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Posts categorized "Medicine"
New Year, Old Story
Firstly, some sad news. Some of you will – like me – have once followed JMB's Blog Nobody Important. It's open only to invited readers now but back in the heyday of blogging (when we all thought citizen journalism was going to change the world) you will remember her often mentioning her husband, whom she dubbed "The Old Scientist". I am sorry to report that he has passed away at the age of 89. I had the pleasure to meet him just once, when I stayed at their home in Vancouver on my North American road trip in 2013. He was a decent man who lived his life well and I feel for my friend in her loss.
Secondly, as I seem to have exposed more of my personal life than usual of late, just a brief report that – though my situation is as sad as before – I am getting on with my life and feeling better. I had a good run in Speranza to visit my parents last weekend. There are not many Ferraris in the world with over 91,000 miles on the clock, but (touch wood) she's in fine fettle and running well. I don't know why I don't drive her more. Call me shallow and materialistic, but she lifts my spirits every time. It is hard to feel sorry for yourself on the open road at the wheel of a bella macchina. I can't wait for borders to be properly re-opened so I can visit my friends on the Continent.
Thirdly, a brief "state of the nation" summary from my point of view. If you think I am wrong, please tell me. Trust me; I would love to be wrong.
It is gradually dawning on the British public that they've been had over COVID. They still don't tell the pollsters so but it's becoming an object lesson in the difference between stated preferences (which often signal "virtue" or seek to give the questioner what s/he wants) and revealed preferences (shown by how we behave in practice). For example, when out and about in London it's clear that only state fanatics and submissives are still wearing masks. I dutifully obeyed when on public transport in London for most of the Scare, but now I just carry one to wear if challenged by an official. Most travellers are not wearing them and the submissives now dare to do no more than cast a stink-eye. I hope the divisive hatreds stirred up by Government propaganda will now die down but I fear that many friendships have been irremediably broken.
Most of the West panicked in a very similar fashion, though Florida has thankfully provided a control group for an experiment that would otherwise have lacked one. As data reveals the ineffectiveness of non-medical interventions (the use of state force) we can therefore expect a united front from the global establishment and its lickspittles in the media. Data will be spun. Evidence will be bought, paid for and rigged. Every government will point at all the others and say "we followed global best practice based on the data we had at the time." That may have been true for a month or two at the beginning but it's clear now that the British Government, for example, knew damned well that its tyrannical measures were not necessary. The real scandal of "partygate" is not that Downing Street civil servants at the heart of the state apparatus ignored the law. It is that their conduct reveals they knew their propaganda was false and/or wildly exaggerated.
If they believed what they told us, the law would have been irrelevant because they would have been too scared not to comply.
The British Establishment is safe however. Not least because, as it metaphorically thrashed the British public, HM Opposition's only complaint was that the whip was not thick enough, was not applied soon enough and was wielded with insufficient vigour. The Labour Party is not going to hold HM Government's feet to the fire for forgetting our every liberal tradition because HMG's ripostes will all be examples of Labour's demands for more, more, more state violence.
It's hard to say now (as I have believed my whole life) that Labour cares less about Liberty than the Conservatives. I am not sure the latter has left any space at the authoritarian end of the political spectrum for Labour to occupy. The "Conservative" knee-jerk reaction to a perceived threat was to boss us all about in excruciating detail, while borrowing on a colossal scale to throw public money at the problem. If a Labour manifesto were ever to be written in plain English, that's pretty much what it would say. As "Conservative" support for government tyranny weakened, Boris Johnson, in effect, became the Leader of the Labour Party – herding its lobby-fodder to vote for his measures. Every time he wrote about Liberty (and he has done so many times in his career as a journalist) he lied. He may be the cleverest PM we've ever had, but he's also (and I recognise this is a huge claim) the least principled.
Intelligence without principles is more dangerous than the politicians' usual dozy uselessness. I see no better replacement from either side of the House, but he must go.
I cannot imagine ever bringing myself to vote again. I have always voted (as I remember explaining to my Polish teacher as she prepared to vote for the first time in the immediate post-Communist era) in the cynical manner of an intelligent citizen of a long-standing democracy. I know them all for rogues. Their aspiring to have power over their fellows while living on them parasitically reveals them as such. So I have always voted for the robbers who would steal – and the thugs who would bully – less. I never saw my vote (except perhaps during the Thatcher years) as anything more than a damage-limitation excercise. When push came to shove, however, it seems – even in my world-weary cynicism – I was deluding myself.
Can we hope for any useful lessons to be learned from the pan-panic? When the butcher's bill is received for the non-COVID patients killed by state action, will it give politicians pause for the next emergency? We can hope so. I fear what they have mostly learned, however, is that if they deploy their psychological-warfare "nudge" units effectively enough, they can get us to put up with far more than they'd previously dreamed of. Buckle up, friends. I suspect you're going to see more of your governing classes than you previously feared.
Posted at 10:28 PM in Conservatives, Coronavirus, COVID 19, Current Affairs, Ethics, Hypocrisy, Journalism, Justice, Labour, Law, Libertarianism, Medicine, United Kingdom, United States | Permalink | Comments (4)
Doctor Dalrymple's insights
The Pleasure of Apparatchiks > Theodore Dalrymple.
Theodore Dalrymple is the nom de plume of Anthony Daniels, formerly a physician/psychiatrist at Winson Green Prison but now better known for his writings. Wikipedia describes him as a cultural critic. He's certainly one of the best commentators on the culture of modern Britain. He's clear-sighted, thoughtful, tolerant and articulate. He's everything I would hope our society's leaders would be yet spends most of his life quietly documenting how little like him they sadly are.
