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Popular UK universities for international students: COVID-19 September 2020 Intake Guide
Charlie Coronavirus Living in the UK Studying in UK Tier 4 Visas May 22, 2020 | Updated On June 18, 2020 | 0
Contents in this Article
UK Academic Year 2020/21
University College of London
Popular UK universities for international students coronavirus planning
It is undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in several ways and as we try to cope with the crisis, we need to face it by moving forward with caution. In this unsettling time, students are left speculating on the changes that will be imposed by the schools for their safety and well-being. One of the pressing concerns for students right now is the start date of the academic year 2020-2021. So what are the popular UK universities for international students in times of COVID-19 doing about the September 2020 intake?
As the UK government continues to monitor the evolving situation, the start of the academic year in September is fast approaching. The measures to be taken at the start of the school year will be dependent on several factors including but not limited to the number of new infections and possible new waves of the novel coronavirus as the government eases the quarantine restrictions.
Although it is a bit early to release fixed measures for the start of the school year, a number of colleges and universities have released information on what we can anticipate this September. The popular UK universities for international students coronavirus plans are being put in place
As the schools are busy making plans for the next term following the guidance from the UK government, here is the information we have gathered across UK universities and colleges.
According to the latest update from the Vice-Chancellor "Cambridge will be open for education and research for the start of the next academic year. We must all be realistic, however, about the world-wide challenges posed by the pandemic. We are committed to doing all we can to protect your health and safety. University life here, as everywhere, will need to adapt."
Update as of 18/06/2020: The Collegiate University sets out below its principles for delivering education in the academic year 2020/21.
Cambridge will be open to students next academic year. We will do all we reasonably can to accommodate the needs of students whose individual circumstances mean that they cannot attend any in-person teaching.
The academic year will start as normal and term dates will not be changed. Michaelmas Term will start on Tuesday 6 October and end on Friday 4 December, although some postgraduate courses may start earlier as previously advertised. New and returning undergraduate and postgraduate students are advised to be flexible in their travel plans at this stage
Teaching will be delivered by a blend of in-person and online teaching, and we will adapt our timetables, teaching methods, course content and locations for delivery of teaching to achieve this.
Research and learning facilities: it is the university's aim that all students who require it for their studies will have sufficient and suitable access to research laboratories, libraries, museums and other facilities, subject to the restrictions of social distancing.
Minimising risk: All University and College buildings will be risk assessed and managed on an ongoing basis, following government guidelines and advice. We will promote health and infection control measures across the entire University, and communicate and implement changes to any of these measures resulting from local-lockdown requirements as required.
Accommodation: As many students as possible will be given accommodation in their own College.
Support: Colleges offer a home environment and pastoral support to their students
The University of Oxford is intending to welcome students on all levels for the next academic year in October 2020. The measures they will set are subject to the prevailing conditions at the time of opening considering the health and safety of the students and staff.
Update 18/06/2020: Plans for 2020/21 academic year
Focus on face-to-face, small-group teaching: The University is committed to maintaining their focus on personalised teaching and supervision, with a strong focus on tutorials and other types of small-group learning such as masters' seminar groups. Larger group teaching, lectures and most exams will be offered online at least for the first term.
Digital support: Face-to-face activities will be supplemented by engaging online activities that draw on the rich resources available through our colleges, libraries and collections. The University's virtual learning environment [email protected] will be universally available – acting as a single-entry point for most students.
World-class facilities and resources: Laboratories and research facilities will be available to students – although they will operate at reduced capacity, for the safety of our students and staff.
College life: The school has confirmed that all our colleges will be open from the start of the academic year, and that they will have accommodation available for students.
The health and safety is the highest priority: The school is now working on detailed plans for measures we will put in place to minimise the risks to staff and students. These will include:
– A University testing service that will be open to all staff and students
– Support for students who need to self-isolate
– Effective and consistent use of face coverings and other hygiene measures
– Arrangements to maintain social distancing in teaching and research spaces
Travel: The school recognises that arriving for the start of the Michaelmas (autumn) term may not be possible for some students thus they will have access to online resources and support. However, we expect that all students will be in residence by January 2021. If international students are required to self-isolate on arriving or returning to the UK, we will support them doing so.
Accommodation: We aim to offer as much student accommodation as possible, in line with government health advice. Your college will inform you of the process of allocating rooms and will confirm more detailed arrangements in the near future.
Health and Safety arrangement The University is gradually re-opening University buildings over the Long Vacation, in line with government guidelines. New and returning students will be briefed fully on the safe working procedures and given information about what they need to do to minimise risks to health. We expect that all students and staff will wear face coverings when in teaching environments
As published on their official website they are open for the next academic year and to expect changes and updates will be provided once information becomes available.
Update 18/06/2020: Academic Year 20/21 will begin on schedule in the Autumn and plans to reopen our campuses to students.
For Undergraduate or Postgraduate Taught students, your  teaching  will be a 'multi-mode' delivery. This is a combination of on-campus (in-person) and remote learning (online). If you are a student unable to travel to campus for Autumn term your teaching will be entirely remote, but it will be engaging and of a high-quality.
Health and Safety:
Upon arrival at Imperial for the Autumn term, you will receive a welcome pack that will include three washable cotton face coverings, hand sanitiser and anti-viral wipes.
The College is implementing good infection control procedures, f frequently cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces that are touched regularly. Around the campus including halls of residence there will be hand sanitisers and multi-surface cleaning wipes as well as plenty of hand-washing facilities. Everyone is encouraged to wear a face covering in multi-occupancy locations
Access to testing:
The College has access to testing through the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and is exploring the options for testing staff and students as a matter of routine. A local contact-tracing procedure at the College will be introduced which will interface with the NHS's Test and Trace service as well as a routine temperature check.
Their official website states "We intend to be ready to teach despite any travel restrictions, wherever our students are in the world. As we adapt to this Covid-19 pandemic we are shaping our delivery to ensure that all students – whether here in Edinburgh with us, or elsewhere in the world and joining us a little later in the academic year when circumstances allow – will be fully part of our community."
An update will be provided at the end of May 2020.
The management is planning to open the academic year in September 2020 however no set measures have been put in place. They are planning for on-campus teaching and the possibility of online instruction. Update on new arrangements will be provided on the college website.
The University of Manchester has confirmed that the academic year will start in September for new and returning undergraduate students and early October for most of the postgraduate students. In line with the social distancing measures, the management has decided to conduct lectures online at least for the coming semester. Despite this measure, they are keen to continue face-to-face activities in small groups.
As posted on the University of Bristol website, the school has planned to open in September welcoming new and returning students. There is an on-going discussion on the measures to be put in place. Topics included in the discussion are online learning if travel is not advisable, delayed start date, and additional intakes later in the school year.
More information will be posted so you can check the official website for updates.
As announced on the University of Warwick page the start of the next term will be on 5 October 2020. This is will be a combination of face-to-face and online learning. They further stated "Throughout the pandemic, we've prioritised the safety and wellbeing of our University community, focusing on our students, our staff, and on supporting the wider community. Therefore, between now and the proposed physical reopening of our campus, we will be closely following UK government guidance and any action taken will be made with our community's safety in mind. Plans are in place to ensure we can support you towards your desired learning outcomes, whatever the circumstances."
According to the school website they have no fixed date when to open for the next academic year however they are committed to reopening as soon as it is safe and in line with the government guidelines. New arrangements will be updated on the site.
The university had initially planned to open on the 7th of September but has been delayed for two weeks. The university management has announced that "The University Senate has approved a delay of two weeks to the start of the 2020/2021 academic session, and this will provide some time for all of us to adapt to our new environment and to prepare for the new session". In the event that a face to face instruction on campus is not possible then they are prepared to deliver classes online which can be transitioned to on-campus instruction once the situation has improved.
As schools plan on new measures to mitigate the infections within the campus for the incoming academic year 2020/21, it is clear that schools will open as scheduled. Students should be prepared for online lectures which will eventually transition to face-to-face interactions. The popular uk universities for international students coronavirus plans are constantly being updated to take into account of the changing landscape.
For more guidance and help and advice on choosing a UK university or help as an international student to secure your student placement, or obtain your Tier 4 Student visa, get in touch with IaM.
Comment below on the preparations being made by popular UK universities for international students coronavirus plans.
Travel and Immigration Writer and Client Relationship Manager at IaM (Immigration and Migration)
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WHO'S IT FOR? Ideal for all skin types including sensitive.
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A photo adventure to Peru's mystical mountain peak.
$4,995.00 per person based on double occupancy. ADD $1200.00 Supplemental charge for single traveler. $750 deposit per-person reserves your space.
MAXIMUM OF 14 PERSONS ON THIS EXPEDITION.
You arrive in Lima and are transferred to our hotel in Lima's airport. If you arrive early, explore the city's fabulous museums, see the changing of the guard in the historic Plaza Mayor or just relax. We will happily provide you with a long list of recommendations.
Morning departure from the Andes and back to Lima for your return flight home or onto other amazing destinations.
Please see Terms and Conditions for detailed information on what is and is not included.


