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Benelli SBE II Is Our Pick Over Beretta, Remington Autoloaders
The Super Black Eagle II led the way when tested against the Beretta Urika Trap Optima and the Remington 105Cti. But all three are classy autoloaders with slightly different missions.
It's always been sound advice to buy the best quality one can afford. But Americans are often conflicted consumers since a red, white and blue trademark doesn't always mean top quality.
That's because, we suppose, U.S. manufacturers have to cut corners in order to pay decent wages, workmen's compensation, life insurance, medical/dental benefits, pensions, and other sundries that don't clutter up the overhead of some off-shore competitors.
Right: All three of these 12-gauge guns feature back-bored barrels, stepped ventilated ribs, three-shot magazines, cross-bolt safeties and smooth, crisp trig-gers. They all came with plastic cases.The Beretta Urika Trap Optima, $1250, left, is primarily a target gun, which its 30-inch barrel sug-gests. Center, the Remington 105Cti splits the difference between the wood-and-metal Urika on the left and the polymer Benelli on the right, with a carbon/titanium receiver and some slick features, such as bottom ejection and a great trigger.Of the trio, however, we'd pass on the gas-operated designs and pick the Benelli Super Black Eagle II, a thoroughbred hunting gun with a inertial action.
One of the affected areas, in terms of quality and durability, has long been the area of semiautomatic shotguns. American designer John Browning's classic Auto-5 was made by FN in Belgium and later by Miroku in Japan a lineage shared by the company's (and sister company Winchester's) subsequent autoloaders. The Mossberg autoloaders that are still made stateside are designed with popular price points in mind, not history. Ithaca Guns USA no longer makes autoloaders; nor do Ruger or Savage, and aside from Remington, American manufacturers import semiautos rather than make one of their own in this country.
In fact, when it comes to truly classic designs, Remington's 1100 gas gun may be the only American-made autoloader to merit consideration. The 1100's autoloading predecessors the recoil-operated Model 11-48 and the pioneering gas-operated Sportsman 58 and 878 Automaster designs never caught the public fancy for a variety of reasons. And the gun's successor, the 11-87, still has sufficient warts almost two decades after its introduction to merit the 1100's continued prominence in the Remington product lineup.
Introduced in 1963, the 1100 still maintains sufficient interest for Remington to evolve the design more with the "Competition" in 2005 and the G-3 (for third generation) in 2006. But we're not here to dissect the 1100's tried-and-true physique, which is merely dressed differently in the Competition and G-3. No, the Remington autoloader in today's limelight is the new-for-2006 Model 105Cti.
Billed as lightweight, but with soft-recoil and extraordinary patterning performance, the 105Cti is the first Remington autoloader whose base model wears a four-figure price tag, which puts it into a pretty spiffy neighborhood.
The Italians, on the other hand, are long-term residents of said gated community with Benelli's Super Black Eagle II and Beretta's 391 versions today arguably representing the royalty in autoloaders.
We tested point of impact and did initial patterning of all three guns from a Caldwell Lead Sled to achieve a solid rest and absorb recoil. Trigger pull was measured by a Lyman digital trigger gauge.
Some may label a head-to-head comparison of these particular three guns as "apples and oranges." From here, however, it's more of a "tangerines and oranges" deal. Though the Benelli SBE II (No. 10016) is a thoroughbred hunting gun, the Beretta Urika Trap Optima No. J391501, $1250, is primarily a target gun, and the Remington 105Cti (No. 29521) is still in early-design limbo between the two, they are all classy, expensive auto-loading designs worthy of state-of-the-art designation.
All three 12-gauge guns feature back-bored (.735-inch interior diameters compared to the 12-gauge nominal .729) barrels, stepped ventilated ribs, three-shot magazines, cross-bolt safeties and smooth, crisp triggers. They all also came with classy plastic cases befitting 4-digit retail shotguns, with molded impressions to fit the various gun parts, choke tubes and wrenches.
Initial function testing came on a trap range. To get a feel for the heft, recoil and cycling of each gun, we waited until the range was empty on a low-traffic night, then took advantage of the voice-operated callers to shoot a rapid-fire five-shot volley at each station. The chamber and magazine were emptied as fast as the targets were thrown and gun's triggers could be worked.
Wingshooters will be impressed with the balance of all three guns, although all three had different balance points they also have different applications, giving good-to-excellent between-the-hands weight distribution for autoloaders.
This particular session covered 300 shots, more than a case of Remington's 2 3/4ths-dram, 1,235-fps Premier STS 1 1/8ths ounce target loads, without a cycling malfunction in any of the guns. We then shot a round of doubles trap with each gun, using 1-ounce versions of the same Remington target loads 50 shots per gun, fired in pairs in quick succession. All three guns again acquitted themselves flawlessly. On the second round of doubles trap, however, the Beretta and Benelli each hung up on second shots once, while the new Remington remained pristine. We had to view those malfunctions as aberrations, however, since subsequent shooting was faultless.
On the skeet field, in fact, the Beretta and Benelli were flawless with 1-ounce loads while the Remington began to balk, hanging up three times on second-shot doubles during a 50-bird outing.
None of this was surprising in that all three guns are rated for a minimum of 2.75 dram, 1 1/8-ounce loads (maximum 3-dram, 2-ounce loads, or 2.25-ouncers in the case of the heavy duty 3.5-inch-chamber Benelli SBEII). The idea was to test to the point of failure, and we didn't get consistent cycling failures on the Beretta or Benelli until we dipped into 1-ounce, 1,000-fps skeet handloads.
Subsequent trips to a local pheasant hunting preserve drew praises for the handling characteristics of all three guns, and flawless cycling of 2.75-inch, 1.25-ounce field loads.
The Benelli was further field-tested in two early-season goose blinds where it was flawless, and relatively comfortable to shoot, with 3.5-inch, Federal Heavyweight 2-ounce loads.
Understand that, given their propensity for chucking spent hulls at the guy on the next station, semiautomatics are as popular at a trapshoot as ants are at a picnic. But we took the Remington 105Cti to a registered trapshoot during the test session and drew a crowd of curious rather than furious shotgunners when the unique bottom-ejection shucked the empties into a neat pile at our feet at each station.
The conventional side-ejection Beretta 391 Optima similarly acquitted itself well in the handicap trap event that day, but had to be fitted with a shell catcher to avoid the ire of squad mates.
All three guns drew rave reviews from those assembled for handling, and performed extremely well.
The Beretta 391's gas-operated system was virtually pristine despite the abuse and, in fact, functions well even today after nearly 900 rounds without a cleaning. The Remington did encounter fouling problems and tended to malfunction when it got extremely dirty. The Benelli SBEII, having no gas piston, has virtually nothing to clean and was as dependable as the day is long.
Autoloaders have always had clunky triggers simply because the sear has to be moved out of the way while the action cycles. The sear is static in pump and bolt guns, moving only when the shooter manually cycles the gun after the shot. It requires multiple mechanical linkages to move it automatically in an autoloader.
All three of the tested guns sported good-for-autoloaders triggers, but the newly patented Remington Cti trigger was clearly the best. The new design rises smoothly on a simple roller sear that produces a crisp, almost lever-like pull that is difficult to describe but a delight to operate.
Here's an individual look at each of the impressive trio:
Remington 105Cti No. 29521
12 gauge, $1349
It requires only minor license to call Remington's 105Cti design revolutionary. Light weight and soft recoil are uncommon partners in any firearm. But Remington has pulled it off with the use of titanium and carbon fiber in the receiver and rib, a backbored barrel and unique recoil-softening system, combined with a large, proprietary Sims R3 recoil pad.
The gun is extremely light (7.1 pounds with 28-inch barrel as tested; 2 ounces lighter with the 26-incher), and remarkably soft on recoil.
Other than the absence of an ejection port on the right side of the receiver (it's the first bottom-ejection autoloader), the new gun maintains the traditional rounded receiver Remington autoloader lines that have carried through the 48, 58, 878, 1100, 11-87 and even the ill-fated 11-96. Despite the visual similarities, however, it is a totally different package, one unique unto itself.
Buttstock and forend were satin-finished walnut and wood-to-metal fit was good, but a couple of miniscule overhangs kept it from being excellent. Checkering was a neat laser-cut with a similarly-inletted Remington "R" and "105Cti" in the forend. An almost gaudy commemorative grip cap adorns this, the debut model of the gun, presumably to give it a stage presence on retail racks.
