First home owner grants in the ACT have fallen to their lowest number in 10 years, as some Canberrans drop plans to buy homes due to the ACT government increasing the grant but restricting it to new and substantially renovated properties. Previously first home buyers would receive a $7000 grant for the purchase of any property in the territory.
Treasurer Andrew Barr said the large drop in grants issued had been expected and was part of an overall plan to slowly phase down first home grants, along with stamp duty. The change, which came into effect in September 2013, increased the grant to $12,500 but buyers could no longer use it to buy established properties. At the time the government said the move was to help new home buyers and assist the residential construction industry.
The number of grants paid in the ACT plummeted from September 2013, dropping into double digits for the first time in the past decade. In April, just 68 grants were issued to Canberrans compared with 273 in the previous year. In total, only 1860 first home owner grants were issued in the 2013/14 financial year, the lowest number in 10 years. Minister Barr said help for first home buyers would instead come via stamp duty cuts. "Stamp duty relief rather than grants is a better policy approach because it encourages supply and boosts affordability," he said.
Most other jurisdictions, including NSW, had already targeted their grants at new home buyers only, with the aim of giving a "shot in the arm" to the local construction sector. "[Also] boosting the demand for new homes will encourage builders to offer more homes on the market, thereby helping making homes more affordable," he said.
Real Estate Institute of the ACT president Michael Kumm said he had seen some people abandon plans to buy a house due to the new regulations. "We've had people come and look at properties that are 12 months old and because they don't qualify for the first home owner grant they bow out of it," he said. "So I think they would be well advised to back out of it."
Mr Kumm said other factors could be contributing to the drop in new grants, including budget cuts. But he said prices in the ACT were cheaper than they'd ever been and relaxing regulations around the grants would help Canberra's housing market. "I think if they could [broaden it] to say properties under five years old that would be good, that would certainly open it up to more buyers," he said.
HIA ACT and Southern NSW executive director Neil Evans said while he was concerned about the drop in first home owner grants, strong competition from across the border and a lack of cheap land in the ACT were primarily to blame rather than the policy. "We've been asking the ACT government and they've been saying they want to have land finished and ready to build on [but] we haven't seen that yet. I know they're working hard towards that but they can't work hard enough because we want more shovel-ready affordable land," he said. "I think based on existing data in other jurisdictions this [tighter] policy does work."
Domain Group senior economist Andrew Wilson said recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicated first home buyers were starting to re-enter the market. There were 100 loan approvals for June, the highest since September last year, when the grant changed. He said the disparity between the number of grants and the number of loans would continue given first home buyers still demanded established properties. "Notwithstanding the low levels of grants we're still seeing first home buyer numbers rise in Canberra and I think that will continue," Dr Wilson said.
He said it was typical for grant levels to fall following changes to first home owner grant schemes. "When there is a sunset clause and people are encouraged to take advantage before the changes occur then you always see that bringing forward of demand," Dr Wilson said. "Then the usual scenario is after the party comes the hangover and it takes a while to regenerate the activity levels."


Discovering a love of surfing at age 16, Cam Greenwood decided to try his hand at shaping his first surfboard in the backyard of his parents Melbourne home. The passionate hobby soon sparked something far more purposeful - a socially minded vision which he explored on a life changing trip to Kenya, before returning to Australia to catapult his dream into a reality.
As a result, in late 2013 at only 20 years of age, Cam Greenwood launched the world's first socially conscious surf brand Monsta Surf from the backyard of his parents home in Melbourne. Five years later the Monsta Surf Tribe has expanded to over 40 countries across the world and has been able to find its own unique voice in an incredibly competitive and saturated marketplace with the brand now being recognised as the surf industry's first 'social enterprise'.
Cam's unusual brand of business success has attracted an abundance of attention with the young social entrepreneur now considered an international thought leader for the next generation with his success being featured on various platforms and media outlets such as Channel 9 News - a story on 'Australia's Young Leaders', Channel 7, Smart Company, The Collective Hub and Business State Magazine.


Combining strong across brushing and a scraping of the wood creates a truly unique sensory experience.
Unique ageing techniques like distressing, 3 dimensional brushing and strong bevelled edges give the planks the beautiful characteristics of traditional hand finished floors with a visible texture and a very durable surface.
Every branch has its purpose; every groove and even the smallest curvature meaning. Here nature indicates the direction.
A bevel is an angled surface that is produced on the edges of a floorboard. The bevel, depending on its boldness, has the effect of accentuating and emphasising each individual floorboard.
Intensive brushing along and across the board creates a unique pattern, leaving this floor with an exceptionally lively character.
Expansion joints can be found in doors, predetermined break points in screed, around columns, etc. and are used to ensure that natural flooring can expand and contract according to the temperature and air humidity. Expansion joints are a matter for a skilled floor layer and under no circumstances should be left to a non-specialist.
With a floating installation, tongue & groove joints are bonded together or locked in place using Admonter lock-it variants, but are not bonded to the substrate. The advantages of this system are that the floor can be laid very quickly, no joints or very few joints exist and sound-conducting contact with the structure of the building is minimised.
Here, the floorboards are bonded to the substrate with adhesive over the entire surface. This installation option is recommended with underfloor heating, in bathrooms and for public areas in general. The advantages of this system are that larger areas can be laid as a single piece, for installation with underfloor heating the likelihood of bulging is reduced, and refurbishment by sanding is also facilitated.
Many laminate floors imitate the appearance of a high-quality floor covering (usually parquet), but consist of a low-cost substrate that is embellished and sealed with a thin decorative layer. Compared with parquet or high-quality tiles, for example, flooring of this type is very attractively priced and easy to lay. However, all laminate floors share a disadvantage: damage to or wear of the surface cannot simply be repaired or ground out as is the case with wooden flooring, as doing so would immediately expose the substrate underneath the decorative layer.
For large rooms or for an especially bold effect. Floorboards up to 2800 mm in length. Dimesion: 15 x 280 mm.
A matt lacquer finish is the best option if you want a practical and "zero-maintenance" natural floor. Its drawback is that partial repairs cannot be carried out, which means that instead the entire surface has to be sanded.
Multi-layer parquet is more resilient to fluctuating atmospheric conditions than solid parquet because the multiple layers can even out moisture and temperature differences in the room and stabilise the floor. Parquet is available in 2-layer as well as 3-layer formats. In the case of 2-layer parquet, a finish layer of the desired type of wood is bonded on to a substrate. In the case of 3-layer parquet, the finish layer is bonded to a core layer, frequently of softwood and with the grain at right angles to the finish layer. A reverse side is also bonded on; this may be of the same type of wood as the finish layer or it may also be a softwood.
2-strip, 3-strip floors: A multistrip floor is also a planked floor. In contrast to the single plank format, however, the finish layer in this case is not created from a single piece of wood but from a large number of small wooden strips. For this reason, a multistrip floor is cheaper than a single plank floor.
NATURAL OILED EASY CARE - NO INITIAL OIL TREATMENT REQUIRED! Our EASY CARE products are delivered PREFFINISHED. This means that the floor does not have to be oiled after installation, and can be used and walked on immediately after installation! The new natural oiled easy care finish provides a rich, durable surface, and also has the desired look from the beginning, as otherwise only floors with an additional oil coating offer. Without any effort – just easy!
Natural oils keep the pores of the wood open. The beneficial effect that the room environment has on health really comes into its own here. Through regular and proper care & maintenance, the finish acquires a natural patina of extraordinary durability.
Prefabricated parquet is the term used for industrially produced, surface-treated floor elements made from wood. These are generally provided with a profile and are joined together by bonding (tongue and groove) or locked together. Once laid, these elements do not require any further post-treatment such as sanding or filling.
Special enhancement processes and the use of a careful sorting system will produce a floor with an unusually sensuous effect.
For many years this has been a standard finish of wide plank wood floors.A totally smooth surface is achieved by the uniform sanding of the wood.
Scraping in the direction of the grain produces a distinctive ripple effect.
Single plank is the name given to a planked wooden floor that has either a solid or multi-layered structure. Single plank is one of the original types of parquet.
Lengths ranging from 590 mm to 1200 mm. Suitable for herringbone patterns using the smallest boards for highly effective floorboard appearance in small rooms.
In contrast to a natural oiled surface, most of the pores in a UV oiled surface are sealed.
As its name suggests, solid parquet consists of a solid and continuous layer of wood. However, this traditional form of parquet is not entirely problem-free; when temperature and humidity conditions fluctuate it has a tendency to become considerably more distorted than multi-layer parquet.
Sorting describes the typical characteristics (e.g. knots, shakes, etc.) of wood as a natural material and classifies them by number, incidence and also size. Admonter natural flooring is therefore classified as knotless (noblesse), virtually knotless (elegance), knotty (basic), rustic with a brown filler (naturelle) and rustic with a black filler (rustic).
Installing Admonter natural flooring on underfloor heating is not normally a problem. In order to achieve the best possible thermal conductivity, however, the specifications in the laying and care instructions must be followed. All Admonter natural floors are suitable for laying on top of underfloor heating with the exception of beech (thermally-treated beech is however suitable).
Is vigorous partial brushing across the grain, which gives the floorboard a look and feel with a stunning character. Every floorboard is brushed once on the edge, in the middle or over the entire surface – the mixed laying creates a special image of this structure.
For large rooms or for an especially bold effect. Floorboards up to 5000 mm in length.


