text:
Consciousness & Science
Thread starter Jim_Smith
Laird said:
In news just to hand: Self-driving Uber kills Arizona woman in first fatal crash involving pedestrian.
I have been surprised by the rush to implement "self-driving vehicles". I understand the economic drive. But my windows computer still crashes at least once a month. My android phone is more reliable, but not 100%. The computer in my tv system crashes daily. My server farm is better, but I dont know how you do cloud technology in all weather vehicle.
I expect lawsuits in the U.S.A. will eventually provide a counter to those businesses in a rush.
Likes: Laird and Hurmanetar
Charlie Primero
north said:
But my windows computer still crashes at least once a month.
I've noticed the people most wary of depending on technology for activities where Life hangs in the balance tend to be people like me who are more familiar with what a House of Cards the whole thing actually is.
I'm still amazed that computers even work at all because I know about the thousands of "right-on-the-edge" things flying around inside them every second.
Jim_Smith
Mine too after one of the recent major upgrades. It made me think nothing has really changed in the last 30 years.
nbtruthman
My main worry about AI has been the apocalyptic scenario where rather than our expiring accidentally because of AI programming mistakes, we become slaves or extinct because they decide to take over. I found a good article that I think explodes that worry, at http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/a-n...ts-will-never-have-consciousness-like-humans/ :
Some of today's top techies and scientists are very publicly expressing their concerns over apocalyptic scenarios that are likely to arise as a result of machines with motives. Among the fearful are intellectual heavyweights like Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, who all believe that advances in the field of machine learning will soon yield self-aware A.I.s that seek to destroy us—or perhaps just dispose of us, much like scum getting obliterated by a windshield wiper. In fact, Dr. Hawking told the BBC, "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."
Indeed, there is little doubt that future A.I. will be capable of doing significant damage. For example, it is conceivable that robots could be programmed to function as tremendously dangerous autonomous weapons unlike any seen before. Additionally, it is easy to imagine an unconstrained software application that spreads throughout the Internet, severely mucking up our most efficient and relied upon medium for global exchange.
But these scenarios are categorically different from ones in which machines decide to turn on us, defeat us, make us their slaves, or exterminate us. In this regard, we are unquestionably safe. On a sadder note, we are just as unlikely to someday have robots that decide to befriend us or show us love without being specifically prompted by instructions to do so.
This is because such intentional behavior from an A.I. would undoubtedly require a mind, as intentionality can only arise when something possesses its own beliefs, desires, and motivations. The type of A.I. that includes these features is known amongst the scientific community as "Strong Artificial Intelligence". Strong A.I., by definition, should possess the full range of human cognitive abilities. This includes self-awareness, sentience, and consciousness, as these are all features of human cognition.
On the other hand, "Weak Artificial Intelligence" refers to non-sentient A.I. The Weak A.I. Hypothesis states that our robots—which run on digital computer programs—can have no conscious states, no mind, no subjective awareness, and no agency. Such A.I. cannot experience the world qualitatively, and although they may exhibit seemingly intelligent behavior, it is forever limited by the lack of a mind.
A failure to recognize the importance of this strong/weak distinction could be contributing to Hawking and Musk's existential worries, both of whom believe that we are already well on a path toward developing Strong A.I. (a.k.a. Artificial General Intelligence). To them it is not a matter of "if", but "when".
But the fact of the matter is that all current A.I. is fundamentally Weak A.I., and this is reflected by today's computers' total absence of any intentional behavior whatsoever. Although there are some very complex and relatively convincing robots out there that appear to be alive, upon closer examination they all reveal themselves to be as motiveless as the common pocket calculator.
Likes: north
Jim_Smith said:
They have a person sitting in the car because they are testing / developing the technology. Eventually they will not have a driver, just passengers and or cargo.
I assume they are racking up the hours until they can go to the government and say: "Our autonomous vehicles have a better safety record than human drivers, it's time to let us operate without a human ready to take control." (A human taking control would make it less safe!). Pick a factor 2x 10x 100x at some point the safety record of autonomous vehicles will be so many times better than humans the pressure will be to restrict human drivers not autonomous vehicles. It is inevitable. Resistance is futile.
Likes: Charlie Primero
China's lack of privacy concerns will make it the Leader in the "Race for A.I."
At the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of AI held in New Orleans last month, China submitted 1,242 papers, 25 percent more than the US.
...The rapid development of AI in China is in part due to the country's huge market, large population and fewer privacy concerns among the public, which means it's easier to collect data.
Hurmanetar
I think "their" goal was to get self-driving vehicles mainstream by 2020, but I agree that they are rushing it and there could be a lot of pushback from accidents... but they'll come out with the statistics and propaganda and say... "yes, occasionally, the AI makes a horrible mistake, but it makes far fewer mistakes than human drivers" and then insurance costs will be significantly cheaper for self-driving vehicles and all the insurance companies will start charging an arm and a leg for anyone that wants to keep driving an old-fashioned vehicle with a steering wheel so people will eventually be forced to accept it via economics. There will be more terrorist attacks where mentally deranged known-wolves mow down crowds of people with their vehicles and eventually anyone who wants to keep a steering wheel will be viewed with suspicion. City people will be early adopters and exceptions will be made for people who live out in the country, but eventually even farmers will be forced into it.
There will be hold outs... backwards-looking gun-toting people like me with quaint ideas about personal freedom and individual responsibility who believe giving up the steering wheel will make them slaves (because the government and corporations will have back doors to all vehicles allowing them to remotely pilot them or shut them down or prohibit them from entering certain spaces or crossing boundaries), but even now all the new vehicles are able to be remotely piloted so it will be increasingly difficult to find a vehicle that meets emissions regulations and that is unable to be remotely hijacked.
Regarding the reliability issues... my assumption is you build reliability with redundancy... multiple CPU's running the same calculations and then voting on a solution.
And I would assume you don't want any safety critical information on the cloud because: what if you're in a bad service area or bad weather, like you said.
Safety will improve with more networking as more vehicles and devices on the road and in people's pockets can rapidly link together forming local ad hoc networks that share critical information. I believe that is how the swarms of drones (like displayed in the 2018 winter Olympic ceremonies) manage to avoid hitting each other. I can imagine future generations of smart phones coming with a special chip that will instantly link with any nearby vehicles communicating information about the pedestrian or bike rider that will help the vehicle predict their path and avoid them. I can imagine "smart intersections" where all vehicles within x-distance of the intersection feed their information to the intersection AI traffic controller which then feeds back instructions to the vehicles that optimizes traffic flow and safety.
I'm wondering if they'll ever get the magnetically levitated ball-wheel technology rolling for the vehicles of the future:
It will be really interesting to see how driverless cars work out - particularly in complicated, cluttered streets.
For example, there are many narrow minor roads in Britain that have parked cars on both sides of the road, and drivers find the need to negotiate using hand signals!
Imagine if the recent victim had been a child. When a person sees a child, they can understand a lot about the situation - is the kid under supervision, is he carrying a ball, is he talking to someone else across the street. AI typically gets part of the way and then stalls - think of automatic translation.
Hurmanetar said:
but they'll come out with the statistics and propaganda and say... "yes, occasionally, the AI makes a horrible mistake, but it makes far fewer mistakes than human drivers" and then insurance costs will be significantly cheaper for self-driving vehicles and all the insurance companies will start charging an arm and a leg for anyone that wants to keep driving an old-fashioned vehicle with a steering wheel so people will eventually be forced to accept it via economics.
