Happy New Year! On behalf of the team, we wish you all the very best of health, happiness and prosperity in 2019.
The Australian Open 14th – 27 January.
The Australian Tennis Open is one of the biggest sporting event held in the city of Melbourne each year. This summer, all tickets can be purchased through Ticketek. The Australian Open is a tennis tournament goes for two weeks of the year in January. Exciting time watching all the great players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and more.
Australia Day is marked on the 26 January, every year its a national public holiday in Australia. Many Australians traditionally celebrate today with an Aussie BBQ and for thousands of people today, officially become Australian citizens for the first time ever, no matter where your personal stories begin, today we can celebrate contemporary Australia to recognise our history.
Captain James Cook discovered Australia in 1770, following the first British fleet that arrived in January 1788, on the shores at Sydney's Botany Bay and shortly after relocated further north to Sydney Cove on the 26th of January this marked the day the UK flag was raised as the official declaration of British sovereignty on the land called Australia, which is partly the reason the 26th of January is called Australia Day, but we are in favour to change the day to a date that all Australians can support!.
In 1994 the federal government declared the 26 of January marked as a national public holiday, Australians have been celebrating this day since 1935 with all the states territories. But for many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who stand in support of changing the day, as it's considered a day of mourning. There is a sense, that there are two Australians, the local indigenous who occupied the land for thousands of years before the arrival of the First British Fleet who colonised Australia in 1788..The colonisation of Australia was not good for the indigenous people their land was taken from them and the British put them to work as slaves, their stories are known as the Stolen Generation. In 2008 prime minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised and was the first prime minister to say sorry to the Australian Aboriginal people, it was a profound speech with recognition of the hardship the aboriginal people went through, for the indigenous people the 26 of January is referred to as (Invasion Day).
Free things to visit this Christmas.
This Christmas in Melbourne is a magical time of the year without the winter wonderlands and snow, what we lack in the snow we make up for a great Aussie barbecue tradition: loading up the esky with bread rolls, beer, snags and burgers salad and tomato sauce. Throughout the summer months, local events and festive lights in the CBD. During the Christmas season, there will be lots of celebration, drinks, food and shopping for gifts, this can be an expensive time of year. We have prepared a list of free festival fun things to do in Melbourne, from a rendezvous with Santa to Myer's famous Christmas windows.
Christmas Tree at Christmas Square.
There is an exciting array of free events music and entertainments, for the young and old during the Christmas festivities. The main location to see the city's Christmas tree is at Federation Square festival hub, called Christmas Square, includes Santa's House, music and festive films. Further festivities continue beyond throughout the with animated projections on iconic buildings and lots of decorations in Melbourne's famous streets and laneways.
The Gingerbread Village located at Fed Square it is a beautiful building this is a free event but all money raised will be donated to the Royal Children's Hospital with a gold-coin donation.
Visit Crown and see a fully-lit Christmas tree and dazzling animatronic light show with a musical compilation of favourite Christmas songs, running daily from 10am to midnight every 30 minutes.
Docklands Christmas lighthouse show located at 888 Collins St, Docklands displays Christmas lights seven days a week. Christmas at The District, Docklands.
The Myer Christmas windows are located at Bourke Street Mall this year is said to be bigger than the year before, celebrating the 63rd edition of the Myer windows.
A good way to take Christmas selfie to take lots of photos in one of twelve Christmas scenarios.
There's much to admire about the Queen Victoria Market.
Please give a minute silence to the many men and women who forte in World War I.
This is a free event at Chinatown market begins on the second and fourth Saturday of every month, dive into Heffernan Lane in Chinatown for hawker-style stalls and a true night market vibe.
This is a free event date 30 August on Thursday at 10.30am – 11.30am to celebrate the city Dates and times. The event including a traditional raising of the flag. Lots of entertainment to enjoy the city with a host of birthday activities, including free celebratory Fergusson Plarre cupcakes and tours at the Immigration Museum. Location at 469 – 503 Flinders Street at Enterprise Park.
A fun day out to the Royal Melbourne Show offers a large variety of entertainments with loads of exciting things to see and do, get up close to animals than ever before, new award-winning food and drink precincts, a new program of thrilling entertainment including Jimmy Barnes, bigger and more spectacular nightly fireworks and the newest and most exciting rides and show-bags. Located at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
The Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final will be played on Saturday, September 29.
The AFL is one of the biggest sporting events on the September calendar in Melbourne is a contest between two AFL teams. This is an annual event with the Grand Final, to begin with, a parade held on the streets of and Swanston street. The Grand Final is guaranteed to be played at the MCG, the Grand Final will be shown live and free to air on Channel 7, which can be viewed at any local sporting pub where you can watch the game live.
Group bookings, include a bus pickup & drop off service to concerts, venues, functions, hens/bucks nights, birthday parties, weddings, winery tours, group weekends away including for all social events. BOOK NOW! All transportation-related pickups. Please phone: 0490 793 701 International +61 490 793 701.
Every Wednesday night till the 29 – August.
This is a free event held at Queen Victoria Market every Wednesday night, you will experience music, food, drinks and magical entertainment a fun night for the family from 5 pm – 10 pm Wednesday.
Sunday Funday is a free event for all kids age 15 and under general admission to the MCG and Etihad Stadium a fun way for families and young fans to connect with the AFL footy, game. There is lots of pre and post AFL activities. Location 120 Brunton Avenue Jolimont and Etihad Stadium.
Date from 06 June to 29 – August.
This is a free event during the July season. The night market held at Queen Victoria Market over 30 street food stations and locally made retail stations of mulled wine, cold beers food and live music that continues for 13 weeks. A fun night, bring your family and friends the night market is held every Wednesday from 5 pm – 10 pm.
This month visit an AFL match there are a total of 18 teams for a truly unique Melbourne sporting experience, head to a local AFL match at Melbourne's two stadiums, Etihad and the MCG. Tickets can be purchased online or at a local Ticketmaster or Ticketek store in the CBD.
On Monday 11 June 2018 Australia celebrates the Queen's Birthday is a public holiday long weekend. There are many things to celebrate in Melbourne over the June long weekend.
Winery tours to the Yarra Valley and Mornington up to 20% off!
Experience a great day out exploring the beautiful Yarra Valley and Mornington region. Bus winery tours for groups for any occasion, weddings, birthdays and more for $99 per person.
Free exhibition to the old treasury building and discover 20 objects that relate back to the Ballarat gold rush. Since gold lured people from around the world to make a fortune, the reality was different for the local miners working in difficult, sometimes dangerous conditions with no certainty of success. This fuelled resentment, which caused the Infamous Rebellion battle of the Eureka Stockade.
From 28th June – 30th June. Visit the AFL game with round 15 of the popular sporting event in Melbourne. Experience an AFL match for a truly unique Melbourne sporting experience. Thursday night at Etihad stadium Richmond Vs Sydney Swans, Friday night at Etihad stadium Western Bulldogs Vs Geelong Cats and Saturday afternoon at MCG Carlton Vs Port Adelaide.
The AFL is Australia's most popular sporting event! For a unique and truly Melbourne sporting experience, head to the MCG or Etihad Stadium to watch an AFL match, until September 30th. There are two main location's MCG, Etihad Stadium.
The international comedy festival returns with thousand with more than 600 shows and performers bringing laughter to the city. Located around the Melbourne CBD precinct is converted into a giant comedy hub with lots of laughter and standup performance.
This is a free event held at the Queen Victoria Market Sat: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm and Sun: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm this event showcases authentic Malaysian food, as well as dishes influenced by the Japanese, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. You can enjoy the taste of Malaysian culture and games with activities including a fun game called congkak, henna art, sarong tying, balloon making and cultural performances. Located at Queen Victoria Market, Cnr Elizabeth and Victoria streets Melbourne VIC 3000.
This event is held for four days from the 02 May Wednesday – Sunday, brings together unique favourite food serving up more than just your average street fare with modern settings, events and stellar entertainment line-ups. The Food and Truck Festival is divided into north, east, south and west Melbourne. Located in Batman Avenue Melbourne VIC 3000.
From 19th – 20th May. The buddha's day festival is a special day for the Asian communities. Located at Federation Square, lots of activities and cultural performance, including Asian vegetarian food fair along the Yarra River.
Easter is the biggest and most anticipated long weekend in Melbourne and is thus also the busiest time of the year on our nation's roads. Be sure to plan your Easter travel with significant lead time – ideally months beforehand. Many hotels, resorts and campsites are booked out in advance. Fri 30 March Good Friday, Sat., 31 Mar, Sun., 1st Easter and Monday 2nd Easter Monday.
This month is the biggest sporting event with the Australian Football League also known as the (AFL) which is held from March 22 – September 30th the AFL is Australia's national major sporting arena. Location held at MCG and Etihad Stadium.
The Comedy festival will continue for three and a half weeks from around the 28 of March to 22 April. The international comedy festival returns with thousands of performers bringing laughter to the city. Located around the Melbourne CBD precinct is converted into a giant comedy hub with lots of laughter and standup performance. Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Enjoy special themed nights, new and exciting food vendors and free entertainment and all the summer atmosphere you know and love at Melbourne's biggest Wednesday night party! This is a free event held every Wednesday night at 5 pm at Queen Victoria Market celebrating the 20th anniversary with a 21-week event. Begins from November 2017 to April 2018. Location the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria streets.
Free Community Workout This is a free event held on Tue: 6pm – 7pm from February to June the workout sessions are part of a healthy active lifestyle community project to encourage people to get healthy in a fun environment and a good meet people. The workout is a combination of cardio and weights. All you need to bring is a water bottle and wear some layers as you never can predict Melbourne weather! Location Alexandra Gardens St Kilda Road.
During the War, allied forces were supported by British tanks against German positions in a small French town called Le Hamel, in northern France. The allied victory of The Western Front owed much of its success to Lieutenant General John Monash, thanks to the leadership of Sir John Monash detailed planning of the battle of Hamel, was Sir Monash first assignment as commander of the Australian Corps.