It's a nice start, and we assume that subsequent issues will incorporate synthetic black, and probably camouflage stocks that may shrink the heft and retail even more.
The new Black TriNyte coating protected the metal finish so well that there was nary a nick despite the gun being rode hard and hung up wet during the testing process.
The unique skeletonized receiver is made of titanium with a carbon fiber panel spanning the top and flowing down the sides; a union that reduces the weight but maintains rigidity. The barrel rib was also fashioned of carbon and aramid fibers for the same reasons.
The test gun's trigger broke consistently at a little under 5 pounds with no creep. The fire control system is easily removed from the receiver for cleaning or adjustment by drifting out two retaining pins, a longstanding Remington design.
To its credit, Remington didn't design the 105Cti to handle 3.5-inch shells. There are some who'll view it as old-fashioned to chamber for only 2.75- and 3-inch loads, but it shouldn't surprise anyone that the notion of one-gun-for-all-loads simply doesn't work for gas autoloaders. No one else has ever successfully done it because there is simply too broad a landscape for one set of springs to adequately traverse.
Remington is quite content to issue the initial 105Cti as an upland hunting gun with a crossover sporting clays application, leaving the 1100 to carry the bulk of the line's current target-shooting needs and the 11-87 to handle the heavy lifting in the goose fields and turkey woods. As such, drop at the heel and comb was the most of the three guns tested, but the Beretta 391 was a target version and the SBEII was purely a hunting gun.
We have to admit skepticism when Remington announced last winter that its latest autoloader was finally ready. The "05" designation was supposed to denote year of introduction. Big Green had been, in fact, on the verge of introducing it for more than three years, and had been understandably gunshy ever since the introduction of the ill-fated 11-96 Europa that fell on its face 10 years ago before it even got into full distribution. And, let's face it, there was a reason that Remington brought back the 1100 a few years ago after introducing the 11-87 as an improved, 3-inch (and later 3.5-inch) chambered replacement in 1987.
The initial production runs were with 26- and 28-inch vent-rib, backbored barrels and IC, Modified and Full choke tubes. But rest assured that we'll eventually see cantilevered rifled deer barrels and probably smoothbore tubes with fiber optic sights for deer/turkey hunters who eschew glass optics.
The backboring helped reduce recoil and produced clean, consistent patterns, reducing trauma on the shot charge by giving it elbow room in the barrel. The patterning was, in fact, excellent pellets typically evenly distributed in clean, circular array thanks largely to the overbore. Regular Remchoke tubes cannot be used in the 105 due to the overbore, the Cti requiring its own Pro Bore tube design, just as Browning's backbored guns require Invector Plus tubes rather than the Invector series used in their conventional-diameter barrels.
The operating system is simple, with fewer moving parts than its predecessors and a one-piece inertia sleeve and gas seal designed to reduce carbon build-up in the tube.
Another welcome feature of the 105Cti is "auto feed" the gun loads the first shell to the chamber directly from the bottom port. With the charging bolt open, a shell fed into the magazine transfers immediately to the chamber when your thumb is removed and the bolt automatically releases, a feature found on high-end Browning autoloaders.
To unload, the chamber is emptied by pulling the operating bolt rearward to a locked position. The magazine can then be emptied by depressing a feed latch inside the feed/ejection port that releases each shell individually.
These are neat features, but the 105Cti design really shines when you shoot it and experience the unique fire control and recoil-reduction systems. The ingenious Rate Reducer recoil suppression system is built around a hydraulically operated piston in the stock that regulates and dampens bolt velocity and the attendant collision with the rear of the receiver, the severity of which the gun transfers to your shoulder. The 1.25-inch-thick Sims R3 recoil pad further softens the blow.
The crossbolt safety was readily accessible at the normal Remington position in the rear of the trigger guard. The balance point was about 1.5 inches forward of the gun's mid-point, which gave good feel and balance.
The trigger, patterning and soft recoil were outstanding, but the gun's gas system tended to foul much too fast, making reliable cycling problematical after 500-600 shots.
An earlier version of the gun that we'd encountered had experienced cycling problems with some target loads, but Remington made a pre-production adjustment in design to supposedly improve that situation.
Due to variability in the marketplace in light target loads, two compensation springs were added on the gas cylinder. The springs allowed an increase in power (to trigger cycling) on the light side without increasing it the magnum side.
The extractor was also re-contoured to better match shotshell rim geometry, providing a larger surface area in contact with the shell rim.
Beretta Urika Trap Optima
No. J391501 12 ga., $1250
There is little argument that the Beretta 391 line is the most sophisticated autoloading design in the world. The Brescia-based designers didn't work up migraines trying to make the 391 an all-purpose semi, but rather recognized the improbability and wisely segmented the product line accordingly.
Today the 391 comes in the Xtrema2, Urika Optima and Teknys variants. All feature the same gas-operated recoil-reduction systems, efficient cycling systems and the famed 391 bolt. All are so efficient that the gas systems seldom require cleaning a far cry from virtually every other autoloader on the market.
And each model has its own function and place in the line-up.
The Xtrema2 is a bulked-up (the receiver is nearly 1.125 inches longer than those of the Urika and Teknys models), synthetic-stocked, 3.5-inch-chambered yet suitably well-cushioned 12 gauge designed for waterfowlers and turkey hunters. The Teknys is a nickel-finished, high-grade wood, Cadillac version of the Optima while the latter is the workhorse for sporting clays, trapshooters and upland bird hunters. Both feature 3-inch chambers and backbored barrels.
We tested the sleek Optima Trap target model with a 30-inch vent-ribbed barrel.
The wood on the Urika Optima test gun was Turkish walnut with nice grain and neat laser-cut checkering. The rounded edges on the ample recoil pad (two pads came with the gun, ostensibly for both mounted handling as in trap and skeet, and for low-gun handling in the field or in clays) made mounting smooth and trouble-free. The gun was virtually ambidextrous as a sophisticated system of shims, individually mounted between the receiver and stock, allowed the gun to be adjusted for pitch, drop and cast.
The wide, rounded comb on the Optima made cast off necessary for this right-handed shooter to readily line up the beads. We feel that the gun would be better served with a narrower comb to more readily fit all shooters.
The gun's balance point was nearly 2 inches ahead of its mid-point, which was excellent for a long-barreled gun made to be shot from a mounted position.
The barrel ID measured in the .735 neighborhood and came with five chrome-finished external Mobilchoke tubes (Skeet, Improved Cylinder, Improved Modified, Modified and Full), a specialty wrench and a tube of gun oil.
Patterning was excellent, as it was with the other test guns full-coverage, rounded, well-spaced patterns being the norm with all the chokes, undoubtedly the effect of the backbore and longer forcing cones.
Benelli Super Black Eagle II
No. 10016 12 Gauge, $1515
The laws of physics have always defined shooting comfort. There seemed to be no way around it if you wanted less recoil, use a lighter shot charge or a heavier gun. Unfortunately, one limited terminal effectiveness of the load and the other dampened the speed and liveliness of the shotgun.
Gas-operated autoloaders tweaked Sir Isaac Newton's findings somewhat, reducing recoil by prolonging the curve of the recoil event, even when using heavy loads. Despite that still-troubling weight thing since the gas piston technology was heavy they invariably shot softer than recoil-operated semis.
Benelli seems to have leveled that particular playing field, however, largely through the reliable physics of its short-recoil (they call it Inertia-Driven) system surrounded by the ergonomics and energy-absorbing flex of the ComforTech approach.
According to Benelli, the space-age ComforTech stock and attendant big, soft, ergonomic butt pad reduce felt recoil by as much as 48 percent, a significant facet of a light gun without a gas-operation.
ComforTech features a deep, soft gel-foam buttpad, a similarly cushioned comb and stock sidewall cuts fitted with chevrons of the same foam that serve to make turn the entire stock into a recoil pad.
A space-age butt pad is ingeniously designed with a longitudinal peak in the middle that makes it comfortable for both left- and right-handed shooters. Weighing in right at 7 pounds, the SBEII is about a pound lighter than the average autoloader, but ironically, within ounces of the tested Beretta and Remington guns.
The barrel is cryogenically treated (cold tempered to -300 degrees), which changes steel at the molecular level, making it harder and far less porous. The result is reduced harmonics, meaning consistency shot-to-shot, and far easier cleaning. Recoil spring and guide are easily removed from the recoil tube in the stock cleaning.
