NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and Newbery Honor winning author Jennifer Holm teams up with Matthew Holm to bring you a fully illustrated graphic novel series packed with humor and kid appeal--BABYMOUSE! With multiple Children's Choice awards and over 1.7 million books in print, kids, parents, and... read more teachers agree that Babymouse is perfect for fans of Junie B. Jones, Ivy and Bean, Big Nate, Dork Diaries, and the Ramona chapter books!For Babymouse, school is a constant battle between good (Babymouse), evil (Felicia Furrpaws), and more evil (gym class!). Can things get any worse? Yup. Because it's time for the annual dodgeball tournament. What's a mouse to do? Don't miss the excitement in Our Hero--the 2nd hilarious, action-packed installment of the beloved Babymouse graphic novel series!Here's what people are saying about Babymouse! The Chicago Sun-Times: "Move over, Superman, here comes Babymouse!" Starred Review, The Horn Book: "Nobody puts Babymouse in the corner!" Booklist: "Cute, smart, sassy Babymouse is fun and funny, and this book, like its predecessors, will draw reluctant readers as well as Babymouse fans." The Bulletin: "An almost absurdly likeable heroine." From the Trade Paperback edition.


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He wrote for shows including 'Magnum, P.I.,' 'The A-Team' and 'Hunter' and co-authored the 'Sten' series of sci-fi books with Chris Bunch.
Allan Cole, who wrote for such shows as Magnum, P.I., The A-Team and Hunter and co-authored the Sten series of sci-fi books, died Friday of cancer in Boca Raton, Florida, the WGA West announced. He was 75.
He and his late partner, Chris Bunch, sold more than 150 television and film scripts, earning credits on those and other shows like Quincy, M.E.; The Incredible Hulk; and Walker, Texas Ranger. They also served as story editors on Galactica 1980, Code Red, Gavilan and Werewolf.
The pair were probably best known for their Sten science-fiction book series as well as a critically acclaimed 1987 Vietnam novel, A Reckoning for Kings, about the 1968 Tet Offensive.
The son of a CIA operative, the Philadelphia-born Cole worked as a newsman for 14 years at several Los Angeles-area newspapers, including the Inglewood Daily News, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Santa Monica Outlook, where he served as city editor and national news editor.
He and Bunch penned an eight-volume science fiction series beginning with Sten in 1982. It was a worldwide hit, especially in Russia, where it sold more than 10 million copies. Later, Cole co-authored a fantasy novel, The Hate Parallax, with Russian fantasy author Nick Perumov.
He also wrote several historical and fantasy novels with Bunch, including The Far Kingdoms and The Shannon Trilogy.
His recent books included Lucky in Cyprus, about his life as a CIA brat during the height of the Cold War; My Hollywood MisAdventures, a comical look at his years as a screenwriter with Bunch; Tales of the Blue Meanie, set in Venice, California, during the '60s; and SOS, a novel about the U-boat attacks in Florida during World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Kathryn (Bunch's sister); his children Jason, Susan Beck and Alissia; his brothers David and Drew; and eight grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Cole's name to the Writers Guild Foundation.


I recently visited several large companies in the UK to talk with them about their Business Intelligence deployments and strategy. During one of the discussions, the topic of where the Business Intelligence group belongs in the organization came up.
At this particular company, the Business Intelligence (BI) group was part of I.T. which is pretty common these days and the entire I.T. department was located in a separate building to the rest of the business. This presented a challenge for the BI group since they spend a large part of their time, quite rightly so, working with the business users. Being placed in the I.T. department and then in a separate building was neither conducive to fostering strong relationships with the business users nor creating effective BI applications.
In my more than 20 years of working in the Decision Support and Business Intelligence space, I have never seen a successful BI application designed and built solely by I.T. Effective Business Intelligence applications are created by the subject matter expert business users and the BI developers closely collaborating and working together.
Yes, administration of the servers, the network, security and the data are all critical components that belong in the domain of I.T. but Business Intelligence is different. BI is partly about reporting on and analyzing large amounts of data to see what happened, what is happening and what could happen and partly about the human factor of interpreting and acting on the results. It is the people managing and working in the business that both understand what BI insights the business needs and make the decisions of what action to take on those insights.
Where Does the BI Group Belong?
The BI group provides the bridge between the business and I.T. but really belongs more in the business than in I.T. I have seen many large organizations struggle with this issue and come up with different ways to solve it. Some, like the company I was visiting, keeps BI completely in I.T. and tries to create a BI Center of Excellence or Steering group that has representation from all the other departments in the company to collaborate and share ideas (Unfortunately this rarely works).
Others have tried creating a completely separate group within the business. This often results in the BI group becoming a report development center for the company and sometimes leads to creating a "shadow" I.T. group.
Then there is the de-centralized approach where each business unit or department has its own BI group but this model often creates a lot of unnecessary duplication of work and, sometimes, usage of different BI tool suites and is rarely successful.
Of course, the BI vendors are well aware of this issue and tend to make a bee-line to the business to sell their tools since it is far easier than selling to I.T. They actually pretend to be covertly helping the business to bypass I.T.
However, I.T. are not the bad guys and they play an important role in the successful implementation and on-going maintenance of any BI application. Putting it all in the cloud does not solve the problem either. Cloud hosting does not make I.T. disappear; it just moves it to somebody else to take care of who are not even your employees.
The best model I have seen is that of a BI group that reports dotted line to both I.T. (the CIO) and the business (usually CFO or CEO). This gives the group the importance and recognition it needs within the organization as well as executive sponsorship for all its projects. Along with this you would have Data or Business Information Stewards/Analysts within each department who are both subject matter experts on their departments needs as well as power users/experts of the BI tools. They would liaise directly with the BI group.
One final observation I have made is that it seems the companies that benefit the most from BI are also the ones that give it the most importance within their organizations.
So where do you think the BI Group belongs?
BI applications use technology to enhance business decisions. IT makes sense to share the management of a BI application between both the business executives and the IT department. Nothing in a company is wholly independent on its own, so thank you for stressing the importance that business intelligence isn't only technology or business – but a collaboration of both.


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Zayn Is Shaking Things Up With His New Music and We're All for It
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The XTUNER CVD-9 is a commercial vehicle diagnostic adapter. This is an electronic device that connects to your truck, fire engine, or motorhome's on-board computers (ECUs) and transmits information via Bluetooth to the XTUNER CVD application.


Earlier today, I spent about an hour on the phone talking to one of my best friends, Perla. She moved to Austin at the end of the summer to start at the University of Texas. Even though we text each other about once a week, I always forget how good it is to have a real conversation. I miss her terribly, along with all of the other people I had become accustomed to seeing every day for the past two years.
A few weeks before spring commencement, Perla, I and the rest of The Ranger gang were furiously working on the last edition of the paper, final projects and tests, and getting ready for graduation. It had finally hit me that most of us would soon be walking the stage, but while I was staying another year at Amarillo College to finish two certificates, the majority of my friends would be leaving. Sadness set in and I frantically began attempting to make the most of the little bit of stressful time we had left as a group.
These are the people who accepted me when I returned to school, even though I was older, even though I knew nothing about journalism and even though I'm one of the most socially awkward dorks in Amarillo. What was I going to do without them?
Vanessa, me, Bailie, Robert and Perla, posing in San Antonio on our last trip together.
Reading the story gave us the chance to realize these WERE our good old days, in those last moments before parts of our group splintered across the state. But it did a couple of other things, too, at least for me.
It also made me realize that I need to stop more often and just appreciate the people around me and the time they spend with me – friends that are still here, as well as family that I don't see nearly often enough.
Reddit | What is your favorite thing about life?
It sums up perfectly what I feel every now and then, in the newsroom, with my family, or sitting at home with Brandon. Every once in a while, everything just clicks into place, the edges line up perfectly and there's a moment of pure happiness.
Just like Checkpoint-Charlie, they're one of my favorite things about life.
Oh, Perez, what are we going to do next semester when you're gone, too?


