists of turning on this capability for a specific BSP family. A BSP family is the collection of BSPs under a single directory such as bsps/CPU/BSP_FAMILY. The make/custom directory has a BSP.cfg file for each BSP which may be built. If the BSP Family supports multiple BSP variants, the BSP.cfg files may include either a shared ".inc" file or a base ".cfg" file with common settings.
All BSPS for the SPARC architecture support this advanced capability. For an example, see the file bsps/sparc/erc32/make/custom/erc32.cfg. Note the following lines at the bottom of the file which turn on the advanced capabilities.
macro to such sections. See for example bsps/sparc/shared/startup/linkcmds.base which has already been tailored. Each BSP will have a linkcmds file which may or may not include a shared base file.
Build a toolset for the CPU architecture per the instruction in the Hello World task. You likely did this for sparc/sis. In that case, sparc was the CPU and sis was the BSP.
Be prepared to generate a proper patch for your changes.
Edit one or more linkcmds files located within either bsps/CPU/BSP/startup/ or bsps/CPU/shared/startup to add the KEEP directives.


Until late 1990 only DoorDarshan was the only channel in India with regional feed for different states in India. No private/transnational channel was allowed to invest in the satellite television Industry.
Come 1991, CNN(Cable News Network) and STAR(Satellite Television Asia Region) entered the foray to down-link their channels in India followed by domestic players like ZEE and Sun TV thanks to the Liberation of the economy by the Government of India in 1991.
The market exploded in 1995 when the Supreme Court of India passed the rule that government had no exclusive rights on TV airwaves by stating "The airwaves as a public good" opening the market for even smaller business houses who wanted to make fortunes in the broadcasting industry.
Then….. Seem to be interested. Go ahead and download the eBook titled – "25 years of Privatization in Indian Television" by subscribing through your email ID.


text:
Neighbourhood Centre prepares to deliver Christmas cheer
December 9, 2015 Andrew Hudson
Lisa's smile grows when she remembers how Neighbourhood Centre made her Christmas last year.
For over 30 years, volunteers at the community centre near Main Street and Danforth Avenue have bought, wrapped, and delivered free turkey dinners and Christmas gifts to families in need.
A single mother with a son and baby daughter, Lisa received one of the holiday hampers last year (She prefers to remain anonymous – 'Lisa' is a nickname).
The couple who donated it came to her door.
"I was so happy, and to get winter boots!" she said, talking about the snow boots that came for her growing son. "They don't know the depth of how they're affecting people's lives, on a positive note."
Last Christmas, Neighbourhood Centre's holiday hampers program served more than 80 families with 167 children in the Taylor-Massey, Lumsden, Crescent Town and Oakridge neighbourhoods, said Rejwan Karim, the centre's interim executive director. This year, the goal has been raised to 100 families.
"At the beginning it looks crazy here – lots of boxes ready to go out, lots of volunteers," said Karim.
But after many years' experience, he said volunteers divide all the wrapping and deliveries into stages, which this year will run from Dec. 14 to delivery day on Dec. 18.
"People are so thankful, so delighted to receive the boxes," said Karim, who does deliveries himself. "That's a great feeling."
Local families are nominated for the holiday hampers either by the principal at one of four elementary schools, or by the director of a local women's shelter.
Families are then asked to submit a three-item Christmas wish list. Looking at last year's wishes, Karim said they ranged from household items such as coffee makers and space heaters to children's gifts that included toys, video games, cosmetics and winter boots. The centre budgets $450 for a family of four, $150 for a single person.
Two-thirds of the families on this year's list are newcomers, and nearly half are single-parent households, like Lisa's.
Karim can remember the look on Lisa's face last Christmas, even though he wasn't at her door when her gifts and Christmas dinner were delivered. That's because as a regular helper with the Centre's seniors' breakfast and crafts programs, Lisa came in to thank her fellow volunteers.
Long before last year's Christmas gifts, Lisa said Neighbourhood Centre has greatly enriched her life.
Many of the seniors who join the centre's breakfast program live in her Toronto Community Housing building, she said, and they often stop to say hello to her son, or offer her friendly pieces of wisdom.
"Whether I ask or not, they volunteer it," she said, laughing.
Besides the staff and volunteers who run the centre's many programs, Lisa said the participants themselves are a big reason why she is grateful to have Neighbourhood Centre close by.
"Everybody is important in making this work," she said.
To donate, shop for a wish list, or volunteer for Neighbourhood Centre's holiday hampers program, call Helena Frank at 416-698-1626 ext. 204 or email holidayhampers@neighourhoodcentre.org.
Suspicious man reported at children's event
Record runner roster at Tannenbaum 10 k