This gun is a hunter. The length of pull was listed at 14.4 inches in the catalog but measured 14.125-inch on the test gun with the smallest recoil pad. We found that length to be ideal for the hunter wearing a coat, and the trigger guard is enlarged to accommodate gloved fingers. Another concession to the hunter was sling swivel studs molded into the buttstock and the magazine cap.
There is no evaluation of walnut grain or wood-to-metal fit on this gun since it is synthetic-stocked, as are all but one version of the gun. We tested a black and matte version, although camo synthetics are also available. The comb is comfortably narrow, which makes it fit most shooters readily. Shims were included to adjust drop and cast, like the Beretta 391, and two recoil pads allowed adjustments in length of pull.
Stimpling replaces cut checkering in the grip and forend (Benelli calls it AirTouch) and gives good hand purchase, wet or dry.
It was difficult no make that impossible to make one system work for loads of all three 12-gauge chamber dimensions. Hunters were burdened by adjustable gas valves, o-rings and complex mechanisms that were difficult to understand and even harder to keep clean.
The SBEII came the closest to pulling off the trifecta any autoloader we've ever encountered. It handled 2.75-inch, 1 1/8-ounce trap loads just as easily as 3- and 3.5-inch waterfowl and turkey loads. Only when we dipped into subsonic 1-ounce target loads did the remarkable shooter occasionally fail to cycle, and that was probably an unfair test, as we were lowering charge size to the point of failure.
Benelli designers found that the answer was alleviating the gas system (and thus saving weight and bulk) and simplifying the short-recoil system instead of making it more elaborate. The entire bolt and cycling mechanism in the receiver can be removed in one jointed piece.
The barrel and top half of the receiver are a single piece, ala the AR-15/M-16 rifle (or the SBE's cousin, the Beretta Pintail), adding rigidity to the simplicity. Don't try to drill and tap the upper receiver/barrel for aftermarket sights, however, since the cold-tempering makes the steel virtually impenetrable.
The trigger broke consistently at nearly 7 pounds, which sounds heavy but was actually preferable for high-volume shooting in hunting fields.
Gun Test Recommends
Beretta Urika Trap Optima No. J391501 12 gauge, $1250. Buy it.The Beretta 391 is royalty among autoloaders; a well-thought, efficient and time-tested design. The gun tested has given us thousands of rounds of flawless and smooth performance on clays courses and the trap range.
We didn't care for the thick comb, but the stock design was nevertheless by far the best of the three guns for trapshooting (mounted gun). The balance, for the model's designed application, was excellent, being a tad barrel-heavy. The comb was similarly ideal for the designed target applications. We'd go with other 391 designs for hunting, so the lack of versatility cost the Optima top honors in this particular comparison.
All in all, it's a superb shotgun and the consumer can't go wrong, despite the haughty price tag.
Remington 105Cti, $1,349. Conditional Buy.The newest Remington is the lightest-recoiling (we have no reason to disbelieve Remington's claim of a 48 percent reduction in recoil over other gas autoloaders), smoothest-operating autoloader we've ever encountered and the trigger is of rifle-like match quality. The bottom ejection element is a plus in both the field and at the range, and we were delighted to find that balance and grace were not sacrificed when designers pared ounces off the gun.
The assumption here is that we're witnessing the birth of another American classic shotgun, and it narrowly missed Buy It honors, despite a few warts. It was probably too early in the fledgling design's evolution to be comparing it to the well-established Italian designs, but if you're charging four figures for a shotgun, it should meet lofty criteria.
The pedestrian choke tube system and tendency of the gas cylinder to foul both drawbacks that will change as the gun evolves changed our focus at the 11th hour.
Benelli Super Black Eagle II No. 10016, $1515. Our Pick. The latest version of the evolving Super Black Eagle design is a comfortable, ever-functional hunting gun, with the capacity to shoot 2.75, 3-, and 3.5-inch ammunition. GT
REMINGTON 105CTI NO. 29521 12 GA.
BERETTA URIKA TRAP OPTIMA NO. J39150112 GA.
BENELLI SUPER BLACK EAGLE IINO. 10016 12 GA.
Shotgun, Other


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GAO-16-315: Published: Feb 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 10, 2016.
Nearly one-third of states (16 of 51) reported counting nongovernmental third-party expenditures toward their states' required spending level under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) block grant in fiscal year 2015, according to GAO's survey of all state TANF directors. TANF requires states to maintain a significant portion of their own historic financial commitment, called maintenance of effort (MOE), to welfare-related programs. In addition to its own spending, a state may count toward its MOE requirement certain in-kind or cash expenditures by nongovernmental third parties—such as food banks—as long as these services are allowable under TANF, are provided to needy families, and the state meets other requirements. The number of states counting such expenditures as MOE spending increased substantially between fiscal years 2009 and 2010, perhaps in part due to requirements necessary to obtain additional funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). After fiscal year 2010, the number of states counting nongovernmental third-party expenditures toward their TANF MOE requirements fell, but remained higher than pre-Recovery Act levels for other reasons. States that reported such expenditures as TANF MOE spending cited reasons such as developing public-private partnerships and meeting state MOE requirements.
Of the 16 states that reported counting nongovernmental third-party expenditures as TANF MOE spending in fiscal year 2015, most said the types of services they counted involved food assistance and programs serving youth, according to GAO's survey. For example, one state reported working with a food bank to count the value of the food the bank provided to families deemed needy under state TANF rules.
Each year, TANF block grants, which are overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provide $16.5 billion in federal funds to states to assist low-income families. States are also required to spend a significant amount of their own funds under TANF, but they can include certain expenditures made by nongovernmental third parties toward their MOE requirement. Some stakeholders support this option because it helps states meet MOE requirements, but others question whether this approach is consistent with program goals. GAO was asked to update the information presented in its 2012 report on this topic (GAO-12-929R).
This report updates information on, among other things, (1) the extent to which states count nongovernmental third-party expenditures for services as TANF MOE spending, and (2) the types of nongovernmental third-party services provided that states counted as TANF MOE spending.
To obtain this information, GAO surveyed state TANF directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and reached a 100-percent response rate. GAO also reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations, reviewed HHS expenditure data, and interviewed HHS officials. Lastly, GAO interviewed TANF officials in three states selected to reflect geographic diversity and variety among other factors.
GAO is not making recommendations in this report. HHS agreed with the findings, and provided written comments on the report.


The Minnesota Children's Alliance, like most Child Advocacy Centers, is overseen by a board of directors. Our board consists of five members – two Child Advocacy Center representatives and three community members.
CAC representatives are elected by the membership for two-year terms and community representatives are elected for three-year terms.


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text:
Lessons about Community from Science Fiction
Dawn Foster
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Lessons about Community from Science Fiction - LinuxCon Chicago
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Presented at Texas Linux Fest June 2014
Communities are one of the defining attributes that shape every open source project, not unlike how Asimov's 3 laws of robotics shape the behavior of robots and provide the checks and balances that help make sure that robots and community members continue to play nicely with others. When looking at open source communities from the outside, they may seem small and well-defined until you realize that they seem much larger and complex on the inside, and they may even have a mind of their own, not unlike the TARDIS from Doctor Who. We can even learn how we should not behave in our communities by learning more about the Rules of Acquisition and doing the opposite of what a good Ferengi would do. My favorite rules to avoid include, "Greed is eternal", "You can always buy back a lost reputation" and "When in doubt, lie".
This session focuses on community tips told through science fiction. While the topic is fun and a little silly, the lessons about communities are real and tangible.
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1. LESSONS ABOUT COMMUNITY FROM SCIENCE FICTION Presenta(on (with notes) available at h3p://fastwonderblog.com/speaking/ Dawn M. Foster Director of Community at Puppet Labs @geekygirldawn dawn@puppetlabs.com
2. WHOAMI • Geek, traveler, reader • Past 13 years doing community & open source • Read 73 books last year, mostly sci-fi / fantasy • I keep a list: http://fastwonderblog.com/about/reading/ Photos by Josh Bancroft, Don Park
3. BIGGER ONTHE INSIDE Communities look very different from the inside than when viewing them as an outsider On the surface, the Tardis looks like a simple, blue police box. It's small and should fit a single person. Nothing special, nothing extraordinary … until you open door. What can you really tell about a community by observing it from the outside? On the surface, you might see a few mailing lists, an IRC channel, a forum, some code repositories, etc. But until you get into the community and begin participating, you won't understand what it's really like in that community. When you open the door, and see that the inside is much larger than it looked from the outside, you might be pleasantly surprised and just a little confused. At some point, you'll realize that by coming inside, you can learn interesting things and go to amazing new places. You learn something new and wondrous every day. It even seems to have a mind of its own. All of this is true both for the Tardis and for communities.
