text:
\section{Introduction}
\label{sec1}
Quantum electrodynamics (QED) in 2+1 dimensions is interesting as a model for several condensed matter systems. In fact, quantum electrodynamics with two massless Dirac fermions could be relevant to describe the low-energy excitations of a single sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure called
``graphene''~\cite{Novoselov:2004aa,Novoselov:2005aa}. When graphene is immersed in a transverse magnetic field, the presence of Landau levels at zero energy leads
to half-integer quantum Hall effect. Moreover, for very strong magnetic fields there is experimental evidence for the dynamical generation of a gap, which
 signals the spontaneous breaking of the chiral symmetry. In fact, it has been suggested that a magnetic field is a strong catalyst of chiral symmetry breaking in spinorial QED~\cite{Gusynin:1994re,Gusynin:1994va} even at the weakest attractive interaction between fermions. \\
 %
The aim of the present paper is to investigate, by means of non-perturbative Monte Carlo simulations, planar quantum electrodynamics (QED) with two degenerate staggered fermions in an external magnetic field. To make contact with the physical planar systems, we choose to work in the  weak-coupling region.  A preliminary
account of the results discussed in the present paper has been published in Ref.~\cite{Cea:2011hu}. \\
The plan of the paper is as follows. In Sect.~\ref{sec2}, for completeness,
we briefly discuss our method to introduce  background fields on the lattice and compare
with different approaches in the literature. Section~\ref{sec3}  is devoted to the discussion of our lattice  Euclidean action. In Sect.~\ref{sec4} we present
the results of our  numerical simulations for two different values of the gauge coupling in the weak-coupling region.  In Sect.~\ref{sec5} we extrapolate our results to
the physical relevant case of the quantum Hall effect in graphene. Finally, our conclusions are relegated in  Sect.~\ref{sec6}.
\section{Background fields on the lattice}
\label{sec2}
The study of lattice gauge theories with an external background field has been pioneered in Ref.~\cite{Damgaard:1987ec,Damgaard:1988hh} for the U(1) Higgs model
in an external electromagnetic field. In the continuum a background field can be introduced by writing:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.1}
A_{\mu}(x) \;  \rightarrow  \; A_{\mu}(x)  \; + \; A^{\text{ext}}_{\mu}(x)  \; .
\end{equation}
In the lattice approach one deals with link variables $U_{\mu}(x)$. Accordingly, on the lattice Eq.~(\ref{eq2.1}) becomes:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.2}
U_{\mu}(x) \;  \rightarrow  \; U_{\mu}(x) \, U^{\text{ext}}_{\mu}(x)  \; ,
\end{equation}
where $U^{\text{ext}}_{\mu}(x)$ is the lattice version of the background field $A^{\text{ext}}_{\mu}(x)$. As a consequence the
gauge action gets modified as:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.3}
S_{G}[U] \;  \rightarrow  \;S_{G}[U]   \; +  \delta \, S[U,U^{\text{ext}}] \; ,
\end{equation}
where $ \delta \, S[U,U^{\text{ext}}]$ takes into account the influence of the external field~\cite{Smit:1986fn,Ambjorn:1989qr,Ambjorn:1990wf,Kajantie:1998rz,Buividovich:2009wi,D'Elia:2010nq,Bali:2011qj,Ilgenfritz:2012fw}. An alternative method, which is equivalent in the continuum limit,
 is based on the observation that an external background field can be introduced via an external
 current~\cite{Cea:1989ag,Cea:1990td,Levi:1995kc,Ogilvie:1997my,Chernodub:2001da}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.4}
J^{\text{ext}}_{\mu}  \;  = \; \partial_{\nu} \;   F^{\text{ext}}_{\nu \mu}  \; .
\end{equation}
The gauge action gets modified in an obvious manner:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.5}
S_{G}  \;  \rightarrow  \;S_{G}  \; +  \; S_{B} \; ,
\end{equation}
where:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq2.6}
S_{B}  \; &= \;  \int dx  \; J^{\text{ext}}_{\mu} (x)  \; A_{\mu}(x)  \nonumber \\ \; &= \; - \; \frac{1}{2} \;  \int dx  \;  F^{\text{ext}}_{\nu \mu}(x) \,  F_{\nu \mu}(x) \;.
\end{eqnarray}
The background action $S_{B}$  can be now easily discretized on the lattice. \\
The main disadvantage of this approach resides on the fact that it cannot be extended to the case of non-Abelian gauge group
in a gauge-invariant way. To overcome this problem, the background field on the lattice can be implemented by means of
the gauge invariant lattice Schr\"odinger functional~\cite{Cea:1996ff,Cea:1999gn}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.7}
 {\mathcal{Z}}[U^{\mathrm{ext}}_k] = \int {\mathcal{D}}U \; e^{-S_G}  \; ,
\end{equation}
where the functional integration is extended over links on a lattice with the
hypertorus geometry  and satisfying the constraints ($x_t$ is the  temporal coordinate)
\begin{equation}
\label{eq2.8}
U_k(x)|_{x_t=0} = U^{\mathrm{ext}}_k(\vec{x}) \; .
\end{equation}
We also impose that links at the spatial boundaries are fixed according to Eq.~(\ref{eq2.8}). In the continuum this last
condition amounts to the requirement that fluctuations over the background field vanish at infinity. \\
The effects of dynamical fermions can be accounted for quite easily. In fact, when including dynamical fermions, the lattice Schr\"odinger functional
in presence of a static external background gauge field becomes~\cite{Cea:2004ux}
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq2.9}
\mathcal{Z}[U^{\mathrm{ext}}_k]  &=&
\int_{U_k(L_t,\vec{x})=U_k(0,\vec{x})=U^{\text{ext}}_k(\vec{x})}
\mathcal{D}U \,  {\mathcal{D}} \psi  \, {\mathcal{D}} \bar{\psi} e^{-(S_G+S_F)}
\nonumber \\
&=&  \int_{U_k(L_t,\vec{x})=U_k(0,\vec{x})=U^{\text{ext}}_k(\vec{x})}
\mathcal{D}U e^{-S_G} \, \det M \,,
\end{eqnarray}
where $S_F$ is the fermionic action and $M$ is  the fermionic matrix.
Notice that the fermionic fields are not constrained and
the integration constraint is only relative to the gauge fields.
This leads  to the appearance of  the gauge invariant fermionic determinant after integration on the
fermionic fields.  As usual we impose on fermionic fields
periodic boundary conditions in the spatial directions and
antiperiodic boundary conditions in the temporal direction.
\section{Lattice planar QED in external magnetic field }
\label{sec3}
We are interested in planar quantum electrodynamics  with $N_f=2$ degenerate Dirac fields in
an external constant magnetic field. As it is well known,  Dirac fields  are described
non-perturbatively by the lattice Euclidean action using $N$ flavours of
staggered fermion fields $\overline\chi,\chi$~\cite{Hands:2002dv}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.1}
 S=S_G+\sum_{i=1}^{N} \sum_{n,m}  \overline\chi_i(n)
M_{n,m} \chi_i(m)\;,
\end{equation}
where $S_G$ is the gauge field action and the fermion matrix is given by:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq3.2}
&& M_{n,m}[U] = \nonumber \\ && \sum_{\nu=1,2,3} \frac{\eta_{\nu}(n)}{2} \left\{ U_{\nu}(n)
      \delta_{m,n+\hat{\nu}}-
     U_{\nu}^{\dagger}(m)  \delta_{m,n-\hat{\nu}} \right\}   + m_0  \delta_{m,n} \; ,\nonumber  \\
&&   \; \; \; \;  \eta_{\nu}(n) = (-1)^{n_1+\ldots+n_{\nu-1}} \; ,
 %
\end{eqnarray}
where $m_0$ is the bare fermion mass.
Here we adopt the  compact formulation for the electromagnetic field (for a detailed account see Ref.~\cite{Fiore:2005ps}).
The gauge action is:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.3}
S_G[U]= \beta \sum_{n,\mu < \nu}{ \left[ 1 - \frac{1}{2} \left( U_{\mu \nu}
 (n)+ U_{\mu \nu}^{\dagger}(n) \right) \right]}\;,
\end{equation}
where $U_{\mu \nu}(n)$ is the plaquette and $\beta=\frac{1}{e^2 }$.  The action Eq.~(\ref{eq3.1}) with $N=1$ flavours of
staggered fermions corresponds  to $N_f=2$ flavours of 4-component Dirac fermions $\Psi$~\cite{Burden:1986by}. \\
To introduce an external magnetic field, we shall follow the  lattice Schr\"odinger functional described
in Sect.~\ref{sec3} (for a different  approach see Ref.~\cite{Alexandre:2001pa}).
Accordingly, in the functional integration over the lattice links we constrain
the spatial links belonging to the  time slice  $x_t=0$  to
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.4}
U_k(\vec{x},x_t=0) = U^{\text{ext}}_k(\vec{x})
\,,\,\,\,\,\, k=1,2 \,\,,
\end{equation}
 $U^{\text{ext}}_k(\vec{x})$ being the lattice version  of the external continuum
gauge potential. Since our  background field does not vanish at infinity,
 we
must also impose that, for each time slice $x_t \ne 0$, spatial links exiting
from sites belonging to the spatial boundaries  are fixed according to Eq.~(\ref{eq3.4}).  \\
The continuum  gauge potential giving rise to a constant magnetic field is given by:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.5}
A^{\text{ext}}_k(\vec{x}) =  \delta_{k,2} \ x_1 H \; ,
\end{equation}
so that:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.6}
U^{\text{ext}}_1(\vec{x}) = 1 \, ,
\,  U^{\text{ext}}_2(\vec{x}) = \cos(  eHx_1) +
i \sin( eHx_1 )   \,.
\end{equation}
Since our lattice has the topology of a torus, the magnetic field turns out to be quantized:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq3.7}
  e H = \frac{2 \pi}{L}
n_{\text{ext}} \; , \;\;\;  n_{\text{ext}}\,\,\,{\text{integer}} \; ,
\end{equation}
where $L$ is the lattice size. We recall once more that the fermion fields are unconstrained and satisfy antiperiodic boundary conditions in the timelike
direction and  periodic boundary conditions in the spatial directions. \\
Our numerical results were obtained by simulating the action Eq.~(\ref{eq3.1}) on $L^3$ lattice using standard hybrid Monte Carlo
algorithm.
\section{Chiral symmetry breaking}
\label{sec4}
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth,clip]{Fig-1.eps}
\caption{\label{Fig-1}
Scaled chiral condensate versus the scaling variable $x = \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{eH/ 2 \pi}}$ for $\beta = 2.0$. The continuum line is the linear fit of the data
Eqs.~(\ref{eq4.2}) and (\ref{eq4.3}) in the scaling region $0 < x \lesssim 0.045$.}
\end{figure*}
 We are looking for the dynamical generation of a gap for massless fermions. This corresponds to
a non-zero chiral condensate $ \langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle$ in the chiral limit.
Our strategy is to measure the fermion condensate with a  small bare fermion mass $m_0$ and then perform
the massless limit $m_0 \rightarrow 0$ in presence of a constant external magnetic field. Our simulations
have been performed in the weak-coupling region with two different values of the gauge coupling
$\beta=2.0$ and $\beta=2.5$.  In fact, in the   weak-coupling region we expect that the effects of the Coulomb interactions
could be neglected allowing to extrapolate our numerical results to physical planar systems. \\
We have performed simulations on lattices with $L=16,$ 24 and $0.005 \leqslant m_0 \leqslant 0.03$ with
different strengths of the external magnetic field labelled by the integer $n_{\text{ext}}$ according to Eq.~(\ref{eq3.7}).
 For each parameter set, to allow thermalization we  discard  $10000$ sweeps for $L=16$ and  $7000$ sweeps for $L=24$.
We collect about $50000$ hybrid Monte Carlo trajectories.  To optimize the performance of the hybrid Monte Carlo
algorithm, we tuned the simulation parameters to give an acceptance of about $80 \%$.
The chiral condensate  $ \langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle$ was estimated by the  stochastic source method.
 In order to reduce autocorrelation effects, measurements were taken every 10 steps for $L=16$  and every 5 steps for $L=24$ .
 Data were analyzed by   the jackknife method combined with binning.  \\
In Fig.~\ref{Fig-1} we display the chiral condensate for different values of the lattice size, bare fermion mass, and magnetic field strength for $\beta=2.0$ .
Note that, according to  Eq.~(\ref{eq3.7}), the strength of the external magnetic field depends on $n_{\text{ext}}$ as well on the lattice size $L$.
To avoid lattice discretization and finite volume effects, we have fixed the magnetic field  strength such that the magnetic length satisfies the bounds:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq4.1}
1 \ll \sqrt{{\frac{2 \pi}{eH}}} \; \ll  \; L \; .
\end{equation}
We expect that in the continuum limit the relevant scale is set by the magnetic length. This means that the rescaled chiral condensate
$\frac{\langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle}{\frac{eH}{2 \pi}}$  would depend only on the scaling variable $x \equiv \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{\frac{eH}{2 \pi}}}$.
Actually, from  Fig.~\ref{Fig-1}, where we display the rescaled chiral condensate versus the dimensionless scaling variable $x$,
we see that in the region $x  \gtrsim  0.05$  data are rather scattered. However, in
the region $ x \lesssim 0.05$  our data seem to collapse to an universal curve. This means that in this region, that we shall call
the {\it scaling} region, the rescaled chiral condensate depends only on the scaling variable $x$.
This allows us to extract the chiral condensate in the chiral limit $m_0 \rightarrow 0$, which corresponds to $x \rightarrow 0$,
for a fixed strength on the external magnetic field. In fact, we try to fit the data in the scaling region  $0 < x \lesssim 0.045$
according to:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq4.2}
 \frac{\langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle}{\frac{eH}{2 \pi}} \; = \; a_0 \, + \, a_1 \, x \; \; , \;\;\;\; \; x = \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{\frac{eH}{ 2 \pi}}} \, .
\end{equation}
The best fit of the data to Eq.~(\ref{eq4.2}) in the scaling region gives:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq4.3}
&& a_0 \, = \, 0.04399 \, \pm \, 0.00131 \;  \; , \; \;\;\;\;
  a_1 \, = \, 9.759 \, \pm \, 0.055 \;  \; , \; \;\;\;\; \nonumber \\
&&  \chi^2_{\rm d.o.f.} \; \simeq 747 \; .
\end{eqnarray}
We note, however, that there are sizable violations of our  scaling  law as implied by the huge reduced chi-square. We believe that
these scaling violations are mainly due to the fermion  interactions with the electromagnetic field, which  could
introduce a spurious dependence of the  scaled chiral condensate on the dimensionless ratio $ \frac{e^2}{\sqrt{\frac{eH}{2 \pi}}}$.
To check this point, we have performed  numerical
simulations by increasing the gauge coupling $\beta$ (which corresponds to a smaller $e^2$). In fact, in Fig.~\ref{Fig-2} we display
the results of our simulations  for $\beta=2.5$.  Again we see that the data for the rescaled chiral condensate  seem to collapse to
 to an universal curve in the scaling region $ x \lesssim 0.05$. Moreover,  comparing  Fig.~\ref{Fig-2} with Fig.~\ref{Fig-1} it is evident that
the scaling violation are greatly reduced allowing a better extrapolation to the chiral limit. Fitting the data to  Eq.~(\ref{eq4.2})
we find:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq4.4}
&& a_0 \, = \, 0.03544 \, \pm \, 0.00084 \;  \; , \; \;\;\;\;
a_1 \, = \, 8.382 \, \pm \, 0.032\;  \; , \;\;\;\;\;  \nonumber \\ &&\chi^2_{\rm d.o.f.} \; \simeq 466 \; .
\end{eqnarray}
Even though the reduced chi-square is quite large, we believe that our results are robust enough to allow the extrapolation
of the chiral condensate to the chiral limit.
As a consequence, we conclude that in the chiral limit the external magnetic field does induce
a non-zero chiral condensate. From Eqs.~(\ref{eq4.2}) and (\ref{eq4.4}) we find for the chiral condensate
in the massless limit:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq4.5}
\langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle  \; = \;  \frac{ eH}{2 \pi}  \left(  0.03544 \, \pm \, 0.00084 \right) \, .
\end{equation}
The non-zero value of the chiral condensate can be interpreted as the generation of a dynamical fermion
mass which, in principle, can be extracted from the  non-zero chiral condensate in the chiral limit. \\
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth,clip]{Fig-2.eps}
\caption{\label{Fig-2}
Scaled chiral condensate versus the scaling variable $x = \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{eH/ 2 \pi}}$ for $\beta = 2.5$. The continuum line is the linear fit of the data
Eqs.~(\ref{eq4.2}) and (\ref{eq4.3}) in  the scaling region $0 < x \lesssim 0.045$.}
\end{figure*}
In the determination of the value of the chiral condensate, as given
in Eq.~(\ref{eq4.5}), we neglected a possible contribution present
even in absence of the magnetic field. Indeed, in
Ref.~\cite{Armour:2011zx} it was shown that the chiral condensate is non-zero
in the weak-coupling regime of compact planar QED even at zero external
magnetic field. In order to check the possible impact of this zero-field
contribution on our determination of the chiral condensate, we observe that
in Ref.~\cite{Fiore:2005ps} two of us found
$\beta^2 \langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle  \; \approx \; 1.5 \times 10^{-3}$
for $H=0$ on a lattice with $L=12$. This
result implies, for $\beta=2.5$, that $\langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle  \; = \; 0.00024$, in
lattice units. In this work the smallest value of the chiral condensate
induced by an external magnetic field is obtained for $n_{\text{ext}}=1$ and
$L=16$, which implies $eH/(2\pi)=0.0625$ and therefore, through
Eq.~(\ref{eq4.5}), $\langle\overline\Psi\Psi\rangle \;=\; 0.002215$.
The latter value is one order of magnitude bigger than the former and
cannot be attributed to finite size effects, in consideration of the
similar lattice sizes adopted in the two determinations. This allows us
to safely neglect the zero-field contribution to the chiral condensate.