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Many people in Armenia are living in conditions which are hard to imagine in Germany. Even many of those who have work have to live in houses and apartments which are so dilapidated that it rains through the ceiling, which have no proper windows, or where the supply lines are a constant danger because they are open. Cold, mold, but also insects and rats are constant roommates of the poor. It happens that parents take turns on the night watch to prevent the rats from biting their children. Unhealthy living conditions combined with inadequate nutrition and clothing allow illnesses to flourish which often become chronic, as visits to the doctor and medication are unaffordable for those affected.
Diaconia Charitable Fund wanted to help at least some of these many families. The Village of Hope was planned and approved by the Armenian government in 2001. Construction work began in the spring of 2002 on the outskirts of Yerevan, which meant work and bread for a number of construction workers and craftsmen. In 2003 the first 20 families in need were able to move into solid and dry houses. The demand was great, so the families were selected in a complex process by a commission made up of DCF employees, representatives of the mayor, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the committee for humanitarian issues. In view of the dire need of so many families, the decision was extremely difficult for those responsible.
Today there are 81 houses in the Village of Hope. The residents are families which can consist of several generations. There is a doctor's and a dentist's office, which are also open to sponsored children. The vocational training centre and the central administration of DCF are also located in the village. The administration includes a hall in which relief goods are stored, including the food that the sponsored children are regularly supplied with. A bus connects the Village of Hope with the city to make it easier for children in particular to get to school.
Thanks to your help we were able to free the following families from their desolate living conditions:
The Hakob Dallakyan Family – Hakob moved from the village of Ajgedzor to the capital Yerevan in 1974. After his marriage he rented a flat with his wife Anush. When the four children were born, the family had to leave the apartment because they had accumulated rental debts. In 2006, the family moved to an abandoned corrugated iron shack that was next to a cemetery. The living conditions here were miserable. Despite the difficulties, Anush gave birth to their fifth child in 2010.
In 2013 the family was given a five-room apartment in the Village of Hope. The keys were handed over on September 20th. The celebration was extremely moving. The joy and gratitude of the family could be felt first hand.
The Chatchatryan Family – Rasmik Chatchatryan and his wife Svetlana are retired. Their fate is difficult. Their two sons died young. After losing his children, Rasmik sold the apartment in 1992 due to debts. The family then moved into a rented apartment. The daughter Meline lived with her husband and their two underage sons with her parents. The daughter-in-law had gone to Russia at that time, and Svetlana was looking after the granddaughter.
In 2008 the long-suffering family was given a four-room apartment in the Village of Hope. Meline now works in a kindergarten, her husband runs a small business. Rasmik's granddaughter graduated from a foreign language college. For a long time she couldn't find a job, currently she works as a saleswoman in a clothing store.
The Martirosyan Family – Boris has four children. The family never had a house of their own. They were on the waiting list to get an apartment from the state. Boris is a musician. He once worked as a conductor of a military orchestra, tuning and repairing pianos. But he couldn't save enough money with his earnings to buy an apartment. One daughter is divorced and lived with her parents with her child. She had serious heart problems and had surgery. The son is a singer.
In 2008 the family was given a four-room apartment with a small piece of land.
The Samvel Dallakyan Family – Samvel spent his childhood and youth in a mountain village. After their marriage, the couple moved to the capital Yerevan because of the illness of their daughter Hasmik. Hasmik suffered from asthma and the climatic conditions in the mountains were difficult for her to endure. She always had seizures. Samvel lived with his wife and two children in a rented apartment, about 15 square meters, for almost 21 years. The children grew up. The son Vardan graduated from college with good grades and got a job in the Ministry of the Interior. He got married and the couple had two children.
Vardan had all the prerequisites and opportunities to improve the living conditions of his family with his work and to ensure a carefree old age for his parents. But a tragic accident ended the 28-year-old's life: on a short vacation at the world-famous Armenian Lake Sevan, a horizontal bar fell on his chest while doing gymnastics. He succumbed to internal bleeding. For Samvel and his wife, the death of their son was a devastating blow. They didn't want to live anymore. Only the care for their children and grandchildren kept them going.
In 2006 the family was given a four-room apartment. It was a miracle for the family. Today they all live in a bright, friendly house with a small garden.
The Hakobyan Family – After the death of his wife Hasmik, Stepan Hakobyan had to look after his two underage sons and his elderly parents on his own.
Stepan's wife had Huntington's disease – a progressive nerve disease that led to her death in 2003. The complex treatment and expensive medication could not prevent the worst. To cover treatment costs, the family had to sell their apartment. They lost all possessions. The search for a secure income drove them to the village of Maralik.
The money was only enough to rent a dilapidated hut, where humidity and cold dominated everyday life. Stepan worked as a porter, but his earnings weren't even enough to pay for groceries. Owning a house was a dream that seemed impossible.
The family was given a two-room apartment in the Village of Hope in 2006. Moving into the new house, and thus also into a new life, was a day of boundless joy. Dry, clean and bright – that's more than the family could ever imagine. In the "Village of Hope" Stepan found strength and confidence again. His sons are already adults. The son Gor is a contract soldier and serves in an air division. He is married, his son Stepan was born in 2012. The child bears his grandfather's name. Stepan's second son Narek works as a driver in a detergent factory.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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25 New COVID-19 Cases in Maine With 12 In York County; No New Deaths
The latest numbers released Wednesday by the Maine CDC show that the cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maine is now at 5,146, an increase of 25 since Tuesday with 48% of new cases reported in York County. 4,643 of those cases are confirmed while 528 are deemed probable.
There were no new deaths reported of an individual with COVID-19, keeping the total at 140. 441 patients have had to be hospitalized at some point. 17 are currently hospitalized with 4 in critical care and no patients are on a ventilator.
4,445 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered, an increase of 38 since Tuesday. The total number of diagnosed active cases of COVID-19 is 586, a decrease of 13. The cumulative number of COVID-19 negative tests is 384,303 with a 14-day positivity rate of 0.5%.
The Maine CDC has determined that there are 177 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths of an individual with COVID-19 associated with a wedding with around 65 guests at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket on August 7. That wedding reception outbreak is linked to an outbreak at the York County Jail where 82 cases have been reported.
Governor Mills has extended the State of Emergency in Maine through October 1, allowing Maine to continue to receive federal funding and use available resources to respond to COVID-19.
An executive order remains in place requiring large retail stores, lodging, restaurants, outdoor bars and tasting rooms in coastal counties and Maine's largest cities to enforce the state's face covering requirement.
The counties where businesses are be required to enforce the face covering requirement are Hancock, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Cumberland and York as well as the more populated inland cities Bangor/Brewer and Lewiston/Auburn.
You can view the full list of businesses and read the guidelines for each on The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's website.
If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, including a runny nose, sore throat, dry cough, fever and in severe cases, difficulty breathing, the Maine CDC says you should call your doctor before going in so that they can prepare for your arrival. The Maine CDC continues to update with new information daily. Keep checking on our mobile app or website to get the latest.
Source: 25 New COVID-19 Cases in Maine With 12 In York County; No New Deaths


