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Posted on 10th May 2018
1st of 3 forums held as LGBT Resource Center searches for assistant director
The LGBT Resource Center at Syracuse University is currently searching for an assistant director. Three candidates will come to campus this week to give presentations about the changes they'd make in the position. The LGBTQ community at Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF held the first of three presentations on Wednesday as the LGBT Resource Center searches for a new assistant director.
Kaelae Shaner, the first of the three candidates to speak this week, gave a 30-minute presentation focused on fostering active outreach through a social media plan, scholarship assistance and various programming changes. About 10 people attended the forum. Two other candidates will speak on Thursday and Friday.
Shaner said the university needs to make sure students feel comfortable on campus.
"The first person you come out to is yourself," Shaner said. "So we have to start from there as a baseline. Is someone comfortable enough to come out to themselves?"
She said SU needs to be a safe place for undergraduate students to develop their identities, as well as their professional and academic careers. She said implementing curriculum changes, establishing role models and building a sense of community can help do that.
Candidates were asked to develop a presentation describing their background as it applies to advising and supporting the LGBTQ student community, according to a sheet given to the audience. The presentations needed to articulate the developmental needs of the community and discuss a plan to develop a year-long leadership program, per the sheet. Participants were asked to assess and rate the candidate in terms of strengths and concerns.
Shaner, a transgender woman, was the president of the undergraduate Gay Straight Alliance at Penn State Brandywine and an admissions officer at Strayer University. She has also worked in student financial services.
Based on her previous experiences, she pointed to the need for LGBTQ inclusion in the classroom and across disciplines. She also said resources needed to be available for students that may be marginalized.
An inclusive admissions policy and access to financial resources are a facet of LGBTQ inclusion, she said.
"Not a lot of students within our community are aware of scholarship opportunities, financial aid opportunities … those are huge," she said. "So I think those will be massively helpful."
Shaner used the ADDIE model to outline her plan for a leadership program. ADDIE stands for assess, develop and design, implement and evaluating. Shaner said she's seen success using the model with LGBTQ community members before.
This model at SU, Shaner said, would include the following: Identifying challenges in the campus climate
Expanding programs already offered, such as developing an LGBT Resource Center-specific social media presence
Launching an LGBT Resource Center app
Fostering a sense of familial ties among the LGBTQ community on campus
Increasing peer mentorship
Using available resources to create active connections
This process involves constant self-evaluation, she added, and being ahead of the curve compared to the national climate.
"Our campus policies really should not wait for national policy," she said.
The LGBT Resource Center, located at 750 Ostrom Ave., aims to serve people with marginalized genders and sexualities by offering support, building community and educating community members. Part of its mission is to create a safer campus that promotes the understanding and empowerment of people with these marginalized identities.
khristian kemp-delisser was appointed as the center's permanent director in February. They started at SU on April 2.
In a Monday email, kemp-delisser said a strong pool of applicants was carefully screened before bringing the three candidates to SU.
The other two presentations will take place in Bird Library on Thursday and Friday, both from 11 a.m. to noon. Jorge Castillo will present on Thursday, and Carl Kalmick will present on Friday.
Click here to view original web page at dailyorange.com
C-Suite talks HR: Alim Dhanji, COO at The LGBT Foundation
Opinion: Why leadership development training has not been effective As a new financial year looms, Sonia McDonald CEO & Founder LeadershipHQ, makes two suggestions to enhance leadership development initiatives
Developing a high-performance workplace culture Michael Minns provides his insights into creating a high-performance culture where productivity, performance and people prosper
Equality in the workplace is about more than just hiring diversely and fulfilling inclusive quotas – it's a shift in mindset that needs to come from the very top.
We spoke to Alim Dhanji, chief operating officer at The LGBT Foundation – who revealed how being 'out' in an inclusive atmosphere helped his leadership skills.
So, what is The LGBT Foundation? According to Dhanji, it's a community which strives for global equality.
"By harnessing the power and potential of blockchain technology and other technological innovations, the Foundation will foster greater acceptance of the LGBT community, drive positive social change for the community's benefit, and protect vulnerable community members," added Dhanji.
"By tokenizing the Pink Dollar, the Foundation will empower the LGBT community to exert its considerable economic might, provide a safe and secure environment to access cryptocurrencies and other products and services, and enable members to verify and protect their identities as required."
We asked Dhanji how important he thinks diversity is in business at the moment, to which he replied "critical".
"Now, more than ever, diversity in all forms is imperative for businesses to nurture innovation, gain a competitive edge, create a progressive workplace culture to attract and retain the best and brightest," he continued.
"There have been many credible research studies concluding that diversity improves the bottom line. Businesses that don't embrace diversity will be left behind."
When employers go about implementing a supportive cultural structure in their organization, some can make the mistake of thinking that overcompensating in regards to LGBT employees is the answer. However, Dhanji is quick to point out that the real mission should be striving for 'equality' in all things.
"Equality doesn't have to mean disadvantaging one for the benefit of the other," he told us.
"Advancement of LGBT people requires having a workplace culture where everyone can be their whole-self with policies that aren't discriminatory or exclusionary on the basis of sexual orientation. Talented LGBT people have choices – they will want to work where they won't be held back for being themselves. By celebrating – not merely tolerating – diversity, a workplace will bring out the best from people particularly from those who have traditionally been marginalized.
"I joined TD as a vice president and was promoted to senior vice president. Being gay was never a factor in my promotion – as a concern nor as an advantage. However, being out publicly in a very inclusive culture enabled me to be a better leader. The tone was set from our CEO – I knew early on even as I joined TD through my final interview with Ed Clark (former CEO, TD) that being gay and out wouldn't come in the way of a career at TD. Tone (from the top), culture and inclusive policies make it fair for advancing everyone, not just certain groups."
Click here to view original web page at www.hcamag.com
How this girl escaped from a carjacker
How police line-ups jail the innocent
The thief ignored the girl's father banging on the window, so the 11-year-old took action herself. 1h ago
Iran left with limited options to respond to Trump decision
Winners and losers as Trump quits Iran deal 2h ago
The Grenfell couple transformed into a fairy tale 09 May 2018
Click here to view original web page at www.bbc.co.uk
Asda scraps £99 petrol station deposit charge after complaints
Asda has suspended a controversial £99 petrol pump deposit trial after an outcry from customers.
Those using pay-at-the-pump facilities at certain petrol stations were debited £99 on top of their fuel purchase.
Asda said the deposit was a holding charge to ensure customers had enough money to pay for their fuel.
But following the backlash, Asda said it would "suspend" the scheme pending review because "we always want to do the right thing for our customers".
One customer, Jade Louise, took to Facebook when she saw a £99 debit on her online bank after topping up at the weekend.
But the money never left her account, according to the supermarket and banks.
The trial was introduced at three petrol stations to assess if it would help cut down fraud and stop people inadvertently going into the red.
The deposit is intended to be cancelled as soon as the correct value is paid.
However, Asda said the scheme requires coordination between MasterCard and Visa and customers' banks. Some banks are not able to comply, the supermarket said.
In a statement, Asda said: "The intention of Visa and MasterCard in this trial was to ensure customers had sufficient funds in their account to pay for their fuel, and the £99 would be immediately released back to customers by their bank.
"Whilst we have received very few complaints about this process, until we can be given assurance that all banks are able to comply with the Visa and MasterCard rule change, we cannot continue to implement this change and risk harming our customers' trust in us." Change in the rules
Mastercard told the BBC that a change in industry rules last year meant that petrol stations with automated fuel pumps were required to pre-authorise a value equivalent to a full tank of fuel. Jade Louise says she won't be using pay-at-the-pump for a while. Previously, motorists had just £1 taken from their accounts as a pre-authorisation to confirm that their card was valid.
Ms Louise got a shock when she viewed her online statement after buying £5 worth of petrol at Asda in Dewsbury over the Bank Holiday weekend.
She used the pay-at-the-pump system which allows motorists to buy petrol without having to go into a kiosk.
"All I wanted to do was top up my almost full tank, because having two children, you never know when you'll need it," she told the BBC.
So when she saw the £99 pending transaction on her account, she took to Facebook to warn others of the charge.
"They should have notices on the petrol pumps making customers aware of this …. absolute joke!!!", she wrote.
She said she is happy Asda has stopped the trials "because they haven't thought carefully enough about what could go wrong and how it could negatively impact their customers".
"I won't be using pay at the pump fuel stations for the foreseeable future." One solution, she says, is: "Bring back manned stations and give people work."
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Manchester City v Brighton & Hove Albion
Yaya Toure has won three league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups in his time at Manchester City TEAM NEWS
Yaya Toure is expected to make his final appearance for Manchester City on Wednesday as his trophy-laden eight-year spell at the club nears an end.
Vincent Kompany remains a fitness doubt but full-back Benjamin Mendy might make his first start since September.
Brighton & Hove Albion could be unchanged from the team that beat Manchester United on Friday.
Manager Chris Hughton has no fresh injury concerns, with midfielder Steve Sidwell the only absentee. WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Yaya Toure: "Without doubt he was, and is, one of the most important players in the whole history of this club. We will try and play for him and win for him.
"Yaya is part of the club, not just because of the trophies he has won but because he transmitted to everyone the club can be bigger and greater.
"I wish him well. His desire is to stay playing and he can do a job in the Premier League for another club next season. He will decide what is best for him."
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton: "Huddersfield showed what you have to do to have any chance of getting anything [away to Manchester City].
"We've managed to get some good results against the top six at home and make games as close as possible – at Tottenham away and Chelsea away, for long periods we were very much in the game.
"This is our challenge and I want to be as good as we can in these [two remaining] games." LAWRO'S PREDICTION
Manchester City can still break the Premier League points and goals record for a season – and reach 100 points in total. So they have got plenty to play for and, because the pressure is off Brighton now, I don't think they will play with the kind of intensity that saw Huddersfield hold out for 90 minutes at the Etihad.
Prediction: 3-0 Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in our Predictor game .
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head Manchester City host Brighton & Hove Albion in a league fixture for the first time since a 2-1 win in the second tier in September 1988.
The Seagulls have never won a league match away to City, drawing twice and losing the other five games.
Brighton's two top-flight victories in this fixture both came at home: 4-1 in December 1979, and again in October 1981 (D2, L5).
Manchester City The champions only require two points from their final two matches to set a Premier League record tally for a single season, eclipsing the 95 earned by Chelsea in 2004-05.
City need two wins to become the first team to reach 100 points in an English top-flight campaign. The record – based on three points for a win – is held by Liverpool, who claimed the equivalent of 98 points across 42 games in 1978-79.
One more victory would equal the top-flight record of 31 in a season, set by Tottenham in 1960-61.
Pep Guardiola's side are two goals shy of breaking Chelsea's Premier League record of 103 in a single season.
Manchester City's club record for most goals scored in a top-flight season is 107, which they achieved in 1936-37.
Raheem Sterling has scored 49 goals in 191 Premier League appearances. He could become the 11th player to reach 50 goals before his 24th birthday.
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton's 1-0 home win over Manchester United at the weekend ended a six-match run without a victory.
They are striving to record three consecutive clean sheets in the top flight for the first time since January 1982.
However, the Seagulls have gone 11 Premier League away matches without a win since beating Swansea on 4 November (D4, L7).
Brighton have lost all four of their away games against the top-six clubs without scoring a goal.
They are the division's lowest scorers away from home, with just nine goals.
Chris Hughton's only win as a manager against Manchester City in seven attempts came when his then-Norwich side were 3-2 victors at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the 2012-13 season.
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Liverpool that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.
'I'm sad that I didn't have sex until I was 37'
The phrase "involuntary celibate" has taken on a new meaning since the Toronto terror attack last month. But celibacy itself is nothing new. "Joseph", who is 60 and a widower, did not have sex until his late 30s – and not through choice. Here he shares his story.
Sexual relationships and intimate relationships never developed for me and so I remained a virgin until my late 30s. I have no idea how unusual that is but I experienced a sense of shame, and I felt stigmatised.
I was a terribly shy and anxious person, but not isolated. I always had friends but I was never able to translate that into intimate relationships.
At school and sixth form I was surrounded by girls and women, but I never made the kind of move that is probably quite a normal one to make.
By the time I reached university, my pattern was set – not having relationships was what I expected. A lot of it was due to a lack of self-esteem and a deep sense that people would not find me attractive.
