Otono Networks-owned AlwaysOnline Wireless (AOW) has announced today that it is expanding its LTE coverage to an additional 14 countries, which means that if you own an iPad with an Apple SIM and want a short-term, on-demand LTE-data plan while travelling, you can have it in 88 countries via AOW.
Alongside expanding its service reach to additional countries (listed below), AOW has also announced that it is reducing its plan pricing by more than 40% for most plans.
The wireless service provider offers hourly services for iPad users in the following new countries: Armenia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jordan, Morocco and Uruguay.
AOW offers travellers LTE data plans in 88 countries for as low as 11 cents per hour but, depending on the traveler's needs, can also offer high-value plans that can include 5 GB of data valid for 30 days.
The plans can be purchased on iPads with an Apple SIM (or Apple SIM card in the tray) by going to Settings > Cellular Data > Set Up Cellular Data, and selecting AOW and the preferred data plan based on needs and budget.
To browse the entire price list, visit www.alwaysonlinewireless.com. Have you used their services before?


text:
Fungi: Why Are We Ignoring Nature's Hidden Solution?
I loved him when he was a manic, reformed-druggie, anarchist, stand-up comedian who always went in to bat for the little guy and was unafraid to challenge the big guys! I love him even more now. Russell has been consistently real and transparent about his own journey and shortcomings – and he's brilliant! Quick-witted, funny, sharp-minded with an impressive vocabulary and robust grasp of the socio-political world, an overarching philosophical ethos and daily spiritual practice. All delivered with a rough London cockney accent…what's not to like? Here he speaks with Merlin Sheldrake (gotta love that name!) on his Under The Skin podcast. Merlin is a biologist and author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cyberbullying Prevention for Teens Scholarship is open to any high school student or current college student. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, currently attending or students planning to attend a U.S. college or university for undergraduate or graduate studies.
Why is it important to stop cyberbullying?
How has cyberbullying personally affected teens?
The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage teens to be aware of bullying tactics on the Internet. Cyberbullying tactics create fear and intimidation for young children and teenagers, and their parents.
The scholarship is offered every year by Parentinn.com, a web site that publishes information of interest to parents that is researched and comes from experts around the world. The web site provides advice, as well as the experiences and knowledge of professionals and other parents.
The deadline for this scholarship is usually in FEBRUARY of each year, and the award amount is usually $1,000.


About the author: "Stuart Maxwell Hawkins' first major poem, a satire of school life, got him dismissed from school at age fifteen. Some of the teachers didn't think it was funny.
As a result, Mr. Hawkins took a year off from school, and utilizing his musical ability, immediately started a career in show business [vaudeville]. He returned to high school the following year, got his diploma and later squeezed in some college credits, spending his summers on tour with traveling repertoire companies. He spent the first part of his life as an actor and entertainer, switching professions at mid-life for a more stable existence as a newspaperman.
After his two sons and a daughter were raised, he switched horses again to become a full time writer and composer. His poetry and stories have appeared in west coast periodicals and some of his songs were written and performed in musical revues which Mr. Hawkins produced.--From Back Book Jacket of "The Music of Thought," a Collection of poems and songs by S.M.H.
Stuart Maxwell Hawkins was a wonderful, Christian, creatively-gifted man, married to a loving wife for many years, while raising a family for part of those golden years. In his book, "Think On These Things," he acknowedged, however, his own short-comings in a most touching way, I think, when he said (I believe, reflecting on his own mistakes as a father): "Are we looking for faults or truth? We will find what we are looking for. The same can be said of a child's attitude toward his parents. God said, 'Honor your parents.' Satan says, 'Hate your parents.' Parents are human and make mistakes. But to be wanted and raised by loving parents who have done their best for twenty years, and then to cast them off like garbage because of their occasional lapses into humanness, is not only a gross error of judgment but the sin of breaking one of God's commandments, which can only lead to problems. Only Jesus can make the difference and free us from such a predicament."
The author has written other books, such as: "Think on These Things," "Again the Song," "God is My Father-in-Law," "Sometimes We Remember."
"The Gate" is the nightmare experience of a man who took the wrong road, the broad highway, in life that everyone else was traveling, and even when it seemed too late to turn back, he persisted, and somehow got back to the gate he should have gone through in the first place if he really wanted life, not death.
Perhaps the author is admitting he took a wrong route in life, but turned back in the knick of time. Who hasn't taken the wrong wrong at some point? Maybe you, Reader, are on the wrong road right now, and don't realize it or are denying it as best you can. But don't wait until it really is too late to decide to turn back! Millions, uncountable millions, do that (they try to turn around at the very end of the road, where it drops off into darkness and fire). Stuart, or even ourself in the poem, almost doesn't make it back. In real life, of course, there comes a "too late," and to risk it is to fall in into it, inextricably, with no chance then to change course--which is the fate of most all people, good or evil, in this fallen world. We all know the little "too lates"--we didn't visit or call the person or friend or loved one when we could have, and they pass away or move away, and it is too late then to do what we knew we should have done! We might skip spending time with loved ones or children, and then they grow up, and are gone, and it is again too late, those opportunities have passed forever from our grasp. We might have given something of ourselves to someone who really was in need of a loving touch--but it was too inconvenient, we thought, or there was a better time.
But the time to do it passes--we have no second chance to do it--and again "too late" stares us in the face. We might have forgiven someone who wronged us, we thought--and restored the relationship quite possibly--but the person is gone, passed away, or completely out of touch with us--and again a "too late" that will nag us to our grave. This doesn't have to be, Reader! Now is the day of salvation and opportunity, says the Lord. Do it now--and let the "too lates" pass without coming to roost forever. It will make all the difference. And, fior those of us who have to live with "too lates," don't add to to the list! Make a change now.
There are things you and I can do to possibly shorten the list, or keep it from lengthening at least! If we chance, from the heart to the outside, our behavior will show it, and everyone will notice too. It can be done with Jesus's help and forgiveness--no other way really works as well. We can also warn others about "too lates".
Send a card and flowers now, send that letter now, or, better, go visit the person--go to the loved one, to the shut-in sick person, to the grandparent, to the parent--or at leas call and tell the other person you care about them.
It will not matter how much at the end how much you have in your bank account, or how many BMW's set in your garage, for whether you have a yacht in the marina, or how many designer clothes hang in your closet-- but it will matter how many "too lates" you avoided, and, if you have some, how many you avoided by doing the right thing instead. A wise man said, "The end of a thing is better than its beginning." Greeks observed that a rich man like King Croesus later ended in a terrible way--so what good was the happiness he had when it ended so badly for him? We can have a good ending--for the end cannot be avoided. What kind of end will it be? That is our own choice. Let's make it a wise one, by taking the gate to the narrow way now.--Ed.
"Help me God or I'll lie here dead"
And a voice replied "You have made your bed"


The Campbell Arcade is a unique part of Melbourne's heritage and culture, which could soon be destroyed without a second thought.
Current Metro Tunnel Plans show the arcade's eastern wall could soon be demolished. But Labor's Planning Minister Richard Wynne hasn't even assessed the heritage impact this could have.
Campbell Arcade is a rare example of Art deco design, with a distinct '50s colour scheme. It's so important, it's specifically mentioned in the heritage listing of Flinders Street Station.
Since the '90s, it's become a zany arts space that fuels our culture. The walls are lined with creative work. You can pick up the latest zine from the Sticky Institute or grab some independent Aussie fashion from The Cat's Meow.
Clearly we need an underpass from Town Hall to Flinders Street Station. But Labor's failure to properly consider and plan for our heritage is seriously concerning.
Minister Wynne, please consider the impact of the planned underpass from Town Hall Station to Flinders Street Station on the heritage of Campbell Arcade. This is an important part of our heritage.