Scent Speakers are decorative, high quality, simple, safe and versatile scent diffusers perfect for home, retail, salons, office, hospitality, point of purchase, and scent marketing. Scent Speakers can be discreetly and strategically positioned just about anywhere. Fits perfectly on bookshelf or floor.
Scent spaces up to 500 sq.ft.
Scent Speakers work as stand alone systems or can be integrated and controlled by home automation, show control systems, motion control, Virtual Reality, other trigger devices, or standard wall timers.
Scent Speaker cartridges last up to 30 days each and use patent pending Eco-friendly Scentfx natural ceramic or recyclable polymer beads. The DRY system is very easy to use – no liquid, no mess, no lingering odor or oily residue. Scents are formulated to meet national and global safety guidelines. Choose from our comprehensive library of scents, design custom Bespoke scents or provide your own fragrance!
WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY WITH SOAP AND WATER AFTER USE. Do not ingest. Contains fragrance/essential oils. Avoid contact with eyes, skin, or clothing. May irritate eyes & skin. Do not place near open flame or heat. Avoid contact with furniture & painted surfaces as oil may cause staining or damage.


Your weather doesn't sound like fun, Lucy - hope sunnier skies come your way soon! Love this elegant card! That heart paper is so beautiful and the wood sentiment looks fabulous!
No complaints about the weather here, since I'm still walking around in shorts and have just taken a dive in the pool.
Your card looks stunning and elegant. I had already seen this kit. Love the papers but I'm not sure I'll be using those stamps a lot.
It's been a while since I left a comment...slappin' wrist....but I DO read every post, honestly....but couldn't pass this one up....it's totally sumptuous! That's a gorgeous kit....can see why you love it, lol.
So right about the flippin' weather, too.....I love livin' near Manchester, but this rain is dreary....supposed to be brightening a bit tomorrow....fingers crossed!


From basic to deluxe, these mixers are perfect for your postrun smoothies and a whole lot more.
There's no better way to cool off and refuel after a hot summer run than with a smoothie or trendy smoothie bowl. But for your smoothie—or other dishes that need food processing—you'll need a good blender. No matter your budget, there's a mixer for you.


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Volunteering in the Year of Young People
Please note: This volunteering item was uploaded some time ago and may have expired. Please contact us to find out more.
Funding to support National Youth Volunteering Design Team.
Young people will help create a 10 year plan for volunteering in Scotland.
As part of the Year of Young People, Communities Secretary Angela Constance has confirmed investment of up to £172,380 to develop a National Youth Volunteering Design Team in partnership with ProjectScotland and Young Scot.
Up to 25 young volunteers from a variety of backgrounds across Scotland will lead work to develop recommendations to help the Scottish Government ensure that by 2028, more people volunteer than do not.
Making the announcement at the Gathering 2018, Ms Constance said:
"Volunteering is such a rewarding experience both for the volunteer and for our communities.
"This is an innovative and dynamic approach to increasing volunteering opportunities, especially for young people. Our commitment to equality and diversity underpins our approach to promoting volunteering and we want to increase such opportunities.
"Our Programme for Government promises to be bold in our vision for volunteering and to work with young people to better understand their aims and motivations. There's no better time to do that than the Year of Young People."
Dured Alhalabe, Founder of the Amal Project, volunteer from Aberdeenshire, and Young Scot Award winner said:
"Volunteering has been so important to me. Volunteering brings people together, helps to develop new skills and makes our communities stronger. I think it's great that other young people, like me, will have a direct say in developing the new strategy, so we can find new ways to encourage more young people get involved in volunteering."
The 2018 Programme for Government sets out the Scottish Government's vision for volunteering.
In response to this commitment, they are working with stakeholders to develop an outcomes framework for volunteering in order to:
Set out clearly and in once place a coherent and compelling narrative for volunteering;
Define the key outcomes, and supporting outcomes, desired for volunteering in Scotland over the next 10 years;
Identify the key data and evidence that will inform, indicate and drive performance at a national and local level;
Allow debate and decision about the optimal combination of programmes, investments and interventions.
The NYVDT, supported by Project Scotland and Young Scot will ensure young volunteers are at the heart of developing this approach.
See other news/events in the Volunteering category


Setting up your Panasonic TV set's remote control to work with other component devices connected to the set -- such as a DVD player or recorder, Blu-ray player or VCR -- allows you to operate the key functions on all devices with a single remote.
Set the Remote to Programming Mode. Before beginning, turn on any television already programmed to the remote. In order to program the Panasonic remote with any other devices, the remote has to be set to its programming mode.
To set the air conditioner to switch on at a certain time, say 7:30 in the morning, press the timer on button. The timer on symbol will start flashing. Press the increase and decrease buttons to set the time.


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tmointelligence > insights > Latest > Main Street Begins Loan Purchases; Lender List To Come
Main Street Begins Loan Purchases; Lender List To Come
September 10, 2020 admin Latest
On July 6th 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ("FRBB") announced that the Main Street Lending Program will now begin purchases of 95% participation stakes in eligible loans, completing the roll-out of the program that represents Treasury and the Federal Reserve's joint effort to ensure small- and mid-sized businesses have access to credit on equitable terms in the face of the pandemic.
The FRBB also announced that shortly it will publish a list of participating lenders by state for easy reference by interested borrowers.
How to Apply for a Main Street Loan
An MSLP loan application may be submitted to a federally insured lending institution, which will apply its own underwriting criteria. In addition, the Federal Reserve also released application forms and agreement that must be completed in conjunction with the primary loan application. The documents include borrower certifications and covenants.
The Federal Reserve cautions that "eligible borrowers should contact an eligible lender for more information on whether the eligible lender plans to participate in the program and to request more information on the application process."
Please refer to the Federal Reserve's Main Street website for the latest program information.
The Impact of COVID-19 on the PE Industry
The novel COVID-19, is one of the most significant global economic and societal events to take place within our lifetimes, and has vast implications for private equity, venture capital and the M&A market. The U.S. is now the epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak, as the growth in cases and deaths continues to accelerate.
COVID-19 has already had a devastating impact on the economy with more than 36 million unemployment claims over the past two months, more than wiping out all job gains since the Great Recession. There are widespread expectations of the unemployment rate hitting as high as 30% or more and predictions of a 10%+ drop in next quarter's GDP. Between the travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing, and mandated shutdowns, we are in what many are now calling the new "shut‑in economy."
In terms of the private equity and private capital markets in particular, there are certainly going to be short-term impacts, including a delay in fundraising, impact on EBITDA, and a fall in production, as well as medium-term impacts as funds manage against the "new normal." Medium-term considerations include taking steps to recession-proof portfolios and fortifying business resilience at the portfolio company level. There could also be more carve-outs and divestitures of non-core assets from larger companies, which would present a buying opportunity for private equity. And, after years of a relative dearth of quality assets on the market, we'll likely see a huge uptick in quality distressed assets at discounted prices, which we expect savvy PE and VC funds to invest in or snap up.
Actions undertaken today—daily information and awareness briefings, crisis management and recovery efforts, investment strategy pivots, financial and operational planning—will help fund managers navigate through the COVID-19 crisis both at the fund level and at the portfolio level.
IMPACT OF COVID ON ACCONTING OPERATIONS
As cities and states begin to re-open, and businesses start to transition into a post- lockdown economy, there will be short- and medium-term challenges that will need to be addressed. If you were able to weather the early storm and ensure that the necessary accounting processes were operational in a virtual environment, you are already off to a strong start.
Taking Stock of the New Normal
By now, you and your teams have likely had several weeks of remote working experience under your belts. As you begin to plan a return to work, the first exercise to go through is to debrief on the past several weeks of remote working, with a goal of identifying three primary categories:
What worked well: These could include things like processing of accounting transactions and seamlessly accessing financials from home through the cloud.
What could be improved: Processes that perhaps did not work very well in a remote setting but that you will need to improve moving forward. This could include capabilities like remote conferencing or video software that was critical for business continuity but would make interacting with colleagues more productive in the future.
What should be scrapped:Processes that you realize may no more be as valuable or as necessary, as your organization shifts to an increasingly remote working environment.
If appropriate, consider debriefing with your team to better understand the challenges and successes associated with the remote working structure, in order to make better decisions around future work-from-home situations—which may come in waves through the fall and beyond as the virus ebbs and flows.
Once you have a sense of areas to sustain, enhance or to discard, the next step is to review your finance and accounting staff structure to determine if you have the correct capabilities to meet the demands of the new normal. For example, many CFOs are seeing an increased need for strategic financial planning and analysis skills in order to adequately budget, forecast and create financial models in an uncertain business environment.
Are Public Housing Authorities Exempt From Federal Unemployment Taxes?
Expanding Main Street Lending Program to Nonprofit Organizations
Financial Crimes Risk
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Chris on Wall clock
Risk And Security
Middle Market Businesses Need a Plan To Weather The COVID-19 Crisis


