text:
Plegia to walking: AHSCBMT in severe NMOSD relapse
Nicola Carlisle1,
Parameswaran Hari2 and
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3713-8890Staley Brod1
1Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
2Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Correspondence to Dr Staley Brod; sbrod{at}mcw.edu
Objectives Neuromyelitis optica is a devastating, relapsing, inflammatory, autoimmune disorder characterised in large part by attacks of optic neuritis and transverse myelitis causing blindness and plegia in many patients. Eighty-three per cent of patients with transverse myelitic attacks and 67% of patients with optic neuritis attacks have no or a partial recovery.
Methods Results from The European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Autoimmune Diseases Working Party imply failure of autologous haematopoietic stem cell bone marrow transplantation.
Results and conclusion We present a case that despite eventual relapse, made a remarkable functional recovery after bone marrow transplantation which may justify bone marrow transplantation in severe cases.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjno-2020-000073
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a devastating, relapsing, inflammatory, autoimmune disorder1 characterised in large part by attacks of optic neuritis (ON) and transverse myelitis (TM) causing blindness and plegia in many patients.2 Attacks are unpredictable and tend to be severe (a 'neuro-immunological stroke').3 Eighty-three per cent of patients with TM attacks and 67% of patients with ON attacks have no or a partial recovery.4 The initial presentation is 50% with TM, 35% with ON, ON with TM in 10% patients and 4% of patients with other syndromes.2 Up until recently, there was no proven agent to treat to prevent relapses. We now have three agent examined in phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of NMO (eculizumab), an anti-C5 complement inhibitor,5 satralizumab (anti-IL-6R mAb)6 and inebilizumab (anti-CD19 mAb).7
The European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Autoimmune Diseases Working Party reported after a median follow-up of 47 months with baseline Expanded Disability Status Score=6.5, 3 of 16 cases were progression and treatment free, while in the remaining 13 patients further treatments were administered for disability progression or relapse after autologous stem cell transplant. Altogether, relapse-free survival at 3 and 5 years was 31% and 10%, respectively, while progression-free survival remained 48% at 3 and 5 years.8 Whereas these results imply failure of autologous hematopoietic stem cell bone marrow transplant (AHSCBMT) with NMO, we present a case that despite eventual relapse, made a remarkable functional recovery after AHSCBMT, which may justify such treatment in severe cases.
A 40-year-old women with history of irritable bowel syndrome, depression and anxiety presented to urgent care with report of bilateral foot paresthesia. She reported having a 'rough year' and she thought the symptoms could be due to her anxiety; she was discharged home. Ten months later (day 275) she presented with rib and back pain for 2 weeks and leg pain for 2 months. Her symptoms persisted an additional 2 months and she was referred to a spine care neurologist. At her initial evaluation (day 373) she reported mid thoracic pain, hyperesthesia in lower extremities and a buzzing sensation. MRI demonstrated a longitudinally extensive cord lesion extending from C2 to T12, concerning for a demyelinating process (figure 1 - cervical region). There was no evidence of optic neuropathy. She was treated with high dose intravenous steroids for 3 days and discharged home. Cell based NMO aquaporin-4 (AQP4) titre >1:100000.
T2 MRI demonstrated a longitudinally extensive cord lesion extending from C2 to the upper thoracic region on day 373 after initial symptoms.
Insurance denied rituximab (RTX) treatment initially and shortly after the patient returned to the emergency department (ED) with new right lower extremity weakness (day 411). She was admitted for five treatments of plasmapheresis and RTX 1000 mg infusion. Following treatment, she discharged to inpatient rehab and then home (day 432). Three days later, she returned to the ED again unable to walk, with lower extremity strength of 1/5. She was treated with an additional intravenous RTX 1000 mg infusion, Acthar Gel 80 IU subcutaneous times 5 days, and then Cytoxan 750 mg/m2 (day 442). She then continued intravenous Cytoxan treatment every 3 weeks.
The patient did not improve clinically; she was paraplegic and incontinent of bowel and bladder. She received five additional days of intravenous steroids and AHSCBMT was pursued. She received cyclophosphamide and granulocyte colony stimulating factor for stem cell mobilisation and autologous peripheral blood stem cells were collected for 3 days (day 645 to 647). Imaging showed marked cord swelling in the thoracic region (figure 2 - day 622).
T2 MRI demonstrated marked cord swelling in the thoracic region on day 622 after relapse and just before autologous hematopoietic stem cell bone marrow transplant.
She was then admitted for AHSCBMT and received BEAM (BCNU/etoposide/cytarabine/melphalan) combined with anti-thymocyte globulin (rabbit ATG). Details of dosing are in table below. After autologous stem cell infusion she remained hospitalised for 14 additional days (day 679 to 692) until full engraftment.
At 4-month follow-up (day 819), she had made a marvellous recovery and imaging showed thoracic lesion resolution (figure 3). Clinical improvement occurs with decreased intensity in the cord imaging. She was ambulating and timed 25-foot walk (T25W) was recorded at 8.63 s. At follow-up 6 months later (day 1014), she was ambulatory, able to walk 3 miles and her T25W was 7.5 s. Cell based NMO AQP4 titre=0. The patient had recovered from an acute attack (day 622) resulting in severe disability and plegia after undergoing AHSCBMT.
T2 MRI demonstrated showed thoracic lesion resolution at day 819, 4 months after autologous hematopoietic stem cell bone marrow transplant.
The patient returned to the ED almost 2 years after the AHSCBMT (day 1368) with new left lower extremity weakness and paresthesia. Repeat MRI of the spinal cord demonstrated a T5-6 Gd+ enhancing lesion (not shown). She was admitted and eculizumab was administered with a plan to continue every 2 weeks. At follow-up after two doses of 900 mg intravenous, 2 weeks later (day 1374), she reported she was 50% improved from her pre-relapse baseline and at most recent follow-up (day 1435) she reported she was at her baseline prior to the relapse except for endurance. The T25W had further improved to 5.6 s.
Our patient made a remarkable recovery over 4 months after AHSCBMT. The patient did have a mild relapse at 2-year post-transplant but was effectively treated back to her baseline. Despite the possibility of eventual relapse, our case shows that AHSCBMT can be effective treatment in reversing recent severe disability in neuromyelitis optica - disease modifying treatments (NMOSD). The estimated cost of AHSCBMT was less than US$4700 per quality-adjusted life year9 in multiple sclerosis. Complete reversal of plegia and employment would justify this expenditure. In terms of clinical safety, AHSCBMT is associated with a very low mortality (<1%), time limited morbidity which resolves in a short time period in the order of 2 to 3 months and improved long-term quality of life.10 How would we include AHSCBMT as a therapeutic option in the treatment of NMOSD? AHSCBMT could be used as salvage therapy for severe breakthrough disease after sequencing of NMO-DMTs. AHSCBMT could also be used as an induction therapy for severe initial presentations providing a safe segue for the initiation of long-term immunomodulation. After bone marrow transplant, patients treated with AHSCBMT should be monitored clinically for signs of relapse with consideration of transition to long-term alternative treatment.
Papp V,
Illes Z,
Magyari M, et al
. Nationwide prevalence and incidence study of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder in Denmark. Neurology 2018;91:e2265–75.doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000006645pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30413632
Mealy MA,
Mossburg SE,
Kim S-H, et al
. Long-Term disability in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with a history of myelitis is associated with age at onset, delay in diagnosis/preventive treatment, MRI lesion length and presence of symptomatic brain lesions. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2019;28:64–8.doi:10.1016/j.msard.2018.12.011pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30554040
Kitley J,
Leite MI,
Nakashima I, et al
. Prognostic factors and disease course in aquaporin-4 antibody-positive patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder from the United Kingdom and Japan. Brain 2012;135:1834–49.doi:10.1093/brain/aws109pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22577216
Jarius S,
Ruprecht K,
Wildemann B, et al
. Contrasting disease patterns in seropositive and seronegative neuromyelitis optica: a multicentre study of 175 patients. J Neuroinflammation 2012;9:14. doi:10.1186/1742-2094-9-14pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22260418
Pittock SJ,
Berthele A,
Fujihara K, et al
. Eculizumab in Aquaporin-4–Positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. N Engl J Med 2019;381:614–25.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1900866
Yamamura T,
Kleiter I,
. Trial of Satralizumab in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. N Engl J Med 2019;381:2114–24.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1901747pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31774956
Cree BAC,
Bennett JL,
Kim HJ, et al
. Inebilizumab for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (N-MOmentum): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled phase 2/3 trial. Lancet 2019;394:1352–63.doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31817-3pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31495497
Greco R,
Bondanza A,
Oliveira MC, et al
. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in neuromyelitis optica: a registry study of the EBMT autoimmune diseases Working Party. Mult Scler 2015;21:189–97.doi:10.1177/1352458514541978pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25078274
Tappenden P,
Saccardi R,
Confavreux C, et al
. Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: an exploratory cost-effectiveness analysis. Bone Marrow Transplant 2010;45:1014–21.doi:10.1038/bmt.2009.305pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19855441
Massey JC,
Sutton IJ,
Ma DDF, et al
. Regenerating immunotolerance in multiple sclerosis with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Front Immunol 2018;9:410. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00410pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29593711
Contributors The planning, conduct and reporting of the work was shared equally by all authors.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Patient consent for publication Obtained.
Data availability statement No data are available.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Online: ISSN 2632-6140
Copyright © 2020 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists. All rights reserved.