Meet us in the historic heart of Saginaw, where the crowd spills out of The Temple Theatre just after showtime and pours itself into next-door's 1920s-style speakeasy, Bancroft Wine & Martine Bar, for a nip at some not-so-ordinary Prohibition-era cocktails. Escape to someplace other-worldly. A place where the soft swoop of mature bald eagles overhead is the soundtrack to almost 10,000 acres of National Wildlife Refuge known only as "The Flats," and local legend Johnny Panther and his shallow-draft boats are your insider guide to it all.


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Books and magazines14
Showing 14 Results in Books and magazines Grid | List
Car India+ Bike India, 1 year, english Rs.2,400
Car India overwhelmingly acknowledged as the world''s best car magazine, has driven into India under the name of CAR India. Explosive and vibrant, as well as serious and sensuous, CAR India has been launched to satiate the discerning automobile ent…
Travel & Leisure (South Asia Edition), 1 … Rs.1,800
Travel & Leisure (Indian Edition) Every month over five million readers worldwide turn to Travel+Leisure, the ultimate authority on exciting destinations, emerging hot spots, the latest hotels and restaurants and the best in luxury, style and design. …
India Today (Regional), 1 year, hindi Rs.1,040
India Today is also available in four language editions (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam) to cater to the information needs of the vast numbers of non-English readers in the country. Each edition is a market leader and enjoys a sizeable readership…
Also available in: India Today (Regional), 2 year, hindi India Today (Regional), 3 year, hindi
Lex WITNESS, 1 year, english Rs.780
Why Lex WITNESS? The Indian legal universe has close to 5 million individuals, one of the highest in the world who, directly or indirectly, are a part of it. This excludes the masses that are facing or fighting cases in numerous courts in In…
Also available in: Lex WITNESS, 2 year, english Lex WITNESS, 3 year, english
Child & Better Homes And Gardens (English), … Rs.2,700
Ships in 28 - 42 Days
Child is being brought out under license from the Meredith Corporation, USA. The 81-year-old Parenthood Group invented the parenting category in publications decades ago and has been the top choice of parents over generations with its complementary…
Food & Wine, 1 year, english Rs.10,068
For those interested in various aspects of food, wine, entertaining, and travel. Topics include home, travel, whats new, and healthy eating. …
Lucky, 1 year, english Rs.8,388
Every fun, fabulous issue has the passion, the pleasure, and the personal style of shopping your way, including thousands of incredible finds for you, your home, your life NOW. Where to get the look for less. The best of each season in every color,…
Interior Design, 1 year, english Rs.16,716
Articles, commentary, business profiles, interviews, thematic issues, trade shows, news and legislative notes aimed at Americas top commercial design firms and architects; offices, residential, hotels/motels, restaurants, and retail stores. …
Allure, 1 year, english Rs.8,388
Allure, the first and only magazine devoted to beauty, is an insider's guide to a woman's total image. Allure investigates and celebrates beauty and fashion with objectivity and candor, and places appearance in a larger cultural context. Allure is …
Conde Nast Traveler, 1 year, english Rs.10,068
Conde Nast Traveller requires its writers to travel anonymously and pay their own way. This assures that you get credible, truthful information. With Conde Nast Traveller as your guide, you'll discover the best islands, cities, spas, castles, and c…
Travel+ Leisure & Maxim (Combo), english, 1 … Rs.3,300
TRAVEL and LEISURE (Indian Edition) Every month over five million readers worldwide turn to Travel+Leisure, the ultimate authority on exciting destinations, emerging hot spots, the latest hotels and restaurants and the best in luxury, style and des…
Mother & Baby+ Ideal Home & Garden, 1 year, … Rs.2,400
After more than 50 years of being the mum''s best friend in the UK, and successful editions in Australia, Croatia, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Spain and Thailand, Mother&Baby has arrived to add value to the lives of India…
Suburb: The only lifestyle & Infotainment … Rs.720
SUBURB GURGAONS VERY OWN MAGAZINE ON LIFESTYLE & INFOTAINMENT The times are changing. And so are the preferences, tastes and meaning of life. Life no longer is just about the neighbourhood. In fact, the whole world is ones neighbourhood. …
Also available in: Suburb: The only lifestyle & Infotainment Magazine on Gurgaon, 1 year, english Suburb: The only lifestyle & Infotainment Magazine on Gurgaon, 3 year, english
Details, 1 year, english Rs.8,390
Details sets the trends that get people talking...breaking the stories that keep you in the know, ahead of the crowd, and at the forefront of the hottest fashion, celebrities, movies, music, ideas, technology and issues of the day ? long before eve…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dissolve the entire content of one pouch in deionized water using a magnetic stirrer and add deionized water to bring the total volume up to 100 ml. Once fully dissolved, the solution is ready to use.
The urea reagent is shipped at room temperature. Store the pouches in a dry place at room temperature. Shelf life is three years.


text:
import React from 'react';
import Axios from 'axios';
import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
import Auth from '../../auth/modules/Auth';
import User from '../../auth/modules/User';
import SkillListItem from './SkillListItem';

const ProfileSkillList = (props) => {
  const skillItems = props.skills.map(item => (
    <SkillListItem
      key={item}
      skill={item}
    />
  ));
  return (
    <div>
      { skillItems }
    </div>
  );
};