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Microsoft is working on foldable Surface devices with liquid-powered hinges
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Gadgets 13/09/2019 70Views 0Likes
Microsoft has been working on a dual-screen Surface device that may well resemble the company's Courier concept. The software giant is expected to tease the device at its Surface hardware event next month, but new patents show that Microsoft's work goes far beyond just dual-screen hardware. A new patent, spotted by WindowsUnited, has surfaced that reveals Microsoft has been working on a special hinge that uses liquid to reduce the stress on flexible and foldable displays.
The liquid can be filled inside cavities around the flexible display to help it bend and move into different positions. Microsoft's example shows a device with two separate sides and a flexible OLED display that extends across the entire device. Microsoft has long been focused on complex and impressive hinge work with its Surface devices, and this particular hinge is described in a lot of detail in the patent filing.
Illustrations that show multiple concepts of a complex hinge assembly with structures to "prevent foreign materials from entering the hinge assembly / device." Samsung had its own issues with debris getting underneath early units of the Galaxy Fold, and the company had to go back to the drawing board to figure out a way to fix the hardware. Microsoft clearly wants to avoid a similar scenario.
The most interesting part of this patent filing is that it's been filed by "Microsoft technology licensing," which could indicate the company will license this technology to other partners and PC makers. Microsoft is currently working closely with Intel and a number of OEMs to ready a new version of Windows, codenamed "Windows Lite," that will run on foldable and dual-screen devices. This new Windows version will be targeted toward dual-screen and foldable hardware. Microsoft has also previously licensed some of its Surface Pro hinge work to partners.
Microsoft's patent filings don't reveal an exact device, although some of the company's Surface hardware has been spotted in patent filings before. The Surface Studio appeared in a patent filing, and even Microsoft's canceled Andromeda device was spotted in patents before the company moved to larger dual-screen prototypes. It's unlikely that we'll see a full Surface dual-screen device unveiling at Microsoft's event in New York City next month, but we could see some type of tease about what the company is working on.
Microsoft's dual-screen Surface device, codenamed "Centaurus," is part of a bigger push for a range of new dual-screen and foldable tablet / laptop hybrids that OEMs are working on. Microsoft demonstrated this new device during an internal meeting earlier this year, and Intel has been pushing OEMs to create dual-screen devices.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I love coffee flavored anything. And mocha, a chocolate and coffee combo is really the best... well, after peanut butter and chocolate, that is!
And when I found myself craving cupcakes this week, after trying to cool down from the extreme heat by making granitas all week ( which isn't really such a bad thing !), I searched for a mocha cupcake and decided on this one.
To intensify the coffee flavor, I used espresso powder mixed with hot water, rather than strong coffee and I loved it.
Begin by sifting, then mixing your dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.
Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed.
Then combine the hot water with the espresso powder and pour this into the batter mixture.
Then spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake 18 to 22 minutes.
I used jumbo muffin cups to get 6 nice big cupcakes...no little dinky cupcakes around here!
(Note: I halved the recipe and made 6 jumbo cupcakes).
Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 standard muffin tins with paper liners.
1. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl or standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
4. Add the espresso mixture stirring just to combine, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Spoon or pour the batter into the muffin cups and bake 18 to 22 minutes or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the cups 15 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter til fluffy.
3. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar/cocoa mixture and cream til well combined.
4. Add salt, vanilla and 1 tbsp. heavy cream ( or milk). Blend on low speed til moistened. Add additional heavy cream (or milk) til it reaches desired consistency. Beat on high speed til frosting is smooth and fluffy.
I'm sure I'm not alone in hating this awful heat. I know everyone else across the country must be as tired of it as I am and staying out of the kitchen, if at all possible, is my goal til things cool down!
So making desserts that don't require turning on the oven can be a challenge...unless ice cream every day works for you! ( Well, okay, ice cream every day does, in fact, work for me but sometimes you want a little bit more!).
So let me just say, I love the seriouseats.com site and I was so excited when they gave "sweets" a separate category. And when I found this no bake "pie" recipe I knew I had to give it a try.
It really is delicious. It's sweet and salty and there are only 4 ingredients. Around here we've been calling it "faux key lime pie". But, hey, whatever name you give it...it's cool, creamy and perfect for dessert on a hot night.
You'll need lime zest for the top so zest them before you squeeze the limes.
Combine the condensed milk and heavy cream in a large bowl.
Add in the lime juice and whisk til thickened.
Spread one cup of the filling on the bottom of the pie plate or casserole dish.
Top with a single layer of crackers, then repeat til all the crackers and filling are used, ending with the filling.
Then sprinkle the top with lime zest and chill at least 2 hours, but overnight is better.
You will need a deep dish pie plate or 11" oval casserole.
1. Combine condensed milk and heavy cream in a large bowl.
2. Add lime juice and whisk til thickened, about 1 minute.
3. Spread 1 cup of the filling on the bottom of pie plate or casserole.
4. Top with a single layer of crackers, then repeat, alternating layers of filling and crackers til plate is full.
5. Sprinkle top with lime zest and cover and put into refridgerator for at least 2 hours, but it's best to chill overnight so the crackers fully absorb the custard.
* Next time I make this, I'm going to use graham crackers instead of the Ritz crackers. It may taste even more like key lime pie... what do you think?
Please let me know if you make it and how it turns out for you.
I've been looking for a chocolatey double chocolate chip cookie that's thick like a bakery style one and I found this recipe in one of the cookbooks I recently bought, "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread".
The "secret" to the chocolatey flavor of this cookie, I think, is in the quality of cocoa powder you use. I had some Ghirardelli's and some Valrhona so I used both and it gave this cookie a rich deep chocolate flavor that's so good!
Also adding melted chocolate into the dough gives it more chocolate flavor.
The original recipe calls for toasted pecans so I decided to divide the dough in half and put half with pecans and half without since the crowd I'm making these for probably don't all love nuts in their cookies! Personally...I love nuts in mine!
I made the cookies smaller than the 3 ounce size in the recipe. Mine were approx. 1.2 ozs. and this gave me a 3" cookie.
It was such a beautiful morning here, this morning I couldn't resist showing you my morning glory that puts on a show for me every morning! Happy baking!
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a heatproof bowl, melt 1 1/2 cups of the semisweet chips , stirring til smooth. Set aside to cool.
3. Cream butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes, or til light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
4. Pour in the melted chocolate and continue mixing til the mixture is uniform in color. Make sure the chocolate is not hot or the butter will melt.
5. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well to combine.
6. With the mixer on low speed, ad the dry ingredients in stages. Mix only til it's all combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure all the flour is incorporated.
7. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and nuts.
8. Chill the dough in the fridge til it's firm but not hard.
9. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of dough ( mine weighed 1.2 ozs.) and place onto baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. Note: If you're making these cookies larger, make them approx. 3 ozs. each, about a scant 1/2 cup size.
10. Bake the cookies between 13 and 15 minutes. ( 18 to 20 minutes, if making 3 oz. size).
They should be just set when done.
Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
There's something so comforting about upside down cakes. Warm fruit on top with a delicious delicate cake underneath. It's the best!
No I know it's a little odd to be surrounded by so much fresh fruit now that summer is in full swing but I came across this recipe and remembered the two bags of frozen cranberries I still had left in the freezer. I could have used fresh pears or apples but I just love the flavor of cranberries...and oh, that beautiful color! Let's think Christmas in July.
I found this wonderful book called " Sweet Times, Simple Desserts for Every Occasion" and guess who wrote it? Dorie Greenspan. It's from 1991 and I didn't even know about this book til I came upon it at a local outdoor art show in the park this weekend. They had a booth of all kinds of books and this one just jumped out at me! Lucky me!
This cake is easy to make and would be perfect for a quick dessert to make for company. It's great just with a dollop of whipped cream. Dorie suggests using pears or apples and I could really see how apples would be ideal since there's a full teaspoon of cinnamon in the batter. Now that would be a great Fall dessert.
I used a round cake pan but I bet you could also use a cast iron skillet like I did for this cake.
Brush the top with red currant jelly ( or really any jelly flavor you have would, I'm sure, be fine).
The cake is delicious warm or room temperature. And don't forget the whipped cream.
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/3 cup milk, room temp.
1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. Get ready an 8" round cake pan.
2. Melt the 6 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan, then add the 6 tbsp. sugar and stir til the mixture comes to a boil. Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan.
3. Sprinkle the nuts over this, then the cranberries, in a single layer. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
5. Cream the butter, then add in the 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat on medium speed til the mixture is pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.
6. Add in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
7. With the mixer on low speed, add in half the dry mixture, mixing only til combined.
8. Gently mix in the milk, then add the remainder of the flour mixture.
9. Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth out the top.
10. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or til the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn the cake out onto a cake plate. ( If any berries stick to the pan, just scrape them off with a knife and spread them on the cake).
Warm the jelly, just til it liquifies, (I warmed in the microwave) and brush onto the top of the cake.
I know this is a cookie blog but every now and then I can't resist passing along a great recipe for something other than cakes, cookies or pies.
With a long holiday weekend upon us I thought I'd share a recipe that is a great picnic salad that we just love around here. My son, Kris, can never get enough of this and it's the most requested. And you don't have to worry about this salad getting spoiled in the heat like a mayonaise salad.
The recipe is quite old...vintage, in fact! It originally came from an old issue, probably from the 1980's, of "Better Homes and Gardens" Magazine and I've kept it all these years.
You can switch out any of the ingredients to suit your taste. If you don't like olives ( how could you not!?) you can leave them out. Same thing with the capers. We really don't like sun dried tomatoes so I left them out of our salad. You can also add in anything else you might think of that would sound good, such as parsley or roasted red sweet peppers, perhaps.
Makes 8 side dish servings. Double or triple the recipe for more people.
One quick note: The original recipe is actually called "Wild Rice Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette" but we love orzo so much that we subbed all orzo for the wild rice. I'm sure the wild rice would be great so I'm giving you the original recipe as it's written.
1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, dry packed ( soften tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain).
Other add ins: Diced red onion, parsley or anything else you can think of!
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled rice and orzo, peppers, olives, tomatoes and capers. Set aside.
2. In a screw top jar, combine olive oil, vinegar, basil, shallots ( or green onions), garlic and black pepper. Cover and shake well.
3. Pour the vinaigrette over the rice/orzo mixture and toss to coat. (Note: I found this was too much vinaigrette for this amount of rice/orzo so I used some over ripe tomatoes sliced with fresh mozzarella. Yum! You can save it to use over other things, too, like a green salad or chicken or fish).
4. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Stir in nuts before serving, if using.
I know it's the 4th of July Holiday this weekend but I couldn't resist these beautiful apricots in my local farm market. They were calling me! And I just had to respond. So no blueberry strawberry- red, white and blue kind of dessert this hoilday. Nope. Just a delicious fresh apricot upside down cake. Which, by the way, is so so good!
I have to say I've never really given the poor fresh apricot much attention before. I love them dried and I make dried apricot almond scones almost every week, but fresh? Never. Eaten out of hand, they don't do much for me but once baked, they take on a sweet lovely flavor.
Upside down cakes are so fun. And this one is baked in a cast iron skillet so you just melt the butter, add some brown sugar and place the apricots over top. Then spoon the batter over all that and bake it in the skillet.
So please, give this cake a try. It got rave reviews on epicurious.com so I knew it would be a winner. I took note of the remarks about too much butter and sugar for the topping so I cut down the amounts by half and I'm glad I did. This revised amount is perfect.
This cake could be made with some other stone fruits, too. Nectarines or plums, perhaps?
And if you don't own a cast iron skillet yet, you need to buy one! They're the original non stick skillet.
Look how pretty the other side is, too!
And don't say I didn't warn you. Once the cake cools down a little...good luck resisting cutting yourself a nice big slice.
But hey, you deserve it, right? After all, you did all the work! Don't forget a big dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for the top!
1. Heat butter in the skillet til the foam subsides.
2. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter. Cook, undisturbed for 3 minutes.
Not all the sugar will be melted.
3. Remove from heat and arrange the apricot halves, cut side down in the skillet, placing them close together.
1. Sift or whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and both extracts on medium speed til pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat til mixture is creamy and doubled in volume, about 3 minutes.
4. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating woth the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat til just combined.
5. Gently spoon the batter evenly over the apricots and spread evenly.
6. Bake 40 to 45 minutes.
7. Immediately invert cake onto a large plate.
The cake is best served slightly warm or room temperature, with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Yum!