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The Ancient Train Tickets That Kids Loved To Play With
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We miss the old-fashioned, British-style, orange and white cardboard train tickets that kids used to recycle and reuse in astounding ways.
There were two or three characteristic things that would tell any railroad enthusiasts whether a railroad line was built by the British or not: one, of course, was in which side trains used to run. British trains contradict the rest of the world, like cars, and go on the opposite side as in continental Europe or the United States.
Thus, in Britain, in Switzerland, Australia, Argentina, India and Japan, just to mention a few places, trains run or used to go on the left side of all twin tracks. Just look at hot things are elsewhere and you will notice. Another characteristic of those railroads was the architecture: train stations were built to be nice, and not just functional. They looked like some sort of industrial-strength English cottages.
But the nicest part of the whole system were the train tickets: white for one way, white and orange or yellow for a two-way ticket, and there were even stranger variants, like those free or discounted tickets given to railroad personnel, pensioners and so on, which sported diagonal stripes in yellow or red! Those were truly collector's items for ten year olds.
Kids were amazed whenever they saw such a VVIP - surely a Very, Very Important Person carrying such a powerful and downright exotic little piece of compressed material. Indeed, tickets were made of a very sturdy little piece of cardboard, usually about four or five centimetres in length and three wide: knowing Britons, the measures were two inches by one.
And here is one secret known by kids who would not tell parents or adults: the date was stamped on those cardboard tickets as they were sold, but you could carefully iron them and erase the impressions and marks left by the pressure stamp, so that you could save money by reusing the same, then undated ticket for quite while, until someone would come with that little machine that punched holes on them at the compass of the 'click-clicks' of each perforation... So much for recycling, and you had to reinvest hard cash again; unwary kids that made no financial previsions for such circumstances could be left stranded one or two stations away from home.
Students at high school and college knew that train tickets had yet another property: you could recycle them as well to mark important pages in all the books that you suddenly had to study. So much for recycling, once more.
Now, those tickets are gone for the most part: the last one was a one way thing seen at a London train station, destined to provide safe passage to the train that left for Gatwick airport: it was exactly the same thing seen an infinity of times in Buenos Aires while Borges was writting about his universes and the particular whistle blow of some old Victorian-era electric suburbans was still being heard there.
At least some time ago they were still being used in some lines, but people receive now little, feeble pieces of paper seized by all sorts of advertisement and ever-increasing numbers that tell you that what used to cost one – whatever currency – now costs three just for the sake of having new tickets and plain-vanilla train stations built on the ashes of the old cottage-like buildings.
It is a brave new world indeed, but the old times weren't that bad, after all.
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Greg Koehler is the general manager behind South Bend's Purple Porch Co-Op. Located at 123 N. Hill Street, the co-op functions as a farmer's market, grocery store and café, all of which aim to bring locally produced and organic food to the South Bend area. The co-op moved into its current building in March. The farmers' market is open Wednesdays from 5 — 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. — 1 p.m.; the store is open Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. — 7 p.m.
Q: What is the main goal behind Purple Porch?
A: We've been around for over five years now. For most of our existence we've operated as a farmer's market and really focused on connecting local food producers with local customers. The people that started the co-op were interested in finding local food and weren't necessarily happy with the South Bend farmers' market. There wasn't a lot of transparency, we didn't know how things were grown and there weren't a lot of organic options. We're really trying to create a market for local and organic products.
Q: How exactly did the co-op get its start?
A: It was really a small group of people who were talking with each other and had similar desires for what they wanted to get out of their food. For example, we were ordering black beans, and we realized that they were coming from China. We knew that in this area there are lots of opportunities for agriculture, and it just didn't make any sense when there'd be farmers around here, our neighbors, that could be growing those. We had a meeting at the library to get a feel for interest and had a lot of people show up, and we decided to create the co-op. The people that are members of the co-op are those that make the decisions, and it was really important that we had that kind of democratic process.
Q: What do you offer beyond the farmers' market?
A: If you come on a Wednesday night, you'll get to visit with the local producers. Our definition of local is [within] a 60-mile radius around South Bend. If you come any other day, you'll find a small grocery store. We branch out into some of the things you wouldn't find at your local grocery store. In the café, we have two hot soups every day. Depending on the day, the kitchen creates various things like curry or roasted vegetables. We try to be as full service as possible. And we are cooperative so we have member-owners who pay a $200 equity share. It's a different kind of business model: we don't have one owner, we have many owners. We have over 525 member-owners right now.
Q: Besides being member-owners is there any other way that people interested in the co-op can get involved in it?
A: Sure. First of all, shopping. Everybody's welcome; we exist to serve the needs of the member-owners, but encourage everyone to shop. We also have some volunteer opportunities. We have dishwashing opportunities, which are very, very helpful and we have committees we're trying to develop for education and producer relations.


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I can only speak for myself, but I wholeheartedly believe that these current market conditions (from about mid-February of this year to the present) have been one of the most difficult I've experienced. There are many reasons but to sum things up it's because the broad markets are still indecisive due to several uncertainties with macros. With the markets not having a clear obvious trend, traders will often be confused resulting in more crowded charts and some people will be cautious about playing the market. As a result, we've seen volume and liquidity take a hit. Even on days that look promising and volume is great at the open, it diminishes rather quickly (see my blog post prior to this one).
As a momentum scalper, I need volatility and liquidity in order to trade effectively. I don't like trade stocks that float on air or grind because I feel that they are too hard to read and too risky to hold since you are exposing yourself to lots of risk to things like random news, random dumps due to a rug pull, or a random squeeze. These types of things vastly minimize the edge a retail trader has.
A problem I've had recently was failing to completely adapt to these current market conditions. As a result I would have too much size when the volume dramatically drops off in a relatively short period of time. This results in adverse effects such as slippage and also ECN fees that get incurred if I have no choice but to take liquidity to exit a position. So in order to prevent myself from getting into this tough predicament, I've developed some simple (and more conservative given these market conditions) rules that basically allow me to figure out proper and optimal sizing to trade with at each given moment so that way if I have to stop out, I won't have to deal with issues such as slippage.
Large size (I.e. 10K shares on a <$10 stock) only allowed at the open. This is when the volume is the highest of the day so probably this is the only reasonable time you should consider going in big, since in the event that you're wrong, you can get out with a fill at the price you want easily.
Reduce size to 1/4 (i.e. 2500 shares on a <$10 stock) by 9:45AM. Having studied various charts from recent trading activity, I've noticed that a lot of stocks experience volume drop offs of about 75% within 15 minutes. Logically this means you should reduce your size to 1/4 of what you would have done at the open in order to ensure you can get in and out easily.
Reduce size to 1/10 (i.e. 1000 shares on a <$10 stock) by 10:00AM. Same reason as above, by 10:00AM, I notice that many stocks that are in play at the open drop off in volume by 90% so that means you should reduce your size to 1/10 of what you would have done at the open.
Reduce size to 1/20 (i.e. 500 shares on a <$10 stock) if needed, for the rest of the day should there be very low volume, 1/10 max. If the volume drops off even more, then reducing size to protect any gains from the morning is a must. Of course, if there is no price action, you should not trade at all, but sizing too big late in the day and losing your morning profits because of that is very frustrating and this serves to prevent that from happening.
So of course there are going to be exceptions but these are just general guidelines that help me prevent those really frustrating losses where you're stuck holding too many shares of an illiquid stock and you have to take liquidity to get out and have to take a much larger loss than expected due to slippage. The tradeoff of course is that I may miss out on some trades, but the bigger idea here is to practice discipline as I feel the losses that I will prevent from not going in too big at the wrong moments will outweigh any potential profits from missed plays during irregular hours.
Believe me, if you've been following me for awhile, you know that I love to go in with large size and nail that big $5,000 win in 30 seconds, so it's painful for me to have to take this much more conservative approach, but like I always say, "you must adapt to the market as the market will not adapt to you".
Not trading at all between 11AM-2PM, and many times not even trading beyond 10AM. The volume drop-off during this period results in no edge for the retail trader and algos start to control the action. I've already beaten the dead horse regarding algos and manipulation on my blog on my youtube channel so I won't go over it again.
Any random news play that shows up with massive volume as tempting as it is to go big because of the volaitility, stick to the sizing rules and play small anyways. Lost big on WR last week with that FOMO mindset even though I was nailing several of these news plays in a row prior to that, which goes to show you that all it takes is one bad miscue and you will pay the price, figuratively and literally. Play small and manage your risk and don't undo the work you did in the morning, or if you're already red, don't amplify your losses.
I thought this might be too specific to me to help others (I don't think everyone will necessarily take 10K share positions at the open) but some people have asked me about it so that's why I did the write-up. I hope it helps people to a certain extent or at the very least gives people a better understand of why I do things the way I do.


The West Somerset Railway has announced that the West Somerset Railway PLC has agreed that Jonathan Jones-Pratt will be co-opted as a director with an immediate effect.
Mr. Jones-Pratt is already well known in the heritage railway world as he owns locomotives GWR engines No. 4936 Kinlet Hall and No. 7027 Thornbury Castle.
Three existing directors Frank Courtney, Richard Maw, and Paul Conibeare were tasked with continuing the search for a new Non-Executive Chairman.
Jonathan also has strong local commercial credentials via his business interests in JJP Holdings which operates a number of commercial transport activities through North Somerset and Somerset.
" I have known Jon for a number of years on the railway where he serves as a volunteer engineman, and look forward to working with him over the weeks and months ahead on many issues, including our visit by the Office of Rail & Road (ORR) in October.
"His appointment is welcome news, and he will not only bring a fresh injection of youthful energy and enthusiasm to our Board, but also has solid business skills too that will assist us in dealing with the complex issues and various challenges we face.