A category that one would think needs no introduction – after all, Valentine's Day and chocolates go hand in hand, right? Right. But it's still easy enough to get wrong, as chocolate is an insanely personal preference. Your love might be mad keen on champagne truffles but can't stand the sight of a liqueur-laden sweet treat. If you're not quite sure and you don't want to make any stupid mistakes that might jeopardise the future, our suggestion would be to keep things simple and speak from the heart. And speaking of hearts… oh yes we did. Beautiful, simple, delicious and pure, our Belgian chocolate hearts can be colour-themed to please the most discerning of chocolate-heart-colour-theming-purists, of which a few do exist, and perhaps the love of your life is one of them. And for a bit of extra Valentine's Day sass, throw in a few chocolate lips too. Message received, loud and clear!


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text:
Dorcas Cox
Dorcas' experience
"I feel like a changed woman and I'm now ready to take on new challenges".
I cannot thank Chwarae Teg enough for all of the support I received; I feel like a changed woman and I'm now ready to take on new challenges.
My increased confidence has made it easier to deal with work challenges, notably time management and effective prioritising but it has also helped me with my activities out of work, including my role with Girl Guiding and being a Church Warden.
I still have a few more years before I think about retiring and because time is flying by I am looking at doing different things and won't be afraid to ask questions.
Before taking part in the programme I imagine that I would have just retired and not really thought about my personal development at all, so it's really opened new horizons for me.
Why the Women's Programme?
Dorcas is a legal secretary and has been employed by The Gwyn George Partnership for 13 years.
Despite being happy in her job, Dorcas regularly felt overwhelmed by the conflicting demands on her time as the firm grew. She struggled with prioritising her workload, which, in turn, hampered her confidence.
Her biggest challenge was managing time given that her range of responsibilities included supporting ten lawyers, fielding calls and managing the day-to-day running of the office.
Initially apprehensive about joining the programme, feeling she was "too old" to do it, after some friendly encouragement and advice she made the decision to join in.
Following the programme Dorcas was nominated and subsequently awarded Learner of the Year in Merthyr Tydfil, an achievement she would never have thought possible before being challenged.
How we helped.
Dorcas found the programme extremely beneficial, particularly meeting other people at the workshops who were experiencing similar situations as her. By embracing the programme, she has been rewarded with increased confidence and assertiveness; attributes she now uses in her everyday life.
The programme enhanced her communication and leadership skills, enabling her to make more positive contributions in meetings and realise that she can add value to the way the business operates.
She hopes this change in her will have an inspirational and lasting impact on her colleagues when the time to retire arrives.
Get in touch with our team on 0300 365 0445, and they will guide you through the application process.
Or by email: an2@chwaraeteg.com.
Or apply online: http://www.agilenation2.org.uk/for-women/apply/
Petra French Dorcas Cox Lauren Hayes Mica Allwood Tamara Herne Sam Kinson
© 2019. Website produced by Team Chwarae Teg. Visit the Chwarae Teg website.


Cover letter example for a Legal Secretary job in the UK. You should amend this covering letter sample before using it for job applications.
Office job vacancies including Legal Secretary positions can be found on the main job sites online including reed, cv library, reed etc.
I write in application for the Legal Secretary position as recently advertised on Learnist.org.
My 6 years of administrative experience, highly organised but friendly personality, and approachable nature makes my an ideal candidate for the vacancy.
I already possess all of the skills identified in the job description and believe that after a brief introduction in the legal aspect of the role I would be an invaluable member of the team. I am keen to continue to develop myself and think that your company could offer an exciting new challenge for me.
I have enclosed a copy of my current CV and trust this provides you with all the information you require. I am available for an interview at any time and would be delighted to hear from you to arrange such or to discuss my experience and how I could be of value to your company.
Good luck with your job hunting and let us know if this letter is good enough for you.