If you go through your late teens and early 20s without going out with people, you don't have the evidence that builds up and says: "Yes, people can like me because look: I've had that girlfriend and that girlfriend." That allows the sense that you are unattractive to persist and to be reinforced. I never spoke to my friends about it, and they didn't ask. I would have been quite defensive if they had, to be honest, because I was developing a sense of shame about it.
It may not be true that society judges people for not having sex. But I think when anything is perceived to be outside of normal then it's liable to be seen as deviant in some way.
I feel there's a cultural investment in "success" with women – if you think about popular songs and films, of coming-of-age movies, they will quite often be about early relationships and there's a cultural "thing" about becoming a man. If you think about the Frankie Valli song "Oh what a night" it's the sense that she took the boy and turned him into a man.
All of that promoted in me a sense of shame. Most of my friends had girlfriends. I watched from the sidelines while they were starting relationships and, later, getting married. That had a corrosive effect on my self-esteem, in a drip-drip way.
I was lonely and quite depressed – although I didn't recognise it then. That might have been about not having a sexual relationship, but it was also about a lack of intimacy.
I look back now and for about 15, probably 20 years, I really wasn't touched by a human being or held by anyone apart from immediate members of my family, like my mum, my dad and my sisters. Apart from that, any sort of physical, intimate contact was absent. So it's not just about sex.
If I saw somebody who I fancied, I didn't feel any excitement or pleasure – instead, my instant reaction was one of sadness and depression. I had a sense of hopelessness about it all. Find out more
Listen to Anna Foster's interview with Joseph on Thursday 10 May on BBC 5 Live from 10:00
You can listen here
I didn't have a fear of rejection – the idea of rejection was irrelevant because I was so certain that no-one would be reciprocating any attraction I felt.
It might have been a defence mechanism on my part, but I developed a deep feeling that it might be wrong to approach women and that it might be an imposition on them. I was certainly never going to be that guy who "used" women.
I felt women had the right to go about everyday life and enjoy a night out without having anyone approach them.
I often became friends with women I was attracted to. I'm sure many of them were completely unaware of my romantic feelings.
At the time I would have been certain that they didn't want me. From where I stand now looking back, I honestly don't know. I don't think I had the attractiveness of confidence.
A woman never asked me out – that would have been nice! Perhaps it was less acceptable to do so at the time.
I became clinically depressed in my mid-to-late-30s, so I saw my GP and I was prescribed antidepressants, and I also started having counselling. That's when things changed. First of all I gained a little bit of confidence in myself through the counselling. Secondly I think the antidepressants might have had an impact – I think they can act as a little bit of an anti-shyness pill.
Plus I'd grown up a bit.
I found myself asking somebody out, and that then turned into a brief relationship.
I remember being anxious and nervous on the first date. But I felt, "This is nice, I like this." So I asked her out again afterwards, she said yes, and things developed from there. Only a few weeks after that first date, we became physically intimate. You hear those cliches of teenage fumbling – well, I wasn't a teenager, so I found I knew what to do. I also found it was exciting and pleasurable. Some people say the first time isn't good, but it was good.
I didn't tell her I was a virgin, but had she asked me, I would have been open.
I met my wife about 18 months later, at work. I noticed her immediately. She was really pretty with lovely huge eyes – a dreamy look.
I didn't ask her out directly, but I asked a mutual friend if she was spoken for. She ended up acting as a bit of a matchmaker.
Our first date was on my 40th birthday and we married 18 months after that.
She was very special.
I was lucky when she fell for me, she gave me complete and unconditional love and that's rare. And I'm lucky to have had it.
When I spoke with her about my sexual history she was totally accepting and non-judgmental so it was fine. Our relationship was so strong emotionally and there was never an ounce of criticism in her – to be with her was simple. We were married for 17 years. Sadly she passed away nearly three years ago now, so that was traumatic. I always feel that I met her too late and lost her too early, but then again I'm not sure she would have found me attractive if she had met me when I was young.
I look back on my youth with a sense of regret. It's almost as though I am grieving for something that didn't take place. I feel there's a stack of fond memories that aren't available to me, or a set of experiences that I didn't have.
I don't know what it's like to be in love when you're young, I don't know what it's like to take those steps in the world with a member of the opposite sex, that experimental, fun time – and that leaves me with a sense of regret.
So the first thing I would say to anybody in that situation now is: "Do take it seriously."
And we should think about intervening if we notice it. How we do that, I'm at a loss to say because if someone had asked me about it, I would have denied the problem. But some people will be in a position to notice.
The thing is, people like me – like I was – aren't going to be on anyone's radar. We tend to worry about when young people do things perceived to be risky – drug-taking, knife crime, early sexuality and those kinds of things. So not doing something isn't something we tend to worry about.
But if you know somebody who's never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend, perhaps don't assume that's what they want. Try and be supportive – probably not by directly asking them, "Why don't you ever go out with anyone?" But by being encouraging and explaining that everybody has doubts when they first ask someone out.
It's OK to be nervous, but it's also OK to have the desire to want to be with someone. All of these feelings are part of humanity, and if you deny yourself that then you deny yourself part of a human experience.
One of the things that most worries me about the publicity around the Toronto attack [in which 10 people were killed by Alek Minassian who identified with the "incel" or "involuntary celibate" movement] is that people who are still looking for love may feel stigmatised and have a sense of shame.
It might perpetuate the idea that people who have yet to find love are socially awkward and in some way weird. I felt I was perfectly normal before I found my wife and I was perfectly normal after – I didn't change. There is nothing unusual about me.
There are plenty of people looking for love who are not hate-filled. It would be a shame if we conflated whatever drove the Toronto attacker with people looking for a human need.
There is no right or entitlement to being loved or finding love, but looking for love is still a valid wish in life. Not having love is not anybody's fault, it's just circumstances. You may also like
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When Burnley was Britain's theatre capital
A makeshift dressing room for touring Old Vic actors London has always been the undisputed heart of British theatre – except, that is, for two years in the 1940s, when the country's top drama, opera and ballet companies were based in Burnley.
It was with both pride and surprise that a programme for a show at Burnley's Victoria Theatre in January 1941 noted that the Lancashire town, built on mills and mines, had suddenly become "the most important creative centre in the English theatre".
Burnley had acquired its somewhat unlikely status when the illustrious performers and crew from London's Old Vic and Sadler's Wells relocated there to escape the Blitz.
The wartime evacuation of the Old Vic – which is celebrating its 200th birthday on 11 May – remains one of the most curious periods in the theatre's history.
As well as Friday's bicentenary, there's another anniversary – 10 May marks exactly 77 years since the historic Waterloo venue took a direct hit from a German bomb.
Like most London venues, the Old Vic had already shut by then, and the theatre's company had moved north, along with its sister ballet and opera companies from Sadler's Wells, whose home had been converted into a refuge centre. The thespians made their homes in Burnley, with its "dark throbbing factories" These grand companies made their makeshift base at Burnley's Victoria Theatre, to the delight of local audiences. From there, they also embarked on far-reaching tours to village halls and miners' institutes across the north of England and Wales.
The hub of this activity was an office in a "quaintly decayed slum building" (with an outside toilet) in the town centre, amid Burnley's "dark throbbing factories [and] black forbidding tabernacles", as Vic-Wells director Tyrone Guthrie put it.
But at least Burnley was out of the way of the German bombs, and any apprehension about the companies' temporary home was soon overcome by the warmth of the reception from the locals.
"By the third day, strangers were greeting me in the street, and asking me how I was getting on," the Old Vic's booking agent Charles Landstone wrote in his memoir, Off Stage.
The move was "hugely successful in every possible way", and the thespians enjoyed their stay in Burnley, according to Dr Christopher Fitz-Simon, who published Rise Above!, a collection of Guthrie's letters, earlier this year.
"It's a British thing that they keep smiling in spite of adversity, and the people of Burnley were very welcoming to these peculiar artists that turned up, and these artists were very happy to be out of London because of the bombing," he says.
The unexpected relocation gave the company a chance to take their work to parts of the country that hadn't experienced top-quality drama, opera and ballet for years. The Old Vic in London's Waterloo is 200 years old on Friday The programme for the opening show in Burnley in January 1941 read: "For too long London and the great metropolitan cities have owned altogether too much of the cultural life of the country.
"One of the most important and encouraging symptoms of the turmoil which we are now enduring is the dispersal of the treasures and art and culture throughout a wider area of the land, and a wider range of the people."
In the Burnley office, the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells staff organised up to four tours to be on the road at any one time – two drama, one opera and one ballet.
Sadler's Wells ballet – which later became the Royal Ballet – had recently had a narrow escape in Holland, where they were touring when the Nazis invaded.
Upon returning to England, they headed north with dancers including a 21-year-old Margot Fonteyn. However, when they performed in Burnley, Landstone said, "the idea of ballet was still so foreign and strange outside London, that the auditorium did not begin to fill until the second week".
Of the two Old Vic drama companies that went on the road, one was initially sent to south Wales while the other toured north-west England. Actor Lewis Casson driving the furniture van that transported scenery on tour The north-west cast included Shakespearean grandee Ernest Milton, Sonia Dresdel (who would become best known for the 1948 Oscar-nominated The Fallen Idol), Esme Church and Alec Clunes (father of Doc Martin star Martin).
In keeping with the wartime spirit, these stars had to make the best of the meagre resources and facilities, and there was little trace of showbusiness luxury or glamour, even by the standards of the day.
Shakespeare's King John, which Landstone noted was "the most important Shakespearean production of 1941", first faced an audience on an "improvised stage" at Lancaster Town Hall.
But "the audience at Lancaster were as enthusiastic as any London first night audience", he recalled.
Landstone also relayed how, after getting lost for several hours driving back to Burnley in the blackout, he was locked out of his digs and ended up sleeping in the office on a bed made of "a dozen Shakespearean costumes which happened to be lying about".
The King John tour ended in Harrogate, where the company, "much to its disgust", was asked to sleep in cabins in the town's swimming baths. Dame Sybil Thorndike was put up in miners' homes on tour Meanwhile, members of the Welsh tour, led by Dame Sybil Thorndike – the biggest name in the Old Vic ranks at that time – stayed with mining families, whom the actress described as "wonderfully hospitable".
The reaction of the audiences made an impression on the actress too.
"We've never played to such audiences," she wrote. "None of them move a muscle while we're playing, but at the end they go wild and lift the roof with their clapping. This is the theatre that we like best – getting right in amongst people."
The Welsh crowds would often respond by breaking into song at the end of the show.
Tyrone Guthrie recalled: "I shall never forget the moment when in a mining village not far from Swansea, a packed audience, about 1,000 strong, rose at the end of the performance and fairly lifted the roof off with a hymn – a magnificent, thrilling gesture of appreciation and thanks."
In the crowd in the Carmarthenshire village of Garnant was a 10-year-old evacuee named Patrick Dromgoole. He described the performance as "absolutely electrifying and terrifying", adding: "I knew then that I wanted to be a part of theatre."
He grew up to be a director, staging the premiere of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane in 1964. And he passed the theatre bug to his son Dominic, who was artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe from 2006-16. The Old Vic turned down a request from Vivien Leigh (pictured with husband Laurence Olivier) to join The Old Vic cast in Wales was meant to have included a 19-year-old Paul Scofield, who went on to become one of Britain's great classical actors.
He turned up for rehearsals, but developed mumps and never performed – although he did leave the mumps behind among several younger members of the company.
Assembling a cast and crew was a constant struggle. Guthrie wrote in 1942 that the opera company almost had to pack up when two "absolutely indispensible" singers were refused further military deferment.
And at one point, he complained that a wigmaker had been denied army leave and so was unable to travel to Burnley (instead, "the little women round all corners have been called up"), while Guthrie trained two girls from the Vic's theatre school as electricians.
But the Old Vic also turned some stars down. Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh, who was fresh from playing Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, took Guthrie a kitten after his cat was run over in Burnley – and tried to persuade him to let Leigh join the company.
Guthrie declined, saying her film star image meant the audience would be there for the wrong reasons, and besides, she wasn't a good enough stage actress. The Vic-Wells director Tyrone Guthrie kept the show on the road during the war But the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells didn't need her for their performances to be successful.
The company was crippled by debt when it moved north. When it returned to London in early 1943, as the threat of bombing receded and theatres in the capital reopened, its annual report said the years since 1940 had shown "continuous prosperity".
With the damage to the Old Vic's Waterloo home repaired, the venue reopened in 1950. Burnley's Victoria Theatre went into decline and was demolished five years after that.