How should the holidays be shared when a child is married? - Parent/Child :: sidetaker.
How should the holidays be shared when a child is married?
My son was married a year ago. The night of the rehearsal dinner his father was taken by ambulance, to the hospital. Subsequenty, he was unable to attend the wedding on the following day. After losing 8 units of blood over a period of 5 days; surgery was performed while my son was on his honeymoon.
My husband was not released from the hospital until the first part of November and was in no condition to travel over the holidays as he was extremely weak and had been placed on a pump to assist in closing the wound.
My son offered to spend Thanksgiving at our home due to the fact his father was unable to travel. At Xmas he created a schedule and didn't ask if this suited our plans but instead informed me as to how the holidays would be. There was conflict over the "schedule" which resulted in his telling me to have a "Merry F****in" Xmas". He has never spoken to me like that in his entire life.
As we are now coming upon the holidays, I was told he would not be home for Thanksgiving because he was not w/his in-laws last year. I explained I thought he had spent the time w/us because his father had missed the wedding & Thanksgiving had been a make up day.
I suggested sharing each day of the holidays between both families, or having us all together. I enjoy my daughter-in-law's family and have no problems being together. I also suggested my son have the holiday, as he did when he and his wife were dating.
I am at a complete loss as to how to handle this situation. I am not looking forward to the holidays at all & wish I could somehow skip Nov/Dec.


Although it will be a while before I received my copy and can post a full review, a little news is starting to appear online from people who purchased their copies of Sengoku Basara Magazine vol. 6 in Japan today. Amazon Japan accidentally leaked the cover a couple of days early again this time, forcing them to conspicuously switch back to the temporary cover until the magazine was scheduled for release. Unfortunately for them, plenty of fans had already seen the leaked cover before the coverup was complete.
Motonari looks as serious as ever!
The Dengeki Maoh staff have been teasing the release on Twitter too. There's a picture of Motonari's seiyuu and stage play actor eating those doughnuts together, a close-up shot of the Mame Sengoku Basara rubber strap, a shot which implies that at least some of the 'Motonari Chronicle' article is going to be about Sunday Mouri, confirmation of the contents of the talk CD and a glimpse of the interview between seiyuu Nakai Kazuya and Hoshi Souichirou. The official magazine website has updated with a few more small preview pictures.
Twitter user @newyochan has posted a picture which indicates that Sakon will be the cover star of the next issue of the magazine, due for release on 27th November 2014. There will be a report from the upcoming Butai Sengoku Basara 4 stage play, a look back at Judge End and a rubber Sakon strap. The talk CD will feature seiyuu Nakahara Shigeru (Mouri Motonari) and Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika). The serialised manga will include the same three titles again: Sumeragi's Mame Sengoku Basara 4, Yoshihara Motoki's Sengoku Basara 4: Bontenmaru-hen and Tane Jugou's Wan-Nyan Sengoku Basara.
The final cover art for Sengoku Basara Magazine CD: Showgeki Basara Talk! Vol. 3: Ieyasu & Mitsunari No Maki Special-ban is now ready and it matches the style of the first two volumes. How cute!
The CD's contents and release details are listed in this previous post.
The Mame Sengoku Basara series continues to generate more merchandise in the form of a pair of new hanging scrolls featuring Shima Sakon and Shibata Katsuie. They're due for release on 27th September 2014 priced at ¥1,620 each.
Charities are in the news a lot lately, and just like last year, Capcom have announced that they'll be supporting the Akai Hane Kyoudou Bokin ('Red Feather Community Chest') charity drive in Japan. This year's campaign will expand to cover 40 prefectures.
The exclusive rewards include tin badges and a clear file with the four Sengoku Basara 4 leads on the front and Ieyasu, Yukimura, Naotora and Shikanosuke/Oyassan on the reverse with information about the campaign.
There's also a poster with the campaign's message and the four Sengoku Basara 4 leads, which will be made available for download as a smartphone wallpaper between October 2014 and March 2015.
The recent Sengoku Basara avatars for the Japanese social gaming service Mobage were evidently successful as they're now releasing a second batch of customisable avatar costumes.
Perhaps I'll be luckier in round three!


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Digital Payments to Jump 45% and Hit $6.7trn Value by 2023
Coronavirus has caused a significant impact on the way consumers shop and make payments.
With social distancing rules in place, many of them have embraced contactless payments and digital wallets as a safer way to manage their money. According to data gathered by AksjeBloggen, the global digital payments market is expected to continue rising in the following years, reaching $6.7trn value by 2023.
Mobile POS Payments to Become $2.1trn Worth Industry
In 2017, the global digital payments market was valued at $3.1trn, revealed the Statista data. In the last three years, this value increased by more than 50%, reaching 4.7trn in 2020. Statistics indicate the entire digital payments industry is set to continue growing by CARG of 12% by 2023.Digital commerce represents the leading revenue stream in the market with a $3.7trn transaction value in 2020 or almost 80% of the entire market value this year. Statista survey revealed that online buying and selling of goods and services would remain the largest revenue stream of the global digital payments industry in the following years, reaching $4.5trn transaction value in 2023.However, statistics show the following years are set to witness a significant rise in mobile POS payments. In 2017, this segment of the digital payments market was valued at $368.6bn. Since then, mobile payments rose more than 175%, reaching $1trn value in 2020.
The dominant upward trend is expected to continue in the following years with mobile payments becoming $2.1trn worth industry by 2023.The last few years have also witnessed a surge in the average transaction value of the mobile POS payments, growing from $447 in 2017 to $791 in 2020. By the end of 2023, this amount is expected to jump to nearly $1,290.
More Than 6.1 Billion People Will Use Digital Payments by 2023
Statistics show that in 2017, more than 4.1bn people all around the world were using digital payments. Since then, the figure jumped 25%, reaching 5.2bn this year. The following years are set to witness the growing number of users in the digital payments market, reaching 6.1bn by 2023, or almost 50% more compared to 2017 figures. Statistics show that mobile POS payments witnessed the most substantial increase, with the number of users growing from 824 million in 2017 to 1.6bn by 2023.
Analyzed by geography, China represents the leading digital payment market globally with a $1.9trn transaction value in 2020. The country is forecast to reach almost 50% market share by 2023. With a $1trn transaction value, the United States ranked as the second-largest digital payments industry in the world. The Statista report showed that together, China and the US would account for nearly 70% of the global digital payment's transaction value in the next three years.The United Kingdom ranked third with a $176bn market value in 2020. Japan and Germany follow with $173.1bn and $127.4bn, respectively.


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On Alive with Clive, Inspiring Singer-Songwriter, Nico Padden, Makes Her Mark with "Invisible War," "Go" and Six Stirring Songs from Her CD, A Light in the Dark!
What you need to know about Nico Padden is that she is one captivating singer-songwriter who is destined to inspire you with her self-expression, power, talent and grace! A …
On Alive with Clive, with Empowering Songs from Rising Rising Rising, Dynamic Singer-Songwriter, Rorie Kelly, Speaks Her Mind and Bares Her Soul while Singing Her Heart Out!
She's been described as "a small redheaded tornado of sound." Her aggressive acoustic guitar style complements raw, powerhouse vocals to pack a serious punch. Now, the songs that have …
On Alive with Clive, With His Love of Music and Its Heritage, His Imaginative Lyrics, and His Passion to Perform, Zachary Kee a/k/a Lonesome Zak from Lonesome Zak & The Reverend Todd B. Rekindles Memories of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley
Although not yet 30, Lonesome Zak, who grew up in Texas and is now based in South Carolina, has been immersed in music for more than 25 years. On …
On Alive with Clive, Markeisha Ensley Radiates Poise, Grace, Elegance and Excellence with Songs from Her Heart!
Combining the flavors of gospel, jazz and soul as her sultry voice melts over soaring melodies, in another two recent appearances on Alive with Clive Markeisha Ensley showed us …
Four Noteworthy Recent Songs that Agitate for a Shift in Established Paradigms in Our Culture
Hello Friends: If you pay attention to the content of the lyrics in songs, many of them, you will no doubt have noted, deal with different aspects of relationships. …
Agitating for a Paradigm Shift: "Sit Still, Look Pretty" by Daya
As noted on Wikipedia: In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Daya had this to say about "Sit Still, Look Pretty": "It's about being a girl that goes after her …
Agitating for a Paradigm Shift: "Scars To Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara
As noted on Wikipedia, in an interview with Idolator's Mike Wass, Cara said this about "Scars To Your Beautiful": "Basically, song is about body image. It's directed at women, …
Previous 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 … 74 Next