export default ProfileSkillList;
ProfileSkillList.propTypes = {
  skills: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.string).isRequired,
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
EVE ONLINE – MINING GUIDE
Elite Dangerous: Premonition — A Book Review
FroggyStorm	2017-07-22
Last week, Elite Dangerous' creator, Frontier Developments, released a new book. Titled Elite Dangerous: Premonition, the volume is a canonical story within the universe. INN, in the interest of keeping abreast of, and reporting on, the lore aspect of ED, has tasked me with reading and analyzing Premonition.
To that end, I am going to be breaking the analysis into two major themes. First, I will look at the story as a piece of fiction and assess how it reads. Second, I will try to piece together how to fits in with, and disrupts, the lore of the ED universe. I will try to avoid spoilers by and large, but, honestly, if you have been following ED at all you already know how the story is going to unfold.
Scratch that. In today's world, you can't swing a cat without hitting two bloggers and a critic (and the irony of this statement is not lost on me). I cannot, in good faith, say writing is hard.
Writing well is hard.
While not as terrifying as, say, public speaking or a root canal, creative writing is near the top of the list of things that students and adults, alike, would love to avoid. It isn't easy to narrate a plot that is deep and engaging with characters that people give a damn about.
It doesn't come easily, and I challenge anyone to try.
That is when an author has complete control over their universe and all the characters like some capital 'G' god. This is infinitely harder when trying to write fiction that accurately reflects a dynamic universe (i.e. a video game) filled with human beings who play active roles, real places, and events and timelines. As such, my hat is off to Drew Wagar who has shown, on multiple occasions, his ability to do just that.
That being said, there are some bones to pick here.
First, I am not a fan of the pacing and scattershot point of view that the author has chosen to introduce the story and characters. During the first third of the book, the reader is bombarded with characters and perspectives. In order to do so, and not end up with a Tad-Williams-esque tome, the actual sections end up feeling short and choppy.
In my opinion, a number of the peripheral arcs could have been addressed in a different, more coherent way: either have one of the main characters discover information the reader needed know, or just create a vast third-person narrative to pass on the knowledge. As it is, the reader is adrift in characters with no time to become attached to any of them. This is just as well since a lot of them disappear as fast as they arrive – until the end of the book. It really comes down to a right tool at the right time.
Next, the author relies on a few frustrating "on that I will say no more" obfuscations to hint that there are more plot lines to tease but not disclose yet. Admittedly, this could be a reflection of Frontier's plans or just trying to tease out another book deal. From my point of view, it feels cheap and could have been avoided in all cases. If it's a mystery, leave it a mystery, and don't make the reader wish to beat the information out of a smug omniscient character. Similarly, the author took a page from Jordan in a number of catch phrases that became repetitive; the "imperial style" of how this mechanical thing happened was a common phrase.
Character motives were also a frustratingly mixed bag. In the majority of cases, the author has taken the well-known flat characters (the engineers and the powerplay faction heads) and tried to give them more complex motivations and stories. This is a good thing, but if you are going to do so, then do so for all of them that you are going to use, not only when it is convenient.
For a spoiler-y example, while the Emperor and her Commander are given deep and complicated motivations and address the flat fronts they present in the game directly, the People's Princess is an empty foil who is exactly as flat as the game suggests. And, before I am accused of carrying water for a pretty blue-haired character, the main characters, the emperor, and everyone around them go out of their way to state and restate just how trivial the character is.
If we were only going to look at the faction characters in a shallow publicly-facing way, that's fine. If we are going to look into their backgrounds and motivations, that is also fine (and likely better). Just be consistent. There are too many characters all around, so if there are unneeded foils, then find a way to create one interesting and deep antagonist to drive the plot.
Finally, Frontier has forced the author to take a lot of creative license with lore. This one is going to be a big spoiler, but Elite has had aliens in it for a very long time. If you have done even a little bit of a reading into the older Elite lore, spacefaring aliens are not only a thing, but in some ways the norm for the galaxy. The Thargoids were a fairly-well documented and widespread thing (as were the Oresians). Having the big reveal hinge on the discovery of alien life with the last thirty years of background material in mind stretched my disbelief.
Once you get through the first third of the book, the author really does a great job of managing the perspective of the characters that have (belatedly) become the focus of the plot. And then, in the fourth act, reverting back to smash cut scene changes really drives the energy of the climax. As I said earlier, you have to know when to use this style to build up energy. Here, it is acceptable, whereas the abrupt changes in the beginning felt distracting and unnecessary.
Despite the rocky start, and what I said about a lot of irrelevant characters, the characters that do end up rising to the top are genuinely interesting. Not only did the author give them a good plot to follow, but he did a great job of making his readers care if they live or die. I actually empathized with them and could believe their motivations, as opposed to just feeling that they were vehicles to move the preordained plot forward. Even knowing the news of the day and how to story had to end, I was still hoping against hope that their might be a deus ex machina ending to it all.
This is another good thing I have to give credit for. Despite the fact that Salomé was clearly a beloved character to the author, and one that was hoped to have survived the live event, Drew had the integrity to kill her. That is no small, or easy, task. Especially if you have a hope for a repeating serial, or at least a trilogy, to come from it all.
Next, the author throws around great fan service and locks down a number of mechanics. Frontier has left a lot things vague throughout the game so it is nice to have things more clearly set in cannon. As a lover, and follower, of game lore in general, and Elite lore in particular, it really felt like this story was a part of the wider Elite universe. There were some inconsistencies, but it didn't feel like too much.
Finally, it must be acknowledged that the author tied in the player input well and gave them all a credible place in canon. Drew has actually done a pretty good job of trying to tie down "independent spacers" (players) into the actual story arc. To do this and still write his story, a few facts were mashed up here and there, but that is to be expected.
If you are a lore hound and you like to dig deep into the story of what drives your video gaming experience, then you should absolutely read this and all the official canon. Elite has a long tradition of writing good stories about its IP, and there is a great deal to learn and know.
If you are not a lore hound, and just want to know the specifics about what is going on and the players who are driving the game, you should read the various news sites, reddit, or where ever you get your video game news to follow just what has happened and who the real players were who made the discoveries.
If you are looking for a good sci-fi novel, then my vote is to pick up both of Drew's books. Despite my criticism of the early portions of the book, they are more than overcome when the book settles into its stride, and the solid execution of the fourth act makes up for any stumbling blocks along the way.
Let your voice be heard! Submit your own article to Imperium News here!
Would you like to join the Imperium News staff? Find out how!
FroggyStorm
All hail the hypno toad
2 Elite Dangerous Community in Uproar After Botched Patch October 2, 2019
0 Imperium Book Club: The Light Brigade May 9, 2019
1 Diving Into EVE: Valkyrie — Warzone September 27, 2017
elaqure
Thanks for taking the time to read through the latest ED novel. Definitely sounds like an interesting sci-fi read. Can't wait to see what they put out next!
That's a very nice review. Great structure.
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Once again, prizes were awarded to filmmakers during Berlinale Talents.
As part of the "Talent Project Market," the VFF Talent Highlight Award, endowed with € 10,000, went to the project The Bus to Amerika by producer Nefes Polat and director Derya Durmaz (Turkey). Cash prizes of €1,000 each were awarded to the Cuban producer Maria Carla del Rio and the Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua for their nominated projects.