Today, there is no professional theatre in the town. However, Burnley's contribution to the theatre landscape left its mark.
Although there had been talk of setting up a National Theatre for years before the war, Charles Landstone wrote that from its first Burnley season, "the Old Vic ceased to be merely metropolitan; its function as a national organisation began to take shape".
Under Olivier's guidance, the National Theatre Company was formed at the Old Vic in 1963, and moved to its present home on London's South Bank 13 years later.
London was once again the magnetic centre of the nation's theatre scene.
In recent years, the National Theatre has ramped up its tours around the country. But it's never been as truly national as when the Old Vic was based in Burnley.
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Why is there stigma around male baldness?
Actor James Nesbitt credited his hair transplant for boosting his acting career Scientists say a drug normally prescribed for osteoporosis could potentially lead to a new treatment for hair loss . But why is there stigma around male baldness? And why do men try to "cure" themselves of it anyway?
Whether it's actors Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham or business titans Jeff Bezos or Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, there is no shortage of men in the spotlight who are bald.
Forget wigs, hairpieces or other attempts to hide their baldness, all of them have shaved heads that draw attention to, rather than disguise, their sparse locks.
And it seems there may be good reason to embrace baldness rather than cover it up.
Some studies have indicated that men with shaved heads are perceived to be more masculine and dominant than their full-haired counterparts .
The video blogger Perry O'Bree, who started losing his hair at the age of 20 and recently took part in the BBC Newsbeat documentary Too Young to go Bald , says baldness is something we should "embrace and celebrate".
Yet for many male pattern baldness is a source of emotional distress.
Actor James Nesbitt said his hair loss had affected his confidence and career and credited his subsequent hair transplants with helping him to get better roles.
"It was something I struggled with. And that was probably the vanity in me," he said at the time.
So why does hair loss often hit men so hard?
David Fenton, of the British Association of Dermatologists, says representations of physical perfection in the media lead many men to seek self-esteem in their appearance.
"People create confidence and self-esteem from it, and when they lose even a little bit, if their character and confidence is based on that, they're going to have severe emotional and psychological impacts," he says.
But is the pain some men feel about balding new or has it always existed? Magic potions
Actors talking about hair loss affecting their confidence and ability to get parts sounds like a distinctly modern issue for our image-conscious times.
But men's concerns about balding appear to go back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
In the Bible, two bears mauled 42 boys after they mocked the prophet Elisha by calling him "Baldy" .
Baldness was also said to be an obsession of Julius Caesar, who reputedly tried all manner of things to get his hair back.
Elsewhere, supposed cures for hair loss abound in history.
The Vikings are said to have used a lotion of goose guano. The ancient Greek medic Hippocrates's "cure" involved pigeon droppings mixed with horseradish, cumin and nettles.
And a rather gruesome 5,000-year-old Egyptian recipe suggested blending the burned prickles of a hedgehog immersed in oil with honey, alabaster, red ochre and fingernail scrapings. What is male pattern baldness?
Also known as androgenic alopecia, it usually initially involves the loss of hair from the front and sides of the scalp and progresses towards the back of the head Also known as androgenic alopecia, it usually initially involves the loss of hair from the front and sides of the scalp and progresses towards the back of the head
It is most common in white men, happens less often in black men and later and more slowly in Asian men
It affects about 80% of white men who are 70 or older
It is caused by a combination of genes and the way the body responds to testosterone
Source: NHS/NICE But where does man's preoccupation with hair loss stem from?
"It depends on the society, but one of the important communications that hair gives – the style, the colour, the presentation – it's one of the most powerful means of communication," says Dr Fenton.
"When you lose hair, one of the immediate messages is that you're perhaps ageing. And usually this is something people don't want. It goes along with superficiality and appearance in society." Scientific breakthroughs
It wasn't until the 1980s that the first real breakthrough in the science of hair loss treatment took place, when scientists discovered the blood pressure drug minoxidil caused hair growth as a side-effect.
This led experts to look for ways to repurpose the drug to treat hair loss, eventually creating a lotion that could be applied to the scalp.
The next major treatment came when scientists found that some bald men given tablets aimed at preventing the prostate from enlarging started to re-grow their hair.
The drug, now sold as finasteride, blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone – a process that happens in people who are balding.
The two drugs are the most common treatments for male pattern baldness in the UK.
But neither is prescribed on the NHS. And they're expensive. They're also inconsistent, Dr Fenton says.
In some people, they don't work at all. In others, they slow down or stop hair loss. While in the lucky ones, there can be some hair re-growth.
But any benefit will eventually reverse once treatments are ended. Hair transplants involve moving hair from one part of the body to the area of baldness Hair transplants – used not only by James Nesbitt but also footballer Wayne Rooney – have become increasingly effective, to the point that they are often undetectable when done by a good surgeon.
They work by transferring hair from another part of the body to the balding area.
But they're also costly, ranging from £1,000 to £30,000 for the most comprehensive transplants.
And they are generally better suited to older men or those whose hair loss has stabilised.
One potential treatment showing promise is the injection of plasma-rich platelets into the scalp to stimulate hair growth. Though more studies on its effectiveness are needed, experts say.
But will science reach the point in our lifetimes where it will be able to "cure" baldness? Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is bald and admired for his brawn Dr Fenton believes it will be possible to reverse balding, at least to some extent, in most people eventually.
But because baldness is a normal physiological process, rather than a disease, such a treatment would need to be taken continuously to prevent its effects wearing off.
"You can't cure something that is a normal physiological happening," he says.
"You're fighting your genetic programming. And to do that you have to do it forever or until you don't care."
But is baldness something that even needs to be "cured"?
Dr Fenton says the shaved look adopted by Dwayne Johnson and others is an approach that would best suit a lot of men.
"It's a very convenient way of covering up that you're thinning in one area and not another," he says."That's one way that some people cope satisfactorily. And that may be enough for them."Perry O'Bree says attitudes to baldness have improved."The more you talk about it, the better it gets," he says."At first, it's a bit of a shock to the system. But once you discover that so many other people your age have gone through a similar thing, it's not so bad."It's part of a life-cycle." Follow Alex on Twitter .
Brexit: Warning of rising food bills and disruption to supplies
The UK imports roughly half its food – nearly a third of which originates from the EU Food bills could rise sharply if there is no free trade deal with the European Union after Brexit, peers have warned.
The Lords EU Environment Committee said it was "inconceivable" there would be no impact on EU produce, which makes up 30% of the UK's food imports.
While better-off customers could afford to buy more expensive home-grown goods, it said, those on lower incomes could be left with lower-quality imports.
Officials said the UK's aim was to ensure the "smooth flow" of goods.
Brexit-supporting MPs say leaving the EU could reduce food prices by removing unnecessary regulation on UK farmers and cutting tariffs on imports from the rest of the world.
But the cross-party committee said it was unclear whether the government's primary goal after Brexit was reducing food prices, or maintaining high animal welfare and food safety standards. Reality Check: The government's customs options
The future of farming after Brexit
Farm subsidies 'to help environment'
In the event of the UK leaving the EU in March 2019 without any deal, it said, the UK could face an average 22% tariff on food imports from the Continent.
"While this would not equate to a 22% increase in food prices for consumers, there can be no doubt that prices paid at the checkout would rise," it said.
"To counteract this, the government could cut tariffs on all food imports, EU and non-EU, but this would pose a serious risk of undermining UK food producers who could not compete on price."
The cabinet's Brexit sub-committee is expected to discuss issues relating to agriculture and food production on Thursday. Half the UK's food is imported, with 30% from the EU, 11% from countries with EU trade deals and the rest from other countries. Customs delays
The committee said there was a "striking" contrast between the government's apparent confidence over the risk of disruption to food supplies and the "vocal" concerns of industry and consumer bodies.
The UK has said it wants a comprehensive trade deal with the EU and a customs arrangement that continues to ensure "frictionless" trade. Few freight companies are aware of what will happen after Brexit, the industry suggests But the government has yet to decide which of two alternative options to the current customs union with the EU it prefers, amid divisions in cabinet.
The committee warned the UK's ports would be clogged up if EU goods were subject to the same border checks as other imported produce.
Yet, it said, allowing produce through with few checks would raise safety concerns.
Lord Teverson, the Lib Dem peer who chairs the committee, said food producers and customs officials must be given time to prepare for any changes and consumers reassured that supplies would continue as normal.
After Brexit, British farmers will continue to receive the same level of subsidies they currently get through the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. This will continue until 2022.
But the committee said it would not be possible to increase food production in time to meet any shortfall caused by Brexit. 'Paralysis'
It said any reductions in EU workers could lead to an increase in recruitment or higher wages for domestic workers but the costs may have to be passed on to customers or some businesses "may cease to be viable".
The Freight Transport Association said the "paralysis" at Dover and on the surrounding road network caused by the French ferry workers' strike in 2015 could be repeated if no customs solutions were found.
"The government understands this… so it must be why they are taking so long to make up their minds," said Pauline Bastidon, the organisation's head of European Policy.
Most companies had no idea what the impact of Brexit would be on their business, she said.
"It's surprising to see how little advanced companies are in terms of mapping their flows and looking at what their exposure is," said Ms Bastidon.
"Only a few are starting to fully realise the impact that Brexit will have on their business."
A government spokeswoman said the cost of food depended on range of factors, including commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices, and this would still apply after Brexit.
She added: "But we also want to ensure consumers have access to a wide range of food, which is why we are considering how we best manage border checks and controls when we leave the EU without impacting the smooth flow of trade."
18 LGBTI celebs in their 40s who are getting better with age
Starring Wentworth Miller, Matt Bomer and Laverne Cox!
Wentworth Miller | Photo: Prison Break Season 6 Laverne Cox – 45 (born 29 May 1972)
Photo: Instagram Matt Bomer – 40 (born 11 October 1977)
Photo: ITV Sue Perkins – 48 (born 22 September 1969)
Zachary Quinto – 40 (born 2 June 1977)
Alan Carr – 41 (born 14 June 1976)
Claire Balding – 47 (born 29 January 1971)
Chaz Bono – 49 (born 4 March 1969)
Angelina Jolie – 42 (born 4 June 1975)
Gok Wan – 43 (born 9 September 1974)
Pandora Boxx – 46 (born 2 May 1972)
Latrice Royale – 46 (born 12 February 1972)
Sarah Paulson – 46 (born 17 December 1974)
Wentworth Miller – 45 (born 2 June 1972)
Ricky Martin – 46 (born 24 December 1971)
Neil Patrick Harris – 44 (born 15 June 1973)
Gillian Anderson – 49 (born9 August 1968)
Portia de Rossi – 45 (born 31 January 1973)
Andy Cohen – 49 (born 2 June 1968)
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In order to feed the growing world population, substantial growth in food production is required. However, more is needed than just increasing production: consumption patterns, the quality of food and the impact of food production on the environment are also important for a sustainable food supply. The food system approach provides an analytical framework for this broader view on food security policy.
The food system approach is receiving increasing attention in policy circles: FAO and IFPRI have published leading reports on this subject and in the Netherlands, too, this approach has recently received a great deal of attention. During the forthcoming SDG Conference, Wageningen Economic Research will facilitate a session on this food safety approach, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. This session explores the practical implications of this food system approach and for Dutch food security policy.
A food system approach is a useful interdisciplinary conceptual framework for research and policy, aimed at sustainable solutions for sufficient supply of healthy food. This approach analyses the relationships between food system activities (production and consumption) and the results of those activities in the areas of food security, health, society and the environment. Such a system analysis can be of great benefit to policymakers, NGOs and agricultural organisations. For example, it provides insight into the role of the socio-economic context of the food system and shows where more efficient use of natural resources can be made. It also provides insight into feedback mechanisms in the system and possible trade-offs between intervention strategies.
The workshop will look at the added value of the food system approach in practice, based on existing cases. Together with the participants, opportunities will be identified to further translate the concept of the food system into usable principles for food security policy. Representatives of the Ministry of LNV and Foreign Affairs will reflect on the contribution that the food system approach can make to the achievement of policy objectives and the follow-up steps required to apply this approach in policy.
This workshop is a joint initiative of Ruerd Ruben and Just Dengerink (WUR), Nicole Metz and Rojan Bolling (Food & Business Knowledge Platform), Geert Westenbrink (Ministry of LNV). Practical cases are provided by Nout van der Vaart (Hivos), Francesco Rampa (ECDPM), Floortje Jacobs (PPPLab/SNV), Ted Schrader and Judith Jacobs (WCDI). More background information can be found in the report 'The food systems approach: sustainable solutions for a sufficient supply of healthy food'.