Last Thursday was UNESCO International Jazz Day.
In the UK that meant you could start the day live streaming the Jazz at the Lincoln Center "The World Of Duke Ellington 2015 Gala" from New York (as reviewed here) and later in the day go to any one of 19 signposted jazz events up and down the country. To top the celebrations off, if you missed the live performance of the International Jazz Day Celebrations in Paris, it was also made available on demand on YouTube.
The 2015 All-Star Global Concert featured a cast of internationally renowned jazz artists including pianists John Beasley (Music Director), A Bu, Eliane Elias, Antonio Faraò, Isfar Sarabski and Herbie Hancock; trumpeters Till Brönner, Avishai Cohen, Hugh Masekela and Claudio Roditi; vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Annie Lennox, Rudy Pérez and Dianne Reeves; saxophonists Igor Butman, Femi Kuti, Guillaume Perret and Wayne Shorter; bassists James Genus, Marcus Miller and Ben Williams; guitarist Lee Ritenour; drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, percussionist Mino Cinelu, harmonica player Grégoire Maret, and oud player Dhafer Youssef.
If you've never heard of them, try this video, it's a real celebration of amazing music.
So who were your favourites?
Not to be forgotten in our youthful city of Birmingham, 'On The Edge' (number four in the UK JazzDay events list) marked the occasion with two hours of musical fun, beginning with a free music workshop, where our newly introduced young sports tried out alto and tenor saxes, clarinets, keyboard, drums and percussion.
Following the music making of our new recruits there was a memorable performance by the Mike Brown Trio, a clip of which we've put on YouTube in the spirit of #JazzDay On Demand. As coffee shops, large supermarkets, charities and evolutionists agree, every little helps…Enjoy!


text:
Thirteen vehicles set on fire during urban violence in Alençon
An investigation of flagrance is opened for "destruction by fire and violence on persons holding public authority"
Urban violence erupted in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in a district of Alençon (Orne), where thirteen vehicles were set on fire and police officers were the target of fireworks, announced concordant sources, this Wednesday.
"We are talking about mortar fire (fireworks) on police officers and destruction by fire of vehicles", declared the prosecutor of the Republic of Alençon, François Coudert, specifying that no police officer had been injured.
An investigation of flagrance is opened for "destruction by fire and violence on persons holding public authority".
Nearly thirty people involved
"About ten vehicles were set on fire, requiring the intervention of firefighters, with the support of the police.
They were the subject of mortar fire, without causing any injuries, "also indicates in a press release the prefect of Orne Françoise Tahéri.
This violence took place in the district of Perseigne, according to several sources.
According to a police source, "the violence began around 11 pm Tuesday, thirteen cars were burned following the arrest during the day of two people for drug trafficking".
But the prosecutor does not "confirm that there can be a link between this arrest and the facts".
"It's too simple to make an arrest and say afterwards that it is because of that", he insisted.
Investigators do not explore "one track more than another," added the magistrate.
The prosecution did not have figures on the number of people involved in this violence.
"I am told about thirty," said PS mayor of Alençon Joaquim Pueyo.
Reinforcements sent to the neighborhood
The former deputy is convinced that this violence is "a response" from "all those closely linked to this drug trafficking". "I have set up a lot of CCTV cameras. I am looking to see if there is a need for further strengthening. Our cameras were destroyed a few months ago. We replaced them. So that's not it. In this district there is a desire to maintain this traffic. You have individuals who do everything they can not to be watched, "he added.
According to the prefect of Orne, "reinforcements will be deployed to secure the district".
It "condemns with the greatest firmness the urban violence committed".
"In accordance with the departmental strategy to fight against delinquency, the State services will continue the reinforced actions which have been undertaken to ensure public tranquility in this district and disrupt drug trafficking", she adds.
Limoges: A police officer injured by mortar fire in an ambush
Saône-et-Loire: New night of urban violence in Montceau-les-Mines
Urban violence
Source: 20minf
Urban violence during the night in Alençon, thirteen vehicles set on fire 3 months
Night of urban violence in Alençon 3 months
Urban violence during the night in Alençon, thirteen vehicles set on fire
In Mulhouse, urban violence during the Halloween party
Night of violence in Alençon, reinforcements sent on site
Urban violence in Alençon: Gérald Darmanin accuses Marine Le Pen of "lying"
A person arrested after a night of urban violence in Amiens
Violence in Alençon: Marine Le Pen goes on site
Violence in Alençon: whose fault is it?
Burnt cars and injured police officers in the Bas-Rhin on New Year's Eve
U.S. sends ammunition to Ukraine, first 90 tons of lethal weapons have arrived
Skyline view: incidences continue to rise +++ sausage
Many perpetrators of curfews do not (still) have to pay compensation
Guadeloupe: urban violence "planned and organized", according to the public prosecutor
Kazakhstan opened 16 criminal cases on abuse of police powers during riots
For the second time this month, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is admitted to a cardiology hospital

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


if ever it was impossible for a composition to be used as 'background' music—this fourth symphony would take the cake. i first heard this symphony about a month ago on the occasion of a nervous and sweating earl lee's animated conduction of our very own toronto symphony orchestra. it was the second half of the TSO's 'Tchaikovsky for the Holidays' featuring the polonaise from Eugene Onegin and the anthemic Suite No.1 from The Nutcracker——as such the structure of the program was akin to the trailer of a rather obvious horror film: beginning with the happiest most familial scenes (everyone's running around in white linen and such); then the music switches to something stern and ominous (inexplicable footfalls heard in the attic and such) and all hell breaks loose ( the equivalent, in this symphony, of the opening theme on trumpets).
it was in fact a brilliant combination for the evening, as this fourth symphony is about the most complete introduction one could have to the classical genre—alongside the cherry-merry Nutcracker tunes. and inasmuch as the classical repertoire prepares the largest stage for the slightest gestures in music, this symphony rises to the grandeur and quiet intimacy of the occasion. it has everything: oboes, french horns and flutes that echoe, like aftershocks, the fateful hail of the theme on four trumpets; likewise a string section that bows the full gamut of impressions from the furious caterwaul at the top of the fourth movement to the stalking pizzicato of the third movement.
it's a kind of victory to be accused, as tchaikovsky was, of an excessive informal lyricism, of individual views and hazard (for any kind of individuality is indeed hazardous), for it suggest among many things that one has made an immodest effort at cultivating an individual language… that 'organic union' or correspondence between form and composition is still missing in such an individual language is merely a matter of experience and repertoire----one can never begin too early in learning how to speak that language, whatever the medium.
it is of course the lengthy pizzicato of the third movement that inspires an introspective dreaminess, from which the fourth movement is a recovery, a spring after a prolonged winter, the smiling gratitude of a convalescent---a saturnalia.
… convivial merrymaking, shoulder-to-shoulderness, the herd instinct: those are the lassos that tether every long expedition, however obstinate and independent, for whatever incontrovertible and yet truth. this going back to the people was what i referred to just last week as one of the spiritual missions of the musical experience… but what is the recourse when the people no longer know how to enjoy themselves? when the good conscience belongs to every kind of lukewarm pseudo-spirituality, to the self-preservation of our lulu-lemonized yoganandas?---and the bad conscience, the misalignment with that ineluctible herd-instinct, is any kind of 'wild revelry'.
a 'saturnalia' is the descriptive exhumed by Nietzsche in his Gay Science to exemplify a wild revelry that is rarely free of it's bad conscience. rarely free except when suspended in the matrix of artistic experiences---as such, one's opinions about these experiences can never be too strong---and of those experiences, none more than in music does one get to eat and have one's cake: the communion of the apollonian element, and individuating ecstacy of the dionysian.
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One of the Best Application Performance Management Tools in its Class.
Primarily the product is used for monitoring the Business critical banking applications of my Organisation like Internet Banking etc.
In our organization, the critical applications are being monitored with thresholds set for any malfunctioning through APM. Also, we have configured Dashboards which display any deviation of the application from normal. Further, the Tool is integrated with CA SOI, which displays the alerts at the Service level. Overall the Tools helps to detect any issue emerging with indepth analysis available for the resolution through APM components.
Presently we are making maximum use of this product for IBM Websphere monitoring with agents monitoring the MQ's. We are also using the java and .net agents for monitoring the respective applications. Introscope Reports and Dashboards provide business users a customized option to view data that is most important from their perspective. Along with Introscope, the CEM is being used for the monitoring of the Business transactions for defects and incidents.
Based on my experience with the product, I found two areas which can be improved on in future. Firstly, the APM upgrade procedure is a bit complicated with compatibility issues which can emerge like between agents and EM/Collectors. Secondly, the CA documentation/Knowledge Articles on the product can be improved.
The product is quite stable once the deployment is finished. Overall, the product properly deployed is quite stable.
Scalibility is quite well defined for the product with proper Sizing sheet available for the pre deployment scenario and finalizing accurately based on the same.
On a scale of 1-5, I would rate the level of technical support a 3.5. The reason being as per my experience, CA is lacking in resources having in-depth knowledge of the product, but it is being improved over time.
The initial setup is not that complex. But eventually the complexity can grow, but not to unmanageable levels since the variety of monitoring it can perform is vast. The organization can go for as much in-depth monitoring as they require.
It was a vendor team implementation. The level of their expertise was good.
My domain experience is with CA Service Assurance Tools. I have worked with other CA products like CA Spectrum, eHealth, NetQoS, CA UIM (Ca Nimsoft). Hence this was my 1st preference and it stood by CA standards.
It's a detailed product which suits maximum client requirements.
The APM upgrade procedure is a bit complicated with compatibility issues which can emerge like between agents and EM/Collectors.