A crypto debit card is any debit card that allows you to pay using at least one type of cryptocurrency. Crypto debit cards typically provide you with the option to pay using fiat currency as well.
While you may prefer paying with newer payment technologies (i.e. QR code scans that automatically debit from a mobile banking app or crypto wallet), many people like having the option to use a card instead. Most, if not all, crypto cards offer the flexibility to pay using either plastic cards or mobile applications.
Physical crypto debit card: Similar to any traditional debit card you can store in your wallet. The main difference is that you can also use it to pay with crypto.
Virtual: Serves about the same purpose as a cryptocurrency wallet mobile app, except it's usually supported by a payment company and may come with the option of a physical card.
Pre-paid cards: Allows you to load cryptocurrency onto the card and automatically converts your crypto into fiat and vice versa.
Non-pre-paid debit cards: These are typically connected to your online crypto wallet and convert your crypto into fiat whenever you make a purchase.
The MCO card offers quite a few unique incentives. For example, it allows users of various purchasing levels to enjoy rewards programs. The rewards depend on the amount of MCO tokens you lockup, which can vary between 0 and 50,000 MCO. Even for users that don't lock funds, this card offers one percent cash back. On Airbnb and Expedia, you can even get up to 10 percent purchase rebates on each booking, as well as unlimited airport lounge access and more. This card also offers benefits for streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.
For some users, the lockup amounts might be too much to seriously consider MCO. For others, though, the enticing incentives could be enough to give crypto debit cards a try. In November 2018, the company announced a partnership with New York-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank to issue the card to US customers.
MCO offers an incentive program that's second to none thanks to its major partnerships.
Founded in 2013, Cryptopay is one of the most established crypto card companies in the market. The Cryptopay prepaid card works online and offline. You can use this card at any store that accepts VISA debit cards.
The company regularly updates user stats, which show exactly how popular this card is. As of March 21, 2019, Cryptopay boasts 1,011,514 active users, an increase of almost 100,000 since we looked at the stats back in August 2018. Additionally, Cryptopay completes 24,364 transactions per month. The company has issued more than 121,00 prepaid cards to date.
While these numbers are impressive when it comes to crypto cards, it's also important to consider that average transactions per month are still quite low. The good news is that Cryptopay is only now beginning to expand its operational territory. Originally, this company limited its services mostly to the UK. Now, Cryptopay is actively expanding its services throughout Europe, Russia, Singapore and other locations globally.
Once focused solely on the UK, Cryptopay is now focusing on new markets like Europe, Russia, and Singapore.
Wirex's debit card provides fiat options (USD, EUR, GBP) and cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, XRP, and LTC). Additionally, you can complete fiat-crypto conversions at live rates. Card delivery is free, but you will need to pay a $1.50 management each month.
Currently, Wirex is only available to citizens of countries within Europe. Wirex debit card fees include $2.50 for ATM withdrawals within Europe and $3.50 for ATM withdrawals outside of Europe. Online and offline payments for goods and services have zero fees.
Bitcoin (BTC) users are eligible to join the Cryptoback program. This unique incentive returns 0.5 percent of your purchase in BTC every time you punch in your pin, swipe, or use contactless pay with the Wirex VISA debit card. Like other cards on this list, the Wirex cryptocurrency card can be used in any place where VISA is accepted.
Wirex offers the option to earn 0.5 percent in BTC every time you make an in-store purchase, swipe your Wirex payment card, or use Tap and Go.
Uquid is one of the best options on the market in terms of shipping delivery time. The company only takes 2-3 days to ship to customers located anywhere in the globe. Moreover, Uquid comes with unlimited ATM withdrawal limits and unlimited lifetime purchases.
As of March 2019, it's only available to citizens of European nations. However, Uquid plans to expand to regions in North America and Asia in the near future. The starting price to purchase a Uquid cryptocurrency debit card is $16.99. This is quite high compared to most other cards on this list, with the possible exception of the high-end MCO cards with lockup requirements. Monthly management fees are set at a flat rate of $1.00. ATM withdrawals are set at $2.50 USD (countries within Europe) and $3.50 USD (all other countries).
Uquid offers fast shipping and no limits on purchases.
Most crypto debit cards on this list are only available to citizens of European nations. Still, there are also a few options for other locations. For instance, BitPay's cryptocurrency debit card is accessible to citizens of all 50 states in the US. The Bitpay card costs $9.95 and includes a $5.00 monthly management fee. Fees for ATM withdrawals (within the US) are $2.00. Withdrawals from outside the US are $3.00 USD. Additionally, the company charges a rather steep 3 percent conversion fee for foreign currency ATM transactions.
BitPay is one of the few crypto debit card options for US citizens.
Crypto debit cards have a long way to go before they can gain mainstream adoption. Although these choices above generally offer decent services, many are limited in the number of people that can use them. This is largely due to legislation that makes approval processes difficult and/or lengthy.
Unfortunately, some crypto debit card projects that seemed promising have fizzled out. One such example is Shift Card, which was the first US crypto debit card. It even allowed users to connect to Coinbase and spend funds at over 38 million merchants worldwide. Recently, it announced that it is retiring its program on April 11, 2019. Nonetheless, new projects are also emerging in this space. For instance, 2gether, a Spain-based FinTech startup, has announced that it will launch a prepaid crypto debit card that supports ETH, XRP, BCH, EOS, XLM and LTC.
For now, it's unclear where the crypto debit card is going. Even though the momentum this product once had is seemingly fading, there are also clear signs that companies are working to increase its functionality, appeal to new customer bases, and expand services to new markets.


Indian scientist Kamal Bawa, a distinguished professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, has won the 2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity for his research, including in climate change in the Himalayas.
Bawa, founder president of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore, will receive the prize with a cash award of $100,000 during the Oct 16-17 Conference of Parties (COP-12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in South Korea.
The prize also honours his contributions to research in ecology of tropical forests, sustainable use of tropical forests, promoting engagement of civil society in conservation efforts, and for his leadership role in setting up ATREE.
The announcement of the prize was made Monday at the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat in Montreal, and at the AEON Environmental Foundation in Japan, co-hosts of the prize, according to a media release from ATREE.
The prize honours individuals who have made outstanding contribution to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources at local and global levels, and raised awareness about biodiversity.
The Midori Prize is regarded a major element "at the service of the objectives of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020".
"I am very pleased," said Bawa.
"The prize underscores the importance of biodiversity to humanity and an inclusive and multidimensional approach to biodiversity conservation that my own research programme at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and ATREE in India have advocated during the past few decades," he said.
In 2012, Bawa, who has taught at the University of Massachusetts for more than 40 years, had also received international recognition as the recipient of the first Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science, a major international prize.
India, the current chair of the COP-11 will pass the baton to Korea at the COP-12 in South Korea. The theme of this year's COP-12 meeting is 'Biodiversity for Sustainable Development'.