The linked article recounts his experiences pitching an idea for a television series; a series of interviews with deposed dictators. It would have been fascinating but the TV executives were not buying it in either sense of that expression.
... the experience was valuable, in a way. It gave me an insight into the pleasure experienced by apparatchiks obstructing the creative and imaginative, such power to do so being a kind of consolation prize for being without original ideas of one's own...
In my current circumstances – negotiating my father's future with apparatchiks – this rings very true. Their tone signals the pleasure they take in their position. We're not allowed near him to assess his health or state of mind ourselves. One look in his eyes would tell us all we need to know, but that's forbidden. It seems to annoy them that we press for more details. We have been incredibly polite throughout (our loved one is at their mercy, why would we risk being rude?) but still their lips purse when we don't meekly walk away.
We are concerned about reports of elderly patients languishing for weeks in wards unnecessarily – and at present denied all visitors. We were told there were 150 patients in that position at this particular hospital because of a waiting list for home support; known in the inelegant jargon as re-ablement.
Both parents were frail before this latest episode. My sisters and I decided they now need carers at home and found a company to do two visits a day. We have also discussed with them stepping up that care temporarily when Dad is discharged.
Yesterday I called the "Discharge Liaison Nurse." She said Dad was not on her professional horizon because he was "not medically fit". Nor was there any discussion of moving him to a rehabilitation ward. I pointed out his consultant had told me he was now "medically well" but in need of physio and that the staff nurse had told me last week they were looking at moving him to rehab. She was unimpressed until I also mentioned the magic words "private care". She said she would talk to the ward staff and have someone call me.
In the afternoon I went to pick up laundry etc. and asked to speak to a nurse. She said they'd heard we had private care so we could take him home on Friday. I pointed out the care didn't start until Monday (and we'd have to discuss whether the company could step it up to cope with Dad) so she said "fine, Monday then". I asked about evaluating his needs for care and she said "that's for when social services are going to provide it. If you're doing it yourselves that's up to you."
In a few short hours we'd gone from "not fit to be moved to a rehab ward" to "take him home now".
The good news is Dad made it and his discharge is under discussion. The less good news is that the NHS and authorities charged with elder care really don't seem to play nicely together. I worry about the 150 patients on that local waiting list who must be atrophying literally and figuratively on hospital wards while the state apparatus "cares" for them and keeps them away from their loving families. I worry that people always insulated from market forces and – during COVID times – now also insulated from concerned families are quietly enjoying their irresponsible power.
Posted at 11:52 AM in Essential public services, Medicine, Society, United Kingdom | Permalink | Comments (2)
What the British State has learned from COVID
No-one escapes the consequences of the government's response to the COVID pandemic, but the Paine Family has escaped unscathed from the virus itself – so far. My elderly parents were vulnerable because of their age and health but have managed to steer clear of those hubs of infection - care homes and hospitals. Until this week.
I am currently staying with my frail, elderly mother while my frail, elderly father is in hospital. He collapsed when he attempted to get up on Sunday morning. He was retrieved from the floor and returned to his bed by kindly neighbours. He was eventually hospitalised on Sunday evening after a grandson had spent hours on the phone to medically-unqualified, algorithm-driven NHS gatekeepers in call-centres.
I say hospitalised but gurney-ised would be more accurate. He was not diagnosed until Monday morning when he was finally taken off his trolley, admitted to a ward and given antibiotics. Too late, it seems because he had developed sepsis (one of the most common agents of death in emergency care). Crowds of medics materialised and his life seems to have been saved from the threat their previous absence had quite possibly caused.
This sob story has, I promise, a point. The experience has exposed us directly to the interesting way in which the government health service in Britain has responded to the pandemic. My mother, my sisters and I faced a situation in which Dad seemed likely to be lost to us, but we were forbidden to visit him or be at hand. In normal times, we would have had opportunities to speak to his consultant. Instead we have a number to call. Sometimes a recorded message tells us all staff are busy. Sometimes an anonymous voice summons a staff nurse to give us an update. Sometimes she comes. Sometimes another anonymous voice tells us she's too busy.
After forty-eight hours of that, I asked if it was possible to speak to the consultant. This seemed to be considered a radical request. However I was given a name and told to call the main switchboard and ask for his secretary. I did so and left a message on her answering machine. I called again the next morning and left another. I then got a call saying my message has been passed on and "he knows you want to speak to him". I am still waiting. Despite her careful choice of words, I take some hope from the fact that his secretary did not seem to think it lese-majesté on my behalf to ask.
It's quite shocking how normal this all now seems to NHS staff. They seem actively to prefer not having to deal with the families of patients. Assuming (as I think is reasonable given the staff nurse's response to my request) that most families don't ask to speak to consultants, they at least must have a more relaxed life than usual. I suppose it's up for debate whether the time staff nurses spend on the phone to families is more or less than the time they used to spend dealing with them in person.
I find it hard to imagine a socialised service untrammelled by market mechanisms will ever return to its old standard now the public has meekly accepted this kind of service. One of my sisters said that "someone will have to give them a rocket" but who, pray, is likely to do that? The Labour Party is the political wing of the public sector unions and the "Conservative Party" is now – at best – New Labour reborn.
Posted at 05:05 PM in Conservatives, Coronavirus, COVID 19, Labour, Medicine | Permalink | Comments (9)
Pandemic, or catastrophic government failure?
This is one Australian journalist's take on the situation in his home state of Victoria. It's the kind of voice I grew up with; thoughtful and robustly sceptical. It's the kind of voice that belongs to, nay is essential to, nay forms a free society. It's the kind of voice that — with honourable exceptions — I am not hearing in Britain.