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Juhl JH. EHR Boat Not Ready to Sail in United States. J Am Osteopath Assoc 2012;112(5):261–262. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2012.112.5.261.
According to a survey of 3700 physicians in 8 countries reported in InformationWeek,1 only 47% of US physicians agreed that health care information technology (IT) has helped to improve the quality of their treatment decisions, compared with 61% of the other physicians surveyed. The other countries, not surprisingly, were Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, and Spain—all or most of which have coherent, efficacious national medical systems. The United States does not have such a system.
The main obstacle to US physician acceptance of electronic health records (EHRs) is high cost, due in no small part to the multitude of insurance forms, unique electronic access needs, and various other requirements of the US system. Who in their right mind would want to gamble $20,000 to $40,000 of their own money for a computer program that might not interface with the many different programs used by their vendors—today or next week?
Another patient concern with EHRs is identity theft. In the event of a data breach in your EHR system, are you prepared to pay the average $200 cost per patient medical record for patient notification, restitution, and credit monitoring?2 Are you comforted by the fact that the US Department of Health and Human Services does not require the reporting of breaches affecting fewer than 500 people?2 The "external chart reviews" and "clinical support systems" required for EHRs by the laws of federal and state governments and the guidelines of professional organizations add layers of cost for physicians.
The contribution of EHRs to improvement of patient safety is primarily dependent on their ability to improve the extraction of outcome data on populations using various drugs, procedures, medical devices, and other treatments. Thus, EHRs will be resisted by various economic interests threatened by this improved ability.
The reason that US physicians are hesitant to accept EHRs has nothing to do with whether they know how to use their personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. Rather, US physicians sense that this EHR boat is not yet ready to sail, except for large organizations that have their own on-site IT staffs.
Lewis N. American docs question health IT's benefits. InformationWeek. January 18 , 2012. http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/EMR/232500067. Accessed March 30, 2012.
Dolan PL. Small medical practices are greatly at risk for data breaches. American Medical News. January 16 , 2012. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/01/16/bil20116.htm. Accessed March 30, 2012.
Singer N. The human voice as game changer. New York Times. March 31 , 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/technology/nuance-communications-wants-a-world-of-voice-recognition.html. Accessed March 31, 2012.


PEL is a not for profit company limited by guarantee owned by the four English Universities Purchasing Consortia; London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC), North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC) and Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC). PEL's Board of Directors consist of the four Chairs of its owners plus the Chairs of two sister higher education consortia, The Energy Consortium (TEC) and The Universities Catering Organisation (TUCO) – see list below for current board members. Links to all the consortia and other sector bodies involved in procurement are also given below.
The Heads of the six consortia listed above plus four Head of Procurements each from a University that is a Member of one of the four English consortia come together to form the PEL Advisory Group (PELAG), see list below for current membership.
PEL was established in the wake of a report from Universities UK (UUK) entitled Efficiency and Effectiveness in Higher Education complied by a committee chaired by Professor Iain Diamond the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen in 2011. The report was commonly referred to as the Diamond Report, and since a follow up report in 2015 again led by Professor Diamond, we now have Diamond 1 and 2. The first report suggested the higher education institutions (HEIs) across the sector should look to have 30% of their procurement expenditure via collaborative purchasing arrangements by 2016; the second report noted that by 2013/14 over 25% of spend was as the report recommended. The majority of collaborative procurement across the sector is via the purchasing consortia.
Diamond 1 recommended that collaborative procurement in England could seek to organise their collaborative working in a more formal arrangement and this is the raison d`etre of PEL. Work on coordinating collaborative procurement in England, whilst still working with the wide sector, has resulted in a number of documents; a PEL Strategic Aims & Vision paper, an Implementation plan and a sustainability policy – see the relevant parts of the website below to view or download these papers and the minutes of the various groups meetings.
PEL does not have staff or let contracts, the relevant consortia are its operational bodies; however it is and will help the HEIs in England and the wider sector towards the targets set for them in the Diamond Reports.


text:
Maysville es una ciudad ubicada en el condado de Scott en el estado estadounidense de Iowa. En el Censo de 2010 tenía una población de 176 habitantes y una densidad poblacional de 254,51 personas por km².

Geografía
Maysville se encuentra ubicada en las coordenadas . Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, Maysville tiene una superficie total de 0.69 km², de la cual 0.69 km² corresponden a tierra firme y (0%) 0 km² es agua.

Demografía
Según el censo de 2010, había 176 personas residiendo en Maysville. La densidad de población era de 254,51 hab./km². De los 176 habitantes, Maysville estaba compuesto por el 98.86% blancos, el 0% eran afroamericanos, el 0% eran amerindios, el 0.57% eran asiáticos, el 0% eran isleños del Pacífico, el 0% eran de otras razas y el 0.57% pertenecían a dos o más razas. Del total de la población el 0% eran hispanos o latinos de cualquier raza.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Ciudades de Iowa
Localidades del condado de Scott (Iowa)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Virginia Zoo welcomes newborn giraffe
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen finally sell Massachusetts mansion
Crane recovers dead giant sea turtle from Outer Banks marsh for important necropsy
Family-to-family class opening in Chesapeake will help people living with mental illness
By Victoria Bourne
Bruce Harlow wasn't prepared for the changes he was seeing in his son.
His youngest, a musician and math whiz, had always been social and happy. Then he began exhibiting signs of mania starting around 19. He'd be laughing uncontrollably one day, and cursing everything the next, Harlow said.
He was in a zombielike state the night Harlow thwarted what appeared to be an attempt by his son to hit his mother with a skateboard.
Here he was, Harlow said, a middle-aged father of three with no mental health experience watching his son unravel.
"It is truly a day-to-day, hour-by-hour living hell," he said.
Harlow and his daughter turned to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which offers a free course geared to family members, friends and significant others whose loved ones have a mental illness.
That program was, until recently, only available in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Now the family-to-family class is coming to Chesapeake.
It starts Sept. 20 and meets on Thursday evenings for 12 weeks at the Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare building in Great Bridge.
"There's nothing else like it, that I know of," said Harlow, whose son was eventually diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia. "You look forward to going and sharing."
At its heart, family-to-family is about educating people about their loved ones' mental illnesses, according to Jen Williams, who has taught the course five times. It's facilitated by trained volunteers – most often former class participants, said Williams, a NAMI board member whose son has depression and anxiety.
One in five adults in America experience a mental illness, according to NAMI statistics. Nearly one in 25, or 10 million adults, live with a serious mental illness, and three-quarters of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 24.
Williams said people who attend the family-to-family program span generations, from adult children and siblings, to parents and grandparents. The illness their loved ones face can be just as varied, but in most classes there is a mixture of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar and borderline personality disorders, with some schizophrenia.
Participants are taught how to identify symptoms of mental illness and discuss various treatment options. They learn how to better communicate with their loved ones, and also how to advocate for them. Involuntary temporary detention orders are discussed, as well as how to ask for an officer trained in crisis intervention when things get bad.
According to NAMI's national website, research has shown the course significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to an individual living with a mental health condition.
"(But) mental illness doesn't go away," said Williams, who takes medication for her depression. "You learn to live with it."
Masayo Ikeda, whose son has mental illness, is involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The program assist people dealing with a loved one's mental health issues. She was photographed in Norfolk on Thursday, August 30, 2018. (Steve Earley)
Masayo Ikeda became certified to teach family-to-family after taking an equivalent, now defunct program in Virginia Beach called MESA – Mutual Education, Support and Advocacy – in 2012.
Ikeda said she watched her son transform into someone she didn't recognize, starting at 19. The kind-hearted and gentle young man with lots of friends turned reclusive, irritable, verbally abusive and eventually delusional. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2014, she said.
Role-playing exercises taught Ikeda to use short and concise language when communicating with her son so she wouldn't contribute to the conflict in his mind, she said.
The mental health care system can be scary and overwhelming, advocates say, and education can provide the tools to help people navigate it.
The key point of the class is learning about mental illness in a safe, nonjudgmental environment.
To be able to say things like, "My son had an episode," knowing the person next to you understands what that means.
And while there are plenty of success stories, according to advocates, there are also people like Harlow and Ikeda, whose sons continue to struggle. NAMI support groups pick up where the class ends.
For many years, there was no education available for family members, according to Tommie Cubine, a licensed clinical social worker who served the city of Virginia Beach for more than three decades.
Cubine co-authored the MESA family workshop back in 1987. It was eventually replaced by the national, family-to-family program.
Families are often the best – and sometimes only – advocates for mental health causes, Cubine said.
Steve Hills works with people with mental illness as a certified peer recovery specialist at Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare.
He said "there is a great need" for programs like family-to-family in Chesapeake. People with mental illness say their families don't understand what they're going through, he said, and family members say they want to be more supportive, but don't know how.
Harlow, the former family-to-family student turned mental health care reform advocate, said "one of the huge benefits is learning you're not alone and sharing what you're learning with other families." He'd like to see the program offered regularly.
"When you're in the dark struggling, and you can't pray hard enough," Harlow said, "you need help now."
What: Free NAMI Family-to-Family education class
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When: Thursdays, 6:15-8:45 p.m. Sept. 20 - Dec. 13 (no class Thanksgiving week)
Where: Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Heath, 224 Great Bridge Blvd., Chesapeake
Contact: Fahja Bey, 757-606-0194 or Benitee Towler-Moore, 757-227-7293, or visit www.namivirginiabeach.org to register.
More: Email contact@namivirginiabeach.org or call the NAMI Office at 757-449-2041.
Victoria Bourne, 757-222-5563, victoria.bourne@pilotonline.com
Mental Health Classes For Families
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K G D e s i g n S h o p is a sole proprietary practice started in 2009. Integrating lessons in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design, we pay close attention to the zones where the three disciplines merge. Our work is process driven and methodical, informed and shaped by program, context, site conditions, cost and schedule on one hand, a strong guiding concept on the other. We are about architecture that is clear, open, calm and economical. Simple, Sensible and Smart design is what we strive for.


