I was thinking about different topics to write about for the blog but after coming across this great article comparing bloggers to rappers, I decided to implement number six from their list into makingthemogul.com: I'm going to freestyle my blog.
You can ask me any question you want and I will answer you to my best ability.
I don't claim to have all the answers, but I will do my best to answer you with whatever knowledge I do have.
All questions and replies will be in the comments section below. Questions are open from now until April 25th.
You can ask me whatever you want; personal, career, silly… whatever – just ask me (and please remember to keep it clean).
Great idea! My question for you is which music moguls do you look up to?
What do you envision the world being like without hip hop and soul?
Anything?If you could go back in time at any point of your life,what year would it be and why?
what do you use everyday that you can't live without?
Hey Mr. Mogul. Interesting blog, I just came across it. As a fledgling/up-and-coming/underground/etc. producer/remixer/marketer/etc. who also does a little blogging about my pursuits, I enjoy your perspective and writing. I don't have questions at the moment, but just wanted to tip my hat to ya, e-introduce myself, and wish you all best in your endeavors.
Damn, you guys got some serious questions. Okay.. I'll do my best to answer them.
@Autumn – I respect and admire anybody who makes an active effort to raise the bar. Although I look up to many different leaders, your question specifically asks about music moguls, so I'll give it to you in list format: Russell Simmons, Jermaine Dupri, Puffy, Master P, Dame Dash, Kevin Liles, Berry Gordy, Clive Davis, L.A Reid, Steve Stoute, Chris Lighty, Jimmy Iovine, Lyor Cohen, RZA, Jay-Z….
Honestly, the list can go on for days. I'm just touching on the "urban" cats in this list, but there's many, many more. Like I said, I look up to anybody who pushes the boundaries and who motivates me to do more.
@ Black Girl – You hit me with a crazy one lol.
Honestly, without hip-hop and soul, I picture a very dull world where the majority are conformists and where self-expression is heavily censored.
Rock, metal and other genres have also encouraged self-expression, but I find the umbrella of urban genres, especially hip-hop, have offered a different form of expression, where we weren't ONLY about rebellion and when we were, it was rebellion for a reason – usually for empowerment.
Hip-Hop made it necessary for us to run our own businesses and become owners. Hip-Hop made it necessary to realize that we need to become vendors instead of always remaining as purchasers.
So even bigger of an issue than just enjoying great music, I think the lack of hip-hop and soul would effect our culture as a whole.
Whether you're white, black or brown; into rap, country or rock – hip-hop gave us power. Without it, we'd live in a stepford world.
@ Angela T – Good question.
Well, first off let me say this – I don't have any regrets in my life because everything I've done and experienced has made me who I am today and has taught me the lessons that I need to become who I wish to be tomorrow.
So with that being said, if I could go back to any time of my life – I'd probably go back to somewhere between 94 and 99. The only reason for that is because I felt so much more connected to music back then. Maybe it's because I work in the industry now, but back then, all I cared about was if I liked a song and how much I liked it.
Back then, I wasn't analyzing the song structure or the mix. I wasn't thinking about the video treatment or the inside stories about the artist. I wasn't breaking down their marketing strategy and imagining how I would approach it. I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was just listening and enjoying.
@ Alex – Finally an easy one lol!
My blackberry. Hands down. It's not just a device, it's honestly become an extension of me.
@ Manny Faces – Thanks for your comment man,I really appreciate it. The feedback and the love I've been getting since I've launched this blog is unbelievable. I checked out your blog as well – dope remixes! I like what you're working with. I'll add you to the blogroll.
I have one. And I finally made it to your site.
What is your zodiac sign? Yeah, cheesy, I know.
@ mzvirgo – Lol, not cheesy at all; I like it. I'm Aquarius. Does that say anything about me?
Btw, thanks for checking out the site. I keep seeing you around the blog circles. I like your site too; I'm adding you to the blogroll.
I have been around Aquarius men and women and they tend to march to the beat of their own drum. I met one that was quite the scatterbrain LMAO. But I don't think that applies to all Aquarians.
I found a question for you: When you work with an artist, what do you see first: his commercial appeal or the skillz/potential that the artist has?
Appreciate the appreciation, will def. blog-add in return.
how do you balance your personal life with your career?
@mzvirgo – Marching to the beat of my own drum and scatterbrained… that sounds like me. I'm not scatterbrained in the sense that I easily lose focus, but I usually have so much going on that my mind jumps from one thing to another. But I still keep it controlled…. when I can.
@Bro.ish – Honestly, I look at both – I have to. I'm in the business of music, and I treat it accordingly. There are some artists that I absolutely love, but I don't know how I would be able to work with them if I ever had to. Someone's music can be great, but that doesn't mean it's a good "product". You know what I mean?
Even though I'm somebody that artists and labels hire to help them, I still have to be selective with the artists that I work with. I've recently turned down a client because I really don't believe her music. She's a multi-genre artist who is currently pushing herself as a reggae artist. Her music is okay.. sometimes, and the songs are actually pretty well written as are some of the melodies. But I would believe it more if she came out doing Pop, as opposed to reggae. I grew up on reggae and dancehall… and I don't believe her as a reggae artist. It's a facade.. it's not her.
So for me to work with an artist, I need to see both commercial appeal and actual skill. Although.. as a last note, I will say this – my job as a marketer is to help build that commercial appeal. So even though an artist might not seem like they have that appeal, I can usually find something and work with that.
For me, that's easier to find than real talent.
@ bmore diva – Great question; although I might have to be asking that question too, seeing that I've still yet to figure it out.
Not to sound whatever, but honestly, my career is my life. I barely have a personal life. My family is the only thing that's not attached to my career, but aside from that pretty much everything else in my life is about my career; all my friends, all my interests, all my thoughts, everything.
Two of the hardest and most competitive things in this world are (1) being in the music business and (2) being an entrepreneur. Yet for some reason, I decided to do them both. Why? No idea. But I wouldn't rather be doing anything else right now.
My friends are people I work with, have worked with or plan on working with. Luckily, I'm fortunate enough to really get along with most people I work with, and they live such busy lives as well, so the bond comes natural. I think it's pretty common in highly competitive industries.
I have a few friends who are in no way associated to my career, but I have to figure out a way of making more time for them – and for myself. Whether it's something like hanging out with friends or watching tv or even something as simple and common as sleeping – I end up feeling guilty when doing any of them and usually avoid those things as much as possible.
To me, if I'm not working or thinking about work, I'm slacking. I've never been on a vacation in my life and don't take the weekends off because I don't want to miss a beat. I have an urge to stay connected.
To get me wrong, I'm not at 100% full-speed all the time – I do get the luxury of just hanging out, chatting with people, or going to wild parties or even just vibin to some great music being recorded live in the studio, and can actually call all of that "work". But if it's just for leisure and doesn't involve my career in any way, then I don't really pay it any mind.
@tony – Damn, I completely missed your comment, sorry about that. I like the randomness of your question though lol.
A hedge fund is a private investment fund that charges a performance fee and is typically open to only a limited range of qualified investors. Hedge fund activity in the public securities markets has grown substantially as it constitutes approximately 30% of all U.S. fixed-income security transactions, 55% of U.S. activity in derivatives with investment-grade ratings, 55% of the trading volume for emerging-market bonds, as well as 30% of equity trades. Hedge Funds dominate certain specialty markets such as trading in derivatives with high-yield ratings, and distressed debt.
@Black Girl – Thank you! You're right.. and your question definitely made me think. Luckily however, none of us will have to experience a life without hip-hop and soul!


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I'm a caterer and had locked my keys in the car on my way to deliver a wedding cake. I was stressing because the locksmiths i called before these guys were gonna take at least 45 minutes to an hour to come through and I couldn't afford to lose that much time. This locksmith showed up 15 minutes after I called and thank goodness I got the cake to the customers on time.