Parks Associates, SS&I release 2018 report on the professional security and smart-home installation channels.
Security dealers and high-volume smart-home pros are starting to feel the sting of mass-market product and service providers. For the first few years, traditional installation companies welcomed the big consumer IoT brands and all the visibility they would bring to the home-technology channel.
Even a swell of high-quality DIY products entering the marketplace would be good for everyone, many in the industry agreed. The exposure would raise awareness for an entire ecosystem of smart-home devices that could be installed, integrated and monitored by a local pro.
The positive DIY sentiment may be shifting, however.
More than 60% of installing dealers now report that DIY systems are biting into demand for their services, according to the fifth annual Residential Security Market Report (2018) from the research firm Parks Associates and CE Pro sister publication Security Sales & Integration. The survey reflects business conditions for the 2017 calendar year.
Despite the encroachment by DIY, though, residential security dealers are still doing well, especially given all the doomsday predictions by "pundits" and the popular press.
In 2017, revenues were up an average 7.72% for security dealers – a respectable performance, even if the growth rate fell compared to 2015 (9.61%) and 2016 (8.7%), when businesses still enjoyed pent-up demand from the Great Recession.
Despite the encroachment by DIY,residential security dealers are still doing well, especially given all the doomsday predictions by "pundits" and the popular press.
Some other key findings in the SSI/Parks Report are discussed below, complemented by charts in the Security Market gallery.
Methodology and caveats: The 2018 Residential Security Market Report was based on surveys of 170 qualified residential security dealers, not all of whom answered every question. While margin of error may be higher for some of the deeper questions, the results nevertheless should provide some directional guidance, and should be evaluated as such.
Between 2012 and 2017, the percentage of small dealers (revenues less than $1 million) nearly doubled from 29% to 57%. Some may interpret this shift negatively, but that's not necessarily the case.
The recession had a drastic impact on single-family home starts, which affected all industries, like security, that sell into new construction. At the same time, we saw a huge number of movers who were forced out of their homes or simply sought more affordable housing, abandoning monitored security systems and forsaking the service in their new abodes.
Large, well-financed providers were better equipped to weather the storm, while the smaller dealers shrank or closed shop. Today, the rise in small dealerships reflects a return to normalcy. It may also suggest the entry of higher-end, lower-volume smart-home integrators to the security channel.
At the same time, the changing mix of smaller vs. larger security companies affects the average number of installs across the entire industry – more small firms in the mix drags down the average number of customers per dealer.
For 2017, the average number of installs per dealer was 22 per month, compared to 17 per month in 2016. Furthermore, SSI/Parks reports a median number of eight installs per month, meaning half the dealers surveyed are especially small … or especially high-end/low-volume providers.
Check out more statistics from the 2018 Residential Security Market Report, featuring security and smart-home data for the 2017 calendar year. VISIT THE GALLERY.
About half of all residential security installations are greenfield, i.e., brand new for any given property. Most of these jobs include professional monitoring, but a large chunk of new owners never subscribe to security monitoring services. That could be because homebuilders are including alarm systems for "free" in new construction, but their buyers don't necessarily want to pay for ongoing service.
More than one-third of these homebuyers simply do not want another monthly fee and will use the security system for local alarms only.
On another note, new starts account for 20% to 25% of all monitored accounts, which points to one very big "miss" by security dealers: existing properties, which number 100 times more than annual new builds.
Professional monitoring is offered by 96% of surveyed dealers. Only 20% report installing DIY systems, and when they do it is because they will earn money on accompanying professional monitoring. A low 14% report any willingness to install a DIY system without professional monitoring.
The majority of dealers have no intention of installing DIY systems without the benefit of RMR fees. Parks Associates' 2017 3Q survey of 10,000 broadband households showed $46.20 as the average monitoring fee for professionally monitored security households.
The Residential Market Report shows $46.40, identical for all intents and purposes. Households with smart home devices pay 10%-20% more per month, while those with basic systems pay less per month by that same percentage.
(see Figure 1) A significant change the past five years is the rapid emergence of interactivity for the security system itself. In 2017, 75% of responding dealers reported offering systems that can be accessed and controlled via smartphone, tablet or computer. This capability is now table stakes; to not at least offer interactivity is a competitive disadvantage.
Interactivity was close to unknown 10 years ago. When interactivity did occur, it was for custom security systems only. And the capability today is not only for installed systems; it is available in most DIY systems, even low-cost systems.
In the pro channel, Alarm.com (32%) remains the interactivity vendor most popular with security dealers. Honeywell Total Connect (26%) seems to show a slight decline, but Parks Associates warns the result could be attributed to a high margin of error from a low sample size.
Security dealers report that just less than half of their security installations include interactivity only as it relates to security features like arming, disarming and status reports. Nearly one-third of installs include integration with other IoT devices or services in addition to security interactivity.
Given the high cost of acquiring a new customer, it's unfortunate how little is done by dealers to court existing clients.
(see Figure 2) The most common smart-home attachment is an IP camera, landing in about one-third of alarm jobs, followed by smart lighting and smart door locks. While none of these devices have passed the 50% mark in attachment rates, they will during the next five years.
Video doorbells didn't make the cut in 2017 due to its relative newness to the alarm channel, but Parks Associates' other research shows a rapid climb in consumer adoption and interest in the category. Owners of video doorbells state a strong propensity to recommend the product to friends and family.
Personal assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are finding favor among security dealers, with 26% of respondents indicating they offer voice control to their alarm customers.
(see Figure 3) As to why security dealers offer smart-home attachments, the top two reasons are pretty obvious: 74% of dealers say customers ask for them; 58% do it for the extra revenue.
The third reason is this: 49% of dealers say they provide smart-home services as a defense or response to their competitors.
Given that attrition runs anywhere from 12% to 20% depending on dealer type and size, the least expensive route to a customer is to keep the ones already acquired.
More than a third of respondents (34%) spend $200-$399 to land a new account, while 27% shell out $100-$199 and 24% absorb a hit of $400 or more. The next efficient way to obtain new customers is through referrals, which may sound obvious but is forgotten by many.
Unsurprisingly, security dealers with acquisition costs of less than $400 are also dealers with high rates of referrals.
Given the high cost of acquiring a new customer, it's unfortunate how little is done by dealers to court existing clients. In the Residential Market Report, 44% of respondents say they communicate with clients no more than once per year -- probably a reflection of the historical practice of "letting sleeping dogs lie," suggests Parks Associates analysts.
The practice might not hold up well against such agitators as Ring, Nest and Samsung SmartThings.
(see Figure 4) Just more than 60% of installing dealers report that DIY systems bite into their demand. The market for sophisticated DIY is emerging; better and more will enter the marketplace. Installing dealers have a few years to adjust their strategies, but not forever. Fighting fire with fire, in this case, will require ever more attention to on-time and good experiences with installers.
It is not all about price even through price matters. Learning ways to help householders be and feel safer through communications will become important. Consider police department efforts to communicate with a broad spectrum of citizens through weekly emails that detail disturbances or simply offer safety reminders.
These work to improve the perception of a caring police department. Security dealers can do some of this and add information about new devices, new strategies for safety and more. It takes time, consistency and will.
(see Figure 5) Among the approximately one-third of installing dealers that also sell DIY systems, half report selling more of those in 2017 than in 2016. It is certainly not all doom and gloom, however. The expansion of security to include increasingly sophisticated smart home options plays to installers' strengths.
Even many of today's qualified security installers do not understand or are just learning how to install and maintain reliable networks.
Moreover, nothing yet has come close to the success of in-person sales for these devices. Most consumers do not understand all of their functions; most do not want to be their own IT department; and most need help learning how to use and maintain their devices.
This is true even while they find the benefits of solid value. Installers have a path to expansion staring them in the face.
The inability to find qualified personnel ranked first (31%) in 2017 as a major challenge. This is exacerbated by low unemployment, a good news fact in most other measures. Investing more in training, including networks, than in the past is essential.
Even many of today's qualified security installers do not understand or are just learning how to install and maintain reliable networks. Another top challenge is the expanding availability of components via retail, either in-store or online (23%). The cross availability pressures margins and intensifies the need to provide a differentiating value of service, knowledge, easy experiences and the like.
Consumer hesitancy to spend money ranks as the third (22%) most selected but has a lower percentage and ranking than in recent prior years. Deceptive sales practices from competitors followed with 19%, and the availability of self-installed systems came in fifth (17%) and has jumped the past two years.
Be sure to check out our slideshow for figures and additional information!
View Scott Goldfine's complete profile.
I sold my alarm company last year primarily over concerns about the changing marketplace, specifically the threats posed by wireless, app-based DIY products. My accounts were 90% residential. The company had been in business since 1973. I took over in 1982. I weathered a lot of storms—small recessions and large recessions, ADT's many disruptive marketing practices: mass telemarketing in the late 80s, $999 systems, then the clever 911 campaign, then $399 and $99 and "free," other mass marketers, small local companies charging $15 for monitoring, Simplisafe billboards, television and radio advertising, etc. All of this impacted my business but when my existing customers started cancelling their accounts and telling me they were "satisfied" with a un-monitored collection of products from Nest, Ring and Blink, I decided that residential security was going through a major transformation. Sure, we spoke to every customer we could, hoping it wasn't too late. We told them that monitoring pays for itself through the insurance discount, that the Police and Fire authorities might not respond to a call for a DIY system, that it would be dangerous for them to respond themselves. Many customers responded favorably and we didn't lose many customers but I felt that the writing was on the wall, except for "high-end" customers who want the best and/or whose insurers are requiring a professional installed and monitored system. Commercial security seems to be safe from this trend and I had felt that I had a choice to make: sell all the accounts or change the focus to commercial and accept the accelerated residential attrition. Your article captures the Parks comment about customer communication well. The last newsletter we sent to our customer base before making the decision to sell had only one subject: the proliferation of cheap and DIY alarms and their pitfalls. A lot of customers emailed me saying the letter changed their mind about dumping us and monitoring. Pure resi dealers need to be pro-active: get the message to their clients, put it on their website and in their advertising. If they can, they should shift their focus to commercial. My comments have been about alarm companies. CE or CI companies that install alarms tend to be in the high-end market and will not experience as much attrition, especially if they've bundled the alarm monitoring into a package that also includes a service contract and network/device monitoring. However, these companies need to get out the same message because homeowners will eventually reach a saturation point on monthly charges for their many services and apps and start questioning every bill.


Client: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via HDR, Inc.
Dairy Creek is located approximately 12 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon on Sauvie Island. Dairy Creek is a highly modified channel connecting the Columbia River at river mile (RM) 98.5 to Sturgeon Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), along with local partners, West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) are interested in evaluating restoration opportunities for Dairy Creek (Sauvie Island) via the Section 1135 of the 2000 Water Resources Development Act. The original intent of the Dairy Creek Restoration Feasibility Study (Study) was to evaluate alternatives to re-establish Dairy Creek as a flushing channel for Sturgeon Lake.
In March of 2003 the TRWC completed work on the Lower Gales Creek Habitat Enhancement Plan. Gales Creek is a major tributary to the Tualatin River in Washington County, Oregon. The Enhancement Plan identified potential restoration projects designed to improve habitat conditions for steelhead and other salmonids. To evaluate the feasibility of implementing potential channel, floodplain, and habitat enhancement projects, TRWC retained the services of Waterways staff to conduct a comprehensive geomorphic assessment of the planning reach and prioritize potential restoration options. The geomorphic assessment and project feasibility study was completed in 2005. Following completion of the study, Waterways has continued to work with the TRWC by preparing construction documents for site specific projects aimed at enhancing channel and floodplain function, improving in-stream and off-channel aquatic and wetland habitat, and restoring riparian areas. Waterways and TRWC has worked closely with landowners and other stakeholders to achieve the identified goals.
Gooseneck Creek, tributary to Mill Creek and the South Yamhill River, is an important tributary for steelhead/coho salmon spawning and rearing. The project area is located above the confluence with Mill Creek in a portion of the channel that was historically impacted by aggregate mining. Waterways was contracted by the Greater Yamhill Basin Council to develop a restoration design for approximately 2,000 feet of Gooseneck Creek that was incised down to bedrock due to past mining activities and historic plugging of a secondary channel. Confinement of the channel, in-channel mining activities, and loss of secondary channels had all but eliminated the natural pool-riffle morphology with a consequent loss of aquatic and riparian habitat.
The Lower Clatskanie Floodplain Restoration Project site is located along the mainstem of the Clatskanie River approximately 2 river miles upstream of the Highway 30 crossing near the City of Clatskanie. The project reach is located where the river transitions from a riverine to a tidal regime, the floodplain widens considerably, and coarse bedload deposition is greatly enhanced. Consequently, the river is very dynamic and the floodplain consists of a mosaic of secondary and tertiary channels that are a result of historic and recent avulsion events associated with high flow, localized sediment deposition, bank failures and landslides, and development of large log jams. Although the site appears to be under the influence of natural physical processes, past land use impacts have led to a degraded riparian corridor dominated by reed canary grass, less frequent side channel connectivity, and a lack of pool scour in floodplain and secondary channels.
Cottonwood Creek is a major tributary to the North Fork John Day River and has been identified as critical habitat for Middle Columbia River steelhead. The lower four miles of the creek enters a broad valley, providing opportunities for agriculture that relies on the water of Cottonwood Creek for production. There are currently 12 diversion sites along lower Cottonwood Creek, referred to as points of diversion (POD's). Many of these diversions result in fish passage barriers during the low flow season. The Monument Soil and Water Conservation district requested Waterways assistance in the assessment of channel stability and fish passage for all 12 PODs and designs for three of the known fish passage barriers.
Milton Creek was identified as a high priority tributary to Scappoose Bay and the lower Columbia River Estuary. Multiple species of salmon utilize the system including coho, Chinook, and chum as well as steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout. A rapid biological assessment, conducted in 2012 identified several reaches in the headwaters of Milton Creek as anchor habitats for coho and steelhead.
Waterways staff prepared engineering designs and specifications to improve passage for steelhead and cutthroat trout on a headwater tributary to the Tualatin River in Washington County, OR. The site consisted of a seasonal flashboard dam. Downstream of the flashboard dam the channel had incised 3-feet creating a fish passage barrier under most flow conditions. The design consists of a series of five rock weirs to build the bed up downstream of the structure and provide fish passage under all flow conditions by creating a backwater condition at the dam. Waterways assisted the TRWC with the permitting and construction supervision. The project was constructed in Summer 2008.
Deep Creek is a moderately-sized tributary to the Clackamas River in Clackamas County, Oregon. The North Fork of Deep Creek is characterized by a naturally incised channel with adjacent river terraces. In 2009, Metro, a Portland area regional land use management agency, purchased the Mabel Johnson property as open space, encompassing approximately two miles of the mainstem of North Fork. Natural resource restoration at the property included removal of several home sites, removal of non-native vegetation, and restoration of riparian and upland plant communities. In 2012, Metro asked Waterways to participate in a restoration planning process to enhance instream habitat through the property with a focus on coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. In response, Waterways conducted a comprehensive evaluation of habitat and geomorphic conditions within the channel and prepared an assessment that identified a set of restoration actions.
Waterways has teamed with Cascade Environmental Group to develop, implement, and monitor a restoration plan for approximately 30 acres of riparian and bottomland forest along the Willamette River in the city of Gladstone. The site encompasses a short, perennial tributary known as Rinearson Creek that is periodically backwatered from the Willamette River and provides rearing and off-channel refugia for a variety of species and life stages of salmon.