Some might think that producing annual accounts is of little value when it comes to practical business or tax planning. After all, businesses move on much quicker than the figures printed. But this is only half the picture.
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Plus, every business must submit its accounts to HM Revenue & Customs, so accuracy is crucial if you want to prevent costly and unnecessary tax enquiries.
The demands for different trading vehicles vary too. Whether you are a straightforward sole trader, a general partnership or a limited company, the right guidance is crucial. Our experience not only means we show you what is required. We will also advise you if we think a different structure would work in your favour – it is not unusual for a sole trader to move to a limited company, for example.
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R&D Tax Relief – Could Your Business Be Eligible?


I watched the movie Raise Your Voice.I stars Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire), Jason Ritter (The Class), Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls), and Oliver James (What a Girl Wants).
After the sudden passing of her brother, a teenage girl from a small town heads to the big city of Los Angeles to spend the summer at a performing arts high school.
This is one of my favorite movies. I cant tell you how many times I've put this movie on when I've felt down, and I've felt a bit better after watching it.


text:
Bridge Structures - Volume 14, issue 1
ISSN 1744-8999 (E)
Bridge Structures - Assessment, Design and Construction - aims to present the transformation of theoretical knowledge into guidelines and specifications that are compliant with the technical constraints of bridge engineering design. Papers will be solicited from researchers, designers, fabricators and contractors of significant bridge projects, covering a wide range of topics and interests to bridge engineers from all over the world. The main difference between existing journals, and the reason why Bridge Structures is of particular interest to engineers working in the field, is that the focus is on practical issues and on how certain techniques can be adopted in the work of the bridge engineer.
The scope of the journal encompasses, but is not restricted to, analysis, assessment, construction, design, fabrication, maintenance, management and rehabilitation of bridge structures. Bridge Structures is intended for a worldwide audience of practitioners and researchers who are working in the area of bridge engineering.
Recommend this journal Editorial board Submissions Subscribe
Authors: Mahmoud, Khaled M.
DOI: 10.3233/BRS-180131
Citation: Bridge Structures, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1-1, 2018
Theoretical effects of geometrical parameters on reinforced concrete box culverts
Authors: Kuş, Mesut | Akgönen, A. İlker | Tercan, Şafak Hengirmen
Abstract: In this paper, a parametric study that investigated geometrical parameters of reinforced concrete box culverts (RCBC) is presented. Dead and live loads, which act on RCBC, and derivation of vehicle load formulas were explained. These formulas were verified by comparison with experimental studies. Span width, culvert height and fill depth effects on RCBC design were investigated by creating a number of 88 2D finite element culvert models. An Excel sheet was developed by using VBA and CSI API to establish SAP2000 models and to generate analysis results. Analysis results revealed that while vehicle load was predominant for fills that did not …have a depth value greater than 1 m, vertical earth load was predominant beyond this value. Minimum values of internal forces and base soil pressures occurred at 0.7–1.0 m fill depth range. It is concluded that span width and fill depth parameters have an important effect on internal forces of RCBC models. This research also reveals that using multiple cell RCBC instead of using wider span width in single cell RCBC is more reliable due to much lower internal forces and base soil stresses. Show more
Keywords: Reinforced, concrete, box, culvert, multiple, cell, vehicle, span, width, fill, depth
Citation: Bridge Structures, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 3-20, 2018
Multiaxial fatigue assessment of welded connections in railway steel bridge under constant and variable amplitude loading
Authors: Praveen, K.R. | Mishra, S.S. | Babu, Prasad | Spagnoli, Andrea | Carpinteri, Andrea
Abstract: Fatigue assessment based on the critical plane approach is generally accepted to be more accurate for multiaxial non-proportional loading. Among different critical plane fatigue criteria, the modified Carpinteri-Spagnoli (C-S) criterion is rather a simple approach in which the critical plane orientation can be determined a priori. The aim of this paper is to investigate the applicability and reliability of the critical plane approach-based C-S criterion that can be employed to calculate the fatigue damage of bridge connections under railway traffic loading. A typical half through steel bridge subjected to railway traffic is analysed using Finite Element Modelling in ANSYS 17.2. …The averaged principal stress directions determined through appropriate weight functions are used to predict the critical plane orientation. Then, the multiaxial fatigue damage is assessed through an equivalent stress expressed by a nonlinear combination of the normal and the shear stress components acting on the critical plane. Applicability of the C-S criterion is investigated by estimating the fatigue damage of critical welded connections and is compared with the fatigue damage computed according to Eurocode EN1993-1-9 under both constant and variable amplitude loading. Show more
Keywords: Fatigue assessment, multiaxial loading, welded joint, variable amplitude, steel bridge
Citation: Bridge Structures, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 21-33, 2018
Performance of the effect of fractured member of an old steel truss railway bridge: A case study of hardinge bridge
Authors: Awall, M.R. | Rahman, M.A. | Hasan, M.M. | Hossain, M.A.S. | Uddin, K.M.S.
Abstract: Hardinge Bridge is the first railway bridge in Bangladesh which is made up of prefabricated trusses. As an old steel bridge, fatigue crack and rust can affect steadily on truss members. Steel truss bridges have the determinate system and which have not any redundancy, can progressively collapse over the entire span, if a single primary member or gusset plate connection of the main trusses is damage. Beside this, as it is a railway bridge, it is very important to know the dynamic behavior of this bridge. A train at high speed can cause large vibration of the bridge super-structure and …this large vibration might be affect on truss members. This paper describes the redundancy analysis and the free vibration analysis of Hardinge bridge truss after fracture of its different primary members. In this paper redundancy is described with respect to change in axial stresses before and after fracture of different members. From free vibration analysis, vibrational behavior of the bridge structure before and after fracture of different members can be observed. From these analyses it is observed that increase of axial stress of the adjacent members and natural frequencies of corresponding mode shapes varied with different damage scenario. Fracture of diagonal member drastically increased the axial stress of one of its adjacent member and the lowest natural frequency was obtained. Therefore, the fractured diagonal condition is the most critical condition. Show more
Keywords: Railway truss bridge, fracture member, redundancy analysis, free vibration analysis, natural frequency, axial stress
Flexural load rating of concrete bridge girder with deteriorated deck
Authors: Jnaid, Fares | Aboutaha, Riyad S.
Abstract: Load rating analysis of bridge live load capacity is the main technique in evaluating existing bridges in the United States. Load ratings are performed on a bridge following a detailed visual inspection mainly based on engineering experience. With the absence of an analytical evaluation procedure to determine the ultimate flexural strength of bridge girders with deteriorated concrete deck, the load rating procedure is highly dependent on the engineer's estimation. This paper presents a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model and an analytical model to predict the ultimate flexural strength of deteriorated Reinforced Concrete (RC) bridge girders that can be adopted in …bridge evaluation analysis. Both models take into account the damaged material properties and geometry. The proposed methodology can be adopted in computing the nominal flexural strength in the procedure of load rating analysis. The authors concluded that deterioration of concrete decks leads up to 40% reduction in rating factors. This may result in posting or closing of the bridge. Show more
Keywords: Concrete, bridge, girder, compression, reinforcement, flexural strength, corrosion, FEA
Issue 1, 2