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UFC 193 Sports Betting
Events, Sports Betting, UFC
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (Bellator MMA/Sherdog.com)
Patricio Pitbull Ironically Congratulates Holloway for Historic Win
Both Max Holloway and Patricio Pitbull are the top featherweights in the world. However, Max Holloway is not impressed with Patricio Pitbull. At the last UFC Fight Island Seven, the former champion participated in his first non-title competition since mid-2016. According to many sources, Max would go on to set 9 UFC records in a master class at the expense of Calvin Kattar, the number 6 ranked contender.
Being the current Bellator lightweight and featherweight king, Patricio Pitbull decided to offer his congratulations to Max Holloway and his excellent performance. The two are close rivals, but Patricio Pitbull decided to congratulate Max. The event that triggered the congratulations was fully covered at Sportsbet, and many punters enjoyed the competitive odds that were offered on it.
Records, Trophies and Victories for Patricio Pitbull and Max Holloway
In terms of records, Pitbull owns a total of nine in his professional career. The most notable of the records of all-time are 19 high wins, 9 wins in title fights and 11 of the most featherweight finishes. The 31-4 Patricio looks excellent than before on his latest six-fight unbeaten streak. He is looking for a rematch with Sanchez Emmanuel in the Bellator featherweight Grand Prix semi-finals.
When it comes to Max Holloway, all the nine records including the Kattar victory is as follows:
Most major strikes landed in an event in the history of UFC – 445.
Highest major strike differential in an event in the history of UFC – 313.
Most distance strikes landed in an event in the history of UFC – 439.
Most strikes landed in an event in the history of UFC – 141.
Most major strikes attempted in the history of UFC – 744.
Most major head strikes landed in a single fight in the history of UFC – 274.
From this information and statistics, it is clear that Max Holloway is one of the leading sportspersons when it comes to fighting.
Max Holloway and Patricio Pitbull have collided on several occasions. When asked about their rivalry between them, Patricio Pitbull said that he is the best featherweight in the whole world and that nobody can match his success. That kind of self-confidence is not surprising coming from Patricio, who has been remained strong throughout his career.
Patricio recently added a belt in his store with a 1st round knockout of Bellator staple, and he was the favourite going into the match with Michael Chandler. Patricio has not lost a featherweight title since the year 2015 when he dropped his winning to Daniel Straus at the Bellator 145. Patricio would later revenge that to reclaim his title, which he has defended two times since then. Before that, he only lost two times in his entire professional career, both split calls to Pat Curran and Joe Warren.
Definitively, his claim is still a difficult one to prove. However, after all, he has got some rivalry out there, most notably with Max Holloway, in terms of UFC featherweight champion. Max Holloway has won a total of thirteen featherweight bouts in a row. His loss was in the division in 2013, to non-other than McGregor.
When Patricio Pitbull says that he is the best featherweight in the world of fighting, it is not discounting Max Holloway's presence. Patricio recently signed a brand new multi-fight deal with his long-time Bellator home.
On the other hand, Holloway has not really indicated intentions of leaving the fighting space anytime in the future. The two are ideal candidates to keep in mind if you love fighting and placing wagers on the sports. Just visit reputable sites like Sportsbet and sign up to enjoy the best odds and deals.
Most Expensive CS:GO Skin in History Sells for $150,000
Best UFC Fighters Of This Decade
Your home for all things MMA. News, Interviews, Event Coverage, Editorials. If it is MMA related, you will find it on The MMA Corner.


✩ Besides all the Slam Dunk, I've been watching lots of South Park. Best DVD investment ever. And AWESOM-O is probably #2 in the Top Five Butterpoofs Episodes Of All Time. (#1 has to be The Death of Eric Cartman.) Dear god, how I love these two.
✩ I've only been off work five days and already I'm afraid I've forgotten how to do my job. Or even where I work. I've had the most glorious introvert downtime -- hardly any human interaction and lots and lots of whipping cream.
✩ We've also been watching a lot of The Sarah Jane Adventures which continue to be completely charming and so much fun. We're about 1/3 through series 3 right now. Sarah Jane is, as everyone knows, about the most awesome person in the universe. Rani and Luke are lovely and fun. Haresh and Gita are beyond cute and I really, really want to get myself into the middle of that. But it's Clyde who completely steals each and every show. I ♥ him. In a non-creepy way. Really.
✩ About Doctor Who I shall only say that it was even more cheese-tastic than usual but I still enjoyed it and am looking forward very much to New Years. Even though we will be away so I won't see it until later.
✩ I also started to re-watch Ace wo Nerae, the live-action. Ryuzaki Reika remains my tennis girlfriend until the end of time. The first time I watched through this, I loved it so hard for itself but it also made me think so much -- actually, pace around my apartment and mutter to myself -- about Tezuka and Ryoma. I'm hoping it will spark more thoughts like that this time as well. I haven't really visited those two in a while. But I don't want to be done with them.
✩ I've been writing a lot this month. A lot for me, that is. I've even got a few things stockpiled to post in January. I think being so productive has really helped me get through December, which is typically a bad month for me, due to the short and overcast days and the schedule disruption of the holidays. I'm typically a slow writer who can't stop editing every word as I type it. I'm experimenting with a system of short sprints -- usually ten minutes -- where I just write as fast as I can without editing and then go back and edit that short section before doing the next sprint. It's worked pretty well so far, though I've only used it for crack fic yet.
well, if it helps the uncreepiness, the guy who plays Clyde is really old. like, it's really creepy for him to be hanging around with Luke and Rani.
it also made me think so much -- actually, pace around my apartment and mutter to myself -- about Tezuka and Ryoma. I'm hoping it will spark more thoughts like that this time as well. I haven't really visited those two in a while. But I don't want to be done with them.
Hee! Now I'll be thinking of that when I watch.
butters is perhaps the only reason why I still watch SP.
I realized today I have only 7 days of my isolation vacation left. and I need to re-watch DrWho as I wasn't sure what I thought of the new episode. Hm.
Have actually written a fair amount of drell myself the last few weeks. Of course I wait for your postings because you don't have the issue of tense I seem to have developed and your stories are actually good!
we love you, Hal. <3 don't ever change.
I have three days back at work, then four off again. Next year, I'm going to take a couple of extra days. Or just cryogenically freeze myself until spring.
Some stories are harder to shift into past tense, I find. I'm waiting to see what will happen with my hp_kinkfest story. If I ever pick a pairing.
<3 to you too! Nobody ever really changes, do they?
I want to be Sarah Jane Smith when I grow up.
Oh, so do I. Every time I watch, I find myself wondering if I should get my hair cut like her and get all the same clothes, etc, in case that would make me 1/10 as awesome as she is.
I can't make myself to watch any real people show (True Blood S2 is still waiting...), but your Lady Gaga singing!Cartman post made me look for the entire SP series online. After several weeks of excited waiting, it finished yesterday (1-12) so I intend to watch them asap. The last episode I have the is vampire!Butters, I think, from which I had also watched a excerpt.
Short sprints... A friend posted recently on how she organized herself in 45-minute to longer blocks with a stopwatch and breaks inbetween, but I guess every style of writer needs their own tempo, and it might change depending on the mood, the day, the energies... But it should be trainable, like everything else. Just... nothing like having a deadline to become really productive. I wonder if there is a way around that impediment, that vital necessity called deadline to perform at MAX.


An American record producer, recording engineer, musician,and entrepreneur.
Since the early 90s, Lee has not only helped create the trademark sound of the South, but he has also laced beats for an impressive multitude of artists including the revered Tupac Shakur, Scarface, UGK and Jay Z.
A blessing in disguise, he relied on music as his savior and musically accompanied his father, a Gospel singer, until he discovered a passion for Hip Hop at 21.
He formed and became a member of rap group Four Deep until he decided to relocate to Houston where his favorite rapper Scarface resided in 1995.
On a mission to slang beats, Mr. Lee was only offered a meager $50 for his work and doors continually slammed in his face until another major one was opened. After meeting with Big Chief, the VP of Rap-A-Lot Records, he landed a deal on the very same imprint as his idol Scarface. After receiving validation from Face during a studio session, he went on to lend his talents to Tupac and the Outlawz' "Black Jesus" and Scarface's Last of a Dying Breed album that included the track "Get Out" with Jay Z.
Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to revel in the fruits of his labor with drug and burglary charges hovering over him since 1997. On the run and unable to attain a license or a bank account, he violated probation by traveling until he was arrested in 2004 for a traffic violation. With a myriad of platinum records under his belt and letters of character from Willie Nelson and Randall Jamil, his accomplishments outweighed his criminal past, and his charges were dropped.
Since then, Mr. Lee has remained an incredible force by studying his craft daily and evolving with the ever-changing rap game.
One of the first producers to switch over to the digital medium, he ditched his ASR-10 in favor of an MPC drum machine and Korg and Roland keyboards to create Bun B, Pimp C, Jeezy, Z-Ro and Jay Z's menacing "Get Throwed." On MySpace, he corresponded with then up-and-comer Iggy Azalea and helped her sharpen her rap skills when she moved to Houston.
Over the past two decades, his soulful and synth heavy sound has not only been emulated, but has allowed him to rack up 9 platinum albums, 6 gold albums and singles on the radio for 13 consecutive years. He has had the opportunity to work with an array of artists including Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mary J. Blige, Nipsey Hussle and Dwele. Now currently working with LL Cool J, he hopes his new XMG label will not only help break on-the-rise stars King Shaun and Adonia, but serve as a hub for new artists to be heard in the future.
J Prince Presents - R.N.D.S.