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Iran ignores invitation to discuss refugees at Jakarta meeting of ministers
By Michael Bachelard
August 20, 2013 — 1.37pm
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Iran, the country responsible for the bulk of Australia's recent influx of boat arrivals, has snubbed a meeting of ministers and diplomats in Jakarta designed to address the issue.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed the one-day "Special Conference on the Irregular Movement of People" as the key announcement from their bilateral meeting in Indonesia in July.
Ministers Bob Carr and Tony Burke arrive at the Special Conference on the Irregular Movement of People today. Credit:Michael Bachelard
The conference is touted as an "action oriented" meeting, presumably to differentiate it from the regular Bali Process meetings which have shown few concrete results.
Australia has sent two ministers — Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Immigration Minister Tony Burke — while some other countries sent more junior representatives, but Iran did not even respond to the invitation.
A group of Iranian refugees in immigration detention at a West Java hotel. Credit:Michael Bachelard
A spokesman for the Iranian embassy in Jakarta told Fairfax that no representative was at the conference because "there was no decision from Tehran" about it.
Iranians have been by far the largest cohort of people arriving by boat this year, with 6996 Iranians out of 18,602 total arrivals, an Immigration Department spokesman confirmed.
Fairfax Media understands that the flow from Iran continues, despite the Papua New Guinea solution.
More than 300 new asylum seekers have arrived in the past few days, a very large majority of which are Iranians. This is likely to change dramatically after Indonesia cut off the right of Iranians to a "visa on arrival". That ban began Tuesday.
Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa said in opening remarks that the conference should be considered to be part of the Bali Process, which last met in April.
"We are here to discuss and share concerns about challenges ahead of us," he said.
Twelve ministers including the two Australians are attending the meeting, including ministers from Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Thailand sent the head of its national security committee and Pakistan sent a Charge d'Affaires at the embassy.
Michael Bachelard
Michael Bachelard is The Age's investigations editor. He has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Jakarta as Indonesia correspondent. He has written two books and won multiple awards for journalism, including the Gold Walkley in 2017.