Other Abstract The utility model relates to a universal field bus receiver of a ternary-content addressable memory, which comprises a sampling point generating circuit, a polarity correcting circuit, a shift register, a counting control circuit and a programmable state machine, wherein the input of the sampling point generating circuit is connected with a bit synchronism circuit the polarity correcting circuit outputs polarity information to the shift register the input of the shift register is connected with the polarity correcting circuit and the shift register outputs to a register the input of the counting control circuit is connected with the sampling point generating circuit and the counting control circuit outputs to a sequential control circuit the programmable state machine comprises a ternary-content addressable memory array which is connected with a time schedule controller and is connected to a double-port RAM array through a priority processing circuit the double-port RAM array outputs to a status register and an output register that outputs to the counting control circuit, the bit synchronism circuit, the polarity correcting circuit and the sampling point generating circuit. The universal field bus receiver has excellent universality, can replace various existing field bus receiving circuits, and can also be used in other communication protocols which use a Manchester code in a physical layer.
GB/T 7714 于海斌,辛晓宁,杨志家,等. 基于三元内容寻址存储器通用现场总线接收机[P]. 2009-01-07.


text:
A Five Year Forward View for social care
Featured article - 13 March 2017
By Toby Irving, senior consultant at SCIE partners PPL
Not a day seems to go by without reading a news story about the current social care crisis. It is great that social care is (finally) getting the attention it deserves, following years of being overlooked, but although there is a belated acceptance that something needs to be done to stop the system collapsing, there does not seem to be consensus around the solution. In the spring Budget, the government announced £2 billion in additional funding for social care over the next three years, £1 billion of which is earmarked for 2017/18. As further details of what this will be spent on are yet to emerge, I believe there are key transformative areas which should be targeted.
SCIE: the total transformation of care and support
SCIE launched a paper in November 2016, Total Transformation, which sets out five areas where transformation needs to take place, as part of a 'Five Year Forward View for social care':
Helping all people and families to stay well, stay connected to others and stay strong
Supporting people and families who need help to carry on living at home
Enabling people to do enjoyable and meaningful things during the day, or look for work
Developing new models of care for adults and older people who need support and also somewhere suitable to live
Equipping people to regain independence following hospital or other forms of health care.
This paper has examples from three of these areas and provides supporting evidence to demonstrate how the schemes have delivered improved outcomes for individuals and reduced costs for commissioners. SCIE has relaunched this paper, following additional research and analysis by PPL, and it now includes schemes offering benefits in the other two areas. One example is the British Red Cross Support at Home scheme, which trains volunteers to support people with a minimum of two long-term conditions. It focuses on smoothing the process of settling back into a routine and helps people to regain their confidence and independence after a hospital admission.
PPL Consulting
British Red Cross Support at Home scheme
The paper states that if just six schemes across these five areas of transformation were rolled out in Birmingham, net savings of £7.5m could be achieved by the Local Authority, and £1.8m by the NHS. Whilst this is not going to solve the crisis on its own, implementing social care initiatives that make real changes to people's lives, as well as helping with financial sustainability, has to be the starting point.


Obituary for Dolores A. Stark | Spitler Funeral Home, Inc.
Dolores A. Stark, 76, of Montoursville, passed away Sunday September 2, 2018 at AristaCare. She was born October 7, 1941 in Rochester, NY a daughter of the late John and Dorothy Clapper Anstadt.
Dolores worked for the former C.A. Reed Co. and retired from Primus Technologies. Dolores was a member of T.O.P.S, enjoyed her family, and was a graduate of Montoursville High School class of 1959.
She was predeceased by her parents, and a sister Juanita John.
Dolores is survived by her husband of 58 years, H. Eugene Stark. Her son Rick L. (Mary) Stark of Montoursville; daughters, Brenda S. (Craig) Lewis of Montoursville, Lori L. (Jeff) Williams of Mohrsville; Karen R. (Brad) Parsons of Williamsport; sisters, Lolly Mahoney of Montoursville, Mary Jane (George) Hromnak of State College; six grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 11am. – 2 pm. Saturday, September 8, 2018 at Plunketts Creek Township Fire Hall, Barbours, PA.
In lieu of flowers the family suggest contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Northeastern region, 57 Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.


text:
Dan Rodricks
Kevin Kamenetz, the pragmatic progressive
By Dan Rodricks
Highlights from Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamenetz's career. (Baltimore Sun staff video)
In the spring of 2015, a few weeks after the Freddie Gray fires and looting that sent the Maryland National Guard to West Baltimore, I took the No. 8 bus to Towson for a talk with Kevin Kamenetz about the city's troubles. I was surprised and encouraged by what I heard.
I had considered Kamenetz to be a classic, middle-of-the-cul-de-sac suburban Democrat, more cautious about policy than he had to be. Shortly after he became Baltimore County executive in 2011, he had scoffed at the idea of the more affluent county supporting its namesake city in any way.
But five years later, I found Kamenetz to be a thoughtful, pragmatic progressive, acutely aware of the city's problems and concerned that similar issues — tensions with police, for starters — could come to Baltimore County. As a government executive, he had viewed the mess in Penn-North as a teaching moment.
"We are just one bullet away from being a Ferguson," he said, referring to the police shooting of an unarmed black man in suburban St. Louis County, Mo., eight months before the death of Freddie Gray from injuries sustained in police custody.
In the aftermath of the April 2015 troubles in Baltimore, there had been a lot of talk about addressing poverty, high unemployment, blight and the lack of decent, affordable housing. Along with police excessive force, those problems had existed in Baltimore for decades. Now, suddenly, eyes everywhere seemed to be wide open to them.
Baltimore had lots of warning about issues surrounding Freddie Gray
Something else had just happened: Harvard researchers, led by an economist named Raj Chetty, released the results of a comprehensive study on poverty and social mobility. They found that a government-supported program to move families out of high-poverty neighborhoods to low-poverty neighborhoods in cities and suburbs — a program that even liberal politicians had refused to defend — showed huge benefits: The children in those families had much better life outcomes in terms of jobs and income, education and marriage than children who remained behind.
The researchers, examining 20 years of data on millions of U.S. households, rated Baltimore just about the worst place in the nation in getting poor children to a better life as adults. Kids from our poorest neighborhoods faced terrible prospects for upward mobility.
I wanted to talk to Kevin Kamenetz about all this.
He was six months into his second term as county executive and chair of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, the nonprofit body that brings mayors and county executives together to address regional problems.
I saw Baltimore's problems as the region's problems and wondered if there could be a bipartisan, city-suburban, public-private effort to address the deep-seated issues that surfaced with April's rioting.
That's when Kamenetz mentioned being "one bullet away," and he was frank about what needed to happen: The county police had to have body cameras. The police leadership, already making progress on racial and gender diversity in the force, needed to double down on those efforts. He wanted county officers to be even more engaged in the communities they serve.
And Kamenetz had more to say about housing, acknowledging the county's long and shameful history of discrimination and resistance to public housing.
In the 1990s, the county's eastsiders fought off the program that Raj Chetty had found successful elsewhere in the country. In 2013, a county councilwoman was able to block a development of affordable, rent-to-own houses for working-poor families in Rosedale.
City housing program stirs fears in Baltimore County
By Doug Donovan
Kamenetz, well aware of this history and the prospect of the county being sued over it, struck an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make room for city and county families who need affordable places to live and access to better schools. The county agreed to spend $30 million over a decade to help the private and nonprofit sectors build 1,000 homes for low-income, minority families in neighborhoods that do not have high concentrations of poverty.
Kevin Kamenetz, the pragmatic politician, stayed away from the public announcement of that agreement, but the progressive Kevin Kamenetz supported it. He also wanted to prohibit landlords from discriminating against people who use federal housing vouchers to pay rent.
He supported the city after the riots, asking county residents to visit Baltimore and patronize its restaurants. He refused to demand that the city pay the county $257,000 for police help in restoring order.
Kamenetz put big money into the county schools. He got the redevelopment of Sparrows Point rolling. But he also faced up to the thornier issues of police-community relations and affordable housing. And he was an optimist who recognized that the county — all of Maryland, for that matter — will be better off when Baltimore is. "This is a very challenging time for our region," he said last year, "when neighbors need to support each other."
That's something we seldom hear from political leaders around here. Kevin Kamenetz's death leaves a large void in the cause of city-county relations, the promise in regionalism, progressive government and honorable service to the common good.
drodricks@baltsun.com
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Buddy Holly performs "That'll Be The Day"
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition.
Many other versions have been recorded. It was the first song recorded (as a demonstration disc) by the Quarrymen, the skiffle group that evolved into the Beatles.
The 1957 recording was certified gold (for over a million US sales) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1969. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. It was placed in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States", in 2005.


