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You are here: Home / Movie Riffs / 2009 / August
The Cove – 4.5
August 29, 2009 /0 Comments/in Reviews /by Bob Marshall
As far as the movie goes, it was a lot of buildup, not much payoff. The comparison that came to mind is Man on Wire – assembling the team, figuring out equipment, evading detection, etc. – but there the climax was moments of pure exhilaration and triumph, here it was a scene not too different from what had come before. Maybe the dolphin slaughter film that resulted was too distressing to show us, but the footage that Ric O'Barry carried around on his chest-TV monitor didn't seem all that compelling, to us or to the millions of Japanese pedestrians who streamed by without stopping.
Why is the dolphin slaughter in Japan morally worse than the slaughter of cows in America (not that the Japanese don't slaughter cows as well), a question the Japanese raise in the film, and a question that particularly resonates after one has just seen Food, Inc. If it is because dolphins are more intelligent than cows – which seems to be the movie's response – then where do we draw the line? And how do we judge the "intelligence" of pigs, swordfish and other creatures we routinely devour? I can't imagine shooting a moose, but I have many fewer qualms about deer hunting. Is rarity the test, or sustainability of the population, or whether the animal appears cute or charming to us humans? Obviously, we shouldn't be feeding mercury-contaminated dolphin meat to our schoolchildren, but that is a side issue for the crusaders of The Cove. Just as obviously, we shouldn't tolerate lying to justify killing whales, or bribery to buy votes at the IWC. But are we morally justified in condemning the Japanese for simply killing dolphins because they are such appealing animals?
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-29 09:27:252009-08-29 09:27:25The Cove - 4.5
District 9 – 8
Who are the bad guys here? Is it the "prawns" from outer space? The Nigerian hoodlums? The profit-driven corporate chieftains at MNU? Or the trigger-happy South African Defense Force? We know the good guy is the pencil-pusher Wikus van der Merve, and what a good guy! Meak, somewhat wimpy, none too bright, and yet he emerges as the only one who gets it right, although he does have to kill a lot of people along the way, and I can't even remember what happens to him at the end. This film is brilliant in its moral ambiguity, its documentary style is oh-so-clever, and its pacing is perfect. And despite the inclusion of a million creatures from a space ship, I found the movie quite realistic, perhaps because Johannesburg was itself an alien backdrop. The only thing I had trouble accepting was the requirement that MNU obtain prawn signatures on their eviction notices.
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-18 15:30:432009-08-18 15:30:43District 9 - 8
The Perfect Getaway – 4.5
This is a one-trick movie, and once you see that it is a dirty trick being played on the viewer, the modest respect I had for the Hawaiian scenery and Steve Zahn's character flew out the window. There are "red snappers" – I mean, herrings – galore, but the switcheroo is not of that ilk. Nothing that occurs, or is said, in the first two-thirds of the movie makes any sense or has any integrity once the final third comes around. And that final third, on its own terms, is pretty absurd, too. Where was the "screenplay-writer"?
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-18 15:29:502009-08-18 15:29:50The Perfect Getaway - 4.5
(500) Days of Summer -7.5
Glad I saw this with my wife because, whereas I saw Summer as gorgeous perfection, too good for any guy in this movie, my wife saw Summer as vapid, emotionally withholding, not worthy of Tom, whom I saw as a feckless twerp. Of course, we were both right, which is a testament to the fine acting performance by Zooey Deschanel, and to the difference between the sexes. None of the situations in the movie bore any relation to reality, as I know it – a greeting-card company where a dozen people sit in cubicles to come up with "I Love Us"?, c'mon! – which made the realism of the boy-girl relationship all the more compelling. Cute, well acted, not too deep – a sweet time at the movies and a nice first feature from director Marc Webb.
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-15 14:54:382009-08-15 14:54:38(500) Days of Summer -7.5
Food, Inc. -7
This was an indelicate subject made with surprising delicacy, thanks especially to a compellingly rational lead talking-head, Eric Schlosser. The glaring weakness was the lack of a two-sided argument: none of the big food companies that were vilified – Monsanto, Perdue, Tyson, etc. – were willing to be interviewed, which left me to wonder if there might be another side to the story of the Indiana seed cleaner who was being put out of business through legal harassment. Nevertheless, seeing where your hamburger meat and chicken breasts come from made me feel good about dining at Heartland last week and encouraged me to seek out farmers' markets for all the cooking I don't do.
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-15 14:53:272009-08-15 14:53:27Food, Inc. -7
In the Loop – 7.9
August 2, 2009 /0 Comments/in Reviews /by Bob Marshall
Hysterically funny, at least the half I was able to catch. It was paced like a sitcom, and the performances were uniformly over-the-top, but the whole fit seamlessly together, like fingers in a glove. An especially deft and novel leitmotif was the role of 20-somethings, pulling and being hit by levers in the power corridors of Washington and London. The story of how British "intel" facilitated America's rush into a nameless war might have seemed absurd had not every event in the movie echoed reality as we now know it. An inside source on WMD called "Iceman"? Not half as ridiculous as the CIA's reliance on "Screwball." The media's fixation on a crumbling garden wall while war is being plotted? Try the "beer summit," while health-care overhaul is left to dry.
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-02 10:54:072009-08-02 10:54:07In the Loop - 7.9
Public Enemies – 4
What an expensively handsome emotional zero! A film eulogizing a murdering bank robber was probably misconceived to begin with, but then to direct both John Dillinger and G-man Melvin Purvis as one-dimensional ensured that our sympathies would not be engaged. The love interest, played by Marion Cotillard, set off no sparks, either. The only character who showed any signs of psychological struggle was the Romanian call-girl threatened with deportation if she didn't finger Dillinger. Interestingly, my only question at movie's end was, did she get shipped out after all – not did Purvis commit suicide 27 years later, as the credits gratuitously informed us. The clothing and the bank architecture were fun to watch, though.
/movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png 0 0 Bob Marshall /movies/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo2.png Bob Marshall2009-08-01 10:33:382009-08-01 10:33:38Public Enemies - 4


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Q: Why is leading whitespace in a q element treated differently from other inline elements? It seems that leading whitespace inside a <q> element is always preserved (albeit normalized to a single space), while this isn't the case for most inline elements. For example, the following code (jsFiddle):

 a <q>test</q> b test c

 a <q>  test</q> b   test c

 a <q>test  </q> b test   c

 a <q>  test  </q> b   test   c

Renders like this in all modern browsers I've tested (Chrome, FF, and Edge):

In the second and fourth line, the <q> is rendered with initial whitespace, while the  is not. Why is this?
EDIT: Adding the following CSS to the fiddle above:
a::before, a::after {
   content: '"';
}

Makes them render identically. So it seems to have something to do with the CSS ::before selector.

A: According to Chrome's docs on default styles for HTML elements, the default style for the <q> element (quote) is:
q::before {
    content: open-quote;
}

q::after {
    content: close-quote;
}

As you noticed, if you apply the same style to the  element (anchor), you get the same results:

body {
  font-size: 200%;
}

q {
  background-color: #AAF;
}

a {
  background-color: #FAA;
}
a::before {
  content: open-quote;
}

a::after {
  content: close-quote;
}

 a <q>test</q> b test c

 a <q>  test</q> b   test c

 a <q>test  </q> b test   c

 a <q>  test  </q> b   test   c

The key to understand this lies on the explanation of what are ::before and ::after. According to MDN, they create a pseudo-element that is the first (for ::before) or last (for ::after) child of the element matched. So you can imagine that an inline element with a quote inside was added as the first child of each <q>.
For example:

 a "    b

Shows one space before b, while:

 a     b

Does not show the space before b.
You can see it in action here:

body {
  font-size: 200%;
}

q {
  background-color: #AAF;
}

a, span {
  background-color: #FAA;
}

 a <q>test</q> b test c

 a <q>  test</q> b   test c

 a <q>test  </q> b test   c

 a <q>  test  </q> b   test   c

 a "    a

 a     a

A: The behavior of normal white-space css rule, which is applied by default here, is to collapse multiple whitespace to one space. When you add content with before and after it's not multiple whitespace anymore, hence it doesn't collapse.
Note that it doesn't have anything to do with leading or trailing spaces, or inline or not, or the q element. All whitespace behave this way except if you change the white-space rule.
You can see the result if you change your CSS to:
body {
    white-space: pre;
}

https://jsfiddle.net/zxvsehs6/
See: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/white-space

A: This is mainly due to the fact that the < q > tag has been designed to do that specific function: quote a piece of text. If that piece of text has white space, that space would be displayed. The quote is meant to "copy" a piece of text, hence being a quote. All other tags don't have white space because they are the developer's input, so that developer controls where they want space to be shown. In a < q > tag on the other hand, the contents of the tag are displayed exactly as typed, to actually "quote" a section of text.
In the end, it's down to how the developers of HTML chose to create the tag. The above paragraph is simply reasoning of their choice.

A: I could not get the white-space to be removed but what you can do is deduce the amount of white-space simply by adding a negative margin on the pseudo elements of the element you are trying to target.
Take for example this simple paragraph of text. I found the solution of adding a negative margin offset best worked for me:
html:

This is my paragraph of text to demonstrate how this will work for you too!

css:

Note:  The amount of margin you will require for the before and after pseudo elements is likely to vary, for example, you may find you need increase/decrease the margin on one side more than you do on the other as I found was the case for me, but this will work. Font-sizes and styles etc... will also add to the required negative margin you will need to set, bearing in mind this does not actually remove the white-space completely, but rather, just decreases it to a minimal ideal amount to suit your context. Have a play around with negative margin values I have added here to see how it works... it works and I know it is more of a hack than a proper solution... it just does not seem possible to remove the white-space added by default on block quote elements making it a bit of a tedious process to set the ideal negative margin to best suit any context.