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Antonio Morrison excited for fresh start in Green Bay
New Packers linebacker likes what he sees in Mike Pettine's defense
GREEN BAY – Antonio Morrison was enjoying his off-day in Indianapolis when the third-year linebacker received the call Sunday to inform him he'd been traded to the Packers.
Morrison hadn't heard any rumblings of a potential trade beforehand, but he had been hoping for a fresh start. Within hours, Morrison was on a plane to Green Bay to start the next chapter of his football career.
"It's football at the end of the day wherever you're at," Morrison said after Monday's practice, his first with the Packers. "That's how I look at it. That's how I approach it. I don't have hard feelings with Indianapolis, not anything like that. I'm just excited to be able to play football for wherever it is – Green Bay, I'm happy to be here."
The former fourth-round pick had 161 tackles in his first 31 games (19 starts) during two seasons spent with the Colts' 3-4 defense, but he'd been rotating with the reserves this summer after Indianapolis transitioned to a 4-3 front under new head coach Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
Morrison is new to the defense Mike Pettine is installing with the Packers, but his first impression is the scheme is tailored to his strengths – downhill and aggressive, with a lot of plugging holes and hitting.
Morrison, 23, doesn't have many ties to Green Bay other than the one game he played against the Packers as a rookie in 2016. He has one former teammate at his disposal in defensive lineman Joey Mbu, and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, pass-game coordinator Jim Hostler and assistant special-teams coach Maurice Drayton all served on the Colts' coaching staff during Morrison's time in Indianapolis.
Wearing a No. 48 jersey during Monday's closed practice, Morrison spent most of practice in arm's distance of new position coach Patrick Graham, absorbing new terminology to put himself in the best position possible.
"It was similar to some things I ran two years ago and last year as well in Indianapolis," said Morrison of Green Bay's defense. "Some of the things are similar. Just some of the terms and lingo are different. So it's going to take a little bit to pick that up but I should be ready to go."
The Packers have been in the market for help at inside linebacker after losing veteran Jake Ryan to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month.
Although rookie Oren Burks appears to have avoided a significant shoulder injury in Oakland, General Manager Brian Gutekunst took out an extra insurance policy in acquiring Morrison for second-year cornerback Lenzy Pipkins on Sunday.
Gutekunst scouted Morrison in 2016 and liked what he saw from the 6-foot-1, 244-pound linebacker coming out of the University of Florida. Morrison now joins another 2016 draft classmate, Blake Martinez, as the stewards of a young inside linebacker room in Green Bay that also includes converted safety Ahmad Thomas and undrafted rookie Greer Martini.
"Antonio's a veteran linebacker with a bit of experience," Gutekunst said. "Coming into camp, I think we were a little light in the experience department at inside linebacker. So it's something we've kind of been looking at.
"I scouted Antonio coming out. He was kind of the heartbeat of that team coming out of Florida. A lot of passion, very physical. He loves to play ball. It'll be good to get him out there and see how he fits in."
Morrison is no stranger to overcoming the odds. He suffered a significant knee injury at the end of his junior season in college, which made some doctors fearful he may not walk again.
Instead, Morrison pushed through the rehab and returned in time for his senior year at Florida. He didn't miss a start and led the Gators in tackles (103) for the second consecutive year.
"They told me there was a chance I might not play again with that surgery. I didn't look at it that way," Morrison said. "I knew what my goals were. I knew I was going to battle through whatever."
Morrison said no decision has been made whether he'll play in Thursday night's preseason finale in Kansas City, but he's doing whatever it takes to be ready even if it requires a few late nights.
Once he gets the defense down, Morrison says he's excited to see how his play-to-the-whistle approach to the game can benefit Green Bay's defense.
"I'm real aggressive when I'm playing," Morrison said. "I see that's something they want here, so I should be able to fit right in. That's what I count as one of my attributes, my aggressiveness."
Photos: Final training-camp practice
The Packers held their last training-camp practice Monday inside the Don Hutson Center
Rookie Zach Tom has thrived on late notice this season
Packers' fourth-round pick hasn't flinched in three spot starts on offensive line
Keisean Nixon's 'dog mentality' has earned Packers' returner freedom to attack
Former Raiders specialist making impact on kickoffs, punts and defense
Samori Toure rising to the challenge for Packers' offense
Rookie receiver vowed to be more intentional after conversation with Aaron Rodgers
Sammy Watkins 'can't wait' for Buffalo homecoming
Packers receiver heads back Sunday to where his NFL career started
Packers LB Preston Smith excited for long-awaited return to Washington
Veteran linebacker returns to FedExField for the first time Sunday
Six in six: Rashan Gary hungry for more after fast start
Packers linebacker's breakout season started vs. Washington last year
Packers' soccer aficionados embrace historic trip to London
Green Bay set to make international regular-season debut at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Third-and-clutch: Randall Cobb shines in 'go-to' moments
There are few better in must-have situations than the Packers' 12th-year receiver

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Write your position paper (Assessment Task 2B).
Task: Choose a leadership challenge/issue (My CHOOSEN ISSUE IS WORK OVERLOAD which can affect patient quality of care) relevant to a nominated work context. Take a position in relation to a leadership challenge/issue relevant to this work context. Supported by the literature you have engaged with, write a position paper in relation to the leadership challenge/issue and how you would go about addressing it. Purpose: The purpose of this task is for you to take a position in relation to a leadership challenge/issue relevant to a nominated work context.
1. A description of the context and nature of the challenge/issue 2. A critical overview of relevant literature pertaining to the challenge/issue 3. A description, methodology and rationale of how you would approach addressing the challenge/issue 4. A conclusion describing the anticipated outcomes of your approach 5. A reference list of at least 10 references (additional to the references used in Assessment Task 1) that support the approach and rationale in APA format.
We are looking for a scholarly and innovative approach in this assessment task which means you will need to provide a robust rationale for approach that is appropriately theorised and referenced. You are expected to engage higher order thinking as you deveop and construct your position paper. (Nonrefereed, books, journals or Webpages are not acceptable references (e.g. Wikipedia).
A position paper is an academic style of writing can be either report or essay that presents and opinion/attitude on a particular issue using arguments and evidence to generate support for the writer's view of a particular matter. It is based on facts that provide a solid foundation.


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The Boys of Summer
Maybe we are, as Hanna Rosin argues in the current Atlantic, facing "The End of Men," but I'd like to announce that men are alive and well and gazing into their creative navels here in Montreal. See the Summer Literary Seminars which kicked off earlier in the week at Concordia University.
At a cool two grand for tuition alone, the event is a little steep for my blood, but I relish the opportunity to attend the free sessions this combination workshop/conference/bacchanal, brainchild of the redoubtably energetic Mikhail Iossel, has on offer. It's the equivalent of mini literary festival, just what this city needs as it girds its loins for the upcoming music and laugh-fests. After over a decade of SLS St. Petersburg, Russia, Iossel, now professor of creative writing at Concordia, has expanded to Montreal.
Monday morning, I heard Joel Yanofsky speak about Mordecai Richler and Sherry Simon on language and translation. Fascinating stuff, if a little short on detail. (Despite repeated requests by a Torontonian that she clarify how many Montreal Anglos and Allos there actually are, Simon refused to answer. "It depends on who you ask," she kept saying. "It's all so political." Spoken like a true academic.) Then post-modern fabulist Robert Coover delivered a pretty dreary lecture on a Brown University project he participates in called CAVE: Computer Audio Visual Environment. Basically, a 3D immersion in sound, image and text. Which had me thinking that if this is the future, writing is already dead.
Thursday, Joel Yanofsky offered a second lecture, "Confessions of a Literary Stalker." Mostly about Mordecai and Joel Yanofsky and Yann Martel and Joel Yanofsky—okay, let's face it, Joel Yanofsky basically writes about people who have talked with Joel Yanofsky (I guess that's why it's called personal writing)! And, to be sure, he is clever and self-deprecatingly amusing enough to carry it off. Describing the process that led to his becoming obsessed with Richler, Yanofsky started off with his foray into teaching grade 7 and 8 students 30 hours-worth of personal writing. He asked them to write about something they were expert at, but quickly discovered the kids preferred their peers' stories about things they had flubbed, as opposed to aced. (Remember, "if it's happy, it's not literature.") Which sat very well with a belief of Yanofsky's crystallized in an interview with Brian Moore some years back. Moore had been inspired by some other writer's first novel, a novel "so bad, it inspired him to write his own." The bad novel, which Moore would never name, turned out, according to William Weintraub, to be Mordecai Richler's "The Acrobats."
Proof that "We do what we do for all the wrong reasons," according to Yanofsky, meaning writers are partly (wholly?) motivated by envy and the art of one-up-manship. Yanofsky went on to discuss what writers desire most deeply—"to make a splash. And we'll settle for a little one if we can't make a big one." Writing as pissing contest (piss splashes, doesn't it?). Or as male display behaviour. My terms, of course.
During the course of the Yanofsky entertainment—and, there's no denying, fun to listen to he is—his discourse was peppered with allusions to a number of other illustrious writers: Orwell, David Gilmour, Martin Amis (who apparently expressed some concern about Yanofsky's mental health), Kingsley Amis, E.M. Forster, Henry James, Ingmar Bergman, Nicholson Baker, John Updike, Saul Bellow, Mark Harris, Philip Roth, Paul Theroux (followed immediately by V.S. Naipaul, needless to say), J.D. Salinger, Jeff Dyer, D.H. Lawrence, Guy Vanderhaeghe, James Joyce, (noticing a pattern yet, by any chance? Anyone? Anyone??), and finally, Yann Martel. Since Yanofsky's writing is a hybrid of stand-up and confessional, we were treated to the tale of his totally cringe-worthy episode on the eve of the awarding of the Booker for "Life of Pi," a novel, Yanofsky admitted, he hadn't bothered to finish and apparently was invited to dis live on television immediately following the Booker announcement—"I could either be bitter and envious or a suck-up," Yanofsky said. "Those were my choices."
I love listening to Yanofsky—I've read all of his books, two-thirds of them years before I'd met him. But I can't tell you how disappointed I was to discover he apparently doesn't seem to consider a single woman writer from Canada worth mentioning.
Okay, maybe I can.
To bend over backward in the fairness department, Carole Shields' name did surface, but only in the context of the Booker shortlist.
Next up were Jon Paul Fiorentino and David McGimpsey, discussing contemporary Montreal literature, and moderated by Alessandro Porco (who graduated from Concordia's writing program and now teaches in Buffalo). Some time was spent examining the definition of "Montreal writer": those born and raised here who have stayed or left, those who moved here and stayed, those who moved here and left (e.g. post-degree), those who took a wrong turn on the 401 and wrote a suicide note, etc. Turns out that, by the panel's standards, just about anyone who dallied in Montreal for more than five minutes (long enough to ingest a poutine or take a flyer on a BIXI) is entitled to moniker himself "a Montreal writer." Though why someone who spent a couple of years in a degree program and then high-tailed it ASAP would want to be considered a Montreal writer is anyone's guess.
You will perhaps be pleased to learn Montreal writing is also now moving past the era of Leonard Cohen, and that reading Richler is no longer de rigueur (McGimpsey mentioned this as though it was a good thing). At least, during this segment, which sounded more like an ad for Concordia's creative writing program than anything else, a couple of women's names were actually—amazingly!—uttered: Heather O'Neill's name twice, Zoe Whittall once.
At least McGimpsey was man enough to mention the mass exodus of Anglos in the years that followed the first election of the Parti Quebecois in 1976, and made reference to the political situation between French and English, which is, episodically, fractious.
Later in the day, an actual woman—Alana Cox—was due to "own the podium," as we Canadians like to say. At least, she was to be part of a discussion on the state of Canadian publishing. But I had had enough. Between them, Yanofsky, Fiorentino and McGimpsey had clearly established that writing in Montreal is a boys club anon—if not an old boys club—and I decided I had better leave the auditorium and attend to an episode of the vapours.
Beverly Akerman is a Pushcart-nominated Montreal writer (born and always lived here variety). Nineteen of her stories are published or in press, one of them a finalist for the Hoffer Award/Best New Writing 2011. Her unpublished collection "The Meaning of Children" just won the David Adams Richards Prize.
The Summer Literary Seminar's free panels and lectures continue through June 27.
For more on women and writing in Montreal and Canada, check out:
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/12/18/consumer-blogger-james-chartrand.html?ref=rss
http://maisonneuve.org/blog/2010/01/07/how-make-it-writer-be-man/
(a version of this post was originally published on The Rover, Montreal's Online Arts Magazine)
Labels: feminism, joel yanofsky, mikhael iossel, montreal, mordecai richler, summer literary seminars