How to write a funding proposal ?
What donor [ donor.ozg.in ] want?
Most donors want a range of things.
1. To make a difference. Donors want their money to count and the work they fund to be successful. More importantly, donors want to be seen to be / as successful.
2. To acquire knowledge, understanding and information. This has some ethical problems, if interventions are directly geared toward the generation of knowledge without clear and tangible outcomes to be attained by those receiving the development assistance.
3. To share knowledge, understanding, information, and, in so doing, add value to their chosen interventions.
4. To increase their influence in addressing what they consider to be the problems of the world, the region, the country, or a particular area.
1. Name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, name and title of the person the NGO should make contact with. This is the preliminary information which the NGO can get from the switchboard, from the donor's web page, from a directory, or from colleagues in civil society organizations.
2. The goals, mission and concern of the donor, including its areas of interest, whether it funds in particular geographical areas only, what its general funding criteria are, what else it funds. The NGO can get this kind of information from a web page or from a brochure or annual report, as well as from colleagues in civil society organizations.
3. What size of grant the donor usually gives.
4. What the donor's decision-making process is and how long it is likely to take for a decision to be made once the NGO submits a written proposal.
5. The dates when proposals are considered and the dates/deadlines for submission of proposals for consideration.
6. Whether the donor has a special proposal format the NGO should use, or guidelines the NGO should follow, or whether the NGO can use its own. Some donors may want a short preliminary proposal before asking the NGO to complete a full proposal. This enables them to make an initial judgment about whether or not they want to get involved in more detailed negotiations with the NGO.
1. Who the NGO and it identity are.
2. What the NGO strengths and weaknesses are, and what opportunities and threats confront the NGO.
3. The NGO track record (what the NGO has achieved and what the NGO can show from past work that will give a donor confidence that the NGO is a "good risk."
1. An overall mission and goal for the organization – why it exists, who it is intended to benefit, how it is linked to the intended beneficiary community and what it is committed to achieving through its work.
2. A board that provides the organization with a credible governance structure. This means that the NGO needs a short biography of each person, reflecting, for example, such factors as experience, community links, and gender.
3. Some organizations also have patrons. These are usually highly respected and well-known people who, although they do not have the time to be involved in the regular governance of the organization, are willing to lend their support and name to the cause and the organization.
4. Key staff or volunteers who are in place to make the organization and, therefore, the project, work. Here too the NGO wants to present brief biographies of the people who will be central in the project, showing why they are appropriate.
The initial step when the NGO plans a project is to make a strong link between the NGO's organizational mission and strategy and the specific project. It is a serious mistake to take as the NGO's starting point: "What can we get money for?"
An organization is a response to a problem or an opportunity in the environment. It is from this that the mission and strategy of the organisation flow. It is this that a strategic planning process should address. The projects the NGO plan and request funding for should be part of the NGO strategy, not just a way to raise money.
4. The process intended to achieve the objectives.
Some of the do's and don'ts of how an NGO should write the funding proposal follow.
1. Address the proposal to concerning dept. in donor organization.
2. Plan ahead so that the NGO proposal isn't rushed or crisis-related.
3. Show that the NGO knows who else is working in the field and what they are doing.
4. Involve others in editing the proposal.
6. Keep it short – not more than 10 pages for the body of the proposal and less if possible.
7. Show that the NGO cares about the work –show some passion.
8. Pitch the tone correctly – be human rather than academic, let the human story come through, but don't go overboard on emotion.
2. "Pad" the NGO budget to include things that are not relevant to the project.
3. Hide information the donor is entitled to.
4. Send so much documentation that the reader gives up before he or she begins.
5. Assume that the donor knows all about the NGO so the NGO does not need to bother to present itself well.
7. Make the project fit the donor criteria at the expense of what the NGO think needs to be done.


Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Some Thiosemicarbazones and Their Applications as Intermediates for 5-Arylazothiazole Disperse Dyes - Download this document for free, or read online. Document in PDF available to download.
Keywords: solid-solid reactions; thiosemicarbazones; phenacyl bromide; 5-arylazothiazoles; disperse dyes; fastness properties. solid-solid reactions; thiosemicarbazones; phenacyl bromide; 5-arylazothiazoles; disperse dyes; fastness properties.
Blanchiment, Teinture Et Dorure De La Soie - Villon, A. M.


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Die Silnice I/42 ( für: "Straße I. Klasse 42") ist eine tschechische Staatsstraße (Straße I. Klasse).

Verlauf

Die mit den Straßen Silnice I/23, Silnice I/41, Silnice I/43 und Silnice I/50 verknüpfte vierspurige, noch nicht in allen Teilen ausgebaute  Straße bildet den Großen Stadtring (Velký městský okruh) von Brünn (Brno). Ihre Länge beträgt 18,856 Kilometer.

Weblinks

042
Silnice 042

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Sony PlayStation 5: Full Specs and Details Released
The new gaming console has a far more powerful graphics processor, a 3D audio engine, and more upgrades.
The Sony PlayStation 5's full specs were revealed by system architect Mark Cerny during an online event in lieu of the Game Developers Conference, which was canceled due to Coronavirus concerns. Watch it below:
As Cerny previously revealed in a Wired article, the next-gen console boasts a CPU based on AMD's Ryzen line, a solid-state drive that eliminates need for data duplication, and haptic feedback-enabled controllers with adaptive triggers that adjust tension based on what's happening in-game.
Newsweek notes that the PS5 also gets a 10.28-teraflop Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) that's nearly six times more powerful than PS4's 1.84-teraflop GPU, as well as support for 8K graphics, backwards compatibility with PS4 titles, and VR support.
Still: Eurogamer
Eurogamer compiled a chart that shows all key PS5 hardware upgrades over the outgoing system. The tech site also spoke at length with Cerny prior to the presser—here are some takeaways about its CPU, GPU, SSD and Tempest 3D audio engine based on their report:
PlayStation 5 uses AMD's excellent Zen 2 CPU technology with prior communications confirming eight physical cores and 16 threads – but now we know how fast they are clocked, with PS5 delivering frequencies up to 3.5GHz.
Discussing the nature of CPU and GPU clock speeds is going to require some careful explanation because Cerny actually described frequencies as being 'capped'. For the CPU, 3.5GHz is at the top end of the spectrum, and he also suggests that this is the typical speed – but under certain conditions, it can run slower.
Sony is doubling down on solid-state storage in providing a truly transformative next generation experience. Every couple of years, Mark Cerny travels the world, meeting dozens of developers and publishers and the integration of the SSD was the number one next-gen request. Sony's actual implementation is something else, with performance rated at two orders of magnitude faster than PlayStation 4. 2GB of data can be loaded in one quarter of a second, meaning that in theory, the entirety of PS5's 16GB can be filled in just two seconds.
In short, the Tempest Engine opens the door to a genuine revolution in game audio – and while there are challenges ahead in seeing the system reach is fullest potential, one thing you don't need to worry about is buying into high-end audio hardware to enjoy the experience.
In the short term, the simple solution will be to use headphones: two ears, two speakers – it's all you need and the Tempest Engine will handle the rest. Going forward, Sony is optimistic about great results from virtual surround from TV speakers and sound bars, with multi-speaker systems also due for support.
No price, release date or images of the finished console were announced, but it's still due out in 2020.
Tags: Entertainment Gaming gear news PlayStation 5 Sony technology Video Game Consoles Video Games