I am interested in how insurance companies view autonomous vehicles. But wrongful death lawsuits in US can be done by jury and going after companies like UBER have potential for very high settlements.
Having worked with technology for 30 years of my career, I am very skeptical about the safety of computer controlled cars and the reliability of consumer priced electronics.
Likes: LetsEat, David Bailey, nbtruthman and 2 others
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ning-robot-terrifies-drinkers-London-pub.html
Hyper-realistic robot that is 'indistinguishable from humans' startles punters at a London pub by smashing a glass while talking about a machine invasion
The robot, described as 'indistinguishable from humans', was created as part of a stunt to promote TV Series Westworld.
Typoz
The robot, described as 'indistinguishable from humans'
So which is which, in this photo?
There is now a new Google assistant impersonating a human on the phone. It's scary to me too.
"Google could soon have a feature that lets your phone impersonate people. Called Duplex, it's intended to make people's lives easier by handling standard phone calls that are necessary, but not especially personal.
In examples Google demonstrated on stage during the I/O keynote, Google Assistant called a hair stylist to arrange an appointment and called a restaurant to get information about a reservation, using a voice that sounds a little less robotic than the standard Google Assistant (whether that voice is the user's or a standard Google Duplex voice has not been made clear)."
"(This is) absolutely terrifying. For the sci-fi fans it's terrifying because it's one step closer to the kind of AI we put in robots we enslave and who eventually rebel."
Endeavoring to produce exactly perfect impersonations of human beings is a very bad idea. Even not considering the "strong AI" implications of this development, it's still a very bad idea. Apparently Google is showing little inclination to consider the negative side of their new developments. Full speed ahead. What about combining this technology with the hyper-realistic robots covered in the last post?
"The near future terror of this project has to do with how it could be used to further erode your privacy and security. Google has access to a lot of your information. It knows everything you browse on Chrome, and places you go on Google Maps. If you have an Android device it knows who you call. If you use Gmail it knows how regularly you skip chain emails from your mum. Giving an AI that pretends to be human access to all that information should terrify you."
nbtruthman said:
There is now a new Google assistant impersonating a human on the phone. It's scary to me too
I guess arranging an appointment is a relatively simple job - particularly as the person on the other end presumably recognises instantly that she is talking to a robot and simplifies her reply to "ten thirty" or whatever!
I just don't think this technology will be of any real use - roughly like the paper clip that used to jump about in Word for Windows!
Let's change that to an appointment with the doctor:
Robot: My owner has asked me to make an appointment with my doctor between 10 and 12 on Tuesday.
Assistant: I am sorry we have no appointments available then unless it is an emergency!
Robot: OK - I will get back to my owner and contact you again shortly!
Robot: My owner has asked me to make an appointment with my doctor between 10 and 12 on Tuesday because he is suffering from indigestion.
Assistant: I don't think that can be classed as an emergency, I can offer you an appointment late next week.
Owner: Hello, I am so sorry about that wretched GOOGLE assistant thing - I actually wanted to renew my Omeprazole prescription, but it got confused.
Assistant: That was the 67 th call of that sort this week, we are now activating the latest version of "Apple get lost" software on your line that will screen out calls from GOOGLE Assistant!
David Bailey said:
That's good. It's an example of why natural language conversation is so hard (or impossible) for current AI - the need for, among many other things, a very wide array of associated information that is inherently available to the human speaker. I think that given the effort apparently put into it, this Google Duplex assistant probably is designed to query the user about at least some details, before it actually makes the call. Probably, even if this enables the Google system to successfully complete the call, it takes the user longer to put the necessary data in than it would have for him to have made the call himself. Of course, the system probably saves the data and attempts to learn from each call. Anyway, it still makes me uneasy.
Yes - there is real technology behind the speech recognition, but it isn't really AI in the classical sense. Of course, we are not normally conscious of recognising what is said to us - our brains just feed us the words. Actually having the 2-way conversation is the AI task - in away it would look remarkably like some old AI programs from about 30 years ago.
The problem is, querying the user extensively before each call makes the thing useless in practice, and guessing what to carry over from previous calls is probably going to be unreliable. The thing is, AI researchers seem to love their software like a parent might love an ugly child. Who in their right mind would have wanted others to listen to this?
http://digg.com/video/ai-christmas-carol
It's old news, but for a while the military had a project to develop a tactical robot that could "live off the land" so to speak, by harvesting and consuming "biomass" where it could find it. This robot was providentially given an appropriate acronym, EATR (Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot). It was supposed to be entirely vegan (wood and other plant matter). Apparently the project was cancelled after the word got out and there was a lot of concern and negative PR that EATR might graduate to carnivory or to at least harvesting the bodies of the dead. After all, what about your vegan or vegetarian who after having 5 drinks then orders a meat pizza? Then, when such "food" is scarce, coudn't EATR graduate to procuring its own bodies? Learning algorithms have a lot of applications.
Not to indulge in alarmist fantasy, but here is yet another potential way AI could become our enemy.
I get the feeling that nowadays a lot of money gets spent on quite absurd projects. Leaving aside the AI aspects, what would the robot do with the food it foraged. I suppose the best I can imagine would be to ferment it for methane gas - but I'll bet even that would be a lot trickier than it sounds. It would probably expire from constipation!
A Feb. 2018 update on current progress toward practical self-driving cars (Autonomous Vehicle Safety Myths And Facts), from Piekniewski's Blog on the limits of deep learning and where to go next with AI. This expert looks at the facts, not all the hype and wishful thinking.
Will the future bring AV's safer than humans that everyone loves to talk about? Probably yes, but looking at the current data, it will likely take years and require several changes in approach and groundbreaking discoveries (particularly in the space of AI). I think the disengagement line has to fall well below human crash rate, before the safety claim can be seriously made. And when that happens, I will gladly acknowledge it. But not yet.
Interesting - but I suspect that plateauing will prove very hard to solve - the better AI that he says is necessary basically means "something that we haven't thought of"!
Furthermore, for automatic cars to be useful, I think they absolutely have to do the entire job. People want them to take kids, things, or incapacitated individuals from door to door in more or less all weathers.
Tesla is rapidly losing money, so the only thing we may hear is that the project was shelved for the foreseeable future for financial reasons!
Nobody mentions the 1980's
I think it is useful to imagine a conversational AI system that has at its disposal a huge collection of actual conversations trawled from the internet. Let us assume the conversation is about some general subject, such as art, rather than something of immediate practical concern.
As the human / AI conversation progresses, the AI may be able to match (exactly or approximately) the conversation to one stored in this enormous database - and thus find its next utterance from this conversation. Clearly such a technique might be made to work fairly well with clever pattern matching - yet it would embody no knowledge of the subject matter at all! In other words, to be a worthy AI, we would have to have some idea how it obtains its results.
Likes: nbtruthman
That's a good variation on Searle's Chinese Room argument against the possibility of AI achieving actual consciousness or mind through some massive and elaborate scheme of data processing.
The Turing test of course isn't really a test for consciousness, so we can't use that. Knowing how the conversational AI got it's (convincing) results certainly wouldn't answer whether the system really had consciousness, it would just confirm that some sort of logical algorithmic data processing mechanism achieved the appearance of it. This would presumably also confirm that the conversational AI had no consciousness, because of the "hard problem" - a mechanism of any possible kind or the functioning of it is of a different, lower order of being than qualia.
It seems to me the only way to truly determine consciousness in such a system would be to find a psychic with powerful telepathic or other powers, who could communicate psychically with the AI. This conjecture is probably even more science fantasy speculation than the expectation of conscious AI.