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Suddenly, I'm a 'Russian agent'
The US Government Requirement that RT-TV Register as a 'Foreign Agent' is a Threat to Our Press Freedom
Posted on November 26, 2017 by Dave LIndorff
For a number of years now, I have been periodically interviewed as a source or a commentator on news programs and as an occasional panel participant on RT TV, the Russian government-funded English-language television station. For the past year, I've been paid a small amount for my work.
Effective Monday, November 13, something changed, though. RT suddenly became a "registered foreign agent." The Russian government-funded news service, which has its headquarters in Washington, with bureaus in several other US cities, filed the required papers under protest — the only foreign news service operating here that is required to do so — and said it intends to sue. Russia is also retaliating and will be requiring some US news organizations operating in Russia, including Voice of America, to similarly register as foreign agents.
This means that as of two weeks ago, I have been working, at least on a minimal basis of perhaps one short 5-10-minute interview per week, for a "foreign agent."
The US government, a lot of heavy-breathing members of Congress, and the bulk of the corporate media in the US at this point are suggesting that journalists like me are at best "useful idiots" helping to promote Russian propaganda in the US — propaganda that our government claims is designed to sow discord among the citizenry and to undermine support for American democracy. Why, RT has been accused of such heinous behavior, according to former National Security Director James Clapper "promoting a particular point of view, disparaging our system, our alleged hypocrisy about human rights, etc."
Scary stuff, huh? He even accused RT of airing debates by third-party presidential candidates during the 2016 campaign — something the corporate media for years has dutifully refused to do in what I guess they consider a patriotic defense of our two-party system.
Pathetic as the case against RT may be, I've been the butt of jokes by liberal friends who say that I'm a "Russian agent" because they've bought the spurious argument that Russia "hacked" the US election and delivered us a Trump presidency. I wonder though, how many such Americans have ever actually watched RT-TV. I suspect it's very few. First off, it's not that easy to see it on your TV, since most cable and fiber-optic television bundlers leave it out of their packages, as they also leave out the Al Jazeera English Channel option, in response to pressure from the government. If they did watch it — which you can and should do at least to check it out at RT-America and at RT.com (the international edition) — they would find shows hosted not by Russians, but by American journalists, many of them well known names like Larry King, Ed Schultz, Jesse Ventura and Chris Hedges. A number of these people are working for RT because they were either sacked by US media outlets, like Schultz at MSNBC or had a planned program cancelled like Ventura, also at MSNBC, or left in disgust like Chris Hedges, a veteran war reporter for the NY Times.
For myself, I have agreed to be a go-to expert source for RT because over the years, after once upon a time being called to be on shows like MSNBC, CBS News and NPR programs, I don't get those calls anymore. It's not that I or my journalism have changed, but that the corporate media have grown flaccid and afraid of controversy. If I want to talk on TV about a story like the one I broke — based upon documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act — showing that the Houston FBI office learned or knew of a well-developed plot to conduct "intelligence" on the Houston Occupy movement, identify the leaders, and then "iff deemed necessary" to assassinate them using "suppressed" sniper rifle fire, or the story I broke based upon information obtained from a county coroner suggesting that a potential key witness in the case of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was actually murdered by an FBI agent in Orlando, I have to talk about it on RT. No US corporate news organization will touch such stories. Same thing if I want to make the point that the US has been providing funding, arms and training in Syria to anti-Assad fighters of Al Nusra, an affiliate of the Al Qaeda organization. You simply cannot say such undeniably factually correct things on a US news program, but you can say them on RT.
I'm under no illusion that RT is some sainted news organization that doesn't have a pro-Russian point of view. Of course it does, just as the government-funded BBC has a pro-British perspective. But I also well know (having worked for years as a staff journlist for major US news organizations), that every corporate news outlet in the US has a pro-US point of view, and that particularly where the story involves both US and Russian interests, as in the case of Ukraine and Syria, the whole truth is not being told by any Russian or US news organization. If I can get a bit of the truth out by talking on RT to counter propaganda and untruths in the US media, so much the better. I would hope that American viewers would have the sense to know that if they watch the news on RT, they are getting a pro-Russian perspective and to take what they see and hear with a grain of salt, just as I would hope they would consider American news reports with the same degree of skepticism (that may be optimistic!).
In any event, the reality is that I am no more an "agent of Russia" for agreeing to be interviewed (for a fee) on Russian TV than I would be an agent of Britain for being interviewed on the BBC or for having an article published in the New York Times or Business Week — both publications I've written for, the latter on retainer for five years.
Never once have I had an interview on RT edited to make it appear I'm saying something I didn't say, and never once have I said something on RT that I didn't firmly believe to be true based upon my own research.
When the issue of the US government requiring RT America to file as a foreign agent came up, my wife told me she thought by continuing to contribute comments to the station I was probably hoping to get called before some Congressional committee, ala the 1950s House un-American Activities Committee with its hearings on Communist subversion. I told her she was right: I would love nothing better than to get questioned about my work by some Congressional panel, and would be happy to have rabid anti-Russian Congresspeople view any one of my RT clips and point to anywhere that I was pushing Russian propaganda.
Example: Here is a lengthy interview I did on RT International on the issue of "fake news" allegations and concerns expressed by Facebook's head of security about calls for the company to block alleged fake news its news feeds. I'm betting it's not a perspective you've heard on your evening news, but I certainly stand by the points I'm making, and am not purveying any Russian propaganda, but let the viewer can be the judge.
What's really going on here with this "foreign agent" registration requirement is a kind of paternalistic censorship, much like those North Korean TV sets that didn't include settings on their channel selection dials for South Korean stations. It should concern every American who believes in the importance of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press, which after all is not just freedom for the US-based press, but also freedom of Americans' right to read, listen to and view information from any source, and to make their own judgements about its veracity or logic. When the government, as it is doing here in making efforts to block RT from the internet and from cable and fios TV, and in requiring it to register as a foreign agent, thereby implicitly and perhaps eventually actually threatening those journalists like me who continue to contribute to or work for the Russian-funded station, it is deciding what is safe, and what is not safe for Americans to read, listen to or view. That is starting down a very dangerous slope; a slope that inevitably will lead to much broader censorship and self-censorship of media in the US.
Only a year ago, the Washington Post published a shabbily sourced and, frankly, libelous lead story based upon the "research" of a mysterious organization called PropOrNot, whose funding and personnel were left unidentified, that claimed to have uncovered a massive Russian propaganda campaign in the US. This outfit, most likely the work of the Pentagon's cyber command, claimed that some 200 online news sites in the US, including RT, but also US sites like Counterpunch, antiwar.com, Truthout, Naked Capitalism and the Black Agenda Report, are either active promoters of Russian propaganda or "useful idiots" — a term tossed around wildly during the McCarthy period to demonize people said to perhaps ignorantly back a Communist agenda of subversion.
The thing is, despite claims by rabid members of Congress and in the military industrial complex that Russia has aggressive aims of conquest in Europe, Russia isn't even a US enemy. In reality, Russia is a major trading partner of Europe's and is a major supplier of European natural gas, the US and Russia have been fighting on the same side in Syria, the Russians are the ones who fly our astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and US corporate investment in Russia, despite several years of increasing sanctions levied over the issue of Ukraine and Crimea, is enormous. In other words, from the point of view of a journalist appearing on an RT program, it is no different from appearing on a BBC or Deutsche Welle, or, for that matter, on a CCTV program in China.
Meanwhile, if we want to really look for foreign agents at work in our country, look no further than the CEOs, presidents and board chairs of some of American's largest companies. Collectively, the S&P 500 includes companies 48% of whose revenues are earned abroad. Since some, like the big telecom firms, earn almost no revenues abroad, it's not surprising that some of the biggest corporations on the list are earning the bulk of their revenues and profits overseas (and are booking their profits there too in order to avoid US corporate taxes).
Take seven of the biggest: In the case of Apple, 62.3% of its 2016 revenues of $306 billion was earned abroad. For Qualcom, the figure was a whopping 98.6%$ of its $30.6 billion in 2016 revenues. Intel, meanwhile, "only" earned 82% of its $31.7 billion in 2016 revenues from abroad. ExxonMobil, headed by Rex Tillerson until he was named President Trump's secretary of state, earned $67.3% of its 2016 revenues from abroad (and has been seeking a deal to license close to $1 trillion in gas an oil reserves off Russia's Siberian coast in the Arctic Ocean), while Johnson & Johnson earned 5.2% of its 2016 revenues abroad. General Electric meanwhile, doesn't just earn the bulk of its revenues abroad — about 53% in 2016. As of the end of 2014, 55% of its workforce of 305,000 was located abroad — a number that continues to rise. And yet President Obama, without a hint of irony, named GE's then CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, to be a "jobs czar" for the administration in 2009 (a year later, GE reportedly paid no US taxes, though it paid $3 billion in taxes to foreign jurisdictions in which it operates).
Although clearly all of these nominally US corporations and their chief executives are American, it is equally clear that their real allegiance — since as we are continuously told, the fiduciary duty of corporate executives is to maximize shareholder value — is not to Uncle Sam. When push comes to shove, if a policy or bill in Congress is going to threaten their international business operations, these executives are going to lobby against it. If there's a bill that will help them move profits abroad, they'll push for it. They should, therefore, be required to register as foreign agents, yet never has such a thing even been proposed.
It makes a joke out of this whole campaign attacking RT-TV. Especially as it's a safe bet — so safe I'm not even going to make the effort to dig up the numbers — that many or most of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress clamoring to have RT banned solicit and happily accept campaign contributions from these so-called American companies every election cycle, which should be rights make them also foreign agents in practice.
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Honey, let's buy a coach!
You are at:Home»Cover Story»Honey, let's buy a coach!
"Maybe 'coaching' isn't your thing, but golf is or living in a cooler climate or near your grandkids are alternatives and the new norm," says Gigi Santoro of Santoro and Sons Real Estate Group.
So many of my clients are selling their big houses to buy a smaller place and a motorhome, or "coach." They are retired, looking for adventure, want to travel without dragging along a bunch of luggage and enjoy their retirement. Plus, these "Coach People" make a lot of "Coach Friends" that they meet up with trip after trip.
It's amazing to hear my clients' stories of how they all meet up at a special camp ground; people pitch in to help get camp in order and they have fun and then make plans for the next rendezvous. It sounds like so much fun!
It's a little intimidating at first for these folks. Let's face it, moving out of home base into a smaller place and buying a motorhome is a commitment. However, the Facebook posts and emails I get from my clients who have taken the plunge makes me want to sell my place and follow them across the USA! They are learning to fly fish, grill/BBQ with a smoker, have tailgate parties and really look like they are having a great time.
"Coach People" are learning to fly fish, grill/BBQ with a smoker, have tailgate parties and really look like they are having a great time.
This coach lifestyle makes me contemplate alternatives: things that my parents wouldn't have considered an option, but as people retire earlier and continue to be healthy, there seem to be many more choices for retirees. Maybe "coaching" isn't your thing, but golf is or living in a cooler climate or near your grandkids are alternatives and the new norm.
Maybe "Coach Life" isn't your desire, but you have something else in mind! Give me a call and let's discuss all your alternatives!
Gigi Santoro, Santoro And Sons Real Estate Group, backed by the world class Coldwell Banker Brokerage with our proprietary CB Exchange marketing software that helps sell properties for top dollar, can be reached at (818) 237-5687 or by email: Gigi@SantoroAndSons.com.


Marvel's The Punisher Becoming a Police Procedural TV Show?
Two Marvel Comics TV series, Incredible Hulk and AKA Jessica Jones, are both moving slowly through the television pipeline, but now a TV show about the Punisher could be on the fast track. The bad news? It sounds like the people making it will have a pretty loose interpretation of the character.
In the comics, the Punisher is Frank Castle, a veteran who goes to war against crime after some crooks gun down his family. But in the new television version, produced by former Criminal Minds showrunner Ed Bernero, Frank Castle is "a rising star detective with the New York Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those the system has failed." In other words, it's another cop show in which the cop has a double life. Not surprisingly, the show is being described as an "hour-long procedural."


Sketches in the leather bound book, and some other stuff.
I've been in a girls and mech/robots mood the last few months. Not really sure why, as I'm not intaking any of that sort of thing in my tv/movie/comic habits. My subconscious is the one talking, I just try to scribble as fast as I can.
Sometimes I doodle co-workers while we're at lunch. Everyone say hi to Mike.
The Weeknd's "Enemy" on loop and the above is what came out. If you've heard the song, you're probably just as "huh?" as I was.
Dunno what it is, but sunrises and sunsets in the ATL are much more vibrant than I recall seeing in KC. I'm sure it's no different, I probably just see them more since I'm up at regular hours now.
I often order new pens on a lark. Got some in today (11.2) and after a 10 hour day at work, doodled the above and below sketches to let my mind unwindulax.
These are probably the biggest breasts I've drawn in a while. At least not since that one drawing, eh DSG? :) I do have a tendency to show my *likes* in my sketches more than I think I do, and every now and then something like a big breasted, scantily-clad camp counselor comes out, instead of a willowy hipster girl in a skirt and leggings.


Wiring a Light Switch. ... Check out the diagram below that shows how to way a three way switch: Two Way Dimming. ... Wiring a Downlight.
Find out how to fit downlights in our informative guide. We offer advice on wiring downlights and other lights at Dusk Lighting.
So what is the best way to install LED Downlights? How do you minimise the electrician costs and maintain flexibility?