Talk is cheap…action speak louder than words. While it never hurts to do the 'wind work', as my grandpa use to say, when it's time to get the job done, then it's time to stop talking and put your shoulder to the plow and get after it. That's how I was raised.
If you want to impress someone, then say what you're going to do, then do it. I find a lot of 'talkers' in our line of business. Big promises and very little return. It's amazing…it's one of those deals where if I had a nickel for everyone that said they were going to do something I'd be rich kind of environments. We've all seen it or been involved with something similar.
This is how many have come to view Christ followers. All talk and no action or say one thing but do the opposite. The stories we hear how people have been hurt in the church or by fellow Christians just breaks our hearts. This is one of the biggest reasons we strive so hard to be genuine in our actions as business owners and Christ followers.
If we want to stand any chance of impacting the world, we must lead by example. We are the first and sometimes the last opportunity to be Jesus to the world…examine our life today…are you a talker or a doer?
Years ago, it was not uncommon to have your milk delivered to your home. Doctors made house calls. And when you made a call to a company to discuss a problem, you actually spoke to a human being. Those days of personal service are gone, and if we are not careful, we will follow the same trend in how we share the gospel.
So often we are encouraged to bring people to church. Yet, we see no examples of where Jesus brought people into the synagogue to get them saved or healed. The miracles happened more often in the workplace because that was where Jesus could be found. Jesus had less response and found more resistance in the synagogue than in the workplace. He took the gospel to and modeled the gospel in the workplace. That is where the power of God was manifested. This is not to say we should not bring people to church, only that our priority should be to bring the Church into the workplace, not bring the workplace into the church.
Paul understood this when he said, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Corinthians 2:4).
Paul understood that it wasn't words that impacted people; it was the power of God manifested through him.
When is the last time someone saw something happen through your life that could not be explained other than God working in your life? When you begin to see this happen, you will be modeling ministry as Jesus modeled it. You will be bringing the Church to the people, not the people to the church. Pray that God makes you a vessel of His power, not simply a vessel of words.


Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are to reunite for a Christmas special to mark the 30th anniversary of the first series of their sketch shows.
The pair worked together for six series with the last airing in 2007.
Since the end of their regular series, the pair have teamed up for Christmas specials and have also worked on Radio 2 and Comic Relief.
French also revealed that they are likely to parody some of the drunken reality shows filmed in holiday resorts during the show, which could air on Christmas Day on BBC One.
"I am shocked by how they behave," she said.
During their shows, the comedians created spoofs of films and also different characters who appeared in various sketches.
Among the most popular were public school girls Junior and Emma, farm workers Dot and May and shopping obsessives Jackie and Leanne.