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Rapid heart rate and shortness of breath.


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Home / About us / Newsroom / NATO Agency signs first agreement under new Not-For-Profit Framework
NATO Agency signs first agreement under new Not-For-Profit Framework
The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) has signed an agreement with a not-for-profit organization, marking an important step in the implementation of a new framework to work with such entities.
The NCI Agency signed the first Not-for-Profit Framework (NFPF) agreement on 20 April 2021 with Spanish organization Ingenería de Sistemas para la Defensa de España (ISDEFE).
Jennifer Upton, NCI Agency Director of Acquisition, said: "We are proud to sign the first Not-For-Profit Framework agreement with ISDEFE. The framework will open new collaboration horizons with not-for-profit organizations, providing NATO with easier access to the expertise and services of the not-for-profit sector."
The organization will be able to submit bids to receive funding for work with the Agency under this agreement.
Jesús Alonso Martín, Director Business Development, Ingenería de Sistemas para la Defensa de España said: "As the in-house technical service provider for the Spanish Ministry of Defence, being the first organisation to join this NCI Agency brand new NFP Framework is both a motive of honour and satisfaction. Building up on the services we have been providing the Agency over the last few years, we will endeavour to strengthen our support in innovation, capabilities, project services and other areas in the Framework Programme."
The new Not-For-Profit Framework (NFPF) is a cooperation framework that aims to complement the Agency's existing relationships and frameworks with industry. The NFPF allows the NCI Agency to establish relationships with not-for-profit organizations from the NATO Nations such as national defence labs, or academic, scientific and research institutions.
The NFPF cooperation model is a two-step contracting procedure. In the first step, an agreement is signed between the NCI Agency and the not-for-profit organization to participate in the framework. Then, when the Agency wants to acquire services from a not-for-profit organization, competitions for task orders will be conducted among those with signed NFPF agreements.
The Agency intends to launch the first NFPF competitions upon signature of five NFPF agreements.
For more information on how you can join NFPF, please contact the NCI Agency's NFPF team at NFPF@ncia.nato.int, or visit our website here.

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Q: How can I save code changes in debugging mode in vb6 When an app stops in debugging mode and I make changes to the code
Is there a way to save the code with the changes, without stop the app?

A: Although the VB6 IDE does not provide this natively, an add-in for the IDE called MZTools has been around for ages which adds this feature.
Personally I've used MZTools 3.0 for many years, and this works really well.
This is what its help system says:

Shortcut To Save File At Debug-Time
The Shortcut To Save File At Debug-Time feature allows you to define a keyboard shortcut (Options
window, Shortcuts tab) to save the selected file at debug-time. The
Visual Basic IDE does not allow to save files at debug-time, but often
it is useful to save the modifications that you have made to the
source code at debug-time.
Remarks:
This feature is not available in the VBA version of MZ-Tools.  This
feature only works at debug-time.  Since Visual Basic disables buttons
or menus of add-ins at debug-time, the only way to save a file at
those times is through a keyboard shortcut.  The file must be
previously saved at design-time, that is, MZ-Tools does not prompt for
a name to save the file (it shows an error message instead).

This is the options window for how I have it configured locally:

Note that originally MZTools was free in version 3 and later they switched to a paid version; if I hadn't gotten v3 originally however it would be well worth paying for, not only for this feature.

A: The short answer is you can't.
If you make the project before the crash, maybe this piece of code can be found in a ".tmp" file. But searching in .tmps is often a waste of time.
I particularly always force myself to stop the debug and save my progress.
And I always use this setting which forces me to remember to save:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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World's Saddest Hooker Offers Sex for Chicken McNuggets
Drew Weisholtz Published: May 2, 2017
McNuggets have met McLovin'.
Alex Direeno is a 22-year-old woman who has clearly lost her way -- police in Bradenton, Fla. arrested her for agreeing to perform a sex act on an undercover cop in exchange for $25 and some chicken McNuggets.
Wait, it gets worse. That's because she was busted after walking out of a gas station and flagging down the officer. She allegedly got into his car and they haggled over the price, eventually settling on the 25 bucks and McNuggets.
As the Miami Herald notes, "How many Chicken McNuggets was not specified in the report," which is important because if we're talking six, then she got the short end of the deal. Everyone knows that when you're swapping your body for fast food, you gotta get double digits chicken parts. That's just common sense.
But, wait, it somehow gets even worse yet again. While searching her bag, officers found drug paraphernalia, namely baggies, a spoon and a glass pipe.
But, guess what? We're not done explaining that it somehow actually gets worse. Direeno is only one month removed from receiving probation after pleading guilty to grand theft auto and possession of drug paraphernalia.
At least she can take some solace in knowing she's hardly the only woman to try and peddle her flesh for sustenance, lest you forget the one who wanted Taco Bell and the one who tried to get some nachos.
Source: World's Saddest Hooker Offers Sex for Chicken McNuggets
Categories: Entertainment, Weird News
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"Пронг" () е американска хевиметъл банда с нюанси на траш, хардкор, индъстриъл и по-късно груув метъл, сформирана през 1986 г. в Ню Йорк.

Биография
Китаристът и вокалист Томи Виктор се запознава със съмишленици на пънк фестивала CBGB в Ню Йорк през 1986. Общите им интереси в музикалните стилове правят възможно създаването на Пронг. Другите двама основатели са басистът Майк Къркланд и бившият барабанист на Swans Тед Парсънс. Групата издава два независими албума (Primitive Origins и Force Fed) със суров и брутален хардкор звук и потенциал, с което привлича вниманието на Epic Records и води до подписването на договор с лейбъла през 1989 г. По това време бандата се обзавежда с по-високо технологично оборудване рефлектиращо в по-изтънчени елементи на звука, едновременно агресивни и мелодични. В албума Prove You Wrong музикантите експериментират с програмиране и електронни семпли.

След издаването на Rude Awakening от 1996 година, бандата се разделя за период от 5 години. През това време Томи Виктор работи с Glenn Danzig и Rob Zombie, докато не идва моментът Пронг отново да бъде съживена през 2002 година с думите на основателя си "да се погрижа за недовършената си работа" и с обещанието, че най-доброто предстои. В състава са вкючени басистът Брайън Пери, барабанистът Дан Лаудо и китаристът Монте Питман. В същата година е подписан договор със звукозаписната компания Locomotive Music, която издава и техният пръв концертен албум, а през 2003 студийният Scorpio Rising.

След 2005 година Томи Виктор и Пол Рейвън работят с Ministry. През 2007 година с новия си лейбъл 13-th Planet издават албума Power Of The Damager, в чиято подкрепа се отправят на турне.