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Trooping the Colour: The Queen's annual birthday parade, explained
Danielle Stacey
Royal Correspondent
Yahoo Style UK June 6, 2019
The Queen, Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Savannah Phillips and Prince George at Trooping the Colour 2018 [Photo: PA]
The Royal Family will be out in force on Saturday 8 June 2019 for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.
It has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for over 260 years.
While the Queen actually turned 93 on April 21, official celebrations have often been held on another day, particularly when the actual birthday has not been in the summer.
Her Majesty's great grandfather King Edward VII, for example, was born on 9 November 1841, but his official birthday was always marked in May or June when there was a greater likelihood of good weather for the Trooping the Colour parade.
The tradition is believed to date back to 1748, during King George II's reign.
What happens at Trooping the Colour?
The Household Division's website explains: "Regimental flags of the British Army were historically described as 'Colours' because they displayed the uniform Colours and insignia worn by the soldiers of different units.
"If Troops were to know what their Regiment's Colours looked like, it was necessary to display them regularly.
"The way in which this was done was for young officers to march in between the ranks of troops formed up in lines with the Colours held high.
"This is the origin of the word 'trooping'."
The Household Division march down the Mall, ahead of the Trooping the Colour ceremony [Photo: PA]
On Saturday, over 1400 parading soldiers, almost 300 horses and 400 musicians will take part in the event.
The parade will start at Buckingham Palace and progress down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade. Members of the Royal Family will travel alongside the parade on horseback and in carriages.
READ MORE: The Queen handled Donald Trump's state visit 'beautifully'
The Queen on horseback in the 1980s during Trooping the Colour [Photo: PA]
The Queen used to attend on horseback herself, but in recent years has travelled by carriage. She last rode on horseback in 1986.
Once the Queen has arrived at Horse Guard's Parade, Her Majesty is greeted by a royal salute and carries out an inspection of the troops.
The display closes with an RAF fly-past, watched by members of the Royal Family from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Who will be attending?
The Queen is usually joined by members of the Royal Family during the parade and later on the balcony to watch the RAF fly-past.
The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children are all expected to be among the attendees. Prince Louis may be making his balcony debut this weekend, as his older sister Princess Charlotte was one when she first attended.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle's first post-pregnancy outing is fast approaching
Meghan, pictured at last year's parade, is expected to make her first public appearance since having her baby [Photo: PA]
The Duchess of Sussex is also expected to be making her first public appearance since the birth of her son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Queen's large extended family will also join the family on the balcony.
Members of the public can watch the parade from The Mall or on the edge of St James's Park overlooking Horse Guards.
The ceremony will also be broadcast live on BBC One from 10:30am in the UK.
Tickets for seats around the Horse Guards Parade are already sold out for 2019, as they are allocated by ballot.
If you want to attend in 2020, applications for Trooping the Colour are to be made between January and February only, via the Army website. Up to a maximum of four tickets can be applied.
#the-queen
#royals
#royal-family
#royal-wedding
#royal
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Hours before Bell officials testified at a CRTC hearing, the company announced that Fibe TV customers will soon no longer have to buy its internet, and admitted that it designed a training document telling employees to downplay its $25 basic TV plan.
Hours before Bell Canada testified at a CRTC hearing Wednesday about its $25 basic TV package, the telco announced it will no longer force Fibe TV customers to also subscribe to the company's internet service.
Then, during the hearing, Bell admitted for the first time that it had designed a training document for employees that specifically told them not to promote its cheaper, basic TV plan.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission grilled Bell on both topics during its hearing in Gatineau, Que. The event aims to address numerous complaints from dissatisfied customers about the new basic TV packages.
The CRTC mandated that television providers offer the pared-down TV plans in March for a maximum of $25. Consumer groups have criticized Bell for demanding that its basic Fibe — or fibre optic — customers in Ontario and Quebec also sign up for its internet service.
Critics predicted Bell would come under fire during the hearing for linking the two products. But the day before it testified, the telco announced that its Fibe TV service would be available as a standalone product in early 2017.
"If one were to take a bit of a cynical view, it's somewhat surprising that would come out hours before the oral phase of a hearing," said CRTC commissioner Christopher MacDonald to Bell during its testimony.
However, Bell executives stressed that the decision was part of an "ongoing process" to streamline its services. Fibe TV requires an internet connection to work, but Fibe customers in Atlantic Canada are not forced to get their internet only from Bell.
In May, to justify its linked selling, Bell had made a submission to the CRTC, claiming that Fibe TV customers had to get Bell internet or "key features of our [TV] service would not work."
When asked about this submission during the hearing, Robert Malcolmson, Bell's senior vice president of regulatory affairs, asserted it was true. He added that the company would now face major technical challenges untying the two products before the big change early next year.
Malcolmson did not address why Fibe TV currently works without Bell's internet in Atlantic Canada.
Bell was also in the hot seat at the hearing because of a CBC News story about a training document that surfaced in February of this year. Leaked by a Bell employee, it instructed workers to downplay Bell's basic TV plan, called the Starter package.
"Do not promote the Starter TV package. There will be no advertising, and this package should only be discussed if the customer initiates the conversation," stated the document.
Many industry insiders had speculated that the major TV providers didn't want to offer the basic plans because they would be less profitable.
When CBC News asked Bell about the document in February, it would not acknowledge its existence.
However, in Wednesday's hearing, Malcolmson fessed up.
"I'd be delighted if I could refute the [CBC News] report, but there was what I would call an unfortunate incident in the early stages of training," he said.
He also stressed that the document was only designed for employees in Atlantic Canada, was not reflective of Bell's obligations to promote the basic package, and that it was pulled before it could ever be used to train workers.
But in February, a Bell employee who had seen the document told CBC News that he clearly got the message that the company didn't want the basic plan promoted.
"Bell has no intention of selling this package," he said. "If a customer asks for it, then it'll be available."
That's also the message that Bell customer Lowell Geddes says he got when he contacted the company. Geddes says he called customer service twice in May to pare down his TV plan.
The North Sydney, N.S., resident says he didn't know about the basic deal at the time and told the service representative he just wanted to watch the news on CBC and CTV.
"Surely, if anyone interpreted that, they would see that's the basic package," says Geddes. But he claims no one ever mentioned the basic TV option, and he wound up getting a bigger package he didn't really want.
This week, Geddes learned from a CBC News report that Bell does offer a basic plan.
"I feel I was not informed," he says about his conversations with Bell in May. "I feel a little bit ripped off, I guess, by not having the information to make a choice as a consumer."
Bell stressed at the hearing that it promotes its basic Starter package with the same gusto it promotes all its other TV plans.
"We have definitely tried to promote the starter package on our website along with all of our other packages," said Payal Gabrani-Bahl, vice-president of content with Bell TV.
Bell wasn't the only telco announcing adjustments to its basic plan as it faced the CRTC hearing.
Rogers announced during its testimony that, after hearing from customers, it has decided to allow basic subscribers to combine the plan in a bundle with other services.
Previously, consumer groups had criticized the cable company for excluding basic customers from getting a bundled discount.
Near the close of the hearing today, CRTC head Jean-Pierre Blais admitted some culpability in the problems that have been raised with the rollout of the basic TV packages. "I was kicking myself in March, saying to myself — the commission itself probably could have done a better job."
He added that everyone, including TV providers and consumers, have a role to play in ensuring the new plans are a success.
CRTC opens hearings on $25 basic TV packages. Is it just 'lip service'?


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Wind River Country > Destinations > Atlantic City / South Pass
Atlantic City, Wyoming. Population about 57
Miner's Delight Ghost Town. Photo: Jennie Hutchinson
Photo: Jennie Hutchinson
Welcome to Atlantic City and South Pass City
Take a step back in time when you enter the small community called Atlantic City, neighbor to two other old gold mining towns, South Pass City and Miner's Delight or Hamilton City. This authentic, historic town remains true to its origins when it was a gold mining camp during the turn of the century. Visit some of the original buildings and enjoy lunch or dinner where gold miners may have dined many years ago.
South Pass City, now a State Historic Site, was home to the same gold rush that gave life to Atlantic City. This city has fewer year-round residents but boasts 40 preserved original structures. The first female to hold judicial office served here: Justice of the Peace Esther Hobart Morris. The Wyoming Territorial Representative who drafted the bill giving women in the Wyoming Territory the right to vote resided in South Pass City. South Pass City Historic Site is not only the home of Gold Rush Days, it is the home of the women's vote in Wyoming, which celebrates 150 years in 2019.
Atlantic City was established in 1868 during a gold mining boom. Now it's a tiny community that boasts "About 57 year-around residents" on its entrance sign, Atlantic City is located 30 miles southwest of Lander off Wyoming Highway 28, near where the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail crossed South Pass. It is a frequent stop for snowmobilers riding the popular Continental Divide Trail.
Just four miles away is South Pass City, a Wyoming State Historic Site and home of the Carissa Mine. You can tour the recently restored mine during the summer months and even pan for gold. South Pass is best known for its annual Gold Rush Days (July) when you can enjoy a vintage baseball tournament, food, games, music and interpretive programs.
Explore Atlantic City and South Pass City on the Gold Flakes to Yellowcake Driving Tour and the South Pass Driving Tour.
Atlantic City Cabin
295 Atlantic City Road
Atlantic City, WY
Atlantic City Mercantile
100 E. Main
Miner's Grubstake
The Hyde Out
15 North Dexter Ave.
Wild Bill's Bed and Breakfast
4 Three Forks Road
Atlantic City,
©2020 Wind River Visitors Council All rights reserved. Site by West Edge Collective