Case-wrapped polypropylene is the ideal protective binder cover!
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text:
package org.ektorp;

import java.util.*;

import org.ektorp.http.*;

/**
 *
 * @author henrik lundgren
 *
 */
public interface CouchDbInstance {
	/**
	 *
	 * @return the names of all databases residing in this instance.
	 */
	List<String> getAllDatabases();

	/**
	 *
	 * @param db
	 * @return true if the database exists.
	 */
	boolean checkIfDbExists(DbPath db);
	boolean checkIfDbExists(String path);

	void createDatabase(DbPath path);
	void createDatabase(String path);
	boolean createDatabaseIfNotExists(DbPath path);
	boolean createDatabaseIfNotExists(String path);

	void deleteDatabase(String path);
	/**
	 *
	 * @param path
	 * @param createIfNotExists
	 * @return
	 */
	CouchDbConnector createConnector(String path, boolean createIfNotExists);

    /**
     * Returns the Couch _replicator database
     * @return CouchDbConnector a connector to the replicator database
     */
    CouchDbConnector getReplicatorConnector();

	/**
	 * Convenience method for accessing the underlying HttpClient.
	 * Preferably used wrapped in a org.ektorp.http.RestTemplate.
	 * @return
	 */
	HttpClient getConnection();

	ReplicationStatus replicate(ReplicationCommand cmd);

    /**
     * Get the full configuration of this instance
     * @param c the type to return the configuration in (Map, JsonNode, POJO)
     * @return
     */
    <T> T getConfiguration(final Class<T> c);

    /**
     * Get the configuration of this instance within the specified section
     * @param c the type to return the configuration in (Map, JsonNode, POJO)
     * @param section
     * @return
     */
    <T> T getConfiguration(final Class<T> c, String section);

    /**
     * Get the configuration of this instance for this specific section and key
     *
     * @param c the type to return the configuration in (Map, JsonNode, POJO)
     * @param section
     * @param key
     * @return
     */
    <T> T getConfiguration(final Class<T> c, String section, String key);

    /**
     * Convenience method to get specific configuration item
     * @param section
     * @param key
     * @return the configuration value for the specified key in the specified section
     */
    String getConfiguration(String section, String key);

    /**
     * Update the configuration key in the specified section with the specified value
     * @param section
     * @param key
     * @param value the value to set (all config values are Strings in CouchDB)
     * @return the previous value for this key
     */
    String setConfiguration(String section, String key, String value);

    /**
     * Delete the configuration key in the specified section
     * @param section
     * @param key
     * @return the previous value for this key
     */
    String deleteConfiguration(String section, String key);

    /**
     * @return all active tasks
     */
    Collection<ActiveTask> getActiveTasks();
}


Morne Stars Athletics Club- Yet another member of Morne Stars Athletics Club is off to the United States on an athletics scholarship for the new academic year. Twenty year-old sprinter Allana Paul is now on a full athletics scholarship from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. The multiple national champion will be pursuing a four-year degree programme in Kinesiology at her new school.
A member of four-time National Club Relay Champions, Morne Stars Athletics Club, where she was coached by Michael Peterkin and Dane Magloire, Allana was also a 200m silver medallist at the 2017 Meeting de la Cigogne in Martinique, adding to her national junior title in the 100m and 400m, and Independence Games gold in the 200m.


An automobile axle is connected to a frame by a suspension, and wheels are installed at both ends. The function of the axle is to bear the load of the car and maintain the normal running of the car on the road.
According to the different driving mode, the vehicle axle can be divided into four types: steering axle, drive axle, steering drive axle and support axle. Among them, steering axle and support axle belong to driven bridge. Most cars use front rear drive (FR), so the front axle ACTS as the steering axle and the rear axle ACTS as the drive axle. As for the cars use front front-drive (FF), the front axle is the steering drive axle and the rear axle is the support axle.