Everyone feels a little anxious now and then. But instead of powering through your nerves the next time you feel uncertain about an event, what if you could drink on a cup of tea to calm down? That's exactly what medical studies say is just one of the potential benefits of passion flower tea.
Besides anxiety, passion flower tea may also help to promote a healthy sleep cycle, healthy-looking skin, and abdominal comfort.
The first written discovery of the plant occurred in the 1500s by Spanish explorers in Peru. When they happened upon the passion flower, they believed the 10 petals and sepals represented the 10 disciples present at Jesus' crucifixion. The explorers believed this symbolized Christ's passion and his approval for their exploration.
Today, passion flower is the official state flower of Tennessee, where it is also called maypop, wild apricot, and ocoee.
It could promote better sleep. A Phytotherapy Research article investigated the possible connection between passion flower tea and sleep. The study of 41 participants found that a dose of passion flower tea before bed results in better sleep as compared to a placebo. Based on this study, it's possible that drinking passion flower tea could help you get better shut-eye at night, too.
Get support for stomach pain. More research is needed to provide evidence that passion flower tea could help ease stomach pain in humans. However, some animal studies have shown promising signs that passion flower can provide support for pain associated with stomach ulcers. For example, one Indian study found that passion flower alleviated the presence of stomach ulcers in rats. A 2011 study in BioMed Research International supported those results, finding that an extract created from passion flower stems and leaves also showed promise for use with occurrence of ulcers in rats.
Support healthy-looking skin. While there aren't many modern-day studies that back up the connection between passion flower tea and better skin, passion flower has been used for centuries to help treat skin problems. An African medical study has found that passion flower tea may provide support for the disruption of bacterial survivability, making it potentially suitable for use on the skin for additional support.
Passion flower tea is an easy introduction to the potential health benefits of this plant. However, many people also rely on passion flower tinctures and extracts to help reach their personal health goals. At Natural Healthy Concepts, we offer several passion flower teas designed to help with a variety of health goals, from better sleep to a calm mind, to a soothed stomach. If you'd like to try another form of passion flower, we have a variety of passion flower supplements and extracts that might meet your needs, too.
Have you used passion flower? If so, share your experiences in the comments below. We'd love to hear about the products that have worked for you!