Somewhere between the halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli lies a heart of gold.
In Westchester County, Lu Caldara is the Marine who, with help from his friends and his wife, proves the point by making the holidays brighter each year for 10,000 children via 30,000 brand-new gifts.
Caldara retired from IBM as a financial systems programmer and analyst in 1985 after 28 years with Big Blue. He was a Marine for 20 years and is a member of half a dozen Marine organizations still, plus the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and the Korean War Veterans of America.
Caldara is now a senior recreation leader for the Westchester County Parks Department. He's got the jacket. He's got the enthusiasm and the smarts. The county's got a winner. "I work with senior activities, picnics, events at the County Center, the slam-dunk basketball, cheerleading …" The list trails off into the ether, the point made.
Variety, according to Caldara, is an ongoing dilemma for Toys for Tots. "People think about toys and they're immediately thinking of the little kids, 3 to 8 years old. But we give to children from infants to 18." He said there is always an acute need for items that can brighten the holidays for teenage girls and toward that end he offers suggestions for new, unwrapped gifts for teens on a printout: clothes in general and specifically T-shirts, sweat suits, scarf-and-hat sets; books and dictionaries; board games; electronics; watches; and sports gear. Money donations are accepted with checks made payable to Marine Corps League, P.O. Box 505, White Plains, NY 10602. The money goes to purchase new, unwrapped gifts.
Drop sites for gifts had yet to be determined at press time. They will be posted on the WHUD radio Web site. Westy Storage of Elmsford has offered both transportation and storage space to facilitate the efforts that amount to a fairly robust recreation of the North Pole in New York, although given Caldara's clean-cut, posture-perfect Marine bearing, he might be too anti-sedentary to play Santa Claus.
Since 1965, Caldara has been making a difference in youths' lives other than with holiday gifts as commander of the Young Marines of White Plains. "It's the longest continuously running Young Marines in the nation," he says. "A lot of the kids"  age 8 to high school graduates  "come from single-parent families. They come on their own because they want to belong." The group has no physical restrictions. Caldara notes he has now seen the children of children he first mentored embrace the program. He ticks off the benefits of the Young Marines: "Physical fitness, self-confidence, respect, leadership. It really broadens their horizons and we see real results in the community. A lot of the Young Marines go through the program and join the Marines. We have two Iraq vets who went through the program  one Navy and one Marine  who are now youth leaders." The Young Marines and their adult volunteer supervisors are just back from a pair of camping trips to Cape Cod and northeastern Connecticut. (Visit www.mclwestchester.org.


When I think of adventure, I think zip lining or traveling to a new place or trying something new so when I came across this quote I couldn't help but reflect upon all the conversations I've had since I can remember to see if I ever considered any of them as an adventure.
And you know what? I did. None immediately pops into my head, but I know there has been more than one conversation where I felt it was a really good afterward. A few conversations where I really had a good time. When you are able to engage in a conversation that inspires new ideas and/or new perspectives a conversation is just as exhilarating as a zip line. Even if you're not discussing new ideas, a conversation can be fun. Of course, anything that strikes the heart of your passion is a great adventure, learning a new point of view, a different perspective.
An adventure is defined simply as an exciting or a very unusual experience so perhaps it's worthwhile to expand our views on what makes up as an adventure, shake off what is "supposed to be," and open up our minds that, sometimes, the littlest things, the simplest things, our all we need to have some adventure in our lives.


SPECTRUM NEWS VIDEO: On the shores of Lake Ontario, rests a set of vessels packed with history. The oldest freshwater port in the United States gives visitors a look at generations of maritime travel. In this edition of Explore New York, Matt Jarchow shares the H. Lee White Maritime Museum, where the past tugs at the soul.


Our sustainably sourced cilantro is carefully dried and cut into leaves for maximum flavor, not shredded and ground into dust. When added as you're cooking, our coriander leaves absorb the liquid while spreading their flavor, adding delicious herbaceous notes, and an oh-so-slight bitterness that really sharpens meals, making all the flavors pop.
0.3 oz (8.5g) net wt.


Most of us wouldn't have guessed that the next logical step in the career of actor Idris Elba would be a debut DJ set at Coachella. But, most of us would be wrong.
So why is PEOPLE's reigning Sexiest Man Alive taking the stage at Coachella this coming April? Actually, it all makes sense, we promise. Let us explain.
Elba is set to star in the upcoming Netflix series he co-created with Gary Reich called Turn Up Charlie. The series follows a struggling DJ who becomes a manny for a famous friend's problem child.
.@idriselba has a new show where he plays a struggling DJ turned nanny and all I can say is SIGN ME UP!!!!
Of course, in real life, the 46-year-old entertainer is a musician at heart. In fact, he has a studio album, a mixtape, and four EPs to his name. He's also an accomplished DJ, having scratched for the NBA, BET, and on Pharoahe Monch's 2011 album W.A.R.
So, there you go, Idris Elba certainly has the resume to get a prime spot in the Coachella lineup.
We'll see you in the desert, Idris!


text:
1: EW5222 36°45.16' N 95°54.76' W - EM26BS00LP
1: EW5222 - 36°45.16' N 95°54.76' W - EM26BS00LP
.DsWLL
36°45.16' N 95°54.76' W - locator EM26BS00LP - show map - static map
5.2 km Southeast bearing 157° from Dewey, Washington County, Oklahoma, United States [?]
6.1 km East bearing 84° from Bartlesville, Washington County, Oklahoma, United States
66.9 km North bearing 6° from Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States
78.6 km North bearing 352° from Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States
2022-01-21 22:30:17 UTC (11m32s ago)
2022-01-21 16:30:17 CST local time at Dewey, United States [?]


text:
package org.kordamp.naum.model;

import org.objectweb.asm.Type;

import java.util.List;

/**
 * @author Andres Almiray
 * @author Stephan Classen
 * @author Vitaly Tsaplin
 * @author Alexey Dubrovskiy
 */
public interface AnnotationValue {
    String getType();

    Object getValue();

    String getValueAsString();

    static EnumValue newEnumValue(String type, String value) {
        return new EnumValue(type, value);
    }

    static SimpleValue newSimpleValue(String type, Object value) {
        return new SimpleValue(type, value);
    }

    static SimpleValue newSimpleValue(Object value) {
        Type t = Type.getType(value.getClass());
        return new SimpleValue(t.getClassName(), value);
    }