Many companies and expats alike consider moving to Ireland every year, in part thanks to impressive low tax rates and the European culture. Moving to Ireland calls for more than just these considerations, however, and ExpatFinder can help you in finding the best moving companies with the best rates.
Aptly called Emerald Isle for its green pastureland, Ireland is now considered, both and figuratively, as greener pastures for many expatriates looking for their niche in Europe.
Ireland's astoundingly beautiful landscape is a nature's gift to its people. Impressive limestone formations dot the Irish countryside, giving it an air of enchanting mystery. These breathtaking sights span an area of 70,280 square kilometres, making Ireland Europe's third largest country.
Coastline mountains surround the plains of Ireland. The highest peak of which is Carrauntoohil, a mountain that rises to an elevation of 3,406 feet above sea level. Most of Ireland's Western areas are made up of mountainous and rocky green plains.
Ireland owes its many shades of green to the country's mild oceanic climate. The country gets frequent rainfall and days of warm sunshine but is spared from the very extreme weather. The precipitation remains tolerably light throughout the year.
The country's inner towns are warmer in the summer and colder in the winter, and experiences around 40 days of below-freezing temperature annually. The months of May to September bring the best weather for an Irish sightseeing trip.
Ireland's lush surroundings show how agriculture greatly contributes to the country's income. However, recent economic changes shifted the focus to services and high-tech industries.
The country has a GDP of around 117 billion USD, making it one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. Ireland also tops the list of a study by The Economist for having the highest quality of life. The low Irish corporate taxes, currently at 12.5%, have attracted more businesses to set up camp in the Emerald Isle.
However, recent financial challenges have also affected the Irish economy, and the country is still trying to bounce back from the economic slump.
Ireland has a population of about 6.2 million. A significant 73% of the population are Roman Catholics, and the remaining numbers are mostly Protestants. With the promising economic growth experienced by Ireland in the 20th century, the country has become one favourite immigrant destination in Europe.
Around 150,000 of the foreigners in Ireland are made up of Polish citizens, and a considerable number of expatriates also come from European neighbours like Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Latvia.
Also known as Eire, The Republic of Ireland is a country located in the west of Great Britain known for its vast farmlands, majestic mountain ranges and picturesque towns where history and modernisation blend perfectly. However, Ireland is more than just a pretty face. With its membership to the European Union, it became a magnet for foreign investors and expats from all parts of the globe.
Despite the drastic effect of the Global Financial Crises that hit Ireland in 2007 to 2008, the country managed to recover with the help of several multinational companies that brought a huge number of American and British workers that helped push the local economy to growth. Today, expats from various nationalities are finding prosperous employment in Ireland especially in the banking, finance, IT and telecommunications sectors. This Celtic Tiger serves as the home of over 4.7 million people who are enjoying an excellent quality of life, beautiful sceneries and high standard of health care.
Most Irish families own houses, but expats who are only in the country for a temporary work assignment can opt to rent. As with any popular destinations abroad, finding accommodation in Ireland can be quite tight especially in the months of September and October because of the students looking for rentals near universities. Expats should begin searching from their home country by browsing through housing websites for Ireland where they can get some idea of how much to prepare and where to start looking. Those who want an easier way to find a home can hire real estate agents instead but must be ready to pay their service.
Before you bring the luggage out and start throwing in your entire house into it, make a list of the essentials you can't live without.
For a move to Ireland, you may want to pack a considerable amount of rain gear. Irish weather, though mostly pleasant, is also riddled with more drizzles than what you're probably used to.
An umbrella, a couple of light weatherproof jackets, and a bunch of clothes you can layer on and take off as necessary would be your wardrobe must-haves in Ireland. Rain boots would complete your 'battle gear' for Ireland's rainy climate.
Another common piece of advice is to bring a good converter for your gadgets. The voltage used in Ireland is 220V AC at 5Hz. Others suggest bringing a good stock of your comfort food that may only be available in your home country.