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Dyersville is known as the Farm Toy Capital of the World. It is also home to the famous "Field of Dreams" movie site. It is mostly a farming community with several manufacturing/distributing companies located here as well. There are several dining options here, including family style home cooking, Mexican, sandwich shops, coffee shops, locally owned restaurants and several pizza and fast food establishments. There are several parks that are available for pleasure and sporting use.
Dyersville offers many activities. There is a new walking/running trail in town. We are on the west end of the Heritage Trail, which runs 25 miles to Dubuque. A municipal swimming pool, baseball diamonds and soccer fields are available. There are two fitness centers in town as well as two bowling alleys. Two casinos are 25 miles away in Dubuque. Northeast Iowa Community College is 20 miles away in Peosta. There is a public as well as a private golf course in town. One of the local hotels has an indoor swimming pool that is available to the public. The town hosts two major farm toy shows throughout the year as well as outdoor music events.
The James Kennedy Public Library is a award winning library. It offers programs and events for all ages at any given time of the year. The National Farm Toy Museum is a nationally known museum which tells the history of agriculture as well as offers displays and interactive exhibits. The Dyer-Botsford Historical House is home to a collection of over 100 dolls and is decorated in the time period of James Dyer, the founder of Dyersville.
Dyersville is 25 miles from Dubuque Regional Airport.
Mercy Medical Center-Dyersville is affiliated with Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque.
Jan 8.0 F° 17.0 F° 26.0 F° 0.9 "
Feb 13.0 F° 22.0 F° 31.0 F° 1.2 "
Mar 24.0 F° 34.0 F° 44.0 F° 1.8 "
Apr 35.0 F° 46.5 F° 58.0 F° 3.5 "
May 47.0 F° 58.5 F° 70.0 F° 4.3 "
Jun 57.0 F° 68.0 F° 79.0 F° 5.2 "
Jul 61.0 F° 72.0 F° 83.0 F° 4.9 "
Aug 58.0 F° 69.5 F° 81.0 F° 4.8 "
Sep 48.0 F° 61.0 F° 74.0 F° 3.3 "
Oct 37.0 F° 49.0 F° 61.0 F° 2.9 "
Nov 26.0 F° 35.5 F° 45.0 F° 2.4 "
Dec 13.0 F° 22.0 F° 31.0 F° 1.4 "
Summers are warm for baseball, swimming and hiking. Fall is beautiful as the trees turn colors and the air is crisp. Winter is great for snowmobiling. Spring has an abundance of flowers, trees and the grass greening up.
Condos Over 50 Communities Dyersville offers single family homes, apartment complexes, assisted and independent living centers, condos, a nursing home, and affordable living arrangements.
Home care Senior center Visiting nurses Services for seniors include Home Health Aides, a very attractive and active senior center, transportation for seniors and a Visiting Nurses program.
Volunteer opportunities are plentiful in this area. The hospital, schools, churches, and other service organizations use volunteers on a regular basis.


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Nokombokan (, also Romanized as Nokombokān) is a village in Jahliyan Rural District, in the Central District of Konarak County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 382, in 74 families.

References

Populated places in Konarak County

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Airline Rentals
WHEN FLYING WITH AIR NEW ZEALAND
Cheap Air New Zealand
WE COMPARE QUALITY
CAR RENTAL BRANDS AND PRICES
@ ALL AIR NEW ZEALAND
FLY AIR NEW ZEALAND WITH LEADING CAR RENTAL BRANDS
About Air New Zealand (NZ)
Air New Zealand (NZ) is the national airline of New Zealand, serving 20 domestic and 31 international destinations in 19 countries, with a general focus on the Oceania and the Asia Pacific region. The airline's main hub in Auckland operates service to a limited number of destinations in Europe and the Americas, and daily flights to five main domestic destinations, with New Zealand's remaining 15 airports are served by subsidiary airlines. The majority of Air New Zealand flights originate or terminal at a domestic airport, with notable exceptions of a daily flight between Los Angeles and London Heathrow, and weekly service between Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Sydney, and Los Angeles.
Air New Zealand's most popular domestic destinations are Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Dunedin, while Nelson — dubbed New Zealand's Mediterranean — and Blenheim/Marlborough are on the rise. Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth are among the most popular regional flights. The airline serves a number of summertime destinations in Japan, while Fiji and Norfolk Island remain hot spots for beach vacations. At the same time, London and Los Angeles round out the list of top international destinations.
You can save a lot of money when you team up with Air New Zealand for a flight and one of the top name brands for a car hire. But you can get an even better deal when you let us handle the details. Avis, Alamo, Budget, Europcar, and National have an array of vehicle types to choose from. The most popular cheap car rental is a compact 3-door coupe, but economy and intermediate sedans are wildly popular these days. Standard and fullsize sedans and estate wagons are the top choice for small groups, while SUVs lead the way in all-purpose rentals. Of course, 7-12 seater minivans are in high demand among larger groups and families.
Tips for Air New Zealand Passengers Renting Cars
Mobile data plans vary wildly, but an increasing number of carriers are allowing for reasonable international roaming usage. It's entirely possible to use your hands-free mobile device as a navigational system in lieu of GPS. But because not all wireless plans are equal, you could save money either way. It might be cheaper to rent a car with online GPS, it might not.
Most car hire providers offer e-Toll programs for cashless transactions on toll roads. Some offer a flat daily rate, while others offer a pay-as-you-go system. Consider your travel itinerary before opting in or out of a flat rate program. It depends on your planned usage of toll roads.
Travelers with children may want to bring their own child safety seat to save on the extras, but it's usually cheaper to rent one from the car rental agency than pay the fee for using your own.
It's recommended that the credit card used to secure the rental is valid for 6 months after the rental period has ended. Some airline car rental companies will require this, but others won't. However, some additional charges can take up to 4-8 weeks to be billed to your card.
Debit cards cannot be used to secure a car rental at the time of pick-up, but they can be used to pay the final bill at the end of the rental period. Major credit card with enough available credit to cover the Collision/Loss Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) deductible is required to rent a car with Air New Zealand.
Your credit card's travel insurance probably covers the Excess Damage Waiver — also known as Excess Reduction (ER) — that you'll be offered in addition to the standard CDW. Double check to make sure you're covered and avoid another costly fee.

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Lakers Reportedly Will Ask Permission to Speak to Tom Thibodeau, Will Interview George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott
By Tim Ryan
The Lakers plan to reach out to the Chicago Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, a league source tells http://t.co/8DsJGhr2Pi
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 1, 2014
With Mike D'Antoni out of the picture after a strange and highly unsuccessful tenure as head coach of the Lakers, everyone who has ever coached an NBA game, along with your dad, will reportedly interview with the storied franchise.
Who knows what the Bulls will decide to do in allowing Tom Thibodeau permission to interview, but George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, and Byron Scott are already apparently on the docket, according to sources.
After botching a Phil Jackson return in 2012 and subsequently opting for D'Antoni, who was an unmitigated disaster, the Lakers absolutely need to get this one right. Less than a day after his resignation, it's already a pretty nice list of candidates.
RELATED: Mike D'Antoni Resigned As Lakers Head Coach
RELATED: Rihanna Attends Lakers Game, Spends Night Flirting With Young Lakers Fan
RELATED: Los Angeles Lakers Try (and Fail) to Name Santa's 9 Reindeer
RELATED: Tom Thibodeau Laughing Maniacally Shows Great Movie Villain Potential
[L.A. Times]