    static ArrayValue newArrayValue(List<AnnotationValue> value) {
        return new ArrayValue(value);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Note: this isn't an 'either/or' argument, my main point in these posts is that each format (paper / electronic) has its strengths and weaknesses. Having said that, it may not be too far into the future when we begin to think of this as an either/or proposition. Remember that the future of paper newspapers is now seriously in question, so it may not be long before the same happens to paper books.
Paper books just feel good in your hands – even the best designed eReader is a cold, lifeless steely contraption by comparison. Paper books are also seen as "more personal," which was a comment that a number of people made on the previous post. You can become attached to a copy of your favorite novel, or a well thumbed book of poetry. I own a worn copy of the novel 'Catch-22,' which I have read a number of times since my University days – and no eBook could ever replace the memories it evokes whenever I pick that book up.
How can eBooks match this in the future? They may never do, but perhaps we will find that the features I listed in my previous post assume greater nostalgic significance instead: highlighted text, notes that you made back in your University days, and the ability to search and find all of this very easily.
I bought a poetry book for Kindle on iPad last week, but it turned out that the eBook was missing half of the image of an obscure painting that adorned the front and back covers of the paper edition. The eBook just had the front cover art, not the back cover art. This is one small example of how paper books can have a more beautiful package than eBooks.
We could similarly point to book binding and typeface, both often carefully selected by publishing companies for their paper editions. It can make a big difference to one's reading experience.
If eBooks are to challenge this feature, it will need to be with something unique and native to the electronic format. For inspiration, we can look to what Arcade Fire did with the electronic release of its latest album. As a way to try and match the album art and booklet available on CD, Arcade Fire came up with an artistic package it called "synchronised artwork." This enabled listeners to access imagery, lyrics and links on their iPod or iPhone while listening to the album. Some might say that it still isn't as good as a CD package, but this is the challenge for electronic mediums – to come up with alternatives that offer something equally compelling, perhaps even more so.
Skip Knox summed it up well in a comment: "We need a new generation of authors and publishers who will create new art forms around the technology. We're still at the point analogous to the early years of movies, when all they could think to do was essentially film a stage play."
I noted in the last post that receiving marked up books from a friend is something that can't be duplicated by eBooks – yet. Also, you can't lend a copy of an eBook to someone else. DRM (Digital Rights Management) or incompatible eBook formats prevent that.
However, I have to think that both of those features – personal notes and sharing eBooks – will get figured out by eReader manufacturers sooner or later. There is no technological reason it can't be done, it's more a matter of navigating the always murky DRM waters and people getting used to new kinds of 'reading' functionality. Just as we DM people on Twitter or send email, sending messages or notes to another person via an eBook is a feature that would be useful and eventually well used.
On the topics of DRM and eBook formats, not only is this an issue for sharing – but for your own future accessibility of books. As Adrian Lafond eloquently noted, "If I "buy" an e-book, read it, put it in storage, and try to re-read it in 10 years (since I "own" it) it's anybody's guess whether there will exist a platform or device on which that will be possible for that particular e-book format and DRM scheme."
Gwyn Headley added, a little cynically, that eBooks are great for books "you know you will never want to read again."
To be frank, I think the same risks apply to paper books too. I have misplaced favorite books over the years or lent them to people and not had them returned. However, eBook and eReader manufacturers certainly need to address this issue before consumers are truly comfortable buying them over paper books.
A few people noted that eBooks are still too expensive and that you can't get cheap second-hand copies. Or for that matter, expensive first edition copies.
Similar to previous points, eBooks won't necessarily be able to match this 'feature' of paper books. However, the price of eBooks will likely drop over time and become more flexible. Indeed, I picked up a copy of the full works of Emerson and Thoreau this week for a few dollars – cheaper (and much lighter) than I could've gotten anywhere else for a paper copy. We'll see more of this type of pricing as the eBook market ramps up.
In summary, there are pros and cons for both paper books and eBooks. The eBook market is ripe for innovation and breakthroughs in how we read, so eBooks will only improve over the coming years.
In the final analysis though, the real value of any book – whether read via paper or electronically – is in the words.
Even within the same family, different children learned to read at quite different ages. Diane wrote that her first daughter learned to read at age 5 and her second daughter learned at age 9; Lisa W. wrote that one son learned at age 4 and another at age 7; and Beatrice wrote that one daughter learned before age 5 and the other at age 8.
None of these children has difficulty reading today. Beatrice reports that the daughter who didn't read until age 8 is now 14 years old and "reads hundreds of books a year," "has written a novel," and "has won numerous poetry awards." Apparently, late reading is not inconsistent with subsequent extraordinary literary ability! This daughter did, however, show other signs of literary precocity well before she learned to read. According to Beatrice, she could recite from memory all of the poems in the Complete Mother Goose book by the time she was 15 months old.
The message repeated most often in these stories of learning to read is that, because the children were not forced or coaxed into reading against their wills, they have positive attitudes about reading and about learning in general. This is perhaps most clearly stated by Jenny, who wrote, regarding her daughter (now 15) who didn't read well until age 11: "One of the best things that came out of allowing her to read at her own pace and on her own initiative was that she owned the experience, and through owning that experience she came to realize that if she could do that, she could learn anything. We have never pressured her to learn anything at all, ever, and because of that, her ability to learn has remained intact. She is bright and inquisitive and interested in the world around her."
In some cases unschooled children progress from non-reading to reading in what seems to observers to be a flash. For example, Lisa W. wrote: "Our second child, who is a visual thinker, didn't learn to read until he was 7. For years, he could either figure out what he needed to know from pictorial cues, or if stuck, would get his older brother to read to him. I remember the day he started reading. He had asked his older brother to read something to him on the computer and his brother replied, "I have better things to do than to read to you all day", and walked away. Within days [my Italics] he was reading quite well."
Diane wrote, "My first daughter could not read when she turned 5 in March but by the end of that year she could read fluently, out loud, without pause or hesitation." And Kate wrote that her son, at age 9, "taught himself to read" in a period of just one month. In that time span he deliberately worked at reading, on his own, and progressed from being a hesitant, poor reader to highly fluent reading, well beyond what a standard school would have regarded as his "grade level."
Such step-like progressions in overt reading ability may occur at least partly because earlier, more covert stages of learning are not noticed by observers and may not even be noticed by the learners. Karen attributes the rapid onset of reading that she observed in her son to a sudden gain in confidence. She wrote: "Over this past summer, son A [now age 7] went from hiding his ability [to read at all] to reading chapter books. In a summer! Now, six months later, he feels confident enough in his reading ability that I regularly get up in the morning to find him reading aloud to his sister. He even offers to read to his father and me. This was unheard of a year ago when he hid his ability level from us in his embarrassment and lack of confidence. I'm so glad we didn't push him!"
Three of the people who sent me stories wrote that they at some point attempted to teach reading to their non-reading child and that the attempt seemed to have negative consequences. Here is what they said.
Holli wrote that when her son was "about 3 1/2" she began trying to teach him reading. "I think the Bob books are stupidly repetitive and inane, but I found ones that were at least moderately engaging and had him start practicing them. … He really was not ready yet, I think, for actual reading, and whether he was or not, he resented being made to do something that wasn't his idea, so he resisted. … Pretty quickly I realized that in spite of the progress he was making in reading skill, I was doing more harm than good to my son, because I was making him hate reading. I immediately ceased formal instruction in reading, and just went back to reading to him whenever he wanted me to." Holli went on to note that, roughly two years later, her son "entirely surreptitiously" began to look at books on his own and eventually to read, apparently hiding his interest and practice so as not to feel pressured.
Beatrice wrote, of her daughter who learned to read at age 8: "I too am guilty of trying to 'make her' read, when she turned 6, worried that the kids at school would be learning this skill and not wanting her to be left behind. After a couple of weeks of insisting she read and keep a journal with me spelling everything and she copying it all out, she told me flatly to 'leave me alone,' that she would have no part in my scheme and would learn to read when she was 'good and ready.'"
And Kate, a homeschooling mom in the UK, wrote, concerning her attempts to teach reading to her son: "By age 9 he was resistant to any English and reading became a regular battle. He resisted it and found it boring and he was distracted, so finally I got over my own schooly head and tried a new policy of letting go. I said that I would never make him read again or even suggest it…. Over the next month he quietly went to his room … and taught himself to read…. I had spent four years teaching him the basics [when he wasn't interested], but am now sure that he could have learnt that in a few weeks."
There's an old joke, which I recall first hearing several decades ago, about a child who reached age 5 without ever speaking a word. Then one day, at lunch, he said, "This soup is cold." His mom, practically falling over, said, "My son, you can talk! Why haven't you ever said anything before?" "Well," said the boy, "up until now the soup has always been warm."
Amanda wrote, concerning her daughter who attends a Sudbury model school: "She had consistently told people that she didn't know how to read until she made brownies this past November [at age 7]. She asked her father and myself to make her favorite brownies for her, but neither of us was willing to make them. A little while later she ran into the room and asked me if I would turn on the oven for her and find her a 9×11 pan (she said, "9 ex 11" instead of "9 by 11"). I got her a pan and turned on the oven. Later she ran in and asked me to put the brownies in the oven. Then she said, 'Ma, I think I can read now.' She brought me a few books that she then read out loud to me until she jumped up and said, 'those brownies smell done. Will you take them out now?' … Now she tells people that she knows how to read and that she taught herself how."
Idzie, a 19-year-old unschooled but beautifully educated blogger, sent me a link to an essay, on her blog, about her own memories of learning to read. She wrote, in part: "When I was something like age 8 or 9, my mother was reading the first Harry Potter book aloud to my sister and me. But, well, she had things to do other than read, and if she read too long, her voice would get hoarse. So, being quite frustrated at how slow a process this was, and really wanting to know what happened next, I picked it up and began to read."
Marie, an unschooling mom, wrote about her son, now age 7: "[He] found the incentive to become a better reader through acting at a local theater. He has always been passionate about putting together 'shows,' but now he is old enough to have real acting experience. He sees that reading is an integral part of this activity that he loves and it has given him a strong reason to grow and develop as a reader. He recently had a part in A Midsummer Night's Dream and had to read and memorize Shakespeare. It took no instruction on the part of a 'teacher' whatsoever."
Jenny wrote that her daughter, who didn't begin to read books until age 11, was able to satisfy her love of stories by being read to, watching movies, and checking out CDs and books on tape, from the library. She finally began reading because there was no other way for her to satisfy her interest in video games, such as ToonTown, and manga books, which require reading that nobody would do for her.
Observations at Sudbury Valley School, and at other Sudbury model schools, suggest that many children there learn to read through age-mixed play. Non-readers and readers play games together, including computer games, with written words. To keep the game going, the readers read the words and the non-readers pick them up.
Vincent Lopez, a staff member at the Diablo Valley School, a Sudbury model school, sent me this sweet example of age-mixed learning: "In the art room they are making signs to imitate a TV show that had just started. It is in my opinion, a dumb, low-ethics, media-driven, free for all dating show; I've let this be known before. In their own way they are processing the future to come. … but I digress. The jewel of this snippet is that the 5-year-old is attempting to read the sign with the help of his multi-aged peers. …Students learn because they want to get the jokes, be more advanced like the peers around them."
Nearly all of the stories from home unschoolers include examples of shared participation in reading. One of my favorites is that presented by Diane, who noted that her daughter, who learned to read at age 5, became interested in reading because of the family's regular Bible reading time. Before she could read she insisted on having her turn at Bible reading, "and she would just make up words as her turn!"
Others wrote about shared family games involving words, or about shared television viewing in which the onscreen guide and captions would be read for the benefit of nonreaders. Over time, the nonreaders needed ever less help; they began recognizing and reading more and more words themselves. The most often mentioned examples of shared participation are those of parents, or sometimes siblings, reading stories to nonreaders, often as part of the bedtime ritual. Nonreaders look on, at the words as well as the pictures, and sometimes read some of the words; or they memorize books that have been read to them repeatedly, and then later they pretend to read the books while actually attending to some of the words. Pretend reading gradually becomes real reading.
In previous essays I have referred to the great Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky, whose main idea was that children develop new skills first socially, through joint participation with more skilled others, and then later begin to use the new skills privately, for their own purposes. That general principle certainly seems to hold in the case of reading.