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Photo by Hyeong Seok Kim / CC-BY
Seoul offers many photo opportunities. Visitors who don't have a lot of time will find the following locations close-by, and interesting.
Photo by Richard Moross / CC-BY
Situated in the heart of Seoul, Gyeongbokgung is the largest palace in Korea. Frequently rebuilt, the palace is kept in pristine shape, and its courtyards, pagodas, bridges, walls, gates, and statues will keep any photographer busy. The royal guards at the gate are a particular favorite for photographers.
Photo by Kars Alfrink / CC-BY
Gwangjang Market is one of the oldest and largest traditional street markets in Korea, boasting about 65,000 visitors per day. Today, the market's vendors sell everything from vegetables, fruits, meat and fish to clothing, textiles, kitchen utensils and more. There's also many food stalls and restaurants. For photos of crowds shopping, bartering, and eating, this is the place to go.
Photo by whyyan / CC-BY
If you're interested in taking photos of what Seoul must have looked like in the past, head for Bukcheon Hanok Village. This charming neighborhood is a labyrinth of streets lined with traditional Korean 'Hanok' houses that are still being lived in.
Cheonggyecheon is a 10km long public recreational space in Seoul. This serene urban renewal site is built on stream that cuts through downtown Seoul. Visit at night and stroll along the stream to get fantastic photos of its bridges, waterfalls and seasonal displays.
Many first-time travellers to Asia, particularly those on business, have asked about easily accessible photo opportunities in the cities they visit. This post is part of an ongoing series, each on a different Asian city, introducing a few photo locations for visitors with limited time.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on June 17, 2017 Categories Photo Spots in Asian CitiesTags Korea, photographyLeave a comment on Four Great Places to Take Photos in Seoul
A medical doctor by profession, Pakistani photographer Maryam Arif's belief-systems are as intrinsic to her photographic projects as her approach to medicine.
A self-described 'thinker', the Lahore-based photographer describes her approach to photography as 'observational and non-intrusive'.
Self-taught, Arif originally took photos solely for her personal viewing pleasure. It wasn't until while studying endocrinology that her passion drove her to make the tough decision to put medicine aside and pursue photography professionally.
Arif believes her black & white photography has definitely given her the opportunity to put forth her beliefs and ideas in an abstract form. The inspiration for her work is 'light' – the way it can change the feel and perspective of something simple and mundane into something extraordinary and magical.
Purposely taking an abstract or conceptual style approach to photography, Arif's goal is to allow her images to be open to interpretation and to lead the viewer by subtle clues into the mind behind the photo.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on May 6, 2017 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags Asia photography, pakistani photographer, photographyLeave a comment on Pakistani Doctor Takes a 'Thinking' Approach to Photography
Thai Phien is an award-winning Vietnamese photographer who's works have been exhibited in over 60 countries. Phien (his full name is Nguyen Thai Phien), was born in 1960 in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam.
Among his many works, Phien's publication of Vietnam's first nude art photography book, entitled Buoc Thoi Gian (Steps of Time), was met with controversy in his conservative homeland.
However, overcoming the initial controversy, the work went on to receive the VAPA Cup from the Vietnam Photographic Artists' Association. This marked the first time the association has bestowed the award on a photographer for a collection of nude photos.
According to VAPA jury member Duy Anh, "With low key lighting and monochrome techniques, Phien shows women's physical and spiritual beauty."
Phien has been taking nude photos for 22 years. When he won the honor, he said, "I thought of those who worked as my models. They are behind the success of my photos and have bravely defied social stigmas against nude modeling,"
Author Kana KukuiPosted on March 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags Asia, Indian photographer, photography, Vietnam, Vietnamese photographerLeave a comment on Vietnamese Photographer's Nudes Overcome Social Barriers
Fayyaz Ahmed is an award-winning photographer based in Karachi, Pakistan. Famous for his fashion and high-end portrait photography, Fayyaz also does occasional documentary work, and has made a name for himself as a director of music videos.
Without any formal training in photography (he was educated as a computer engineer), Fayyaz used to 'click his surroundings' in his mind until he began shooting in 2006 with a newly purchased DSLR.
Teaching himself photography by reading everything he could on the internet, he began working as a professional photographer in 2007. His creativity and versatile style enabled him to quickly make a name for himself in Pakistan.
While most of Fayyaz's work is for editorials and advertisements, he has a great touch in capturing street photos.
According to Fayyaz, the best advice he received was from a photographer who told him, "When you are shooting a portrait, you have to be quick or the subject becomes bored after a while".
Author Kana KukuiPosted on February 26, 2017 February 26, 2017 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags Asian Photographer, Asian photography, Pakistan, pakistani photographer, photographyLeave a comment on Versatile Pakistani Photographer Creates Stunning Images
Xyza Cruz Bacani is a Filipina street photographer based in Hong Kong, known for her black-and-white photos of Hong Kong street life. Bacani grew up in Bamband, Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines. Before leaving the Philippines, she studied nursing. It was during this time that her interest in photography first took root, although she couldn't afford a camera at the time. In order to help earn funds for the education of her siblings, Bacani joined her mother in Hong Kong when she was 18.
Working as a nanny for the same Chinese-Australian woman who employed her mother, one of Bacani's tasks was caring for her boss's seven grandchildren. A few years after she'd moved to Hong Kong, Bacani started taking photos with a Nikon D90 she purchased with money borrowed from her employer.
With camera her in hand during her spare time, Bacani began prowling the streets of Hong Kong allowing her mood to determine her destination. She honed her photography skills by capturing various aspects of Hong Kong's Chinese communities as well as the play of light and shadows between the city's iconic buildings.
Bacani was encouraged in her photography by her mentor, San Francisco-based photographer Rick Rocamora, who she met on a Filipino photographers' group on Facebook.
Bacani has been building a reputation through her striking photographs of ordinary life in Hong Kong. Among her various street images of Hong Kong society, Bacani has also covered the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and documented the lives of other domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Continuing to work as live-in helper, any extra cash she earns from overtime goes toward cameras, lenses and film. Although she loves photography, she says she'll never leave her day job as "it pays very well."
Bacani has been featured in major international publications including the New York Times and Italian Vogue. In 2015, she was announced as a recipient of the 2015 Human Rights Fellowship by the Magnum Foundation, a prestigious scholarship that gave her the opportunity to study in an intensive, six-week-long program at New York University in New York.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on February 11, 2017 February 11, 2017 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags amateur photographer, Asian Photographer, Asian photography, filipina, photographer, photographyLeave a comment on Filipina Domestic Helper Makes A Name For Herself In Photography
Photo Opportunity: Thaipusam, a Hindu Celebration in Malaysia
Althought the majority of Malaysia is Muslim, the country's population includes more than two million ethnic Indians, most of whom are Tamil Hindus.
Every year, these Hindu communities celebrate Thaipusam. A public holiday, Thaipusam is a thanksgiving to Lord Subramaniam (also known as Lord Murugan) for answered prayers, and is also a day of penance. This important Hindu festival is held in the tenth month of the Hindu calendar (usually the end of January).
In celebration of Thaipusam, over a million Hindus converge on temples nationwide – the most famous being at the Batu Caves (an important religious site for Tamil Hindus on Kuala Lumpur's outskirts), where hundreds-of-thousands gather.
Participants prepare themselves for the occasion by cleansing their bodies through fasting and abstinence, and usually observe a vegetarian diet for a certain period of time prior to the day of the festival.
But the feature of Thaipusam that makes it so fascinating for photographers is the way that the celebrants display their penance.
Many devotees pierce their skin, tongues or cheeks with long skewers in a form of penance, or bear elaborately decorated frames called 'kavadi' – typically attached to their body using sharp metal spikes dug into the skin.
If you plan on taking photos of Thaipusam, be prepared for a very crowded, hectic and sometimes even claustrophobic experience. However, the shots you get will make it well worth your while.
Although Thaipusam is also celebrated in India and Singapore and other countries with large Hindu Tamil communities, in Malaysia it's marked with a particular zest that makes it special.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on February 4, 2017 February 4, 2017 Categories Asian Festivals, UncategorizedTags Asia, Asian photography, festival, Malaysia, Malaysia Festival, photographyLeave a comment on Photo Opportunity: Thaipusam, a Hindu Celebration in Malaysia
Nepali Female Photojournalist Documents Life
Uma Bista is both a photojournalist and documentary photographer in her native Nepal. Born and raised in Kathmandu, Uma's first encounter with photography was when she took up a short course while she was in the 12th grade. Further to that, she attended many photography workshops to improve her craft.
Rebelling against her parents' dream for her to become a nurse, Uma pursued her passion for photography, eventually working full-time with two of Nepal's leading newspapers – The Himalayan Times and The Annapurna Post.
When asked about her passion for photography, Uma replies, "I love all kinds of photography. But especially I prefer documentary photography. It covers everything. I want to document people, the joy, the love, the anger, the mystery, the feelings, the humor, the sadness. I feel happy while doing this."
Uma's work has been exhibited at "Kathmandu, Kathmandu", "The Constant Change", "Mega Bank Photo Exhibition", and "Opportunity Knocks" at Chobi Mela VII in Dhaka. Her photos have also been published in the books "The Constant Change" and "Nepal The Land of Contrast".
Meeting a female working as a photographer in Nepal is rare. Few locals take up photography professionally, and among them there are very few women. This makes Uma's accomplishments in photography even more unique.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on February 3, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags Asian Photographer, Asian photography, nepal, Nepali photographer, photographer, photographyLeave a comment on Nepali Female Photojournalist Documents Life
Indonesian 'Hobbyist' Photographer Creates Breathtaking Black and White Photos
Hengki Koentjoro is a fine art photographer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Born in Semarang, Central Java, his love affair with photography began when his parents gave him a Kodak pocket camera as a birthday present when he turned 11 years old.
After graduating from California's Brooks Institute of Photography with a major in film/video production and minor in Black & White photography, Hengki returned to Indonesia and settled in Jakarta. There, he works as a videographer and video editor. His video work mostly consists of corporate profiles, TV commercials, and nature documentaries.
Although Hengki claims photography is just a serious hobby that he indulges in his spare time, his images have won countless awards worldwide. It's easy to understand why.
Hengki's preference for black and white photography is influenced by his admiration for the work of Ansel Adams. In his own words, Hengki says of Adams, "His ability to control the tonality to create moods and atmosphere captivated me and my passion started from there and I never looked back".
Practicing Ansel Adam's Zone System, before shooting, Hengki tries to envision his subjects in black and white. He believes this helps in choosing the proper subject matter, composing the photo, and forecasting how the resulting image will look.
The ability to play around with tones allows Henki to create atmospheric photos that beautifully balance a combination of composition, texture, shapes and lines.
"Photography can never be separated from the aspects of making the common things unusual, welcoming the unexpected, indulging and embracing ourselves with the joy of photography". Hengki Koentjoro
Author Kana KukuiPosted on January 3, 2017 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags Asian Photographer, Asian photography, Indonesia, Indonesian photographer, photographerLeave a comment on Indonesian 'Hobbyist' Photographer Creates Breathtaking Black and White Photos
Prashant Panjiar – Veteran Photojournalist in India
A self-taught independent photojournalist, Prashant Panjiar is one of India's best-known photographers.
Based in New Delhi, Prashant specializes in reportage – editorial and documentary photography. A veteran in his field, he also works as a consulting editor, curator, and educator.
Actively involved in guiding young photographers in India, Prashant is one of the three senior photographers who select and mentor young documentary photographers for National Foundation of India's fellowship program. He is also a co-founder of the Delhi Photo Festival, and the Nazar Foundation.
Born in 1957, Prashant is a post-graduate in Political Science from Pune University, India. During his university days, he developed his photographic skills working on photographic projects that focused on peasant movements and other social issues.
From 1984 through 2001, Prashant worked for several major Indian magazines as a photographer and eventually editor. Since 2001, he has devoted himself to being a full-time independent photographer specializing in editorial and documentary photography. Prashant's work is regularly published in leading magazines both in India and abroad.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on December 17, 2016 Categories Asian Photographer, UncategorizedTags Asian Photographer, India, Indian photographer, Indian photography, photographer, photographyLeave a comment on Prashant Panjiar – Veteran Photojournalist in India
Travel Photography Spots in Shanghai
Similar to other major Asian cities, Shanghai has some great locations for visitors to photograph. Whether you're looking for modernity, or tradition, Shanghai has something for you.
The Bund (along the waterfront of Huangpu River) is a great spot to take photos of Shanghai's iconic skyline. The skyline is at its best at night with dazzling neon lights and lit cruise ships reflected in the river.
A fun place to visit is Shanghai Old Town. Very touristy, but the traditional buildings and markets combine to make a fun photo walk. (Just to the northeast of the old town is the splendid Yu Garden, whose landscaping and traditional structures offer some more subjects to photograph).
A unique photo opportunity is a visit to Shanghai Film Park. This is one of China's largest active outdoor movie studios, with impressively open access. — you can walk around (and shoot) sets of old Shanghai, and if you're lucky you'll also see some actual actors scurrying about.
If you have time, eighteen kilometers from Shanghai city center you'll find Qibao, a typical China water town. Qibao is a wonderful place to take photos of 'old China'. The old town is composed of two canals crossed by three stone bridges. These are surrounded by old stone-paved streets connected with many side lanes.
Author Kana KukuiPosted on December 11, 2016 December 11, 2016 Categories Photo Spots in Asian Cities, UncategorizedTags Asia, China, photography, Shanghai, travel photography2 Comments on Travel Photography Spots in Shanghai


Sure popular media would have us all believe that we are nothing but coppertops living an imaginary existence, but that does little to help us understand these yummy little bundles of energy wrapped up in a D Cell sized and styled tin. So instead just think of these candies as yummy little bundles of chocolate covered coffee energy transported in a D cell and consumed by coppertops for optimum charging in an imaginary world. That works. You can judge your caffeine need in D cells now. Late Night at Work = 1 D Cell (4-5 beans equals one cup of coffee). Gaming Marathonapalooza = 20 D Cells. Each tin has approx. 12-15 beans, and they are stackable!
Java Rocks® use our exclusive Eating Roast® coffee, but instead of coating the whole beans, we finely grind the coffee and "volcano blend" it with cocoa.
Our Triple Mocha & Triple Latte will most certainly get your rocks off...we're talking up to 50% more caffeine than other gourmet coffee's. An independent evaluation by bevnet.com found our Shock Triple Mocha to be THE BEST tasting coffee drink on the market, with Shock Triple Latte in a close second!