text:
Wicked Wednesday–How Did We Meet?
Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry
On Wicked Wednesdays, we will all chime in on the question on the week. Feel free to join the conversation in the comment section!
How did you all meet?
Malice, Sisters, and Seascape
Sherry: In the spring of 2005 as I headed to my seat at the Malice Domestic banquet I hoped there would be an agent at my table. There wasn't but I sat by Julie Hennrikus, which started a cycle of events I couldn't have imagined. Julie lives near Boston, and my family was moving to Hanscom Air Force Base, fifteen miles from Boston, that summer. In minutes I had Julie's email, information about the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and Crime Bake, a mystery writers conference.
In the fall I joined the chapter and attended Crime Bake. Julie introduced me to so many fabulous, talented, inspiring women. New England started to feel like home. A few years later, I signed up for the Seascape Writers Retreat run by Hallie Ephron, Roberta Islieb, and SW Hubbard. One of the other attendees wanted to carpool. We met in a mall parking lot and I was relieved to recognize Edith Maxwell from SincNE meetings. I tried not to be too obvious as I sent a text to my family saying Edith didn't appear to be an ax murderer. We happily yakked all the way to Connecticut.
Part of our subgroup at Seascape 2009: Edith second from left, with Liz and Sherry second and first from right, respectively.
The days were crammed with learning but the nights were a sleepover for adults. Liz, Barb, Edith and I, along with a few others, we stayed up late talking, sharing wine and laughing. The second night we convinced Liz to stay over. Long after our more sensible retreat attendees had headed to bed we were creeping around the halls looking for a rollaway. My apologies to anyone we woke dragging the rollaway back to our room. Nothing like things that go bump in the night at a mystery writers' event.
In the summer of 2010, after I moved back to Northern Virginia, I started hearing about Jessie Crockett. I finally met her at Crime Bake last fall. Her energy is contagious or maybe it was the vitamin B12 she sprayed in our mouths.
Barb, Edith, Jessie and Liz all have the same agent, John Talbot. And they went out of their way to make sure Julie and I met him at Crime Bake last year. Barb ran into a room, grabbed me, and half dragged me into a hall where she'd spotted John. Then when he was free she actually shoved me in the back so I stumbled in front of him before anyone else could snag him.
We've critiqued each others manuscripts, met for dinners, had coffee and wine, shared rooms at conferences, and Jessie has generously opened her beach house for writers' weekends. Not meeting an agent that night at Malice is one of the best things that ever happened to me. There is more to this story but that will be saved for another time.
Barb: Julie gets around! In the fall of 2006 when I went to the New England Crime Bake I had a secret. My story, "Winter Rental" was receiving an honorable mention for the Al Blanchard Award. I sat across from a woman whose name tag said we were from the same town. We starting chatting, and when the Blanchard honorable mentions were called, both of us stood up. Same town, both short story writers. A relationship was cemented, and now Julie's succeeded me as President of Sisters in Crime New England.
At the New England Crime Bake in 2011, Jessie was the one who had a secret. Our first novels had come out in the same month in 2010. When we got into the elevator, positively drooping at the end of the first day, I asked her what was new. "It isn't announced, but I think I just sold a series to a major publisher," Jessie said. "That's the best news I've heard all day!" I responded, because it was.
As to the debauchery with the rest of you at Seascape—the less said, the better!
Edith here: I think I met Barb before any of the other Wicked Cozy authors. We were at a SINC New England workshop on revision with Elizabeth Lyon about six years ago. It was one of my first meetings and I knew almost nobody. During the introductions, Barb said she'd just been offered a contract for The Death of an Ambitious Woman. Wow, I thought. She's made the big time! Sherry hosted a fabulous workshop at the Air Force base the next year that featured the female base security commander, who told a bunch of mystery writers about fighting crime in an insular military community. But, as Sherry said, we didn't really get to know each other until we drove in my Prius to Seascape. She's a crack editor and writes mystery with one of those funny voices you can't put down.
Singing our song about Agatha Christie
I met Liz at Seascape as Sherry describes, and became immersed in the intriguing darker, non-cozy she was working on then. I hope she publishes it eventually, too. Jessie I first met at a potluck in Portsmouth before a Sisters in Crime event. She wore a rakish cap and impressed me with her self assurance and her published first novel, Live Free or Die. Julie and I bonded at a Crime Bake banquet table where we, with Sherry and the rest of the table, came up with lyrics to a song lauding Agatha Christie, and then performed it with great aplomb! Julie's short stories are wicked awesome.
Liz: Some things are just meant to be. I wasn't even planning on attending Seascape the year I met Barb, Sherry and Edith (and one other amazing friend and fellow writer from Australia, Christine Hillman Keyes). I was minding my budget. I'd gone to Seascape the prior year and had a wonderful time, but thought I just wasn't going to make it that year. But Roberta Isleib sent me an email a couple of weeks before the event and told me she had one spot left, and would I like to go? Something told me to say yes, so I signed up as a commuter and packed my manuscript.
The Seascape class of 2009. The front row includes Edith in the turquoise shirt, Liz in red, and Christine from Australia on the far right. Further back are Barb to the left of Liz's head and Sherry popping up just to the left of Barb's head!
Well, as soon as I ended up in their group I knew I'd made the right choice. We became instant friends, and all of them were such great writers! Sherry's novel-in-progress about a gemologist drew me in immediately. Like Edith said, I was impressed with how far along Barb was in her career, and her calm, sensible approach to everything. And Edith was a trip from the get-go! We also have a six-degrees-of-separation connection too – she once worked with one of my oldest friends, and the two have since reconnected through our friendship on social media. How cool is that?
But what really solidified the bond was the horrible road construction on I-95 that weekend. Since I was commuting, I headed home on Friday night. What should've taken 40 minutes took two and a half hours. So the next day, I brought an extra outfit and hoped someone would let me crash. My new friends didn't let me down. As Sherry mentioned, we stayed up way too late and drank wine and exchanged stories. Then we needed to find a bed. Although if I recall, Sherry, I ended up sleeping on some mattress thing on the floor, right? Either way, it was one of my favorite weekends ever.
I met Julie officially later at Crime Bake (the best conference around for mystery writers, in my opinion!). We hit it off immediately – she's got amazing energy and always has positive things to say and inspirational tips on how to look at life. And Jessie I met (finally!) once we realized we were all represented by John Talbot. Another instant connection, and her weekend writing retreats are something I'm always looking forward to. I'm wicked glad I can share this journey with all of you girls!
Jessie: I remember starting to recognize Barb and Julie and Edith from attending the New England Crime Bake for several years. All three of those ladies seemed so much like the "It Girls" from high school, only nice. They knew all the panelists and all the Sisters in Crime New England board members, often serving on the board themselves.
I was thrilled when Barb and I sat at the same table for something at the Crime Bake and I was able to compare notes with her about releasing our first books at the same time. Barb always radiates competence and authority. Just by having something in common with her on the publishing front made me feel like I was actually becoming a professional.
I am not sure when I really met Julie since she makes you feel instantly like you aren't strangers. She is one of those rare individuals who leaves you with the sense she was truly listening when you spoke to her. She also has great taste in sweaters. I'm a knitter and I love sitting somewhere at an event where I can get a good long look at what she's wearing. I'm not sure I am always getting as much as I should out of the speakers because I end up spending considerable time pondering how to reconstruct her knitwear!
Edith and I both attended a Sisters in Crime meeting in Portsmouth, NH in 2010. Edith was so friendly and easy to talk to and she let me try her netbook computer. It was the first time I had seen one up close and trying it opened up all sorts of ideas about how portable my writing could be. Thank you, Edith! Edith was also the inspiration for the writing retreat already mentioned by others. She posted on her blog about a wonderfully productive retreat she had recently undertaken. By this time, Edith, Barb, Liz and I all had contracts for mystery series and shared an agent. I asked Edith if she would be interested in another retreat up at my beach house. She readily agreed and we invited Barb and Liz to join us.
I met Liz a few weeks later at a seminar given by Donald Maass on Writing the Breakout Novel. Funky and irreverent, funny and enthusiastic, she was the perfect fourth for the retreat quartet. You get the sense from her that she might just be up for anything. In addition to her other qualities she has great taste in coffee and generously offers to share her supply with fellow writers in need of a fix.
Sherry was the last one I got to know but certainly was worth the wait. She has the biggest, most welcoming smile and I felt like I had known her just as long as I had all the others within just a few moments. We met at the 2012 New England Crime Bake and it was so nice to finally put a face to the woman Barb, Edith and Liz all kept mentioning so fondly. Sherry is the one who first got the idea of this blog and without her we would all still probably be Wicked and most likely Cozy but we wouldn't be Wicked Cozy. Thanks, Sherry.
Julie here: I love going last on this post. For me, it all comes back to Sisters in Crime and Malice. Many years ago I met a woman named Regina Roberts in a mystery writing class. She personified outgoing, and I did not. We decided to go to Malice Domestic that year, and try to network. While standing in a line, Regina met Dana Cameron, who was then the VP of Sisters in Crime New England. Regina found me and said "we need to join this group." And so we did. Two years later I went to Malice with my mother—Regina had lost her battle with breast cancer. That is when I met Sherry, who was a gift—she has the best personality, and is one of the nicest women I know. The short story I won Honorable Mention for when I met Barb? It was inspired by Regina (long story). As a fundamentally shy person who goes through life faking it, I am amazed by Edith and her energy and
enthusiasm, and remember sitting with her at Crime Bake and writing a song in homage to Agatha Christie. I was a Jessie Crockett fan before we officially met—she had published her first novel, and was rocking the marketing of it. And Liz? We sat together at a Crime Bake and just laughed. We six are a great team, and I am really looking forward to this blog. It is going to be a wicked good time.
Categories: Wicked Wednesday


text:
{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
module Application
    ( getApplicationDev
    , appMain
    , develMain
    , makeFoundation
    -- * for DevelMain
    , getApplicationRepl
    , shutdownApp
    -- * for GHCI
    , handler
    , db
    ) where

import Control.Monad.Logger                 (liftLoc, runLoggingT)
import Database.Persist.Postgresql          (createPostgresqlPool, pgConnStr,
                                             pgPoolSize, runSqlPool, addMigration)
import Import
import Language.Haskell.TH.Syntax           (qLocation)
import Network.Wai.Handler.Warp             (Settings, defaultSettings,
                                             defaultShouldDisplayException,
                                             runSettings, setHost,
                                             setOnException, setPort, getPort)
import Network.Wai.Middleware.RequestLogger (Destination (Logger),
                                             IPAddrSource (..),
                                             OutputFormat (..), destination,
                                             mkRequestLogger, outputFormat)
import System.Log.FastLogger                (defaultBufSize, newStdoutLoggerSet,
                                             toLogStr)

-- Import all relevant handler modules here.
-- Don't forget to add new modules to your cabal file!
import Handler.Common
import Handler.Home
import Handler.Compose
import Handler.Snippet
import Handler.Snippets
import Handler.UserSnippets
import Handler.Run
import Handler.Account
import Handler.Alert
import Handler.Meta
import Handler.Api.Snippets
import Handler.Api.Run
import qualified Glot.Language as Language

-- This line actually creates our YesodDispatch instance. It is the second half
-- of the call to mkYesodData which occurs in Foundation.hs. Please see the
-- comments there for more details.
mkYesodDispatch "App" resourcesApp