Marie wrote, of her son, now age 7: "He is an artist and spends hours drawing things, especially stories and inventions. So naturally he wished to make his pictures "talk" with captions, titles, instructions, and quotations. … There was a lot of 'MOM? How do you spell Superdog wants to go home?' I would spell out the sentence and five minutes later, 'MOM? How do you spell Superdog sees his house?'" This boy learned to read, at least partly, by reading the sentences that he, himself, had written.
Beatrice told a similar story about her youngest daughter, who learned to read before age 5. "She learned to read from her desire to express herself through the written word. Starting from the time she could hold a pencil, be it writing a poem, a song, designing an ad, she needed me to tell her the spelling: 'How do you spell beaver, how do you spell suggest?'"
Lisa R. wrote of her son, who is presently in the midst of learning to read: "His reading skill relates to his writing efforts. … He has written short notes and story titles using his own phonetic spelling. Sometimes he asks how to spell words for a note or a book. Through repetition, he now remembers some of these words."
Lisa W. wrote: "Our oldest child learned to read when he was 4 years old as a by-product of trying to find free online games on the computer. He would open the browser and ask me to spell free, then online, then games. All of a sudden he was reading."
7. There is no predictable "course" through which children learn to read.
Lest you leave this essay with the belief that I and the people who have contributed these stories have taught you something useful about how to "teach" or "help" your child to read, I assure you we have not. Every child is unique. Your child must tell you how you can help, or not help. I have no idea about that, nor does any so-called reading expert. My only advice is, don't push it; listen to your child; respond appropriately to your child's questions, but don't go overboard by telling your child more than he or she wants to know. If you do go overboard, your child will learn to stop asking you questions.
Quite a few of the people who wrote to me expressed surprise at the sequence that their child went through in learning to read. Some learned to read quite exotic words, which never appear in the primers, well before they learned simpler words. Some, as I said, learned to write before they could read. Some seemed to be learning at a rapid rate and then they just stopped for a couple of years before progressing further. We adults can enjoy watching all of this as long as we remember that it isn't our responsibility to change it. We're just observers and sometimes tools that our children use for their own chosen ends.
I am very grateful to the people who took time to write their stories so thoughtfully and send them to me. I hope that many of you who have just read this essay will add to these stories with stories of your own, in the comments section below. It's high time that we created a real account of the many ways that unschooled children learn to read, an account to contrast with all those rows of books on teaching reading that exist in the education section of every university library.
Finally, I can't resist ending with a little story about my son's learning to read. He was a very early reader, and one of the first indications of his reading ability occurred when he was about three and a half and we were looking at a Civil War monument in a town square somewhere in New England. He looked at the words, and then he said to me, "Why would men fight and die to save an onion?"
* D. Rose & B. Dalton (2009), Learning to read in the digital age. Mind, Brain, and Education, 3, 74-83.
 R. M. Savio (1989), Self-initiative in the learning process; and A. DelGaudio (1989), SVS Reading Study. Unpublished senior honors theses.
 A. Halonen et al., (2006). The role of learning to read in the development of problem behaviour: A cross-lagged longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 517-534.
Somewhere after "lose weight", "stop procrastinating", and "fall in love", "read more" is one of the top goals that many people set for themselves. And rightly so: A good book can be hugely satisfying, can teach you about things beyond your daily horizons, and can create characters so vivid you feel as if you really know them.
Set times. You should have a few set times during every day when you'll read for at least 5-10 minutes. These are times that you will read no matter what — triggers that happen each day. For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch (and even dinner if you eat alone). And if you also read every time you're sitting on the can, and when you go to bed, you now have four times a day when you read for 10 minutes each — or 40 minutes a day. That's a great start, and by itself would be an excellent daily reading habit. But there's more you can do.
Always carry a book. Wherever you go, take a book with you. When I leave the house, I always make sure to have my drivers license, my keys and my book, at a minimum. The book stays with me in the car, and I take it into the office and to appointments and pretty much everywhere I go, unless I know I definitely won't be reading (like at a movie). If there is a time when you have to wait (like at a doctor's office or at the DMV), whip out your book and read. Great way to pass the time.
Make a list. Keep a list of all the great books you want to read. You can keep this in your journal, in a pocket notebook, on your personal home page, on your personal wiki, wherever. Be sure to add to it whenever you hear about a good book, online or in person. Keep a running list, and cross out the ones you read. Tech trick: create a Gmail account for your book list, and email the address every time you hear about a good book. Now your inbox will be your reading list. When you've read a book, file it under "Done". If you want, you can even reply to the message (to the same address) with notes about the book, and those will be in the same conversation thread, so now your Gmail account is your reading log too.
Find a quiet place. Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair (don't lay down unless you're going to sleep) and curl up with a good book without interruptions. There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates. If you don't have a place like this, create one.
Reduce television/Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on TV or Internet consumption. This may be difficult for many people. Still, every minute you reduce of Internet/TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.
Read to your kid. If you have children, you must, must read to them. Creating the reading habit in your kids is the best way to ensure they'll be readers when they grow up … and it will help them to be successful in life as well. Find some great children's books, and read to them. At the same time, you're developing the reading habit in yourself … and spending some quality time with your child as well.
Keep a log. Similar to the reading list, this log should have not only the title and author of the books you read, but the dates you start and finish them if possible. Even better, put a note next to each with your thoughts about the book. It is extremely satisfying to go back over the log after a couple of months to see all the great books you've read.
Go to used book shops. My favorite place to go is a discount book store where I drop off all my old books (I usually take a couple of boxes of books) and get a big discount on used books I find in the store. I typically spend only a couple of dollars for a dozen or more books, so although I read a lot, books aren't a major expense. And it is very fun to browse through the new books people have donated. Make your trip to a used book store a regular thing.
Have a library day. Even cheaper than a used book shop is a library, of course. Make it a weekly trip.
Read fun and compelling books. Find books that really grip you and keep you going. Even if they aren't literary masterpieces, they make you want to read — and that's the goal here. After you have cultivated the reading habit, you can move on to more difficult stuff, but for now, go for the fun, gripping stuff. Stephen King, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Nora Roberts, Sue Grafton, Dan Brown … all those popular authors are popular for a reason — they tell great stories. Other stuff you might like: Vonnegut, William Gibson, Douglas Adams, Nick Hornby, Trevanian, Ann Patchett, Terry Pratchett, Terry McMillan, F. Scott Fitzgerald. All excellent storytellers.
Make it pleasurable. Make your reading time your favorite time of day. Have some good tea or coffee while you read, or another kind of treat. Get into a comfortable chair with a good blanket. Read during sunrise or sunset, or at the beach.
Blog it. One of the best ways to form a habit is to put it on your blog. If you don't have one, create one. It's free. Have your family go there and give you book suggestions and comment on the ones you're reading. It keeps you accountable for your goals.
Set a high goal. Tell yourself that you want to read 50 books this year (or some other number like that). Then set about trying to accomplish it. Just be sure you're still enjoying the reading though — don't make it a rushed chore.
Have a reading hour or reading day. If you turn off the TV or Internet in the evening, you could have a set hour (perhaps just after dinner) when you and maybe all the members of your family read each night. Or you could do a reading day, when you (and again, your other family members if you can get them to join you) read for practically the whole day. It's super fun.
gracious discourses of my book friends.
•Dislike for reading: It is difficult for you to become a rapid reader, unless you love reading. You have to be a motivated reader who enjoys reading. You should nurture a positive attitude towards reading. You would have seen people for whom reading is as natural as breathing. It is a way of life for them. Though it may not be possible for all to fall into that category, you can cultivate an interest in reading. Often reading is a sheer necessity for discharging official duties. Normally, reading is our main source of information. If you have no interest, you will continue to be a slow reader. Generating interest in reading is the first step to speed.
•Poor vocabulary: If you desire fine comprehension along with speed reading, you should have a rich vocabulary. Every time an unfamiliar word appears, you cannot afford to run to a dictionary. You cannot develop a rich vocabulary overnight. There has to be sustained effort with the right goal in view. Special books for improving one's vocabulary would suggest certain shortcuts. They may be followed. But that alone cannot help. Love for words is essential for developing one's vocabulary.
•Lack of stamina: You may feel tired after reading for a few minutes, if you are not interested in reading. Even if you have interest, you may get tired after a few hours, especially if you are speed reading, which requires sharper concentration. You can however build up stamina in due course, by repeated effort. You should have the will to challenge fatigue as it sets in, and to continue reading. You try to maintain concentration, despite the feeling of physical exhaustion. Gradually you will improve your stamina.
•Word blocking: This is the habit of stopping at every unfamiliar word. This will prove to be a major obstacle to speed reading, especially if your vocabulary is not very good. A practical method is to guess the meaning of the strange word from the context and continue reading without losing the rhythm. Afterwards you may gather the exact meaning from a dictionary and confirm your guess or make corrections if found necessary.
•Lack of flexibility: Suppose you have planned to increase your reading speed from 200 words to 250 words per minute(wpm). You should realise that your objective is not to be able to read any passage at 250 wpm. That figure represents your average speed. You may have to increase or decrease the speed depending on the difficulty level of the passage. Some people have a habit of trying to maintain a constant speed of reading irrespective of the nature of the passage. This lack of flexibility is a serious barrier in ensuring satisfactory comprehension while reading fast.
•Back-tracking: Back-tracking or re-reading will slow your reading speed. This is different from regression. Owing to lack of confidence, the reader decides to go back and re-read the whole passage or a substantial part of it.
Try the Evelyn Wood technique, which is simply placing your right hand on the page and slowly bringing it straight down. This draws your eye down as you read. Go slowly and evenly, letting your eyes rake back and forth across the page as you go. Following your finger will prevent you from backtracking and keep you focused. This technique is only for practice. Once you get rid of the faulty habit, you start reading normally without the help of the moving finger.
•Too much of analysis: It is true that you should attempt the best possible level of comprehension. It does not imply that you have to analyse each word including its origin, or each idea to its logical limit. The broad objective of reading a passage should not be forgotten. Too much of analysis may slow your reading significantly, and it may even end up in 'analysis paralysis'. Your approach has to be practical.
•Lack of concentration: Your mind should be totally focused on the subject. It should not wander. Since rapid reading demands full concentration to co-ordinate physical eye movement and for the complex processes of assimilation of ideas, there should be no laxity in maintaining concentration. Lack of concentration may be caused by absence of interest, attempting too high reading speeds, complexity of text, lack of motivation, physical pain or disabilities. If you feel that you are being distracted , take a short break and then resume reading.
•Procrastination: A hangover from the habit of slow reading leads to the tendency to procrastinate or delay the reading process. You should jump headlong into rapid reading, without waiting for a better moment. If you feel that reading is a chore, you are likely to procrastinate. Face reading cheerfully. If the text is too long, divide it into parts and focus on one part at a time. Fix deadlines.
•Distraction: Keep away from the telephone before you start a long session of reading. Never play even soft music in the background. Ask others not to disturb you while you are reading.
•ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Hyperactivity): It is a disorder beginning in childhood and gets carried forward to adulthood. Restlessness, inability to remain seated, unusual impatience, difficulty in concentration, trouble in listening, daydreaming, inability to follow instructions, making careless mistakes, getting bored before finishing a task and switching to a second task before completing the first are some of the symptoms. Three to five per cent of the population may have this problem. This has to be treated by medication or counselling.
We have listed various barriers to rapid reading. All these are relevant in any effort directed towards achieving reading speed. But advanced techniques become relevant only if basic requirements such as good vocabulary and a fair level of comprehension have been achieved by the reader. None can force another person to practise drills for increasing reading speed. Once the facts are presented, the desire should come from within the person. To make the practice easy, interesting stories or narratives should be selected. Complex prose or matter with diagrams may be avoided in the drill. What is most important is your determination for improvement. Perhaps you can schedule your practice at a particular hour each day, so that your self-imposed discipline forces you to practise regularly. During the initial phase, you may fear whether increased speed damages comprehension. Go ahead with a positive frame of mind; you are sure to achieve higher speeds through regular practice. You may also attempt rapid reading, while you handle the daily newspaper.