In a dispiriting conversation with an old friend this week I was barraged with "official" information and accused of callous indifference. The social media ban on criticism of official messaging on the pandemic (even where it's self-contradictory) is apparently redundant. The population is policing itself; sending to Coventry anyone who dissents. I'm beginning to feel like metaphorical Coventry is my home town.
If you try to research the issue on Google you will find yourself steered to the state's agitprop (sorry "official information"). I distinctly recall reading an article reporting a study by medical researchers at Oxford University, which estimated that 63,000 life years will be lost in the UK to cancers undiagnosed/untreated because of the "save the NHS" focus on COVID 19. I remember the detail that twenty years of a young cancer patient's life could be lost to a late diagnosis. I remember mentally contrasting that with the weeks or months of life of those most vulnerable to coronavirus that might be "saved" by lockdown. Or rather might have been saved if it had not been combined with sending infected old folk back to their care homes. I should have kept a link because that article has vanished into the search engine's sinister, algorithmic "memory hole".
The old-fashioned blogosphere comes into its own here (though weakened by search engine manipulation). This excellent post makes several important points, for example, and I suggest you add the blog in question to your regular RSS feed or bookmarks. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to take the blue pill and be happy in the carefully-crafted search engine matrix of мистификация (Russian for "mystification" or what we call disinformation)
If the criterion is severity of the pandemic or likelihood of death from the disease, this disease is not unprecedented at all — and not even within my own lifetime. In 1968-69 we had the so-called Hong Kong flu. Look up how many people died of it, and you will find a figure of "approximately" 100,000. They didn't even try to keep exact track of the figure; but of course the seeming precision of today's number is an illusion anyway. The 100,000 may sound like a lot fewer than the recent Covid-19 numbers, but remember that the U.S. population was much smaller — under 200 million, compared to today's 331 million. Gross up the 100,000 figure for today's larger population, and you would have had about 165,000 deaths, which is approximately the same as the worldometers site is reporting today as the number of U.S. deaths in the current pandemic. Then there was the so-called Asian flu of 1957-58. U.S. mortality for that one is given at about 70,000, but this time with a population of only 172 million. Grossed up for today's population would give close to 140,000 deaths.
What was different about the Asian flu and Hong Kong flu pandemics was not the severity of the disease or likelihood of death, but that governments and bureaucrats had not taken on the arrogance of power to think that they could make the disease go away by scaring everybody out of their wits and locking down the economy and throwing millions of people out of work. We went about our lives as normal. People went to work. Children went to school. Social events and plays and concerts continued. Indeed, the Woodstock festival was in 1968, just as the Hong Kong flu epidemic was cranking up.
Our Western leaders put us all under house arrest. Our leaders in the 1960s never thought to stop their "flower children" going to Woodstock or the Isle of Wight. Consider how different our cultural history would have been if those "happenings" had been prevented. Quite apart from economic impoverishment and (for the most unfortunate among them) lost years of life, what Woodstocks has this generation lost? What moral right did our political leaders have to make these choices for them? What does it say about us that, not only did we allow it, but most of us ostracised or even demonised those who questioned?
Encouraged by David Bishop's comment (below) I went back to Google and managed to track down if not the article (behind the Daily Telegraph paywall) that I was remembering, then one very like it referring to similar research. More helpfully I found the article in The Lancet Oncology that it was referencing, along with this alarming chart (click to enlarge). The number of "life years" lost seems to be more than I remembered, when you add up all their careful calculating, cancer by cancer (the effects of delayed diagnosis vary).
My "memory hole" point stands in that Google puts lots of approved data in your way when you are trying to find something specific. There are clearly algorithms that detect searches looking for such things as "lockdown causing cancer deaths" (which is what I searched for). Back at the beginning of this self-inflicted "crisis" I said I would not be surprised if measures to "fight" coronavirus caused more deaths than the virus itself. Given that these stats refer ONLY to cancer (and there will be lots of heart patients and others who failed to present for diagnosis because of the corona-panic) it's sadly beginning to look like I may have been right. I take no pleasure in that, but I do think heads should roll among the apparatchiki. With great power, as I believe someone's Uncle Ben once said, comes great responsibility. They must take responsibility for the way they abused the great powers we should never have granted them.
POST POST SCRIPT
This tweet links to the actual article I was remembering. I mis-remembered 63,000 as 68,000 and have corrected that above.
Posted at 08:02 AM in Civil Liberties, Conservatives, Coronavirus, COVID 19, Current Affairs, Medicine, Society, Technology, United Kingdom, United States | Permalink | Comments (10)
Some consequences of Margaret Thatcher's mistakes
I joined the Conservative Party as a young man (having recently recanted my teenaged Maoism) because of Margaret Thatcher. She was not headed to the same destination as me, ideologically, but she was at least pointing in the right direction to be my fellow-traveller. She was socially-conservative in a way that I was not (I led my University Conservative Association on a gay rights march, for example and supported the Federation of Conservative Students' policy on legalising drugs that led her to shut us down) but she was clear-sighted, principled and above all moral.
Her morals were not entirely mine, but I would rather be led by someone with morals than without and she was the only moral Prime Minister of my lifetime so far. Most, like the current incumbent, were amoral going on sociopathic (fairly usual for high-achievers in most fields, to be fair) and some, like Gordon Brown or John Major, were actively immoral. Once she was hounded out, I left the Party. I was, for some years, a Thatcherite but I was never a Tory.
So I am not blind to the lady's faults. Leaving aside her inclination to use the state as an instrument of her personal morality, she also made some policy misjudgements and we still live with their consequences.