Welcome to the website of the Neo-PRISM-C, a four-year project funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Program (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018) under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (Grant Agreement No. 813546) (2019-2023). Neo-PRISM-C aims to study neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), which emerge early in development and result in long-term disability, compromising the quality of life of millions of Europeans. The purpose of the Neo-PRISM-C ETN is to train Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) from multiple disciplines (psychology, neuroscience, data science) in applying the Research Domain Criteria approach, a novel framework for understanding psychopathology, to the study of the mechanisms of NDD, in order to inform and begin to test appropriate treatments. Neo-PRISM-C is expected to further understanding of NDD and improve the competitiveness of EU health professionals and scholars, providing the market with highly-skilled researchers and clinicians.


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Home / 2023 / February
Liturgy | Weekday Homily Resources
2 Feb 2023 – Presentation of Our Lord
2 Feb 2023 – Presentation of Our Lord World Day for Consecrated Life 1st Reading: Malachi 3:1-4 When God's Messenger arrives, he will refine the people See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant…
Read More 2 Feb 2023 – Presentation of Our LordContinue
1 Feb 2023 – Saint Brigid of Kildare
1 Feb 2023 – Saint Brigid of Kildare, Secondary Patron of Ireland 1st Reading: Job 31:16-20; 24-25; 31-32 Job's generosity towards the needy is reflected in St Brigid's works of charity I have never withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel…
Read More 1 Feb 2023 – Saint Brigid of KildareContinue


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Interview with Maura McHugh
Posted on Sep 27, 2011 by Comic Booked Guest Writer in Interviews |
Having already helped put Ireland's Atomic Diner on the map with her excellent book Roisin Dubh, Maura McHugh has yet another series starting titled Jennifer Wilde, written in collaboration with Rob Curley. Recently it has also been announced that she is joining the impressive collection of comic creators on Womanthology! McHugh kindly agreed to take a moment out of her increasingly busy schedule to talk about her projects with Comic Booked, with further information about her contribution to Womanthology, the short story the Nail.
What can readers expect from your series Róisín Dubh in the future?
The first mini-series of Róisín Dubh is complete, and I've plans for the next series, but I can't divulge them at the moment. In the coming two issues Róisín is coping with the death of her parents and her mission to stop the undead Abhartach while being a young woman in Ireland in 1899. She's also been tricked into a pact with ancient Irish deities and is unsure how that is going to affect her previous ambitions.
Ireland is in the unusual position of being in a buffer between the States and the UK, both of whom have comic book companies (Marvel, 2000AD etc.) What's your assessment of the indie scene in the country?
I think we're finally seeing the growth of an indigenous comic book scene in Ireland because we now have a generation who have grown up with easy access to comic books from the USA, the UK, and elsewhere (Manga being very popular). Before the 1990s there weren't many places in Ireland that stocked comic books other than the British ones, and they were seen as something for children.
It's great to watch Irish comic book creators establish an identity for themselves. It might be influenced by the likes of Marvel, DC, or 2000AD, but it is also offering an Irish perspective.
Stephen Downey art from Jennifer Wilde #1
Could you talk about your new book Jennifer Wilde?
Jennifer Wilde begins in France in 1921, and follows the adventures of Jennifer Chevalier, a young artist who starts to untangle a mystery around the death of her father. During this she is aided by the ghost of Oscar Wilde. The next issue is set in England and the final issue is set in Ireland, so there will be a strong Irish component to the story. Stephen Downey is producing excellent art for the series that brings the era's joie de vivre to life.
Writing Jennifer Wilde has had it challenges – especially bringing Wilde to life in a believable fashion – but I'm enjoying the more light-hearted tone compared to Róisín Dubh. I love writing the interaction between Jennifer and Oscar.
From your experiences as a writer/blogger do you think anyone who has ambitions of getting involved in comics or writing generally today has more opportunities due to the amount of online activity out there than previously?
I think it's more important to concentrate on becoming a good writer, which is where your bread and butter will come from eventually. You can hone your abilities somewhat by writing blog entries, but if you're serious about developing your writing talent then you need to put in the hard graft on scripts and prose. Plus you must start submitting work to editors so they become familiar with your style, and you need to learn to take the inevitable rejection. A large part of writing is dealing with criticism yet continuing to evolve your work. You only learn that through putting your work out there for evaluation.
Social media has its uses, especially for networking with people in the industry. But bloggers/tweeters are legion and it can be difficult to establish a presence amid the noise. In some ways it's harder to get noticed that way at this point, certainly not without concerted time and effort. On the other hand if you're a writer having an online presence isn't optional: you are expected by editors/agents/publishers to maintain your multitude of online identities and readers want it too.
The issue at the start of a career is where to focus? Starting an online presence is important, but ultimately – for a writer, anyway – what will bring you most attention is the quality of your writing.
What is the idea behind the Womanthology project?
Artist Renae De Liz is the powerhouse behind the project, and to quote her: "I want to showcase the powerful and unique voice of all women who create comics. Sort of shine a spotlight on the small percentage that makes up the industry we love. And of course, to raise money and have fun doing it!"
How did you become involved with Womanthology?
I heard about the project a few days after Renae announced she was looking for submissions. I've always been supportive of encouraging more women to work in the creative industries so I was immediately interested in being involved. There were a huge number of applications, and the open call was shut down quickly – just before I could cast my hat into the ring.
I put my name down to be considered on the secondary creators list. Several weeks later, one of the anthology's editors, Suzannah Rowntree (who is also an editor at Archie Comics), contacted me and asked me how quickly I could put together a four-page script for submission.
The theme for the anthology is 'heroic', so I pondered the different kinds of heroic acts there are in life. I was inspired to write the script for 'The Nail' after reading the true story of a woman who was incarcerated unfairly for seven years in solitary confinement in 1950s Hungary.
I wrote the script and sent it to Suzannah, and was utterly delighted when it was accepted for the anthology. I've been paired with artist Star St. Germain and I love how she's interpreted the script.
What's the Irish comic convention circuit like? Have you travelled overseas to any cons to promote your work with Atomic Diner or Womanthology?
The only regular comic book convention in Ireland is 2-D in Derry in Northern Ireland. I went there this year and it was brilliant: it's very friendly and chock-a-block with creative talent from Ireland and abroad.
I've been going to conventions for a long time, first as a fan, now as a creator, so I'm pretty familiar with many of them. Comic Books and Manga are becoming a part of nearly all the events because of their translations to the big screen and the popularity of Cosplay. So, you have events in Ireland like Octocon (happening in a few weeks time), TitanCon and P-Con which have historically focused on literature, but are branching out, there's a huge Anime convention called Eirtakon that's very popular, and the gaming conventions like Gaelcon are doing well too . Then, there are new events appearing like ArcadeCon which has more of a multi-media slant. The trend is moving toward organising events with a multi-media focus, so they celebrate books, TV, films, games, comic books, etc.
I've attended lots of science fiction conventions in the UK, but my first comic book event will be Thought Bubble in Leeds this November. I'm aiming to go to one of the American cons next year too
I love attending conventions because it's fantastic to meet your mates and make new friends in an environment where everyone is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the work.
What creators in the industry at the moment are you following?
Gail Simone, Grant Morrison and Greg Rucka are writers I admire a great deal, and I tend to buy almost anything they write. Other writers I watch: G. Willow Wilson, Mike Carey, Warren Ellis, Joe Hill, Robert Kirkman and Marjorie Liu.
Is there anyone in particular you would like to work with yourself?
There are so many artists whose work I admire: Ben Templesmith, Amanda Connor, J. H. Williams, Pia Guerra, Linda Medley, David Mack, Marjane Satrapi and Phil Noto to name a few.
Do you have any advice for folks interested in working for comics?
If you're a writer: keep writing. If you're an artist: keep drawing. Comic books are intensely collaborative so it helps if you're open-minded, friendly and good with working with others. Get something in print if at all possible. Start with small presses and build up your reputation. Challenge yourself as much as possible. Everyone has something new to learn.
For more on the work of Maura, visit her blog Splinister, go have a browse through the Atomic Diner shop and check out the Womanthology blog for more details.


The quickest and broadest impact Microsoft can make with LinkedIn is to redesign its Outlook interface. The companies could easily bring LinkedIn insights, profile photos, etc. into the email experience (similar to what Rapportive offers today but with a seamless, actionable approach). Outlook could even show recent updates and thought leadership pieces from a particular profile as talking point suggestions to automatically populate in an email when selected.