\section{Extrapolation to Graphene}
\label{sec5}
In this Section we attempt to apply our numerical determination of the chiral condensate in the chiral limit to graphene immersed in a transverse
magnetic field. For the reader's convenience, we briefly discuss the remarkable quantum Hall effect in graphene. \\
As is well known, graphene is a flat monolayer of carbon atoms tightly packed in   a two dimensional honeycomb lattice consisting of two interpenetrating triangular sublattices (for a review, see  Ref.~\cite{CastroNeto:2009zz}).
Indeed, the structure of graphene has attracted considerable attention since  the low-energy excitations  are given by two Pauli spinors $\Psi_{\pm}$  which satisfy the massless two-dimensional Dirac equation with the speed of light replaced by the Fermi velocity $v_F  \simeq  1.0 \, 10^8  \,$ cm/s. The Pauli spinors can be combined into a single Dirac spinor $ \Psi=\left(\begin{array}{c}\Psi_+  \\ \Psi_- \end{array} \right)$. Taking into account the real spin degeneracy, we see
 that the low-energy dynamics of graphene can be accounted for by $N_f=2$ massless  Dirac fields~\cite{Drut:2009aa,Drut:2009aj}. \\
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth,clip]{Fig-3.eps}
\caption{\label{Fig-3}
Schematic spectrum of Landau levels of graphene in applied magnetic field (left). Landau levels with  dynamical generation of a gap $\Delta_0$ (right).
The Fermi level is at $\varepsilon_F =  0$.}
\end{figure*}
When graphene is immersed in a  transverse magnetic field, the relativistic massless dispersion of the electronic wave functions results in non-equidistant Landau levels
\footnote{ In this Section we use cgs units.}:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.1}
\varepsilon_n =  {\rm sign}(n) \sqrt{2 |n| \hslash \frac{ v_F^2}{c} eH} \, , \,  \;\;\; n \, = \, 0 \, , \, \pm \, 1 \, , \, \pm \, 2  \; ...
\end{equation}
where $eH>0$, $e$ being the elementary charge (see Fig.~\ref{Fig-3}, left). The presence of anomalous Landau levels at zero energy, $\varepsilon_0=0$, leads to half-integer quantum Hall  effect corresponding  to quantized filling factor $\nu   =  \pm 2 \, , \,  \pm 6 \, , \, \pm 10  \,\,   ...$. \\
Recent  studies of quantum Hall effect in graphene in very strong magnetic field $H \gtrsim 20 \, T$ (1 T = $10^4 \, $ gauss) have revealed new quantum Hall states corresponding to filling factor $\nu   = 0 \, , \, \pm  1 \, , \,  \pm 4$~\cite{Zhang:2006aa,Jiang:2007aa}. The new plateaus at $\nu   = 0 \,  \, , \,  \pm 4$ can be explained by Zeeman spin splitting. On the other hand the  $\nu   =  \pm 1$ plateaus are associated with the spontaneous breaking of the symmetry in the $n=0$ Landau levels
(the so-called {\it valley} symmetry). Indeed, these states are naturally explained if there is dynamical generation of a gap $\Delta_0$ (see Fig.~\ref{Fig-3}, right).  \\
The gap $\Delta_0$ can be extracted from the measured activation energy. In fact,  in Fig.~\ref{Fig-4} we display the  measured activation energy gap
$\Delta E (\nu = 1)$ as a function of the magnetic field for the $\nu = 1$ quantum Hall states~\cite{Jiang:2007aa}.
To extract  $\Delta_0$ from the activation energy data, we need to take care of the Zeeman energy which for strong magnetic fields is no more negligible.
To this end, we may fit the data to:
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth,clip]{Fig-4.eps}
\caption{\label{Fig-4}
The measured activation energy gap $\Delta E (\nu = 1)$ as a function of magnetic field for the quantum Hall states at filling factor $\nu = 1$.
The data have been extracted from Fig.~2 of Ref.~\cite{Jiang:2007aa}. The continuum line is the best fit of the experimental data to Eq.~(\ref{eq5.2}).}
\end{figure*}