4. ALL ABOUTTHE PEOPLE Not about the leaders, it's about everyone who participates Communities are about the people who participate, not about the leaders The box itself is pretty cool, but the real magic lies with the people inside and outside of the box. Communities have leaders, not unlike the Doctor, and other people who help, like his companions, but communities are always changing. Sometimes you get a new companion or the Doctor takes a new form. The box itself might not change, but things will be different on the inside. If those new leaders are good, the community will continue to survive and flourish, not unlike how the show has survived a dozen different Doctors. At each stop, the Doctor meets strange and interesting new people. Especially for those of us who work in open source communities, I've met all kinds of strange and interesting people. Ultimately, it isn't really about the leaders, it's about all of the people who participate in the community.
5. DON'T GOTOO FAR Take time to understand the community and participate gently to start without doing too much at once In H.G. Wells' time machine, the time traveller, an inventor and scientist, travels forward over 800,000 years in time during his first trip. He finds that humanity has completely changed, he manages to have his time machine stolen, and he has to fight to get it back. Getting it back is made much more difficult due to his complete misunderstanding about the nature of humanity during this time. This is a little like being new in a community. When you don't understand the norms and how people participate, you are likely to make huge mistakes that can be difficult to recover from. When I joined Puppet Labs, since I wasn't already an active community member, I made sure that people knew that I wasn't going to participate in the community at all during the first month. Instead, I used that time to learn how the community functioned. I spent a lot of time talking to people about the community, and started working on some things that I could do in the background, behind the scenes, while I learned. Then I started participating more and more, but I did it very gradually. I've seen too many people come into a community with grand ideas that they try to impose on others or try to dump a huge pile of code into the community, and what they are doing is making the same mistake a bunch of times and annoying everyone. So, start small, understand what's going on, learn from a couple of smaller mistakes, and grow your participation over time.
6. DON'T BE A REDSHIRT Participate and contribute in a way that people will notice and value your work Read John Scalzi's 'Redshirts' Nobody wants to be a redshirt, the person beaming down on the away mission with Kirk, Spock and other important people. The one who can easily get killed off and no one will notice them missing by the next episode. If you disappear out of a community tomorrow, would anyone notice? They will if you are participating and contributing in some way on a regular basis. Find some way to contribute to the community doing something that people find valuable. If you ever wondered what it's like to be a redshirt in real life, I recommend John Scalzi's Redshirts. I won't spoil it by saying more, but those of you who have read it know what I'm talking about!
7. SPECIALIZATION IS FOR INSECTS The best community members are the ones who can help in a wide variety of ways Time enough for love is about Lazarus Long. He's 2000 years old and is a cynical old fart who isn't afraid to share his many opinions. One of these is that: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." p.248 (From the notebook of Lazarus Long) The best community members, and community managers, are the ones who can help the community in a wide variety of ways. While we do need people with some special skills, it is really nice to have people that you can count on to step in and do almost anything that needs to be done. These are the people who will answer questions on the mailing lists or IRC, jump in to help out with bugs, submit patches, write new documentation, help organize events or user groups, speak at conferences about the project and technologies, and step in to help with anything else that the community needs. These flexible, get it done types are incredibly valuable to have in the community.
8. 3 LAWS AND GUIDELINES Guidelines / code of conduct that change and evolve as needed Asimov created the 3 laws so that he could write stories that went against the robot stereotype of his time. He found the "Frankenstein" pattern, where robots turned on their creators and destroyed people, to be tedious. He wanted to write about a different kind of robot. Many of us find communities full of people acting like jerks to be a bit tedious and annoying. Asimov's 3 laws set the expectations for his robots, not unlike how most communities have codes of conduct or guidelines for participation designed to help people understand what is and is not appropriate. The guidelines also evolve over time, like Asimov's laws have. They've taken various forms over the years in different books with the biggest change probably being the zeroth law, which addressed the potential for a robot to harm humanity as a whole. In communities, the guidelines often change as a way of handling new issues, new tools or existing problems. 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. 0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
9. ANDROIDS AND EMPATHY Don't act like an android, show empathy and consider the impact of your actions In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Androids have evolved to become so close to human that it becomes very difficult to tell them apart, and one of the ways that they can tell for most androids is by testing their empathy responses. So, don't act like an android. I just talked about guidelines, and where most people get in trouble, is when they don't take the time to think about how their actions are going to impact another person or the community as a whole. Show empathy for other people, and your interactions in the community will be more positive. If you don't show empathy for other people, a bounty hunter (or someone else in the community, like a community manager), might track you down. You won't likely be killed for it, but ....
10. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED Bring new community members into your collective for new ideas OK, maybe we don't want to go as far as the Borg. Resistance is probably not futile and we won't assimilate you against your will, but as far as communities are concerned, we really do want your biological and technological distinctiveness to be added to our own. New people and new ideas are what keep communities strong, but you also have to be a bit careful not to try to assimilate too many people, too quickly. You need time for people to really get absorbed into your culture, and if you add to many people at once, you can destroy your community culture. In most cases, we want to gradually add new people to our communities and assimilate them along with their ideas and technologies into our culture. These new people will bring new life into the community and can be a great source of help.
11. NO MONSTERS Different isn't bad, disagree with ideas, not the person This is probably the original science fiction book, written in 1818 before science fiction was a thing. In the beginning, the Frankenstein creation wasn't the monster that people assumed he was given his hideous, monster-like appearance. He didn't become a monster until other people started treating him like one. Just because someone has different ideas within the community doesn't make them a bad person. This is where it's important to make sure that we always focus on the ideas and not the person. We can debate ideas without attacking the person making them. Nothing like an internet lynch mob to encourage people to stay as far away as possible. I've seen too many examples, including a recent one in the kernel community, of people online turning into the modern equivalent of the lynch mob.
12. FERENGI != ROLE MODELS • #37: You can always buy back a lost reputation • #268: When in doubt, lie • #115: Greed is eternal While they may be fun to play tongo with at parties (if they don't cheat you out of all of your latinum), the Ferengi are not good role models for community participation! We can learn quite a bit about how we should not behave in our communities by learning more about the Rules of Acquisition and doing the opposite of what a good Ferengi would do. Reputation in a community is critical. Your reputation and past actions are what give you credibility and earn trust with community members, and you can't buy back a lost reputation. Lying to the community or the people within it is one of the easiest ways to destroy your reputation within the community. Even when the truth is unpleasant, people will appreciate the honesty and your reputation will be better for it in the end. There are too many examples of companies or individuals getting greedy with community contributions, and it never ends well.
13. WHUFFIE Reputation is currency, do good and recognize others In Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom, everyone has brain implants that supply basic information about a person, which essentially boils their worth down to a single number, called Whuffie. Whuffiie essentially replaces currency. People reward others by giving someone more whuffie for doing something good or taking it away for doing something that is undesirable. Those with high whuffie get access to the best places, cool parties, a little like being royalty. Those with low whuffie can't even get a table at a decent restaurant and are often shunned by those around them. Cory Doctorow's book was the inspiration for another book by Tara Hunt, The Whuffie Factor, which talks about reputation in communities. Within communities, your reputation is your currency. If you are known for doing great work within the community, people are more likely to listen to your ideas in the future and give you the benefit of the doubt when something isn't going as well. Part of doing good is recognizing the work of other people. Talk about how you built on the work of someone else and give them credit for their ideas or the portion of work accomplished by others. By treating each other with respect, being kind and doing things that help other people, we can all be more successful in the community.
14. MENTORING Train the next generation and help others succeed The idea behind the Highlander movie is that there can be only one immortal left at the end of The Gathering, and this one immortal left becomes all powerful. Despite the fact that "there can be only one" of these immortals left at the end, older immortals still mentor new ones and train them to participate in The Gathering. They mentor other immortals while knowing that if the student eventually surpasses the teacher, it could mean the death of the mentor. Luckily, the people we mentor aren't likely to kill us off, and since we aren't immortal, it is even more important for us to train the next generation to eventually take our place. Those of us who have been working in communities for ages have probably made plenty of mistakes, I certainly have, and by mentoring others we can help them learn from our mistakes and help them succeed as productive members and leaders of various communities, hopefully with a little less pain than it took us to get there.