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Potbelly recently achieved record-high average unit volumes and plans to aggressively expand in the next eight to 10 years.
How Potbelly started gaining market share and traffic
Potbelly's AUVs reached record highs in Q3 after nearly two years of implementing a five-pillar strategy that includes re-establishing brand equity.
Alicia Kelso | Dec 21, 2022
Potbelly has been through as many ups and downs as one can imagine since first opening in 1977. The 450-unit sandwich chain experienced years of sales declines and closures that eroded over half of its 2013 IPO within its first year of trading. Then, in the throes of the pandemic in 2020, Potbelly vowed to close about 25% of its restaurants in a bid to avoid bankruptcy.
The chain hired Bob Wright as CEO in July 2020 and he and his leadership team immediately implemented a five-pillar strategy to put the brand in a stronger position. Those pillars include great food at a great value; great people and experience; efficient operations that bring people back; enhancing digital channels to communicate and connect with customers; and growing through franchising. During the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, Wright reported Potbelly achieved record-high average unit volumes and began turning a profit as well.
Related: Potbelly names Wendy's COO, Robert D. Wright, as new CEO
But don't call it a comeback. Or a turnaround.
"'Turnaround is used a lot. Our story is more of a pivot to growth," Wright said during an interview Tuesday. To ignite that pivot, the company started embracing its heritage.
"I believe this brand had a ton of latent equity that had not been nurtured. At the foundation of our strategy is just having the confidence in how special our brand is and to recognize those opportunities around that brand equity," he said.
There was plenty of low-hanging fruit to do just that, starting with a focus on the marketing budget. Wright said the company was spending less than 1% of its sales on marketing prior to his arrival.
"The industry on average spends 4-to-5% of sales on marketing, so we have quite a bit of catching up to do. Last year we started leaning into digital advertising and digital assets on the consumer side with our app and web and it's helped us create more top-of-mind awareness because we're tapping into that latent brand equity," Wright said.
Potbelly tests new initiatives against a small control group of stores before expanding to its 450 locations and is actively doing this with its marketing spend. The model helps prove a return on investment before going deeper, Wright said, adding that the company tested its way up to 2% marketing spend and "is not stopping there."
"There's really no reason we shouldn't be spending industry averages," he said. "Our expectations are for every dollar we spend here, we get $3-to-$5 back on the topline."
Marketing is just part of the "pivot to growth" formula, however. Potbelly has also put a significant amount of work into its menu. Wright said 2020 consumer analyses showed a significant price versus value proposition, so the company rebuilt its menu in 2020 and 2021, adding more meat, cheese and sides and bringing in a lower-priced "skinny" sandwich underneath its original and big sizes. This, Wright said, re-established value at the brand which drives the critical metric of traffic. The company reported in Q3 it has expanded traffic share alongside market share in the broader industry.
"The most healthy way to grow is through actual traffic growth. It shows you're gaining customers, building relevance and engagement. We are always working toward traffic-driven profitability," he said. "If you're not profitable, you're in big trouble. We needed to restore profitability to the brand so we had the freedom to grow again and we focused on traffic to do that."
Potbelly has also prioritized its technology platforms to drive traffic, as well as to ease operations. The company's digital sales mix has consistently hovered close to 40% for over a year, driven by a tech stack that includes a new app, new website, new loyalty engine, a new order integration platform, an updated payments infrastructure and a new "Potbelly Digital Kitchen." The PDK was introduced earlier this year to streamline all orders regardless of where they originate. That kitchen is now in test in about 25 locations and Wright hinted at "significant expansion in 2023 on our way to full implementation." All new builds will open with a PDK as well.
"As we've been driving AUVs to record levels, we've maintained and increased our mix through digital and I think it can get even bigger still as we layer in our own assets. The digital kitchen is a great example of how we make that part of the experience seamless, and it has been a big advantage for operators," Wright said. "The tech is working hard for us by streamlining coordination of all those orders and feeding them to the right associates. The early read is it generates better accuracy and on-time delivery, and it is saving us about an hour a day on labor."
These initiatives are just the tip of the iceberg as Potbelly positions itself for aggressive growth, including a goal of reaching at least 2,000 restaurants in the next eight to 10 years. In the near term, Potbelly plans to continue riding its momentum in 2023 with more strategic investments guided by its five pillars. That includes a continued uptick in marketing spend and broader rollout of the Potbelly Digital Kitchen. It also includes the next phase of growth which for Wright means "getting into new markets and finishing penetrating the ones we're already in."
"We're in 32 states from the Pacific to the Atlantic and from north to south. We're not a 400-unit regional chain trying to prove we can go national – we already have. And we have great success in all of our markets, we've just never grown in a disciplined manner to finish penetration of the markets we've entered," Wright said. "We don't have to grow in a slow-plotting pace from east to west, we've done it. We just didn't finish the job and now we intend to."
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
TAGS: Marketing Technology


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Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals
Developer: White Birds Production
Publisher: Got Game Entertainment
PC Requirements: Windows XP, Pentium 4 CPU, 512 MB Ram, 16x DVD-ROM, Direct 9.0C
by nickie
Paris 2023. Alcide Nikopol maintains his existence in a dilapidated apartment by painting pictures for rent money. Fly spotted beams, peeling wall paper, a grime encrusted bathroom and a crumbling ceiling held up by unsteady poles – not much to speak of, but that apartment contains precious memories of Nikopol's father too, now incarcerated for insubordination by the totalitarian regime. The holes in the walls readily allow the passage of broadcast propaganda from the State, demanding that everyone must vote for Choublanc in the upcoming election. Choublanc, the dictator – prophet in this government of combined church and state is the only one running for office. Who else would dare? Anyone opposing him is terminated.
The news of the day - curiously, a floating pyramid has appeared over the city, and Choublanc has met with the occupants. A space capsule has crashed, and the military is very interested in locating whoever escaped from it prior to their arrival at the scene. Hockey games are of great importance, where a player will even commit suicide to make a difference.
Nikopol dreams of a better life, and is also willing to make a difference. He has joined a secret resistance group and is eager to finish his initiation. He finds an invitation under his door that tells him to meet with them. Why are they requiring him to bring a picture of his father to the meeting?
Nikopol leaves the apartment and is confronted by a hideous beast that wants to arrest or kill him. Has his affiliation with the resistance been discovered, or is there another reason that the State is intent on his death?
Little does Nikopol know how his life will be changed by the appearance of the strange pyramid, nor can he imagine the drama that will enfold of humans as pawns of ancient deities. For now, Nikopol just has to stay alive.
"The mortal seems pure – surely lost in this city." Horus (Nikopol)
This first person perspective adventure may quite possibly be different in style from any other game you've played. It does utilize the mouse for movement and action with a 360 degree view at each node, and it's extremely linear. But where it has a different feel is that there's little dialogue aside from Nikopol's comments, and the action takes you from puzzle to puzzle, quite a few of which are timed and in which you can die. This is as close to an action game that I have seen in the adventure realm, where there can still be no doubt that it is a genuine adventure game and not an action-adventure hybrid. It is intriguing to ponder if this is the game that will entice action gamers to explore the adventure genre. But I digress.
There is an allure to this game, an intoxicating sense of trying something different, like ordering chateaubriand when hamburgers have been your daily fare. Yes, there are the dreaded timed puzzles, but there are no twitch reflexes required. Most of the decisions you must make in these instances are straightforward, such as: don't walk through the deadly laser beams, don't feel invisible and walk where the guard can see you, don't press the alarm button that announces "Here I am!" The time allowed is generous. And if you make a mistake that results in your untimely game death, the game brings you almost immediately back to the point where you can have another try (or several tries) without waiting on a long load time. Often when you fail, Nikopol will make a comment as to where you made your mistake or give a hint to successfully navigate the problem. In addition, you can save at will for most of the game, although there are, curiously, at least one or two places where you cannot until a sequence is completed. There are nine save slots, and an automatic save.
The timed puzzles are interspersed amidst logic and inventory puzzles. There are numerous puzzles that require foiling alarm systems and evading or incapacitating the enemy. Although the killing of other beings is completed without blood, it may be repugnant to some.
I very much enjoyed one of the earliest puzzles where you gather objects and place them according to a secret ritual. This was no timed affair, and one could actually look at all the graphic goodness from room to room. But the feeling of contentment didn't continue. The old chestnut of a puzzle actually appeared where you have to open a locked door that has the key in the other side of the lock. Then there was the puzzle where you have to get through a bricked up doorway with so many hammer blows. Not that I demand that puzzles be logical, but it seems the developers were trying to follow that path in a straightforward manner, given the science fiction setting. I don't know about you, but if I'm trying to escape through bricks, I'm going to smack them until there's a hole big enough to accommodate my exit, rather than go for the pristine removal of the entire doorway. The developers liked this puzzle so much that it's in the game twice.
"There is no proper definition for it in your terrestrial vocabulary". Horus (Nikopol)
I think it may take a second playing of the game to really appreciate that it is well executed. It's just a curious game – in one instance you are drawn into the game by the excellent graphics and ambient sound, and in the next moment you're stopped in your tracks with yet another puzzle, which brings the game to a crashing halt. Not that the game is buggy – I only encountered one crash while in the middle of the aforementioned puzzle I liked so much (flashing back and forth between notes and location). What I mean is that you go from puzzle to puzzle to puzzle, never smelling a rose. I longed to see the streets of Paris, but even the transition between scenes was accomplished through cut scenes. Every time I was free to explore without ramification I applauded the game to a ridiculous point where I found myself even happily playing with the detergent bottles.
There are no slider puzzles or mazes, although the room setup in the later part of the game is rather maze-like. There is one puzzle that requires shade of color discrimination, and a few where hearing tones to describe movement of the guard is beneficial.
Perhaps because the game is not lengthy, the developers opted to not include a bypass for puzzles. I'm a bit surly on this because, when interviewed prior to the release of the game, a developer indicated this feature was going to be included. I want to point out that the "Tex Murphy" games and even a more contemporary offering such as "Keepsake" had this feature, and were all the better for it. Those players who wish to not avail themselves of the bypass don't have to, and those who spend an inordinate amount of precious time in their lives trying to solve a re-coding of the pass card can elect the magic bypass instead.
"You're just playing with me. You're egocentric, totalitarian and inhuman" – Alcide
"Of course. I'm a celestial being, bound by rules you cannot comprehend."- Horus (Nikopol)
This game is based on the graphic novels of Enki Bilal, and bits and pieces explaining the background story are occasionally glimpsed here and there. The game comes vividly alive when the immortals make an appearance, outstandingly rendered with their Darth Vaderish voices. When the developers have dialogue, it is very good, and why I regretted not seeing more of it. I'd been longing to play this game because I loved "Immortal", a movie directed by Bilal that was loosely adapted from his books. In the movie, there was enough character interaction to show the humanism of the gods, and how man can rise above being a mere mortal through courage and love. The game fails to make any attempt to impart any such ideal. It may not make any difference to some players, but it did to me.
Quick List:
First person perspective point and click adventure game. Fixed center node, 360 degree panning.
Little dialogue, character interaction or story.
Consists mostly of playing from puzzle to puzzle. Several are timed, and you can die. However, quick restoration to a point before the end game. Character often gives hints to help success on the next try. Some logical and inventory puzzles – most straightforward, a couple more difficult.
One color puzzle where it is necessary to see shades of paint.
At least one sound puzzle where tones assist in success, but the puzzle can be solved by trial and error.
Nine save slots, and an automatic save. The game can be saved almost anywhere with a couple of exceptions.
Unobtrusive background music of the techno-pop variety.
Excellent graphics and ambient sound.
The game ran smoothly with the exception of one crash during a puzzle which required going back and forth between scenes.