She misidentified the key threats to liberty in Britain. Hindsight is cheap, I know, but the trade unions in mining and other productive industries were already on the way out. The real threat to our future was in our schools and colleges, where children were already being consistently taught a warped view of history and a contempt for economics in general and the market system in particular. In my education during the 1960s and 1970s I may perhaps have had a Conservative teacher. It's possible, but even then their discretion was by far the greater part of their valour. I can only surmise because no possibly Conservative school teacher dared say so. My Socialist teachers, of course, never shut up about it and when I studied Law at university, there was not even one discreetly-silent lecturer I could optimistically imagine to be non-Left.
Margaret, as Education Minister, should arguably have grasped that generation after generation of our youth could not be processed through such a thoroughly infiltrated, ideologically-monochrome system without lasting damage. Such was her own strength of character that I suspect she simply didn't understand the problem. She was not weak and pliable. No leftist teacher impeded her ideological journey. Why should others not see through them too? She was also focussed on achieving one of the great offices of State, and probably regarded the Ministry of Education as a "woman's job" with which she had been fobbed off. She may even have had a point. For myself, I regard education as supremely important – all the more so for having had to get so much of mine from independent reading, in spite of (and it really was quite often for the perverse pleasure of spiting) my would-be indoctrinators.
I recently finished reading the excellent book "Factfulness" mentioned in my last post. The research that was the life's work of its author Hans Rosling demonstrates that leaders in both public and private sectors waste much effort addressing problems that no longer exist. Like many people achieving power or influence in late middle age, Margaret was often focussed – at best – on the problems of her own youth, and – at worst – on those of her teachers' youth.
Arguably, a consequence of another of her errors is in the news this morning. Focussed as she was on reducing the state's area of operations, Margaret was resisted at every turn by the Deep State. As a leader who wanted a smaller state apparatus her main advisers throughout her premiership were the leading members of that apparatus, whose success in life was not gauged by their productive contribution to society but by the size of the department under their control.
So when the trendy idea of "care in the community" came forward it must have been a relief to have some advice that was consistent with her small state ideology – or at least that could be made to seem so. There was an undoubted need for reform of mental healthcare. There are well-documented cases of people who were unable to escape from what used to be called "lunatic asylums", despite having fully-recovered from the problems that led to their admission. In some cases, people were trapped in them for decades on the basis of a misdiagnosis. So the radical idea of closing them down and entrusting the care of the mentally ill to their families, local social services and other community institutions must have seemed attractive – especially as the real estate boom of the time (in which my career as a property lawyer was incubating) offered good returns from the large buildings in larger grounds that would be "liberated."
In fairness to the Deep State Leftists behind the idea, her government seized mainly on the "close and sell off the mental hospitals" idea and less on the "build community resources" part. If she had implemented the policy as they had wished (and I don't know why I bother to say so as it's true of everything they ever propose) it would probably have cost much more than the old system and would certainly have added to the Deep State voter-farm of public sector workers who can be relied upon to vote Labour in order to secure an ever-growing state for them to feed on.
According to Jonty Bravery's prosecutor
"He said he had to prove a point to 'every idiot' who had ever said he did not have a mental health problem; that he should not be in the community."
I do not blame my local council's social workers for this psychopath's misdiagnosis, even though evidence was given during his trial that he told them he intended to kill to make his point. People say crazy things and, sadly, it's best that they are not taken too seriously unless and until they act on them. With hindsight we can all wish the poor Ealing employee (who must feel terrible right now) that Bravery told his plan had acted differently. So differently that his poor child victim and his family had been spared their insufferable horrors. In truth if they had made a fuss they would more likely have been criticised for it. I doubt it would have affected the outcome. I am not known for my empathy with state employees, but social workers do a job that, mostly, can't be done. They're often on a hiding to nothing whatever choice they make.
Yes, it's now clear that Jonty Bravery is a psychopath. He's crazy but he's not stupid. Yes, he was prepared to kill if it served his purpose. That's what differentiates psychopaths from the often high-functioning sociopaths I worked alongside in my profession and the various businesses we served. His essential point seems to have been (and in this respect he was right) that given his condition he could not be expected to live "in the community". He was one of those monsters Nature occasionally sends among us and well beyond being socialised. He needed to be in permanent, secure, residential care away from the community and under the supervision of trained carers.
Now he is.
From his tragically-warped perspective, everything is working out precisely as planned. It's horrific and scarring for his victim's family, but it's no surprise that he has smiled his way through his trial. His sentence is no punishment. He now has what he wants for the rest of his life. My point is that – without the Thatcher government's mistake in seizing upon a crazily misguided Deep State policy proposal, he could have had it without killing anyone. Maybe she should have stuck to her principles even more strictly than she usually did?
Posted at 12:33 PM in Books and Authors, Conservatives, Crime & Punishment, Current Affairs, Education, Essential public services, Ethics, Justice, Medicine | Permalink | Comments (1)
What have we learned from coronavirus?
I have not blogged about Coronavirus. Why? Because I have no relevant scientific knowledge or skill and this is a scientific problem, right? Everyone says so. Epidemiology is certainly not my subject and humility (not always my strong suit, to be honest) is definitely in order. So I have been all ears and no mouth. Thank goodness there are people who don't find epidemiology as boring as I do. I doubt I'd enjoy their company, to be honest, but right now I am ready and willing to love them.
From the outset, I worried that the governments of the world were caught up in a kind of mass hysteria. Leaving aside the totalitarian states (including the one whose vicious incompetence has probably given the world this learning opportunity) the response of the world's democracies has been fascinating. Firstly, our leaders played it down. It was just another flu. Then they realised they faced something that might kill voters on a scale comparable to Spanish flu, leaving grieving relatives disinclined to vote for them again. They acted on scientific advice to implement some sensible control measures. So far, so reasonable.