15. THEYOUNG CAN CONTRIBUTE Age is often unknown, encourage young people to contribute How many of you have read Ender's Game? It's hard to talk about Ender's Game without ruining it for those who haven't read the book, so in this case, I'm going to talk more about what we can learn from it without say why. Those of you who have read the book will know, and those of you who haven't read it really should read it NOW. Unlike Ender's Game where battle school is filled with kids, we often don't know the ages of the people that we work with. There's a great story in Karl Fogel's Producing Open Source Software (page 82) about someone who had participated in the Emacs community and written great bug reports. After his first contribution, when they sent him some legal paperwork, they found out that he was 13. Linus was only about 22 when he started Linux. At the USENIX conference earlier this year, I saw a presentation from Keila Banks, an 11-year-old Web designer and programmer, talking about how she uses mostly open source software. We need to encourage these young people to get involved, especially in open source communities, where they can learn something and have some real examples to show prospective employers and universities.
16. STRONG WOMEN Encourage women in our field and get more women speaking at our events Let's face it, Starbuck really could kick the ass of just about anyone in the room. Battlestar Galactica was filled with strong, capable, talented women as the President, captains, fighter pilots and cylons. You can start by encouraging young women to get involved in technical communities and help then get started by mentoring them. If you haven't read Rikki's recent article in USENIX, To My Daughter's High School Programming Teacher*, you should. This is a good example of how not to encourage young women, and it shows how a bunch of things come together to crush someone's enthusiasm at a young age. We also need to get more women speaking at technology events. This is incredibly difficult, and I know that I haven't always succeeded here, but we need to make sure that we're doing what we can to make women successful in our technical communities. *https://www.usenix.org/blog/my-daughters-high-school-programming-teacher
17. CONTROL ISSUES Maintain balance to keep things productive while not being too controlling In Dune, the people who controlled the spice, melange, controlled the world and even had control over space travel, since space travel itself depended on people who were using the spice. This led to continued power struggles and the eventual overthrow of those in power. Communities can have similar issues when a person or group of people attempt to exert too much control, so you need to maintain a balance between keeping things sane and productive without trying to control every aspect of the community. You also need to accept feedback. In a practical sense, it can be almost impossible to gain consensus for every decision, but you should be trying to accept as many of the reasonable suggestions as humanly possible. We also need to share the responsibilities within the community. A lot of open source communities find a good balance between the person or group who founded the project and the other maintainers / committers involved in the project. And the ones that don't find this balance, generally get forked (in the open source sense of the word, not the GitHub sense), which is essentially the same as the Dune style overthrow of those in power.
18. DISTRIBUTE RESPONSIBILITIES Avoid single points of failure and manage access to community resources In Daemon, this amazing video game designer dies after a long illness. His death triggers the release of various computer programs designed to do some pretty terrible things. Many of them trigger different actions depending on what it learns from the press. I won't go into detail, but it was some pretty destructive stuff. This book illustrates the amazing destructive power that a disgruntled person can have even after they are gone. In your community what would happen if you were hit by a bus tomorrow? What if another key person was unavailable suddenly? Too many communities have single points of failure. The hosting account that only one person has access to or the mailing list that is owned by a single individual. If something happens to one person, you need to have a way to recover from it. You also need to manage access to critical infrastructure in a way that makes sense. The people who need to perform certain functions, need to have access, but not everyone needs to have access to everything. If someone critical snaps, it helps if the destruction is limited. Also look out for things that could go bad, notice the warning signs and hopefully prevent issues before they become serious.
19. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE Travel and meet interesting people working on global projects While I may not get to travel off-world, like they did so often in Stargate, my work as a community manager has given me opportunities to travel around the world. One of the main goals of the Stargate program was to obtain alien technologies and learn new ways to advance our own technology. While I don't get to play with cool alien technologies, like those awesome personal force fields that some of the Goa'uld have, by actively participating in communities, you can learn new ways of doing things, and get exposed to new technologies. You can even have super long debates with those people about which approach is better - can't beat a good packaging debate on a mailing list :) Maybe this is because I've been working in open source, but I've met all kinds of interesting people, and unlike Stargate, those people aren't all trying to kill me. By working on projects with people around the world, I can travel to most locations and find someone I know to meet up with while I'm there.
20. OUTLASTTHEM Be patient and allow others to participate In The War of the Worlds, the martians were successfully taking over the world and winning the war against humanity ... until they all died from bacteria from which they had no natural immunity. In this case, the humans won, not because of any superior fighting skills, but because they outlasted their attackers. Patience isn't my strong suit, but I do force myself to be patient when it comes to dealing with the community. I can't count how many times people have rushed over to me (in person or virtually) to talk about something happening in the community that must be dealt with right away. Maybe someone has insulted the company I work for or said something not very nice about the project. Unless it's something serious or a violation of our guidelines, my typical response is to wait and see what happens. In most cases, someone else will defend us, which is going to count for more than us trying to defend ourselves. Or maybe the issue dies down naturally, and people recognize that someone is just trolling for a reaction. If it escalates, then maybe I will step in, but it's not my first reaction. It also allows others to participate. If one person or a small group are jumping in on everything right away, it tends to stifle discussion and reduce contributions from other people, so be patient and see what happens before jumping in.
21. NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS Community management is not all parties and fun travel. It's also a lot of real work and sometimes involves being the bad cop. At first being invisible seems pretty awesome, but the invisible man quickly realizes that they are quite a few challenges. 1) you can't carry anything with you because people see it floating and freak out (so you can't carry any money) and 2) it's really cold when you aren't wearing clothes. Community management is also not as easy as it seems at first glance. I often see people underestimating how challenging it is. These are the people who think community management is mostly about traveling to conferences, buying people beer, and getting to hang out with people. I'll admit that yes, I get to do those things, and it's pretty awesome! But, I'm also the one who has to kick someone out of the community when their behavior is inappropriate, and I'm the one that people escalate problems to regardless of where the problem is happening across the project. I'm also the public face of the project when something goes terribly wrong. Fortunately, I've developed a think skin, and I still love it despite the challenges.
22. DON'T PANIC Things will go wrong keep things in perspective calmly recover We all know that the Hitchhiker's Guide supplanted the Encyclopedia Galactica. Partly because it was slightly cheaper, but it also has the words Don't Panic in large friendly letters on the cover, which is always good advice. In communities, things will go wrong. Spammers, flame wars, debates that get a little too interesting, but they won't be as bad as someone destroying earth to build a hyperspacial expressway, so keep things in perspective, and maybe bring a towel with you, just in case. Then you can calmly recover from whatever the trouble was without freaking out. When in doubt, the answer is 42.
23. THANK YOU Contact info: Dawn Foster @geekygirldawn dawn@puppetlabs.com fastwonderblog.com Some of my favorite modern sci-fi / fantasy authors: Hugh Howey Lois McMaster Bujold Brandon Sanderson Connie Willis
Alissa Walker 15 de Dez de 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Being Missional: Stomach Virus or A Way of Life?
I just finished the most amazing week of ministering to children in our community that we call "Breakaway!" I had to theologically reflect for a moment on the discussion that is taking place in the Church-at-large concerning what it means to be "Missional". For some, this may sound like a skin disorder or something that is simply connected to "emergent church thinking." It all became focused for me when tonight the last evening of our week-long event a parent comes up to me and says, "My child is very timid and does not do well in big group events, but he so loved this event because he said the adult counselors had fun with him and listened to what he had to say." She went on to say, "He received Jesus Christ into his heart and told me that he wanted to live for Christ because he saw Jesus in his small group leader." Bingo! There is something so powerful when men and women who have a passion to live for Christ live it in their own lives. Many theologians call this an "Incarnational Model" of doing ministry, which denotes the pattern of Jesus, who is God condescending himself to become God in Human Flesh. Another way of viewing this is as "God Incognito". Long before the term "Missional" became a theological buzz word to impress people with while you drink your latte', one of my mentors who has gone on to be with the Lord, Jerry Cook, would state, "The ministry is being Jesus on Monday." Thus, as I align my heart with God's heart which is caring for what God cares for I begin to live out God's passion in the way that I live everyday.