'Sweat' sensation Kayla Itsines and fiancé Tobi Pearce who is also her business partner, have announced they are expecting their first baby in May 2019.
Itsines and Pierce have been an item for six years, and got engaged in April, an announcement that broke the internet.
"It turns out that when we were ready it was just perfect timing," Kayla wrote later, revealing that her pregnancy was planned as the two always wanted to have children.
In a video shared on Instagram the influencer and multi-millionaire creator of the popular BBG workout plan announced on Wednesday that she's 20 weeks pregnant and can't wait to bring the new addition to their family into this world. "To be able to start my own family with the person I love most in this world is just an absolute dream come true," the Greek Australian posted.
Itsines said that she will continue to be a 'Sweat' trainer and will be developing, content for the global Sweat community app counting more than 40 million female members, both during her pregnancy as well as after.
"I'm so blessed to have such a strong BBG community, including many BBG mums throughout the world. I'm so excited to relate to my BBG mums even more through my pregnancy journey," she said.
Many of her followers expressed their excitement at having pregnancy specific workouts by Kayla not to mention tips that will help them get back into shape post partum.
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text:
'Downton Abbey' set visit report: All the gossip from the servant's hall
Albertina Lloyd
Entertainment reporter, Yahoo UK
Yahoo Movies UK 10 September 2019
Jim Carter is back as butler Carson in the 'Downton Abbey movie (Credit: Jaap Buitendijk/Focus Features)
We are in the servants hall at Downton Abbey and all our favourite 'Downstairs' characters are gathered together. Butler Mr Carson is at his rightful position at the head of the table, his wife, housekeeper Mrs Hughes, by his side. Cook Mrs Patmore, kitchen maid Daisy, bad-boy butler Thomas Barrow and lady's maid Anna Bates. It's as if they've been here, carrying on their daily lives, ever since the final credits rolled on the TV series on Christmas Day 2015.
It's October 2018 and we're at England's historical Ealing Studios having accepted an invitation to visit the set of the Downton Abbey movie.
So what brings us back into the Crawley household once again? Here's what we managed to find out about the film after having a good old natter with the servants...
Bigger and better
The staff of 'Downton Abbey' prepare for a royal banquet (Credit: Focus Features)
Speaking about being back on set Lesley Nichol who plays Mrs Patmore, confides, "It's almost the same, it's all just slightly bigger, but it's like coming home." And she's right, Downton devotees will not be disappointed. Everything is going to appear just as it was - just on an even larger and grander scale for the cinema.
"I think it's going to look really amazing," Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates) tell us. "Because there are some big scenes with everybody and some big set pieces which are beautiful and cinematic. I think anybody that loved the show will enjoy the movie.
"It's definitely a feel good movie."
All the cast admit it seems like hardly a day has gone by since they were all working together on the show, which ran for six years.
Sophie McShera, who plays Daisy, gushes, "We all see each other all the time anyway, so we're all friends. It doesn't feel that long ago. But obviously, it's really lovely to get together in this context again."
A right royal fuss
If you've watched the trailer you will know that the familiar crunch of gravel on the driveway heralds the arrival of royal visitors to Downton. It is 1927 and King George V and his wife Queen Mary are coming to stay with Lord and Lady Grantham. Their impending visit has got everyone at Downton feeling emotional for various reasons - apart from the Dowager Countess aka Dame Maggie Smith of course, who is suitably unimpressed.
Read more: Downton Abbey trailer drops and there's a Royal arrival
Butler Carson, played by stalwart Jim Carter, is back at the house, despite having retired at the end of the show.
Carter, 71, explains: "We start the film with me just in retirement back at the cottage digging in the garden, fairly bored. I think he's always regretted retirement - he wouldhappily carry on 'til he dropped.
"So Carson is delighted, I think, when Lady Mary asks him to come back and take over.
"Carson is happy to be back but spends most of his time in a flap because he doesn't want to put a foot wrong - because obviously he adores royalty."
Butler Molesley is also back for the royal visit, despite resigning to become a teacher. He decides his pupils can wait - he does not want to miss a chance to see their majesties.
"You have to remember that back in 1927, nobody would have seen the royals before, unless you were very lucky," muses Kevin Doyle. "There's no TV footage or anything like that. It would have just been like seeing movie stars. So the prospect of meeting them would have been beyond exciting. And that's his story throughout this film - just the anticipation!"
But not everyone is riled up about the royal visit for positive reasons. The end of the TV show saw maid Daisy developing some strong politically liberal views when it came to class.
McShera admits: "Daisy feels like it's possibly a bit over the top - everything that's happening. It definitely lights up that side of her again, and she's thinking, 'Is this fair?'"
Barrow's wild night out
Rob James-Collier as Barrow in 'Downton Abbey' (Credit: Focus Features)
Another servant who is not so happy about the royal guests is former valet Thomas Barrow, played by Rob James-Collier, who had been promoted to butler when Carson retired.
"Lady Mary doesn't quite trust Thomas as a butler. So she usurps him and brings back that old boy Mr. Carson, ruffling Thomas's feathers," reveals James-Collier.
This leads to possibly the most exciting sub-plot of the film - Barrow, who has always struggled with his secret sexuality, discovering the emerging underground gay scene of the 1920s.
James-Collier shares, "In a typical Barrow way thinks, 'Sod you all I'll go and do something for me then!' And then ends up in one of the first Edwardian gay bars, and then ends up in the back of a police van and ends up in jail.
"If he gets prosecuted that's it - game over, thrown in jail, never work in service again. He would probably have ended up on the streets. So it's high stakes.
"But it doesn't touch on them subjects because there's no time. He's too busy dancing!"
Barrow is introduced to the secret underworld by the King's valet, who James-Collier hints could be a love interest.
Rob James-Collier (Thomas Barrow) and Jim Carter dressed in character as Mr Carson on the set of Downton Abbey at Ealing Studios in 2015 (Credit: Getty Images)
"They're both definitely there in the moment, and trusting in each other. But can these things have a happy ending back then?", he teases.
Despite being set in a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence, James-Collier reveals his gay character still has relevance to fans in 2019.
"I'm flattered when I get letters from all over the world, from lads and girls who are coming out, or thinking to come out. Some of the were inspired by Thomas to come out to their families, which is the ultimate highest form of why we do this, you know, to, to move people. To get these really personal letters is very humbling for me."
A revolution at Downton
In preparation for the King and Queen's arrival, their royal servants descend on the abbey and try to take control. But the Downton Downstairs team rally round in response.
James-Collier lets slip, "Barrow escapes jail and then he becomes part of the Downton mutiny that rebel against how they've been trodden all over by His Majesty's staff. So he joins in the Downton revolution. Back then there was a big tremendous sense of pride in your work. So they strive and work together to to get their jobs back, as it were."
Despite Daisy being the one dabbling in Communism, it is in fact Anna Bates who ends up staging a coup against the royal household.
Read more: Downton Abbey movie: Everything you need to know
Carter reveals, "Oddly enough, and I think it is [writer] Julian Fellowes' feminist movement - he's got Anna Bates as the one who leads the revolution.
"It's strange because upstairs Lord Grantham sort of handed over the reins to Lady Mary and downstairs, Anna Bates seems to be leading the resistance of the royal household."
Bring your wife to work day
Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter have been married for 36 years (Credit: Getty Images for The Old Vic Theatre)
With Carson out of retirement he is back working alongside his wife, housekeeper Mrs Hughes.
Jim Carter's real life wife, Imelda Staunton, joins the cast of the movie as a visiting member of the aristocracy Lady Bagshaw. So what was that like?
"Well, because she's Upstairs and I'm Downstairs we never speak to each other," says Carter.
"We have a couple of days when we were in the dining room together, I refused to serve her any alcohol," he jokes. "We travelled out to work together a couple of days. But seeing her across a crowded dining room was exciting as it got."
Filming a royal parade in the village of Downton on set of the Downton Abbey movie in Lacock, Wiltshire. (Credit: PA)
Downton creator Julian Fellowes meticulously researches the historical events and cultural traditions of the era while writing the script. [Royalty has realy visited Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey is filmed.] But during filming Fellowes' friend Alastair Bruce of Crionaich is on set at all times to act as official Historical Advisor.
Bruce admits there are "plenty" of inaccuracies he has spotted within the script.
But he adds "In a way where the inaccuracies come, is where the director interprets what's written, and I'm there to make sure that we keep to what Julian intended.
"As far as I'm concerned, when you look at a drama, your conscience is carried along by the narrative, but your subconscious is also terribly hungry. And it's by getting the behaviour right, the mannerisms, right, and the protocols of the time correct, that you take people legitimately into time and then they can enjoy the story even more."
Just a simple physical gesture by one of the actors can be an issue, Bruce reveals.
Read more: Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter awarded with OBE
"We had a we had a scene a couple of days ago, between Lady Mary and Anna. And at one point, she puts her hand on Anna, and I said, 'Please don't do that.' Because people didn't touch each other in those days. I think it's very natural that people who live in today's time want to be very emotional. And I think it's important not to fight the truth of a time by trying to bring to it the protocols that are very natural today."
While the film is meticulous in its efforts to be historically accurate, even the stars admit there are few holes in the plot in order to pack it into a two hour film.
A glimpse behind the scenes of the #DowntonAbbeyFilm! See more from the cast and crew in Downton Abbey: The Official Film Companion, available in book stores on September 17th. pic.twitter.com/lbKYcXd37f
— Downton Abbey (@DowntonAbbey) August 13, 2019
Carson originally retired because he developed palsy and his tremoring hands made it impossible to serve at the table without spilling wine all over the guests.
Carter laughs, "That's been miraculous! So retirement has obviously been beneficial. Either the writer forgot about it, or let's say that the removal of stress probably cured his shaking hands."
Just as butler Molesley has abandoned his teaching job, cook Mrs Patmore seems to have completely forgotten her business venture running a Bed & Breakfast by the sea which she started at the end of the TV series.
Nichol admits, "That seems to have taken a slight sidestep because I guess it doesn't really fit in with what's happening."
Daisy had left Downton to live on her late husband's family farm. But for the royal visit she is back at the big house.
McShera bemoans, "There's no farm! We keep talking about our lovely farm and we imagine that she's still living there. But no, we don't actually get to see it. I think it's just cramming everything into film's really hard."
A message of monarchism?
The Duchess of Cambridge shares a joke with actor Robert James-Collier (Thomas) during an official visit to the set of Downton Abbey at Ealing Studios in London in 2015 (Credit: Getty Images)
Though set in the past, Downton Abbey has always been likened to a period soap opera - dealing with issues that are still just as relevant today such as heartbreak, rape, ambition and family feuds. And at a time when the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex have reignited in the public a love and admiration for the royal family, could it be that Julian Fellowes is trying to celebrate that with the theme of the Downton Abbey movie?
Phyllis Logan quips, "It does seem as though they can't seem to get enough of royalty, so we may as well shove some into Downton Abbey."
Asked of he is a fan of the royal family, Carter says: "In the same way that I'm a fan of Westminster Abbey and castles. It is history, it's us. So why not have the royal family? I think they have value to this country."
But he is not sure royalty is the main theme of the movie.
"This story is more about manners," he says. "The manners of how to behave in front of royalty.
"I'm a fan of being polite and manners and things like that. I do believe in good behaviour. Why wouldn't anybody believe in that?"
Downton Abbey arrives in UK cinemas from 13 September 2019.
Interviews conducted by Laura Hannam
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The 20 most searched for movies of 2019