Then the press asked (as is its job) if the measures were enough. Discussion about how far the measures should go became a pissing contest and hysteria mounted. Opposition parties everywhere suggested they would (of course) do more and better. Popular pressure built until the current draconian measures were implemented. Even libertarians like me can't just blame the vicious statists here – our fellow-citizens cried out to be roughly dominated like the submissives they apparently are.
Governments anxious to be seen to "do something" (the curse of democratic politicians everywhere) made grand dramatic gestures – building hospitals in days that would normally have taken years. To hell with whether they were needed or not (the much bruited London Nightingale reportedly has just 19 patients) Look! We are doing stuff. Stuff you could never do yourselves!! The State and its hordes are heroes.
Now we face the risk of the worst economic crisis in centuries. Even citizens of those countries whose leaders did not stampede with the global panicked herd of brute beasts (h/t Sweden, Iceland and Portugal) will be badly affected by what is happening now. Those of us retired and living on our investments face ruin. Those earning a living by selling their labour face it too.
I have read what I can on the subject, noted the conflicting opinions, been amused by the fact that they are coloured by personal animosities between the scientists, and tweeted links to those writings on the subject that made sense to me. So what have I learned? Not much science, to be honest. Just that the laws of economics – a science every bit as imperfect as epidemiology – don't go away and nor do political divisions.
Even that learning is doubtful, affected as it no doubt is by my confirmation bias. The internet is awash with people (at times including me) using the greatest information resource in human history to prospect for nuggets of information that "prove" their opinions to be true. I try to be alert to that bias, but I must acknowledge that it exists. It draws my eye to every example of entrepreneurs developing solutions to the threat of the virus and every state agent behaving like a thug. The confirmation biases of Leftists, on the other hand, draw their eyes to noble agents of the heroic state solving problems and grasping capitalists profiting from tragedy.
Human knowledge in science advances, it seems, along as crazy a zigzag path as in other fields. Every new fact is seized upon to confirm views that are hard to shift. Extremely powerful forces are required to change human minds. The mind of Professor Neil Ferguson, for example, does not appear to have been much changed by his own scientific failures. In 2005 The Guardian ran this story;
Last month Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, told Guardian Unlimited that up to 200 million people could be killed. "Around 40 million people died in 1918 Spanish flu outbreak," said Prof Ferguson. "There are six times more people on the planet now so you could scale it up to around 200 million people probably."
Actually fewer than 500 people worldwide died. Amazingly the experience of being so bone-crushingly wrong does not seem to have impacted Professor Ferguson's self-esteem at all. There is something admirable in that. Being wrong once, doesn't mean you always will be any more than winning one bet guarantees you'll win the next. That it hasn't disinclined HM Government to take his prophecies of doom with a pinch of salt however, is not admirable at all.
What have have learned is that, as Bastiat told us long ago, problems arise when people prioritise the seen over the unseen. Professor Ferguson and his clients in government are not setting out to hurt anyone. I accept their sincere attempt to try to save lives. Their extreme focus on one seen epidemiological issue however may well cost more lives than they save when all the unseen issues they are ignoring emerge. As a commenter on this article at the Ludwig von Mises Centre's site said;
"If we want to stop traffic fatalities, we could ban cars. That's a solution that would 'work'. But it only 'works' if our sole benchmark is the number of traffic fatalities. What about liberty, moral agency and economic rights?"
Exactly. Stay safe, gentle readers, as no doubt everyone is advising you, but also stay calm. This too will pass and when one day we are looking back at it, I predict only that it will prove to have been a very different story than it seems at present. In the meantime, I commend you to this blog for a different perspective.
Posted at 09:33 AM in Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Economics, Essential public services, Ethics, Journalism, Medicine, Science | Permalink | Comments (2)
THINK - The Economics of Change | Institute of Economic Affairs
THINK - The Economics of Change | Institute of Economic Affairs.
I thought some of you might like to watch in full the talk at the IEA's "Think" conference last year that was referenced in my previous post. Dr Stephen Davis, the IEA's Director of Education, talks about driverless cars, 800 year life-spans and (which I forgot to mention, but is fascinating in its own right) "vertical farming".
Apparently, and here's a fact to confuse a libertarian, the war on drugs has led to advances in horticulture. Driven underground, those cultivating illegal drugs have developed techniques that could lead, if more widely applied, to mankind feeding itself using 10% of the land currently being farmed. Great areas of the planet could be returned to prairie, steppe or forest. Of course it's also possible that we will simply feed ten times the number of humans from the same land and/or (I suppose, deviating imaginatively from Dr Davis's script) use these techniques to colonise other planets.
Libertarians foxed by the idea that suppressing an activity can enhance its efficiency will take cheer from the fact that these advances have only become available because several US states have legalised cannabis – at least as "medical marijuana". As the marijuana farms become public, other growers can both marvel at and copy the innovations the former criminals made in secret.
Posted at 09:10 AM in Medicine, Motoring, Science, Society, Technology | Permalink | Comments (5)
How far are we from the bottom of this slippery slope?
Child taken from womb by social services - Telegraph.
A pregnant Italian has a panic attack while on a training course in Britain organised by her employers. Her unborn daughter is ripped untimely from her womb by Essex Social Services. She is first put into care and then given up for adoption in Britain. All this is sanctioned by the Court of Protection despite the mother's court appearance in a stabilised condition at which she "impressed" the judge. Maybe it's because I am an ex-lawyer but the most sinister words to me are
she was deemed to have had no "capacity" to instruct lawyers
I have never heard of a fellow human more in need of a specialist lawyer than her. Anna Raccoon, a great campaigning blogger now lost to us often told horrifying tales of the secretive Court of Protection. Having spent my career as a business lawyer, I found them hard to believe. My own experience of our courts was of the bumbling, pompous, self-regarding inefficiency one must expect of any state monopoly, but never of malice or cruelty.