 %
\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.2}
\Delta E (\nu = 1)  =  2 \, \left ( \Delta_0(H) \, + \,  \frac{g}{2} \mu_B \, H \right ) \; ,
\end{equation}
where $\mu_B$ is the Bohr magneton,  $g=2$ and $\Delta_0(H) \sim \sqrt{H}$~\cite{Jiang:2007aa}.  Figure~\ref{Fig-4}  shows that, indeed, our
Eq.~(\ref{eq5.2}) gives an excellent fit to the data.  We find:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.3}
\Delta_0(H) \, = \, (13.57 \, \pm 0.28) \; {\rm K} \, k_B \; \sqrt{H(T)}
\; ,
\end{equation}
where $H(T)$ means that the magnetic field is measured in Tesla. \\
Our strategy is, now, to relate the gap $\Delta_0$ to the chiral condensate. After that, using our determination of the chiral condensate on the lattice,
we will estimate the gap and compare with the experimental determination Eq.~(\ref{eq5.3}). \\
To this purpose we follow Ref.~\cite{Cea:2011vi}, where the hypothesis of
rearrangement of the Dirac sea of graphene in an external magnetic field
was used and the electron-electron Coulomb interactions were neglected.
Note that in graphene the electron-electron Coulomb interaction, $e^2/r$, in
general is not small, so that this approximation could be questionable.
A direct calculation gives~\cite{Cea:2011vi}:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{eq5.4}
&& \langle \overline\Psi \Psi \rangle \; = \; - \, 2 \,\Delta_0 \, \frac { \hslash  c  eH} {2 \pi}  \frac{1}{\sqrt{2  \hslash \frac{v_F^2}{c} eH}}
\frac{\Gamma(\frac{1}{2})} {\sqrt{ \pi}} \;  \zeta(\frac{1}{2}, 1+\alpha^2) \; ,
\nonumber \\
&& \; \; \; \; \; \; \;  \alpha \; = \;   \frac{\Delta_0}{\sqrt{2  \hslash  \frac{v_F^2}{c} eH}} \;  \; ,
\end{eqnarray}
where  $\Gamma(x)$ is the Euler gamma function and  $\zeta(x,y)$ is the generalized Riemann Zeta function.
For small gap, we may  expand to the first order in $\Delta_0$. Using $\Gamma(\frac{1}{2}) = \sqrt{ \pi}$ and $\zeta(x,1) =  \zeta(x)$, we get:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.5}
\frac{\langle \overline\Psi \Psi \rangle}{ \frac { \hslash  c  eH} {2 \pi} } \; \simeq \; - \, 2 \,\Delta_0 \; \frac{1}{\sqrt{2  \hslash \frac{v_F^2}{c}  eH}}
 \;  \zeta(\frac{1}{2}) \; .
\end{equation}
This last equation relates the gap $\Delta_0$ to the rescaled dimensionless chiral condensate. Using our determination on the lattice for the
rescaled chiral condensate, we obtain:
\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.6}
\Delta_0  \; \simeq \;   \, - \,  \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{  \zeta(\frac{1}{2})}  \; \;  \sqrt{ \frac{\hslash  \frac{v_F^2}{c} eH}{2\pi}}  \; \;  a_0  \; ,
\end{equation}
where $a_0$ is given in Eq.~(\ref{eq4.4}).  Finally, with the experimental value for the Fermi velocity we get:

\begin{equation}
\label{eq5.7}
\Delta_0(H) \, \simeq \, 2.6  \; \; {\rm K} \, k_B \; \sqrt{H(T)} .
\end{equation}
Comparing Eq.~(\ref{eq5.7}) with Eq.~(\ref{eq5.3}),  we see that our estimate of the gap is about a factor five smaller than the experimental data. However,
it is remarkable  that  we are able to reproduce the dependence on the external magnetic field $\Delta_0 \sim \sqrt{H}$.
\section{Conclusions}
\label{sec6}
We investigated planar quantum electrodynamics  with two degenerate staggered fermions in an external magnetic field on the lattice.
Our numerical results seem to indicate that  in an external magnetic field there is a non-zero
chiral condensate in the chiral limit pointing to a dynamical generation of mass for two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions.

We performed our simulations in the weak-coupling regime of the  compact formulation of the lattice gauge action. As discussed in
Ref.~\cite{Armour:2011zx}, the {\it non-compact} formulation of the theory could have a different continuum limit than the compact one, the
signature of this being the different magnetic monopole dynamics, which in compact QED leads to an enhanced chiral condensate.
As a matter of fact, in the compact theory the chiral condensate is non-zero in the strong-coupling regime and undergoes a crossover
to a non-zero value in the weak-coupling regime, while in the weak-coupling regime of the non-compact theory it is compatible with zero. Although we believe
that the numerical impact of this possible different behaviour in the continuum should be negligible to our purposes, we plan to explicitly check
this point by performing numerical simulations with the non-compact lattice gauge action. This will also permit us to make a comparison with the results
of Ref.~\cite{Alexandre:2001pa}, where a different approach was adopted to introduce the background magnetic field on the lattice.

We also tried to extrapolate our lattice results to the quantum Hall effect in graphene, since the low energy dynamics of graphene is described by $N_f=2$
massless Dirac fermions. Our non-perturbative Monte Carlo simulations allowed to confirm the dynamical breaking of the valley symmetry in the lowest Landau levels.
Moreover, even though we greatly underestimate the dynamical gap, we were able to reproduce the dependence of the dynamical gap on the strength of the external
magnetic field.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
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All submissions will be reviewed by the advisory board, and the winner will receive a cash prize of £8000. The winner will be invited to attend the symposium where they will be presented with their prize. Flights and accommodation are included.
Maximum 2500 words in length.
The decision of the judging panel will be final and no correspondence will be entered into by the editors.
Authors may be of any nationality.
Authors must be over 18 years old.
Only one entry per person will be permitted.
The essay must be written in English.
Entries should be clearly marked as submissions for the 'Essay Prize'.
They must be submitted electronically to: [email protected]
Playwriting Prize
Awarded to the best play on the theme "epiphany". Submissions are open to any writer, but the prize is aimed at encouraging writers at the start of their careers. The prize will be £8000 and a rehearsed reading at the symposium. The winner will be invited to attend the symposium to present their work. Flights and accommodation are included.
Submissions should be a dialogue sample of at least 10 pages minimum, along with a summary of the plot, and a brief note from the author relating the screenplay to the theme of "epiphany". The winner will be asked to submit a completed script by July 30th. The advisory board will contact the winner directly with suggestions for amendment prior to a reading at the symposium.
Applicants may be of any nationality.
Applicants must be over 18 years old.
The play must be in English.
Entries should be clearly marked as submissions for the 'Playwriting Prize'.
Visual Art Prize
Open to visual artists from around the world at any stage of their careers. Awarded to the best art submission based on the theme of "epiphany". Submissions are welcome in any visual medium including but not limited to painting, drawing, photography, ceramic, original print, installation art, mixed media, video art and sculpture. Entrants are asked to include a supporting statement of maximum 500 words explaining their work and its relevance to the theme of "epiphany". Submissions are judged on creativity and interpretation of the theme. The winner will receive £8000, with a further £1000 to be used towards the shipping and installation of the winning work, for viewing at the symposium. The winner will be invited to attend the symposium to present their work. Flights and accommodation are included.
Submissions should be clearly marked as submissions for the 'Art Prize'.
Submissions should take the form of appropriate images or video of the work and should include dimensions of the work and details of the media used.
If you submit a password protected video, please ensure that you include the password in your email submission
Jericho seeks to encourage innovation in the realms of science, technology, and engineering. This award is for an innovation manifesting as a novel device, software, or design - on the theme 'epiphany'. The idea can be at the concept/beta stage or more advanced.
Entries should include a supporting statement of maximum 500 words. Submissions are judged on their potential impact and feasibility, as well as their relevance to the theme. The winner will receive £4000, with a further £5000 towards advancing the concept/prototype. The winner will be invited to attend the symposium to present their work. Flights and accommodation are included. The Jericho fellowship will have no claim to any intellectual property related to the concept.
Submissions should be clearly marked as submissions for the 'Innovation Prize'.
Submissions should take the form of appropriate images, descriptions, video, software, tangible prototype, or proposed design of the work.
They must be submitted electronically (in the first instance) to: [email protected]
Opportunity Opens
Sunday, Jun 23rd 2019
Opportunity Closes
Tuesday, Jul 30th 2019, 11:45pm
Application Location
https://www.jerichofellowship.com/prizes
Mn Artists Picks