We have made for you a special website where you can learn www.impikoko.wrts.nl Dutch/English (preliminary level and above). We have made a special site with sentences and not just single words.
You can listen to the pronunciation too.
It is a special program where you can test your knowledge of Dutch/English vocabulary. If you have your own account than you can download (overnemen) our lists.
We have also a list with Dutch verbs and their fixed prepositions, with explanation in English. That list will be sent free of charge on request. Kind regards, Ruud (nl) and Andrew (uk) ijszee(at)seniorennet.zzn.com for info. Used books: Wordskill, Wordwise and Wordcraft.


Our yellow Judith dress is back by popular demand! This style & collar is so flattering on all figures. It features a stand up collar, button down to the hips, a self tie wrap belt that goes from front to back, a subtle pleated skirt with side pockets, 3/4 turned up split cuff sleeves & a back pleat to the waist. The fabric with a hint of spandex creates a beautiful fit & flare shape. Can be worn from the office to a wedding.


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Lloyds Bank launches global gateway to international trade
UK businesses can get practical support and guidance to help them access new markets overseas thanks to a new initiative from Lloyds Bank.
Lloyds Bank has launched a new International Trade Portal, which will help transform global trade for customers, allowing them to identify the international opportunities that have the most potential for their product or service. It will also allow businesses to focus their efforts and identify prospects to grow overseas and the potential pitfalls they may face.
The interactive online tool will allow businesses to:
• search for suppliers and buyers to work with as trading partners • view information on trading requirements and conditions for specific markets • look for real-time public or private tender opportunities around the globe • access market reports, trade shows and events for their chosen sectors and countries • view sanction checks on potential trade partners • use an import and export calculator to optimise shipping costs • view live foreign exchange rates
Andrew Bester, Group Director and CEO of Commercial Banking, said: "More of our businesses are trading internationally than ever before, or looking to do so for the first time, and they are telling us they want practical support and guidance from their bank to help them explore new markets and opportunities overseas.
"This is where our International Trade Portal can make a real difference. Our global gateway to international trade provides a unique and comprehensive guide for our business customers of all sizes, helping them to seize international opportunities and grow their business."
Jo Harris, Managing Director, Retail Business Banking, said: "Our smallest business customers stand to gain the most from the opportunity to trade internationally.
"Small business owners often struggle to find time to invest into generating new business, which is why tools such as this are so important. The new portal will put a world of new opportunities at their fingertips.
"We hope this tool alongside our work with the Department for International Trade, will help more British businesses to prosper globally." The portal will act as a powerful insight tool to help deliver the Group's commitment to support 5,000 businesses to export for the first time in 2016. The Bank is also working with the Department for International Trade on a range of initiatives to encourage British businesses to export or import. Bester added: "There are many opportunities for British exporters to prosper globally. Our teams of locally-based relationship managers combined with our new International Trade Portal can provide the kind of insight, support and introductions that can be invaluable to firms setting out on their export journey. "We were the first British bank to form a strategic partnership with the Department for International Trade to provide advice and intelligence to our customers, and, through our Helping Britain Prosper Plan, have committed to help 25,000 new exporters by 2020." For more information about the Lloyds Bank International Trade Portal visit www.lloydsbanktrade.com.
The Portal will also be linked to the Department of International Trade's new GREAT.gov.uk digital platform which helps UK businesses break onto overseas markets, and take advantage of the global appetite for UK goods and services.
By registering, businesses will become part of a brand new searchable directory of UK exporters which government will use to match their products and services with worldwide demand.
Lloyds launches international trade portal