The high environmental compatibility has been confirmed by the inspectors of the TÜV Süd technical inspection authority and they have awarded the environmental certificate.
The concept of the first premium compact tourer was previewed by the Mercedes Vision B in 2004, which became the B-Class in 2005.
Audi plans a sporty compact van based on Audi A3 for the end of 2016 , named Audi A3 Vario.


Earlier this year Better won a project with Endeavour Partnership Business Lawyers. It wasn't just any old project either; it was a big, juicy web redesign/development job that required ultimate creativity and a "thinking-outside-the-box" approach. We've loved every minute of it.
Let's breathe some life back into this.
The original Endeavour site provided some information about the firm but lacked the dynamic ability to encourage the interaction of web users, or to keep their attention. The site had a static feel and just wasn't really selling or reflecting the reputation and experience of Endeavour. We wanted to turn this on it's head; to bring the site to life and create something that breathed knowledge and approachability. To do so, we got to work on evolving Endeavours visual style by modernising the overall appearance of the site, with sharper edges, stronger images and a carefully thought out use of colour to make each page an action-led and cutting-edge reflection of the Endeavour message.
There's no use having a gorgeous site if no one can find their way around. Small and tricky to read navigation seems to be a curse that has befallen many sites across the web, which is why we strived to develop a navigation system that would work hard for Endeavour and the users of their site. The homepage now features smart, concise manageable promotional areas, designed to let the Endeavour team instantly communicate their featured service/sector areas to the user within seconds of arrival. Hello leads, goodbye bounce rate! We love this design; it requires zero effort on behalf of the user to get to where they want to be almost instantaneously. We also designed the core navigation options (the stuff most people want to get to) clearly at the top of the page, with supporting media navigation, so that users could see a full range of routes through the site at one glance.
It doesn't get better than BetterPress.
Endeavour told us that they needed a site that they could easily update… enter: BetterPress. Our smart and heavily customised WordPress based CMS will allow Endeavour employees to jump into the backend of the site and edit at any time, as well as uploading blogs, media, events and news items to keep the site right up to date and dynamic.
Action-led and relevant content is the only way.
One of the smartest new features of the Endeavour site is one that means every user's experience is tailored towards what they're looking for. For example, say someone was reading through the "Commercial Litigation" section of the site – wouldn't it be nice if they could see all the latest news/media updates related specifically to Commercial Litigation? And wouldn't it be even nicer if they could actually speak to a Commercial Litigation Specialist? Yes, we believe it would! The team has introduced a feature to the site that pulls in the contact details of specialists throughout the company, depending on the page that's being viewed. Don't just call a faceless number, call Paul Bennet, head of the Commercial Litigation Department! It's the future. This is all about making the site not only a hub of useful info, but a hub of relevant info – stuff that's going to prompt users to pick up the phone and make contact.
All the stuff that's going on all the time.
The Endeavour site is no longer a static list of information, now it's something that can be updated every day, with an improved media area to promote news and blogs, which is great for user interaction and SEO, too. Plus, we're seriously impressed by the cool industry and regional events Endeavour hold on a regular basis, so we're glad to have implemented a new events section that displays events, current and past, clearly so users can explore and find all the information they need to register.
The new Endeavour site, www.endeavourpartnership.com, is now totally responsive, meaning that it responds to screens of varying shapes and sizes (tablets, phones, laptops) to ensure users always get optimum experience. Magic.


Let In Edinburgh was created to provide you with comprehensive information about short term lets (business lets, holiday rentals, festival lets, etc.) in Edinburgh, offering both a service to the consumer and the property owner/agent.
You can easily search Let In Edinburgh's fast growing database of properties for accommodation that matches your exact requirements. Then simply contact the property owner/agent direct and cut out the middle man.
Holiday cottages in Edinburgh can be quite difficult to find - as like most big City's, Edinburgh has lots of flats and apartments but a lack of space for cottages. However if you want all the excitement, fun and culture that Edinburgh has to offer, but its a cottage that you want, you can still have it through Let In Edinburgh.


text:
: Canadian banks restrict funds to trucker protest groups
The trade group for Canada's biggest banks on Wednesday said lenders will work to carry out an emergency order from the government to freeze bank accounts for truckers and their parent companies involved in illegal blockades to protest COVID-19 requirements.
The Canadian Bankers Association said its members will "diligently implement" measures laid out by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to impose 30-day suspensions of bank accounts associated with the protest.
Banks and insurance companies will have to perform their own due diligence on finding key sources of funding for the protests, officials said. The Canadian government continues to work with banks to identify accounts and execute the emergency order.
COVID DAILY: U.S. headed closer to point where pandemic is no longer a crisis, White House says, but sticks with face masks for now
These emergency measures were laid out Monday by Trudeau, who invoked a 1988 law called the Emergencies Act, which includes the Emergency Economic Measures order curtailing financial transactions and other measures. The action paved the way for police to clear roadways blocked by the protestors.
For its part, the Canadian Bankers Associations said financial service providers covered by the federal Emergencies Act will need to implement the required measures. The CBA added that its actions "are not expected to impact the vast majority of customers," according to a statement Wednesday.
Looking ahead beyond the temporary ban, Canadian officials said Wednesday financial institutions have the option to decide whom they do business with, as long as they adhere to rules that guarantee access to banking services.
TD,
on Monday froze $1.1 million in two personal bank accounts to support the fundraising and is seeking guidance from Ontario courts on returning it, according to reports.
"TD has asked the court to accept the funds, which were raised through crowdfunding and deposited into personal accounts at TD, so they may be managed and distributed in accordance with the intentions of the donors, and/or to be returned to the donors who have requested refunds but whose entitlement to a refund cannot be determined by TD," spokesperson Carla Hindman told CTV.
A TD spokesperson did not reply to an email from MarketWatch.
Gofundme said on Feb. 5 it will refund all donations to the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser on its platform. The company's platform had collected $10 million, according to reports.
Another crowd funding service called GiveSendGo allowed a Freedom Convoy fundraiser to collect money for the trucker protestors, but that page was hacked on Monday, The Washington Post reported.
Canada repealed 1914's War Measures Act and in 1988 and passed the Emergency Act to allow the federal government to take temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies and wars.
The Freedom Convoy 2022 mission was to protest the Canadian government's COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and attracted international attention after truckers blocked the Ambassador Bridge between Canada and Detroit, before being cleared out by officials over the weekend after they snarled supply lines for the auto industry.
The Wall Street Journal: Russian documents level 'genocide' allegation against Ukraine in eastern Donbas region
Vanguard Funds – 10 Best Vanguard Mutual Funds