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text:
CascadeLakesResidents.com
A News Site About Cascade Lakes
Resident of the Month
Residents' Input Page
Synopses and Commentary
HOA Issues
BOD 2021 Elections
Calling Out Bullies
Relevant Rules
Where's Manny
"Ringers and Cadillac Lawyers"
ADDENDUM TO 02/19/20 BOD MEETING SYNOPSIS AND COMMENTARY:
At the February 19, 2020 board meeting, the community was told by board member Alan Silver that the reason there was no live streaming of the meeting was because they're redoing the wiring in the ballroom and one of the audio wires got snipped or broken.
It is also noteworthy that this explanation was not offered to the community at any time until Phil Berman got up at the Second Residents' Input Session and asked if the streaming was ever going to come back or if this were a one-time situation.
It was this same meeting that Sue Leonard, Chairperson of the Long-Range Planning Committee, reported on the Vision Survey and made an adamant but unenforceable demand not to record her or her statements concerning the results of the survey.
It occurs to the news team of this site (your Editor, your roving reporter, and some confidential informants) that these two statements, one by the board member only when prompted at the end of the meeting, and the other by the Chairperson in charge of the survey, may not have been made by coincidence, and in fact may be inextricably intertwined.
We therefore pose the question: was the streaming suspended specifically so that the results of the survey would not be recorded?
We ask this question because we and our confidential informants observed the following facts:
1. The audio seemed to be working fine in the ballroom because all of the microphones were working, including the ones that Sue Leonard and Alan Silver were using when they spoke.
2. All of the speakers appeared to be working, as each speaker who used a microphone during the meeting, including all present board members and the property manager, came in loud and clear.
3. The computer system that was used for the PowerPoint presentation was working, because we all were able to watch it.
4. It appeared to be the same computer used for the streaming.
5. The computer appeared to be using a Windows based system, which has the capability of operating more than one application at a time.
6. There does not appear to be any relationship between the audio system, which was working for the microphones, and the computer streaming application, which has nothing to do with the audio system in the room and would be connected through the WiFi or a router. The OWL has its own microphone and camera which has nothing to do with the audio speakers in the ballroom.
7. The notice from the office concerning the unavailability of streaming was sent out the day before, February 18, 2020, at 3:48pm with no explanation as to why the streaming would be unavailable. We are not aware of any prior test runs the day before since streaming started. It also is not conceivable that the board would set up the computer system for streaming the day before and leave it there overnight.
Based on the above analysis, it seems more likely than not that the real reason this specific board meeting was not streaming was because of an intentional decision not to record the results of the survey. We leave it to our readers' discretion to decide for themselves what they wish to conclude from the above facts.
02/19/20 BOD MEETING: SYNOPSIS AND COMMENTARY BY VICKI ROBERTS
Posted February 20 2020. Your Editor provides the following synopsis of the February 19, 2020 Board meeting with commentary indicated in brackets and in blue.
Board Members Present: All except Jerry Dinerman.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Marion Weil.
Marion Weil's Opening Remarks and Announcements:
Marion: We have a quorum, Jerry is absent, the meeting is properly noticed. We will not have live streaming today of the Board meeting, so if you are reluctant to come up during the residents' input session, have no fear, no one will see you.
[Editor's note: we all see you. Also, it would be helpful if Marion explained why there is no live streaming for the benefit of the community. No explanation was given either via email to the community or at all by Marion. More on this later.]
Marion: The deadline for board member application receipt is Tuesday, February 25th at 4pm. Meet the candidates is Monday, March 9th at 7pm; this is your opportunity to hear the candidates' platforms. The annual election is Thursday, March 26th; mail in ballots will be available. There is one vote per household, and you must be a homeowner.
Fun Day is March 29th, registration is $10. March 31st at 7pm, the Board and the Cascade Lakes COP unit hosts "Run, Hide, Fight."
Today's board meeting will include a report of the Long-Term Planning Committee and their Vision Survey. There will be no questions after the committee's presentation. This is the first time the Board has seen it. Save your questions for the March 4th meeting.
Handicap seating for show season requires a medical doctor's letter.
Use your home alarm system. There was a tailgating incident on Sunday; stop after coming in. Today's adjournment is at 11am. Five Board members have a Continuing Education seminar and must leave.
These are not resident meetings. It is not the time at the podium to speak to other residents.
Mark Goodman: New Business #2: Pool Chemical Feeder, Tom Cucinotta from Cucinotta Pool Service is here.
[Editor's note: Cucinotta's Pool Service, Inc.'s website is: www.cucinottapoolservice.com.]
Mark: the county has asked us to do daily monitoring of the pool. Tom is here to explain the requirements.
Tom Cucinotta: The health department is coming down hard on my industry. There are a lot of bad companies in the industry. They want the pools and spas tested seven days a week. It's ridiculous but that's what they're requiring. [Editor's note: is it really ridiculous, or is it a public health issue?] Your spa has a computer on it since it was built. If you have people in there, you take it with you. [Editor's note: the chemicals in the spa.] The computer is constantly monitoring it, keeping it to the perfect balance. As to the pool, there is not a law requiring that you have a computer on it. However, new pools are putting them in. The new computer comes with an antenna out back and one in Deborah's office and will communicate what the chemicals are. You are able to monitor what the water chemistry is in your pool. The Board is trying to remove the liability. It will send off an alarm. The weekend help can call us. I'm trying to save the community from having to increase your monthly fee to me. The spa doesn't do that, but there's no reason to change that. I will come in and meet with Deborah's weekend help, I will add a test kit, and they can test the spa. When that computer dies, we can put in a new system. It's not the law but very advantageous to the community for liability issues. The fountain has a break to the main drain, we will know by the end of the day.
Harvey: the spa computer regulates the pH and chlorine level, same as the main pool?
Tom: Yes, and you will have a record.
Harvey: it does it automatically? No one has to go out there?
Tom: Correct. We set it and walk away.
Alan: two questions. One, it sounds like it's a good thing to have. Are you saying it's required by statute? Not all statutes apply to HOAs.
Tom: it's not needed for the pool; you do for the spa. You guys keep your spa at a higher temperature than most communities. This is a way around having to check it seven days a week.
Alan: second question – how often do you come out?
Tom: Monday, Wednesday, Friday we test the pool, Alex does the pool on Tuesday and Thursday and fills in the health department sheets. They will write you up because it's not filled out Saturday and Sunday.
Deborah: the health department requires seven-day readings.
Alan: the computer will automatically add chemicals to the pool?
Most Board Members: correct.
Tom: we have to full the crocks, trash cans, with chlorine and acid. There's four big cans back there. My license protects the community.
Harvey: Not to have to go every day. In the long run we'll be saving money.
First Residents' Input Session:
Richard Green, Glenville Drive: Why are expenses listed as fiscally responsible? Marion: it's in the budget or the reserve. Richard: some of the stuff is not in the budget or reserve. We talked about coding things. Some of these things are not in the budget.
Diane Weinberger, Derbyshire: one, iguanas, I'd like some more information; two, the lakes, I was told in January they would start to drain the lake.
[Editor's note: neither of these issues is on the agenda; these inquiries should have been put over to the Second Residents' Input Session. This is not the first time the Board has permitted discussion of a non-agenda item at the First Residents' Input Session. Previously they allowed a resident to bash your Editor and her husband at a First Residents' Input Session with total abandon. However, your Editor has been singled out at a previous board meeting and stopped from speaking when the Board stated that the subject matter was not on the agenda, about which your Editor disagreed, and believed it was related to the agenda. We hereby call out this selective discrimination and this selective favoritism toward some and censorship toward your Editor.]
Deborah: The lake on Glenville will begin the erosion project soon. They were waiting for the water level to go down, and instead it went up. It should be the end of this month or March. The iguanas, yesterday, Blue Iguana, was the first day. They will be here Tuesdays and Thursdays. If he sees something in the common area and property, not your area, he will trap.
Debbie Berenholtz: I am the Chairperson of Membership for the Pickleball Club.
[Editor's note: notwithstanding Debbie's genuine enthusiasm, there was no member meeting or vote for the creation of this position, nor an election for such position; it just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Such is the way the pickleball club operates these days – it's a free for all run by a very few and the rest of the membership be damned. These few individuals also spend club money without a meeting or a vote, such as the sudden appearance of a brochure touting pickleball in our community.
It has also come to your Editor's attention via an independent source (i.e., not us) that purportedly they are also using club dues to pay for League play on behalf of ringers – non-community members that are inserted into our team from other communities for league purposes, without first seeking our own club members as alternates to play in the League when there is a shortage of regular league players. So, club money is used to afford non-community ringers League play in lieu of willing community club members who are registered as alternates but are ignored. We invite you to let that sink in for a while. In addition, upon information and belief, in order to be in the League, one must be a paid club member just the same as with the tennis club, since they are both under the umbrella of the community sports center. Obviously, ringers are not paid club members, and paid club members who are willing to act as substitutes are not contacted to play when there is an opening.
The last meeting of the pickleball club was in 2019 and there have been no meetings planned until March. The pickleball club is run like a fiefdom which technically could jeopardize its corporate charter, but more on that another day. It is clear, however, that using club money for brochures without a meeting or vote, and using club money to sponsor ringers without first inquiring if other club members are available, is fiscally irresponsible to say the least.]
Marion: this is not on the agenda.
[Editor's note: this time Marion called out the resident for addressing something not on the agenda. There does not seem to be a consistency with what is permitted and what is not permitted at the First Residents' Input Session. Your Editor and her husband respect the rules, and always save non-agenda items we wish to address for the Second Residents' Input Session. The Board should enforce the rules consistently.]
Approval of Minutes: February 5th Minutes: Linda: I move to approve the February 5, 2020 Minutes. Second: Eileen. Marion: item 2, shed update, we are not waiting for a permit; we're waiting for the approval of landscaping and electricity. The structural approval was already granted. Item 4, audio system loaner – l-o-a-n-e-r. [Editor's note: not "loner."] Linda: well maybe it feels alone. Marion: all in favor: unanimous.
Treasurer's Report: Mark: January results, an end of the month loss of $799. A couple of items are under investigation. We are under for revenue because we started putting in assessments what we expected versus what we received. Sixteen homes are late; this is one fee that can't be waived.
[Editor's note: a discussion by Mark was made concerning the financials and a self-explanatory handout was provided which is available from your Editor upon request.]
Mark: News & Views, $1900 revenue, $1700 expenses, profit of $199.
[Editor's note: this news site, CascadeLakesResidents.com, reaches a much wider audience and costs a lot less, and is much more current, and you can access it any time, day or night, and it is available to the Snowbirds among us. We are unaware of the mechanism, if any, for Snowbirds' access to News & Views. However, News & Views has some great features and is a fun publication to look forward to.]
Mark: shortly we will be receiving our end of year auditing statements; reporting will be slightly different. It will show a $49,000 loss from the past year. Reserve items now show as a liability instead of revenue until we use the new ruling for associations. It just shows a different way for financial statements.
[Editor's note: the name of the HOA's accounting firm was stated by Mark. There are lots of names in the firm name; whenever your Editor hears a firm name with lots of names in it, you know we are probably paying more than if a one or two-person firm were doing the accounting. It seems as if each time a name is added to the firm name, the price also increases, but does the expertise also increase? That is the question. Your Editor has never understood the wisdom or assumption that going with a "big" firm was always necessarily better.
This reminds your Editor of a statement made at a prior board meeting that the HOA's law firm is a "Cadillac" firm; in the experience of your Editor, who has practiced law, litigation, you name it, for 37 years, the advice given on more than one occasion by that firm was flat out wrong. This law firm was flat out wrong about claiming that the Fair Housing Act didn't apply to HOAs; it most certainly does and we have already proven that with the joint statement from the HUD and DOJ specifically on the issue of HOAs and the applicability of the FHA to HOAs with respect to the requirement of having access to and accommodations for all common areas for people with disabilities, and we now have streaming of all board meetings because of your Editor and her husband, except this one for technical reasons (see below).
This law firm also claimed that while the Florida HOA grievance statute applies to our governing documents, and our governing documents provide for the same grievance procedure as the statute, that somehow the arbitrary and capricious HOA website Terms of Service trump said grievance procedure; again, this is completely wrong.
This law firm was also sicced upon your Editor by Marion, the president of the Board, for calling out the Board for their improper behavior and actions, such as illegal secretive board meetings, which was proven by emails from two board members, and in connection therewith, this law firm made false, derogatory, and harassing claims in a letter to your Editor, which were thoroughly debunked by your Editor (and her husband) with exhibits and evidence, after which they were never heard from again. This firm's senior partner claimed at a public Board meeting which he attended on January 8, 2020 that the reason there was no response to your Editor's August 2019 letter to the firm was because his junior associate was on vacation, which is flat out impossible since this bogus vacation claim was made almost six month later, to which your Editor inquired where she could get such a six month paid vacation gig. The real reason they never responded was because they were decimated by the real facts, as opposed to the garbage they wrote about, owing to their complete and utter failure to do any due diligence to ascertain the actual facts.
So much for a "Cadillac" law firm. This cost our community thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal fees, which falls squarely on Marion, president of the Board, who desperately but unsuccessfully tried to intimidate and silence us, which gave birth to this website.
Marion's further dissing of your Editor and her husband at a previous Board meeting when she permitted a resident to bash us with abandon, as referenced above, her refusal as webmistress to remove defamatory statements about us on the HOA message board made by the same resident while removing our truthful posts to try and cover up her malfeasance, her suspending your Editor from the HOA message board for 30 days, and then her derogatory comments about us in the January 2020 News & Views, was the impetus for the metamorphosis of this website into an official digital news site. This actually inures to the benefit of the community, which now has a current and truthful digital news site to access at any time about Cascade Lakes and its environs. It also provides a needed "checks and balances" that is free from influence or control by the Board, by anyone doing their bidding, and by anyone and their minions engaged in defamation and character assassination of your Editor and her husband.
Contrary to what Marion, the president of the Board of Directors, wrote in the January 2020 News & Views, CascadeLakesResidents.com is not "ghosting" the Cascade Lakes HOA website, whatever that means. It most certainly is not a shadow site of the HOA website. It is an independent news site.
Marion's comment that this site is made by us for our "own purposes" is confusing and misleading. Once again, the purpose of CascadeLakesResidents.com is to report on news about Cascade Lakes and its local environs. It also has features and commentary and other interesting pages, just like any other digital news site or newspaper. In fact, it bears no resemblance to the HOA's website, and unlike the HOA's website, there are no arbitrary controls and restrictions imposed upon it.
Your Editor-in-Chief has over 15 years' experience in the news business and is a long-time member of the Radio Television News Association of Southern California as well as a full member of the Florida Press Club.
If anyone has anything they would like to contribute to our growing site, we welcome such contributions.]
Board Member: motion to approve the January financial report. Second: Linda. Unanimous.
Property Manager's Report: Deborah Balka:
Palm Beach Broward – final mow is February 26-27, trim crew in Landon, then Angel Wing. Weed spray is in Angel Wing and then does the common area; palm spray on February 29th the clubhouse; palm trim will be completed Thursday, will close the pool 8-10am; we welcome Sydney, our new evening/weekend staff attendant, who will be here Thursday evening. She was here last evening. [Editor's note: the pool closure was this morning.]