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A eleição da cidade-sede dos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão da Juventude de 2010 começou em Agosto de 2007, com nove cidades a apresentarem os documentos da sua candidatura. A lista foi encurtada para cinco em Novembro de 2007. Uma redução a duas cidades foi efectuada a Janeiro de 2008 (Moscovo e Singapura).

Moscovo era a cidade melhor avaliada no relatório avaliativo, mas ficou em desvantagem devido à cidade russa de Sochi ir acolher os Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno de 2014. Singapura tinha igualmente uma óptima avaliação e possivelmente uma vantagem geográfica por estar situada numa região que nunca acolheu eventos olímpicos (Sudoeste asiático).

Singapura foi anunciada como cidade-sede a 21 de Fevereiro de 2011, depois do processo de voto postal.

Processo
As cidades interessadas em acolher os Jogos tinham que ter as suas candidaturas confirmadas pelo Comité Olímpico Nacional respectivo e submetida ao Comité Olímpico Internacional (COI) até 31 de Agosto de 2007. A 3 de Setembro desse ano, foram confirmadas nove cidades como candidatas oficiais, por esse comité. Mais tarde foram requisitadas para preencher um questionário, a 26 de Outubro de 2007. Uma lista encurtada de cinco cidades foi anunciada a 19 de Novembro.

Apesar de estar planeada a visita de um comité de avaliação às cidades da lista encurtada em Dezembro, o que acabou por suceder foi a apresentação de cada cidade em vídeo-conferência, a 13 de Dezembro. Como o COI previu, eliminaram ainda mais algumas das cidades antes da última fase.

O COI definiu que o principal objectivo destes Jogos não é a competição, mas sim uma educação baseada nos valores Olímpicos. A cidade-sede não teria, por isso, que construir novas infraestruturas para a ocasião, mas sim usar as infraestruturas existentes nos Jogos. Ainda assim, os Jogos deveriam incluir uma Aldeia Olímpica e os protocolos que preparariam os atletas jovens para futuras competições Olímpicas.

Os riscos de preparar rapidamente a primeira edição do evento foi um factor relevante na selecção das candidatas finais. Só houve dois anos e meio para organizar os Jogos, mas os Jogos com tempos de preparação maiores poderão permitir algumas das cidades não escolhidas candidatar-se no futuro.

Um comité avaliador viu uma apresentação em vídeo-conferência de cada cidade, em Dezembro de 2007. Em Janeiro, a lista encurtada foi reduzida de cinco para duas cidades, Moscovo e Singapura.

Quando o resultado do voto postal final foi revelado, Singapura venceu o direito de acolher os Jogos, vencendo Moscovo com 53 contra 44 votos.

Visão geral da candidatura vencedora

Avaliação das cidades candidatas

Comparação entre as cidades candidatas

Relatório de avaliação do COI
 Moscovo — somou 7.5 a 8.5
 Singapura — somou 7.4 a 7.9
 Atenas — somou 6.2 a 7.2
 Banguecoque — somou 5.5 a 6.7
 Turim — somou 5.7 a 6.3
 Kuala Lumpur — somou 4.5 a 5.9
 Debrecen — somou 4.1 a 5.3
 Poznań — somou 4.1 a 5.2
 Cidade da Guatemala — somou 2.8 a 3.9

Atenas (Grécia), Banguecoque (Tailândia), e Turim (Itália) foram as três cidades que conseguiram passar à lista encurtada, mas que vieram a ser eliminadas em Janeiro de 2008. Apesar de Atenas ter sentimento e infraestruturas actuais devido a ter acolhido recentemente os Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2004, a sua candidatura foi eliminada por ter um orçamento muito (254.9 milhões de Euros) e por ter eventos muito longe dos sítios centrais. Banguecoque foi elogiada pelos seus alojamentos e infraestruturas, mas tal como Atenas, as infraestruturas eram muito distantes, ao que se acrescenta alguma instabilidade policial vivida no país. O seu orçamento também foi considerado inadequado. O plano de Turim  era algo impressionante, mas a proposta da Aldeia Olímpica com um custo de 243.9 milhões de Euros não seria construída a tempo, colocando um fim à candidatura.

Avaliação (confronto)
Cada célula da tabela fornece um valor mínimo e máximo obtido pela cidade candidata ao critério em causa. Os gráficos estão arredondados ao número inteiro mais próximo.

Fora da corrida

Eliminada na votação final

Eliminadas da lista encurtada

Cidades candidatas não escolhidas

Cidades que não chegaram a candidatar-se
  Argel, Argélia - Argel não preencheu o questionário devido até 26 de Outubro, saindo da corrida.
  Belgrado, Sérvia - A 19 de Setembro, durante o workshop do COI em Lausana, o Comité Olímpico Sérvio anunciou que Belgrado iria retirar a sua candidatura, candidatando-se aos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão da Juventude de 2014.
  Guadalajara, México - mostrou interesse inicial.
  Hamburgo, Alemanha - mostrou interesse inicial.
  Lisboa, Portugal - mostrou interesse inicial.

Jogos Olímpicos da Juventude
Jogos Olímpicos de Verão da Juventude de 2010

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Screaming Thunder® the Motorcycle Riding Biker Blog is created by the Attorney That RIDES, aka Gabe Carrera, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The blog was initially started to keep Gabe's supporters informed with rider reports, pics and videos on his record setting Pan American Motorcycle Run that raised $50K+ for two different children hospitals located in South Florida. Mr. Attorney That RIDES set the record as the Longest Motorcycle Run from South to North on an American made motorcycle. This was set in 2015 within 70-days from Ushuaia, Argentina to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on a 2013 Harley-Davidson Police Road King.
The S. FL Biker Lifestyle and Long Distance Endurance Riding are two other important issues that Screaming Thunder® wanted to celebrate and educate the online community. Some of the nerwe features that Screaming Thunder will bring to its subscribers for free are video libraries, Biker Events, easier access to view the articles and content, friendlier mobile phone navigation and super appeasing for the eye when you land on the splash page. Events such as LDR events nationwide and South Florida parties and activities will be posted.
One of the up and coming events/articles that will include rider reports, videos and pics will be the Pan America 2.0 Run in May 2019. Gabe plans on taking the challenge to ride half way around the world on a 2019 Road Glide Ultra with his Hoka Hey riding buddy Kelsey Dowell who will be riding an older HD RGU.
The run is sponsored by Rock City Harley-Davidson and Gabe is in the works of obtaining other sponsors to help make this dangerous trip a success. So as new posts, articles, videos and events are posted check in every so often to find out what is new!
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