It is my conviction that one of my theological heroes Ed Stetzer said it best when he offered this definition of what being "Missional": "Missional is a way of being that leads to a way of acting. The missional church is made up of Christians who are called through God's gracious redemption to live for Him and His great mission throughout the world and who are sent out to be co-laborers with God to accomplish His mission in the world. This is the mission that God sent His Son on, and it is the mission that He sends His people on. So, missional Christ-followers and missional churches are joining Jesus on mission. They care about the things that Jesus directed us to care about: serving the hurting and loving others (the Great Commandment), and seeking to proclaim the gospel to the lost (the Great Commission)."  I think I watched this with adults who enjoyed playing with kids and at the same time "being Jesus" to these children. I am not part of the Emergent Church and I do not want to reinvent "orthodoxy" in order that I can participate in a circular dialog at some Hookah bar burning candles with a group of self identified "Post-Modern" thinkers with authority issues the merits of re-framing the historical Jesus to the world. Neither, do I espouse to have a complicated strategy for being a missional Christian. Tonight, I am simply so emotionally moved being involved in a faith community with a Children's Pastor who walks around with fake insect antennae on her head while she allows the children to splash pudding on her, and at the same time, she can give a clear message of the Good News to children. I simply want my heart to be in alignment with God's heart so that I can live at the rhythm of His heartbeat and "BE" Jesus to people. I do not want to represent Jesus to people in some weird religious way that is offensive, but rather, in an authentic way as I share my hurts, habits, and hang-ups while living my story of how Jesus Christ is working in me. I desire to have a heart for what Jesus has a heart for. Therefore, I lovingly choose to reach out and meet people where they are at, before they ever come to hear the words of the Good News!
I am deeply grateful that I have the privilege of serving people who love their community and who are willing to cry, dance, laugh, and play with adults and children and not just during a week-long event, but every day. It is this mindset that gives me exciting anticipation that I get to be Jesus to someone. Thank you to Jennifer Alessio, our church's Children's Pastor, who put the fun in "being the authentic me" that the Master Artist created me to be for Him. This makes being "Missional" more than sounding like a stomach virus but something that I can joyfully live out every day!
This entry was posted in Life Happens! Thought's About Daily Stuff, Theological Reflections and tagged breakaway, Christianity, Church Leadership, Emergent Church, Incarnational, journey, leadership, Missional, reflection, Theology. Bookmark the permalink.


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Wed, 2019-08-14 06:29 — benson.ong
Braddell View launches another en-bloc bid, barely 3 months after failed attempt
By Wong Pei Ting
SINGAPORE — The largest private residential site here, Braddell View, is on the market again just three months after a failed en-bloc sale, with the same asking price of S$2.08 billion.
Conventional wisdom suggests the chances of a sale are slim, given that developers here generally have full land banks, analysts said. En-bloc fever, which saw a series of major sales, subsided after mid-2018 when property cooling measures took effect.
Still, some analysts hold out some prospects of a successful sale of the 1.14 million sqf mega site on Braddell Hill.
Managing agent Colliers International relaunched the en-bloc sale of the property, with 918 apartments and two shops, on Tuesday (Aug 13).
The previous tender, from March to May this year, failed to attract a successful bidder. A subsequent 10-week quest for a private treaty sale had the same result.
Colliers said that up to 2,620 new units could be built on the vast site — equivalent to about 18 football fields — which overlooks MacRitchie Reservoir.
If the collective sale succeeds, residential unit owners stand to receive between S$2.04 million and S$4.03 million each, while commercial shop owners could get about S$529,500 to S$1.2 million.
But why bother with the relaunch during such challenging economic times?
Some property analysts told TODAY that global turmoil — such as the political crisis in Hong Kong and the entrenched United States-China trade war — could present residents with a higher chance of sealing a deal compared to three months ago.
Another positive factor that could lift the site's chances is the Urban Redevelopment Authority's plans to pump more commercial activity into nearby Bishan, by converting it into a sub-regional centre, analysts said.
Mr Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at property firm Savills Singapore, is one analyst who sees some prospect of a sale for Braddell View, even though he acknowledged that there is only a "snowflake's chance in hell" a buyer will be found.
"You do not know, in this very turbulent market, what things can turn out to be. Anything can happen," he told TODAY, suggesting that the chance of a "lucky strike" has increased.
Mr Cheong said: "(The world is in) a situation where a comfortable beehive of an honest man has been whacked, and the bees have dispersed and are looking for a new home. If money is looking for a new home, it may rest ultimately on a project like this. You never know."
He said that sales such as Braddell View were the domain of an elite set of buyers.
"Today, you are not talking about the average Joe, but the creme de la creme, or the elite few, the ultra high net worth, in a market where their comfort zone had been disturbed."
Singapore is one of the few countries these individuals could find respite, and Braddell View could end up being that "extreme outlier", he added.
In a press release announcing the tender relaunch, which will close at 3pm on Sept 25, Ms Tang Wei Leng, managing director of Colliers International, stressed that Braddell View — a former Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) project — is going at a "good value".
The jaw-dropping reserve price translates to a land rate of about S$1,159 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), even after factoring in the 7 per cent bonus balcony gross floor area, the estimated differential premium, and the cost of topping up the lease to a fresh 99 years, Colliers noted.
By comparison, another large site put up for en-bloc sale recently, Watten Estate in Bukit Timah, has a reserve price that translates to S$1,739 psf ppr.
DEVELOPERS COULD TEAM UP IN CONSORTIUM
"The site offers excellent potential and will provide developers with a solid development pipeline over the next few years," Ms Tang said.
She recognised that developers may be put off by the risks involved in acquiring such a site, but she proposed that they could mitigate these risks by forming a consortium and tapping the land for "innovative" housing options, which may include co-living spaces or retirement housing.
Huttons Real Estate Group's head of research Lee Sze Teck said that recent improvement in the primary sales market could have given Colliers the confidence to relaunch.
The number of new units sold in Singapore has been creeping up since February, a report by Huttons pointed out last month. The report also stated that the average monthly developer sales in the first half of the year was 724 units, up from 658 units in the same period last year.
These figures showed that demand had been "buoyant" as people look to property as a good store of value against uncertainty and inflation in the mid to long run, Mr Lee said. As en-bloc sales hinge on sales in the primary market, the chances should technically be higher as well, he noted.
However, Mr Lee did say that most developers still have land in their banks to last one to two years, and "won't be actively looking out for a purchase".
To Mr Paul Ho, founder of mortgage broker iCompareLoan, the situation in Hong Kong does not mean Singapore's market would be any better off.
"Those who are very rich would already have multiple properties… Those who only have one property in Hong Kong, they probably can't sell it. Who'd buy Hong Kong property at this point in time if they wanted to exit?" he said.


Lucy Holifield said: Women should know that the cannabis industry is in the infancy stage and that they can help shape it.
Sistah Buds, LLC is my first cannabis venture, started in 2018. The inspiration for the venture was my search for an all-natural remedy for insomnia. Over the years, I tried a wide variety of over-the-counter products, with little or no success. My internet research led me to CBD products. I finally found something that worked for me! Unfortunately, CBD products are not readily available in most stores. The idea of making access to these products easier was the spark for the Sistah Buds subscription box service.
Our mission is to educate women about the benefits of the cannabis plant, which will create a healthier community and help ignite a movement.
As a teen, I enjoyed recreational use of cannabis. As an adult, I was never a fan of pills. It came as no surprise that I would opt for all-natural, plant-based remedies to cope with whatever ailed me. Now, I'm on a journey of wellness through educating and promoting the benefits of cannabis.
My superpower is the ability to motivate others. My life's work has been in the field of business development. I've had the pleasure of coaching and counseling entrepreneurs through the process of starting and growing their business. It's a great feeling to know that you've played a part in helping someone turn their dream into a reality.
The biggest obstacle is navigating the banking regulations in the cannabis space. In the pursuit of securing a merchant account to process debit and credit cards, our application was declined four times! Consequently, we had to postpone the start of the company for six months! We currently have a banking relationship; however, there are no guarantees. As government policies change, the bank may change their position. Banking in this space is constantly in flux, which means we can be out of business at any time! Nevertheless, we're moving forward. I believe positive change is coming to the finance sector. I'm prepared to ride it out!
My vision for women in this industry it to play a leadership role. Women should know that the cannabis industry is in the infancy stage and that they can help shape it.


Sega Rally Revo (known in Europe as Sega Rally) is an offroad racing video game, the fourth installment of the Sega Rally series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable on 28 September 2007 in Europe. The game's title is "Revo" as Sega intends it to be a revolution in rally racing games. The game was developed simultaneously with Sega Rally 3.


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Security researcher Cole has already helped fix 181 vulnerabilities.