Is our law so dumb it can't infer a woman about to be assaulted in this manner might want a lawyer? Could one not have been appointed on that assumption? When back on her meds and able to appear sensibly in court, did our laws really give the state the power to take her child away permanently on the basis she 'might' have a relapse? After all, every mother 'might' develop a mental illness. Even an adoptive one hand-picked for compliance with state norms.
Can anyone really disagree with her lawyers' mild assertion that
...even if the council had been acting in the woman's best interests, officials should have consulted her family beforehand and also involved Italian social services, who would be better-placed to look after the child.
For that matter, her family might have been better-placed to look after the child. Nowadays that doesn't even seem to occur to our servants turned masters. Our social services didn't even contact them. If there is a family member willing to accept responsibility, the involvement of social services should end. They need (if they are needed at all) to be reduced to the status of an emergency service, not regarded - as they now seem to be in Soviet Britain - as the default guardians of every child.
What kind of employer does this poor woman have that management even allowed social services to get near her? Why didn't they get her back to her family and the doctor treating her condition in Italy? If that was impracticable, did they feel no moral obligation to get her a British doctor who could sort out her meds? If that was impracticable, why did they not get her a lawyer? I think they should be named because I want to boycott them.
The victim of this miscarriage of British justice is bi-polar, but living normally with the aid of her meds. It could happen to any of us. Mental illness doesn't mean you cease to exist as a person. It doesn't mean you cease to have rights. It doesn't mean you cease to love your children. It doesn't mean you won't have a long life of grief if your baby is taken from you against your will and put forever beyond your reach. It does means you need protection, which is why the "Court of Protection" has that name. Sadly it seems to be a Newspeak name, if ever there was one.
A friend having shared some of his divorce paperwork with me recently I begin to fear that our Family Courts are worse than merely incompetent. Another friend, a judge specialising in immigration matters, told me her court was packed with leftists under the last government and that she was subjected to compulsory indoctrination. Still, I am reluctant to accept that any part of our judicial system is this heartlessly, brutally statist. I need to believe in the independence and neutrality of judges for without the Rule of Law we are lost. I could not expend so much effort on blogging if I had no hope.
One final, relatively minor, thought. Our society pretends to go to enormous lengths to respect and protect different cultures. How come this child can be denied her Italian heritage?
h/t Tim Worstall
Posted at 11:09 AM in Family, Justice, Leftist lunacy, Medicine, Social Science, Society | Permalink | Comments (12)
These laughable, cryable NHS reforms
Following the government's response to the Francis Report on Comrade Sir David Nicholson's performance in mid-Staffs is discouraging. Listening to a newsreader brightly announce that patients will in future be told the name of the consultant and nurse responsible for their care or that medics with a history of catastrophic failure will be blacklisted so they can't simply move to another hospital, I watched her eyes. She seemed to think it was a jolly good idea. So did I. Unlike her I was horrified it had ever been otherwise.
As a lawyer, I was never able to consign clients to the care of anonymous assistants. And I took up references on new hires to ensure I did not get my competitor's defective cast-offs. If my team failed them, the buck obviously stopped with me as the responsible partner. Who would expect otherwise?
Everyone is talking as if "our NHS" went wrong. It didn't. It came wrong. It is in the nature of Socialist enterprise to break the customer/provider nexus and elevate the workers to primacy. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Even the bugs first grown in NHS hospitals - MRSA and C. Diff - are features. Did any other health care provider in history send patients out with new diseases of its own creation?
More than any other political slogan I hate "people before profit". It's not merely a false dichotomy it is to truth as anti-matter is to matter. Market mechanisms are not perfect in operation because they act upon the inputs of an imperfect species. But they connect humans to their duty to their fellow men more effectively than the most extreme violence. This, the vile history of the Soviet Union should prove to even the thickest clod in our national meadow. Markets are moral, at least by comparison to Socialist command and control.
It may be your NHS, but it's damned well not mine.
Posted at 07:44 AM in Current Affairs, Leftist lunacy, Medicine | Permalink | Comments (3)
It's not a bug, it's a feature
NHS hospital death rates among worst, new study finds - Channel 4 News.
It's a good job I am unlikely to reach my maximum age in this country, because I don't think I could stand many more years of listening to the bureaucrats in Britain's soviet healthcare system.
Here they are again, expressing surprise about its performance comparing badly with other countries. They pause for a second to sound shocked, promise to do better in future and then return to platitudes about 'our NHS' and how it is admired (no it bloody isn't) 'all over the world'. Within a minute they are using whatever horrors have been exposed to justify extorting more money from taxpayers to improve their own working conditions, pay and pensions.
Any service funded by force does not need to satisfy its customers to survive. Many of its employees will rapidly cease to care about them, because they don't need to. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Whatever pieties the politicians and bureaucrats may recite such an organisation - in practice - is not there to serve the patients, but the staff.
As witness the career of Sir David Nicholson, poly history and politics grad (odd qualification to run a health service) and 'tankie' member of the British Communist Party until the shamefully late date of 1983 (ah, there's the qualification). He presided over mass deaths (compared to the performance of other countries' systems) and yet will retire next year a rich man. If he had faced the downside as well as the upside of a soviet aparatchik's life - the sort of management a 'tankie' might be expected to approve of - he would have been shot or spent serious time in the gulag. Under Britain's softer socialist state, it was reported in 2011 that he enjoyed benefits of £37,000 and claimed expenses of almost £60,000 on top of his salary of £200,000+.
Interestingly, the monster expenses were for a London flat. He was required to work in the capital, though his main office is in Leeds. However his home is in Broome, Worcestershire. By Google Maps calculations his 124 mile commute to London was therefore an improvement on that to Leeds! And let's not dwell on the happy coincidence that the NHS found a high-paid and no doubt better-pensioned job as head of Birmingham Childrens' Hospital for the woman for whom he left his wife.