TBH is honoured to be recognised as an ABA100 Winner for Employer of Choice in The Australian Business Awards 2014.
TBH takes a holistic approach to staff satisfaction.
Established in 1965, Tracey Brunstrom & Hammond (TBH) is a consultancy that provides clients with independent, objective and sound management advice on projects during the entire project lifecycle.
Employing more than 180 staff, TBH has been involved in projects ranging from complex multibillion dollar capital works to small-scale building projects in construction, information and communication technology, infrastructure, transport, tourism, defence, health and mining.
The company was recognised as an ABA100 Winner for Employer of Choice in The Australian Business Awards 2014.
TBH's diverse, multidisciplinary, professional and high-performance team is at the core of the Australian-owned company. To facilitate communication and employee engagement, an open-door policy is encouraged along with one-on-one group consultation, mentor programs, staff meetings, social activities, quarterly staff newsletters and intranet.
TBH has a performance management program, which is conducted bi-annually to create individual career development training plans, identify individuals for promotion, reward staff for improved performance, update succession plans, and identify skill gaps. Flexible leave and work hours – coupled with company-sponsored sporting activities, social events, travel club getaways, an employee assistance program and a Friday wind-down – help ensure staff wellbeing.
"The company works towards a holistic approach to ensure full engagement with its staff," said Tess Esplin, human resources and corporate administration manager.


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(Associated Press)
Bradley Cooper is right: Men need to demand better pay for women
The leading man vows to negotiate equal pay with his female co-stars. More professionals should follow his example
Check out this article! https://www.salon.com/2015/10/21/bradley_cooper_is_right_men_need_to_demand_better_pay_for_women_partner/
Nico Lang
October 21, 2015 12:15PM (UTC)
This article originally appeared on The Daily Dot.
In a recent op-ed for Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter, actress Jennifer Lawrence joined an increasingly long list of actresses calling out the gender pay gap inHollywood—including Jessica Chastain, Meryl Streep, and Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette. Lawrence discusses the difficulty that many women face when it comes to negotiating their salaries. Whereas men who fight for their paychecks are commended for being "fierce" and "tactical," the Hunger Games star confesses that she has been worried about coming across as a "spoiled brat."
While many of Jennifer Lawrence's peers have commended her for speaking up, her frequent co-star, Bradley Cooper, has vowed to go further—by working with his female co-stars to negotiate equal pay. Cooper told Reuters, "Usually you don't talk about the financial stuff, you have people. But you know what? It's time to start doing that." Bradley Cooper is right—and more men, not just A-listers, need to follow his lead in working to close the pay gap. If men continue to profit from a system that pays women 78 cents for every dollar a man makes, they need to use their power to leverage for equality in the workplace.
More from The Daily Dot: "This creepy video puzzle contains threatening messages, and nobody knows who made it"
During the Sony email hacks, it was revealed that Lawrence and her American Hustle co-star, Amy Adams, earned less than their male castmates. But for many actresses, even that oft-cited 78 cents-ratio is generous. Two years ago, Jessica Chastain became the first woman in 50 years to boast the top two movies at the box office—with Mama and Zero Dark Thirty, for which the Juilliard graduate was nominated for her second Oscar. However, when it came time to sign her paycheck for The Martian, Chastain learned that she would be earning 20 times less than Matt Damon, the film's male lead.
While Hollywood's salary woes have made frequent headlines, the film industry is hardly the only sector to struggle with gender equality. A report from the American Association of University Women reported that the pay gap has closed considerably since 1974, when women earned just 59 percent of what their male co-workers earned. However, these divides continue to persist in the workplace—and they are even worse for women of color. If the average American woman earns $39,621 per year (as opposed to $50,383 for women), black women take home $33,772, while Latinas earn just $29,791.
In Silicon Valley, these gender gaps are even more profound. According to a 2015 report, "men with bachelor's degrees bring in almost $35,000 more than women with the same education." The problem only gets worse as women climb the education ladder—as men with Master's degreesoutearn their female counterparts by a staggering 73 percent. Across the industry, BigThink's Pamela Haag reports that women earn 49 cents for every dollar that male Silicon Valley employees make—just over 60 percent of the national average.
And overall, hiring initiatives lag behind for women in tech, who only make up 30 percent of most major companies, with white women making up the vast majority of those employed. If research shows that minorities in tech make less than their white colleagues, this phenomenon will doubly impact women of color—if they're even hired at all.
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In an essay for LeanIn.org, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg argues that "we need to have an open and honest conversation about the biases that suppress women's pay," but women in Silicon Valley are already doing that—and they have been for years. The problem is that too few men are willing to stand alongside them. If Sandberg is speaking out about the pay gap, where is her boss—Mark Zuckerberg—in helping to lead that discussion at his company? Although Zuckerberg hasvowed to earn $1 annually as compensation, a) he's already worth $29 billion and b) that's still very different for being an outspoken advocate for gender equality.
While Zuckerberg has the ability to use his institutional power to change tech industry norms, men don't have to be the CEO of a major company to impact the conversation. As Jennifer Lawrence points out, women are treated as hostile or aggressive when they voice their concerns or opinions in the workplace, and part of that is because male co-workers and bosses are unwilling to listen to their suggestions or very real concerns. She writes:
A few weeks ago at work, I spoke my mind and gave my opinion in a clear and no-bullshit way; no aggression, just blunt. The man I was working with (actually, he was working for me) said, "Whoa! We're all on the same team here!" As if I was yelling at him. … All I hear and see all day are men speaking their opinions, and I give mine in the same exact manner, and you would have thought I had said something offensive.
Such treatment has a way of silencing women or making them feel as if they are being unreasonable. According to Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, the authors of Women Don't Ask, many women are socially conditioned to likewise keep quiet about how much they make. According to Babcock and Laschever, "2.5 times more women than men said they feel 'a great deal of apprehension' about negotiating." Whereas men commonly describe the act of negotiation as a "winning a ballgame" or "like a wrestling match," women liken it to "going to the dentist."
Babcock and Laschever argue that this means women initiate negotiations less frequently than their male counterparts and often take less, if they negotiate at all. Many women fear being fired from their jobs for even attempting to negotiate their salary—because that is too often the case. According to the New Yorker, a professor applying for a job in the Nazareth College philosophy department had her offer rescinded for requesting a "slightly higher salary than the starting offer, paid maternity leave for one semester, a pre-tenure sabbatical, a cap on the number of new classes that she would teach each semester, and a deferred starting date."
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As the New Yorker's Maria Konnikova points out, women's lack of negotiating is, thus, not always a matter of being "shy." If you lack the box office clout of someone like Lawrence, you may find yourself unemployed entirely. This is why it's so important for male colleagues to ensure that women are not punished for demanding equality: because otherwise, women may feel that they simply cannot afford to risk their career for a "slightly bigger paycheck." Men can do so not only by encouraging women's voices and standing in solidarity with female co-workers, but by being honest about how this system has, for too long, benefitted men at the expense of women's silence.
Because if you think earning 20 times less than a man sucks, try not having a job at all.
MORE FROM Nico Lang
Bradley Cooper Hunger Games Lena Dunham Patricia Arquette The Daily Dot
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Council leaders have published their own plans for a rebalancing of democracy in favour of voters. The Local Government Association published its manifesto for a new politics as hundreds of councillors met for their annual conference and as the Prime Minister set out his vision for what he called a 'fairer, stronger and more prosperous society'.
Representatives of local authorities will join business leaders, members of community organisations and staff from economic development agencies from around the country today to look at how inspiration and leadership can help rural economies to fulfil their potential.
By Christopher Day, Pam Sammons, David Hopkins, Alma Harris, Ken Leithwood, Qing Gu, Eleanor Brown, Elpida Ahtaridou and Alison Kington.
The report sets out findings from research which focused on schools that were identified to have significantly raised pupil attainment levels over a three year period. Many of the schools continued to maintain or further improve their results in subsequent years. This indicates that improvement has become embedded in the school's work and culture.
The Audit Commission is talking to unions about planned job cuts. It is proposing to cut its field force numbers by 100 with the planned redundancies taking place during this financial year.
This programme is now available to view on egovtv.tv, the online television channel for public service modernisation. In this interview, Antony Walker, Chief Executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group – the government's leading advisory group on broadband – discusses the opportunities and challenges following the recommendation in the Digital Britain report by Lord Carter for every home to have access to broadband by 2012.
A campaign group says new research which it is publishing today counters the case for building more roads because proposed new routes are running over budget and that they are unlikely to solve traffic problems even if they go ahead.