ITEMS IN SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT GUARANTEED AND ARE SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. Delivery fees start at $3.50. Prices reflect the addition of our service fee. OrangeCrate operates independently of the business, and as such any questions about your order should be made to OrangeCrate. Adding extra sauces or additional sides in the 'Special Instructions' tab will result in additional charges being added.
Two 1/3 lb. angus patties, four pieces of bacon & two slices of American cheese stacked on a toasted bun.
"2 - 1 - 2"
"1 - 2 - 3"
1/3 lb. angus burger with melted jack & ortega chilies, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted bun.
1/3 lb. burger patty smothered in tabasco sauce & topped with bacon, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce & fried onions stacked on a toasted bun.
Thinly sliced roast beef smothered in our homemade Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and served on a toasted bun.
Smoked ham steak with two eggs on toasted English muffin topped with homemade hollandaise sauce served with homefries or fruit.
Smoked ham steak with two eggs on toasted English muffin with avocado and tomato slices topped with homemade hollandaise sauce. Served with homefries or fruit.
Crab cakes fried until golden brown with 2 eggs on toasted English muffin and homemade hollandaise sauce.


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Tragedy – Fury
By Craig Hayes. Crust punk titans Tragedy are one of the most revered bands around, and that was recently reaffirmed when the Portland, Oregon-based group's new EP, Fury, suddenly appeared on Bandcamp. Fury's arrival was greeted with almost rapturous fervour
By Craig Hayes.
Crust punk titans Tragedy are one of the most revered bands around, and that was recently reaffirmed when the Portland, Oregon-based group's new EP, Fury, suddenly appeared on Bandcamp. Fury's arrival was greeted with almost rapturous fervour by diehard fans, myself included, and that wasn't any kind of overreaction. Tragedy's music is colossal, concussive, and deeply authentic, and it's been six long years since the band's last vitriolic release, 2012's Darker Days Ahead.
Tragedy's breakneck, self-titled debut was released in 2000, and the LP was instantly (and rightly) hailed as a crust punk classic. However, Tragedy's backstory also includes a very important introductory chapter. Tragedy features members who also played in the much-admired crust band His Hero Is Gone, and the sledgehammering noise that band made (before they disbanded in 1999) has had an incalculable influence on the world of thickset punk and metal.
His Hero Is Gone took the brawnier/crustier strain of punk that UK bands like Amebix, Antisect, and Hellbastard had formulated in the 1980s and made it bigger, badder, and even swampier. The band added heftier guitars and distortion, and a neck-wrecking amount of oomph, and that set the template for an entire generation of heavyweight crust bands.
Tragedy have unquestionably carried that tradition on. Their stentorian music has proven to be equally influential, and they've played in front of appreciative audiences the world over. However, Tragedy aren't only famed for making high-powered music.
The band's always known for being staunchly DIY and operating well outside the usual 'music biz' networks. Tragedy have also shown a complete aversion to social media and online marketing –– so much so that a few hardcore fans will no doubt protest about the band turning up on a platform like Bandcamp.
Appearing on Bandcamp doesn't radically alter Tragedy's DIY aesthetic though. If anything, Bandcamp has revolutionised the way underground bands and fans can connect without the need for hyped-up web campaigning. That suits Tragedy's agenda, which has seen the band self-release their own records, avoid interviews, and deliberately sidestep the grinding wheels of the publicity machine.
In doing all that, Tragedy have become "folk heroes" within the contemporary punk underground. And there's still a strong element of mystery to the Tragedy mythos, even if the group's members happen to play in scores of other well-known and well-regarded punk bands.
Tragedy 2013. Photos by Carmelo Española.
Tragedy utilising Bandcamp means that tracking down a copy of Fury is that much easier –– and FYI: any punk fan worth their salt should purchase a copy forthwith. Produced by Portland heavyweight music wizard Billy Anderson, Fury features six tracks bursting with belligerent rage. The EP's running time barely hits the 17-minute mark, but that's more than enough time to appreciate that no one channels mind-crushing hostility quite like Tragedy.
Fury's first track, "Leviathan", roars out of the gate with thundering guitars, guttural barks, and crashing bass and drums. Stampeding hooks are scattered throughout, snagging you and dragging you along, and by the time second track "Enter the Void" kicks in, it's clear that Tragedy haven't lost one iota of their passion or potency.
In fact, guitarist/vocalist Todd Burdette, bassist/vocalist Billy Davis, guitarist Yannick Lorrain, and drummer Paul Burdette sound like they're ready to riot. I'm guessing the band have been inspired by the overwhelming number of end-times headlines that seem to greet us every day. But, speculation aside, it's simply magnificent to hear the band still sounding so fired up after so many years in the punk rock trenches.
Fans hankering for Tragedy to return to their feral and ferocious roots will be thrilled that tracks like "Kick and Scream" and "Fury" are speedier and more overtly unhinged than the mid-tempo (albeit still savage) tracks on Darker Days Ahead. Ripping guitars and pick-sliding galore cut through Fury's murky mix, and scorching leads and fist-raising, shout-along choruses arrive with a palpable sense of urgency throughout the EP.
Throttling dirges are trampled by hurtling hardcore on Fury, and the EP's final tracks, "Swallow the Pill" and "A Life Entombed", underscore Tragedy's ability to craft dark and blistering melodies that reflect shattered dreams, nightmare realities, and endless frustrations.
In that sense, with the world in turmoil and anxieties at an all-time high, there's never been a better time for Tragedy to return. The band bring hope, and relief, delivered in a purging/surging rush of ear-splitting punk, backed by exorcising howls.
Over the years, countless raucous bands have tried to copy the most ferocious elements from Tragedy's formidable playbook. However, as Fury proves, yet again, few bands exhibit Tragedy's talent for making primal rage manifest. Even fewer bands can cast out anger with the sheer intensity of Tragedy's cathartic anthems. And Fury adds six more reasons to stand in fucking awe of Tragedy's intimidating discography.
Fury by TRAGEDY
Labels: 2018, Carmelo Española, Craig Hayes, crust punk, doom metal, sludge metal, Tragedy
"Swallow The Pill" is such a ripping track!
Scorched - Ecliptic Butchery
Abysmal Torment - The Misanthrope
Bosse-de-Nage - Further Still
Mutilation Rites - Chasm
Come to Denmark (and die)
Derkéta - In Death We Meet


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Franchise Broker vs. Franchise Consultant | What is Better?
Have you spoken to a franchise broker? Do you know how they are compensated?
Understand the differences between a franchise broker and a franchise consultant. Full article here: https://www.vettedbiz.com/franchise-broker-vs-franchise-consultant/
#FranchiseBroker #FranchiseConsultant #FranchiseMarketing #FranchiseSales #VettedBiz
Many entrepreneurs that are looking to buy a franchise often ask, what's a franchise consultant? What's the difference with a franchise broker? Which should I work with? So in today's video, I'm gonna address the three types of categories that basically encompass franchise consultants as well as franchise brokers.
So the first one is a franchise broker. This is an individual or a firm that might represent anywhere from 2 or 1 to 400-plus franchises. Generally, a franchise broker is solely compensated by the franchisor as a percentage of the franchise fee. We've seen fees being compensated to franchise brokers that range anywhere from 20% to 70% plus.
They are generally only compensated if a candidate that they present moves forward and invests in a franchise with that franchisor who's paying the commission. Many of the franchise brokers receive little training and are generally more…many franchise brokers have very strong sales acumen, but at times, they do not receive great training in terms of really understanding the different franchise opportunities, as well as different industries. A franchise broker might be well specialized in one or two industries based on his or her prior career experience. But at the end of the day, they largely operate as a one-man show where they're part of a larger network of…where they're part of a larger network of…where they're a part of a larger franchise brokerage network where they have contractual… a franchise broker might be part of a larger network, where that network has negotiated referral contracts with 100, 200, 300, 400 franchises. So the franchise broker essentially is only compensated if a candidate he presents invest in one of those franchises.
Many of the franchise networks that we are aware of do not do a very good job in terms of vetting what franchises they create partnerships with so that their brokers can go out and sell them. There are a lot of emerging brands that haven't even proven themselves, and maybe have 1 location, 2 locations, and they're looking to sell 50, 100 locations in the first year. At times, these franchise networks do not do a great job in terms of vetting the different opportunities… So, it's important to talk to someone that presents themselves as a franchise broker or a franchise consultant, how are they compensated? And if they only are compensated by their franchisor, what's to stop them from presenting the most lucrative franchise option to you that is gonna earn them the most money and not necessarily earn you the most money?
So the second category are franchise consultants that focus on franchisors as clients. Generally, these franchise consultants work with businesses that might be well suited to a franchise model. So they'll work with a franchise attorney, operations manual consultant, as well as all different other parties to basically create a franchise system for an emerging business. Franchise consultants that have franchisors as clients might also help with recruiting, marketing, and other facets to help the franchise system grow.
The last type of franchise consultant are those that are really focused just on franchise buyers. Vetted Biz and Visa Franchise offer solutions to both Americans and foreign nationals that are interested in buying a franchise where you engage our services. And we can look at any franchise available at the time of this video on our portal, vettedbiz.com. We have 1830 franchises. We seek to add another 200 this year, as more and more franchises become publicly available. And we're able to take the most pertinent data and you can search through it on our platform.
How it generally works with franchise consultants that work directly with franchise buyers is the franchise buyer after initial consultation, will engage the franchise consultant to do a study anywhere from two to three weeks and arrange all the phone calls with franchisors, franchisees. If they need to arrange calls with the franchise…
Full article here: https://www.vettedbiz.com/franchise-broker-vs-franchise-consultant/
By Luvita April 17, 2022
FRANCHISE MY BUSINESS | Franchise Consultants
How to Franchise Your Restaurant and Steps to Take


The Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association has expressed its categorical rejection of the government's plans to dismantle the camps for the displaced next year. They consider the situation much "too dangerous".
On Monday, during his visit to Um Baru in North Darfur, Second Vice-President Hassabo Abdelrahman said that the government intends to put an end to the displacement before 2017.
He gave the displaced Darfuris two options: either to accept resettlement or return to their residents of origin. The government will support them in their choice which is to be implemented within 50 days.
In a meeting with political parties held earlier in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the VP called the camps for the displaced "a disgrace and an abuse of human rights and dignity".
The Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association described the plans to dismantle the camps as "a major risk" and a violation of international humanitarian laws and human rights charters.
Hussein Abu Sharati, the spokesman for the Association, told Radio Dabanga that there are no sufficient justifications for the dismantling of the camps.
He stressed that the displaced would very much want to return, "yet only after the militiamen have been disarmed, and a secure and stable situation has been realised".