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Ollinnewyorkny
gadget agora
gadget guard
Despite past denials, LAPD has used facial-recognition software 30,000 times in last decade, records show
September 22, 2020 By [email protected]_84 Off
The Los Angeles Police Department has used facial-recognition software nearly 30,000 times since 2009, with hundreds of officers running images of suspects from surveillance cameras and other sources against a massive database of mugshots taken by law enforcement.
© (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)
A security camera. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)
The new figures, released to The Times, reveal for the first time how commonly facial recognition is used in the department, which for years has provided vague and contradictory information about how and whether it uses the technology.
The LAPD has consistently denied having records related to facial recognition, and at times denied using the technology at all.
The truth is that, while it does not have its own facial-recognition platform, LAPD personnel have access to facial-recognition software through a regional database maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. And between Nov. 6, 2009, and Sept. 11 of this year, LAPD officers used the system's software 29,817 times.
More than 300 LAPD personnel have access to the software.
Josh Rubenstein, an LAPD spokesman, said he could not determine how many leads from the system have developed into arrests, but that the technology has helped identify suspects in gang crimes where witnesses were too fearful to come forward and in crimes where no witnesses existed.
He said it has helped officers solve crimes faster than they otherwise would, and confirmed that it was recently used by the SAFE LA task force — a coalition of law enforcement agencies investigating arsons, burglaries and other crimes that occurred during protests in the city this summer.
Records reviewed by The Times also indicate that LAPD officers arrested a man in June on suspicion of sexually assaulting minors after identifying him with the help of facial recognition.
LAPD Assistant Chief Horace Frank said "it is no secret" that the LAPD uses facial recognition, that he personally testified to that fact before the Police Commission a couple years ago, and that the more recent denials — including two since last year, one to The Times — were just mistakes.
"We aren't trying to hide anything," he said.
Civil liberties advocates disagree. They said the recent denials — only corrected after The Times questioned their accuracy — are part of a long pattern of deception in which the LAPD has systematically avoided discussing facial recognition by denying it has records related to the technology or by claiming, erroneously, that it doesn't use it.
As such technology improves and becomes more pervasive, transparency around the government's use of it becomes all the more important — and the LAPD's actions all the more concerning — given the potential for privacy and civil rights infringements, advocates say.
Mohammad Tajsar, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, said the ACLU was aware that the LAPD had access to the Los Angeles County Regional Identification System, or LACRIS, but unaware of the scale of use — including that hundreds of officers had access to the platform.
"That is a lot of people with access to the system, and shows its widespread usage," he said.
Although some law enforcement officials have argued that such technology is an important tool, there has also been push back. San Francisco last year banned facial-recognition technology on civil liberties grounds.
According to Rubenstein, the county system allows police investigators to submit images from witnesses, crime scenes, surveillance cameras or other sources and compare them against a database of nearly 9 million mugshots.
The system identifies "key contour facial features," but is "only used to develop investigative leads, not to solely identify a suspect in a crime," Rubenstein said. "No individuals are arrested by the LAPD based solely on facial recognition results."
Still, Tajsar said the ACLU and others have serious concerns about such widespread use of the facial-recognition system, including because computer algorithms and the system's reliance on certain image pools like mugshots can make for an inherently racist search process.
The technology used in Los Angeles is from DataWorks Plus, a South Carolina company that expanded into facial recognition from mugshot services. In 2019, a federal study of more than 100 facial-recognition systems, including software used by DataWorks Plus, determined that they falsely identified Black and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more often than white faces.
"With mugshot images, the highest false positives are in American Indians, with elevated rates in African American and Asian populations," the study found.
Todd Pastorini, DataWorks Plus' executive vice president and general manager, said he has worked with forensic facial-recognition systems in California for more than a decade, and has "never observed a racial bias."
He said his company installed three facial-recognition engines for LACRIS, from Rank One, NEC and Cognitec. For each probe image entered by a police officer, he said the engines kick back positive facial matches and then software selects the top 250 for the officer to review.
Pastorini said the systems "do not provide incorrect or correct identities," but "a candidate list that requires the user to conduct further investigation to decide whether or not to pursue that investigative lead."
The LACRIS system is used by 64 law enforcement agencies across the county, but it's unclear which or how many use the facial-recognition feature. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department would not answer questions from The Times about the system's use.
As the use of facial recognition among law enforcement has grown, California lawmakers have stepped in to put limits on it — including in connection with other technology systems like officers' body cameras.
However, the LAPD has escaped some scrutiny in those discussions, in part because of its erroneous claims of not using the technology.
For example, in the summer of 2019, The Times asked Rubenstein about the department's use of facial recognition for an article on proposed legislation to restrict its use with body cameras.
"We actually do not use facial recognition in the Department," Rubenstein responded — adding only that there had been "a few limited instances" where it was used by other agencies working on investigations alongside the LAPD.
In November, the department denied a public records request for documents related to its use of facial-recognition software by saying it didn't use such technology or any related services.
In June, LAPD officials denied a records request for LAPD policies on facial recognition by claiming none existed. They'd given a similar response several years before, when the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law requested records as part of a project assessing facial-recognition capabilities at major police departments across the country.
However, last month, another records request, this one filed by Medium senior writer Dave Gershgorn, met with more success. The request specifically asked for emails mentioning "facial recognition," "DataWorks Plus" and other related terms, and in response the LAPD released 368 pages of officers discussing the technology with one another and LAPD officials issuing directives around its use.
"I need it all the time for my Burglary cases," one detective wrote to a colleague in May, in an effort to get trained on the system.
Another detective wrote to a colleague May 30, the day mass protests, arsons and burglaries broke out in the city, musing that the department should look into purchasing a new system of facial recognition, as it "may be a way of identifying violent protesters and looters."
In another email from February, Lizabeth Rhodes, director of the LAPD's Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy, directed commanders to ensure that only personnel who had received proper training on the system were accessing it, and that policies related to its use were followed. The memo also addressed the new state law barring its use with body cameras.
Facial-recognition technology "shall not be utilized to establish any database or create suspect identification books," the memo read. "Additionally, FRT shall not be used as a general identification tool, when there is no investigative purpose, or as the sole source of identification for a subject's identity."
After reviewing the emails, which were posted to an online portal for city records, The Times sent Rubenstein a list of questions about the department's use of facial recognition and its previous denials of such usage.
In response, Rubenstein disclosed the nearly 30,000 uses since 2009 — nearly 3,750 of which occurred since February, when Rhodes put out her advisory — and said that 330 people in the LAPD have access to the system. That number had been higher, standing at 525 officers with access at the time the department denied to the The Times that it used facial recognition.
Rubenstein said use of the county system is provided to LAPD at no cost, and that the LAPD does not use the software to scan crowds or in any live-streaming capacity. Despite regular audits of its use, he said he is not aware of any instances where the system has been misused by LAPD officials.
Rubenstein said his previous statement to The Times denying that the LAPD used such technology was intended only to convey that it did not use it with its body cameras — a key issue in the legislation that was pending in Sacramento at the time. He did not specify that distinction at the time, and the request for information from The Times had not specified body-camera usage.
The LAPD also sent a correction last week to the records requester who was told in November that the LAPD doesn't use facial recognition.
"We are writing to inform you that the previous statement that was sent to you … was inaccurate," the message read.
Beyond the denials, confusion around the LAPD's use of facial recognition today is also partially rooted in its own vague references to the technology in the past — including as it ran various "pilot" programs that featured the technology.
For example, the Center on Privacy & Technology report, published in 2016, noted that the LAPD had described a CCTV surveillance system equipped with facial-recognition technology in 2005, a "smart car" that would be equipped with it in 2007 and a CCTV system in the west San Fernando Valley that could recognize faces from 600 feet away in 2013.
Citing those examples, the report concluded that the LAPD "may have the most advanced face recognition system in the country," but that it was unclear because the agency had responded to the center's request for records by saying it had none to disclose.
Rubenstein said while discontinued programs in the past may have used the technology, the LAPD currently uses facial recognition only through LACRIS.
Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Dean contributed to this article.
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TagsDecade denials facialrecognition LAPD records Show Software Times
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Q: Modifying items in ComboBox in Windows Forms I have a ComboBox that can display a long list of items.  There is a function on the form that needs to change the display text of these items without actually adding or removing any.  There is no data binding going on, I'm accessing the Items list directly.
The problem is, if I modify any property of the item in the Items list, it doesn't update the text in the combo box.  There is a button that can move an item from the ComboBox to another adjacent ComboBox, and when it gets moved it displays properly, so the issue seems to be it's just not redrawing it.
I've tried calling Invalidate(), Refresh(), Update(), but it doesn't work.  I suppose I could clear the ComboBox and readd everything, but this box can hold thousands of Items so I'm not sure if that's an efficient way of doing it.

A: Please try simply setting the combobox text property:
combobox1.Text = "newText";

of course you still need to change the item as before.

A: It seems that it is not possible to update the item labels without databinding. So the only thing left is to remove the according item (Items.RemoveAt) and insert it again (Items.Insert).

A: You need to do the following steps:

*

*get the index of the item under consideration

*get the item display text or the item itself

*replace the item display text

*insert the item back at the same index

here is a sample code:
(assuming your items are of string type)
int itemIndex = comboBox1.Items.IndexOf("yourItem");
string itemText = comboBox1.Items[itemIndex].ToString();
itemText = "yourNewString";
comboBox1.Items.Insert(itemIndex, itemText);

if the items are of other than string type then try the following:
int itemIndex = comboBox1.Items.IndexOf(/*your item*/);
var item = comboBox1.Items[itemIndex];
//type cast back to the original type
//change the display text i.e. by changing the display member inside your object
comboBox1.Items.Insert(itemIndex, item);

You may loop over this code snippet if your function does it for multiple items

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Task Group Taji Raise Money for Charity
Australian and New Zealand soldiers from Task Group Taji in Iraq have raised nearly $US2400 for two Defence related charities.
After conducting a number of fundraising activities during the deployment, $US1550 will be donated to Legacy while $US800 will be given to the New Zealand Fallen Heroes Trust.
The money was raised through raffles held at Taji Military Complex, Iraq. They not only provided the soldiers of the Task Group with a way to support those in need but also boosted welfare and morale.
The money was split between the charities based on the number of personnel from each country in the Task Group.
New Zealand TG member Captain M (who can't be named for security reasons) said the fundraising formed an important part of life at Taji.
"We held a number of raffles this year which was a great way to boost morale," he said.
"While we all hoped we won the prizes we didn't mind too much if we didn't as we knew all the money raised would go to worthwhile causes."
Task Group Taji welfare committee member Captain Clay Baker said the Task Group never failed to support the fundraising activities.
"Each activity was supported with great enthusiasm by everyone, which was excellent," he said.
The New Zealand Fallen Heroes Trust provides support to New Zealand's wounded or injured servicemen and women and the families of those who have been killed in the service of their country.
CAPT M said the Kiwi members of the Task Group were proud to support the trust.
"The New Zealand Fallen Heroes Trust provides excellent support to Kiwi servicemen and women and their families and we are honoured to support them in any small way," he said.
Legacy is a volunteer organisation which provides services to families of veterans who have died. Legacy's services assist over 80,000 widows and 1800 children and dependents of service personnel.
CAPT Baker said Legacy had provided significant support to Defence families for many years.
"Legacy has a long history of helping servicemen and women and their families so we thought it was appropriate they received our support," he said.