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Your Mailbox Could Be Opened Up To Private Carriers
By Emily Sullivan • Feb 2, 2019
A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier delivers the mail in Shelbyville, Ky. A White House task force recommended ending the mailbox monopoly held by USPS.
Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Originally published on February 10, 2019 1:44 pm
By law, only you and the U.S. Postal Service are allowed to put things in your mailbox. But what if companies like FedEx and UPS could do it too?
That could happen under a recommendation by the Trump administration.
A White House task force said in December that USPS should "explore franchising the mailbox as a means of generating revenue."
The Postal Service could use the cash.
It's been losing money for years, including a $3.9 billion loss in fiscal 2018. It's no surprise. People are mailing fewer letters — first-class volume dropped by 2.1 billion pieces last year. To help offset that drop, USPS raised stamp prices by 5 cents in January — its largest increase ever.
And the Postal Service is still struggling to pay $5.5 billion each year in future retiree benefits.
By allowing access to private companies for a fee, the agency could earn cash without making changes to its current products, the task force says. The proposal did not name any specific companies, but it brings firms like FedEx and the United Parcel Service to mind.
Those companies currently leave small packages on your doorstep instead of your mailbox because USPS has a mailbox monopoly — and has for decades.
In 1934, during the Great Depression, Congress enacted a law prohibiting anyone from putting their hands in mailboxes — except for the Postal Service and the customer to whom it was delivering the mail. The law — aimed at clamping down on people skimping on postage — has been in effect ever since.
(So yes, even dropping a note in your neighbor's mailbox is technically a crime.)
The scope of the mailbox monopoly has been tested from time to time. The Supreme Court even heard a 1981 case about it and upheld its constitutionality.
If the Trump administration's recommendation is implemented, it "would be a new way of the Postal Service operating its exclusive control over everyone's mailboxes — no doubt about that," Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Robert Taub says.
Taub, a Trump appointee who heads the independent agency that oversees the Postal Service, says the recommendation wouldn't have come about if the agency wasn't in such a dire financial state.
"Although we would have to review the details, as long as we could get along with the conditions, we would look at it as a positive step" to boost revenue, Taub says.
Others, like Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, say franchising the mailbox would actually take money from the Postal Service.
Transportation analysts have said giving mailbox access to companies like UPS and FedEx would allow them to serve their customers faster — simply by shaving off the time it takes for a courier to walk to someone's doorstep, particularly in rural areas.
But Dimondstein, whose union represents more than 200,000 USPS workers and retirees, says customers might begin to choose private carriers to deliver small parcels instead of the Postal Service, thinking their services have become faster.
There are plenty of other ways to increase revenue — like decreasing the "unfair burden" of pre-funding future employees' retirement, he says. "Some of these future employees haven't even been born yet." Or the Postal Service could be allowed to provide a greater array of financial services, such as expanding money order and check-cashing services, Dimondstein says.
Under its universal service obligation, the Postal Service serves more than 157 million addresses throughout the U.S. Unlike other carriers, USPS delivers everywhere — like Anaktuvuk Pass in the farthest reaches of northern Alaska. Each piece of mail is flown in and out of the remote town. For its 300 or so residents, the post office is a crucial link to the outside world.
And places as rural and isolated as Anaktuvuk Pass are hard for UPS or FedEx fleets to reach. Dimondstein says these companies pay the Postal Service to ship their own parcels "millions and millions" times a week rather than deal with logistics themselves.
"Why? Because they cannot make money going to where that package is going," he says.
A spokesperson for FedEx declined to provide a comment to NPR. David Abney, the CEO of UPS, has said he's willing to look into accessing mailboxes once more details become available.
But some say the Postal Service and other companies are beyond comparison. A majority of Americans trust the agency more than any other. For one, letter carriers are beloved by the communities they serve.
"If you move, the post office will find you and they'll get you your letters and they'll get you your package. And FedEx and UPS won't do that," says Cassey Francis, a hairdresser from Iowa. She grew up the daughter of two letter carriers.
"Even though it may seem from time to time that the post office isn't the most efficient," Francis says, "they're really doing an incredible thing."
If the administration wants to have a further say in Postal Service matters, President Trump could appoint some members to the Postal Board of Governors. They have the real power in implementing change to the agency — and there are seven vacancies.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
It's no secret that the U.S. Postal Service has been losing money for years. Its recent 5-cent price hike was the largest ever for stamps. Now the Trump administration thinks it's found another new way to make money - selling access to your mailbox to private companies like FedEx or UPS. NPR's Emily Sullivan reports.
EMILY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: In the midst of the Great Depression, people were trying to skimp on postage by hand-dropping letters into mailboxes. The Postal Service took a big hit, so Congress enacted something called the mailbox monopoly. By law, postal service carriers and you are the only people allowed to place letters in your mailbox.
(SOUNDBITE OF MAILBOX OPENING)
SULLIVAN: So, yes, dropping a note in your neighbor's mailbox is actually a crime. It has been for decades. And now the Trump administration is eyeing the Postal Service's monopoly. In a December report, the White House task force on the Postal Service suggested opening the mailbox up to private companies. The way it would work is that the Postal Service would allow private companies mailbox access for a fee.
ROBERT TAUB: Given the Postal Service's financial balance sheet math, we've got to do everything we can, it seems to me, to protect and preserve and sustain this national treasure of ours.
SULLIVAN: That's Postal Regulatory Committee (ph) Chairman Robert Taub. The Trump appointee heads the independent agency that oversees the Postal Service. The agency has racked up losses for more than a decade. You might remember these dire headlines.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
MORGAN BRENNAN: First-class mail continues to fall, and retiree costs balloon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The ailing U.S. Postal Service is bleeding millions of dollars every hour.
SULLIVAN: One reason - it has all these massive costs. The agency must pay its workers retiree benefits decades into the future, costing it $5.5 billion each year. Another reason for all those costs - unlike other carriers, they deliver everywhere. The Postal Service delivers to more than 157 million addresses throughout the U.S., like Anaktuvuk Pass in the furthest reaches of northern Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The Arctic Wilderness. Vast, lonely yet hauntingly beautiful.
SULLIVAN: There are no roads there. Every piece of mail is flown in and out. Its post office is one of the only links to the outside world. Mark Dimondstein is the president of the American Postal Workers Union. He says UPS and FedEx themselves put millions of packages a week onto Postal Service planes and trucks. Why?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: Because they cannot make money going to where that package is going.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Rather than deal with logistics, UPS or FedEx will pay the Postal Service to take their packages headed to rural areas, like northern Alaska. Delivering mail straight to your mailbox would be a benefit to these companies. Right now, UPS or FedEx carriers can't stick a package in a postal mailbox, so they spend extra time walking up and down those driveways. This proposal would mean faster delivery, especially in rural areas. And Dimondstein suspects more people will choose to spend their money with those other companies if the mailbox opens up.
DIMONDSTEIN: This proposal would actually take revenue outside of the post office.
SULLIVAN: But some Americans say the Postal Service is just different. There's a sense of nostalgia and affection. Americans know their postal carrier, often by name.
CASEY FRANCIS: You know, they're really doing an incredible thing. It's extremely complex, and it's kind of amazing that they get things to your door.
SULLIVAN: That's Casey Francis (ph), a hairdresser from Iowa and a self-described Postal Service nerd. She's the daughter of two postal carriers.
FRANCIS: If you move, the post office will find you. And they'll get you your letters, and they'll get you your package. And FedEx and UPS won't do that.
SULLIVAN: For now, the Trump administration's suggestion is just a suggestion. Why? More than half of the Postal Board of Governors' positions are vacant, and that board has the power to make changes. Emily Sullivan, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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HomeThe BusinessSt. Louis Anxious About EPA Plan for Barrier Between Fire, Toxic Waste
St. Louis Anxious About EPA Plan for Barrier Between Fire, Toxic Waste
Al Jazeera America | Jan 11, 2016
Those living near a landfill complex in suburban St. Louis where an underground fire is burning near Cold War-era nuclear weapons waste say they remain afraid and frustrated despite a government pledge to build a barrier between the two.
In the past, tests have found radioactive materials in the complex that were previously unknown to regulators, raising fears that the extent of the contamination — in terms of severity and location — remains unclear. Maintaining that its data is sound, the EPA, which has regulatory oversight over the West Lake Landfill, announced on Dec. 31 that it is moving forward with a plan to build an isolation barrier between the fire and known waste, but many residents and environmentalists are worried that is too little too late.
"I think this was an announcement about an announcement," said Dawn Chapman, who lives near the site and is one of the most vocal residents calling for a "safe and permanent solution" to the landfill's radioactive contamination. "There's no details in it."
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Ankle sprains: evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation.
Ankle sprains are a common, costly, and potentially disabling problem. The proper history and physical examination will determine the need for radiological evaluation and treatment. Complications of ankle trauma like osteochondral fractures, peroneal tendon injuries, fracture of the os trigonum, synovial impingement, tarsal tunnel syndrome, Achilles tendon inflammation or rupture, and nerve injury are reviewed. The treatment of ankle sprains is based on the severity of the injury. Treatment begins with rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Casting and orthotics may be needed to facilitate healing. Primary rehabilitation, functional rehabilitation, and performance testing and the assessment of efficacy for each of these modalities are critical parts of proper treatment for ankle sprains.
Adamson, C., & Cymet, T. (1997). Ankle sprains: evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation. Maryland medical journal (Baltimore, Md. : 1985), 46(10), 530-537.
Ankle sprains : evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation. / Adamson, C.; Cymet, T.
In: Maryland medical journal (Baltimore, Md. : 1985), Vol. 46, No. 10, 1997, p. 530-537.
Adamson, C & Cymet, T 1997, 'Ankle sprains: evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation.' Maryland medical journal (Baltimore, Md. : 1985), vol. 46, no. 10, pp. 530-537.
Adamson C, Cymet T. Ankle sprains: evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation. Maryland medical journal (Baltimore, Md. : 1985). 1997;46(10):530-537.
Adamson, C. ; Cymet, T. / Ankle sprains : evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation. In: Maryland medical journal (Baltimore, Md. : 1985). 1997 ; Vol. 46, No. 10. pp. 530-537.
N2 - Ankle sprains are a common, costly, and potentially disabling problem. The proper history and physical examination will determine the need for radiological evaluation and treatment. Complications of ankle trauma like osteochondral fractures, peroneal tendon injuries, fracture of the os trigonum, synovial impingement, tarsal tunnel syndrome, Achilles tendon inflammation or rupture, and nerve injury are reviewed. The treatment of ankle sprains is based on the severity of the injury. Treatment begins with rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Casting and orthotics may be needed to facilitate healing. Primary rehabilitation, functional rehabilitation, and performance testing and the assessment of efficacy for each of these modalities are critical parts of proper treatment for ankle sprains.
AB - Ankle sprains are a common, costly, and potentially disabling problem. The proper history and physical examination will determine the need for radiological evaluation and treatment. Complications of ankle trauma like osteochondral fractures, peroneal tendon injuries, fracture of the os trigonum, synovial impingement, tarsal tunnel syndrome, Achilles tendon inflammation or rupture, and nerve injury are reviewed. The treatment of ankle sprains is based on the severity of the injury. Treatment begins with rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Casting and orthotics may be needed to facilitate healing. Primary rehabilitation, functional rehabilitation, and performance testing and the assessment of efficacy for each of these modalities are critical parts of proper treatment for ankle sprains.