Mimi Spinner: this is the blood drive report. It was very successful. Over thirty people donated blood, several new residents donated. Sue Leonard spoke at most of the pickleball meetings.
[Editor's note: there has not been any pickleball meetings this year. The last one was in 2019.]
Mimi: Deborah was the first one to sign up on the list; Lee Sinett donated; my children donated. Sue helped; Mike Bloomberg helped. [audience gasps, and crowd laughs.] Mike Blackman! [Mimi and crowd still giggling.] Mike Blackman acted as publicity chairman. Your efforts helped save 90 lives; one pint helps to save three lives. Next year it will be Friday, February 5th. [Editor's note: giggling continued as Mimi concluded her report and left the podium. Thank you, Mimi, for the day's great chuckle.]
Barry Gordon: Landscaping: the committee is reviewing the ficus planning, some are failing and not rejuvenating.
Sue Schmer: Rules & Regs: we're reviewing the tennis club rules, now the sports center, we have enormous contact between the pickleball president and liaison Alan Silver. Right now, we almost have a final working draft, the deadline is this Friday. I want to personally thank Diane Green and Alan Silver for getting me all the information and giving valuable feedback. Congratulations on a job well done. This is club leadership working together for the benefit of the community.
Jon Nast: Safety & Security: we are finalizing the stop and speed limit signs. There are two contractors. We are $2,000 above our $5,000 budget. We are awaiting estimates – if we buy the signs ourselves and then hire the labor. Gate access, remote services, we are searching for. Off site storage of security camera footage, we are still researching. Security fence and hedges – the ad hoc committee is in the research mode. There are 600 linear feet of fences and hedges. Electric speed signs- two- we are discussing the benefit of it for Cascade Lakes Blvd. The next meeting is March 17th.
Eileen: how many times have we talked to the community about speeding. It's going on six years. It's been noticed. Now, walking yesterday, a woman was riding her bicycle on the sidewalk and said, "I was almost hit three times by riding on the road." It is so bad between 8:30 and 9 in the morning. I look forward to seeing something done quickly.
Larry Jacobowitz: Engineering: this is the second time we have a major leak from one of our fountains. The first time was 10 years ago. The original piping was not installed properly. The first time we moved everything over to the south fountain. Once we figure it out, we will handle it. The computer for the pool- Palm Beach County is becoming a pain, but it will save us a lot of aggravation in the future.
Debbie Berenholtz: [Editor's note: once again, the pickleball club is not a committee, so comments from club members are more appropriate for the Second Residents' Input Session, and there was never any club meeting to vote for the creation of and manning of a "chairperson" position.]
Debbie: Pickleball club membership – it has been 121 days since the courts were lined. There has been over 2,000 hours of play, over 19 players averaged. There were 116 different people that have used the courts since October 2019.
Diane Green: Entertainment: The first two shows were very well attended. We broke even for the first two shows.
[Editor's note: Broke even? As we have previously detailed, there is no reason why every single show should not end with a profit by having entertainment talent participate in the ticket sales on a percentage basis, rather than paying them thousands upon thousands of dollars up front. We went over this in detail and it is posted elsewhere on this sight under Residents' Input Page, both HOA and General, posted on January 20, 2020. If there is a method that makes the community virtually risk free financially, which we provided, then that methodology should be implemented as the most fiscally responsible way to book talent. So far, this obvious benefit to the community has been rebuffed. In addition, when one states that the committee has "broken even," technically it is a loss for the community because there is no consideration for wear and tear, utilities, insurance, maintenance, etc. which is borne by the entire community, not just the show ticket participants. Thus, most of the community is actually subsidizing the minority who attend the shows. This is most definitely not a break-even scenario. The budget that is presented is misleading because it does not include these various costs enumerated above that the entire community is subsidizing.]
Diane: March 8th is our next show. Aaron Glenn is giving a free concert on February 27th at 11:00am; he is a concert pianist, composer, and singer. The 2021 comedy show series – March 16th at 9:00am in the ballroom for seating assignments. If you are handicapped, you need a signed [doctor's] note. April 18th is Juke Box Bingo; we are working on the final contract. May 23rd is Memorial Day pool party, and July 11th is the Independence Day party; details to follow. New Year's Eve and Brunch – we are finalizing the contracts. The 2022 show series, we are waiting on contracts. [Editor's note: same issue here on the utter failure to negotiate contracts for the fiscal benefit of the community.] There are many contracts coming in the next few weeks. [Editor's note: which legal/talent expert is reviewing them? Answer: none.]
Item 1: Awning for Courts 4-5: Linda: let's do the pavers first.
Item 2: Tennis Court pavers: Linda: we now have the price, the pavers would match what we have between courts 2 and 3, it would be money well spent. It will upgrade the appearance. It would be a plus. I make the motion, $5,500. Alan seconds. Mark: Is there an additional $600 for the drain? Linda: it's a possibility. I was gonna add that in. If needed, an additional $600 for the French drain so it totals $6,100. Larry (from the audience): there's a major drain there, we might not need a drain. Alan: how do we know? Larry: when everything is finished. As it is pitched, you won't have to dig it up, and originally, there were additional charges for taking out part of the fence; it's now included. Linda: it may require – Harvey: we need to amend the amount, not to exceed $6,100. Linda: not to exceed $6,100. Alan: the cement slab now seems relatively small. Are there plans to enlarge it? Larry: not now. The awning will fit over it. [Editor's note: per Arthur, your roving reporter, Alan is correct, however, you can always cement the poles into a separate cement foundation and put the pavers around it; it might even be more aesthetically pleasing.] Eileen: I was speaking to Lee [Sinett], he didn't think the French drains will need to be replaced. [Editor's note: per Arthur, you don't need a French drain, you just fill in and raise the existing drain to the same level as the pavers.] Mark: was this determined last year or it just came up? Marion: It was last year, before that, too. All in favor not to exceed $6,100? It's unanimous. [Motion passes 6-0]
Item 1: Awning - $4,695. Linda: It's a necessity, I move to accept. Eileen: second. Mark: did you look around for other awning companies? Larry: it's the same company that did all the awnings. They're good and dependable. Eileen: it will match. Larry: it will match. Linda: motion to accept. Eileen: second. Marion: Motion passes unanimously. [6-0 with Mark's hand not clearly raised, which caused your Editor to ask what his vote was, and then he mumbled affirmatively to Marion.]
Item 1: Results of Long-Term Planning Survey. Eileen: I want to give a shout out to the Long- Range Planning Committee who worked tirelessly. There was a 46 percent turnout, 450 residents, not households. I turn it over to Sue Leonard to give recommendations. [Editor's note: Sue Leonard then approached the podium with paperwork in her hand.]
Sue Leonard: No recording, it requires my permission which is not granted. The survey is not a vote.
[Editor's note: It is not clear what Sue is referring to when she states that "recording" requires her permission which she is not granting. Is she referring to her likeness? Is she referring to the comments she makes? Is she referring to the document in her hand? Is she referring to the Power Point presentation which she does not own, as it states that it is the property of the HOA, so she would have no authority to make such a demand in any event? Is she referring to all four?
If Sue's demand for no recording refers to her likeness and/or her statements, such demand is unenforceable as she is in a public forum. One's right to privacy ends when one exits the front door of one's home. You have no privacy rights to your likeness in a public forum or the statements you make publicly; as such, you may not control the recording of your likeness or your words in such context. No permission to record your likeness or your words is required of you and you cannot summarily deny permission and expect to be entitled to any compliance with such a demand when you are in public. In fact, had the board meeting been streaming, as it should have been, all speakers would have been recorded, both their likeness and their words.
Furthermore, Sue's presentation was at a public board meeting. Anything at a public board meeting is subject to reporting and recording. For example, we could have had our cell phones recording the entire presentation if we so chose. We could have posted it on our news site in its entirety if we so chose. If the HOA's streaming service were operational, the entirety of the presentation, including the Power Point slide show, would have been captured and recorded, and anyone could have saved that recording as it was streaming. So, Sue's demand is completely out of order.]
Sue: [reviewing the slide show]: somewhat means a little. Moderate means not excessive. There is a difference. We have the age group, the reason you bought, what you enjoy the most. The answer was "my home." [Editor's note: there was a presentation of clubhouse data.] Appearance of the club house was very important. [Editor's note: Refresh, redo, or re-purpose: refresh was the most important, the others were not very important.] Fitness center: most preferred refresh; re-purpose or redo was not important. New mailboxes: 102 said very important, 55 said somewhat, 50 said moderately.
[Editor's note: as we previously pointed out, mailboxes are in fact not subject to a vote by either the Board or the community. This bears repeating, so here it is again:
Mailboxes are specifically referenced in our Declaration of Conditions, Covenants, Easements and Restrictions on file with the State of Florida; at page 1-18, it states: "Section O. Mailboxes. No mailboxes or similar improvement shall be installed on any Unit or Lot unless the location thereof has been approved by the ARB and the materials therefore [sic] and color thereof have been approved by the ARB and are in accordance with such standards for materials and colors as may be adopted by the ARB." This necessarily means that an individual homeowner may apply to the ARB, the architectural review board of our HOA, for a specific and unique mailbox, and there is, in fact, no requirement that all mailboxes be uniform.
Furthermore, under our Rules and Regulations, page 4-8, under B. General Rules, Number 8, it states: "Mailboxes and numbers are the property of the individual homeowners. The homeowner is responsible for maintenance and/or replacement in accordance with the standards established by the property manager. New mailboxes must be in accordance with standards established by the Board of Directors." Thus, again, there is no requirement that all mailboxes be uniform. And to the extent the Rules and Regulations are in conflict with the Declaration on file with the State of Florida, the Declaration controls and the Rules and Regs must bow to the Declaration. Therefore, it is actually improper for our BOD to vote or for there to be a community vote on changing mailboxes en masse because the HOA does not own the mailboxes and no resident has the right to vote on issues concerning another resident's mailbox. So, if a mailbox looks like crap, the HOA has a right to proceed under our Rules and Regs, Section E., Violation Guidelines, at pages 4-16 to 4-17, but that's it.]
Sue: pickleball hard courts: 125 said very important, 30 said moderately important, 21 said somewhat important. Cost is very important and appearance. Survey comments: continued survey of residents for feedback is important. Mailboxes – 202 – almost ½ felt it was a necessity. Bids have been received. Recommendation is to proceed with aluminum boxes and poles.
[Editor's note: you cannot do this per the HOA's governing documents, as detailed above. Mailboxes are strictly determined by the individual homeowner with approval of the ARB. The community may not force an individual owner to pay for a designated mailbox, period.]
Sue: Food service: residents want a level of. Recommendation – a snack bar or grab and go with a credit card only. Roads: more than 119 expressed the need for improvements to the roads. Fitness Center/Gym: periodic review. Use of Library and Arts & Crafts Center: maximize the purpose of these areas. Investigation of operational functionality. Clubhouse refresh: financial tolerance was for refresh. Fiscal responsibility: there is a need for clearer communication between the Board and the residents. [Editor's note: we have been calling for this since we arrived, so hallelujah, it appears that the residents agree with us, the minority of loud objectors notwithstanding.] Resurfacing: pickleball, hard surface – the recommendation was to obtain estimates. Pool – residents seek more shade, color, and no more monotone. Educational offerings: recommendation was the resurrection of Cascade Lakes University with classes and webinars. [Editor's note: whereupon, Sue handed multiple copies of the report from which she read to the Board.]
Marion: the Board will be reading this over and will have some discussions at the next board meeting. You guys did a great job. [Editor's note: audience claps.]
Item 2. Pool Chemical Feeder – Mark: the government agencies are coming around threatening this and threatening that. We can monitor this by the computer. I make the proposal. Linda seconds. Harvey seconds. Marion: it's like a tie. [Editor's note: they gave it to Linda.] Eileen: he's still coming on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, correct? Marion: yes. We have to report the readings seven days a week. Deborah: Alex just takes the reading. This will be able to record the reading. If there's a lot of rain, he will drain it. It doesn't change Cucinotta's contract at all. Harvey: this system acts as a chlorinator and pH as well. The system automatically does it. Cucinotta still has to fill the tanks, vacuum the pool, and maintenance. Mark: and they work on the fountains as well. Marion: all in favor? Unanimous. [Editor's note: 6-0]
Second Residents' Input Session:
Roberta Alter: wonderful job on the survey. What space is available for putting greens…some of us are getting in the mail [solicitations] signed by neighbors. There's a resident's name on there. Marion: Next Door [Editor's note: it is an App, an independent commercial enterprise] – it's a neighborhood conglomeration they get from the county. It's commercial. Mark: I'm next door to someone, she didn't do it. Marion: it's legal.
Howard Olarsch: Landon Circle. Bicycles on the sidewalk – I bicycle every day; I keep track of the ugly roads. There is a lack of safety of people on bicycles. More signs – it's ludicrous. We can stop landscaping with more signs. I see UPS, delivery services, residents speed; your putting up a sign is not going to do anything. The Polo Club hired off duty police to issue summonses. Speed bumps can be done. It works. It's aesthetic. Spending money on electric signs is a waste.
Alan: Safety & Security is looking at a number of methods including speed bumps. Howard: another thing, I heard about a break-in. Safety and Security should think about the entrance way that doesn't allow people to bike in and to walk in.
Freda Werden: Wycombe. It's now called the sports center. Does the reserve for the tennis cover money that can be used for improvement for the pickleball courts? Marion: we have to beef up reserve. Richard Green: certain items overlap. Reserve is something that has a life to it. Freda: seating area at pickleball – how does the club ask for money for this?
[Editor's note: at this point, your Editor received an urgent call from her Dad's doctor; Dad is currently in the hospital as of this writing. Therefore, your Editor left the meeting and was on the telephone with the doctor outside the ballroom in the hallway until after the meeting concluded. Arthur Andelson, your Editor's husband and your roving reporter, continued to take notes and so what follows is a summary of his notes. Your Editor thanks Arthur for taking the reins to complete the task.]
Arthur's notes:
In response to Freda's last question, Richard Green spoke about it. Marion then stated that if you have questions about how the budget works, speak with Richard Green. The seating area will be considered a capital improvement.
Steve, one of our volunteer safety cops, took the podium and asked about the break-in on Landon Circle. He asked, why can't you tell us what's going on? Once the Board gets the facts, let the community know. Marion stated that we cannot because it's "gossip." She also stated she does not have a police report or permission from the owners. Steve: We need to know the basic facts so we can protect our community and inform them. It's even on the website of an incident on the 5400 block of Landon Circle. It's not gossip. As for speeding, I was watching the local news, and one of the communities put in cameras and gives out warnings and fines.
Phil Berman: Landon Circle. Is this the only meeting not streaming or are all future meetings not going to be streaming? Alan: future meetings will be streaming. They're redoing the wiring in the ballroom and one of the audio wires got snipped or broken so that is why we were not able to do it this week, but it should be fixed for all future meetings. [Editor's note: why not explain that up front at the beginning of the meeting?]
Sue Schmer: Regarding future budget meetings, why can't the clubs also be invited to answer questions about budgets? Freda: are clubs invited for the future? Board member, perhaps Marion: clubs are supposed to be self-sufficient.
[Editor's note: tennis and pickleball clubs need to bring their issues to the Recreation Committee which is responsible for the courts, their condition, and their improvements. Then the Recreation Committee can make recommendations to the Board. Also, Lee Sinett, as Director of the Sports Center, can also be consulted because of his expertise and the respect that he commands communitywide.
In addition, any resident at any time may make a request to any board member to put something on the agenda for the next board meeting. This request should be done in writing so that there is a record of it. You can also use the e-form on the HOA website to e-mail the entire board at one time. You will receive a ticket number and then you can copy and/or print out the item for your records.]
Round Table Discussion: Per Arthur, none.
Meeting adjourned: per Marion, ahead of schedule.
Editor's concluding comments: And so concludes the board meeting of February 19, 2020. Next board meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2020 at 9:30am in the ballroom.