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MedPost healthcare providers have experience in urgent care, pediatrics, wellness, and occupational health and provide services in La Quinta, CA for residents of the Bermuda Dunes, Palm Desert, and Indio areas. Our La Quinta center is a proud partner of Desert Regional Medical Center.
The La Quinta MedPost Urgent Care center is located just off Highway 111 in the Washington Plaza, close to the Highway 111 and the Adams Street intersection, and near Target, Stein Mart, Cost Plus World Market, and Verizon. Our facility is across from Hobby Lobby, Stater Bros., Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, and close to the Cinemark movie theater inside The Cove area. MedPost Urgent Care La Quinta is located on the south side of Highway 111. Please make a U-turn to enter the MedPost Urgent Care parking lot.
When you are heading east on I-10 East, take the Jackson Street exit. Turn right onto Jackson Street and drive for 0.5 miles, then turn right onto Avenue 44. Drive for 1.2 miles, then turn left onto Monroe Street. Drive for 1.3 miles, then turn right onto Fred Waring Drive. Drive for four miles, then turn left onto Washington Street. Drive down Washington Street for 1.1 miles then turn left onto CA-111 South. MedPost will be on the right next to Office Depot.
MedPost healthcare providers have experience in urgent care, pediatrics, wellness, and occupational health and provide services in La Quinta, CA for residents of the Bermuda Dunes, Palm Desert, and Indio areas.
Need quick medical attention or have a sick child who needs to see a medical professional? Count on your La Quinta, CA, MedPost Urgent Care Center to take care of your walk-in clinic needs and more.
From pediatrics to seasonal care, we offer a wide range of urgent care services with your health and well-being as our top priority. We strive for short wait times, offer evening and weekend walk-in hours, and have an experienced team of medical professionals to make your next visit as comfortable as possible. Count on us for La Quinta healthcare that you can trust.
Schedule online or call us to make an appointment, or just walk in at your convenience. No appointment? No problem.
Looking for a medical center that offers wellness solutions for the whole family? MedPost is here for those at nearly any age, or with any medical history. We strive to make our medical services accessible to as many patients as possible. Our La Quinta, CA urgent care clinic has services ranging from flu shots to school physicals, to diagnostic testing and in-house labs for common tests. Stop by our center or schedule an appointment online for tests, exams, or vaccinations that can help you have peace of mind that your health is on the right track.
As an employer in the La Quinta area, we know that your priority is to maximize employee productivity while ensuring your staff remains healthy on the job. MedPost offers comprehensive occupational health solutions to fit the needs of small, medium, and large businesses in our area.
Our team of experienced medical professionals can help your team maintain a safe and healthy workforce through a variety of services including health exams, lab services, and X-Rays. We offer extended hours, including evenings and weekends, to ensure your business remains productive during business hours.


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Social Media Kit | TeethFIRST!
TeethFirst! is a collaborative group that promotes early dental visits for very young children in Rhode Island. We seek to educate families and caregivers on proper oral care at home and encourage them to bring their child to the dentist by age one. We educate health care providers about the importance of oral health, and we work with dental providers to increase their comfort level in working with very young patients. TeethFirst! also works with community organizations to help staff to communicate the importance of oral health to families and caregivers. We believe that it takes a team, working together to keep little smiles healthy for a lifetime.
Help us spread our message to your community!
Your community can benefit greatly from the resources available on our website. On this page we have included a downloadable logo and links to our videos. You can use your social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to direct attention to great information. Feel free to use any of the following samples as your social media posts!
Right click on the image and click "Save Image As" to store the image on your computer.


The method clone_image does not return provider_location for the new volume made by cloning given image. Due to this cinder restart, in case of volumes present by cloning image, will error out as mount for volumes share fails. Also volume deletion leaves such volumes dangling in nfs share although it reports success in cinder client and cleans from database. The method clone_image needs to return a tuple (provider_location, cloned) to the manager.
Clone_image should return dict of vol properties, clone status.
in case of nfs drivers and hence resolves the issue.


For our Testing team, we are currently looking for a dedicated, passionate and enthusiastic (Freelance) Test Manager, who enjoys challenging missions in a diverse and multi-platform environment at the client's site.
Primarily, you will focus on the day-to-day management of ongoing and new software test projects and be responsible for creating and implementing a customized master test plan.
Secondly, you function as the SPOC for the complete team under your responsibility. You are also an advisor who is eager to share his/her knowledge, train and advise both customers and colleagues on the best testing & quality practices aiming to improve the client's test process and environment.
You may see the role as a combination of People/Project Management, Operational Management and Customer Oriented Expert Leading.
You already have preferably 3 to 5 years of experience in testing of computer systems and possess a strong experience in leading a team of Test Engineers. You also hold a Bachelor or Master's degree (ideally in Science, Engineering or similar).
You have experience in Agile and traditional Testing life cycles (e.g. TMap® Next, ISTQB, Scrum, SAFe,...) and you have knowledge of improving test processes and the deployment of test tools.
You are a committed and enthusiastic team player, who enjoys working with colleagues to attain collective success, because Together Everybody Achieves More.
You can express yourself easily in Dutch/French and English.
Last but not least! Our aim is targeting and on-boarding passionate, skilled and gifted people managers who also love to go the extra mile, dare and think outside of the box and convince the Belgian customer why choosing for Sogeti is the only right choice. Someone who is not afraid to extend boundaries by contributing to the highest possible level of customer and Sogeti-team satisfaction. That's what we are looking for, that would make the ideal candidate!
Good atmosphere, open communication with Sogeti, a correct salary** and opportunities for other interesting projects.


This bouquet includes 11 red roses and leaves. The size of this bouquet is about the same size as the real flower . Please let us know if you want to choose your own flower color. Also, you may pick the color ribbons you would like for your bouquet.


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text:
Book 2 of The Busy Bean Series
Welcome to Vermont. The Busy Bean Cafe is part of Sarina Bowen's the World of True North series and an imprint of Heart Eyes Press, LLC.
Pregnant at forty-two? Back the cow up…
Harland Bull Eaton has lost many things—his first wife, his beloved mother, those three women he proposed to . . . Oh, and there was that time he almost lost the family dairy farm due to a scandal. He's losing faith in just about everything, especially love.
But one night, his friends give him a dare. No commitments. No heartbreak. Just buy that gorgeous redhead a drink. The big-city bombshell he's set his eyes on swirls him into a tailspin that lands them in bed for a one-night stand he's pretty sure he'll never forget. But this time, he swears, he won't let his heart ride herd on his common sense.
Recently separated and newly unemployed, Scarlett Russell is at a crossroads. With no other plan than visiting a friend in Vermont, the last thing she expects is a hunky, silver fox offering to buy her a drink. Even less expected is when she raises that offer to "take me to bed, cowboy." She just wants one night to forget everything gone wrong.
Turns out once won't be nearly enough. Won't ever be enough, feeling the way she does. But secrets and an unexpected surprise are a lot to handle . . . unless these two can break a trail to an unexpected happily ever after.


1. (1) These rules may be called the Income-tax (5th Amendment) Rules, 2018.
2. In the Income-tax Rules, 1962, in rule 10VA, in sub-rule (2), for the words and brackets "Member (Income-tax), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi", the words, "the Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi having supervision and control over the work of Foreign Tax and Tax Research (FT&TR) Division" shall be substituted.
Note: The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section-3, Sub-section (ii) vide number S.O. 969 (E) dated 26th March, 1962 and was last amended by notification G.S.R. No.352(E) dated 9 th April, 2018.


Chinese mobile equipment maker Huawei has been doing well with its range of handsets including its slim and sleek Ascend P1 S and the quad core equipped Ascend D quad.
Now we see a new handset from the company that has been leaked which has an unusual portrait QWERTY keyboard right below the display. The M660 is said to be a mid to low budgeted Android device which might come out as the Ascend Q.
The handsets user guide has leaked on various website, and gives a few details of the device. The Ascend Q/M660 might come with a 1GHz, a 3.2-inch display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the usual connectivity options that you see on an Android smartphone.
Physical keyboards on Android are rare these days, but we aren't complaining. Let's hope there are more physical keyboard equipped Android handsets in the future.


Need to make a doctor appointment for Rectocele this week? Use Zocdoc to find doctors near you who take your insurance. It's simple, secure and free.
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I was seen in the Mitchellville office. I traveled apx 1 hour for this appointment and it was well worth the time/distance. The facility was clean and comfortable. The office staff were very nice and accommodating. Dr. Park was absolutely wonderful. She was professional and personable. I like how she talked to me first (introduced herself and went over my medical information/history). She took her time and listened to my concerns. She left the room and I changed into an exam gown. She came back into the room and did a thorough exam. After that she left and I got dressed. She came back into the room again this time to talk with me. She explained her findings to me and gave me some options. She also gave me some pamplets and instructions to help/educate me, She did not just hand them to me. We went over the information together. She answered all my questions and addressed all my concerns. I have the utmost confidence in her and her treatment plan. I highly recommend Dr Amy Park at Medstar Washington Hospital Center.


text:
import asyncReducer, {
  ACTION_START,
  ACTION_SUCCESS,
  ACTION_ERROR,
} from './asyncReducer';
import getAsyncState from './getAsyncState';
import asyncMiddleware from './asyncMiddleware';
import resetAction from './resetAction';

export {
  asyncReducer,
  getAsyncState,
  asyncMiddleware,
  ACTION_START,
  ACTION_SUCCESS,
  ACTION_ERROR,
  resetAction,
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