-- | This function allocates resources (such as a database connection pool),
-- performs initialization and return a foundation datatype value. This is also
-- the place to put your migrate statements to have automatic database
-- migrations handled by Yesod.
makeFoundation :: AppSettings -> IO App
makeFoundation appSettings = do
    -- Some basic initializations: HTTP connection manager, logger, and static
    -- subsite.
    appHttpManager <- newManager
    appLogger <- newStdoutLoggerSet defaultBufSize >>= makeYesodLogger
    appStatic <-
        (if appMutableStatic appSettings then staticDevel else static)
        (appStaticDir appSettings)

    languages <- Language.readLanguages

    -- We need a log function to create a connection pool. We need a connection
    -- pool to create our foundation. And we need our foundation to get a
    -- logging function. To get out of this loop, we initially create a
    -- temporary foundation without a real connection pool, get a log function
    -- from there, and then create the real foundation.
    let mkFoundation appConnPool = App {..}
        tempFoundation = mkFoundation $ error "connPool forced in tempFoundation"
        logFunc = messageLoggerSource tempFoundation appLogger

    -- Create the database connection pool
    pool <- flip runLoggingT logFunc $ createPostgresqlPool
        (pgConnStr  $ appDatabaseConf appSettings)
        (pgPoolSize $ appDatabaseConf appSettings)

    -- Perform database migration using our application's logging settings.
    runLoggingT (runSqlPool runMigrations pool) logFunc

    -- Return the foundation
    return $ mkFoundation pool

runMigrations :: MonadIO m => ReaderT SqlBackend m ()
runMigrations = runMigration $ do
  migrateAll
  addMigration False (createIndexSql "code_snippet" "user_id")
  addMigration False (createIndexSql "code_snippet" "language")
  addMigration False (createIndexSql "code_snippet" "public")
  addMigration False (createIndexSql "code_snippet" "created")
  addMigration False (createIndexSql "code_file" "code_snippet_id")

createIndexSql :: Text -> Text -> Text
createIndexSql tableName fieldName =
    concat
        [ "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS "
        , tableName
        , "_"
        , fieldName
        , "_idx ON "
        , tableName
        , " ("
        , fieldName
        , ")"
        ]

-- | Convert our foundation to a WAI Application by calling @toWaiAppPlain@ and
-- applyng some additional middlewares.
makeApplication :: App -> IO Application
makeApplication foundation = do
    logWare <- mkRequestLogger def
        { outputFormat =
            if appDetailedRequestLogging $ appSettings foundation
                then Detailed True
                else Apache
                        (if appIpFromHeader $ appSettings foundation
                            then FromFallback
                            else FromSocket)
        , destination = Logger $ loggerSet $ appLogger foundation
        }

    -- Create the WAI application and apply middlewares
    appPlain <- toWaiAppPlain foundation
    return $ logWare $ defaultMiddlewaresNoLogging appPlain

-- | Warp settings for the given foundation value.
warpSettings :: App -> Settings
warpSettings foundation =
      setPort (appPort $ appSettings foundation)
    $ setHost (appHost $ appSettings foundation)
    $ setOnException (\_req e ->
        when (defaultShouldDisplayException e) $ messageLoggerSource
            foundation
            (appLogger foundation)
            $(qLocation >>= liftLoc)
            "yesod"
            LevelError
            (toLogStr $ "Exception from Warp: " ++ show e))
      defaultSettings

-- | For yesod devel, return the Warp settings and WAI Application.
getApplicationDev :: IO (Settings, Application)
getApplicationDev = do
    settings <- getAppSettings
    foundation <- makeFoundation settings
    wsettings <- getDevSettings $ warpSettings foundation
    app <- makeApplication foundation
    return (wsettings, app)

getAppSettings :: IO AppSettings
getAppSettings = loadYamlSettings [configSettingsYml] [] useEnv

-- | main function for use by yesod devel
develMain :: IO ()
develMain = develMainHelper getApplicationDev

-- | The @main@ function for an executable running this site.
appMain :: IO ()
appMain = do
    -- Get the settings from all relevant sources
    settings <- loadYamlSettingsArgs
        -- fall back to compile-time values, set to [] to require values at runtime
        [configSettingsYmlValue]

        -- allow environment variables to override
        useEnv

    -- Generate the foundation from the settings
    foundation <- makeFoundation settings

    -- Generate a WAI Application from the foundation
    app <- makeApplication foundation

    -- Run the application with Warp
    runSettings (warpSettings foundation) app

--------------------------------------------------------------
-- Functions for DevelMain.hs (a way to run the app from GHCi)
--------------------------------------------------------------
getApplicationRepl :: IO (Int, App, Application)
getApplicationRepl = do
    settings <- getAppSettings
    foundation <- makeFoundation settings
    wsettings <- getDevSettings $ warpSettings foundation
    app1 <- makeApplication foundation
    return (getPort wsettings, foundation, app1)

shutdownApp :: App -> IO ()
shutdownApp _ = return ()

---------------------------------------------
-- Functions for use in development with GHCi
---------------------------------------------

-- | Run a handler
handler :: Handler a -> IO a
handler h = getAppSettings >>= makeFoundation >>= flip unsafeHandler h

-- | Run DB queries
db :: ReaderT SqlBackend (HandlerFor App) a -> IO a
db = handler . runDB