This report addresses the issues, problems, and resolution efforts related to CASE tool integration and standardization from the users' perspective.
CASE tool users are faced with the task of coordinating tools and data from a variety of sources spanning the entire software development life cycle. Despite much discussion and increased standardization activity, complete, transparent CASE tool integration is still a long way from realization. There are a number of factors which have complicated the tool integration scenario and a number of actions being taken in an attempt to resolve the problems. The implications of these concerns can be examined from the perspectives of single-vendor, multiple-vendor, operating environment, development process, and end-user integration. In addition to specific technical and methodological solutions, standards efforts are viewed as a possible path to tool integration. To date, formal efforts have done little to resolve the integration problems, but de facto standards may well become the cornerstone of future CASE tool evolution.


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DotAsia supports Internet Society Singapore Chapter in its role at the ICG Secretariat
by Dot.Asia | May 26, 2015 | Announcements and Updates...
DotAsia Organisation is honored to announce its full support of and partnership with the Internet Society Singapore Chapter (ISOC SG) to serve as the secretariat for the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG). Key personnel from DotAsia are seconded to ISOC SG to form the core Secretariat Team for the ICG.
The ICG comprises 30 individuals selected by 13 communities of both direct and indirect stakeholders who together will deliver a proposal to the US government (NTIA) recommending a transition plan of NTIA's stewardship of IANA functions to the Internet community, consistent with the key principles outlined in the NTIA March 14 announcement. For more information regarding the ICG and its work, please visit the official ICG web site.
In addition to secondment of personnel, DotAsia is contributing additional resources to support the historical mission of the ICG, including the development and maintenance of ICG's independent official website and other communications infrastructure. DotAsia believes that a successful IANA Stewardship Transition will be monumental to the global Internet and is fully committed to serve the ICG Secretariat with dedication.
Furthermore, in consideration of the importance of our neutrality in serving the ICG Secretariat, and to avoid unnecessary perceived conflict of interest, DotAsia makes the commitment to withdraw from participation in community discussions and decisions matters directly impacting the ICG work. Nevertheless, our team continues to support and contribute to the general Internet governance development, including the development of IDN related policies, universal acceptance, and internationalization efforts.
Tags: Asia, IANA, IANA Stewardship Transition, ICG, Internet Governance, ISOC, NTIA


And love me all the . . .
once at the very end.
You'll have a pocketful of starlight!
With just a pocketful of starlight!
(Save it for rainy day!) Save it for a rainy day!
"He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands)"
messin' round that apple tree."
"Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"
"The Blue (Sky), Painted in Blue". Volare means, to fly.
Flying....oh oh...singing...oh oh oh oh!
Where are you little star?
There you are little star!!!
Tom Dooley. When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley must hang.
"To Know Him, Is To Love Him"
Alvin, cut that out.. wait a sec..Theodore, just a minute.


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Why Dave Grohl won't sing Nirvana songs live
Rodney2021-01-12T08:44:45+11:00
Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl has dreams of playing with the legendary band Nirvana again but won't sing any of the late frontman Kurt Cobain's songs live on stage.
There's been a series of reunions with his ex-bandmates Krist Novoselic and guitarist Pat Smear with various guest vocalists. They played at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 with guest vocalists. See when St Vincent sang "Lithium" below
Grohl says. "I wouldn't feel comfortable singing a song that Kurt sang," and added he doesn't feel comfortable jamming to Nirvana at home.
As most people know Grohl wasn't Nirvana's first drummer and joined after Nirvana's 1989 Bleach tour fell apart with tensions with then guitarists Jason Everman. Grohl permanently replaced drummer Chad Channing in 1990.
Grohl recalls "When I first joined the band, it was so much fun, I lived on the couch in Kurt's living room. We rehearsed in a barn. We set up our gear and played those songs, and people bounced around and got hot and sweaty. I really loved the connection and the appreciation that Nirvana's audience had with the band."
Grohl adds "I feel perfectly at home playing those songs on the drums, and I love playing them with Krist and Pat and another vocalist, I still have dreams that we're in Nirvana, that we're still a band. I still dream there's any empty arena waiting for us to play. But I don't sit down at home and run through 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by myself. It's just a reminder that the person who is responsible for those beautiful songs is no longer with us. It's bittersweet."
Nirvana dissolved in 1994 in the wake of Kurt Cobain's suicide. Grohl then switched to frontman and guitarist to form the Foo Fighters. Foo Fighters have their 10th studio entitled Medicine at Midnight released in February.
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Rage Against The Machine - 60's election tee - Front Print Vintage Print/Vintage Wash
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Metallica - Sunset Skulls - Hawaiian Shirt
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So many people think that it is improper and perhaps even morally inappropriate to forgive when the other refuses to apologize. "My waiting for the other to apologize shows that I have self-respect. I will not put up with the injustice," I have heard people say.
Yet, why is your self-respect tied to another's behavior toward you? Can't you respect yourself for who you are as a person rather than waiting for another to affirm your importance as a person?
Yet, cannot you forgive from the heart and also ask fairness from the other before—before—he or she apologizes? One does not achieve justice through only one path, in this case the other's apology.
If you insist on the other's apology before you forgive then you are saying this to yourself: I will not allow myself the freedom to exercise mercy toward this person until he/she acts in a certain way (an apology in this case). Do you see how you have curtailed your freedom, including your freedom to heal emotionally from the injustice? Forgiveness has been shown scientifically to reduce anger, anxiety, and depression. Your insistence on an apology may delay or even thwart your healing.
When you insist on the other's apology before you forgive, you—you, not the other person—trap yourself in the prison of unforgiveness…..with its resentment and unhappiness. This does not seem like the ethical thing to do.
Forgiving freely whether the other apologizes or not is the path to freedom, healing, and a clear-headed call to justice.
University of Wisconsin educational psychology professor Dr. Robert Enright will speak at the United Nations next month and serve on an international "Expert Group" that will develop intervention models aimed at ending gender-based violence around the world.
Globally, according to the UNFPA, 1 in 3 women face gender-based violence, usually at the hands of someone she knows. Furthermore, 1 in 4 women, including adolescent girls, have been subjected to intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence. Those risks of violence are compounded in countries experiencing conflict and disasters.
3) To develop a strategy and timetable for implementation.
The intervention model that Dr. Enright and the Expert Group come up with in New York will be piloted in three selected areas where gender-based violence is prevalent: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, and Israel/Palestine. Funding will be provided by the United Nations.
"I'm delighted that one of the leading UN agencies has recognized the importance of our forgiveness research at UW-Madison and the development of intervention models like our Forgiveness Education Program," Dr. Enright said of the upcoming meeting.
"That research has already demonstrated that forgiveness therapy can have a strong positive impact in dealing with trauma and post-trauma in both conflict and post-conflict situations," he added.
Dr. Enright said he is hopeful that the forgiveness programs he has been operating in Northern Ireland for the past 12 years; in Liberia, West Africa for 3 years; and the one he just recently started in Israel-Palestine after 3 years of groundwork there, will soon be employed to address gender-based violence as well.
What is the one book you would recommend for me as I adjust to a recent and messy divorce?
In the context of your "messy divorce," I would recommend my book, The Forgiving Life, because it involves a Socratic dialogue between Sophia and Inez regarding a marital conflict that Inez is experiencing. The insights in the dialogue might give you insights into your own emotional-healing process. I wish you the very best in your courageous journey of healing.
Someone said to me recently that forgiveness is wrong because it asks too much of the victim. I saw your response to this in the blog post of August 4. Yet, don't you think that an over-emphasis on forgiveness could put an excessive burden on the victim in that there is family and peer pressure to forgive even if the victim is not ready to do this?
Forgiveness is not the culprit in your example. When people put pressure on another person to forgive, then the problem lies with those so pressuring. Forgiveness itself has nothing to do with such pressure. Forgiveness is innocent of the charges.
C.S. Lewis once noted that pride is that tendency to find pleasure in moving other people around like toy soldiers. Pride seeks to win, to be superior, to have the light shining on the self.
When we are treated unjustly by another, then perhaps it is that other person who has moved us around as if we were toy soldiers. It is at this time that resentment can take hold of us and if we are not able now to competitively move our injurer around like a toy soldier, we dig the trench of resentment and stay there for the battle.
If the other does not apologize, we do not want to budge from our pride-trench. The central problem of waiting for the other to admit defeat is this: Too often those who hurt us do not apologize.
What we need is an antidote to pride, something that will extend a warm hand and help us out of the trench. The antidote is the virtue of humility, a virtue that the philosopher Nietzsche looked on with distain, calling it a "monkish virtue." It is apparent that Nietzsche's philosophy valued power and so he wanted nothing to do with humility.
The major problem with detesting humility is that sometimes the other's power over us remains, despite our best efforts. If all we have left is our pride-trench, then the other's power could defeat us in an emotional sense as we develop unhealthy anger and even anxiety and depression.
To combat the barrier of pride, we need to value and practice humility, that sense that we need not always get our way and that power is an impostor not worthy of following. With humility, we do not meet power with power. Yes, we meet power with a call for justice, but this is very different from pride, which calls for its pound of flesh from the other. Once we have developed the virtue of humility, which gets us out of our pride-trench, we are free to begin forgiving, which can actually eliminate the resentment so that it no longer has power over us.
PennLive.com, The Patriot News, Harrisburg, PA – The mother of 20-year-old Robert Burris, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in March 2013, has forgiven the driver of the car involved in the incident.
"I forgive you, and I pray for you," said Shurone Carroll, Burris' mother, at a July sentencing hearing for 19-year-old Jonathan Ramsey. After adding that she wants Ramsey to make every day count when he gets out of prison, she hugged him and shed a tear.
During Ramsey's appearance in court last month, the judge accepted the plea agreement Ramsey reached with the District Attorney's Office, which called for 5 to 10 years in state prison on a third-degree murder charge – reduced from first-degree murder, which would have meant a life sentence.
The DA said Ramsey was an essential and critical witness in reaching a conviction of the drive-by shooter, Justin Clark. According to testimony at that trial, Ramsey drove Clark to 14th and Vernon streets in Harrisburg after they saw Clark's intended target, Bennie Chisolm, with a group of people. Clark fired about 11 shots at Chisolm, missing him, but striking Burris fatally in the back of the head.
In other words, hatred is an insatiable monster that demands its supposed due. When people hate, they can all too easily create the rationalization that the other deserves bad things, deserves to be punished…..and by the one who hates.
Hatred clouds the mind as it freezes the heart. And it does so slowly enough that the one now with the clouds and freezings was not even aware of this progression from a sunny mind and a warm heart. Yet, it can happen. Scrooge in A Christmas Carol; the final scene in Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book; the list is long.
Eventually, hatred becomes self-righteous; the person believes deep within the self that the hatred is not only justified but also moral. It becomes a quest and even a way of life…….until it turns on the one with the self-righteousness and the sense of the moral quest…..and destroys him.
With hatred, forgiveness is not allowed to grow. With courage, a person can begin to see hatred within and stand against it, giving forgiveness a chance to grow and to redeem and to lighten and to unthaw.