After a fine breakfast at the Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum, we parked up on a large layby on the A82 down Glen Falloch beside some large hydro works and followed the track that leads to the River Falloch. Here a mess of hydro activity greeted us, although there were signs directing walkers alongside.
Not the bonniest of starts and all we could be thankful for was the ease of progress on the track up the glen. When the track ended, amongst murk, bog and much hydro work going on, we began to make our way along the slopes and up towards the bealach that would take us on to Twistin Hill.
It was fairly boggy and a tough pathless slog up to the bealach. The hydro works down below didn't enliven the view back either, only the steep slopes of Meall Garbh opposite, so it was a relief to finally reach the wide ridge of Twistin Hill.
Here we met some others coming up from via Sron Garbh so I presume that is the standard way many people take. The views finally began to open up and we started to really enjoy the walk – up until now it had been a bit of a viewless tramp but the best was now ahead of us.
We could see the rocky profile of An Caisteal ahead – the castle.
The path wound its way around the crags and there were a couple of fun steps to consider and use our hands on, although nothing too scrambly. We soon reached the summit of An Caisteal. As is typical in this part of the country, there were crowded peaks as far as the eye could see. These are very characterful, rocky hills.
We spoke to two guys who had reached the summit and said we were thinking about including the other neighbouring Munro, Beinn Chabhair in our walk. They advised against it – one of them had done it before and said it was long and difficult. I think we were reluctant not to include it but he wasn't selling it to us!
The path continued down the ridge and we seemed to lose an awful lot of height in a short space of time.
The path wound round the rocks and again there were some slabs to negotiate. When we got to the bealach and looked across to Beinn Chabhair, it certainly didn't look too inviting, with a big loss of height and re-ascent, plus an awful lot of craggy looking steep flanks. We decided it could wait till another day and carried on towards Beinn a'Chroin.
The path wound tightly round the SW flank of Beinn a'Chroin and there was much rocky steps and fun clambering on this part. I have no idea how people can bring dogs up this, especially as one bit had me hauling myself up, kicking my right foot out to find a step and dragging the rest of me over the rock. It wasn't pretty! We did meet a guy with a huge dog and he said he just lifted him – although he said in the same sentence that his dog was an Akita – a Japanese mountain dog that he got especially to go into the hills with him.
We reached the summit and enjoyed the views over to the southern peaks, although it was very cold at this point and we didn't hang about.
We made our descent down the northern shoulder. The way back was long and tiring, albeit on good path for the steep part down.
The walk back out down the glen was pathless and as boggy as I can remember any walk. I quite liked the giant boulders with gardens and mini forests on top – although I imagine these have been photographed many times before.
It was a relief to finally reach the hydro track after the bogfest and amble easily back to the van.
Stunning views as always. Forgive my asking, but what sort of camera/lens are you using?
Thanks. I just use the camera on my iphone6 to take pictures. Its a good camera but has its limitations. I could probably do with a proper camera – but at least means one less thing I carry! I am considering it though.
I do as it happens! 🙂 I was actually looking at the Panasonic Lumix GM1. The world of cameras scares me a bit as it all gets a bit technical – I guess I'll be looking for something simple to use, small and light, and probably bombproof too. I do have an old digital camera but my phone camera surpassed the quality a few years back.
The GM1 looks to be genuinely tiny but has a great sensor. I would think it would be something you could start off just using the auto settings, then gradually learn how to get more from with the manual settings, maybe switching to a wider angle lens if you get on with the camera. Seems to have good reviews.
I would be so worried, especially on ridges and in the cloud when you can't see anything. There seems to be so many dogs that go missing in the hills at the moment.
Wouldn't fancy lifting an Akita up those scrambles on Beinn a' Chroin – Richard struggled to get up one big step (the one I think you mean).
That route is a total bogfest. There is a path which goes up the end of Sron Garbh for Twistin' Hill but it was exceedingly wet and no fun at all – we wished we'd taken a similar route to the one you ended up taking.
We wished we had taken your route – I think that is the better route! Apart from the soggy walk in and out, I liked this walk though.
I did but I'm getting fed up of the wet paths everywhere – especially this year. You probably chose an extremely unfortunate year to do that particular walk!
Yes – went and did the Easians ridge the other week – that was another boggy mess!
I found the other side worse – getting to Sgriodan!
Oh really? I was considering doing them the day after – glad I didn't. But I've yet to walk them!
I thought they were a nice walk (Sgriodan and Chno Dearg) because I like a nice, relaxing day and there were no bad bits but the ascent of the hillside up to Sgriodan was very wet indeed! Once you reached the steep sides of the peak, all was fine after that.


For too long the investment industry has been stuck in a polarising debate about whether it is active or passive investing that should win out. In more recent years, the passive advocates' voices have been heard loud and clear but this of course misses the point that there remains a number of hugely talented fund managers who have managed to beat the market, some by a significant margin, over time. The key, of course, is being able to find them.
At AJ Bell, we are agnostic in this debate and believe that it is important to give advisers the choice of both active and passive solutions. Having launched our Passive MPS in August 2016, we are pleased to have now launched our Active MPS range, encompassing six growth solutions and two income solutions.
While this is a new launch for AJ Bell, the team involved in managing the portfolios has a huge amount of experience in identifying, researching, selecting and monitoring fund managers. This experience has been put to good use on the construction of the new Active MPS but importantly, we are acutely aware of how hard it is to find fund managers who can consistently deliver outperformance. As a result, the Active MPS will only ever use actively managed solutions when we judge that they have the potential to deliver performance worth paying for. With such a focus on the cost of investing, we share this ethos to ensure that the maximum amount possible of our investors' hard-earned money is put to work, rather than being spent on unnecessary costs.
Putting this into practice, we have two areas of our growth portfolios at launch where we have judged that a passive solution is the best option. This is in our UK gilt exposure, currently solely exposed to short duration gilts, where the efficiency of the market is such that the additional cost of active managers far outweighs the benefit. The second area is with our US large cap exposure, which is a notoriously difficult area to outperform – choosing a passive solution here allowed us to use more expensive higher alpha managers elsewhere.
In other areas of the portfolio we have identified a wide variety of fund managers who we have a high level of conviction in. Within our fixed interest exposure, we see the experience and stability of Ian Spreadbury at Fidelity combined with the pragmatism of Chris Bowie at TwentyFour Asset Management as an ideal blend, particularly given the potential challenges facing the economy and fixed interest markets. In European equities, the stock picking prowess of Richard Pease at Crux is attractive as the European economy picks up momentum, while in Asia the pragmatic approach of Will Lam at Invesco Perpetual gives flexibility to find the very best stock ideas across one of the world's fastest-growing regions. In Japan, we have identified the huge experience of Stephen Harker at Man GLG as a great way to gain exposure to value stocks in Japan that have been left behind in the growth-focused rally of the last few years.
In the UK, the economy continues to face challenges in the run-up to the departure from the EU. As a result, we have looked to blend high quality managers who operate in different areas of the market. The core approach of Simon Brazier at Investec combines well with the more aggressive, higher turnover style of Henry Dixon at Man GLG and the more defensive approach of Francis Brooke, manager of Troy Trojan Income.
Looking at the newly launched Active Income MPS, each portfolio targets a long-term yield of 4% per annum. With differing levels of risk and equity content, there is choice for advisers in how to generate income over time. Portfolio construction here is focused towards income and therefore the portfolios are a blend of active and passive strategies. There is still a place for high quality active managers such as Jacob de Tusch Lec, manager of Artemis Global Income, Jason Pidcock, manager of Jupiter Asian Income and Charles Montanaro who runs the Montanaro UK Income fund. The portfolios are geographically diverse and importantly not overly reliant on any one fund or region for the generation of income.
With a focus on active managers but only where it can add value, we endeavour to keep costs as low as possible. This is backed by our decision to offer both our Passive and Active MPS solutions with an AMC of only 0.15% + VAT. Again, this points to our agnostic approach to the active vs passive debate and allows advisers to choose the best-possible investment option for their clients.
With the investment solutions offered by AJ Bell Investments now significantly expanded at one of the lowest costs in the market, we believe there is a compelling reason to consider our MPS solutions. With our commitment to deliver simple, low-cost and transparent solutions and our focus on giving advisers choice, we are delighted to be entering the next phase of our investment journey.


Vice-chairman of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and former defence minister Ľubomír Galko will not get the required number of votes from the opposition People's Platform parties to remove current Defence Minister Martin Glváč over an investigation of suspicions concerning embezzlement in the military intelligence service.
Galko needs five more signatures, the SITA newswire wrote, adding that he needs a total of 30 signatures. "For now, we will not support this initiative," vice-chairman of the Christian-Democratic Movement, Pavol Abrhan, told SITA. Vice-chairperson of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) caucus Lucia Žitňanská opined that Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Security Council should deal with the scandal, which the parties of the People's Platform have asked for in written form. She added that the scandal is resulting in the crumbling of one of the pillars of the country's security, the Military Intelligence (VS).
Galko sent letters to the People's Platform caucus chairs - Pavol Hrušovský, László Solymos and Lucia Žitňanská – asking them to support his proposal to dismiss Glváč in connection with the investigation of the case.
Although Defence Minister Glváč has been at pains to persuade the public that the suspicions of large-scale embezzlement of state funds via the country's military intelligence agencies during the first government of Robert Fico (2006-2010) were only a "dangerous media hoax", new claims of misconduct continue to emerge. The daily Sme broke the first story on embezzlement suspicions, citing an anonymous 134-page file leaked from the military intelligence agencies, on May 16. The report contains information about alleged fraud pertaining to 15 expensive residential properties in Bratislava, as well as cars, which supposedly ended up in the personal ownership of VSS officers and their relatives. Both of the then directors of the two military intelligence agencies – Juraj Šebo of the VSS and Ľubomír Skuhra of the VOS – allegedly knew about the transactions. Since then, the military intelligence services have been restructured, and the two bodies, the VSS and the Military Defence Intelligence (VOS) counter-intelligence agency, were joined into one organisation, the VS, now led by Skuhra, Sme reported.