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Parliament of World Religions convenes in Mormon country — at last
People walk past Salt Lake temple as they arrive to attend the biannual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 5, 2014. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jim Urquhart *Note: This photo may only be republished with RNS-MORMON-GAYS, originally published on January 27, 2015 or RNS-TRANS-MORMONS, originally published on April 1, 2015, or with RNS-PARLIAMENT-RELIGIONS, originally transmitted on Oct. 14, 2015, or with RNS-CONGRESS-FAMILIES, originally transmitted on Oct. 27, 2015.
Kimberly Winston kjwinston11
Photo courtesy of [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Chicago Parliament of world's religions in September 1893.
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) When the World's Parliament of Religions first met in Chicago in 1893, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and even Spiritualists prayed together.
But Mormons were kept out.
What a difference 122 years make. On Thursday (Oct. 15), when the Parliament of the World's Religions — a slight adjustment of the name was made a century after the first meeting — convenes in Salt Lake City, it will not only feature a slate of Mormon voices, it will sit in the proverbial lap of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its global headquarters only a five-minute walk away.
The selection of this city is no coincidence, organizers and participants say, but a clear sign that both the LDS church and the parliament have evolved.
READ: Meet the Nobel-nominated priest who rescues African refugees from Mediterranean
"It speaks to the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a world religion and we are being recognized as such on the world stage," said Rachel Mabey Whipple, a Mormon environmentalist who will speak about Mormonism and sustainability at the event. "It shows a confidence that we are able to bring these other faith leaders to our community, and that is a great amount of maturity that I don't know that we have always had."
The parliament, which closes Monday, is expected to attract between 8,000 and 10,000 participants from 80 countries and 50 spiritual or faith traditions. This is the first time the parliament has met on U.S. soil since 1993, when it was held in Chicago. Recent meetings have been in Spain, Australia and South Africa.
People walk past Salt Lake temple as they arrive to attend the biannual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 5, 2014. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
*Note: This photo may only be republished with RNS-MORMON-GAYS, originally published on Jan. 27, 2015, or RNS-TRANS-MORMONS, originally published on April 1, 2015, or with RNS-PARLIAMENT-RELIGIONS, originally transmitted on Oct. 14, 2015.
Other voices shut out of the first parliament will be in Salt Lake City, too. No Native American faiths were included at the 19th-century gathering, but now they make up a significant slice of speakers and participants, and some have set up tepees and other native dwellings outside the Salt Palace convention site. Leaders of Native American and other indigenous faiths will tackle topics as wide-ranging as teen suicide and the wisdom of grandmothers.
"It's about time they begin to listen to" Native Americans and indigenous peoples, said Arnold Thomas, a Shoshone-Paiute tribal member who will speak. "We have not always been considered human beings" by some of the faiths represented at the parliament in the past, he added.
READ: Catholic bishops at Vatican summit seek elusive common ground
Atheists will have a presence, too, in a session with religious leaders on human suffering. David Silverman, president of American Atheists — which held its annual convention in Salt Lake City earlier this year — said including nonbelievers makes the parliament truly interfaith.
"When the entire community is represented, people can truly unite with all their neighbors toward a common goal, without any outsiders at all," Silverman said in an email interview. "Everyone is equal, regardless of religious belief."
Everyone may be equal, but not everyone is counted among the attendees. Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical and Pentecostal Christians do not attend in any strength or send official representatives, with the bulk of Christians coming from mainline Protestant denominations. Most Eastern faiths send representatives, and the Dalai Lama was scheduled to speak until ill health forced him to cancel.
What inclusivity there is has been neither swift nor smooth. The first parliament, held in the wake of the tremendously popular World's Columbian Exposition, was groundbreaking for its inclusion of Eastern religions. Buddhism, Hinduism and the Baha'i faith were introduced to Americans from the parliament's stage, set in what is now the Art Institute of Chicago.
But Mormons were mostly shunned. A lone Mormon woman was allowed to address a smaller auxiliary meeting of women at the event.
READ: A year after 'Peeping Tom' rabbi's arrest, his congregation perseveres
The problem was polygamy. The LDS church banned plural marriage in 1890, but many Mormons still practiced it. Today only splinter Mormons not associated with the church embrace polygamy.
And therein lies a huge irony, says Andrea Radke-Moss, a Mormon historian and feminist also among this week's speakers. In 1893, Mormons were excluded because their ideas of marriage and family were too radical. But Mormon Elder L. Whitney Clayton, the highest-ranking church official at this year's parliament and one of its featured speakers, will likely address the the church's support of traditional marriage and sexuality.
Radke-Moss commended the parliament's embrace of Mormons and other once-excluded faith traditions. But she laments what she sees as a scarcity of female Mormon voices — even though this year's meeting will specially focus on women in religious traditions, with an entire day given over to a Women's Assembly. While one smaller session will examine Mormon feminism, only author Terry Tempest Williams is among the parliament's main speakers, and she is expected to focus on environmentalism, not her Mormon faith, of which she has been an outspoken critic. Her religious affiliation is not mentioned in her parliament biography.
"Mormon women are still not completely invited to the table, even in Salt Lake City," Radke-Moss said.
Video courtesy of Parliament of the World's Religions via YouTube
YS/MG END WINSTON
TagsArnold Thomas interfaith LDS Mormon Mormonism Mormons Native American Native American spirituality Parliament of the World's Religions Salt Lake City Utah
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Kimberly Winston
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Although I can appreciate the distance the Mormon chuch may have covered to be able to host this event, I do not think it has an answer to the challenges that humanity is facing today. That is something that requires a New Revelation, a New Message from God, a new communication from God. And I am glad that the New Message from God is represented in this year's Parliament!
Uh, no, Niko, no. Many of the problems that the world faces today, particularly violent strife, are directly the result of belief in a god. You are looking in the wrong places for answers.
@Niko in my understanding "the absolute" can't be confined in an religion, ideology or theology. I hope world religions have the guts to give up what is the most precious to them for the sake of real and true unity. On that base a new revelation or new message can be accepted.
Community of Christ is a Christian denomination presided over by a prophet-president. We believe in continuing revelation, and new revelations are presented every few years. These modern revelations cover such issues as the need to protect the environment, social issues such as gay marriage (which we accept), encouragement to tackle world problems, and various other things. Its a refreshing approach to the question "does God still speak to us?"
hoffbegone says:
Ed, to be accurate, it should be stated:
Many of the problems that the world faces today, particularly violent strife, are directly the result of the existence of human beings.
For example, Stalin was an atheist. Has nothing to do with a god.
My comment was accurate as stated.
And Stalin's terrible actions were not due to any dictate of atheism. They were more in line with those of a theocracy, with Stalin as self-appointed deity.
Kay Dasu says:
Buddhism has long been represented at the Parliaments of Religion. Buddhists are atheists so its not the first time non-belivers have been made it truly interfaith. The humanists are a great addition but not the first atheists to participate in the Parliaments.
Why the Mormon Church is a business cult (and one wonders why this bit of information is continually deleted when said business is detailed at : lds-mormon.com/time.shtml (A Time Magazine review).
Sasha Bill Kwapinski says:
So the LDS Church is big, wealthy, and somehow sinister. This is the same worn out canard that has been thrown at Jews for centuries. (Protocols of the Elders of Zion, anyone?)
Laurence Charles Ringo says:
Almighty God speaks every time one searches the Scriptures,David…I wasn't aware that He had stopped speaking.
A business cult fronting as a religion is indeed the apt description of Mormonism. And said religion itself is also riddled with flaws and fantasies to include its founder Joseph Smith and his mythical connection to heaven, the horn-blowing Mo-roni whose golden-glow statues adorns all the ornate temples of said business cult. Of course, Joe saw the success that the mythical Gabriel had with Christianity and Islam and simply followed their lead.
Ty says:
Bernardo… With that much hate all pent up and hell bent on mormons you don't have an ax to grind do you? Go forth in peace my friend and take a deep breathe stress free. Whew!
How was your religion founded? Do you following a doctrinal book? Are you Christian? What does your church do for the world? Do you accept Christ? Where does the authority of your prophet come from? Thanks
Religion is not created to handle the challenges of humanity. God is not a politician & man created religion. The scriptures written by prophets were created so that God could remind you who you are, why you are on earth and how to return to his presense at the end of your life. "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". -God
Bernado says:
Ty, Ty, Ty,
You obviously suffer from the Three B Syndrome i.e. being Bred, Born and Brainwashed in religion and in your case Mormonism. Might want to read some reputable books on the foundations of religions.
Tashi Nyima says:
Buddhists are not atheists, but non-theists. There is a difference. The practice of loving kindness and compassion does not require one to accept or reject god(s). Theism and atheism are extreme views. There is a Middle Way.
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Did Ballinalee War of Independence hero General Sean MacEoin help cover up alleged crimes of Leitrim priest?
Liam Cosgrove
liam.cosgrove@longfordleader.ie
General Sean MacEoin
A newly released documentary has claimed General Sean MacEoin may have been involved in attempting to cover up the alleged murder of a Leitrim doctor over 100 years ago.
The story revolves around the part played by Fr Edward Ryans, a curate from Mohill, in the shooting dead of Dr Paddy Muldoon in March 1923.
Dr Muldoon was killed as he walked with a friend, Edward Geelan, a month after Fr Ryans had been arrested with his housekeeper on a charge of abandoning a baby on the doorstep of a house in Dublin's north inner city.
The documentary, dubbed 'An Unholy Trinity', suggests the young doctor may have been killed over his knowledge of the suspected involvement of Fr Ryans in the birth and subsequent abandonment of the child.
The subsequent investigation into the murder of Dr Muldoon was led by General MacEoin.
"An initial army report by General Mac Eoin puts Fr Ryans right in the frame," programme maker Tim Desmond says.
On a number of occasions, the documentary tells of several exchanges the pair had as Fr Ryans awaited trial for the abandonment charge.
Fr Ryans was not convicted but spent the remainder of 1923 in custody.
No charges were ever brought against Fr Ryans for the murder of Dr Muldoon either despite a later IRA intelligence report accusing Fr Ryans of both charges .
"There was a feeling that this individual had done bad things, but rather than prosecute him, there was an agreement that he would go away," Desmond says.
There were claims too of a suspected cover up on behalf of the Church with then Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Joseph Hoare telling Minister for Home Affairs Kevin O'Higgins not to "disgrace the Catholic religion" by vowing to "deal with him (Fr Ryans)" personally.
As it transpired, Fr Ryans emigrated to America in October 1925, spending time in both the US and UK where he later died in 1964.
The purported involvement of the Ballinalee War of Independence hero in the broader Fr Ryans saga is one which is likely to spark plenty of intrigue locally.
"Evidence suggests that General MacEoin was acting at least, in part, on higher instructions," says Desmond when addressing claims of a suspected cover up involving church, state and rebel factions.
To listen to the documentary log on to: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2017/0802/894706-an-unholy-trinity/


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Jeanie and Daniel had a beautiful elegant shabby chic wedding this summer with a tea ceremony, simple decor and fun atmosphere. Captured by XO and Fetti Photography, we are pleased to be sharing this lovely wedding today. To include their own tradition, the couple had Paebaek which is a Korean wedding tradition that introduces the new bride to the groom's family. It comprises of a tea ceremony followed by many bows and fertility games.
"We needed to figure out a starting point in order to get all the other moving pieces in place. After talking to our married friends we decided to take a more practical approach. We created an inventory of all the things we thought were must haves for our wedding. We agreed that our priorities included a budget under 35k with good feels, good food, an open bar, good music, local to home, guest list of 200+, and everything documented for us to remember forever.
After visiting 20+ venues we found the perfect place that hit all the marks for us at Occidental College. After securing a date, finding the perfect wedding dress was next. This was an important feat because based off the color and look of dress all the other decor related things fall into place. Koreatown is great for one stop dress shopping because of the option to buy or rent and they provide free alterations and matching accessories.
This wedding was also featured on Knotzilla!


Cinnamon Basil has dark green, bronze-ribbed leaves that have the aroma and flavour of cinnamon. Small spikes of ornamental dark rose flowers add interest. Annual. Sow in average soil in full sun in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Harvest in 60 days.
Genovese Basil is the very best Italian pesto variety. Shiny, large, almond-shaped leaves taste like a Mediterranean summer. Stores well if chopped and frozen in ice cube trays. Pinch growing tips for bushier plants that grow to 60cm (24 inches) tall. Approximately 530 seeds per pack.
Kitchen Blend Basil is a premium blend of 3 distinct Basil varieties: Genovese, Red Rubin and Cinnamon Basil. The perfect trio of flavours and colours for kitchen use. Grow them in pots so they can be moved to sunny windowsill for use all winter long.
Lime Basil is a rare, lime-scented variety that is both sweet and fragrant, with a mild citrus taste. Excellent for flavouring sauces, dressings and desserts. Annual. Sow indoors or outside after all chance of frost has passed. Plant in full sun. Can also be planted in containers. Harvest when buds begin to form up until frost. 51cm Height. 60 days until harvest.
Siam Queen Basil is an authentic Thai variety. Vigorous, highly ornamental plants with purple stalks and flowers that open to pink, providing a nice contrast to its dark green leaves. Pick young shoots regularly to extend the harvest. Approximately 370 seeds per pack.
Sweet Basil is a big growing variety with mid-green leaves all summer long, Keep picking the growing tips and the 2 pairs of leaves below them for the kitchen. Sow several times for a continuous supply. grow on on a wam windowsill through the winter. Approximately 605 seeds per pack.