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Hot Topic: Portraits of 20th Century Feminists
Title: Hot Topic: Portraits of 20th Century Feminists
Author: Misty Ericson
Publisher: Maison Kasini Canada
Theme: Quebec and Canadian art
Hot Topic is a song from the feminist electroclash trio Le Tigre. It was released in 1999 by Mr. Lady Records on Le Tigre's self-titled debut album. Le Tigre at the time consisted of Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and Sadie Benning. Benning was later replaced by JD Samson. The lyrics include the names of fifty-seven feminist icons.
Between 2006 and 2008, Montreal-based artist Kirsten McCrea painted a portrait of every single person named in the Le Tigre song plus the band members. The collection of sixty paintings makes up the "Hot Topic" series which was on view at Galerie Maison Kasini August 3 to September 10th, 2011.
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I am currently reading Liz Greene's seminar entitled "The Astrologer, the Counsellor and the Priest" and, as Saturn stations to go direct in the early degrees of Capricorn, I feel very introspective and naturally reviewing my connection with astrology.
In this seminar, Liz Greene is presenting a few different archetypes and mythic themes that might be unconsciously played out by the astrologer (as well as the client), for example the solar deity Apollo and the idea of expanding consciousness and promoting individuality, or Chiron, the wounded healer, that needs to share his wounds with others so he doesn't feel so alone.
I am simplifying things here for obvious reasons and I couldn't recommend this book enough for the ones that consider themselves, or aspire to become, professional astrologers.
As much as I would like to support as many different views and ideas as possible, or at least respect every person's ideas and views, I struggle a bit when it comes to astrology.
I have a funny feeling when I read things like an astrological configuration of some kind has helped something to happen. Or that the moon moving into a new constellations should make you feel in a certain way. Or a planet moving forward again might cause specific symptoms in your life.
For some reason this kind of immediate interpretation unsettles me.
I somehow feel like I have left a phase of infatuation with astrology behind. I don't necessarily want to talk about it all the time with just anyone like I used to in the beginning of my studies.
I am still an enthusiastic of the complex intricacies of what astrology reflects, but for some reason I now find tiring to preach about it to the general public.
Interestingly, this seems to be synchronistically reflected by Saturn moving forward again and harmoniously activating my Mercury. I feel that my view of astrology is somehow becoming a bit more sober. I don't think that astrology can change the world, and I don't desperately ask people's star signs or time of birth anymore. Neither I try defining Astrology as a science when a skeptical crosses my path.
I am somehow accepting the mysteries more willingly, and looking within before rushing into revealing the secrets of another's soul in what perhaps could potentially be an unconscious attempt to validate myself and choice of interest.
Have you ever thought about what made you choose to pursue your career path? Have you also gone through a process of change in how you relate with the subject that you dedicate yourself to? Im sure the answer is yes.
Any astrologers out there that would like to share their perspective on it?
I have presented a talk about the shadow in the horoscope on the 21 of December. The theme was chosen in relation to the season, it just made sense to talk about the shadow on the darkest day of the year.
When I was back at home I did my own private Yule ritual to honor and welcome the Sun's rebirth.
And that's when I fully realised that for the past month, whilst preparing my presentation (this time I had a projector available to use), I was doing intense shadow work myself.
The last month has been one of the quietest, with no other occasional work to do, and I felt thrown back at myself.
A lot of anxious feelings and many of my insecurities came out to stare me in the face.
It was interesting to be going through yet another layer in this process, which, even though very challenging, seems to be strongly offering me an opportunity to grow and find my sense of self and solidity within rather than without.
With Saturn moving into Capricorn in the winter solstice as well, I also had the realisation that my ambitions were somehow being tested and needing reassessment.
My natal Sun is in the 10th house and vocation does seem to be the arena where my light shines the brightest, but it must come from the heart, not from an ego seeking validation!
My spiritual values and integrity have also been challenged throughout this shadow work period. The choices that I have been making so far, based in what I believe rather than "social ideas of success", versus the incredibly intense insecurity and fear of being "wiped out" and not surviving in this world.
The whole thing got me thinking about community living once more and with a strong urge to move closer to nature again.
Liz Greene said in one of her Pluto webinars that when you are going through a Pluto transit, all of the profound changes that you experience individually are part of your role in the collective changes that Pluto's cycles are actually reflecting.
Our personal drama gives us the guts and impulses that later on will compound the social transformation.
We are talking about survival here.
And with Pluto in Capricorn (and Saturn as well) I really feel that our survival depends on changing many of the basic values that our society is built upon, and that Donald Trump seems to be the personification of it, in a rather exaggerated form.
I am talking about patriarchy here.
The lack of connection and devaluation of the feminine (objectification of women, lack of connection and caring for the environment, profit coming before wellbeing, etc) and a distorted manifestation of masculinity, if not changed, will destroy us.
All of these rather important questions are the foundation of my need for reassessing ambitions.
How do I want to develop my astrology business in this world? What kind of contribution can I truly make without changing my life style? How can I put my skills into service without feeding the patriarchal structures in our society?