For medium 12 litres water extraction / day to large applications over 1100 litres /hour.
From small portables to Large fixed installations.
Where are Adsorption Dehumidifiers normally used?
Adsorption dehumidifiers are particularly suited for use wherever lower temperatures, low humidity levels or low dew points are required.
There are some examples of where such dehumidifiers are used.
Cotes – Ice Rinks – English from Cotes A/S on Vimeo.
Relative humidity and the dewpoint from Cotes A/S on Vimeo.
What are Adsorption Dehumidifiers normally used for?
Adsorption dehumidifier technology normally plays a key role in production and processes that require dry conditions.
Preventing ice formation in cold stores and freezing tunnels/facilities.
HOW AN ADSORPTION DEHUMIDIFIER WORKS!
How does an adsorption dehumidifier work from Cotes A/S on Vimeo.
Cotes adsorption dehumidification technology enables you to take full control of conditions in the air surrounding your industrial processes.
And better control is good business.
Condensation is the result of the fact that the air, which inevitably contains a certain level of moisture, has a different temperature from the surfaces with which it comes into contact.
Wood, building materials and other hygroscopic materials absorb humidity. This can give rise to many kinds of mould and rot, affecting both structural integrity and material value.
Humidity can create corrosion in components and brazings, giving rise to dangerous short-circuits and flashovers, as well as impacting uptime and service costs.
Powders and granulate absorb humidity particularly easily. They then clump together, affecting quality and causing blockages in processing equipment, as well as providing a fertile breeding ground for bacteria.
Seasonal fluctuations in humidity result in inconsistent production conditions that can affect product quality, energy consumption and profit margins.
Several distinct technologies are normally used for removing unwanted humidity from the air. Each has its own particular advantages.
Traditional condensation dehumidifiers can be used within a relatively narrow temperature band of 10-32 °C, and work best at 30 °C and when there are high levels of water vapour in the air.
In short, they are only really effective at high temperatures and high levels of relative humidity.
Adsorption dehumidification technology, on the other hand, can be used over the entire range of temperatures from -30 °C to +30 °C, and is most efficient in the temperature range from -30 °C to +20 °C.
In short, adsorption dehumidifiers are effective over an extremely wide range of temperature conditions and at any level of relative humidity, and are the only viable solution at temperatures below about 10° C.
For the discerning customer, this makes adsorption dehumidification the technology of choice due to its versatility and ability to operate over a substantial range of temperature conditions.
Cotes adsorption dehumidifiers are designed, developed and perfected through projects in many different trades and industries throughout the world.
Our comprehensive practical experience benefits you directly when selecting Cotes to meet your humidity management and dehumidification requirements, no matter how complex or unusual.
We believe that dehumidification equipment should be simple and inexpensive to maintain. That's why we use standard components available on the general market, whenever possible.
Cotes dehumidifiers are also designed and built for easy accessibility and simple service that minimises downtime.
Dehumidifiers must be able to withstand constant use. We ensure lo reliability by intelligent design and by using the most durable components on the market.
Your Cotes dehumidification solution will work exactly as intended, year after year.
Cotes dehumidifier solutions are designed from the outset to use as little energy as possible to achieve maximum effect with the lowest operating costs. Our systems can be powered by virtually any available source of energy, including natural gas, solar power and steam, as well as surplus/waste heat from other processes.
Our products are CFC-free. When the time comes, many components can be recycled, making Cotes dehumidifiers better for the environment and less expensive for you.


text:
École Française Internationale de Colombo (EFIC) is a French international school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It opened in 1979.

It serves levels maternelle (preschool) through lycée (senior high school). It directly teaches preschool and elementary school students and uses the National Centre for Distance Education (CNED) distance education programme with other levels.

References

External links

  École Française Internationale de Colombo

Schools in Colombo
International schools in Sri Lanka
Colombo
1979 establishments in Sri Lanka
Educational institutions established in 1979

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This property	that is located at 222 Mulberry Drive, Fate Texas 75087 in Rockwall county is currently for sale. This property is offered by The Jessica Hargis Group, agent The Jessica Hargis Group, priced at $1,850. The property at 222 Mulberry Drive has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,767 sq.ft. and was built in 2006. 222 Mulberry Drive is in Fate and in the ZIP code of 75087.
Contact The Jessica Hargis Group for more information about this income.
I found your listing on AgentMarketing. Please send me more information about 222 Mulberry Drive in Fate as soon as possible.


The NST bus station has one daily bus to Imphal (₹200, six hours, 7.30am). There's no advance booking so get there early. Another option for Imphal is to get a Dimapur–Imphal minibus to pick you up at TCP Junction as they pass through Kohima (normally around 9.30am, 1.30pm and 11.30pm). Call the Dimapur Winger counter. You may have to pay the full Dimapur–Imphal fare (₹700) or even more.
Seven-passenger vans depart for Dimapur (₹300, 3½ hours, from 5am) when full, from the street corner at the south end of the NST bus station.
Private buses for the long rides to Mon (18 hours), Shillong (11 hours) and Guwahati (13 hours), costing between ₹750 and ₹900, leave from stops on NH2 (old NH39) in the AOC area about 2km south of the city centre. Network Travels has the best service, leaving for Shillong and Guwahati at 2.30pm. Blue Hill has a noon departure to Mon. The companies' counters here open erratically: best chances are in the hour or so before departures.
City Stationery, opposite IDBI Bank, has comfortable seven-passenger Innova cars departing for Shillong (₹1200, 10 hours) at 6am Monday to Saturday.
A car and driver for a day out to Kisama and Khonoma costs about ₹2500.


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La microrégion de Macapá est une des quatre microrégions de l'État de l'Amapá et appartient à la mésorégion du Sud de l'Amapá. Elle est divisée en huit municipalités. Elle est bordée par l'Océan Atlantique sur sa partie Nord-Est et l'Amazone au Sud-Est.

Municipalités

 Cutias
 Ferreira Gomes
 Itaubal
 Macapá
 Pedra Branca do Amapari
 Porto Grande
 Santana
 Serra do Navio

Microrégions limitrophes

 Amapá
 Mazagão
 Oiapoque
 Arari (Pará)
 Furos de Breves (Pará)

Macapa


ROOM FOR THE CARAVAN OR BOAT!
· Greta is located midway between Cessnock's wineries, Singleton's mining district and popular Maitland shopping.
· Linked to nearby Branxton with easy access to the Hunter Expressway and only 30 minutes to the M1.