My mom wanted to grab me an Animal hoodie for christmas, but mistakenly got me a pullover, when I would have rathered a zip-up. In talking to the guys at Universal, they sent me a new zip-up hoodie, with a postage sticker in the box, trusting that I will send back the pullover. Well, I got the zip up yesterday, and am going today to mail back the pullover.
Big thanks to the guys at Universal for their trust and great customer service. just wanted to make this known to everyone.
Universal prides themselves on their Customer Service. I've heard nothing but good things when it comes to their CS team. Similar stories have been told on this forvm, and they all end well.
I had an issue once where I had to return something. The experience I had was pretty cool.
Glad to hear it is a very trusted company. I also have heard that they take pride in their customers and like to make them feel special. Where else can you call and actually talk to someone and not just talk to a machine for hours with still no damn results?
exactly, i called today and was connected right away and had the problem resolved within 4 minutes. i have NEVER in all my years as a consumer, been able to contact a company and speak with a person and have it resolved so quickly and amicably.
Customer Service is a number one priority here, and wouldnt have it any other way!
I ordered a shirt one time and didnt get it for like...a month. I understand I live in Canada, but that should mean it takes forever to get a package. I pm'd Urep and then like.. the next week I had my shirt :D That's some good CS right there.


text:
import os
import sys

from pyxp.asyncclient import Client

if 'WMII_ADDRESS' in os.environ:
    client = Client(os.environ['WMII_ADDRESS'])
else:
    client = Client(namespace='wmii')

confpath = os.environ.get('WMII_CONFPATH', '%s/.wmii' % os.environ['HOME']).split(':')
shell = os.environ['SHELL']

sys.path += confpath

from pygmi.util import *
from pygmi.event import *
from pygmi.fs import *
from pygmi.menu import *
from pygmi.monitor import *
from pygmi import util, event, fs, menu, monitor

__all__ = (fs.__all__ + monitor.__all__ + event.__all__ +
           menu.__all__ + util.__all__ +
           ('client', 'confpath', 'shell'))

# vim:se sts=4 sw=4 et:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


You won't believe the range of garden annexe specification options available to you. You can make one of our Core garden annexes a home that suits your own individual style. Kitchen and shower suites come fitted as standard, but finish is up to you.
With thousands of possible style combinations available, when you step into your new garden annexe home you will know and, importantly, feel that it is unique to you. There are many interior options to choose from as standard, including laminate flooring, digital electric radiators, joinery, lighting and doors.
Looking great on the outside is important to meet the surroundings of your new garden annexe home. There are plenty of exterior granny annex core build options choices for you to decide on, including cladding, roofing, windows and doors.
There are a number of options you can choose from in your new annexe kitchen. As standard you'll get an oven & extractor, LED down lighting, sink and worktops. The number of choices you to choose from is huge, to give your new home your own unique touch.
Whatever your choice, your bathroom can be tailored to meet your needs. As standard, your shower room combines practicality and comfort with the fixtures and fittings of the highest standard.
We've developed a host of practical guides, videos and articles to support your search for the perfect garden annexe. So, whether you want to learn more about planning permission or just discover the latest design trends, head over to our resource library for more info.
Most people find that our Core annexes suit their budget and style perfectly.
But if our standard specification doesn't quite tick all the boxes for you and your dream garden annexe, just let us know and we'll be happy to explore the benefits and costs of building something truly bespoke.