The adolescent scratched his full head of hair. It was a contrast to the wispy, grey tangle on top of his father's head.
The the clock seemed to spin in fast forward mode. The hands of time moved so fast that one could swear sparks were flying in the air. Then the adolescent emerged from his room once more. He appeared as pale and cold as a cup of cream straight from the fridge.
"How did the games go? Did you learn anything?", asked Dad.


The Service Area tool also accommodates for end time (arrive at) as well as start time (depart at).
So the only network tool that doesn't allow for this is OD Cost Matrix.
I would very much like to see the OD cost matrix tool to allow for end time (arrive at) as well as the existing start time (depart at). The CF tool is essentially doing this but only allowing for a handful of results (facilities to find).


- As an alternative to combining 1 cup of yogurt with the spice packet, combine 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of vinegar (white vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar).
- As an alternative to Feta cheese use cubed tofu marinated in the dressing for the pasta salad.
The newest gadget to hit the market and a pleasure to use with our many products.
Designed in Ottawa, Ontario, this multi-functional cooker can replace most of the tools you currently own including your pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer and warmer. Great for sautéeing/browning. The Instant Pot will decrease your cooking times and uses up to 70% less energy.
A double batch of any of our soups will fit comfortably in the Instant Pot. Bean soups take a full 30 minutes after being soaked as per package instructions. Beanless soups take 20 minutes.
All Chili recipes require 4 to 6 hours on high.
All soups with beans require 4 to 6 hours on high.
All soups without beans require 3 to 4 hours on high.
You can also put all of the soups and chilies in the crock pot overnight or all day on low.
All soups will take approximately 30-45 minutes in the pressure cooker.
Follow the level specified in your manual for the main bean type in the package.
Add 1/4 Tsp. of baking soda to water when beans are soaking to help them soften.
Always store dry beans in a dry, airtight container at room temperature.
Do not store dry beans in the refrigerator.
Beans can be stored indefinitely but are best used within one year. Beans can lose their moisture over time and take longer to soak and cook.
Before use, always rinse and sort beans.
Once cooked, beans can be kept four to five days when covered and refrigerated.
To freeze, package cooked beans in an airtight, freezer container and keep for up to six months.
Bring water and beans to a boil, cover and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 1 hour. Drain before using.
Combine 3 cups hot water and 1 cup of dry beans in a 4 qt. microwaveable casserole dish. Cover and microwave at HIGH (100%) power for 15 minutes or until boiling. Let stand 1 hour. Drain before using.


Five pups born to this Duo. This will be Tempy's last litter. She is to be retired now. Will be keeping back one of her female pups.
These three boys are the last of my wee guinea pigs and I've sent them off to new homes today. These first two boys went off to the same home, and the last went off to another lady.
Eureka's Dec 2014 boy by Toadfoot. Watford home.
HollyLeaf's Dec 2014 boy, by Toadfoot to a London home.
Tempy's Dec 16 boy by Toadfoot, Watford home.
I am so pleased these last three youngsters found their own homes.
I am hopeful they will remain happy, healthy piggies, able to be good pets for their new owners.


10Bet is a professional online betting site that has included a range of benefits and gaming features for members to choose. While sports and race betting is their primary focus, as a site they have included many other great gaming and wagering opportunities such as a full-featured casino with software from NetEnt, Microgaming, iSoftBet, Playtech, and others.
10Bet also includes a live dealer casino with the award-winning Evolution Gaming interface. Furthermore, members have access to all the latest matches and upcoming races with various betting options such as live betting. These features and many others are offered on mobile and flash.
10Bet was created in 2003 by 10Bet Limited Casinos. The site started off with much of what is seen today, but have also ensured it provides access to the best gaming opportunities, which is why mobile, live betting and other gaming options have been added over time. Fair and responsible gaming have always been a major focus point for the site, and as a result, it has licenses in Malta, Curacao, and the UK gambling commission.
The license agreements mentioned above require Bet10 to only operate in countries where they are allowed, meaning many have been excluded. The most popular excluded countries include the United States, France, Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Isle of Man, Spain, and more.
10Bet has ensured they have all the abilities to keep up with other popular betting sites from around the world, which is why they have included a great selection of promotions that gives new members great opportunities while also keeping current members more than pleased with continued promotions and special offers.
As a new member, 10Bet provides a great offer for sportsbooks, which includes a 50% match bonus up to £200. To activate this bonus, use promotional code FD200 when making a deposit. Members from the UK are only required to deposit at least £15 to qualify, and wagering of only 8x is applied. To complete the wagering, bets of £1.60 and above are needed.
The site also comes with a range of other benefits that give you additional cash with each deposit made along with added benefits such as a reload bonus up to £30. Their casino also comes with a range of highly impressive promotions and offers that's sure to get you off to a great start as a new and current member at 10Bet.
The sports section offered by 10Bet provides an interface that's easy to use and provides a great amount of information about each match. Members have the opportunity to display the odds in various ways, including decimal, fractional, and money-line. All their covered sports are listed down the left side along with the current top events shown at the top for quick access.
To access live in-play betting, you'll need to visit the live betting section at the top of the site. Here all the available matches are shown along with the betting options they'll provide. Members can also access the site along with all its features on any smart device, which includes all banking options, account settings, most casino games, and of course their sports betting platform.
Security has also been taken care of with a 128-bit encryption system that ensured all transactions, casino information, member information, and many other features are only accessible by members and casino staff. This includes their banking options that consist of well-known e-wallets such as WebMoney, Skrill, EcoCard, Neteller and more, along with credit card and bank transfer options.
10Bet is a betting site that's well worth a try due to their level of service and professionalism. The site might not have a poker or bingo network, but that simply means they are more focused on offering better sports and casino features, which has been achieved flawlessly.