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How ASOS is encouraging customers to talk their way to more stylish looks
/ May 2019 / Search, Retail, Success Stories
With 87,000 products available to customers at any one time, making search and discovery as easy and convenient as possible is a key target for leading online retailer ASOS. To help it solve this challenge, it's turning to the latest technologies to help customers discover new products with minimal effort – such as its shopping guide, Enki, which launched on Google Assistant late last year.
"Search has always been a really important part of the ASOS customer experience," explains Jason Gregory, ASOS senior product manager. "Thanks to advancements in natural language processing and visual AI, how customers search is evolving – and we're looking to use those technologies to make experiences that are more intuitive and natural, so connecting a customer to a relevant product becomes as easy and accurate as possible."
"Our 20-something customers are among the early adopters of voice interactions, and so customer expectation is already high."
– Jason Gregory, Senior Product Manager at ASOS
ASOS has been exploring conversational interfaces since early 2017 – but it's only since October 2018 that customers have been able to say "Hey Google, talk to ASOS" to talk their way through a variety of looks.
"We introduce 5,000 new products a week on average, so we launched Enki on Google Assistant to help customers stay on top of these new drops using just their voice," says Gregory. "Our 20-something customers are among the early adopters of voice interactions, and so customer expectation is already high. We had lots of support from Google in the run up to launch and having their advice on best practice for Google Assistant has been really useful."
For other brands looking to explore the same space, Gregory's advice is to start by really understanding the understanding the consumer needs being addressed, then to build small, testable prototypes. "What we've learned so far is that when people use their voices to search, the way they structure queries is quite different. We're almost innately trained to search for things in keywords, but with voice and messaging interfaces it's very different – we tend to engage with them like we do with friends. That's something we expected to see, but maybe not as instantly as we have. It's important to ensure that you're able to iterate quickly based on customer feedback – we like to co-create with our customers when we're experimenting with new products so we're always building the right thing in the right way."
Ultimately, Gregory explains, every form of Search – whether it's voice-powered, visual (as seen in ASOS's Style Match technology, which allows customers to search using photos), or tapping a query into Chrome – is about the same thing: helping the customer.
"Searching using images through Style Match offers a more frictionless experience – the customer doesn't need to think about how to describe what they are seeing, and instead we can connect them straight to products that are visually similar. With Enki, on the other hand, we can understand more of the context behind why they're searching for something," he says. "Both experiences are ultimately focused on showing customers products quickly and accurately – therefore making it more likely they'll be able to find a product that they'll love."
Skyscanner drives revenue with 6x increase in yield over standard display
How a mobile-first homepage boosted conversions for CarFinance 247 by 31%
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Porec One-Bedroom Apartment 2 offers accommodation in Poreč 3 km from Poreč Main Square and 3 km from The Euphrasian Basilica. Guests staying at this apartment have access to free WiFi and a fully equipped kitchen. The apartment comes with a TV and 1 bedroom. Aquacolors Water Park Poreč is 6 km from the apartment. The nearest airport is Pula Airport 46 km from Porec One-Bedroom Apartment 2.


The Computex Taipei 2015, the CIT's Mecca for IT firms proved to be a great hit this year. It is famed to be the biggest event in Asia where ideas turn into reality, and innovation is at its expressive best. Several IT players converged at the event to flaunt their latest designed gadgets and gizmos.
The year 2015 was marked by wacky and pioneering exhibits of phone-controlled devices and wearable timepieces. These smart devices attend to the human need in various manners and cater to the requirements of fitness/health, young adults, enterprises, senior care and even help keeping track of children.
Given the high footfall, the occasion (event) was a success and attracted nearly 38,550 international buyers from 165 countries.


Datomia is an adaptive data fabric that distributes and secures data and media content in an atomized, enterprise hybrid data fabric. While current marketplace offerings typically focus on one or two areas of delivery, Datomia uniquely provides four key pillars of data/content management: savings, speed, security and reliability.
Datomia provides 10 times performance increase, massive scale and reliability by dispersing data to a variety of public and private clouds, and by arranging concurrent data transfer. Datomia is scalable, fault-tolerant and highly available. With our proprietary algorithms, there is no single point of failure.
Datomia is both a file system and object storage system in one place. Datomia stores data objects, such as files, images, videos and database records, by creating encoded Data Atoms (TM) with information DNA and geographically dispersing them in many private and public data centers.
There is no vendor lock-in or cloud storage lock-in. The client has the full power to decide which vendor they want to work with, and can even change vendors on the fly. There is full control over data and content, which is managed with an easy-to-use control center for all key stakeholders.
Datomia combines maximum security and scalability with geographical and vendor flexibility.
We look forward to talking with you about your specific needs and showcasing our unique marketplace advantages with our real-time demo.


The emergency service speed zone will help protect frontline workers and volunteers from the CFS, MFS, SES, Police and SA Ambulance while they carry out vital emergency work.
Volunteers and emergency services staff are often called on to provide life saving assistance at roadsides, or it may be that a police officer has pulled over to question a driver.
By slowing down, we can all help them to safely get on with their job.
Read more about road rules and road rules amendments.


Discussion in 'Business, Goods and Services' started by SSS - Seagrove, Oct 23, 2015.
Southern Self Storage-Seagrove is the only climate control self-storage facility on 30-A. Located at 4927 E. County Highway 30-A in Seagrove, just minutes from Watercolor, Seaside, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach. We offer ultra clean indoor climate controlled units ranging in sizes from 5'x5' to 10'x30'. We are a three-story storage facility with two industrial sized elevators, security cameras and personal entry code. Moving carts are available for your use while moving your items in and out of the building. Boxes and a wide variety of packing supplies are available in our leasing office. Office hours are Monday - Friday 9:00 - 5:00 and Saturday 9:00 - 3:00. We invite you to call, 850-534-4260, or stop in for a visit. We look forward to meeting your storage needs!