Дискография
 Demo '86 (демо) (1986)
 4 Song Demo '87 (демо) (1987)
 Force Fed (1988)
 Beg to Differ (1990)
 Prove You Wrong (1991)
 Cleansing (1994)
 Rude Awakening (1996)
 100% Live (концертен) (2002)
 Scorpio Rising (2003)
 The Vault (DVD) (2005)
 Power of the Damager (2007)
 Carved Into Stone (2012)

Външни препратки
  Prong в Encyclopaedia Metallum
 www.last.fm
 www.metalstorm.net
 web.archive.org

Музикални групи в Ню Йорк
Американски индъстриъл групи
Американски траш метъл групи
Американски груув метъл групи

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Netflix Canada June 2017 Movie & TV Shows Announced
Spend some quality time with your couch.
Jeremy Hazan
Netflix has just sent us the complete list of all the new releases available in June!
All I can say is, I hope you don't have too many plans coming up, because you have a lot of binge watching to do.
READ ALSO: CraveTV June 2017 Movie & TV Shows Announced
Just like every month, MTLBlog is the first website to recieve and publish the new Netflix releases in Canada, so follow us and you'll always know what's coming up before everyone else.
Here's everything you have to look forward to on Netflix in June.
New Netflix Release: June 1-10
New Netflix Release: June 11-20
For June 1-10, Click "NEXT"
Amelia: A Tale Of Two Sisters
Homeland - Season 5
Jackie - A Tale Of Two Sisters
Kardashian: The Man Who Saved OJ Simpson
Kate and Mim-Mim - Season 2
Mighty Morphin Power Ranger: The Movie
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
Smoking Aces
The Milfords - A Tale Of Two Sisters
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
West Coast Customs - Season 3
You're Not You
Inspector Gadget: Season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Lucid Dream — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Saving Banksy
Flaked: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
Chelsea — (New Episodes June 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and the 30th.)
Blue Gold: American Jeans
War on Everyone
TURN: Washington's Spies - Season 3
The Eyes Of My Mother
Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments - Season 2
iZombie - Season 3 (New episodes weekly)
Besties (The Edge Of Seventeen)
Knocked Up
Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life
My Only Love Song: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Shimmer Lake — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Orange Is the New Black: Season 5 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Havenhurst
For June 11-20, Click "NEXT"
The Forsters - Season 4
Harry Benson: Shoot First
The Big Wedding
Oh, Hello On Broadway — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Crash
American Violence
Animal Kingdom - Season 1
Deadly Target
Quantico - Season 2
Marco Luque: Tamo Junto — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Ghost And Mr. Chicken
Counterpunch — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Ranch: Part 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
World of Winx: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Disney's Moana
Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up For The First Time — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Queen Of the South - Season 1
Uncle Buck
Free Rein: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
You Get Me — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
GLOW: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Chris D'Elia: Man on Fire — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Pretty Little Liars - Season 7
Okja — NETFLIX ORIGINAL MOVIE
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Rupaul's Drag Race - Season 8
Between - Season 2
Gypsy: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Little Witch Academia: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Click here for the all the newest CraveTV June 2017 Movie & TV Shows
Netflix Canada Prices Are Going Up Again & Here Are The Details
Your binge-watching is about to get a little more expensive.
ibreakstock | Dreamstime
Bad news, folks. Your binge-watching adventures are about to get a little more expensive. So you may want to adjust your monthly budget planning.
On Friday, January 14, Netflix Canada announced that its prices are going up for two subscription plans and these new rates are already effective for new subscribers. "Current members will receive an email notification 30 days before their price changes, unless they change their plan."
You'll have to pay an extra $1.50 for the Standard monthly subscription plan and $2 more for the Premium subscription, while the basic subscription plan remains at $9.99.
"We're updating our prices so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options," a spokesperson from Netflix told Narcity. "As always we offer a range of plans so members can pick a price that works for their budget."
Here's what the updated prices for Netflix look like:
If you've been subscribing to Netflix for a while now, you know prices raises are nothing new.
Not too long ago, back in October 2020, Netflix Canada's monthly plans also saw an increase. Oh, the price we pay to stay entertained during these unprecedented times...
But, if the updated Netflix prices are still fit into your budget, you'll be able to watch a myriad of exciting new seasons of trending shows this year, such as Too Hot To Handle and RuPaul's Drag Race. For those into true crime, you'll be happy to know The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman and How I Fell In Love With A Gangster are being added to Netflix in 2022.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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Netflix's IRL 'Bridgerton' Ball Revealed Its Montreal Location & The Queen Would Approve
A ballroom that's fit for the season's diamond!
@bridgertonnetflix | Instagram, The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience
Just a couple of months to go until Montreal gets its own real-life Bridgerton ball, transforming a local venue into Regency-era London. While much remains to be seen — such as which guests will win the queen's favour — we now know exactly where the event will take place.
True to the elegant and regal ballrooms featured on the hit Netflix show, Montreal's "The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience" will be held at Le Windsor Ballrooms (formerly known as the Windsor Hotel), located near Dorchester Square on rue Peel.
The Regency era, during which the show is set, was the period from 1811 to 1820 — not too long, relatively speaking, before the Windsor Hotel was built in 1878.
According to the website, the venue features two "Victorian-style French renaissance ballrooms," separated by a long marble alley. "The rich architectural detail will surely transport you back to another era," it says.
But the ambiance of the ballrooms is not the only thing that will make you think you're in another time and place. The immersive experience includes actors dressed in period costumes, dance performances, cocktails, a string quartet playing music inspired by the Bridgerton soundtrack, acrobatic performances, romantic love stories and interactive moments based on the series.
These details alone could likely make you feel like a Bridgerton cast member, interacting with elite members of high society, but it's also worth noting that this isn't the Windsor's first brush with royalty. It's hosted actual royals in the past.
For instance, a state banquet was held to honour King George VI and Queen Elizabeth — who were staying at the hotel — in 1939. In 1951, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visited the hotel, appearing twice on the hotel balcony "to respond to the crowd who had come to welcome them," according to the Windsor website.
"The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience" is set to open on January 29 and run until March 6. Tickets are on sale now. You must be at least 17 years old to attend.
The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience
Price: Starting at $49 for general admission, depending on the date
When: French sessions from January 29 to February 6 & February 16 to 27; English sessions from February 8 to 15 & March 1 to 6
Address: 1170, rue Peel, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Live out your fantasy of attending a fancy ball in the 1800s — just like your favourite Bridgerton characters.
In Quebec, a vaccine passport is required to access many businesses and activities deemed non-essential, including restaurants and bars.
Montreal's Getting An Immersive 'Bridgerton Experience' That Feels ... ›
A Bridgerton Ball Is Coming To Montreal & Here's When You Can ... ›
The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience in Montreal ›
Netflix's New Christmas Rom-Com 'Single All The Way' Was Filmed In These Montreal Spots
Do you recognize them? 🎥
@netflixca | Instagram, Netflix in Your Neighbourhood
For some, the most wonderful time of the year is about family and friends. For others, it's about decorations and gifts. But then there are those of us who are utterly obsessed with Christmas movies. And Netflix's newest holiday rom-com, Single All The Way, is all the more special because it was filmed in Montreal.
Single All The Way is Netflix's first gay rom-com and IMDb describes it as a movie about a guy, Peter, who — "desperate to avoid his family's judgment about his perpetual single status" — convinces his best friend, Nick, to come home with him for the holidays and pretend they're now dating.
It stars Jennifer Coolidge (Stifler's mom from American Pie) and Jennifer Robertson (Jocelyn from Schitt's Creek), both of whom spent time in Montreal while shooting the film.
If you watched the movie, did you recognize any of the locations as being in Montreal? The movie was also shot in a couple of other parts of Quebec: Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and Bromont. You can check out Netflix's interactive map of all the locations for more details. Or check out the Montreal spots in person, using the list below.
Mckibbin's Irish Pub
Address: 1426, rue Bishop, Montreal, QC
About The Scene: "McKibbin's, a cozy Irish pub in the heart of Montreal, stands in for Lisa's pub, where Peter and James go for a drink after the Nativity play," Netflix in Your Neighbourhood explains. The production used the rue Bishop location near Concordia University but there are four McKibbin's locations in the Montreal area.
Address: 1524, rue Notre-Dame O.
Scene: "Peter hints to his sister on the phone that he might be bringing a 'surprise' home for Christmas from a trendy L.A. bakery. The location used for this scene is actually the interior of Maman, a charming patisserie and restaurant," Netflix in Your Neighbourhood says. Maman, a famous bakery that's originally from New York City, opened its Montreal location in Griffintown in 2019.
Address: Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame Montréal, QC
Scene: "Parc Jean-Drapeau is a stunning park made up of two islands in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, and is used as the New Hampshire forest where Peter takes photos of Nicholas for his client's marketing campaign," says Netflix in Your Neighbourhood. Of course, if you're a Montrealer, you probably already knew how gorgeous and versatile this site — home to Jean-Doré Beach, Osheaga and, now, Peter and Nicholas' photoshoot — truly is!
Custom Conditioning
Address: 201, ave. Cartier, Pointe-Claire, QC
Scene: The West Island also makes an appearance in this holiday rom-com. "In Single All the Way, Peter shows up at Bridgewater Spin & Fit for a blind date, where he meets James for the first time. Filming for this scene took place at Custom Conditioning, a full service health & fitness studio located just outside of Montreal in Pointe-Claire, Quebec," according to Netflix in Your Neighbourhood.
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The Real-Life Set Of Hallmark Christmas Movies Is Only A Road-Trip ... ›
Netflix's Single All The Way Is Shooting In Montreal - MTL Blog ›
Holiday Movies | Netflix Official Site ›
Legault Says School 'Squid Game' Costume Bans Are 'Unacceptable' & Tied To Cancel Culture
He recalled his own childhood Halloween costumes to prove his point.
François Legault | Facebook, @netflix | Instagram
Even the premier of Quebec has something to say about the wildly popular — and extremely violent — Netflix show Squid Game. Asked about his thoughts on schools banning Squid Game Halloween costumes, Premier François Legault said the move was "extreme" and "not acceptable," linking it to cancel culture.
Legault was asked the question at a press conference on Friday, following a Journal de Québec report that an elementary school in the Charlesbourg borough of Quebec City banned Squid Game Halloween costumes because they do not "correspond to the values and rules of life of the school."
"We are now in a society where soon we will no longer have the right to do anything," Legault said.
He said this is why Quebec's minister of education wrote an open letter with France's minister of education. Their joint opinion piece in Le Devoir, "The school for freedom, against obscurantism," calls acts of cancel culture "assaults on freedom of expression and civic sense."
Legault also recalled the Halloween costumes he wore when he was growing up.
"When I was young, we dressed up as witches, we dressed up as monsters. But it's not because we wanted to support witches and monsters," he said. "To me, we need to have a balance."
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Close, but no checkered flag
By Mountain Eagle Staff | on April 06, 2011
Steve Mickey
In the closing laps at Martinsville on Sunday, it looked as if Dale Earnhardt Jr. was about to find his way back to victory lane after an absence that stretched all the way back to Michigan in June of 2008. Junior took over the lead on lap 480 after giving Kyle Busch a bump that moved him up the track and gave the crowd what they wanted when he was able to slip under and be within 20 laps of winning his 19th race of his career.
It had been over two long seasons since Earnhardt fans had the opportunity to cheer their driver to a victory and the anticipation had what looked like the majority of fans in the Virginia track's stands on their feet in approval. This kind of finish was what his team owner Rick Hendrick had in mind when he swapped crew chiefs among three of his four teams back in November, moving Jeff Gordon's crew chief Steve Letarte to take over the same position for Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt Jr., with Letarte in his ear, hung onto the lead for the next 16 laps, but it was during those laps that Kevin Harvick began making his move up through the field. Harvick had won the previous week at California by taking the lead on a last lap pass and it appeared that he was going to be in position to repeat the task as he quickly came up on the rear bumper of Busch only to easily make that pass and set his sights on Earnhardt Jr.
Only four laps remained when Harvick steered his Chevrolet underneath Earnhardt Jr. to go on and win his second consecutive race of the season, making him the only driver to have multiple wins on the year. It was a tough way to lose a race, especially when it had been over two years since you had won a race.
While second place may have been a major disappointment to Earnhardt Jr., it was the third time in the first six races of the season that he has finished in the top 10. The runner-up finish also moved him four places up in the point standings to eighth, an improvement of four spots. He now trails Kyle Busch who sits at the top by 20 points, and it appears that he and Letarte may be generating some momentum as they head to Texas, which is the track where he scored his first-ever Sprint Cup victory in 2000.
It's hard to say that the sport needs a certain driver to be successful, but there is no denying that the Earnhardt Nation, as his loyal fans are called, carries a big stick within the sport. Listen at driver's introductions before the race and see the kind of reception he gets when his name is called. The way the fans reacted when he took the lead at Martinsville can only give us a glimpse of what it might be like if he begins to once again find his way back to victory lane on a regular basis.
Earnhardt Jr. once again winning races will not cure all the problems of NASCAR, but you can't help but believe that such a sight would put a few more people in the stands and a few more turning their televisions on come race day. If he can create that kind of reaction from the crowd by just leading 16 out of the last 20 laps on Sunday, just think what it could do if he could just lead the last lap at any track.
PIT NOTES: This Saturday night Texas Motor Speedway will be hosting its first-ever night race in the 16-year history of the mile and a half track. When looking for a favorite to win in this historic race, Denny Hamlin is the first driver to come to mind as he swept both races last season including the spring race that was his first win after having knee surgery to repair a torn ACL. A repeat trip to victory lane this Saturday night would be just as sweet as Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team have gotten off to a rough start as they sit in the 19th position in the standings with only one top-10 finish on the season. Hamlin's hopes were high at Martinsville as well as he returned there last weekend as the defending champion after sweeping both races in the 2010 season. He posted a 12th-place finish on Sunday. It was not the kind of showing that he was looking for, but he was able to run up front and pick up a bonus point. That does show some improvement on what has been a terrible year so far.
Race Preview Event: Samsung Mobile 500 Track: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval, 24 degrees of banking in the turns) Date: April 9, 7:30 p.m. TV: FOX Radio: PRN Defending Champion: Denny Hamlin