No one enjoys handing over tens of thousands of dollars at tax time. However, it is even worse when it's money that you wouldn't have had to pay if you had planned ahead. Yet, that's what millions of Americans do every year. Because they didn't put advance strategies in place, they overpay on their taxes—and sometimes by a lot.
There are many deductions available to business owners and sole proprietors, but you have to know what they are in order to take advantage of them. You can't just put it all off until tax time. By then, it's too late. Many of these tax reduction strategies require proactive tax planning—what steps need to be taken now in order to reduce your tax burden for the year?
Because there are only a few months left in the year, now is the time to talk about tax planning. No matter who you are, there is still an opportunity to take advantage of these strategies before the end of the year.
There are common tax mistakes that I've seen countless times in working with clients. Each of these issues can be avoided using proactive tax planning. If a business owner takes action before the end of the year, they can potentially save thousands, or tens of thousands, on their taxes.
Maximizing your deductions means planning ahead, not trying to figure out how to create deductions after the fact. This requires having a good idea of your current financial position so that you can project your tax liability ahead of time, when something can still be done about it. This may seem like extra work. However, it will be worth it when your tax bill is several thousand dollars lower.
I've seen people spend tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes simply because no one thought it through ahead of time. Though it might seem obvious, this is the number one mistake I see.
Whether your business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an S Corp, or a C Corp can have a profound impact on your taxes. With a sole proprietorship, you're going to report all your income on a Schedule C and pay taxes on your net income, plus a Self-Employment tax of up to 15.3 percent of your income. With an S Corp, the proceeds of your company are split into "salary" and "income." You'll pay taxes on both your salary and your income, but you'll only pay FICA on your salary.
What does that mean? On an income of $80,000, you may be able save more than $5,000 per year just by changing the way your business is set up.
Putting money aside for retirement not only provides for your future but also defers your tax obligation until later. However, the problem is that a standard IRA has an annual limit of $5,500. The good news is that if you'd like to set aside more, you do have other options.
Other types of retirement accounts include Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs), SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k)s, and defined benefit plans. These each have different tax ramifications and timing requirements. Your best option for a retirement plan depends on your unique circumstances.
You may not realize that hiring a family member is a great way to save money on taxes. Why? Their first $6,350 of earned income is taxed at zero and up to $9,325 is taxed at just 10 percent—significantly less than your tax bracket. This means you can save money on expenses like summer camp or private school tuition by hiring a teen to do filing or social media management.
You are required to maintain the basics of employment for your child. This includes things such as having a job description, keeping a timesheet, paying by check, maintaining a record of payments, and having an account in the child's name. However, you're also allowed to pay them a reasonable wage, which can be significant.
It might be possible to structure your medical bills as business expenses. If you qualify, a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan enables you to put your spouse or mature child on your payroll and reimburse medical expenses. Health Savings Accounts can also be used to combine a high-deductible insurance plan to cover unreimbursed costs.
Like retirement accounts, there is a lot to this subject. However, doing it right can save a lot of money in certain situations.
Home office deductions don't raise as many red "audit" flags as you might think. If you have no other fixed location where you conduct a significant part of your business, any room or part of room you use exclusively and regularly for your business will qualify. You just need to calculate the square footage of that area and figure out the business use percentage. You can then apply that percentage to mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, security, repairs, insurance, and more.
Remember, if you have an S corp, you can't just take the deduction like a sole proprietor. You have to actually reimburse yourself for these expenses before the end of the year, which is then deducted from your profit.
To utilize these deductions, you'll need some basic records. This is as simple as a little book that says who you entertained, when and where it was, what business was accomplished, and what your business relationship with that person is. Remember, entertainment can take place in the home, in a restaurant, a theater, or at a sporting event. The only requirement is that it was for legitimate business purposes.
The government has intentionally set up avenues for businesses to reduce their tax burdens, but it's up to us to take advantage of them. Meet with a trusted advisor to see if any of these strategies apply to your situation. Just remember that it's best to approach these issues before December 31, not afterwards.
Kim Bey, CPA, recently spoke at the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service's Small Firm Lunch and Learn Series on September 14. She is the owner of Bey & Associates, CPA, PC, and co-author of Amazon bestseller Secrets of a Tax-Free Life: Surprising Write-off Strategies Most Business Owners Miss. Currently serving on the D.C. Bar Association's Practice Management Service Committee, Kim's focus is helping business owners and attorneys maximize their deductions so they can keep more of their hard-earned money.


This Gorgeous Diamond 0.60 CTW Pendant Necklace features 1 center diamond with a near colorless grade of H and a beautiful clarity of VS. This necklace is a perfect romantic piece that you can gift to your love one. The pendant is set in 14K white gold halo setting with a 14K white Gold chain. The metal can be changed to 14k yellow gold or 14k rose gold upon request.
The necklace is 18" long This exquisite marquise cut diamond solitaire halo pendant is crafted out of solid 14k gold and a brilliant round shape diamond. The pendant is in the shape of the evil eye usually worn to ward off negative energy.
The center stone weighs 0.40 CT. This design of pendant is one of the most desired and classy of all. The diamond is set in a unique, secure, halo set floating designer style setting.


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El Servicio Nacional de Pesca Marina ( en inglés National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS) es una agencia federal de los Estados Unidos. Es una de las divisiones de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA) y del Departamento de Comercio, la NMFS es responsable de la administración y manejo de los recursos marinos y su hábitat dentro de la zona económica exclusiva de los Estados Unidos, la cual se extiende 370 km (200 millas náuticas) mar adentro de la línea costera.

El NMFS evalúa y predice el estado de las poblaciones de peces, garantiza el cumplimiento de las regulaciones de pesca y trabaja para evitar prácticas de pesca inadecuadas. En el marco de la Ley para la Protección de Mamíferos Marinos y la Ley de Especies Amenazadas, la agencia también se encarga de la recuperación de especies marinas protegidas como el salmón, ballenas y tortugas marinas.

Con la ayuda de los seis centros científicos regionales, ocho consejos regionales de gestión de pesca, los estados y territorios costeros y tres comisiones interestatales de gestión de la pesca, el NMFS conserva y maneja la industria pesquera para promover la sostenibilidad y para prevenir la pérdida económica potencial asociada con la sobrepesca, la disminución de las poblaciones y la degradación del su hábitat. Mientras que los estados y territorios costeros en general, tienen autoridad para manejar la pesca en las aguas costeras del estado, la NMFS tiene la responsabilidad de conservar y manejar la pesca marina en la zona económica exclusiva aguas adentro de las aguas costeras del estado.

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 NMFS - official site

Ciencia y tecnología de Estados Unidos
Departamento de Comercio de Estados Unidos


text:
Loktuše je pomůcka používaná k přepravě nákladu (zejména píce a sena) na krátké vzdálenosti. Konstrukčně se jedná o čtverec z pytloviny o rozměrech cca 1,5 x 1,5 m, který má v každém rohu popruh. Buď jsou přišity dva dlouhé popruhy po celé úhlopříčce loktuše, nebo v každém rohu je přišitý kratší popruh. Popruhy jsou široké asi 3 cm a loktuši přesahují asi o 1,5 m. Na rozprostřenou loktuši se navršila hromada píce nebo sena, pak se křížem svázaly protilehlé popruhy uzlem s jedním okem, podobným na tkaničce.
Naplněná loktuše se pak nosila na rameni.

Odkazy

Externí odkazy

Zavazadla
Přepravní kontejnery


text:
Frank Geerk (* 17. Januar 1946 in Kiel; † 7. Februar 2008 in Basel) war ein deutscher Schriftsteller. Bekannt wurde Geerk als Dichter, Dramatiker und Prosaist, aber auch im Bereich der Malerei.

Leben
Der vor allem durch Dichtung bekannt gewordene Künstler wuchs in Weil am Rhein auf und arbeitete seit 1966 in Basel. Schon während seines Studiums (Philosophie und Psychologie) veröffentlichte er literarische Werke. 1980 verbrachte er als Professor für deutsche Literatur eine Zeit in Texas, worüber er 1984 das Buch Herz der Überlebenden veröffentlichte. Im Werk des Schriftstellers lassen sich häufig autobiografische Parallelen zu Geerks eigenem Schicksal feststellen; so verarbeitete er in Tag der Gewalt z. B. auch seine Nachkriegs-Kindheit in einer grenznahen Kleinstadt. Immer wieder verarbeitet er eigene Erfahrungen in seinen Werken und hilft dem Leser, die Konfrontation mit dem eigenen Schicksal (wie z. B. dem Tod) leichter zu verarbeiten.1988 wurde Geerk mit dem Preis der Welti-Stiftung für das Drama für sein Stück Der Genetiker ausgezeichnet.

Werke

Drama
Schwärmer – 1976
König Hohn – 1978
Der Reichstagsbrand – 1983
Der Genetiker – 1989
Paracelsus – 1991
Die siebte Feindfahrt – 1995

Romane
Gewitterbäume – 1968
Herz der Überlebenden – 1984
Das Ende des grünen Traums – 1987
Die Rosen des Diktators – 1990
Tag der Gewalt – 1995
Das Liebesleben des Papstes – 1997

Prosa
Vergiss nicht die Liebe zu töten – 1982
Herz der Überlebenden – 1984
Indianischer Widerstand – 1985
Die Räumung – 1988
Die siebte Feindfahrt – 1995
Kongress der Weltweisen – 1995
Die Geburt der Zukunft – 1996
Paracelsus, Arzt unserer Zeit – 1992
Wortmedizin – 2001
Die welt ist das Auge des Sehers – 2003

Lyrik
Kneipenlieder – 1974
Notwehr – 1975
Prosa. Gedichte – 1979
Zorn & Zärtlichkeit -1981
Handbuch für Lebenswillige – 1983
Lob des Menschen – 1986
Vom Licht der Krankheit – 2000
Von Wunden und Wundern – 2003
Das Buch Dominika – 2006

Literatur

Weblinks

 Schriftsteller Frank Geerk in Basel gestorben. In: Die Berliner Literaturkritik, 11. Februar 2008
 Frank Geerk. Biografie und Bibliografie auf Viceversa Literatur

Einzelnachweise

Autor
Literatur (20. Jahrhundert)
Literatur (21. Jahrhundert)
Literatur (Deutsch)
Lyrik
Drama
Roman, Epik
Erzählung
Essay
Autobiografie
Person (Kiel)
Deutscher
Geboren 1946
Gestorben 2008
Mann


Many times throughout the year, manufacturers offer rebates for their firearms and ammunition. We are providing this page of current offers as an added service for our customers. If you have interest in a firearm or ammunition, take a look to see if there is an active manufacturers rebate that you can take advantage of. If you have any questions about a rebate, please contact the manufacturer directly.