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Man City's UEFA Ban: Explained
Man City's UEFA Ban: Explained
March 6, 2020 Jonny Garwood 0
By Robert Barrie
As UEFA finally clamp down on Manchester City's mysterious accounts, it is the footballing implications for the club that are alarming.
The Aguero moment. The 100 point season. The Kompany rocket to seal the title. Manchester City have given football lovers some of the most poetic and beautiful moments in English league history. Amassing 10 major trophies, only one less than Chelsea, demonstrates their imperious stature as one of the, if not the, heavyweight of the last decade. Drawing comparisons to Arsenal's "invincibles" is no easy feat, but being the first side to accumulate 100 points in a single season is a stat one can't shy away from. In addition to this, a plethora of records tumbled as current manager Pep Guardiola's side bulldozed the league in two consecutive years.
It is fair to say, however, the Cityzens were not used to this success. Not laden with riches, the club were, truthfully, a "mid-table team". This changed in 2008 when Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group, completed a takeover of the club.
Injected with a huge inflow of funds, the squad was gradually overhauled and the quality change in just a few years was apparent. So apparent that in 2012 the club ended their 40 year trophy drought and won the Premier League title; thereby breaking the seven year vice-like grip of Manchester United and Chelsea on the trophy. Few questions were raised at the time at the validity of this success under then boss Roberto Mancini. Three years later and City, under the guidance of new manager Guardiola, were romping the league. This success, in effect, being only made possible by new acquisitions made by the manager in the form of £300 million reinforcements; was spent in his first summer alone. It was only then that watchful eyes from other clubs began to question the legality of such spending, and if it indeed broke Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
Implemented in 2011 by UEFA, these set of laws, put simply, prevented clubs from spending more than they earned. It also ensured that continual large spending would not occur over multiple seasons as there would be a prearranged budget range depending on the tier of football.
Sponsorship revenue of City, one of many factors contributing to a club's profit, was found to have been over-stated in accounts submitted to UEFA. In addition to this, break-even values too were found to be incorrect. Occurring in the years 2012-2016, this casts major doubt over the validity of the second title they won in 2013/14 season. Only time, and further investigations, will unravel the mystery of which senior club official, or indeed officials, thought they could succeed in such high-stake infraction. It is safe to assume that then managers, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, knew nothing of what unlawful activity was occurring behind the scenes. And it is unfortunate that that the fallout of such misguided ventures will fall at the feet of current manager Guardiola. He must surely be as infuriated as the fans as the resulting sanctions imposed by UEFA are, if upheld, a catastrophe for the club.
Banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons (oddly not the current tournament) and a fine of £25 million were the punishments handed to them. The fine is of minimal worry to the club but the penalty that will hurt most is the lack of Champions League football. Having won two Champions League trophies at Barcelona, it was common knowledge that Guardiola was brought in to lead City to a first European trophy, and with that propel them into the upper echelons of Europe's elite. Despite leading the team to two consecutive Premier League titles, the most prestigious prize in club football has, to date, eluded the former Bayern boss. The Spaniard himself said he would be deemed a failure if he left the club without the Champions League.
This ban therefore has huge implications for the club. Only two players (both reserve keepers) at City have won the Champions League before and surely the current players shall now be questioning their position. De Bruyne, Ederson, Sterling and Aguero (to name a few) are far too talented to not be playing in Europe. City have already stated they will appeal the ban and, if successful, expect it to be reduced to one season. The financial implications of missing Champions League football too are significant. Liverpool earned approximately £150 million from winning the tournament last year. City now have a queue of tasks this season due to the naivety of senior board members in that regrettable 4 year period. The first task is to convince their world class manager and players to stay for a potential two years of barren European football. Next, is to launch their appeal against UEFA. A glimmer of hope is the fact that the investigation against them was sanctioned by UEFA, judged by UEFA and punished by UEFA.
The club will aim to seek an independent enquiry due to the feeling they have been specifically targeted; rightfully or wrongfully, a view which has been shared around the football community it must be said. Their last task, however, is to win the Champions League this season. Many a football pundit has questioned as to why Manchester City weren't banned from this current tournament but the club will not rest on their laurels. Lifting the trophy in Istanbul in May would be the ultimate mockery of UEFA and that will be at the forefront of the minds of both City and UEFA's. The powers that be at UEFA will silently be hoping for an early exit for City against Real Madrid.
City's next problem is that the Premier League are keeping a close eye on the verdict of this saga. The FFP rules in England are, effectively, identical to UEFA's. A mirroring of outcome could see a points deduction and potential relegation to League Two. The points deduction, worryingly from City's point of view, could also be applied to their title winning 2013/14 season meaning that that season will become void (it is improbable that Liverpool, finishing in second place, would be handed the title by default).
Manchester City are far too big for such a revelation to initiate self-implosion of the club. It is alarming and humiliating however, to the squad, staff and fans that this saga was completely of the club's own doing.
Validating outside claims of cheating has left the club exposed, furious and embarrassed.
The impeding appeal will reveal the true sanctions the club will have to endure but make no mistake, to the eyes of the wider footballing community, this recent ruling has now tarnished and tainted all the wonderful and astonishing success this club has achieved in the past 10 years.
Author: Jonny Garwood
Jonny is our Sports Editor and covers local and national events as well as sports-related features.
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Without a father figure in his own life since the age of fifteen, Eric was desperate to maintain the bonds he'd fought so hard to forge when his children were young—particularly with his son, Jason, because he knew how difficult it was to face the challenge of becoming a man on one's own. Unfortunately, Eric learned the hard way that Quality Time doesn't always show up in Quantity Time.
Excellent book with valuable insight into parenting! Eric shares riveting stories from his days as a Navy SEAL & Instructor during the war on Terror era. Being a good father takes training and this is a great resource!
What a great reading. Non fictional account of being a Navy Seal and the leasons learned that you wanted to teach to your kids. Can't put it down book. Every page is interesting as you expain the challenges you went through and how you taught those concepts to your children. Thanks for the insight!