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Your Primer on 2014's Best Original Song Oscar Nominees
Posted by Katherine B. Shelor | Jan 29, 2015 | The Art of the Score | 0 |
If you, like me, haven't been able to get out much this past year, you probably haven't heard the Oscar nominees for "Best Original Song" from a 2014 film. Conveniently for you, you can view the Oscars without leaving your home or paying a sitter, AND I've listened to (and judged) this year's songs for you, saving you time and effort. All you have to do is sit back, watch the Oscars, and feel comfortably superior when my/your favorite wins, or indignant when it does not.
First, we have "Everything is Awesome," written by Shawn Patterson and performed by Tegan and Sara, from LEGO Movie. This pop electronica song with a disco beat is fun and playful, full of energy, but also has an interesting melodic line–rare in the "one note pop hit" era where composers so often repeat the same note in varied rhythms and call it songwriting. I defy you to not enjoy listening to this one. The lyrics may not be complex, but that's the point; this song is simply fun, and its silliness is infectious.
Next is "Grateful," written by Diane Warren and sung by Rita Ora, from Beyond the Lights. This is one of those one note pop songs (see above) that doesn't have much in the way of melody. Combine that with lyrics that could have come out of an undergraduate poetry workshop, and you've got a thoroughly average song. I'm not sure why this one was nominated. To those fans of the one note song, I do not apologize. Humans have near miraculous control over the pitch of their voice, which makes not taking advantage of that control and range basically a crime–especially when your instrument is a voice like Rita Ora's.
Then we have "Lost Stars," written by Gregg Alexander, Diane Brisebois, Nick Lashley, and Nick Southwood, and performed by both Keira Knightley and Adam Levine (separately). With so many writers, you'd expect the lyrics to be carefully crafted, yet unfocused; beautiful, yet almost too deep to mean anything. And that's exactly what they are–so clearly written by committee. Still, the underlying meaning… deeply underlying… is nice (I think), and in addition to that, the song is sweet and singable–especially the version in which Keira Knightley surprises us all with her heretofore hidden indie-charming singing voice. If I were going to add one of the nominees to my iPhone, this would be it.
Nominee number four is "Glory" by John Legend and Common. This song is what you'd expect, which is not a criticism. You take two talented artists and tell them to write about the struggle for equality and you're going to get something fantastic. The song combines southern gospel with rap and orchestra, leading to a powerful piece that reflects the hope Martin Luther King Jr. inspired. It hits all the right notes (literally and figuratively), and draws on some of the best musical traditions in the history of black America. It's a shoo-in for the nominee pool, if not the Oscar (even though it's not my choice).
Last of all, because it is has my vote to win (though I haven't yet been contacted by The Academy for my opinion), is "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" by Glen Campbell, from the movie I'll Be Me. Now, with this one I have to be honest–it is my favorite almost entirely because of the movie in which it appears and the artist who performs it. So, objectively, it may not be the best song, and it might not be fair for me to pick it when I didn't consider the context of the other songs that much. However, I think I can make an argument for this one being the winner, even against "Glory," which is similarly impossible to divorce from the content of its film.
Let me explain: I listened to all of these songs before looking up the movies to which they belonged, and none piqued my interest as much as "I'm Not Gonna Miss You." I listened to this man sing sweet, loving words, but then in his refrain say that he's not going to miss the person he loves. "Is this song about divorce?" I thought, stupidly. But then I did some basic research, and I realized I already knew what this song was about. A few weeks ago, while listening to NPR in the car, I heard an interview with Glen Campbell talking about his movie, a documentary that documents his farewell tour–farewell, because he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011. What struck me while I listened to Mr. Campbell talk about going on tour with Alzheimer's was how happy he seemed–how he didn't let an Alzheimer's diagnosis be the end of his life or career. Instead, he kept composing, writing songs like "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," a love song that is sweet, and heartbreaking, and so open about what it is to know that you're going to lose yourself steadily, yet not know what you've lost. Because this song is a real man letting us into his life, because this song is beautiful and raw, and because Glen Campbell keeps on singing, knowing what lies ahead, I want it to win. I want him to win.
So there you have it. You may now watch the Academy Awards as a marginally more informed member of the film-watching community. You're welcome.
Featured Image:  Begin Again, The Weinstein Company
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Katherine B. Shelor
A very average thirty-ish woman living in Virginia with a dream of one day earning a living using the education on which she spent so much time. For now, she uses it for things like writing movie reviews, alienating strangers, composing critical analyses via texts to her decreasingly patient friends, or correcting her coworkers' grammar (silently, and only to herself, for fear of offending those whom she serves).
The Seven (and a bit) Best Soundtracks from 1980s films
Five Alternate Best Original Song Nominees
The Five Best Soundtracks from 1960s Films
The Art of the Score: Klaus Badelt


Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we've got reports from Vice, The New York Times, Hooniverse, and Hemmings.
We're suckers for old Citroens here, and the upcoming Citroen Rendezvous in New York ticks all the right boxes. The Citroen XM is one of the nuttier cars they built, so it's good to get a little bit of knowledge under your belt no matter what.
Replacing the extremely long lived CX in May of 1989, the Bertone-styled XM premiered to great fanfare. Aimed at such cars as the Mercedes-Benz W124 E-klasse and the BMW 5 Series, the XM tried to strike a balance between channeling the spirit of the DS and pleasing the modern customer base for executive sedans. Engines on offer ranged from a 2.0 liter inline-four, to a 3.0 liter V6, which is what all the North American XMs that I have seen seem to be powered by.
There's drinking. There are bets. And then there's "go-kart racing." It's at Malibu Grand Prix, and yes, it is a good read, but these aren't go-karts. They're basically toy cars for little kids and drunken adults to ride around in. In that case, this seems rather apt.
I gulped down the rest of what was now a glass celebrating yet another defeat and pleaded with my friends for help. I had to cover some sort of athletic chase for this damned rag. That's when Kevin, good ol' reliable Kevin, came through. "We could... uh... I dunno... what about betting on children's go-kart racing?" The exact kinda twisted scene the culture sniffers at VICE would cream their artisinal overalls for.
Layoffs at big Detroit automakers have taken their toll on the economy and livelihood of Detroit. But someone else is coming to the rescue: The Chinese automakers are making some big investments.
A little bit of nostalgia here. This Mini Clubman sat in a tunnel underneath its Longbridge factory for ages without moving. It's the last Mini to come out of Longbridge, and now it can be yours.
For decades, the last Mini from British Leyland's former Longbridge plant near Birmingham, England, sat abandoned in the maze of tunnels below the massive factory, its roof staved in by an unfortunate encounter with a shipping container. Its location was hardly a mystery, and over the years scrappers and thieves liberated the Clubman 1275GT's drivetrain, interior and suspension, leaving behind little more than a a gutted shell.