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COVID-19 Africa Solidarity Fund
About This Fund
As the COVID-19 global pandemic rapidly spreads across the African continent, we worry, because in many African countries health systems remain weak, and incapable of meeting the demands this crisis will place on them. The COVID-19 pandemic will put immense pressure on under-resourced and under-equipped regions and communities, even as the effects of the worsening health crisis are felt by everyone. We have established this Fund with an initial contribution, which has been earmarked to support the Emergency Response Unit in Senegal, where we have our operating base.
In response, we have established the COVID-19 Africa Solidarity Fund, the proceeds from which will be used to support Emergency Response Units deployed in several countries across the African continent, to help curb the spread of this pandemic.
About The Host Organization
TrustAfrica seeks to strengthen African initiatives that address the most difficult challenges confronting the continent. TrustAfrica works principally through collaboration and partnership with like-minded institutions and donors. As a catalyst and convener, we are committed to generating and testing new ideas. We also strive to practice good governance and promote it among our grantees.
TrustAfrica
Give to this Fund
EIN: 20-3074517 Employer Identification Number. Use this to document your donations at tax time or to research a nonprofit.
trustafrica.org/en/
Location: Dakar, Senegal,
Category: Diseases and Cures, Africa, COVID-19


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Home > Events > Salon LVIII
The Century
Photography © Geraint Davies,
Helen Abraham
& Stephanie O'Callaghan
Salon LVIII
The Also Festival with Ideas from Salon London
SALON London has developed the perfect format to explore a subject laterally and consistently deliver a fascinating and engaging cultural experience. So this June we're going to do it in Arcadia – Capability Browns sculpted park land in Warwickshire. Our brand new boutique festival allows proper exploration of the biggest ideas from the worlds of science, arts, psychology and philosophy, close to Stratford upon Avon.
Yes for the weekend of 20th – 22nd June we are taking up residence in thirty acres of beautifully landscaped countryside on the banks of a beautiful lake.
Just 500 of us can be part of this weekend festival designed to give a bit more time to get up close and personal with speakers and their passions, eat excellent artisan food, roam around the nature, explore music, listen to bands, rock out to rockeoke, listen to the solstice choir and we'd very much like the SALON Londoners to be there.
Think SALON plus pop up restaurants and cocktail bars, workshops in beautiful settings, speakers in natural settings, a lakeside philosophy reflection stage everything has designed to allow more time to engage in the big ideas . Two days to wallow in culture, stimulate your mind, sip cocktails in the sun, and taste artisan food from local producers. Tickets may be limited, but the experience certainly isn't.
For more information please visit: www.also-festival.com
Measuring the Heavens
Andrea Wulf was born in India, moved to Germany as a child, and now lives in Britain where she trained as a design historian at the Royal College of Art. She is the author of several books including "The Brother Gardeners. Botany, . . .
Brad Inness
How to Tumble, and the Science of Human Pyramids.
After completing a two year Diploma in Brisbane, Australia at The Australian Dance & Performance Institute, Brad pirouetted his way across the world, along the way doing what he loves most, dance. Having extended his attention to . . .
Flexie Muiso
Known as Prince Peter Offiong Archibong to his family, Flexie Muiso hit the UK music scene at the tender age of nine as an alto in the local church choir. On leaving school at sixteen he began MCing in his local area of North London and . . .
Greg Mcleod
Live Animation
Greg Mcleod is an award winning illustrator, animator and director with a distinctive hand drawn style and has worked on a wide range of projects including animation, illustration, exhibitions and book covers. Greg writes and directs . . .
Jane Parkinson is one of the UK's youngest award-winning wine writers and is currently a freelance wine journalist and presenter. She is wine editor at large for Restaurant magazine, the wine expert for Stylist magazine and . . .
Jessica Fellowes
Jessica Fellowes is an author and freelance journalist. She is currently writing 'The World of Downton Abbey', based on the hit ITV series, to be published by HarperCollins in September 2011. Jessica's next book is 'The Devil You Know: . . .
Joanna Ellis
Joanna Ellis joined The Literary Platform's consultancy arm in March 2012 and works with its clients on business development and organisational change, content strategy and partnership building. Previously she was . . .
John Paul Flintoff
Conversations That Change Everything
Former associate editor of the Financial Times, now a writer for the Sunday Times) and faculty member of the School of Life, John Paul's books include Sew Your Own (wonderful, amazing, funny, inspiring, moving & utterly brilliant, they . . .
Juliet Russell
Scratch Orchestra, Vocal Acrobatics, Voices That Move Us.
A singer, songwriter and vocal coach, Juliet is co-founder of Salon and the award winning Sense of Sound; a music company that creates and produces amazing ways to celebrate singing. She has coached Grammy award winners and X-Factor . . .
Mark Bolitho
Mark Bolitho is a world renowned origami artist. Since 2004 he has worked full time as an origami designer. He has worked with a variety of clients to produce bespoke origami designs to meet commercial and artistic briefs. . . .


Historic Port Washington is the perfect place to celebrate a hometown Christmas. Our picture postcard setting is ideal for Christmas on the Corner; setting the stage for your holidays. Live reindeer, elf scavenger hunt , in-store promotions, photos with Santa, carriage rides, are all a great way to spend an afternoon in early December. But that's not all! At 6:15 is our Christmas parade, with lights, floats, and a lot of fun. After the parade, stick around downtown to watch the only winter fireworks display in the county!


You're thinking about taking the adventure and climbing Mt. Everest. It's one of the most dangerous places to climb in the entire world and around 5% of the people that attempt it…die. You can minimize your chances of becoming a statistic by taking the proper precautions. Don't let the idea of the possibility of death scare you away. Just be ready for what Mother Nature might throw at you.
There's the option of going on a commercial hike where you will be with other people and guides through the trip. That doesn't mean that you aren't in control. Make sure you have possession of all of your belongings and oxygen. Also, remember that every climbing decision is individual. If something feels unsafe to you, you don't have to do it. Many climbers turn around and go back down when they feel like something isn't safe. It's better to have the chance at making another attempt later on than getting stuck up there for all of eternity.
You can't beat Mother Nature. In an instant, a beautiful sunny day can turn into a terrible winter storm on top of the mountain. When it happens, it comes quickly, and there is no forgiveness if you're on your way up the mountain.
Check the forecasts and take them seriously. You may feel a false sense of security if you are hiking in a big group. The weather doesn't care how many people you have with you. The weather can turn deadly even with a good weather forecast too, so put fixed ropes everywhere you can. You should also always carry a compass and some light so you can see if you lose visibility.
There is no reason to rush up the side of the mountain. It's better to be safe than sorry and clip in as many places as you can. Test your rope before climbing up it to be sure it's not going to snap under your weight. Don't climb with a bunch of people on the same line either. Make sure you depend on your legs and crampons as well.
When you reach higher altitudes, your body is going to have some reaction. Some people get a depressed feeling. Others will start to feel euphoric. Everyone is going to act differently even if the conditions are the same. Know how you are going to feel up there, and have a plan on how to react.
Look for answers to common issues in books and by practicing. It is going to be essential to your survival.
How much oxygen are you going to need?
What flow should it be running at?
How many bottles do you have to take total?
Do you know how to change the bottles?
What does snow-blind feel like?
What do you do when it happens?
What happens if you lose one of your crampons?
How do you deal with hypothermia?
These are just a few of the situations that could be a risk to your life if you don't know what to do.
An avalanche can happen at any time. Some people can read the mountain and predict them once in a while, but it's impossible to know what the snow is going to do all the time. It's nature. It does what it wants. Don't climb when there has been a recent heavy snowfall. Go faster past dangerous areas. Never climb too late in the day. Those are the best ways to avoid an avalanche, but it's still a possibility.
The impossible is always possible, you can never be over-prepared for any situation. The more prepared and educated you are the better your chances of making it back alive.
Can You Survive a Falling Elevator?


Milele FM is a renowned national Swahili radio station. It is also the fastest growing Swahili radio Station based in Nairobi. We pride ourselves in ... See more our positioning as the official Rhumba music station in Kenya. We have our finger firmly on the pulse of classic African hits.


I was invited to a presentation on Mobile Car Appraiser in which we were given a thorough run through of the software and how it uses the road to sale combined with deep sales psychology to combat the growing problem of increased expectations by the consumer as to what they believe their car maybe worth.
I was instantly impressed and then having spoken with a few DP's who were already using the appraisal system in our group, decided we would give it a go. I immediately recognised how it would assist us to do a better job by enforcing the road to sale through having to follow the prompts, in conjunction with its unqiue third party reporting, which allows the consumer to see an electronic version of the appraisal and subsequently the price, resulting in converting more clients whilst allowing the profit to stay in the new car.
John did in-house training to get us up to speed, and although ten minutes late, did a great job and the sales staff came out enthusiastic. Their after sales has been excellent and they now have 24/7 online training for all new members of staff who join us to train them quickly if they have not used MCA before.
I would recommend any Dealer Principal with a franchise to take a look at Appraisal Solutions Mobile Car Appraiser it really is quite good.
I was invited to a presentation on Mobile Car Appraiser in which we were given a thorough run through of the software and how it uses the road to sale combined with deep sales psychology to combat the growing problem of increased expectations by the consumer as to what they believe their car maybe worth.
John did in-house training to get us up to speed, and although ten minutes late, did a great job and the sales staff came out enthusiastic. Their after sales has been excellent and they now have 24/7 online training for all new members of staff who join us to train them quickly if they have not used MCA before.