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Our team will help you plan and produce the right look and feel for your event.
Our projects vary from designing a table plan to supplying an entire expo.
Proudly independent, Insite Graphics is one of the most innovative exhibition print specialists in the UK, and is constantly researching and devising new exhibition print products, services and techniques for its growing client base. Taking inspiration from other sectors like retail, Insite Graphics, has used its considerable expertise in exhibition print to identify clear needs for arresting, eye catching signage and branding, and developed new solutions to meet them.
In 2001 Insite was the first exhibition print company to bring lightboxes into exhibitions. Although the first units were repurposed advertising lightboxes, Insite Graphics has worked closely with the manufacturers for over 15 years, refining and improving the product with high definition fabric prints, LED lighting and modular enclosures. Today's incarnation of those first lightboxes, the Insite Brightbox, is thinner, sharper, brighter and more portable than any of its predecessors, and has now become a common sight at British and European exhibitions and conferences for 'you are here' boards, floorplans and event branding purposes.
Innovation is central to Insite Graphic's success, and is borne of a drive to make signage, sponsorship and large format print work harder, and achieve more, for Insite's customers, especially exhibition organisers. This has led Insite to create entirely new display systems, invest hundred of thousands of pounds in state-of-the-art printing technology, and develop unique service offerings, all of which enable the company to widen the expectations of what's possible with exhibition print.
By investing in the latest print technology, Insite has prioritised innovation and the development of new products and techniques to improve, enhance and even revolutionise exhibition print. Insite's investment in a large format, high definition, dye sublimation fabric printer has allowed it to develop new display systems and to exploit the many advantages of fabric over paper or film print. Realising that fabric prints tend to be lighter and more resilient than prints onto foamboard, and that they can be printed seamlessly at almost any size, Insite has invented a whole range of fabric exhibition print products.
Using high definition dye sub fabric printing, Insite has created a range of pop-up displays and banners, as well as shell-scheme graphics systems that outperform their non-fabric competitors. Fabric prints can be created to arbitrary lengths and can be stretched over custom frames to create taut, smooth, damage resistant graphics that are every bit as vibrant as their traditional counterparts, but lighter and easier to handle. Insite has used this technology to create a 'Conference in a Case' package for international conference exhibitors. The 'Conference in a Case' comprises a graphics and branding kit that has been specifically designed to be carried on aircraft as luggage, rather than transported as freight, and packs down into a single case with wheels for simplified transit.
Insite's recent investment in the UK's first Canon Océ Arizona 2260 XT flatbed UV inkjet printer is a move squarely rooted in Insite's ambition to continue its record in innovation. The Arizona brings with it new capabilities including opaque white ink printing. The printer, which can print onto substrates up to 50mm thick, opens up a universe of possibilities for exhibition print, from signage and branding to glass manifestation effects.
Insite has also innovated new exhibition branding opportunities with its graphic wrapped columns and brand mobile phone charging towers, both featuring integral display screens showing content developed from its customers print designs.
Even in its service provision, Insite is driven to innovate – the most notable example being Insite Onsite, the firm's answer to the last minute changes that are so common at exhibitions. At the organisers request, Insite can deploy a fully capable design and production studio into any available space at an exhibition. Insite Onsite permits the quick production of graphics at the show, facilitating changes to running orders, changes in signage and any last minute graphics needed by the organiser for the show or its exhibitors.
Insite has shown that innovation is essential to being a leader in exhibition print, and that it devotes considerable resources to ensuring that it has the capability to create new, unique and often mould-breaking products and services for its clients.