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When one speaks of memory, they more often than not mean one of two things. Memory refers mainly to 1) the ability of recalling to mind past experiences, knowledge, and even vague, seemly unformed ideas, like half-dreams, or illusory sense details; or else 2) the conscious, here-and-now presence of those exact thoughts upon the person. With this second meaning, memory is experienced as the opposite of an ability (like trying to remember the digits of π, or the trivial order of U.S. Presidents, etc.) and connotes instead a kind of involuntary mental flash, an unprovoked assault of emotions, remembrances that well up as though cast by a spell (or, as Proust attests, an olfactory spirit), thus triggering an unintentionally potent emotional consciousness, itself unpredictably recalled. Memory is a human enterprise as much as it is an alienating shock to the system. The question then arises as to whether this is a case of one word meaning two separate experiences – two unique phenomena – or whether these oppositional characteristics are both, paradoxically, essential features of this profound thing we call memory.
Evoking the concept of memory, Francis Bacon in The Advancement of Learning describes two categories of student assessment practiced in medieval universities (by way of being critical of their supposed distinction): verbatim and ex tempore. Verbatim (still in our colloquial) denotes the quoting in complete passages of existing discourse in order for students to buttress the persuasiveness of an argument or stake directional paths through logical conundrums. This oral feature of ancient societies is today often distained as rote, insulating a kind of automaton-like inhumanity, even though what has replaced the by-gone culture of oral memorializing is one that leaves all data collection and storage to an entirely externalized machine (more often than not, one branded Google). Humanity in effect is perhaps now nothing but the retrievers of answers; we are the dogs of microchips.
On the other hand, ex tempore (modified in the adjective/adverb form extemporaneous/ly) responds to prompts and academic quagmires through more personalized, off-the-cuff remarks designed to highlight either a learned mind or an ignorant one, a sharp philosopher or a stumped lollygag. Ex tempore refers to the impromptu – what Bacon calls "present" (anticipating Bergson's vitality) – spontaneity essential to human culture that should not be overlooked by grand systems of organization, least not education.
Poesy is a part of learning in measure of words for the most part restrained, but in all other points extremely licensed, and doth truly refer to the Imagination; which, being not tied to the laws of matter, may at pleasure join that which nature hath severed, and sever that which nature hath joined, and so make unlawful matches and divorces of things.
In other words, the existence of poetry is proof that this complimentary duality of verbatim and ex tempore is in no way comprehensive of the human mind (or the so-called "domiciles" of Early Modern understanding: Memory, Rationality and Imagination). Herein, memory's disputed territory is further obscured by its conceptual collision with Imagination, or invention: "unlawful matches" "not tied to the laws of matter". This creative hybridity is something usually not associated with a memory, until of we realize that, in an age where reference to Rashomon is commonplace, this dynamic understanding of memory as not mere recall is hardly controversial. The concept of a "mnemonic device" is another classic example of how correlative data requires an element of fantasy in order to work with any consistency. The advent of clockworks and increasingly complex navigational tools during this period further lead to Bacon's pre-Romantic notion that Nature was a machine – a kind of God-clock – of which human endeavors work to uncover little-by-little proof of its ingenious intricacies. No wonder then that Romantics (after Alexander von Humbodt) insist poetry (and the Arts in general) is essential for any scientific understanding.
Applied to the phenomena of memory, memories are analyzed not because they exist but because they are experienced. As much as the research sciences delve into the human mysteries of memory (through neuroscience, the psychological study of PTS and trauma, AI and cognitive robotics, etc.) there will still exist the profound need to creatively express our memories in words, in language, in songs, and in poems. The conundrum then of the contradictory definitions of memory is not located internally in their descriptions per se, but in their non-poetic state, in their failure to account for the creative imperative of memory.


Up For A Challenge? Can You Do It?
I haven't had a blog all that long but I try to offer something useful such as freebies, tips, deals of the day, giveaways and that sort of thing.
Use your talent (everybody has one) in anyway you can. Don't keep it for yourself like a miser - spend it like a millionaire!
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One of the best lines of Animal House, sanitized here for your enjoyment: "You screwed up. You trusted me."
In a world where everyone owns a media channel, I guess that makes us all journalists. Journalists have more power than ordinary folks, because they can spread a message farther and faster. The question is, what sort of long-term choices are you going to make in your career as an amateur journalist?
Seymour Hersh has won a Pulitzer Prize for his hard-hitting coverage of the Pentagon, and one reason he's able to break big stories is because his sources know that they won't get busted for talking to him. The reason? He doesn't reveal them. There's no doubt that he could make a huge splash by writing, "Colin Powell told me…" but of course, if he did that, burned a source that spoke to him off the record, he'd never be trusted again.
Go to a party and take embarrassing pictures of your friends to post on Facebook. That's fun, certainly, but it's possible that you won't be quite as trusted next time.
Take that email your boss sent to the six people in your group and post it anonymously to some web gossip site… wanna bet your boss is a lot more careful about telling you and your peers the truth next time?
The good news is that we all need to act as if we're on camera… behavior ought to improve. The bad news is that it's harder to trust people we might have expected to be more discreet or engaged.
There's a giddy history of amateurs using the web to build up scandal sheets and generate traffic by violating the trust of their friends and colleagues. What's clear is that this isn't a long term strategy for success. When in doubt, ask first. Maybe your source doesn't mind. Maybe you misunderstood the intent of the original message. Trust is really valuable and equally fragile.
You can fool us once, but probably not twice.


Saudi Arabia Answers » Visas & Permits » How to check saudi iqama status online (red or green)?
How can i check my saudi iqama status online? please tell me the procedure.
Follow the below steps to check your saudi iqama status online.
Step 2: Enter your Iqama number in the 2nd box (first circle).
Step 3: Enter the security code in the 4th box (second circle). Security code is shown in green circle.
Step 4: Click the second button from left (4th circle) and wait for the response.
Step 5: Your Iqama status will appear in the bottom of that page.
Now you should find your iqama status with color (RED/YELLOW/GREEN).
ahmed! I checked my iqama status it shows in RED color. is there any problem pls clarify.
Hi Mohd, I got some info regarding the color check below.
Companies will be categorized as red, yellow, green and blue according to the percentage of their employed Saudis.
Companies falling under the red category (employing approximately 0-10% Saudis, depending on the industry and total population) will not be allowed to have their expat visas renewed and they can't acquire additional visa unless two of their present expat were sent home.
Those under the yellow category (around 11-20% Saudis employed) will not be allowed to renew visas of their expats who have worked in the Kingdom for six years.
i have not got my answer???????
where should i find my answer??????


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Rediff.com » Business » The common man needs Modi more than India Inc does
The common man needs Modi more than India Inc does
November 10, 2014 12:45 IST
Image: Modi should focus more on the common man. Photograph: Reuters
India Inc can take care of itself even without the government's overt help. This is not true of the average Indian, says Rashesh Shah.
There is no doubt that the overwhelming expectation from the Narendra Modi-led government is a significant improvement and transformation of the business environment in India - through reforms, progressive policy and removal of glitches in the path of growth and entrepreneurship.
Even now, there is great scrutiny of every pronouncement to better understand his economic agenda and the direction of reforms. Indeed, his image as transformer of Gujarat has positioned him strongly as pro-business and conversely, led to the belief that India Inc would fail to grow without him.
I would say that we seem to have rather limited expectations of his agenda and its impact. My submission is that India Inc, especially well-managed businesses, will continue to do well as long as India maintains a five to six per cent growth rate - reforms or no reforms.
Image: Image: Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry, Wipro chairman Azim Premji and Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group. Photograph: : Manvender Vashist/PTI
Since the private sector came of age in the 1990s, it has shown itself capable of weathering all manner of storms - political changes, global turmoil, fickle regulation and market cycles.
However, a robust economic growth rate cannot be an end in itself, especially when its impact on the common man is tenuous.
Perhaps nowhere is the trickle-down effect of this growth less apparent than in Mumbai, where the higher the growth rate climbs, the longer are the lines outside community toilets, the more expensive and torturous the daily commute, and the more elusive the dream home.
But, before I address why we as citizens need Narendra Modi more than India Inc does, here are some statistics.
Despite global slowdowns, our average GDP growth rate from 2005 to 2014 has been 7.7 per cent. In 1997, our GDP was $500 bn. In the decade to 2007, it doubled to $1 trillion.
In 2014, we will be a $2 trillion GDP economy. In the last 17 years, our GDP has quadrupled.