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Matthew Davies brings a reggae groove to 'Get Ready to Run'
By Radio Milwaukee
Published July 29, 2021 at 7:40 AM CDT
For this week's premiere, we've got an upbeat, reggae-inspired number from Milwaukee singer-songwriter Matthew Davies. Stream and read about the song below.
Matthew Davies | Photo credit: Henry Woodd
https://radiomilwaukee.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Get-Ready-To-Run-Matthew-Davies.mp3
Matthew Davies - "Get Ready to Run"
"Get Ready To Run was recorded at my studio in Milwaukee's Clarke Square neighborhood. I had recently finished recording/mixing a record for reggae artist, David Robinson. David asked me to play drums and bass for those recordings. I was totally out of my comfort zone, but he had confidence in me and schooled me on the basics of the groove. I doubt I'll ever make a living in a reggae rhythm section, but I think some of that feeling found it's way into the recording of "Get Ready To Run."
The song is about trying to keep up with the pace of modern life and the feeling that we all sometimes have of not being up to the task. Fight or flight kinda thing. In the end, I wanted the music to be uplifting even if the lyrics are somewhat introspective and uncertain. Though I did play all the parts and do the all the recording/engineering for this new EP, I've gotta give a big shout out to Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings. Without his expertise and inspired sonic choices this wouldn't be half as cool as it turned out.
The "Get Ready To Run" EP comes out Friday, July 30.
Upcoming gigs:
* Thursday, July 29th. Pyramid Event Venue. Lake Mills, WI 9 p.m.
* Saturday, July 31st. Kids from Wisconsin MKE Arts Spotlight. Washington Park 2-8:30 p.m.
* Saturday, August 7th. JumpsART Downtown Buskerfest. Milwaukee Public Market (St. Paul Ave) 2 p.m.
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We flew in from airports across the globe and we all met in Yokohama, 150 Global YMCA Change Agents and leaders from World YMCA. In the port, just before embarking, Sofia from Sweden and Andrew from Sioux YMCA in the USA joined me and Shigeru Shimada san, the NGS from YMCA Japan for a press conference together with Tatsuya Yoshioka san and a board member from Peace Boat. This marked the official start of the partnership between World YMCA and Peace Boat, and we all expressed our satisfaction and hopes for the future.
Some influential media from Japan and Korea were present and the press conference was also strongly focused on peace and critical remarks vis a vis the government's attempt to introduce minor changes to Japan's pasifist constitution. Japan YMCA had issued a strong statement in support of the constitution, and this was supported by the representatives of Peace Boat.
Our good friends from Yokohama YMCA had turned out in big numbers with flags and posters, wishing all of us a happy voyage, and they followed the ship as we started our long journey. Thank you to all of you, good people of Yokohama YMCA, I shall come back and say thank you properly!
A departure of a Global Voyage is something special for the Peace Boat, and this marked the start of the 88th Global voyage, basically going around the globe and returning to Yokohama December 8th. Fantastic! YMCA joined to sail from Yokohama to Cebu, the Philippines, and from there to Singapore. 11 days at sea, 11 days full of adventures and training, friendship and bonding, creating a unique global YMCA fellowship on board the beautiful Ocean Dream, our Peace Boat!
A departure also includes a very strict security drill, I never stop being impressed with the crew and how seriously they deal with security and safety of the ship and all of us on board. We all follow the instructions, go to our cabins and take on the life waists and congregate where we are supposed to. From there we march in smaller groups, each of us to our dedicated life boat stations where we are ready to embark. At each stop of the ship the life boats are launched and tested by the crew, full of fuel, water and food, and functioning perfectly. On top of this very professional structure of well trained staff is the Captain, the Master of the ship. More about him later!
At my side this young lady was sitting, and she turned out to be Aiko, one of the staff members from Peace Boat Organization, not crew of the ship, but of the organization. She is sports instructor, and we met early mornings the rest of the journey as I was participating with 6-7 other slaves, all of them elderly Japanese, in walking around the 8th deck from 06.00 to 07.00, basically walking from darkness and into brilliant sun-rises every day. Aiko was instructing Japanese passengers in Nordic Walking at the same time.
Here departure from Japan, we wave goodbye to Japan and Yokohama, and the sea was quiet and easy as the music was playing and everybody felt uplifted and enthusiastic. A real adventure was taking hold of us, it felt almost surreal that we were all on board and ready to go, the first ever YMCA Global Change Agent training cruise in the history!
Early morning meant healthy activities on all decks, and Japanese morning gymnastics is nothing to laugh at. People of all ages are stretching and bowing and moving to beautiful music as the darkness of the night gives in to the early sun rays creeping over the horizon far away. A great morning ritual that I watched walking from the the deck above.
Capuchinos were found here, and early morning wakers were cuing up for the first cup in the morning.
On the first day we invited the founder of Peace Boat and the Director of the company, the organizer of 88 world voyages since 1983, Tatsuya Yoshioka san, to give us a lecture about Peace Boat, his life and adventures, and also to give us the history and context of East Asia, where we are sailing. He impressed all the Change Agents and gave us an inspirational speech about starting from scratch and creating great things with impact around the world. In 2008 he was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize. A great friend of the YMCA and also a great friend of mine. A visionary leader who sees opportunities when they come his way and who is able to turn around and make beautiful things happen.


Case Study - Vriend Home Inspections Ltd. - A Digital Marketing Agency | IIAS - International Internet Advertising Services Inc.
Case Study – Vriend Home Inspections Ltd.
In 2012, there were 89 home inspectors in Abbotsford and 138 in the Fraser Valley. The year ranked as the second slowest year for sales in the Fraser Valley since 2003 with just 13,878 and only 1,813 in Abbotsford.
Assuming that all homes were inspected and that each inspector would get an equal share of the market, Jim would have done a mere 20 inspections in Abbotsford or 101 in the region.
Jim's actual results? 200 inspections!
More Inspections Than the Competitors.
After 26 years as a construction contractor, in 2000 Jim Vriend began a new career as a Registered Home Inspector. Like many new businesses of the day, Jim advertised in the "yellow" business phone book. As an experienced entrepreneur though, Jim wanted to know if his advertising was providing a return on investment and asked all of his customers how they had learned about his business. When he realized that less than 1% found him in the directory, Jim had his answer – a resounding NO.
Jim decided to drop the directory advertising and try a different approach. Since his services were primarily used by home buyers, Jim didn't get frequent repeat business but thought that word of mouth referrals were still his best bet. He joined a local business networking group and while the group obviously shared Jim's belief that networking was important, they also encouraged him to get a website.
By 2009, Jim was facing increasing competition. With greater consumer awareness stemming from the "leaky condo syndrome" among other factors, the Home Inspection Industry had become one of the fastest growing professions in North America. At the same time, home sales were down, shrinking his overall market size. Still, Jim wasn't convinced that a website was the answer.
Talking it over with a friend who was a web designer, Jim voiced his reluctance. Jim figured that his website would just be buried among so many others that no one would ever see it. That's when Paul told him about search engine advertising. Still not completely convinced, Jim thought it was worth a try.
We designed a new website for Jim and set up an advertising campaign with Google. Over the following year, Jim watched his ROI appear in conclusive fashion with over 200 home inspections. Now Jim was convinced.


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Best Apps...
Best Apps for Working Remotely in 2020
Warren Santos
Now that people around the world are facing the need to self-isolate for the sake of their communities, work from home apps have become part and parcel of the modern world. Find out which products to rely on in for trouble-free remote work.
Top 5 Remote Work App List
Here's our rating of five best applications for smooth remote operation. Make sure to choose one that best fits your industry and situation.
Zoom is a comprehensive video conferencing app. It enables you to gather up to 1,000 participants from across the globe at a time, in which a wide variety of devices can be used to access the meeting.
The application stands out due to its flexible pricing policy. From smaller businesses to true giants, every company can find a subscription to meet its needs. A free version exists, too. It offers support for sessions up to 40 minutes long if you have three participants or more, with a maximum of 100 people. Increased cloud storage is a paid option. Subscription also enables a set of administrative tools ideal for brainstorming and other corporate discussions.
Despite its complexity, Zoom interface is a breeze to navigate.
2. Microsoft Teams
A major rival of Zoom, Microsoft Teams (free) offers group video calls and cloud storage plus limited collaboration in Microsoft Office, making it the perfect option for group editing or discussing documents as well as a Power Point friendly tool. Subscription pricing is flexible. Most plans include increased storage and Office support.
While a bit more complicated than Zoom, Microsoft Teams offers cheaper business subscriptions.
3. TeamViewer
TeamViewer (free) is a simple non-commercial remote meeting and desktop access app that also has paid business versions. It interacts with most platforms, including even BalckBerry OS.
TeamViewer provides for file transfer between local and remote machines during remote access sessions as well as multiple monitor support for the convenience of perception. It also has an intuitive user interface.
Trello is a simple yet efficient Kanban app. It comes in desktop and mobile versions and can be used to easily access and manage corporate dashboards for smooth workflow.
Trello (free) is limited in attachment size. However, paid versions are available for corporate use, giving you more flexibility.
5. Slack
Slack is a corporate communication team that's reportedly capable of replacing e-mail. Apart from message chats, its most useful feature is the ability to create multiple channels depending on your organization structures.
While file storage and messaging history are limited in Slack (free), various subscriptions are there to eliminate these restrictions.
No matter what kind of we work remotely app you choose, you want it to be reliable and easy to navigate. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Team Viewer, Trello, and Slack have it all.
Are you using any apps to work from home right now? Please share in the Comments section!
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This week, we will be continuing the "At His Feet Series", with today's message: "Just Have Faith".
Join Pastor Angel Maldonado, as he chronicles the story of Jairus and Jesus in Mark 5:21 and the exemplary faith he stepped out on.
Don't be afraid, just have faith!