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The Sad, Urine-Soaked History of Alaska's Igloo Hotel
The slice of roadside Americana the state has deemed an "attractive nuisance" is for sale and can be yours for just £228,000.
07 November 2017, 8:23am
All photos by Michael Goldberg
As a real estate transaction, $300,000 (£228,000) will get you a steadily decaying, four-story, igloo-shaped, urine-soaked structure built from plywood and urethane. An abandoned gas station, a huge gravel parking lot, a few shuttered cabins, and an outhouse are also included in the purchase of the 38 electricity-free acre plot nestled along a stunningly beautiful stretch of highway in middle-of-nowhere Alaska.
But that cash will also get you something more, something on which a price can't be placed. You'll become the caretaker of a dream. Leon Smith's dream. If you have the desire—and, to be honest, a whole lot more moolah for repairs—you can be the one who finally fulfills the dream Smith first contemplated nearly 50 years ago and devoted a third of his life to realizing only to fall short.
That dream is the "Igloo Lodge." Over the decades, the 80-foot-tall, 105-foot-wide structure—which from a distance appears to be a concrete, window-studded dome until you get close enough and see that its exoskeleton is foam insulation—has become a striking and strangely beloved presence in the Alaska landscape.
Smith wanted it to become a destination hotel—a lasting tribute to his abiding love of the 49th state, and a place visitors would remember as fondly as nearby Denali National Park. But now, in its graffiti-dappled decrepitude, it's become top-notch roadside Americana weirdness. People traveling the lonely George Parks Highway between Fairbanks and Anchorage drive by and simply gawk, sometimes stopping to take selfies or a leak before moving on.
"It really would be fun to fix it up and do something. But it takes money and I don't have it, so it's just sitting there deteriorating, pretty much," says Brad Fisher.
Fisher, 58, is the current custodian of Smith's dream. President of Fisher's Fuels, his family business in Wasilla, a three-hour drive south of the igloo, Fisher has owned the property since the mid-90s. Over the years he's kept the igloo standing, just barely, as a tribute to his old friend Smith and with the hope that perhaps someone more flush with cash than him can turn the quixotic dream into reality.
Fisher tried to sell it several years back but had no takers. He's now trying again.
"I guess the problem has been, [finishing the hotel] is something you'd have to do yourself, and so you'd have to live up there. And nobody lives up there," Fisher laughs. The town closest to the igloo is the microscopic Cantwell, which, Fisher says, has roughly 50 permanent residents. (It also happens to be where Sean Penn filmed scenes for 2007's Into the Wild, planting a replica of the old bus to depict Christopher McCandless's eventual tomb—something potential buyers may well be interested in.)
"Basically you'd have to work your tail off all summer long and then sit there all winter long and watch the snowflakes come down, and not too many people want to do that," Fisher says.
Leon Smith certainly did.
Born in tiny Tiff City, Missouri, in 1921, Smith lived a life of adventure. After fighting the Japanese at Guadalcanal during World War II, he captained a tugboat in California, before moving further north to work as a deep-sea fisherman and a lumberjack. He then made his way to Alaska's interior—paradise for a devoted outdoorsman such as himself—where, along with his wife, Elizabeth, he opened and ran a service station at milepost 188.5 along the Parks Highway, pumping gas for visitors to Denali.
In the late 60s Smith observed the dearth of proper hotels in his neck of the woods, which was fairly popular for hiking in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter. He wanted to make his nowhere somewhere; to leave his mark on the world. So he came up with the grand vision for his Igloo Lodge. It would have 58 guest rooms; a restaurant, bar, liquor store, gift shop on the ground floor; and a fourth-floor penthouse suite reserved for himself and his family. Smith cleared the land behind his gas pumps, and with extra cash from his modest business he purchased lumber, plywood and urethane foam and, all by himself, got to work.
Smith hoped for a grand opening of his Igloo Lodge in the summer of 1973.
He found himself in 1991 still building when a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune happened by and asked him about it. "Anytime I get together enough money I build another room," Smith said. When asked why he, then 70, had devoted decades of his life to building an igloo hotel in the middle of Alaska his answer was as direct as it was saucy. "You wouldn't put an igloo hotel in Kansas or Egypt, would you?"
Age wasn't the only thing hampering Smith's efforts. State building codes were too (among other things, he discovered he'd made the guest room windows too small). And so five years later, Smith, in failing health, decided to sell his gas station and still-unfinished igloo to help provide for his wife after his death. He reached out to Fisher, who had little interest, accordingly making Smith an admittedly paltry offer (he won't say how much), figuring it'd be easy to refuse.
Smith didn't, however, and in 1996 ownership of the Igloo Lodge changed hands. Smith passed away in 1999, and Fisher was determined to finish the job as a tribute to his good friend's legacy. Alas, money was tight, and by 2005 Fisher reluctantly closed the gas station and put the igloo on ice.
The Igloo Lodge subsequently became a place for shutterbugs and vandals. "Someone stole the staircase out of it, and it's amazing the amount of people who go in there to relieve themselves, it's frustrating," Fisher laments. A couple summers ago, state troopers had to run off a bunch of kids who nearly burned the igloo down shooting off fireworks inside, he says. "People are just terrorizing it," he sighs. The state has deemed it an "attractive nuisance" and has considered putting up an interpretive panel to "answer many questions [about the Igloo] that travelers currently have no way to discover."
The property is also teeming with grizzly bears, and it's not uncommon for bears to hang out inside the igloo's dark, rubble-filled interior, Fisher casually warns. "The brush around there is so thick, it's really risky—you could walk right into the back of a bear and not even know it."
In fact, one of the gnarliest grizzly attacks in Alaska history happened right in the area. In 1989, 32-year-old Don Coverston was hiking around the land he owned a half-mile from the Igloo when he was surprised by a bear that bit down on his head, lifted him into the air, and shook him. The bear dropped Coverston and attacked him again several more times.
"It hurts so bad. This is it. She's going to eat my brain out and leave me," Coverston recalled thinking at the time in Larry Kaniut's 1997 book Some Bears Kill. But after repeated attacks the grizzly lumbered off and the bloodied Coverston limped through the brush until he reached Parks Highway. A passing couple brought him to the Igloo gas station, whereupon he asked one of Smith's employees "whether his ears were still on." Coverston was helicoptered to a Fairbanks hospital and received 1,000 stitches during a surgery that lasted nine hours.
So, bears are an issue. So too is the fact that there's no electricity available at the igloo, although Fisher thinks solar panels might do the trick. He puts the various costs to complete Smith's dream hotel in excess of a million bucks beyond the $300,000 asking price.
"Hopefully there's someone out there who's interested and can see it through," Fisher says. He sporadically hears from relatives of Smith's about the property, "and not in a good way—they're mad at me because it's deteriorating and it's their memory of (Smith), but I can't afford to do anything with it. It's for sale, and, you know, if you don't want it to deteriorate, then buy it!"
And he hopes it happens. Seeing the thing come down would be like Smith dying all over again. Until he does Fisher will be here doing what little he can to try to stop his old friend's dream, and his igloo, from falling apart.
Follow Michael Goldberg on Twitter.


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5 People Who Were Fired for Being Gay, and the 29 States Where That is Still Legal
ByCourtney Hodrick
According to studies from the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, between 15 and 43 percent of LGBT people have experienced discrimination or harassment in the workplace as a result of their sexual orientation. Even more staggering is the proportion of transgender individuals who have had such experiences: 90%. Furthermore, only 21 states have passed laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the law only extends to include gender identity in 16 of those states.
These are the stories of five individuals who lost their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, even in states where such discrimination has supposedly been banned:
1) Lisa Howe (Tennessee)
This former Belmont University soccer coach was fired in December 2010 after she came out to her soccer team that she is a lesbian and announced that she and her partner were expecting their first child. While the university's official statement at first said that she had resigned, it was soon amended to say that the decision had been mutual, and that her continuing to work for Belmont would not be beneficial to her or the university. Demonstrators protested Howe's termination, as she was a highly successful and popular coach, and they called for an official apology, which they never received. Although Belmont had terminated its ties with the Tennessee Baptist Church in 2007, chairman of Belmont's board of trustees Marty Dickens told The Tennessean that, "We expect people to commit themselves to high moral and ethical standards within a Christian context."
2) Vandy Beth Glenn (Georgia)
In 2005, Vandy Beth Glenn began working as the legislative editor of the Georgia General Assembly while still presenting as a man, Glenn Morrison. Glenn was fired in October 2007 for revealing to her supervisor that she planned to transition from male to female. Her boss, legislative counsel Sewell Brumby, allegedly told her that "her gender transition and presentation of herself as a woman would be seen as immoral, could not happen appropriately in the workplace in which Glenn worked and would make other employees uncomfortable." This story has a happy ending, however: Glenn sued, and U.S. District Court Judge Story ruled that she was illegally fired based on sex discrimination. The judge ordered that she be compensated for wages during the appeals process. Finally, in December 2011, the appeals court ruled that she should be allowed to return to work.
3) Michael Carney (Massachusetts)
This police officer from Springfield, MA was one of the witnesses in the Congressional hearing on the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) after Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Richard Neil (D-MA) asked him to testify. He initially left his job as a police officer due to the stress of remaining closeted, but his former employers refused to hire him again after he came out. Carney fought for years to be allowed to work again, a battle that he eventually won. His success highlights the struggles others still face, as he pointed out to Midweek Politics when he said that if he "was a federal officer, or didn't live in Massachusetts," he probably wouldn't have been allowed to continue working.
4) Jodi O'Brien (Wisconsin)
O'Brien, a sociology professor at Seattle University who is openly a lesbian and writes about sexuality, was originally offered a job as dean of one of Marquette University's colleges. In May 2010, her offer was rescinded. The Roman Catholic and Jesuit-run University told the New York Times that she lacked "the ability to represent the Marquette mission and identity." University President Rev. Robert A. Wild argued that the choice not to hire O'Brien wasn't due to her sexuality, but rather to her academic writing, in which he found "strongly negative statements about marriage and family." O'Brien has written extensively about the topic of gay marriage; if this isn't discrimination based on sexual orientation, it's certainly discrimination based on beliefs about sexual orientation. Is there a substantial difference between the two?
5) Peter TerVeer (District of Columbia)
This case is playing out as we speak. Until April 2012, TerVeer was a management analyst for the Library of Congress. He claims that he was harassed and fired because of his sexual orientation, and he has filed a discrimination complaint. WJLA reported that he received emails in 2009 from his boss referencing bible passages that speak against homosexuality, and that "he stated that as a homosexual I could never succeed because it was against God's law." The trouble apparently all started when TerVeer "liked" a page on Facebook called Two Dads.
In case you were wondering, here are the 29 states in which it would still be legal to fire you over your sexual orientation:


Place your thumb on the red thumb tab. Apply pressure, pulling towards your hand to move the pin from the locked position. Rotate the tool to the desired position. Release the thumb tab and the spring will move the pin into the chosen locked position.
The handle can be mounted on any screw type extension pole. Using the angular tool on an extension pole can help eliminate ladder work.Our Pro handle has a clip lock feature that can be used with the Wooster pole system.
Load the roller on the ramp of a paint tray. Just roll to the edge of the paint to pick up sufficient paint to make the fibre of the roller wet with paint.
Important do not immerse or soak the roller cover causing the Blue cap and red Shield to be covered in paint.
Roll back-and-forth on the ramp until the White foam gasket and all of the fibre are covered with paint.
Take the roller to the wall; roll back-and-forth unloading the roller. Press firmly enough to get the foam gasket to dispense paint. Do this to or three times until the fibre and the foam gasket are loading and unloading paint. Your roller cover should now be properly prepared and ready to begin the edging process.
After each time you reload the roller look at the end of the Cap and red shield to make sure there is no paint on the outside edge of these components. Keep a soft cotton cloth to wipe the edge to make sure it is free of paint before you start next to the trim.
With a full load of paint, place the roller on the wall next to the trim that you were going to edge next to. Using the trim as a guide, gently unload the roller for 12 to 14 feet (4 m). Do not apply full pressure on the roller until you have unloaded the majority of the paint and are close to the 12 to 14 foot Mark.
You can now apply more pressure to the roller keeping the shield in contact with the trim and roll back through the 12 – 14′ of paint that you just applied. Roll back-and-forth through this 12 to 14 foot area until the edging is complete.
Repeat steps five and six and complete your edging process, next to trim, baseboard and ceiling areas.