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Is There More to Juniper's Earnings Miss?
Most analysts are chalking up Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR)'s weak fourth quarter to political posturing by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). But one is saying it's the first sign of a long-term shift in router demand.
The rise of packet-optical transport systems (P-OTS) and of carrier-owned content delivery networks (CDNs) is going to dilute the need for more service-provider routers, believes ACI Research analyst Ed Zabitsky.
Juniper announced Monday afternoon that fourth-quarter earnings would be even lower than the company had warned in October due to weakness in router sales, particularly in North America. (See Juniper's Q4 Got Even Worse and Juniper's Getting Stalled on Revenues.)
Most analysts concluded that AT&T was at fault. As the T-Mobile US Inc. deal unraveled, the carrier curbed its spending to try to "turn the equipment vendors into lobbyists," wrote analyst George Notter of Jefferies & Company Inc. in a note earlier this week.
Zabitsky sees something bigger going on, though. Since early in 2011, he's been saying that router demand, particularly core routers, is going to be in trouble.
The rise of P-OTS, for example, is a way to accommodate growth without using so many core-router ports; "router bypass" is a favorite phrase around this topic. Then you've got CDNs, which let carriers cache content locally rather than reaching across the network to get it -- call it "network bypass," if you will. Both effects will dampen the demand for routers, Zabitsky thinks.
One key point of his argument is that Juniper's T-4000 core router began shipping in the fourth quarter and doesn't seem to have kicked off a wave of orders. That would be unusual. "Every new major product, when it comes out, comes with huge orders from existing customers," Zabitsky says.
But Juniper's bookings in the fourth quarter were about on par with its sales -- a book-to-bill ratio of about 1.0, as the company announced Monday. The fact that Juniper didn't say the book-to-bill was greater than 1.0 means it probably wasn't, Zabitsky says, and that's an indication that sales aren't growing in the immediate term.
Even with router revenues down, the T-4000 should have had an impact on Juniper's bookings, he says. To him, it all means that core-router demand might be down inherently.
Whether Zabitsky is right probably won't be settled when Juniper announces earnings on Jan. 26. (And because it's in that pre-earnings zone, Juniper declined to comment for this story.)
Most analysts expect a pretty big 2012 from Juniper. It's got four new product lines to ship -- the T-4000, the PTX, the QFabric super-data-center platform and the MobileNext evolved packet core. Analysts seem a little less certain about MobileNext, but they've been pretty jazzed about the other three.
Here's some more about Juniper's troublesome quarter:
Juniper's Q4 Got Even Worse
Vendors' Q3/Q4 Earnings Could Suffer
Juniper's Getting Stalled on Revenues
Page 1 / 2 > >>
digits 12/5/2012 | 5:45:53 PM
re: Is There More to Juniper's Earnings Miss?
Isn't it a bit early to be attributing core router sales weakness to next gen packet-optical and CDN deployments? Maybe not but that feels like more of a 2013/4 trend than one that would impact late 2011...
That's what I asked Zabitsky.
He's convinced the CDN effect has already started and is manifesting itself in carrier behavior.
For packet-optical... It may be early, but he was saying back in March (when the PTX was announced) that he expects some carriers to hold off on T4000s while they wait for the PTX. So, that effect is possible.
I guess it might be a few more quarters before we find out if he is on to something as it's possible a lot of AT&T suppliers might get a nice bump in Q1 that will skew any actual trends...
photon2 12/5/2012 | 5:45:48 PM
This is merely a cycle that comes around eveytime bandwidth increases, and core routers need to handle more, the fact is technology around the core increases and gets deployed to keep core routers down.  This happened in the late 1990's, and CDN's are proving to do an even better job now.  Fact is, this will affect any core router vendor, not just Juniper.  I think it has little to do with the POTs segment.
jggveth 12/5/2012 | 5:45:48 PM
I think he's onto something here with his JNPR call but is there a single stock he doesn't have a Sell Short rating on?
Now THAT is insanely true!  LOL.
Lets not forget the most important take away here. Vendors that want to sell to carriers should not hire MSFT execs.
desiEngineer 12/5/2012 | 5:45:44 PM
Shouldn't you wait for more router vendors to say the same before declaring this as a general problem, rather than a single vendor problem?
I believe all the router vendors are also investing in CDN infrastructure, so when does that pick up lagging core router sales?
-desi
alr 12/5/2012 | 5:45:43 PM
According to one Cisco exec, they see no problems. We should know in a month when Cisco reports.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/er...
> Shouldn't you wait for more router vendors to say the same before declaring this as a general problem, rather than a single vendor problem?
Possibly. Depends on how gutsy a call you're trying to make.
Regarding Cisco not seeing effects -- Juniper does have the handicap of having the T4000 just now coming out. The transition might give customers an extra reason to hold off on buying.
It occurs to me, too ... on the packet-optical side, Juniper will see business move to the PTX. For Cisco, though, some of that business will stay in the "router" category, since they're offering the CRS-3 as their massive core MPLS switch.
Tying the two threads together: It will be interesting to watch both companies during the course of the year. Maybe it's an industrywide effect that Cisco is just a little later in encountering. Maybe it really is all Juniper-specific. I don't know.


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Amb. Michael Froman: Tackling Environmental Challenges Through Trade
May 26, 2015 by Amb. Michael Froman, U.S. Trade Representative
Today's trade agreements include enforceable commitments that are vital to protecting the global environment.
Today's environmental challenges are staggering in their severity and scope. Iconic animals such as elephants and rhinoceros, as well as lesser known species, such as the pangolin, saola, vaquita and totoaba are under threat from wildlife trafficking. Illegal fishing is driving global economic losses in the billions each year while depleting treasured marine resources. While illegal logging is damaging ecosystems and undercutting sustainable, regulated business.
Trade agreements are a vital tool for combatting these global threats. Two decades ago, environmental provisions under NAFTA were relegated to a side agreement, with only a single enforceable obligation to "effectively enforce your own environmental laws." In contrast, our most recent trade agreements contain extensive, enforceable environmental commitments. These commitments are subject to the same dispute settlement procedures as other commercial obligations, including recourse to trade sanctions in the event of a violation.
Enforceable commitments to protect the environment, coupled with targeted technical assistance and capacity building, can result in important environmental progress on the ground. Even under our early trade agreements, with more limited environmental provisions, we have helped our trading partners countries put in place over 700 new or improved environmental and/or conservation laws, policies and regulations. Millions of people have been reached through environmental and public awareness campaigns, and thousands of miles of land are under improved national resources management.
There's certainly more we need to do. And that is why we're pressing for even better tools in our new agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) currently under negotiation between the United States and 11 other countries. The tools matter. And with better, stronger tools in TPP we will be able to protect one of the most ecologically and economically significant regions of the world — from the deserts and plains of Australia, to the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam, to the Andes mountains of Peru.
This is a region that encompasses major consumer and export markets for protected wildlife and includes seven of the top eighteen fishing nations, which together account for a quarter of global marine catch and seafood exports. Across this critical zone, the TPP would establish the toughest environmental protections of any regional trade agreement to date, with an extensive set of fully enforceable environmental obligations, including:
First-ever provisions to prohibit some of the most harmful fisheries subsidies, including those that contribute to overfishing;
Stand-alone obligations to protect natural areas (including wetlands), promote sustainable fisheries management, and conservation obligations with respect to marine animals including whales, sea turtles, sharks and seabirds; and
Pioneering commitments for each TPP country to effectively enforce its conservation laws, live up to their international commitments to protect endangered species, and create new tools to spur greater regional action to combat wildlife trafficking — regardless of its source.
Because President Obama's trade agenda prioritizes conservation and environmental protections, it's winning some important allies. A number of conservation and animal welfare organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund, Oceana, the Humane Society of the United States, World Animal Protection, International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Nature Conservancy and others have already expressed their support for delivering ambitious and enforceable conservation obligations through TPP.
As today's report demonstrates, trade agreements can include effective tools for environmental defenders. With TPP negotiations approaching the finish line, we have an opportunity to create even stronger tools and protect the environment on a bigger scale than ever before.
To view the report "Standing Up for the Environment: Trade for a Greener World," please click here.
(Top image: Courtesy of Thinkstock)
This piece first appeared on USTR's Tradewinds blog.
Ambassador Michael Froman is the U.S. Trade Representative.
TAGS:Perspectivescompetemichael-fromanmichaelfroman
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text:
Q: NPM peer dependency on JQuery OR Zepto My problem is fairly simple: I'm working on a front-end development framework that is currently dependent on a few pieces of JQuery. However, with NPM it seems that it makes more sense to have a peer dependency, so that we can just use whatever version of JQuery our users have installed.
The thing is, Zepto is also sufficient for this project, and is much friendlier to mobile and embedded developers due to its smaller size.
My question, then, is if it's possible to have a peer dependency that requires either JQuery OR Zepto, and if so, how. Or, should I simply include the peer dependency to JQuery and document that Zepto users can ignore the warning?