Image: Growth has not translated into a better quality of life. Photograph: Reuters
During this period, not only have there been reforms and their reversal, political turmoil and uncertainty, scams and their after-effects, but also global crises of a significant magnitude every two-to-three years.
In the midst of this, the private sector in India has shown resilience, dynamism and adaptability. So I do not believe that the private sector will be starved for growth (though I submit the incumbency advantages the Indian economic system offers have had a hand to play in its robustness).
Why then has this growth not translated into a better quality of life? Firstly, growth has not created enough jobs. When India's GDP averaged above six per cent per annum during UPA-I's tenure, it was still not enough to create jobs.
Our growing work force remained starved of enough high-quality jobs in non-agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
Image: Work force remained starved of enough high-quality jobs. Photograph: Reuters
And even though much of the growth was often labelled 'service-led', the Planning Commission's own think-tank observed that the services sector witnessed only four million additional jobs in 2005-10, as opposed to 18 million additional jobs which were seen in the same sector in the previous five years!
Secondly, inflation, poor housing, bad roads and lack of access to basic health, security, education and sanitation have undermined the benefits of doubling GDP.
The common man, the salaried individual, the family with kids in government schools, the rural household with no toilets, farmers struggling to get the right prices, the unemployed youth - these are the people who need Mr Modi most, certainly a lot more than businesses do.
The rise in candle-light vigils for justice, the Anna Hazare movement and the Arvind Kejriwal phenomenon are reflections of the eroding legitimacy of the state. This legitimacy needs to be restored.
And it is here that the discussion around Mr Modi and his policies should remain centred.
It is in the area of delivery of public goods, more than in streamlining policy procedures and improving the business environment, that I believe Mr Modi can make a huge impact.
Image: Swachh Bharat campaign hasreceived wide appreciation. Photograph: PIB
Some early indications show that Mr Modi may be on the right track. Tourism, skill development and infrastructure development have been identified as focus areas.
His campaign to build a toilet for every home, the Swachh Bharat campaign, have received wide appreciation like few other government-led social initiatives have in the recent past.
His wooing of the unbanked population, with the aim of opening over 75 million new bank accounts by January 2015, is perhaps his most appealing move yet. Similarly, his decision to turn job exchanges into career centres, once executed, can be ignition for a listless job market.
His decision to give the RBI governor veto power over a new monetary policy council whose 'predominant objective' will be controlling inflation, the common man's most debilitating weakness, is a sign of his willingness to push the trickle-down effects of a growing GDP to the citizen, through transparency and accountability.
There is still a lot to do. Opening up the supply side constraints will reduce inflation - but any opening could be perceived as a threat by some rent-seeking businesses.
Similarly, a lot of reforms are required wherein the industry may not be the primary beneficiary - or even the immediate one - while these reforms can be transformational for the common man.
Image: Common man alienated from India's growth story. Photograph: Reuters
This is not socialistic thinking; let me clarify, I am a devoted believer in free markets. But I believe we need to change the focus of discussion.
I truly believe that India Inc can and will take care of itself even without an overt helping hand from the government. The same cannot be said for the common man, who currently feels alienated from India's growth story.
India is slated to become a $5 trillion economy somewhere between 2023 and 2028. If economic reforms that boost businesses and propel the economy are implemented, we could get there sooner, perhaps 2024.
If the economy were to go into slumber mode and international and domestic investments falter once again, we could reach the $5 trillion milestone possibly four or five years later.
Whenever it happens, India will become the third largest economy in the world, no matter who the prime minister.
So let's stop focusing the Modi agenda on India Inc and the capital markets, and let's start focusing on the Modi development agenda for the average Indian.
The writer is chairman and CEO of the Edelweiss Group.
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4k00:20Businessman touching global earth, Smart Factory, solar panel, wind generator, Hydroelectricity connect global earth, Internet of things. 4k animation. green energy.
hd00:17Businesswoman open palms, making oil tank, tanker. energy industry.


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Experiments Hope to Control Invasive Mussel Population on Reef
Lake Michigan's Good Harbor Reef has been plagued with avian botulism and excessive amounts of algae since invasive zebra and quagga mussels settled onto its rocky floor in the late 1980s-early '90s.
Project Seeks Photos of Lake Michigan Coastal Dunes
To some people, a sand dune conjures up an image of an exotic place somewhere far, far away. But residents in the Great Lakes basin don't have to travel far with the world's largest body of freshwater coastal dunes in their backyard.
Gauging Alewife Populations Online
The St. Croix River system contains a series of dams which fish that live part of their lives in the ocean, such as alewives, must navigate in order to spawn each year. An IJC-funded project aims to bring a population model for alewives online.
Practical Methods to Protect and Enhance Habitats - Conference Summary Report
#EarthDay2019 Events Planned in Canada-US Transboundary Region
Earth Day is celebrated throughout the world, including in the transboundary region of Canada and the United States.
Habitat 2001: A Workshop on the Future of Habitat Restoration and Protection on the Upper Great Lakes
More Light and Less Ice Cover Could Mean Fewer Cisco in Great Lakes
Climate change has been reducing the average amount of ice and snow cover on the Great Lakes. For fish species like ciscoes, this could end up being a problem. Researchers at the University of Vermont are studying if more light, because of less ice cover, could have an impact on fish egg…
How Would Oil Spills Affect the Great Lakes?
Oil production in the north-central United States and western Canada has increased rapidly since 2010. Its transport near or through the Great Lakes region via pipelines and rail has expanded as well.
Rethinking Agricultural Drainage Methods with 'Wet Lands'
Wetlands help provide habitat, mitigate flooding and filter excess nutrients and contaminants from lakes and other water bodies. But vast stretches of wetlands around Lake Erie were drained in the past 200 years for agricultural use.
The Far End of the Lakes: Designing Resilient Habitat on the St. Louis River at Lake Superior
The US Army Corps of Engineers hopes to use dredged materials for another project in the northwest end of the Great Lakes basin. By providing foraging and nesting habitat for piping plover birds in the St. Louis River Area of Concern on the west end of Lake Superior, project partners are working to…


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The pre-game ramble: Burton Albion
After a demoralising away defeat at Crewe, the Sky Blues will be looking for an immediate pick-me-up as they return to the Ricoh for their first ever Johnstone's Paint Trophy encounter. Welcome to the Northern area first round (yep, Northern) – here is League Two's Burton Albion.
How are they getting on?
At first glance, they're not entirely dissimilar to us. OK, it's a league below, but they've taken three points out of their opening four league games – just like Coventry. And they've won their first two cup games of the campaign – just like Coventry.
But as you start to root, you see that things aren't quite the same. Three out of those four have been defeats, which in itself isn't brilliant. Then you look at their other league game which was a 6-2 demolition of Wimbledon and are all confused again. What in the name of God is this team?
If that 6-2 tonking didn't get you wondering, you should probably know that they've also had two giant-killing away victories in the league cup; Leicester and Sheffield United. So that's three impressive wins already. The gits.
Who could cause us trouble?
Former Bolton youngster Cleveland Taylor is top scorer with three to his name, including an all-important strike to put them 2-0 up against his home town club Leicester. As we can vouch for, it takes a certain amount of ambition and bottle to grab a second goal away from home, especially when the temptation can be to settle. It's been a decent start for him.
Calvin Zola's also a name you might recognise, even if that is from an old version of Football Manager. He's not the most glamorous of footballers, and he's had his injury issues, but he scored 12 goals for The Brewers last season, including a particularly useful flurry in the second half of the campaign. There's talk of him being rested following their 3-0 defeat at the weekend, but it's never a particularly stressful game at the Ricoh, so you never know.
Sky Blues team news
After the lacklustre defeat to Crewe, Shawsy (as everyone except me calls him) will be desperate to liven the team up again. His big issue is that he has very little options in the midfield, and may be forced into fielding a similar looking line-up in these positions.
The perennially injured David Bell is still sidelined, and John Fleck doesn't appear to be ready. However, big Dickie Wood is pretty much fit again, so may find himself back in the team.
I want to say we're going to win, but we're just not there at the moment. By there I mean we haven't settled down into the season yet. There's no late night for the kids this week, as JPT rules stipulate it goes straight to pens if all is level at the final whistle. This means that'll probably happen. I predicted a win on the Nii Lamptey Show, but now I can see another draw. Let's say 1-1, followed by pens.
They'll then win 19-18, or something.
Nii Lamptey Show meets We Are Going Up!
The lucky competition winner


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