In any case, relocating to Ireland should be a breeze, as there are removal companies that could help you with overseas shipping.
Removals to Ireland shouldn't be too complicated. But of course, an awareness of customs regulations would help.
Guns, explosives, or ammunitions of any kind are strictly not allowed to be brought to Ireland. The same rule applies to agricultural products such as plants. Meat products and other fresh foods are also prohibited at the Irish airport. Even a common herb called St. John's Wort is not allowed to be brought in to the country.
Movers in Ireland would be able to advise you further on what you are not allowed to bring into the Emerald Isle.
Despite the hit of the 2008-2009 financial crises, Ireland remained a strong nation that stood firm in the face of adversity. Ireland continues to prove the world that its untarnished picturesque beauty and unwavering determination are some of the reasons why it has always been a hotspot for expats.
Ireland's total number of inhabitants as of 2016 is 4.7million making it one of the smallest countries in the European Union when it comes to population. The low number of residents is one of the major luring forces that drive foreign nationals in Ireland because there is no problem of overcrowding which is common among leading destinations abroad. Aside from securing a job and a home, here are some other factors that every expats must know after deciding to move to Ireland.
Ireland's climate is strongly influenced by its location near the Atlantic Ocean. It is rare for people to feel too much heat because the average daily temperature is only 50⁰ F. The country is always visited by the North Atlantic Current, a soothing ocean breeze that keeps the temperature moderate and constant rainfall that ranges from mist to mild showers.
Ireland has four seasons: springtime which occurs in the months of February to April, summers from May until July where the hottest temperature that expats will experience is 68⁰F, autumn from August till October then followed by winter which usually starts in January and ends in February.
Expats are advised to bring clothes that can adapt to the country's different types of weather. Instead of bringing winter clothes made of thick fur, they can opt for different kinds of garments that can be layered on top of each other. Sweaters and shawls are a must have as well as waterproof or rain gears to protect them during the wet days.
Authentic Irish cuisine has strong local and English influences. Historically speaking, the staples of an authentic Irish diet are grains such as oats as well as wheat and barley that are either prepared as bread or porridge. When potatoes arrived in the 16th century, it profoundly influenced the local cuisine and had been part of almost every dish such as soups. Nowadays, Irish stews, bacon and cabbage are the three national foods of the country. It is on the menu of every Irish restaurant and is served by locals whether in a simple gathering or a huge festival.
Eating out in restaurant has become a bit costly in Ireland recently but there are some establishments that are just simply irresistible such as the Fishy Fishy in Cork that serves fresh seafoods and Freddy's Bistro which is ranked as one of the top restaurants in Ireland. Expats who want to taste authentic Irish dishes or drinks, can go to the pubs which are part of the Irish tradition and culture. Keep in mind that in this country, pubs are different from bars and its one of the places where the Irish love to socialise with their friends or just enjoy a meal with their family.
There are lots of exciting activities to do in Ireland and regardless of one's idea of fun; the country has all sorts of ways to people from getting bored. Expats who want to travel back in time can visit the country's magnificent castles that serve as the silent witnesses of the Irish history. Outdoor lovers, on the other hand, can go to Killarney National Park in Kerry where the luscious green forests, lakes and streams will make them feel in awe of Mother Nature's beauty. There is also the district of Connemara in western Ireland which is famous for locals and expats who love hiking, camping and fishing with their family.
Expats who love party should not miss going to Dublin, the country's centre of nightlife. The whole city is famous not just to locals but all over the world and is one of the hottest destinations for young tourists visiting Ireland. One establishment that expats must visit during their free time is the Temple Bar, an iconic venue that serves authentic Irish beer and mouth-watering dishes at a reasonable price.


Enjoy a lifestyle of convenience with this larger style 2 bedroom unit in a refurbished block, Situated right behind Westfield in a central location .It offers spacious living areas and large balcony with good outlook.
- New carpet and freshly painted.
- Spacious L-shape lounge/dining open to wraparound balcony.
Extremely well priced so will go quickly!