Add a little spice to your cheese sauce. Sometimes, a hint of mustard can take a dish from boring to exciting. This easy cheese sauce recipe includes a little dry mustard and garlic powder for flavor. Use it as a sauce for vegetables or as a casserole sauce. Put some zing into your cheesy food.
For a richer sauce, use half-and-half or light cream.
When the butter begins to foam, stir in flour; cook and stir for about 1 minute.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened.
Add cheese, dry mustard, and garlic powder.
Continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted.


A benediction that was given to me a long ago from a beautiful, elegant black female co-worker of mine at my first job post college.
She said overseas I would be showered with more male attention that I'd ever know what to do with and that if I stayed enough, I'd be married.
My lovely friend is a jazz singer when she wasn't working in the states as an office manager.
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Q: Do atoms emit and absorb photons at the same wavelengths? I know that atoms absorb photons, which promotes electrons to higher energy levels. Then upon de-excitation a photon is released. Is it true that the lines for absorption and emission spectrums are the same i.e. the same wavelengths are both absorbed and emitted?
I believe this is true, but then how does this explain fluorescent minerals? You shine a UV light on them of some wavelength, then they will emit a characteristic color, such as red, which is not the same wavelength as the UV light. How does this work?

A: For every specific transition up where a photon of a given wavelength is absorbed there is a corresponding transition down where a photon of the same wavelength is emitted. However, there is not a "memory" that ensures that the same transitions are followed one direction or the other.
For example, in the hydrogen spectrum we see the following possible transitions:

So, for example, a hydrogen atom in the ground state could absorb a 97 nm photon and then relax back to the ground state by emitting a 97 nm photon. Or it could relax back to the ground state by emitting a 486 nm photon and then a 122 nm photon. Fluorescence is similar to that, but it also usually involves one or more non-radiative transitions.

A: I wanted to add that the absorption spectrum and the emission spectrum of an atom can be closely related, but are not the same.
When an atom absorbs a photon, it raises one of its electrons to a higher energy level (excited state). Eventually, the electron will drop back down to its lower or original energy level, releasing a photon of light in the process. The energy of this photon will determine its wavelength, and the resulting light is what is seen as the emission spectrum of the atom.
In regards to fluorescence, some materials have the ability to absorb a photon of light at a specific wavelength. Instead of immediately releasing that energy as a photon, it instead traps the energy temporarily in a form of excited state. Eventually, the energy is released as a photon of light, often at a longer wavelength than the one that was absorbed. This is why fluorescent minerals emit light that appears to be a different color than the light that was shone on them. It is known as Fluorescence spectra.

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Swap Fire: Season 2
Swap Fire: Season 2 Nearly at Kickstarter Goal
Jeffrey Harris nintendo switch, Swap Fire, Swap Fire: Season 2 0
The Kickstarter campaign for the multiplayer first-person shooter, Swap Fire: Season 2, for Nintendo Switch is well under way. Currently, the campaign is very nearly at its current goal of $5,000 to get the game on Nintendo Switch, and it's raised $3,275. So far, the campaign just has 43 hours to go.


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Today's Legg Mason is a diversified group of global asset management firms ("affiliates") who are recognized for their proven investment expertise and long-term performance. The principal investment affiliates of Legg Mason are among the industry leaders in their respective areas of specialization, with unique investment approaches that have been developed over decades. The distinctive Legg Mason "multi-affiliate" business model provides clients with a broad spectrum of Equity, Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives solutions, from mutual funds to college savings plans to variable annuities to separately managed accounts.
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Super-Jam is an interactive dance application that lets users upload their photo to personalize the experience. Users choose a character and control the dance moves, and can share the finished product.
Produced by Milky Elephant, and originally created for Wildbrain entertainment, Super-Jam was a finalist at the Flash Forward conference in 2001.


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Home » Previewing BC Basketball: What to Expect From Florida State
Previewing BC Basketball: What to Expect From Florida State
by Brian Hommel
January 26, 2016 Updated May 30, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Boston College men's basketball (7-12, 0-6 Atlantic Coast) faces off against conference foe Florida State (12-7, 2-5) at Conte Forum on Tuesday night. With both teams dwelling near the bottom of the ACC and trying to end their respective losing streaks, expect a hard-fought game from the Eagles and Seminoles as they look to get off the snide and beat up on each other in a conference where wins are very hard to come by.
BC is coming off of a six-game losing streak and is looking to pick up its first conference win of the season. With a roster composed of eight freshmen, head coach Jim Christian's team has the deck stacked against it when playing in the ACC, a conference that contains perennial powerhouses like North Carolina and Virginia. Those are teams that never seem to have to rebuild, only reload.
That is what makes this game important—it presents the Eagles with a unique opportunity to flex their young muscles in the toughest conference in all of college basketball. Paired with the lack of predictability in the ACC this year—after all, Duke is no longer in the Top 25—perhaps this can be the game that helps BC find the answers to their conference woes.
FSU, on the other hand, is trying to get back into the middle of the pack of the ACC with another conference win. Coming off of losses to Pitt and Louisville, expect Florida State to regroup and look to its young scorers to keep it competitive, while its experienced players work the Eagles physically. In a year that is about development for the Eagles, FSU will look to capitalize.
Last time they played: These two teams last met on Feb. 18, 2015, when FSU came out on top 69-60 in Tallahassee, Fla. Last season, BC used its experience to make the game interesting, leading after the first half, 32-27. With Olivier Hanlan and his 32 points at the helm, BC put up a strong fight, but with the rest of the team shooting 39 percent from the field, the game was an uphill battle. But with a second-half surge that featured FSU shooting 83 percent from the 3-point line toward the end of the game, and BC entering a shooting funk, the win simply slipped out of reach for the Eagles as FSU extended its lead to 11—the largest it had been for the night—with a mere 22 seconds left on the clock.
Three Keys to the Game:
Home Court: The Eagles have played better at home than on the road this season. Especially when compared to their winless 0-4 record on the road, their 6-5 record at Conte Forum indicates that the Eagles like playing in Chestnut Hill. Perhaps the Eagles can conjure up some home court magic to get the job done against a good Seminole squad that has played some very good basketball as of late, including a win over UVA and close loss to Pitt, but is only 2-4 on the road this season.
Eli Carter: Can the veteran transfer student help lead these young Eagles to victory? This season could be a stepping stone for Christian's team toward developing and becoming a competitive ACC team. Carter should use his knowledge and skill set to both teach and show the younger guys on the roster about how they should play. The New Jersey native has been streaky lately, with his best recent performance coming against Pitt a week ago in a loss that featured a .545 shooting percentage from the field and a .455 mark from the 3-point line, ultimately resulting in 31 points for Carter. He has cooled down some since then, and in games against Syracuse and Notre Dame, he managed only 13 points in each. Carter is still the Eagles' leading scorer, and they will need him to play well if they hope to beat a balanced FSU team.
Defense: The BC defense will have to play well Tuesday if it hopes to win. While the offense will certainly need to score for the game to stay competitive, the Eagle defense cannot give up too many offensive rebounds or second-chance scoring opportunities to the Seminoles, especially given the height and skill of their freshman guards, Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon, and center Boris Bojanovsky, at 7-foot-3. Should the Eagles' defense prevail in these matchups, they will have a real chance to keep the score low and, more importantly, a win within reach.
Featured Image by Mark Wallheiser / AP Photo
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Terra Forming Terra: Quit eating bacon, ham and pork?
I am no fan of our industrial approach to animal husbandry and this item lays out just how truly inhumane it all happens to be. Animal slaughter does need to be isolated as a standard matter of practice and it is not. As a result, as noted, the quality of the meat suffers and yes, obviously the animals suffer unnecessarily and that is what is wrong.
Another huge loss is to agriculture itself. All our animals actively interact with the available land base and this is hugely beneficial. Sustainability means integrating the animals. We really do need goat herds, cattle herds and swine herds as well. These all need to be properly guided in order to maximize efficiency. Yet we are doing just this.
We have not achieved fence-less fields as yet, but the advent of mind to mind management should solve just that as well as protecting from predators. This is how we did things in the Garden of Eden and will again in a restored Heaven on Earth.
(Natural News) Start double-thinking that pulled pork barbecue sandwich, that BLT, and that slow-cooked ham. There are several reasons vegetarians and vegans don't eat slaughtered animals, but one of those driving forces for many herbivores is the fact that animals have parents, eyes, feelings, emotions, and yes, intelligence. In fact, pigs are smarter than your pet dog and your pet cat, and outperform them on cognitive ability tests, coming close to the intelligence of even dolphins and chimpanzees.
Just because pigs wallow around in mud, doesn't mean they're dumb or "dirty" animals. They do that to stay cool because they don't have sweat glands. To the contrary of popular belief, pigs may just be the cleanest domestic animals alive, even more so than cats. As far as being intelligent, back in the 1990s, pigs were literally trained to use their snouts to manipulate a cursor on a video screen to distinguish between known scribbles and new ones. Plus, they performed this task just as fast as chimpanzees. Pigs have been known to outperform three-year-old children on cognition tests. Pigs are also more trainable than dogs.
When pigs are jacked up with artificial hormones and toxic GMO animal feed (mutated Franken-soy and corn), their bodies and minds are poisoned, weakened, and their meat is toxic. All those chemicals rush through their blood and into their tissues when they see and hear their fellow beings being tortured and slaughtered all around them. There's no way to cook out these carcinogens, no matter how long you fry that bacon or spin that hog on the rotisserie. In fact, overcooking meat adds to the toxicity, as well as when meat processing plants add cancer-causing and migraine headache causing nitrates, nitrites and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Most confined animal feeding operations in the United States are so filthy, nasty, and inhumane, that even if the most avid carnivores visited them, they may never eat meat again. Thanks to an almost week-long massive storm, enormous lagoons are now filled with infected, bacteria-laden pig manure (and rotting animal corpses), and are overflowing into nearby watersheds.
Welcome to the United States of America, where the spread of food-borne illnesses run rampant, affecting millions of consumers every year. Nearly every factory farm in this country fuels the fast food industry, the restaurant chains, and the corporate-owned-and-run grocery stores and supermarkets. Excessive consumption of factory farm meat and dairy fuels pandemic-style diseases and disorders that barely existed in this country a century ago, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, respiratory diseases, and infections bred and fed by parasites and pathogens.
Humans who work in CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) commonly suffer from respiratory diseases and outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella poisoning. That's why most conventional meat gets treated with bleach and ammonia at processing plants, before artificial flavors and fake coloring are added back in.
Those figures are most likely low-balled. Animals that are trapped in crammed-up quarters, caked with their own feces, and suffering from digestive disorders and parasitic infections never heal. Animal waste is the main source of the spreading of Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Plus, most CAFO animals (and their babies and chicken eggs) are exposed to pesticides regularly, adding to the tainted meat.
Got polyps or colon cancer? Got irritable bowels? Suffering from dementia? How much meat do you eat? Some Americans don't even consider it a meal if there's no meat on their plate. From chicken biscuits to bacon-cheeseburgers, the diseases are spread from the filthy, diseased CAFOs right to the human gut.
So, if you just "gotta" have that meat, stick with grass-fed beef, wild caught fish, and please, don't support the CAFO madness of America, because that's just flirting with disaster while saying yes to animal abuse. Think about your pet dog or cat next time you're waiting in line at that Mickey Dee's drive through. This has been a public service message from Natural News.
Learn more about the food you eat at Food.news.