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Landing Pages - The best lead generation tool of all is your product. If you have a compelling product that solves a major pain point, visitors will want to provide their contact information even without any incentives. Presenting your product in the most attractive way is often done through landing pages or sales pages, which help educate and convert prospective customers. Landing page optimization is the key to making sure you are getting the most out of these pages.
With the vast majority of leads failing to convert to sales, companies can't
afford to abandon prospects when they fail to become buyers. By nurturing these leads—providing them with the right information based on who and where they are in the buying process—Modern Marketers can directly improve sales success. By implementing a formal strategy for lead nurturing, instituting nurturing programs, and following the best practices outlined here, you can begin reaping the benefits of lead nurturing today. Based on the Grande Guide to Lead Nurturing.
The connection between television appearances and new subscribers is historically difficult to track, but WP Curve's television appearance significantly increased search traffic for branded terms – and search traffic accounts for 42% of WP Curve's new signups. With TV as their megaphone, WP Curve saw a 27% increase in recurring revenue for in March. Read all about it here.
Because prospective buyers won't always end up at your website as they start their purchase journey, it's important that you establish a presence where they may show up. A great way to deliver high-value content to the correct prospects is through content syndication – a content sharing strategy that can be used to promote your whitepapers, articles, news releases, etc. on other websites for greater reach and engagement. Through content syndication, your content appears on third-party sites and newsletters. And because most content syndicators deliver leads directly to your inbox, it's a great way to keep leads coming in the door.
Lead generation is a win-win for both the buyer and seller. Buyers can request information from several businesses that offer the product or service that they are looking for, then the seller is given the opportunity to make its pitch to people who have given their permission. These are some of the hottest leads. Conversion rates on leads received in this way generally have a much higher success rate than cold contacts.
There are a number of reasons a person may not have acted after the first email. Perhaps they still weren't convinced to make the purchase. Or maybe they didn't even open the email at all. People get busy. It could be that they just needed one extra nudge. Hopefully, those regretting not taking advantage of the sale yesterday are inspired to do so today.
Nurturing a lead involves careful and consistent communication with the lead, as you try and convert them into your customer. If you're in SaaS, the problem statement could look like this: somebody just signed up for my product, so 30 days from now, how do I get them to sign on the dotted line? You use a tool like email. Well-compiled emails, sent at regular (but unobtrusive) intervals, have a very good chance of gaining your reader's mindshare and making them invested in your product. With each interaction, you take a step towards bringing the lead closer to your business.
With their service, you can choose from a curated list of email newsletters and sponsor those that share your target customer. Sponsoring allows you to advertise your lead generation campaigns in email newsletters that matter to your target audience. LaunchBit screens all lists to make sure they're legit and handles the transaction from sponsor to advertiser so the experience is smooth for all.
If you select Custom, a small calendar will appear. Use the arrows to navigate between months and click your preferred start date. Then, enter a start time at the bottom of the calendar, and select AM or PM from the menu. Finally, click anywhere outside of the calendar box to save the configuration and close the calendar. Your chosen date and time will appear next to the Start option.
Use it to make sales on autopilot. Creating a sales funnel out of an email autoresponder sequence is a widely adopted strategy used by information marketers, but it can also be used by software companies, eCommerce businesses and service providers. For example, it could consist of a series of educational videos, a sales video and follow-ups to sell your information products. Or, you could create a sequence of free educational emails, and then invite them to a live or recorded webinar where you make an offer. For eCommerce businesses, your sales sequence could include promo offers for products your subscriber has just viewed on your website.
Though they've been around for a while, not all small business owners are familiar with the capabilities that autoresponders offer. To help businesses start reaping the benefits, this post provides important definitions, different types of autoresponders and 13 specific examples of how they can be used right away to increase engagement, leads and sales. https://thenextscoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/email-marketing2.jpg
How should you balance useful content with solicitations for sales or offers? One of the greatest risks of an auto-responder program is having users become frustrated with hard-sales attempts and subsequently marking your email as spam, opting-out, or simply not opening future emails. All of the aforementioned activities can lower your quality score with email service providers and make it harder for your email sends to get into the inbox. Therefore, it's very important that your auto-responders actually contain useful information. While it's acceptable to include a sales offer along with useful information in each email, it is not advisable for you to make a sales-only email any more frequently than every fifth email in the series in order to protect your email sender reputation.
As of mid-2016 email deliverability is still an issue for legitimate marketers. According to the report, legitimate email servers averaged a delivery rate of 73% in the U.S.; six percent were filtered as spam, and 22% were missing. This lags behind other countries: Australia delivers at 90%, Canada at 89%, Britain at 88%, France at 84%, Germany at 80% and Brazil at 79%.[7]
Step Three: Following that, an average of ten to nineteen emails are then automatically sent to the subscriber, most often with several days between each email send. The further the sequence gets, the longer the space between emails is. For example, within the first three or four auto responder emails, there may only be a day or two between each email send.However, as you get into the latter emails, it is common to leave a week between email sends so as not to encourage the subscriber to become frustrated and mark you as spam or unsubscribe from future mailings. https://blog.capterra.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/email-templates-720x360.png
What should be the time frame between sends? At the beginning, you want to ensure that you do not take too long between sends. Your subscribers have just signed up and are enthusiastic about receiving your communication, so take advantage of that enthusiasm.While once daily is too frequent, you can begin by spacing your emails out with only a day in between. After that, extend the time between to three days. As you get to the tail end of your auto responder, meaning that you are getting to the least engaged customers who have not converted and may mark you as spam or opt-out of the email, begin to stretch things out by five days or even a week. Many email marketing service providers will allow you to also mark days of the week that you don't want your auto responder to send, so you may want to eliminate weekend email sends of auto responders. Email open rates are lower on weekends.
Basic text-based email editors to fully designed HTML or JavaScript templates are just some of the features these packages can provide businesses. You can manage your contacts by simply keeping a list of names and email addresses or you can create a complex database full of subscribers segmented by demographic slices and engagement levels. Which method you choose really just depends on how much of your budget you're willing to allocate towards the email marketing software that can give your company the features it needs.
ii) Give value before asking for anything: Whether you're hosting a webinar, writing a blog post or speaking at an event, you have to offer tangible help before asking for the sale or any other thing that would require the attendee to move out of their comfort zone (e.g., purchase your product). This how to draw in your potential customer – and, hopefully, keep them.
Content blocks are literally the building blocks of your emails, allowing you to add content to them. This content includes things like text, images, images + text, columns, buttons, dividing lines and social media icons. Once you've inserted a content block into an email, you can move it up and down, change the background color, move items within it from side to side, copy it, or delete it.
One of the more current developments on the email marketing front is the use of auto responders, or automated emails, that happen in a set sequence after a user's email address is captured. Typically the end goal of an auto responder email series is converting that user to a purchaser or customer. In this section, we'll introduce you to what an auto responder is, how to use them, the pros and cons, and some basic best practices for auto responder. Auto responders offer unique benefits in that they can produce results with a limited amount of effort on your part after the initial build out of the program. However, auto responders also present some challenges and best practices that should be considered when determining the role of an auto responder in your email marketing mix.
Leads may come from various sources or activities, for example, digitally via the Internet, through personal referrals, through telephone calls either by the company or telemarketers, through advertisements, and events. A 2015 study found that 89% of respondents cited email as the most-used channel for generating leads, followed by content marketing, search engine, and finally events.[2] A study from 2014 found that direct traffic, search engines, and web referrals were the three most popular online channels for lead generation, accounting for 93% of leads.[3]
'After being in relationship with Wilson for seven years,he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain, I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him, I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I explained my problem to someone online and she suggested that I should contact a spell caster that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that don't believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I meant a spell caster called Dr Zuma zuk and I email him, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before three days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4pm. My ex called me, I was so surprised, I answered the call and all he said was that he was so sorry for everything that happened, that he wanted me to return to him, that he loves me so much. I was so happy and went to him, that was how we started living together happily again. Since then, I have made promise that anybody I know that have a relationship problem, I would be of help to such person by referring him or her to the only real and powerful spell caster who helped me with my own problem and who is different from all the fake ones out there. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster, his email: spiritualherbalisthealing@gmail.com or call Whatsapp him +2349055637784 you can email him if you need his assistance in your relationship or anything. CONTACT HIM NOW FOR SOLUTION TO ALL YOUR PROBLEMS'
At a certain point, the prospect's online behavior – their Digital Body Language – will indicate that they're ready to engage with Sales in a discussion about purchasing. Marketers can identify this readiness through lead scoring, which matches the individual's behavior to activities that are known to indicate buying intent. The resulting conversation with Sales will rest on a foundation of buyer education that has been built in the earlier stages of the lead generation process.
How do you attract and handle leads? It's a simple question, but few of the companies we talk to have a definitive answer. More often than not, there is no process in place for generating and managing leads from first conversion through sales closing. If a process exists, it's commonly a mix of manual sorting and inefficient communications that risk losing leads and the all-important timing between a bottom-funnel request and a sales response. Here are 10 steps you should take to improve your lead generation and management process.
Following the alignment process (Step #1), every sales rep should understand how to use the CRM and other lead intelligence tools to be able to quickly evaluate sales qualified leads and reach out to them quickly. Lead intelligence will help reps formulate a strategy for engaging with their prospects, gain their interest and trust, and develop a relationship that leads to a closed sale. This process is called sales nurturing. Every rep needs to update the CRM following every communication to keep lead status up-to-date and make sure that Marketing doesn't step on the sales process with inappropriate content. Once a sale is consummated, Customer Service should be notified via the CRM and take over managing the account. Sales also needs to set up automated reminders for following up with their customers and setting the table for up-sells and retained services. Marketing and Product Development also need to stay in the loop to send supporting, customer-centric content that educates customers on best practices and upcoming releases.
Though they've been around for a while, not all small business owners are familiar with the capabilities that autoresponders offer. To help businesses start reaping the benefits, this post provides important definitions, different types of autoresponders and 13 specific examples of how they can be used right away to increase engagement, leads and sales.
If links and looks are set, begin interacting with the page. Abandon it, adjust the window size, convert. Are error messages appearing when they're supposed to (if, for example, you don't input all the form's required info)? Is your CTA button working? If you abandon the page, are you retargeted with ads? When you resize the window, does your landing page respond accordingly?
Take the email below from Paperless Post, for example. I love the header of this email: It provides a clear CTA that includes a sense of urgency. Then, the subheader asks a question that forces recipients to think to themselves, "Wait, when is Mother's Day again? Did I buy Mom a card?" Below this copy, the simple grid design is both easy to scan and quite visually appealing. Each card picture is a CTA in and of itself -- click on any one of them, and you'll be taken to a purchase page.
In B2B, inbound is the preferred channel of lead generation. The whole process of drawing a lead into doing business with you—by educating first and selling later—matches the B2B business model, where businesses don't make impulsive purchase decisions. Which is why inbound marketing in B2B takes leads through three levels of the sales funnel: ToFu (top of the funnel), MoFu (middle of the funnel), and Bofu (bottom of the funnel).