It's a tough life being a British aparatchik, isn't it?
As for why the American system these mandarins despise so much kills so many fewer patients, the answer is simple enough. The medics there answer to patients, not bureaucrats. And the truth about any failures of care is available for them to learn from, not suppressed by aparatchiks to flatter the politicians and bamboozle the proles.
Posted at 04:49 AM in Medicine | Permalink | Comments (3)


Happy Monday! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was super busy, 2 runs (one was soooooo long), family round, baking, tidying….and all the rest!
This bento is from last weeks lot. I made chicken salad for my Dad 🙂 this is where bentos come in useful: Dad is only able to take 1 lunchbox in his bag (there's no room for more!), and he wanted salad! Sooooo, we pack the bento to separate the foods according to mixability (that is obviously a word).
In this bento I have packed chicken salad with grated cheese (no dressing), unsalted nuts and a satsuma, malt loaf and a homemade blueberry yogurt muffin.
Ive packed it so that the muffin is well away from the salad to stop it from getting cheesy!!
How are your lent 'resolutions' going?
Best ever bento maker time (or that's what my brother said after I made him a similar bento to my dads one below!
Talking of muffins, guess what starts today? Lent.
Pancake day was awesome yesterday but today I am beginning the 6 week journey of lent. I promise (both to yourselves and myself) that I will stick to my lent challenge as much as I possibly can.
I pledge to give up processed sugar for lent; first the easy stuff like sweets and chocolate, but this includes white carbs and added sugar.
I have one get out clause – I will still fuel my runs with a small amount of jelly beans and energy drink but at no other time shall I eat those gorgeous jelly sweets.


Washington, Feb 12 (PTI) India and China are leading the global greening effort, which is quite contrary to the general perception worldwide, a latest NASA study said Monday, observing that the world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago.
The study published on February 11, in the journal Nature Sustainability said that recent satellite data (2000–2017) reveal a greening pattern that is strikingly prominent in China and India and overlaps with croplands world-wide.
This study was made possible thanks to a two-decade-long data record from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. "Now with the MODIS data, we see that humans are also contributing," she said.


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I was referred to Dr. Bryce by my E.N.T doctor to properly address my TMJ. Dr. Bryce quickly put together a treatment plan that greatly improved my symptoms. I was so pleased with the overall office experience and staff, that I decided to make Bryce Dental my primary dentist.


OXE is the world's first high performance diesel outboard setting new standards for durability, fuel-efficiency and low emissions for an outboard engine.
Cimco Marine, the Swedish manufacturer behind the outboard engine, started this project with the mission to design the first generation of high performance diesel outboards.
The name OXE is the Swedish name for an OX. A name that reflects the fundamental concepts from which this marine product has been developed – reliability, strength, and endurance – all significant attributes of an OX.
The OXE diesel is designed to withstand the punishing conditions experienced in marine environments. Stress tests on hulls from the Swedish coast guard have shown that engines in their high speed boats are regularly exposed to forces of up to 7g. In order to endure these kinds of forces, the products must be robust and have strength – just like an OX.
The concept eliminates bevel gears and transfer shafts by utilizing innovative belt technology which allows for high torque transfer. The slim submerged modules provide less drag, reduces fuel consumption and increase speed.
The OXE Diesel outboard complies with the NATO "single-fuel" directive, that NATO forces must fulfil by 2015. The diesel engine is therefore, an ideal solution for naval, military, rescue and commercial applications where safety, durability, performance and ease of service is important.


Is Your Top Performing Sales Employee Your Website?
Have you ever considered that your website could be your top performing sales employee? It can! With the right tender loving care, your site could earn more for you in the coming year than any other aspect of your business. How? Well, consider how a top sales person performs in a traditional storefront setting. They are knowledgeable (have great content), they are well put together (look great), and they make themselves available (easy access and user-friendly.) How can you make certain your website is working as your top "salesperson"?
This is where SEO comes into play. Search Engine Optimization is the way a website answers when a customer asks a question. Until recently, keywords were the name of the game, but now content is even more relevant than it already was. The location is a factor too, so it is important to ensure your website gets noticed by searchers from everywhere that you offer services. How? Again, content is essential.
Once a customer finds a salesperson or website, they have to stay for a sale to be made. You are not going to stay and speak with a dirty rep that has body odor. Neither will someone remain on a website that is dull and poorly put together. First impressions count, so make certain your site it top notch.
All top performing sales people know the product sells itself. There is no need for an in your face sales pitch. Simply give the customer the information they want about the product they are looking for and the battle is half won.
Your website should be the same. The customer should be able to get answers to real questions on your site, not just a bunch of advertising. Make certain the content on your site is sought after and usable.
A top performing sales person knows that following a great conversation with a customer about a product with "I'll have that ready for you to purchase in 3 weeks," is not a way to close the sale. You grab the product and walk them to the cash register. You make it insanely easy for them to get it while the getting is good, whatever "it" is. In the same manner, a great website that functions as an excellent salesman is user-friendly, making it easy for the customer to click and order right then while they being convinced by your great website.
Not every customer is going to convert to a sale, but the better your site is, the better your chances. With the proper TLC, your website really could be your top performing sales employee.


Samuel Krost Bio,Wiki,Biography,Age,Date of Birth,Boyfriend Details| Selena Gomez Boyfriend: Samuel Krost is an American Businessman and rumored boyfriend of Selena Gomez. Samuel Krost was first linked to Selena in November 2015 after the two were spotted on a romantic dinner date in New York City. They both count Bella and Gigi Hadid as mutual friends, according to HollywoodLife. Get here more details about Samuel Krost Wiki and Biography.