Bold bright patterns and colors were her trademark, and permeate the design world.
Her signature "Palm Beach Style" can be captured in tropical prints great for reupholstering a headboard.
Another way to get a bright and cheerful room, use lots of white paint then layer with colorful accessories and artwork.
And the outdoor patio is must! Patterned pillows with a fire pit and grass… it doesn't get more Palm Beach than this.


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Q: Is Integral is considered defined even when one method gives defined results and other undefined results something that I found confusing me.
Lets see for example the follow integral:
$$\int_{A}^{B}e^{t\cdot x} \cdot dx=\left[\frac{e^{t\cdot x}}{t}\right]_{A}^B=\frac{e^{t\cdot B}-e^{t\cdot A}}{t}$$
From this results we may conclude that for $t=0$ , the integral is undefined:
$$\frac{e^{t\cdot B}-e^{t\cdot A}}{t}=\frac{1-1}{0}=\frac{0}{0}$$
but from the other hand, if we evaluate the integral again for this case of $t=0$, then we get a defined results:
$$\int_{A}^{B}e^{t\cdot x} \cdot dx=\int_{A}^{B}e^{0\cdot x} \cdot dx=\int_{A}^{B}1\cdot dx=B-A$$
So is this integral is defined for $t=0$ or not?

A: In the $\frac{0}{0}$ case, we can apply L'Hôpital's rule to obtain
$$lim_{t\to 0}\frac{e^{tB}-e^{tA}}{t}=lim_{t\to 0}\frac{Be^{tB}-Ae^{tA}}{1}=B-A$$
so the two results agree. If we integral a continuous function of two variables with respect to one variable, the result should be  a continuous function of the other.
In general, if $F(t)=\int_a^b f(t,x)dx$, we would define, for fixed $t_0$, $F(t_0)=\int_a^b f(t_0,x)dx$ rather than evaluating for general $t$ and then setting $t=t_0$. But assuming $f$ is sufficiently nice, them the two will agree so long as we take limits

A: You are using the formula $\int e^{tx}\, dx = \frac{e^{tx}}{t} + C$, but this rule is not valid when $t=0$.  You should actually use
$$\int e^{tx}\, dx = \begin{cases}
 \frac{e^{tx}}{t} + C  &\text{ if } t \neq 0 \\
x + C &\text{ if } t = 0.\\
\end{cases}$$
Then the two results are the same.  In general, when you use a formula involving a division be aware that the formula will not be valid when the denominator is $0$.  This is often an unstated assumption, so you should check if both sides a given equation are undefined or not in that case.


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Throbbing Gristle highlight their latter albums for the really really millennial-millennials with next phase of reissues Throbbing Gristle highlight their latter albums for the really really millennial-millennials with next phase o
I don't know what the state of industrial music is today. Maybe in the absence of any prominent torch-carriers, the best assuagement of genre uncertainty is to revisit the legends who have exemplified some of its best/weirdest aspects, and who are currently compelling revisits by reissuing the majority of their back catalog.
First, Throbbing Gristle reissued the handful of albums that were initially released prior to their initial breakup in 1981. Now, the band is continuing their partnership with Mute Records and reissuing the albums that were originally released between 2004 and 2007, which was the arguable honeymoon period immediately after TG reunited but before they released their final album, The Third Mind Movements . ( Part Two: The Endless Not was a memorable effort during this period; and if you check out our review at the time, you can appreciate how Chris Carter, Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, and Peter Christopherson [RIP] managed to progress the sound that they more or less coined during the heydays of punk and countercultures generally.)
Accompanying Part Two on its reissue trip are TG Now — their first release post-reunion — and A Souvernir of Camber Sands , a 2004 live album recollecting the band's performance at ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas event that December. The two studio records'll be packaged together on CD, limited edition clear vinyl, and digitally.
Pre-orders here. Everything comes out December 13. Meanwhile, here's "Fed Up" from the their Camber Sands excursion:
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The Republic of Belarus attaches great importance to the development of bilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The diplomatic relations between Belarus and the UK were established on January 27th, 1992. In July 1993 the Consulate General of the Republic of Belarus was set up in London and in June 1994 it was transformed into the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The first Ambassador of Belarus to the UK was HE Mr. Vladimir Senko. The British Embassy in Minsk has been functioning since 1993.
During the first years of the development of relations between Belarus and the UK quite an intensive political dialogue was established. The Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus (December, 1994) and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus (May, 1995) visited London. Several working visits of the Deputy Prime Ministers to the UK were organised. Contacts at municipal level were established.
On June 14th, 1996 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was one of the first in the European Union to ratify the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Belarus and the EU.
Due to mutual interest of the countries in cooperation in a number of essentially important spheres, contacts on interdepartmental level are maintained; inter-regional and businesses interaction between the two countries is developed.
On November 18th, 2008 the first Belarus Investment Forum took place in London. On November 16-19th, 2008 within the framework of the Forum a delegation headed by Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky visited London.
On February 18th, 2013 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland HE Mr. Sergei Aleinik presented the copies of his Credentials to the Vice Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, Director of Protocol.
On June 5th, 2013 at the Royal London Residence – the Buckingham Palace – HE Mr. Sergei Aleinik presented his Credentials to the Queen Elizabeth II.
On 8 – 10 September 2013, HE Alena Kupchyna, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus paid a working visit to the United Kingdom. During the visit Deputy Minister A.Kupchina had meetings with the Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Minister of State for Europe of the Foreign Commonwealth Office.
On 9 February 2016, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, met with the Director General for Political Affairs of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Simon Gass during his visit to Belarus.
In Оctober 2016 a visit of Prince Michael of Kent to Belarus took place, during which he was received by President Alexander Lukashenko.
On January 27th, 2017 there was an exchange of Protocol messages of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the UK.
On September 25-26, 2017, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas of the British Foreign Office, Sir Alan Duncan, visited the Republic of Belarus. The British high representative was received by the Head of State, held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. The sides noted the constructive nature of the discussions, outlined ways of further development of cooperation between the two countries, including in the context of the British exit from the EU in 2019.