Apple is reportedly planning an App Store fee schedule revision that will see its slice of revenue from subscription video services, and potentially other non-video providers, drop from the customary 30 percent to only 15 percent.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports Apple's upcoming plan to halve its take of revenues is meant to placate media providers as it readies its own video strategy.
The new rate structure comes with a caveat, however. To be eligible for reduced App Store fees, video services must be integrated with the new TV app, the report said.
Movies and TV shows from services like Netflix are integral in the success of Apple's wider multimedia strategy, though some providers have in the past been critical of App Store fees. In particular, companies are displeased that they have to pay a premium to sell their app on the App Store, with some going so far as to label the demands as anticompetitive behavior.
For Apple, the move could ease tensions as it prepares to launch "TV," a new app for tvOS and iOS that collects into a single location movies, TV shows and other video content from multiple providers. Announced in October, TV is designed to be a one-stop video hub for Apple device users, complete with universal search options and content curation for surfacing new shows.
As noted by Bloomberg, the coming fee reduction is technically an extension of exclusive deals the company has in place with certain existing providers. Reports suggest Netflix, Hulu Plus and MLB.TV have been paying 15 percent App Store revenue sharing rates since last year, for example.
They need to stop picking random numbers and just get in a room with Amazon until they make a deal. There's no sense changing the number until they know Amazon will accept it. I doubt Amazon will accept anything above 3% or so.
Is it really worth it for Apple to do that just to get 3-4 shows (Amazon exclusives) on the Apple TV natively? I don't think it is. I personally would love Prime Video on my ATV but if I was Apple I would cut my rate to 1/5th just to do it.
Guess it's make or break time for content providers to jump onboard with Apple TV.
Amazon could do a Prime app for the Apple TV and not pay Apple a cut. They only have to pay Apple if allow subscriptions through the App. They obviously do not want people buying Apple TVs. They would rather you have Fire TV devices and be in Amazon's ecosystem instead of having an app inside of Apple's. All this does for my family is mean that I have both devices. I watch Prime on the FireTV Stick and watch everything else on the AppleTV. I'm not buying content on Amazon for any reason. I will occasionally rent movies using the credits from not accepting the 2 day prime shipping when I don't need it, but that is it.
Why is Apple getting any money in this whole scheme at all?
With Apple, the whole deal used to be that the user is the user, and not the product. This was the opposite of Google, where the user was their product that they sold to Ad agencies.
Apple seems to have added the Google business model to their own way of doing business, in addition to the device selling model. It seems that a large reason Apple wants users is so they can then sell those users to content companies, or so they can sell their own content to those users.
I am worried that with Apple also shifting to a business model where it's trying to make money from its user base, they might start making decisions which hurt the good that's come out of the user is not a product model.
That's what I don't understand though. Apple is okay with Amazon delivering content to iOS users without paying them anything. But essentially they are saying that if you want an iOS user to have greater convenience in the usage of their product, you have to give them 15 to 30% of the money you were making off them otherwise.
Apple is trying to hold user convenience as hostage in order to extract money for itself. Those are the types of decisions I find worrying with the new business model Apple is getting into, which I alluded to in my previous comment.
Amazon iOS apps for their Kindle, Prime Video and Music services don't sell through the apps. The selling part happens on Amazon's site. That's why Apple doesn't get a cut of those sales.
It makes no sense to me that Apple should get a cut of subscription revenue from someone else's content that Apple isn't hosting. If I subscribe to a magazine that I bought at Walmart should Walmart get a cut of of that monthly subscription fee just because I bought the magazine at Walmart? Does Apple really spend any money marketing Netflix or Amazon Prime? As far as just running the App Store in general doesn't the price of an iOS device or an TV include the cost of running the App Store? Why should that be an extra cost 3rd parties have to pay that they just pass on to consumers?
Where exactly are you getting all this from? I do not see Apple following a Google model at all.
The TV App is an aggregator. I assume once you select something you can watch it provided you are authorised to. That would boil down to the individual providers. Apple is selling no information here.
I will buy an AppleTV when I can get 4K content. So far if I want 4K content the only option is Netflix and a few Youtube sources. My IPTV service provider offers 4K channels, but no content that I want.
The content producers have a real chance here to get their 4K content onto a device before cable providers do an equipment swapout to upgrade to 4K. Once that window closes, there will be no incentive to buy an AppleTV except to those who already have decided to cancel their cable TV.
Do we know if non-streaming apps such as Infuse will be able to integrate with this app, or only your iTunes library managed through iTunes?
I don't understand why you are unable to comprehend this reality of a market place. You bring this up every single time. No one is forced to purchase subscriptions through Apple - they can sign up outside of Apple, and all apps provide a login. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, newspapers, the list goes on. Your Walmart example is false, as they do not provide that option. If Walmart made it "super easy" to subscribe to magazines, and it increased the subscriptions, I would expect those publishers would be happy to pay for that. Converting a customer & maintaining them is not easy or cheap.
Some services/apps do provide an in-app subscription option though, and we can only assume they do this "because it is a benefit to them". That some customers would not /might not have subscribed to the service otherwise. In this case, Apple's App Store is clearly providing value (discovery, conversion, the simple sign-up, security, no sharing of credit card details with many companies, managing your subscriptions all in one place, etc). You might have noticed that competitors (e.g. Google Play) also have a similar approach.
To entice subscriptions, Apple has already reduced the "2nd year & beyond" to 15%. What is described in this article is another such move.
You might not like it, and I am sure if you were running a business you would be happy to provide lots of services for free with no benefit to yourself. However, the reality is that if value is provided, then a price is warranted.
Except, Amazon already has both an iPhone and an iPad Amazon Prime Video app. Moreover, you can even AirPlay video from either app to your Apple TV. Amazon clearly doesn't have any problem with Apple or the viewing of their content on iOS devices. So what then is holding Amazon back from delivering an Apple TV app?
15% might be too much of a discount but I'd like to see Netflix join.
and no, I don't believe Apple should give away their services for free. Especially if others are profiting and leeching off of it.
This has ZERO to do with Amazon. I have no idea how you came to the conclusion that Apple altering the rates for an entire industry is for one tiny player.
Apple is already at the point where Amazon is pretty much a non-issue.
I would rather have Vudu support 100 times more than Amazon.


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text:
Still in "The Game"
Despite pandemic, David Dixon is Still in "The Game"
Multi-instrumentalist Dixon releases new pop EP on August 13th: "The Game"
While the past year has been a gut-punch for musicians, Greenville native David Dixon made the best of the situation and retreated to his studio, creating and recording new music. Dixon wrote all of the songs and performed most of the instrumentation on his forthcoming EP. "I worked remotely with collaborators from all over…Argentina, Australia, Pennsylvania, Virginia," Dixon says. "It was a fun, new way to record and make music." A product of Greenville schools (South Greenville Elementary, C.M. Eppes Middle, and Rose High), Dixon now resides in Wilmington, but frequently visits the area, performing locally. One might say he got an early start with music.
"My mom [Mamie Dixon] is a violin teacher in Greenville and has been involved with the Suzuki method for decades," he says. "The Suzuki method revolves around ear-training before learning to read music. My mom started me on violin when I was just two years old, so my path as a musician began involuntarily. I sure am grateful for that now. I realized once I got to music school, how much of an advantage I had compared to some of the students with a more traditional music background. I could memorize music and also play most music that I heard, in a lot less time."
When in the 5th grade, his school orchestra needed an upright bassist and Dixon was chosen. "That led to me playing bass in my mom's group, the HiStrung Players. We played all over the place, the highlight performance being at Disney World."
He remembers learning to play "My Girl" on the bass: "It's an easy part, but there's a real groove present. I can recall how cool I felt playing that 'My Girl' bass line for the first time, That feeling was a pivotal moment for me."
A couple of years later he began playing around with his friend's father's guitar: "I think once I learned my first portion of a Led Zeppelin song, my musical fire was officially lit."
While at Rose High, Dixon was able to leave campus twice a week to attend some college music classes at ECU. He audited a jazz improv class taught by Dr. Paul Tardif his senior year. "It was way over my head at the time, but I picked up some really helpful musical knowledge by being able to sit in and listen," Dixon remembers. "Before transferring to Berklee College of Music in Boston, I also studied with Carroll Dashiell at ECU. He took a liking to me and taught me a great deal. He's an incredible musician, a true Greenville gem."
During high school, Dixon had an experience performing at a local landmark that still stands out in his memory. "My high school band, Festival Blues Band, got a chance to perform at the Attic nightclub," he remembers. "They were having a Battle of the Bands and provided pro lights and sound…our first taste of a proper live music experience. I'll never forget the band being announced, the screen being raised to reveal several hundred cheering people in the crowd, and us (band members) just looking at each other like, 'Whoaaaa'."
And just like that, he felt like a rock star. He laughs and adds, "It was a rush I think I've been chasing ever since.There was no turning back for me after that."
His band ended up winning the Battle.
Considering that Dixon already had a classical music background, he actively pursued studying jazz: "I thought studying jazz would increase my musical vocabulary, and give me more options. It's kind of like when you hear an abnormal choice or unique chord progression in a song that sounds really interesting. I wanted to know how to do that, and studying jazz helped me a lot."
These days he describes his style as "John Mayer meets Derek Trucks, with some Ed Sheeran sprinkled on top."
The pandemic presented Dixon with an unplanned new approach to recording music. Instead of going into a professional studio and recording with other musicians like he's done in the past, he upgraded his home recording equipment. "Once I was able to record most parts on my own from home (vocals, guitar, bass, keys & percussion) I really only had to outsource live drums or drum programming," he says.
Dixon worked with a mixing engineer/producer in Pennsylvania named Carl Bahner: "I ended up collaborating with Carl on all of the songs. We've actually never met in person. I would send him demos, and he would weigh in with ideas. We would regularly send voice memos where we would sing or hum ideas to try out. It was really fun to be able to record ideas on our own, then send them back and forth and decide what worked best."
Bahner referred him to other musicians that he hired to work remotely. "His friend Tomás Shannon actually recorded live drums for one of my songs from his home studio in Argentina." Dixon says. His mastering engineer is based in Melbourne, Australia. "Another highlight was Carl referring me to John Legend's sax player, Korey Riker."
A live release party is planned for August 19 in Wilmington, where Dixon will be performing some of the new songs for the first time: "We've teamed up with local charity Nourish NC to have some of the proceeds go to feeding hungry kids in New Hanover County. The idea is to get a bunch of folks together for a live concert and celebrate the new release, and also try to do a little good in the community at the same time."
Dixon is already working on the follow-up single to the EP. "I'm really excited about it. I'm performing violin parts on that one," he says.
His next scheduled performance in the area will be at Local Oak Brewery in Winterville on October 22nd at 7pm. Dixon also has a Greenville house concert in the works. "Intimate shows really help me to connect with the audience," he says. If anyone is interested in hosting one, drop me a line at my website."
His new EP, "The Game," will be available on all platforms by August 13.
originally published in the Daily Reflector July 31, 2021