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Home Events LesserSunda Three Mountains Festival to return to Lembata this August
Three Mountains Festival to return to Lembata this August
Events, LesserSunda,
Ile Werung Volcano located on Lembata Island, East Nusa Tenggara. (Shutterstock/Andre Belto)
Following its success last year, Lembata regency administration in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province is set to hold the second Festival Tiga Gunung (Three Mountains Festival) from Aug. 26 to 31.
The festival's name refers to the three mountains in Lembata, namely Ile Batutara, Ile Lewotolok and Ile Werung. According to Lembata Deputy Regent Thomas Ola Langoday, Mount Ile Batutara boasts several unique features, such as that it erupts every 20 minutes, which can be witnessed from about 50 meters away.
Mt. Ile Lewotolok has a wide white sandy crater in its peak that resembles a field and can be used to play soccer. A traditional house that hosts unique cultural ceremonies can also be found on its slopes.
Meanwhile, Mt. Ile Werung boasts an exotic panorama, as well as swift's nests and a cave that leads to a beach.
The festival itself will feature various activities and arts and cultural performances.
"It will host a trekking competition to Mt. Ile Lewotolok and Mt. Ile Werung, a traditional fist fight attraction known as hadok, an international paragliding festival, dance and sole-oha singing festivals, a Lembata colossal dance attraction, handicraft and Lembata culinary exhibitions and ethnic performances," said Thomas as quoted by kompas.com.
To reach the island of Lembata, visitors can travel by air from Kupang's El Tari International Airport in NTT to Wunopito-Lewoleba Airport in Lembata, or from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to Frans Seda Maumere Airport in Maumere, NTT. From Maumere, they can hop on a bus or rent a motorcycle to get to the capital of East Flores regency, Larantuka. From there, travelers can take a ferry or motorboat to Lembata Island. (JakartaPost)
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I'm having some problems with my lightbakes recently. I've uploaded a picture of a background element where you can clearly see shadows that are casted out of nowhere. I've tried editing normals and tangents but nothing seems to work... Remove degenerates is on btw.
How do I stop light from effecting a single asset??


I apologize for not getting this out to you earlier. My plan is to place the following commentary on the Blog for comment, once I figure out how to upload a new posting. Since this is coming the day of the next Senate meeting, I thought it best to send it out via email. I do apologize for adding to your inbox and possibly breaking from standard procedure if I have done so.
Although I am a new senator, I previously served on the Senate from 2005-2007. There are a number of changes that I have noticed in the way Senate meetings are run that I believe need to be clarified to the entire Senate, as there seems to be some confusion on these issues.
Voting Rules. At our last meeting, a senator (from Math I believe, but I might be mistaken) questioned what "two-thirds" means, in the context of a majority to pass a motion. I understood his questions to mean "two-thirds of what"? This could mean two-thirds of all Senators, two-thirds of those present, or two-thirds of those who voted. My understanding is that there are no absentee ballots allowed, and that the two-thirds majority is only of the senators of those who voted and are currently present. This could have been clarified, and I felt as though our fellow senator's question was dismissed. A second issue here concerns abstention. Typically (I think) an abstention means your vote does not count at all, and does not go against a two-thirds majority, but this is not always the case. In my previous time on the Senate, we did allow abstention, and in many cases I think it is important to the individual as well as to the voting record (see additional comments below).
Voting Transparency. As indicated in my point above, I also think there is a need for voting transparency. If we are to be considered a legitimate Senate, our voting record needs to accurately reflect how senators voted. A motion passing unanimously versus barely passing may be meaningful in future years, as well as to provide a more clear indication of the current thinking on campus on a certain topic. All votes should be counted by two people to confirm an accurate count (including abstentions, in my opinion) and it should be made clear how many senators are present and what constitutes a two-thirds majority. This should be articulated to the senators present, and recorded.
Presentation of Motions. There does not appear to be a standard process by which motions are presented to the Senate. At our last meeting, two motions were presented to the Senate, and representatives from both attended the meeting. In one case, the Senate President read the motion to the Senate (with editorializing comments), and in the second, the group presenting the motion was allowed to present. I think there needs to be clarity on this issue and equal opportunity given to those who present a motion to the Senate.
Role of the Senate President. I commented at our last meeting that it was my memory that the Senate President should allow the Senate Vice President (or someone else) to step in if the Senate President wishes to provide their own opinions on an issue, especially on a motion or topic that they hold a strong bias. This seemed to be standard protocol when I previously served on the Senate, and I believe it is essential to the keeping the process fair. This includes (as indicated above) the presentation of motions, managing the discussion of motions, and having a second person counting votes to determine whether a motion is passed. This is not to suggest I do not trust the Senate leadership, but is an attempt to increase transparency, maintain a fair process, and reduce the potential for any perception of bias by the Senate leadership.
Sorry about this. We are still getting down our parliamentary protocol.
My personal feeling is that there is a fine line between keeping a meeting moving forward productively and getting bogged down in parliamentary procedures. It would be all too easy to limit the effectiveness of the Senate by literal insistence on every provision in Robert's Rules of Order. Nonetheless, these provisions do exist and we are bound by them. I'm certain I will make parliamentary mistakes moving forward, and I am happy to be corrected on them either in real time or after the fact.
Our Parliamentarian has ruled that on bylaws changes, the proper vote for accepting a motion is at least 2/3 of the members present. However, the votes for both bylaws changes at the last Senate meeting surpassed 2/3 of the entire voting membership of the Senate, so regardless of the interpretation of the provision for voting on bylaws, the motions were approved.