Our Government Is a Joke!!
America awakes this morning to the realization that our federal government is collectively unwilling and/or unable to tend to the people's business.
Many in America might like to point fingers at one side of the aisle or the other. Many others would bemoan the general lack of real leadership in the most senior positions within the federal government. Folks, we can point fingers all we want and apportion blame however we might like. Pointing fingers gets us absolutely nowhere.
A full 16 months from the downgrade of our nation's credit rating and a full 6 plus weeks from the Presidential election and there has been virtually zero progress in terms of addressing the impending fiscal cliff. Businesses in America have no ability to proactively plan for 2013 and beyond without knowing what our tax code may look like. Families have no ability to proactively plan their own personal budgets faced with the tremendous uncertainty of their own tax bills. Is there any wonder why nobody is willing to deploy risk capital to grow an enterprise?
You would not run your own families and businesses this way. Yet, our federal government is running in exactly this fashion. It is an absolute joke. Regrettably, the joke is a bad one and it is being played out on every man, woman, and child in America right now.
With so much focus on the immediate fiscal cliff, let's be real, our nation's real issue is our ENORMOUS fiscal crisis. If our government cannot even address the fiscal cliff, how will they ever address the fiscal crisis.
Regrettably, though, folks, we have the government that we deserve. While the jokers in Washington head home to be with their own families, I would only hope that they might view a sobering video that looks not at the fiscal cliff but at the fiscal crisis and what it means for our children. This video, Overdraft produced by Travelers Insurance, runs for about 55-minutes. It takes a wide angled view of many issues that embody our fiscal crisis.
If we care to believe that we may have a brighter future, then the issues highlighted in this clip had better start being addressed.
Can we literally embarrass our government into action? I do not know but given the fact that little else is working right now, I think it is high time we try. On that note, President Obama, Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, and every member of Congress…. you are collectively a JOKE!!


The ANYmal robot. Hwangbo et al.2 report that a data-driven approach to designing robotic software can improve the locomotion skills of robots. They demonstrate their method using the ANYmal robot, a medium-dog-sized quadrupedal system.


text:
SAFEEN appoints Rocktree for transhipper conversion
Singapore-based Rocktree, a one-stop solutions provider for turnkey projects from concept to medium to long-term operations, has announced its appointment by Abu Dhabi Ports' maritime services arm, SAFEEN, to design and manage the conversion of a post panamax bulk carrier into a transhipment vessel.
Rocktree has also been engaged by SAFEEN to provide technical management and crewing services for the vessel since its delivery. Work to convert the 101,648dwt Niki is currently in progress at China's Cosco Guangzhou shipyard and is scheduled for completion during Q4/2020, when the transhipper will be renamed Hafeet. When delivered the vessel will provide a vital link in the supply of iron ore for Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Steel.
From January 2021, the 253m long Hafeet will transship iron ore from bulkers up to Newcastlemax size (210,000dwt) in deep water anchorage onto 12,000dwt self-propelled, self-discharging barges (shuttle feeders), which will feed the Emirates Steel plant at Musaffah Port. Hafeet will also have capacity to store iron ore pellets inside seven cargo holds while waiting for the shuttle feeders.
Rocktree CEO Daniele Pratolongo, said: "We are delighted to have been selected by such an important client to design this transhipment vessel, oversee the conversion project and be entrusted with the initial ship management on behalf of SAFEEN."
Head of Abu Dhabi Ports Maritime Cluster and SAFEEN CEO, Capt. Adil Banihammad, said: "We are very positive about this latest project which is in line with our vision of expansion into the Transhipment sector of maritime business. The Transhipment contract serving Emirates Steel, adds one more feather to SAFEEN's cap after the ongoing management of a similar project in West Africa."
Mario Terenzio, Managing Director of Rocktree Consulting, led the way in transhipment in the Arabian Gulf back in 1998. He said: "The success we achieved for GIIC (now Bahrain Steel) with its pioneering iron ore transhipment operation, positions us well to serve SAFEEN's requirements."
Rocktree is recognized for its local knowledge and the technical and operational expertise gained from developing some 38 floating logistics solutions, including floating cranes, self-discharging vessels, transhippers, and one of the world's largest floating terminals.
The Rocktree and SAFEEN technical teams are working with the shipyard and equipment suppliers on the design, which will feature a new cargo handling facility and ancillary equipment consisting of four 32t SWL grab cranes, two double hoppers, a 3,000t/h conveyor system, and one luffing/slewing barge-loader. The vessel will also be fitted out with three new diesel generators and additional mooring and fendering systems. Additional steel work will add 2,328t to the vessel's lightweight.
"The transhippers we design are geared to provide our clients with an edge over their competitors. We achieve this by way of devising, designing and operating effective logistics solutions and services across the supply chain to industry," said Terenzio.
"We identify the customer's requirements, carry out pre-feasibility studies and designs, and take on the full project and operational management, to ensure works are carried out smoothly and efficiently."
In November last year, Rocktree completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a new floating terminal for Australia's Metro Mining Limited.
Seanergy announces $179m restructuring
Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. has announced that it has reached final agreements with certain of... Read more
IOMSR seafarer welfare app goes live
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DNV GL to change name to DNV
DNV GL, the assurance and risk management company, will change its name to DNV on 1 March 2021. The... Read more
Yxney Maritime and Inmarsat agreement
Norwegian-based scale-up Yxney Maritime and Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications... Read more
ClassNK advises early BWMS installation
Leading Classification Society ClassNK has been analyzing the retrofitting status of ballast water management... Read more
Cybersecurity to remain a threat in 2021
The maritime industry will remain a target of cyber-criminals in 2021 and the world's shipping... Read more
IOMSR appoints China representative
The Isle of Man Ship Registry (IOMSR) has appointed its first permanent representative in China.Well... Read more
First shipment at Khalifa Port's South Quay
The first shipment, carrying bauxite, destined for Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA)'s Al Taweelah... Read more
Jamaica and Kenya sign STCW Certificates MOU
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Free MHSS services over festive period
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Scala 2.12 is all about making optimal use of Java 8's new features. Traits (#5003) and functions are compiled to their Java 8 equivalents, and we treat Single Abstract Method types and Scala's builtin function types uniformly from type checking to the back end (#4971). We also use invokedynamic for a more natural encoding of other language features (#4896). We've standardized on the GenBCode back end (#4814, #4838) and the flat classpath implementation is now the default (#5057). The optimizer has been completely overhauled for 2.12. This milestone adds box/unbox optimization (#4858).
For more details about what's new in this milestone, including some breaking changes, please take a look at these 14 noteworthy PRs.
In total, we merged 135 pull requests, of which 16 are by new contributors – welcome! This milestone resolves 49 JIRA tickets.
We'd especially like to thank Felix Mulder for his excellent work on the new Scaladoc interface! Check it out!
With M4, we consider 2.12.x feature complete. Please try it out while we still have time to fix any regressions in M5! For the next milestone, we'll focus on addressing any issues discovered with M4, overall robustness and polish, and some smaller improvements that are less likely to cause regressions or source incompatibilities. For RC1, we will try to remain binary compatible with M5, and we won't risk regressions except for the most critical bugs.
Scala 2.12 emits closures in the same style as Java 8, whether they target a FunctionN class from the standard library or a user-defined Single Abstract Method type. The type checker accepts a function literal as a valid expression for either kind of "function-like" type (built-in or SAM). This improves the experience of using libraries written for Java 8 in Scala.
For each lambda the compiler generates a method containing the lambda body, and emits an invokedynamic that will spin up a lightweight class for this closure using the JDK's LambdaMetaFactory.
Scala 2.12 standardizes on the "GenBCode" back end, which emits code more quickly because it directly generates ASM bytecode from Scala compiler trees, while the previous back end used an intermediate representation called "ICode". The old back ends (GenASM and GenIcode) have been removed (#4814, #4838).
The first attempt fails because the type checker cannot infer the types for _ - _'s arguments anymore. Type inference in this scenario only works when we can narrow the overloads down to one before type checking the arguments the methods are applied to. When a function is passed as an argument to an overloaded method, we do this by considering the "shape" of the function (essentially, its arity). Now that Comparator[?] and (?, ?) => ? are both considered functions of arity two, our clever scheme breaks down and the programmer must either select an overload (second application) or make the argument types explicit (last application, which resolves to the Function2 overload).
According to git shortlog -sn --no-merges v2.12.0-M3..v2.12.0-M4, the following contributors helped to realize this milestone: Lukas Rytz, Adriaan Moors, Jason Zaugg, Stefan Zeiger, Janek Bogucki, Seth Tisue, Felix Mulder, A. P. Marki, Simon Ochsenreither, Performant Data LLC, wpopielarski, Kota Mizushima, Rui Gonçalves, Shane Delmore, dk14, Rex Kerr, martijnhoekstra, Kenji Yoshida, vsalvis, todesking, triggerNZ, Linas Medziunas, Dongjoon Hyun, Denys Shabalin, Pim Verkerk, Rebecca Claire Murphy, Alan Johnson, David Hoepelman, Shadow53, Casey Leask, Arnout Engelen, Sébastien Doeraene, Valerian, Viktor Klang, jvican, mathhun, peterz, Eitan Adler, Frank S. Thomas, Dmitry Petrashko, JoeRatt, Kato Kazuyoshi, Dmitry Melnichenko, Marc Prud'hommeaux, Mark Mynsted, Marko Elezovic, Markus Hauck, Michał Pociecha. Thank you!