Each year the school gives you a detailed back to school supplies list for what your kids need to bring into school, but I've learned as my years as a Mom that's definitely not everything you need.
Instead, your kids take all those supplies to school and then come how to do their homework, or work on a school assigned project, and need many of the same items they took to school.
So while going back to school shopping for school supplies, and trying to take advantage of the sales, I always try to buy both the stuff on the school supply list, plus the stuff we'll need to use at home for their at home school activities.
I find school supply shopping chaotic, especially now that I have three kids all trying to gather up their lists at once, so this year I jotted down my own at home back to school supplies list for when I was doing all that shopping, since I work better from a list. And then I thought you guys might appreciate it too, so here it is!
You might notice that a lot of these supplies I've listed are also things you might have on hand for kids to do fun arts and crafts, or are things you might keep in your own home office supplies. To the extent that there is duplicate you obviously don't have to buy extras.
You can check out the full list of recommended home office supplies here and stock up on those as well, at the same time, to again take advantage of the back to school sales. I do!
As you can see, that's a lot of different school supplies you should have stocked and ready in your home. If you're not careful all of them can become a jumbled mess, but I've written an article with 3 ideas for how to organize school supplies to help you keep them ready for use!


text:
AIDS Conference 1992 Session 6 – Dr Chris Brook
May 18, 1992AIDS Conference
Dr Chris Brook
Chair of the Inter-Governmental Committee on AIDS (IGCA)
https://aams.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/aids_paper6_brook.mp3
Conference Paper: AIDS – Have we got it Right?
A conference organised by The Australian Doctors Fund Ltd.
Hosted by Professor Fred Hollows & ADF Chairman Dr. Bruce Shepherd
Sheraton Sydney Airport Hilton
May 14th and 15th, 1992
I have 20 minutes to describe to you Australia's response to the HIV epidemic and in particular the National HIV/AIDS strategy.
I speak as the independent Chair of the Inter-Governmental Committee on AIDS – IGCA. IGCA is comprised of senior medical, program management and financial representatives of State and Territory Health Departments and the Commonwealth Department of Health, Housing and Community Services. IGCA is responsible for the co-ordination, implementation and accountability for the National Strategy. IGCA also provides a national forum for information sharing and provides policy advice on a range of issues to its own constituents, to the Commonwealth Department, to other national bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council. It has a specific brief, with the Standing Committee of Attorneys General to provide advice on law reform in the context of HIV/AIDS. IGCA is represented on, contributes to and works in parallel to the Australian National Council on AIDS – ANCA. ANCA is the prime Commonwealth advisory body on all matters concerning HIV/AIDS policy in Australia. ANCA is an independent body which reports directly to the Commonwealth Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services. Given concern about "AIDS Bureaucracies" I am compelled to point out that IGCA meets four times per year, for one day meetings only, as far as is possible in eastern seaboard States.
The HIV epidemic is unparalleled in recent human history. This is primarily because it is an incurable infectious disease in a world which has become accustomed to the ready availability and efficacy of antibiotic cures for bacterial infectious disease and vaccines for most viral diseases. There is no vaccine currently available, nor on the immediate horizon, for HIV. HIV also differs from most viral diseases in that ft is believed to result in serious illness and death in all infected people after a variable but protracted latent period – currently thought to average ten years.
The HIV epidemic is unparalleled in its potential impact on individuals, society broadly and in its economic consequences.
The HIV epidemic is also unparalleled in recent history in engendering fear, misconception and deliberate distortion.
The HIV epidemic is as well unparalleled in terms of response.
The National Strategy is a unique amalgam of: ensuring adequate treatment services; protecting the blood supply; minimising the risk of occupational hazard; educating those at risk and society generally; adopting wide scale prevention programs such as Needle and Syringe Exchange for IDUs; provoking consideration of a range of ethical issues – such as informed consent in health care; provoking unprecedented consideration of discrimination and its negative impact on disease control; and last, but by no means least, mobilising affected communities to undertake education and prevention programs and to provide a vast array of personal support and care services on a voluntary basis. Not only does this latter have substantial economic benefit, but to see the level and nature of care and support to terminally ill people, often previously unknown to the volunteer care giver, is a profoundly morally uplifting experience.
The HIV epidemic has led to dramatic advances: in the science of virology; in the discovery and application of anti-viral agents; in infectious disease treatment services generally; in the application of infectious control procedures and in reforming the timely availability of new drug therapies into the Australian Health Care System.
The first AIDS cases were identified in 1981. The first case in Australia was diagnosed in December 1982. The causative viral agent was identified in 1983 and a generally applicable antibody test became available in 1985.
Several major sets of activities took place in the early to mid 1980s.
Infectious Disease Physicians, Virologists and Immunologists began to develop a range of treatment services as they learned the nature of the disease and applied, often innovative, therapies;
Research into the properties of the virus, the natural history of the disease, its diagnosis and treatment gained momentum;
Public Health Authorities moved to:
protect the blood supply;
develop policies to reduce disease transmission through education, prevention and infection control procedures; and
develop patient and laboratory notification and other pivotal epidemiological data sources;
Community Based Organisations formed to advocate on behalf of; provide care and community based support services to; and educate those at risk in their communities. AIDS Councils in virtually all States and Territories; specific organisations representing People Living with AIDS, Intravenous Drug Users and Sex Workers; and National umbrella organisations especially the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation were formed.
From the outset therefore, there was contemporaneous development of: medical/hospital and community based care and treatment services; research; public health policies; epidemiology; and both public health and community based education and prevention programs.
By 1985 a Commonwealth/State matched funding program had developed, a National Media Campaign commenced and vital infrastructure such as the National Centre in Virology and the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research – at that time Special Units of NH&MRC – had begun to develop.
In 1988 the Commonwealth developed a comprehensive discussion document – "AIDS: A Time to Care, A Time to Act – Towards a Strategy for Australians". After an extensive consultative process a final policy document – the National HIV/AIDS Strategy – was endorsed by Federal Cabinet in August 1989. That policy document was endorsed by all State and Territory Governments.
If there are people here today who have not read the policy paper – then I suggest you do. Although dated in parts, it is generally as relevant today as it was three years ago. Copies will be made available to you on request.
The National Strategy provides an overall policy framework, identifies actions to be undertaken and provides a funding process to achieve those aims.
The twin goals of the National Strategy are :
to eliminate transmission of the virus; and
to minimise the personal and social impact of HIV infection.
There are ten guiding principles underpinning the Strategy. These are:
Transmission of HIV is preventable through changes in individual behaviour; education and prevention programs are necessary to bring about such changes.
Each person must accept responsibility for preventing themselves becoming infected through sexual intercourse or the sharing of needles and for preventing further transmission of the virus.
The community as a whole has the right to appropriate protection against infection.
The law should complement and assist education and other public health measures.
Public health objectives will be most effectively realised if the co-operation of people with HIV infection and those most at risk is maintained.
Specific informed consent should be obtained before any test is performed to diagnose a person's HIV infection status. The result should remain confidential, and appropriate pre and post-test counselling should be provided.
People infected with HIV retain the right to participate in the community without discrimination, and have the same rights to comprehensive and appropriate health care, income support and community services as other members of the community.
Professional care-givers have a duty to care for infected individuals; governments, employers and unions have a responsibility to provide working conditions and training programs which minimise the risk of occupational transmission.
Research into the epidemic is essential to the management of the epidemic.
General principles of public health, service provision and. the legal system should be applied to the HIV epidemic; special measures or services require justification.
The Strategy is one characterised by a partnership approach. Partnership between the Commonwealth and the States; Partnership between Treatment Services, Researchers, Public Health Authorities and Community Groups; Partnership between Education and Prevention – and Treatment Services. It was among the first National AIDS Strategies in the world. In contrast, the USA still does not have a National AIDS Strategy. The Australian Strategy was not only endorsed by the WHO but it, and more importantly the people involved in it, have been used by GPA – the Global Program on AIDS – as a source and reference for development of National AIDS Strategies elsewhere.
The components of the National Strategy are most easily described by program. The next two overheads detail the Programs and expenditure against those programs for the 1990/91 financial year. A total of $318.5 million was allocated over five financial years in the National Strategy. When matched funding and State own funding is taken into account, that figure grows perhaps to $450 million. Current estimates are that 80% is spent on treatment, testing and care, 20% is spent on education and prevention.
These programs are as follows:
CARG -The Commonwealth AIDS Research Program (CARG)
This program comprises grants to individuals and organisations for specific HIV/AIDS related research, including support for training new researchers. The national Centres in Virology, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and Social Research are also funded from this program.
CAPE – The Commonwealth AIDS Prevention and Education Program
This program funds nationally relevant prevention and education programs developed by community-based organisations for priority groups.
The CAPE program enables the development of a balanced and integrated prevention program, and supports innovative programs of peer education for particular target populations. Priorities for grants reflect the priorities for education and prevention programs in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. CAPE funds are provided to supplement activities funded under the Matched Funding Program and to fill identified "gaps".
CAWISE – The Commonwealth AIDS Workforce Information, Standards and Exchange Program
The CAWISE Program addresses the need to ensure that the workforce has access to information and resource materials, retaining skills development programs and development of guidelines and standards. Priority is given to those working in occupations affected by HIV, including health-care and legal workers.
The program is designed to ensure an adequate, knowledge and skills base among workers in occupations associated with HIV; to minimise occupational transmission and address concerns associated with workplace activities; and to ensure that work quality, productivity and effectiveness are not adversely affected. Like the CAPE program CAWISE funding is provided to supplement Matched Funded Activities.
The National Media Campaign on HIV
The purpose of the National Media Campaign on HIV is to deliver educational messages widely to all Australians. The first component of the Campaign is directed at the general community. It is designed to present and explain policies required to manage the epidemic and to reassure the community about modes of transmission and to allay fears and prejudices about living and working with HIV.