DIXON — Polly Ann Bufford, 85, of Dixon, died Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, at Dixon Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Dixon, surrounded by her loving family.
Visitation will be from 1 p.m., until time of services at 2 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at Preston-Schilling Funeral Home, Dixon, with the Rev. Jack Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church in Sterling, officiating. Private burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon.
Polly was born April 8, 1932, in Benton, the daughter of William E. and Josie E. (MacDonald) Rogers. She married Aston Bufford Jr. on Nov. 6, 1951, in Benton. He preceded her in death on April 24, 1992. Polly was a member of First Baptist Church in Dixon.
She is survived by one daughter, Rebecca Sue (Allen) Krutsinger, of Dixon; one son, Michael K. (Nadja) Bufford, of Rantoul; two grandchildren, Arianna Krutsinger and Tressa Bufford; and two great-grandchildren, Gabriel McCoy and Lilly Crawford.
Polly was also preceded in death by her parents; five brothers; and three sisters.
In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established to Ronald McDonald Home and Shriners Hospitals for Children.


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Security researchers have observed an increase in exploit kit (EK) activity in the beginning of this year, coupled with a series of mutations, which include spreading more malware, Heimdal Security reports.
In a recent blog post, the company's Andra Zaharia explains that EKs such as Neutrino, RIG and Angler have registered a substantial spike in activity recently, and that they are currently focused on exploiting popular software such Adobe Flash Player, Reader, and Acrobat as their attack vectors.
The most recent campaign observed by Heimdal Security involves the Neutrino EK and was launched on January 5, 2016. In addition to targeting Adobe Flash Player vulnerabilities for distribution, the EK also uses Google Blackhat SEO poisoning and has started to spread new malware, including ransomware from the Kovter class and from the Cryptolocker 2 family.
According to the security firm, the campaign involves injecting malicious code into legitimate websites, which redirects victims to a selection of dedicated domains connected to new servers controlled by the attackers. The malicious payloads that Neutrino serves to its victims are located on these new servers, where a series of top-level .top domains are also hosted.
The cybercriminals behind this campaign are focused on exploiting outdated Adobe Flash Player installations to infect victims' systems with ransomware. Furthermore, the payload delivery process appears to have improved, as it now includes various tests to determine whether the browser and Flash Player plugin are up to date and if a debugger is present in the memory.
In addition to determining the Flash Player version number, the EK also checks for PhantomJS, node.js or Rhino and mainly abuses the CVE-2015-7645 vulnerability in Flash Player plugin. The security flaw was added to the Angler and Nuclear EKs in early November, less than two weeks after Adobe released a patch for it, after learning that Russia-linked Pawn Storm threat group was exploiting it in attacks aimed at Foreign Affairs Ministries.
The security firm also observed an increase in the activity of Angler and RIG EKs, with the latter abusing known vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat and Silverlight and using Google Blackhat SEO poisoning to spread malware via drive-by attacks. The RIG campaign is main focused at infecting outdated Microsoft Windows PCs through serving malicious URLs in Google search results, Zaharia said.
Some of the infected URLs analyzed by Heimdal Security were hosted on a server at the IP address 192.185.21 [.] 183, which is considered to be entirely harmful. According to the researchers, the server hosts not only drive-by exploit kits, but also tier-1 gateways to the C & C servers, phishing websites and other malicious content.
The EK delivers payloads that include an infostealer from the Pony family and the TofSee Trojan, the latter pointing to an IP address in Scandinavia. The RIG exploit version 3 has reached an infection success rate of 56 percent on Windows 7 PCs with Internet Explorer 9 mainly by exploiting the CVE-2015-5119 (CVSS Score: 10) and CVE-2015-5122 (CVSS Score: 10) vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player.
The CVE-2015-5119 zero-day leaked in early July after a hacker stole 400GB of data from the systems of surveillance software maker Hacking Team, and Adobe immediately patched it, though it was already exploited in the wild. The CVE-2015-5122 zero-day flaw was discovered one week later in the same leaked data, along with another zero-day, namely CVE-2015-5123.
To stay protected, users are advised to update their Flash Player installations as soon as possible and to ensure that all of their software is up to date at all times. Additionally, they should consider a multi-layered protection system, which increases the chances that security products can discover and prevent malware from infiltrating their systems.