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Home / Opinion / Event Reviews / Diamond Head review at The Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield 23rd November 2018
Diamond Head review at The Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield 23rd November 2018
Alex English December 5, 2018	Event Reviews Comments Off on Diamond Head review at The Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield 23rd November 2018 646 Views
Feeling lucky? Damn, right I was. Friday night at the Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield and Diamond Head is the last band I expected to watch gracing the stage of its 200 capacity venue, Jackpot!!
Diamond Head have been busy touring Europe for most of Autumn taking in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy and Spain. They have returned to the UK to complete their tour which concludes in Belfast. Before they hang 'up the horns' to take a well-deserved rest from touring until next year. The band will spend 2019 working on their next studio album!!!
Doors opened early at 6 pm and they were four support acts to warm up the night. Support came from Promethium, Dislocator, Baranovich and Empusa of which I arrived to catch the latter.
Sheffield's metaller's Empusa took to the stage for a raucous 30-minute set. It might have been less but it was a big day for the band to have been voted by the fans to support the legendary Diamond Head this evening. The relatively new five-piece formed in 2017 carried on the momentum started by previous band Baranovich and continued to fire up an already excited Diamond Head Crowd, with their black metal vibe.
Empusa by Alex English
Diamond Head has to be one of the greatest influential heavy metal bands, formed back in 1976 by guitarist Brian Tatler. But unlike their fellow heavy metal acts around at the same time such as 'Black Sabbath', they did not hit the big time. But none the less they weren't out of the game. And who'd thought a song about witch 'Am I Evil?' would prove to be their most popular. The song has been covered by many bands but more famously by 'Metallica'.
So, here we are in a hot sweaty room in The Mulberry Tavern and Diamond Head promise to take the stage at 945 pm but in true rock god style, they arrived a little later. It's a good setlist they have put together for tonight's show, and they play all the tracks from their first album Lighting the Nations, which has become a classic album in its entirety.
It's nice to see drummer Karl Wilcox back on drums and you cannot believe by the incredible vocals from Rasmus Bom Andersen who has only been with the band since 2014. Rasmus really does take the vocal style back to the days of original singer and founding member Sean Harris.
Pounding out the notes, Rasmus taunts the crowd with 'yeah, you'll have to wait and enjoy a few of our other new songs first' in reference to the notable Am I Evil? Playing the popular Bones and the dramatic Set My Soul on Fire, the fans are so close to stage their raised horns and wisps of flying hair almost touch the band.
You see, The Mulberry is a really intimate venue where you can feel the very essence of the band. Energy is flowing and Diamonds also off their self-titled 2016 album Diamond Head gets this gem of a crowd ready for the classic It's electric. Like a prowler with its slow, rhythmic beat, and Dean Ashton providing the heavy bass lines before riff master Brian Tatler licks it all into to shape, with what has to be one of the best ever solo riffs introducing a song! Yes…. you've guessed it Am I evil? It's like release day for the fans and they go loco down the front, myself included!
Rasmus Bom Anderson by Alex English
After taking a brief breather, Diamond Head return to the stage. There's 'nothing sweet and innocent' about the next song. Singer Rasmus recalls the bands recent time in Europe and that the Europeans love to talk about oral sex (the adventures of being in a rock band eh?)……gesturing with his mike stand and making the front row blush (but not me) Diamond Head finish on a gig high with the climatic Sucking my Love. Wow!
After which drummer, Karl comes to take front stage and thanked each and everyone for turning out for tonight's show. And what a show and what a set!
Personally, I can't wait for the new album and a new tour. I definitely won't be leaving it as long till the next time I see the mighty fine Diamond Head.
Brain Tatler by Alex English
Diamond Head at The Mulberry Setlist:
Swift & Innocent
Set My Soul on Fire
Lighting to the Nations
It's Electric
Am I Evil?
Encore – Sucking my love
https://www.facebook.com/pg/DiamondHeadOfficial/about/?ref=page_internal
Diamond Head by Alex English
Tags Baranovich Brian Tatler diamond head Dislocator Empusa Promethium Rasmus Bom Anderson the mulberry tavern
About Alex English
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Stonedeaf Festival 2019, One Day, One Stage, One monster show returns on 24th August 2019 at Newark Showground !
SOS Festival 2019 – Full Day by day Line-up announced
Diamond Head – The Coffin Train.


Well, the title is sort of an oxymoron, as, if you are indeed a scandinavian design junkie, you probably know the lot I'm suggesting here. Also, if you follow My Paradissi some time now, you definitely have seen images and links to these blogs more than once. Although, there are literally dozens of amazing blogs dealing with scandinavian design in my bookmarks folder, these ladies (yes, they all do happen to be ladies ^^) have an exquisite style that reflects on their personal spaces and design works along with the extraordinary post material they curate on their blogs. So, if you are on the lookout for some cool inspiration of real life, contemporary, minimalistic, eclectic scandinavian interiors, double check that none of the following blogs is missing from your reader feed/blogroll/bookmarks folder.
8 comments on "7 blogs to follow if you are a scandinavian design junkie"
Wow! This is really stunning list of blogs. I will certainly follow each blog as I think that design is really important thing. Thank you for sharing this post!
Thank you sweet Eleni for including me! Lots of love!
Thank you for including me Eleni!!


Looking for fees and availability for Bernard Hogan-Howe?
Want more information about Bernard Hogan-Howe?
Lord Hogan-Howe is the most senior police officer in the UK. He leads an organisation of nearly 50,000 people with a budget of £3.2 billion.
Hogan-Howe's career has been characterised by high achievement, having successfully delivered numerous strategic objectives and efficiency improvements while holding weighty appointments with substantial responsibilities. He has a wealth of experience in creating cultural change, developing and implementing new strategies to transform corporate identities. He has built his success on the simple strategy of Total Policing. This involves a war on crime and care for victims.
As Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Chief Constable of Merseyside he delivered significant reductions in crime during his 5 years tenure. In London 20% and Merseyside 36%. In both regions he reduced the murder rates, in London by 25%. In London despite a loss of £600 million of budget he uniquely maintained police officer numbers while the rest of England and Wales lost 20,000 police.
When taking over the Metropolian Police Bernard Hogan-Howe inherited a City of 8.4 million people in crisis following the large scale riots of 2011. An organisation in crisis with the loss of half the Management Board and a matter of weeks to plan to deliver a safe city, a safe Olympics and save £600 million.
Despite a 'Severe' threat level and attacks throughout Europe only one terrorist attack got through during his command. The UK police and Security Service partnership is recognised as the best in the world with its profound links to Neighbourhood based community policing.
In November 2017 Hogan-Howe was created a Life Peer taking the title Lord Hogan-Howe, of Sheffield in the County of South Yorkshire.
Bernard Hogan-Howe has extensive experience of policing major public events. These include the successful 2012 Olympics Games, 2008 Liverpool European City of Culture, State Visits, State opening of Parliament and multiple large scale public political protests on the streets of London.


XLPLAT is our in-house Project Management System for clients, where they can directly upload their search requests, track the status of projects in real time and further download reports submitted by the search teams, and still leave no mail trails, thereby maintaining data confidentiality. The portal is also used by the client and all the involved stakeholders of the project to timely communicate and provide regular feedbacks. The platform allows online collaboration where the users can highlight, print and work in collaboration with TT Consultants in regard to the delivered reports. The client can further share these reports with other involved stakeholders on the registered email id's. There exists another security step of One Time Password generation that is sent to the registered email id once the report is shared.
XLPLAT will also act as a service provider to companies who want to organize their company project data and also keep track of analytical and technical specifications.
Electronic Project Upload leading to reduced paper trail.


Thanks to Lara Solomon from Social Rabbit for sharing this great infographic – a brilliant update all on one page! (albeit from the USA) If you have a comparable local resource – or another idea on resources worth sharing – please drop me a line! to share it.
Glass ceiling or no glass ceiling… what's your take?
Happy International Women's Day and why well behaved women rarely make history!


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Amber Harrison's lawyers claim Seven West Media breached confidentiality deal
By Natalie Cornish| 4 years ago
Lawyers acting for the former mistress of Seven West Media's CEO, Amber Harrison have alleged that the media company broke a confidentiality agreement by claiming "she had ripped off Seven to the tune of $200,000".
In a cross-claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court, and recently made public, Julian Burnside QC and Harrison's wider legal team claim that Seven West Media openly disparaged the former executive assistant more than once in the weeks after Harrison signed an agreement to stay silent in return for $350,000.
The matter relates directly to claims Seven West Media director, Simon Francis allegedly made on two occasions that Harrison "had ripped off Seven to the tune of $200,000", including in a meeting with Australian Financial Review's Rear Window columnist Joe Aston.
Burnside says the media giant failed in its duty to ensure that directors did not publicly disparage the former employee, or bring her in to disrepute.
They then allegedly paid Harrison just $150,000 of the agreed $350,000 which, her legal team claim, was a breach of deed.
The cross-claim was filed after Burnside requested the matter be moved from the Supreme Court to the Federal Court under the Fair Work Act on Friday.
He said his client had suffered "pain, stress, humiliation and dislocation of life" after working at Seven West Media.
This is just the latest twist in the ongoing legal saga.
Top human rights lawyer, Burnside took on Harrison's case last week — a move that appeared to surprise Seven West's legal counsel in court.
She claims to have been left "penniless" by the case, and is currently unemployed and living in Melbourne with a child in her care.
A series of tweets posted by Harrison on Friday appeared to insinuate that her new legal team could be working pro-bono.
Harrison was working as the assistant to former Seven executive and now CEO of Bauer media, Nick Chan when she willingly entered into a sexual relationship with Mr Worner.
The relationship soured and Ms Harrison eventually signalled she could not work in close proximity to her ex-lover.
Over time Ms Harrison made a series of allegations against Mr Worner including cocaine-fueled sex sessions, abuse of company credit cards, corporate governance issues and claims he had affairs with four other members of staff. Worner has denied all claims.
Meanwhile, Seven has repeatedly claimed Ms Harrison admitted to abusing her company credit card purchasing flights and flowers for loved ones.
In the process, it has accused Ms Harrison of being the first to breach the confidentiality clause in her termination agreement.
Ms Harrison is arguing the opposite.
This fight centres on who 'leaked' aspects of the confidential agreement to Fairfax journalist Joe Aston.
Justice Sackar adjourned the case on Friday until April 6th, when he will decide if it should move to the federal court.


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