The second component of the National Campaign addresses the educational needs of specific groups, which might not otherwise be met through community-based grant schemes, including women, people of NESB, non-dependent injecting drug users, bisexual men, men who have sex with men.
Other Funded Activities
The Commonwealth also funds the National HIV Reference Laboratory and the core activities of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) and of the Haemophilia Foundation of Australia.
The remainder of the Strategy is administered by the States. States have access to five funding sources.
EPTS is Education and Prevention, Treatment and Services Grants. It is a 50:50 Matched Commonwealth/State funded program. States determine the allocation of resource consistent with the aims of the National Strategy. This funding is broadly allocated 50% to Education and Prevention and 50% to Community Based Treatment and Care. Examples of funded programs include AIDS Councils, District Nursing Services and STD Clinic Services. This funding source also provides for "free" HIV testing.
HIV Study Grants, also 50:50 Commonwealth/State Matched, provide funds for training for direct care-givers and occupational groups. It has, for example, been the funding source for GP Training Courses such as the NSW AZT Prescriber Course.
BTS is Blood Transfusion Services and is a 40:60 Commonwealth/State program. It pays for testing and the associated costs of protecting the blood supply.
Medicare Funding is a direct grant from the Commonwealth to the States as a contribution towards the cost of hospital care for people with AIDS. It is based on the number of people with Clinical AIDS (not HIV infection) who are alive and receiving care in each State each year.
Finally there is the States' own funds. In NSW and Victoria, the two States with highest seroprevalence, there has been substantial funding applied over and above the National Strategy. This last column almost certainly underestimates the cost of HIV/AIDS to States, as it is difficult to cost the undoubtedly substantial contributions made from within pre-existing hospital and other sources.
Recent mischievous allegations have been made that reported HIV or AIDS cases have been falsely inflated to boost funding.
Two sources of Commonwealth funds to the States do take clinical AIDS case numbers into account. The numbers of HIV infections have no bearing on Commonwealth/State funding. NSW takes HIV seroprevalence into account when allocating funds to Areas and Regions, however this is only one factor in their funding approach.
Far from inflating numbers, there is now sound epidemiological evidence from both NSW and Victoria that clinical AIDS cases may be under reported by as much as 20%.
Furthermore, advances in treatments, particularly AZT have substantially delayed progress to clinical AIDS; ironically penalising success – although this may be to some extent compensated by longer survival of patients with clinical AIDS.
The Education and Prevention component of EPTS is, outside of the National Media Campaign, the area which attracts most public focus. A breakdown of overall funding in this area is as follows.
It should be noted that General Community funding includes funding of AIDS Councils. The high allocation against injecting drug use programs relates to the cost of Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs. These funded Education and Prevention programs comprise a mix of government, public sector agency and community based programs.
This gives you an overall picture of the breadth and scope of the National Strategy. But what does this funding mean?
Funding in these areas, although ascribed to Education and Prevention, is really a mix of Educational and Prevention and Treatment programs which belies their real nature.
AIDS Councils, for example, provide counselling services to affected and "at risk" clientele. They also provide targeted educational programs of an explicit nature which would not normally be possible for Government organisations. They provide access to arenas well beyond Government. These include "beat" programs, "bath house" programs and programs for men who have sex with men but who do not identify as being gay. Whatever your view of such activities, their reality is absolute.
Predominantly, however, and increasingly, as the cohort of men infected with HIV in the early 1980s progress to immunodeficiency and AIDS defining clinical conditions, AIDS Councils provide care and support services.
Education and Prevention funding also supports STD services, ambulatory care services such as the Albion Street Clinic, and Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs.
In fact, although the EPTS program is notionally ascribed to a 50:50 Education/Prevention and Treatment Service Split, the current trend is to Treatment and Care consuming the majority of resource.
Some services cannot easily be defined. Is a Needle and Syringe Exchange Program in reality Education and Prevention for the affected community or a Treatment Service for the individual.
The cost-effectiveness of these programs is beyond question. Measure for yourself the modest sums applied to these predominantly volunteer programs against the cost of either, or both, of a fully professional prevention program for at risk individuals and the cost of care, and loss of income, for individuals who would otherwise contract this disease.
I invite anyone here who scoffs at such benefit to seek to join, at first hand, with the programs such services deliver. Perhaps this would address some misunderstanding of Education and Prevention, Treatment and Services funding.
One substantial misunderstanding of the National Strategy is to equate the entire strategy with the National Media Campaign. Despite it having occurred six years ago, the Grim Reaper Campaign, is still equated in some peoples minds with the overall Strategy. National Media Campaigns are important to raise and maintain awareness. They must reflect the priorities as seen at the time. Recent a high successful Travel Safe campaign was run. An anti-discrimination campaign is planned.
Another concern, raised today is that the strategy does not address the risk of anal sex. This view seems to have arisen because the Grim Reaper Campaign – designed in 1985 for public television – did not specifically address anal sex. The National Strategy policy document itself and virtually every campaign since, has quite objectively addressed the issue of unprotected Anal Sex. It is an important issue and one not restricted to male homosexuals. Available data suggests that 10% or more of heterosexually active women regularly practice this form of sex. Material specifically developed by AIDS Councils for the male homosexual community focuses on Anal Sex and other risk practices. I am happy to provide material relating to the general or specific homosexual communities. Be warned some is explicit.
A most serious misconception, aired in a recent Weekend Australian, is that AIDS is a clinical manifestation of lifestyle and not of a viral infection. Further that HIV is neither new nor harmful. Later in the program, Professor Peter MacDonald will doubtless say more. I will only say that such silliness flies in the face of overwhelming empirical science. On the basis of similar pseudo-science should we believe that pyramids sharpen knives? Of concern is this sort of debate the scientific community can lead to being discredited by seeming to be unable to respond in a way which satisfies critics. I think the Media, the community and experts deserve credible debate. It must be recognised that not everything is known about how HIV damages the immune system, but HIV is after all very new and the amount learned about this disease in a relatively short space of time is remarkable.
This is not to say that ongoing intravenous drug use or exposure to unrelated disease – sexually transmitted or otherwise – may not influence the course of HIV whose ultimate manifestations relate largely to immune suppression. To the contrary, good general health, good nutrition and the avoidance of complications are the cornerstones of HIV education and treatment programs.
AIDS is the clinical manifestation of longstanding HIV infection.
HIV is a new disease. Retrospective serological studies, limited as they must be, identify the introduction of HIV into Western society in the late 1970s. It may have been present in Western Africa in the late 1950s.
By the first decade of next century, according to current WHO estimates, 30 million adults will be HIV infected. A further 10 million children will be infected and a further 10 million children orphaned. Most infections will be in Africa and other developing countries including Asia, South America and sub-populations of the United States – where 1 million infections are thought to have already occurred. Most of these infected people will have little or no access to treatment or support of any type, not even to testing programs, let alone sophisticated T-cell monitoring and antiviral and prophylactic services. The majority of infected adults and virtually all the infected children will die rapidly – usually succumbing to the combined effects of malnutrition; lack of any care; and opportunistic infections such as Tuberculosis.
Contrast that global situation, if you will, with the situation in Australia.
HIV, globally, is overwhelmingly a disease transmitted by heterosexuals and, increasingly, by vertical transmission from Mother to Babe. Many countries have experienced rapid spread from a disease initially confined to the male homosexual community into the IDU community and into the heterosexual community.
Not so in Australia.
The high prevalence of HIV in male homosexuals in this, as in other countries, represents the history of introduction of a new disease into a specific sexually active community in the 1970s and early 1980s. The fact that there are new infections continuing in that community represents the simple epidemiology of a reservoir of disease in a defined community and the reality of unsafe sexual practice among some members of that community – especially young gay men who do not necessarily identify as homosexual and who may not have accessed or heeded education and prevention messages. The decline in new infections in the male homosexual community is likely a reflection of behaviour change, education and the adoption of safer sexual practices.
The distinct feature of the HIV epidemic in Australia, however, is the lack of outside the male homosexual community. This is in part explained by the relatively closed nature of that community and in part by behaviour change within that community resulting in a lesser likelihood of spread to other contact communities. This explains a part but not all of the experience. Other factors appear to be operating.
Despite protestations by some about lack of perfect data, I would draw your attention to two areas – the prison population and women. In all States, HIV testing on prison entry is virtually universal.
In NSW, 85% or more of all prisoners are in prison for drug related offences – a shocking statistic in its own right. NSW also has the highest seroprevalence of HIV and therefore the highest risk of spread into the IDU community. Of 1670 plus individuals tested on entry (some are repeat offenders) less than 80 have tested HIV positive. Of these half had prior knowledge of infection. As prison entry testing by and large reflects community behaviour we = deduce that even at the "hard edge" of ID use, prevalence approximates 0.5%. Contrast that with New York, where 25% of female and 16% of male prisoners have HIV infection.
Amongst women, in some parts of Australia, but important parts, particularly inner Metropolitan Sydney and Melbourne, antenatal testing has become virtually universal. There are concerns about this practice in terms of informed consent, counselling and cost effectiveness but for the purpose of today's conference the important thing is that the number of new infections reported from this group outside of those who have self identified as at high risk can be measured on the fingers of one hand.
Approximately 1.5 million HIV tests are performed each year in Australia over and above tests performed to protect the blood supply. This rate of general testing is higher than in any other country. The information base in Australia is substantial. It was said earlier at the press conference that less is known about HIV than ordinary notifiable diseases such as gonorrhoea. This is patently wrong. Virtually every positive HIV test is notified through a universal laboratory notification system whose purpose is to collect information to guide appropriate responses. By contrast we know that doctor notification of gonorrhoea we know captures 20% or less of cases.
Near perfect information could be obtained, of course, if all Australians were tested. Annual universal testing would cost a mere $250 million for the tests alone, not counting medical attendance, venipuncture and counselling – say another $250 million. Even better, why not test each 6 months. For a mere $1 billion per annum we could really accurately know so much – but change not a thing.
The course of the HIV epidemic in Australia has, to date, differed from elsewhere in the world. Is this due to our unique approach?
Even if my instinct tells me that it must be, I am not going to make such a claim here today. Rather, I will indicate to you that a major evaluation of the National Strategy is currently underway and I would be. happy to answer any questions about that evaluation.
OVERHEAD 1