From the very beginning, the girl's family objected strongly to her dating this guy, saying that it had got to do with family background and that the girl would have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.
Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrelled very often. Though the girl loved the guy deeply, she always asked him, "How deep is your love for me?"
As the guy was not good with his words, this often caused the girl to be very upset. With that and the family's pressure, the girl often vented(发泄,排放) her anger on him. As for him, he only endured it in silence.
After a few years, the guy finally graduated and decided to further his studies overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl, "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"
The girl agreed, and with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in and agreed to let them get married. So before he left, they were engaged.
The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails and phone calls. Though it was hard, but both never thought of giving up.
The doctor said that the impact on her brain had caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.
During the stay in hospital, she did nothing but cry silently every day. Upon reaching home, everything seemed to be the same, but the ringing tone of the phone pierced into her heart every time it rang. She did not wish to let the guy know her situation. And not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she did not wish to wait any longer.
With the new environment, the girl learnt sign language and started a new life. She told herself every day that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend visited her and told her that he was back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't any more news of him.
A year had passed quickly and her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was completely shattered. When she opened the letter, she saw her name in it instead.
When she was about to ask her friend what was going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her, "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You." With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.


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Home World Patriarchs' Ibrahimi Mosque Sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews
Patriarchs' Ibrahimi Mosque Sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews
Israeli Journalists Denounce Recent Netanyahu Initiatives as 'Insane'
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) says it is "a matter of serious concern" that the Obama Administration rebuked the recent announcement of settlement expansion as "a deeply negative signal." AIPAC is calling "on the Administration to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish State," after an ill-timed announcement made by the Israeli government during the height of US Vice President Joe Biden's Middle East tour that settlements in East Jerusalem would increase by 1600 persons.
But perhaps more troubling is a lesser known declaration made by Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu that the Tomb of the Patriarchs is being made into a national heritage site by his administration, according to Aletho News and agencies. There is a fear that the rehabilitation project scheduled for the mosque of the father of three religions may become reserved for one religion only.
The site, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque, is believed to contain the grave of the Holy Messenger Abraham -who is the father of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Located in Hebron, the Ibrahimi Mosque also lies within Palestinian territory, in the midst of uncontested land.
The Holy Messenger Joseph, or Yusuf, in Arabic, is also believed to be buried in the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The Biblical and Qur'anic patriarchs after which the tomb is named, however, are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as three matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
These holy sites -and others such as the resting places of the Holy Messenger Job, or Ayyoub, and the Holy Messenger 'Imran, the father of Mary, mother of the Holy Messenger Jesus (peace be upon them all), in Oman; the Holy Messengers Jonah, or Yunus, and his father Amittai, whose name is Matta in Arabic, as well as the Holy Messenger Lot -also in the Hebron area; Ezekiel or Zul Kifl in Iraq; Aaron, or Harun, in Jordon; the Holy Messenger Seth, or Sheeth, in Lebanon; and the father of mankind, the Holy Messenger Adam and his wife, our mother, Eve are said to be buried in Saudi Arabia – have all been maintained for almost 1000 years, with respect and love, by Muslims.
The Ibrahimi Mosque has been in existence since 1206. In the 12th century, after capturing almost every other Crusader city, the world renowned Muslim general, Salahhuddin Ayyoubi, advanced on Jerusalem. The city surrendered, Salahhuddin, whose name is commonly spelled Saladin, invited the Jewish people to return to the city. In Hebron, Christians were also allowed to worship freely at the Ibrahimi Mosque.
But in the modern age, Israeli forces began restricting Palestinian visits to the Mosque as far back as May of last year, as reported by Ma'an News.
Dr Elias Akleh, a Palestinian author living in the United States, considers the announcement of Mr Netanyahu's decision regarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs -like the declaration regarding more settlements during Vice President Biden's visit- untimely. The decision to make the Ibrahimi Mosque an Israeli national heritage site "coincided with the sixteenth anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre perpetrated by the Zionist Israeli terrorist Baruch Goldstein, who murdered in cold blood 29 Moslems while kneeling in prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque," writes Dr Akleh in his article, "Netanyahu Re-igniting Religious War in the Holy Land." Dr Akleh continues: "After the six-days-war in 1967 the Israeli government took control of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and provided protected and free entry to extremist Zionist Jews to pray while limiting access to Moslems' prayers, who have to go through electronic gates and body search[s] before entering."
Israeli journalist, Avi Shavit, condemns recent acts of Prime Minister Netanyahu not only as ill-timed, but "insane" in Haaretz: "Our need for the United States is unprecedented at this critical juncture; any national interest should be subservient to the supreme interest of strengthening this alliance. But now of all times, at the most sensitive moment, Israel chooses to act insanely… The continuation of the occupation makes Israel disfigure itself and its image; with its own hands it undermines the legitimacy of Zionism."
In the wake of more uncertainty surrounding the not quite fledgling peace process, it was not Muslims or Jews, but Christians, who convened from all over the world in Bethlehem to discuss a way forward during a seminar entitled "Christ at the Checkpoint," at Bethlehem Bible College on March 12-17. The point of the week long meeting was not only stated as gaining understanding of "Holy Scripture as related to the Palestinian context, but "to discuss the theological importance of Peace and Justice."
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Baruch Goldstein
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Concrete countertops have been trending for a while, along with the contemporary industrial look and minimalistic aesthetic. It's been used in other decorating styles as well, because of its versatility. On the surface, it seems that concrete has a lot going for it — concrete is stylish, modern, extremely durable, eco-friendly, and easy to clean. Yet their popularity is fading fast.
What could make concrete countertops fade from popularity? The answers lie in the problems that concrete counters have, and more importantly, the better alternative: quartz.
Concrete countertops are not without their benefits. Depending on your design taste, and the company doing the installation, they can be beautiful. Since concrete can be shaped, colored, and textured in so many ways, it's easy to create one that's unique. It can be made to resemble other surfaces, such as terracotta tile, or other materials can be embedded in the surface such as shells, glass, or pebbles. They can be installed with no seams, for an unbroken, solid one-piece look.
When installed and maintained properly, concrete countertops are easy to keep clean — the keyword here is "properly." Even the toughest concrete is porous, which means it needs regular sealing. Once that's done, though, all you need is some warm, soapy water for everyday care. Sealing also improves concrete's durability, protecting it from stains, scratches, and chips.
Is Concrete the Best Choice?
For one thing, installation of concrete countertops isn't easy. It's definitely not a DIY project. Although you can buy pre-cast concrete countertops off-site, they are very heavy and difficult to move. Doing this will probably also eliminate the "seamless" feature mentioned earlier.
Concrete countertops are usually poured in place, which can create a messy situation, and your kitchen will be out of commission for an extended time while it dries and cures. Homeowners must do careful research to find a concrete countertop installer who is experienced in the technique and has excellent reviews.
Since concrete countertops are extremely heavy, you'll need to make sure your base cabinets are sturdy enough to support their weight. They may need reinforcements, or even replacement.
Another problem that can occur with concrete countertops is cracking. Nearly every poured-in-place concrete countertop will develop hairline cracks over time. Sometimes these are barely noticeable, but other times, they are significant enough to require repair and will reduce the water-resistant property of the counter surface.
Concrete countertops are renowned for their resistance to heat damage. But are they really heat-proof? While the concrete itself may not be damaged by placing a hot pot or pan directly on the surface, the sealer probably will. This will require the countertop to be re-sealed, and may even discolor the concrete surface permanently.
Although sealer prevents stains on a concrete countertop, the risk is the same as natural stone, since it has similar properties. You'll need to wipe up spills immediately, especially if they are notorious for staining surfaces like red wine, tomato sauce, etc. Oily or acidic substances can also cause permanent damage and stains.
Concrete is a good choice for a kitchen or bathroom countertop — but quartz is even better. Quartz countertops take all of the good things concrete counters have to offer, as well as the benefits of natural stone such as marble or granite, and leave behind most of the less desirable qualities.
First, consider the beauty and the value. Quartz countertops are manufactured, and are produced in a multitude of colors, patterns, and textures such as honed or embossed. They can be given different edge treatments, just like natural stone. It's a versatile surface material, equally at home in contemporary and traditional types of décor. Prefab quartz countertops are also available, which can significantly reduce their cost.
The quartz countertop cost is considerable, just like any other high-end surface. Concrete is no different, but due to the difficulty of installation, it can add $400 or more to the cost of the countertop. Installing a quartz countertop is a straightforward process and can be completed in a few hours, depending on the design and size, and you can use it right away.
Maintenance of quartz countertops is a breeze. Most importantly, they don't need sealing. They are manufactured to be completely non-porous, so they will repel water and stains with no worries. Quartz is an extremely hard surface as well, which makes it resistant to chips and scratches.
Quartz countertops are durable, and heat-resistant as well. However, any type of countertop surface is susceptible to damage from hot pots and pans. No matter what type of counter you decide to install, always use a trivet or hot pad.
What If You Just Love the Concrete Look?
One of the best things about a manufactured countertop is its ability to mimic other materials. Quartz countertops are made with real quartz stone as well as a variety of other minerals and pigments, bound with a tough resin. Therefore, you can find marble-look quartz, granite-look, or quartz counters that mimic other natural stones. You can choose white quartz countertops that are completely without patterning, or one that has subtle, delicate variation.
Also, yes, quartz counters can also look like concrete! Choose from a solid, matte-look gray for the realistic, industrial aesthetic. Check out a quartz like Urban Lava which features the look of a rough, aged patina, adding character to your contemporary designs. Compromise with Concerto, with a subtle speckled gray pattern.
No matter what type of countertop fits your design style and personality, you owe it to yourself to check out quartz countertops as well. You just may find that they combine the best of all worlds — durability, value, and beauty — so you can have everything you want in a kitchen or bathroom countertop without ever compromising a thing.