Luke and Lydia wanted to create a beautifully, intimate, family friendly day for their wedding – and they pulled it off completely.
These two – or should I say three – are such wonderful, kind, sensitive souls, I adored them from the moment we met on their Love Shoot at Greenwich Park, with their beautiful son Felix.
Luke and Lydia wanted to create a beautifully, intimate, family friendly day for their wedding – and they pulled it off completely. They got married at the stunningly evocative setting of the Asylum Chapel at Caroline Gardens in Peckham and then went onto the East Dulwich Tavern in East Dulwich. I love this area so much and it felt so good to be working in the place I used to called home – albeit 10 years ago!
The Asylum is beyond stunning. It has the most incredible light and muted blue grey colour palette. The light bounces around the walls and creates beautiful pockets of light – it's sublime.
After chilling out at The Asylum after the ceremony for an an hour or so, we moved on to one of my favourites pubs in London – the East Dulwich Tavern or EDT as it's affectionately known.. Luke and and Lydia had free run of the upstairs at the pub and used half of it as a creche and soft play area for all the children. One of the hardest things about weddings is keeping children entertained and they did it brilliantly – safe, in view of the adults and lots of fun toys to keep then happy.
I left after a few couple portraits and group shots with family and friends outside the pub next to the now famous street wall art by Conor Harrington and I grinned like a Cheshire Cat all the way home!


The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) New Delhi shall conduct Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015 on 23 August 2015. The Civil Services Prelims Exam 2015 E-Admit Card shall be available for download from UPSC website between 24 July 2014 to 24 August 2014. Those who have applied for Civil Services Prelims Examination 2014, please download E-Admit Card now, click here.


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To survive, the game of business needs to update its rules | Tim O'Reilly | Pulse | LinkedIn
Tue, 08/02/2016 - 10:58 -- rprice
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/survive-game-business-needs-update-rules-tim-o-re...
Uber's argument is that the algorithmically determined cost of a ride is at the sweet spot that will drive the most passenger demand while also providing sufficient incentive to produce the number of drivers to meet that demand. And because driver income is the product of both the number of trips and the rate paid, that sweet spot will also maximize driver income. Any attempt to set rates to specifically raise driver income would suppress rider demand, and so reduce utilization and thus wages.
Read more about To survive, the game of business needs to update its rules | Tim O'Reilly | Pulse | LinkedIn
Wendell Berry Earns Highest Humanities Award, Lectures on Economy and Imagination | Sojourners
https://sojo.net/articles/wendell-berry-earns-highest-humanities-award-lectures-...
"Even so, land and people have suffered together, as invariably they must. Under the rule of industrial economics, the land, our country, has been pillaged for the enrichment, supposedly, of those humans who have claimed the right to own or exploit it without limit. Of the land-community much has been consumed, much has been wasted, almost nothing has flourished. But this has not been inevitable. We do not have to live as if we are alone."
Read more about Wendell Berry Earns Highest Humanities Award, Lectures on Economy and Imagination | Sojourners
| Double lives – the facts revealedThe MOO Blog
Thu, 10/09/2014 - 16:52 -- rprice
http://www.moo.com/blog/2014/10/09/double-lives-the-facts-revealed/?utm_source=N...
this emerging group of 'Venture Creatives' contributes more than £15bn to the UK economy every year and a massive $132bn to the US economy, with almost a third of UK workers and 41% of US workers currently reaping the financial rewards of a creative sideline. The picture looks the same in Germany and France, where around a third of workers are using their creativity to generate extra income.
Read more about | Double lives – the facts revealedThe MOO Blog
This Week, Exploring The Sharing Economy : All Tech Considered : NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/11/11/244538728/this-week-explor...
The sharing economy can encompass a lot. There's tool sharing — whether that's bike-sharing, car-sharing or actual sharing-sharing. It also includes a subset called the peer economy, which describes peer-to-peer platforms in which people sell things to one another. There's also a subset called the "gift economy," which is stuff like couch-surfing through platforms like Airbnb. Speaking of which, the Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia described this movement this way, : "Social media is about sharing online. We've extended that behavior into the offline world.
urbanrethink
Read more about This Week, Exploring The Sharing Economy : All Tech Considered : NPR
Florida among top states for 'app economies' - Orlando Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2012/10/08/florida-among-top-states-for-...
In Florida, apps have an annual economic impact of $587 million, which is the eleventh-highest app economic impact of any state in the U.S., according to a new study from CTIA – The Wireless Association and the Application Developers Alliance.
Read more about Florida among top states for 'app economies' - Orlando Business Journal
Arts help Orlando economy: Arts help Orlando economy, study says - Orlando Sentinel
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-03/entertainment/os-arts-help-orland...
When seven Central Florida counties were factored in, the study showed that the arts contribute $264 million annually to the economies of Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Brevard and Polk counties.
Conducted by Americans for the Arts, aWashington, D.C.-based national advocacy group, the study did not measure ticket sales or entry fees, but tallied other spending created by cultural organizations — everything from the groups' rents and payrolls to patrons' expenditures on transportation and baby sitters.
OrlandoScene
bloggingfringe
united_arts
Read more about Arts help Orlando economy: Arts help Orlando economy, study says - Orlando Sentinel


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Oil & Gas / North Sea / Rigs & Vessels
'Various options' on the table as EnQuest pushes ahead with Bressay and Bentley prospects
25/03/2022, 7:00 am Updated: 25/03/2022, 8:28 am
© Supplied by DCT Media
The warm-stacked EnQuest Producer FPSO is one option being considered for Bentley and Bressay.
Operator EnQuest (LON: ENQ) is exploring a range of options as it draws up plans to develop two major North Sea prospects.
The London-listed company completed its acquisition of the Bentley Field, around 85 miles south-east of Shetland, from Whalsay Energy in November.
First announced in April 2021, the deal was worth up to £30 million.
Located nearby is the Bressay prospect, which EnQuest acquired a 40.81% operating stake in from Equinor for around £13m last year.
Both prospects are situated close to EnQuest's Kraken FPSO, a potential tie-back host for Bressay, which will be developed first.
In its 2021 results, shared on Thursday, EnQuest said its acquisitions of the two fields added almost 250 million barrels of oil equivalent of 2C resources to its reserves.
A field development plan (FDP) for Bressay will be advanced this year, though Jonathan Swinney, the company's chief financial officer, wouldn't be drawn on when it will be up and running.
© Supplied by EnQuest
Jonathan Swinney
He said: "We're looking at various options around Bressay, whether it's a tie-back to Kraken or whether we use the EnQuest Producer. We're working with our partners around the prospect. I'm not going to commit to a specific time on an FDP but we're working very hard on it.
"There was tremendous value in Bressay anyway, even in a $55 oil world. The one thing we're not going to do is a big development type option. It is going to be much more about utilisation of current facilities and making sure we're doing that in a capex cost efficient manner."
Equinor still holds a 40.81% interest in Bressay, with Chrysaor holds the remaining 18.38% stake.
An initial evaluation of the development potential for Bentley, one of the North Sea's largest untapped discoveries, is due to kick off in the first quarter of this year, EnQuest said.
On whether the company was looking at electrification to reduce the environmental impact of the two fields, Mr Swinney, who will join Tullow Oil later this year, said it is not on the "immediate agenda".
He added: "Electrification tends to be looked at on the basis of bigger hubs, and you need a sizeable amount of production to make it work."
Another consideration for EnQuest is what to do with its EnQuest Producer FPSO, which is sitting warm stacked at Port of Nigg while the company evaluates options.
The vessel has been in the Cromarty Firth since 2020 after it finished producing oil from the Alma and Galia fields.
Mr Swinney says the preferred option is to use the EnQuest Producer on an asset, but that the company is open to offers for the FPSO, adding that there has been interest in taking it on.
He said: "We've always maintained that we want to use it on an asset and Bressay and Bentley may be an option for it. Clearly, when you've got partners they have to be happy about it as well but the good thing is its low cost. It's already there. It's built
"It may need some modifications but fundamentally, it could be our equity ticket into another field.
"All of that is on the table, as well as a straight sale. If someone comes to us and wants to buy it then we'll definitely consider that, as long as the offer is sensible."
He added: "We've got conversations ongoing and we've had talks around various options. From my perspective, in a more positive oil price environment and when government is supportive of energy security, it gives us the optionality of keeping hold of it."
EnQuest picks Saipem for Heather jacket removal
bentley field
Bressay field
EnQuest
EnQuest Producer
Kraken FPSO
Rigs & Vessels
Transocean unveils UK deals as part of $488m awards
North Sea faces rig market risk as vessels leave for better prospects