Selena Gomez Boyfriend Samuel Krost Wiki and Biography: Samuel Krost was born on February 8, 1993 in Ocean, New Jersey. Selena Gomez Boyfriend completed his graduated from New York University in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in business. In July 2015, he joined Onia as a sales and merchandising executive.
Comment here below the post if you like it. We will come back with more interesting stuff, till then, take care and stay blessed.


text:
Trump unveils final details of transgender troop ban
The ban contains some exceptions, and its legal fate is uncertain.
Klemen Misic / Shutterstock.com
Freiburger
Calvin Freiburger
Mon Mar 26, 2018 - 3:59 pm EDT Fri Jun 18, 2021 - 6:13 pm EDT
WASHINGTON, DC, March 26, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – On Friday, President Donald Trump issued a finalized order barring most transgender individuals from serving in the military.
Late last July, Trump announced he would direct the military to stop allowing transgender individuals "to serve in any capacity." He cited the need for military policy to focus on effectiveness, which the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of accommodating transgender troops would derail. He gave the military six months to prepare for the policy change.
The latest memorandum says that the policy will disqualify from service "transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria," specifically those who "may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery," except in "certain limited circumstances." The president finalized the policy in consultation with Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
In a statement, the White House said that "extensive study by senior uniformed and civilian leaders, including combat veterans," informed Mattis' recommendation, which was that troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria presented "considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality."
A memo from Mattis also released Friday further notes that the Obama administration justified permitting transgender service by citing a RAND National Defense Research Institute study with "significant shortcomings." The RAND study, he said, "referred to limited and heavily caveated data to support its conclusions, glossed over the impacts of healthcare costs, readiness, and unit cohesion, and erroneously relied on the selective experiences of foreign militaries with different operational requirements than our own."
Mattis' memo also detailed exceptions to the policy. Those with a diagnosis can still serve if they "have been stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession," if they can meet deployability and retention standards without changing genders, and if they are already-serving soldiers diagnosed prior to the new policy's implementation. Transgender soldiers without a gender dysphoria diagnosis may also continue to serve, although they will be expected to do so in their biological sex.
"The armed forces are not a petri dish for social experimentation, nor is military service a guaranteed right," Heritage Foundation defense expert and retired Lieutenant General Tom Spoehr said in response to the news. Rather, "our military is the first line of defense for America's own unique experiment in liberty." He added that the Pentagon should be able to make case-by-case exceptions for already-serving soldiers.
Trump's opponents immediately pounced on the announcement. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi claimed the ban's purpose was to "humiliate our brave transgender members of the military." Matt Thorn, president of pro-LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN, claimed it was "riddled with blatant animus, bigotry, and ignorance."
However, when Trump originally announced the change, former Army drill instructor John Burk defended it in a viral video. Burk noted that depression, anxiety, color-blindness, and a "whole slew" of other conditions also render people ineligible for military service without claims of discrimination. He also pointed out that transgender individuals suffer higher suicide rates and that the American Psychological Association recognizes gender dysphoria as a psychological disorder.
"The military is not a social experiment for a very small demographic of people that want to enlist," Burk said. "You cannot change the course of how the entire organization works." The RAND study criticized by Mattis claims as many as 6,630 out of 1.3 million active-duty troops may be transgendered, but a defense official told ABC News in July the actual number of troops identified as such is in the "low hundreds."
It is not yet known when the new policy will take effect. The Los Angeles Times notes that four federal district judges have issued orders blocking implementation of the ban. Arguments are slated to resume Tuesday before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Politics - U.S.
Transgender Military Ban

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Description: FLY US TO THE CURE! Unleash your inner top gun & ride in Cycle for Life, a fully-supported charity ride with route options: 25, 50 or Century. This annual bicycle event will take you through some of the most scenic terrain in St. Charles County. Features: breakfast, well-stocked rest stops every 10-12 miles, mechanical assistance, ride marshals, SAG support, post-ride victory party. Join Cycle for Life, which transforms cyclists into pilots as they steer our quest to cure cystic fibrosis.


text:
Loyal Creatures
Imprint: Penguin
Loyal Creatures is the deeply moving story of war horse Daisy and her 16-year-old owner Will, sent from the Australian outback to the gruelling Middle Eastern campaign of the First World War. Their skill in finding water is vital to their regiment in the desert, but their devotion to each other is what keeps them alive in an overwhelmingly hostile environment. Is their unwavering loyalty enough to determine their destiny?
The story was inspired by Michael Morpurgo's international bestseller War Horse and is closely based on historical record. Morris Gleitzman is the author of the highly acclaimed war novels Once, Then, Now and After..
Tender and terrible; beautiful, brave and brutal, Morris Gleitzman has written a most remarkable story of men and horses in war, uncompromising and unflinching in its portrayal of the agonies of the First World War for men and horses alike. Sparely and supremely well written, this is quite simply one of very best novels I have read. MICHAEL MORPURGO.
Snot Chocolate
Toad Delight
Pizza Cake
Too Small To Fail
Toad Surprise
Once & Then
Give Peas A Chance
Girl Underground
Toad Away
Morris Gleitzman was born in Lincolnshire and moved to Australia in his teens. He worked as a paperboy, a shelf-stacker, a frozen chicken de-froster, an assistant to a fashion designer and more before taking a degree in Professional Writing at Canberra College and becoming a writer. He has written for TV, stage, newspapers and magazines but is best-known for his hugely succesful children's books including Two Weeks with the Queen, Bumface and Once. Morris Gleitzman grew up in England and came to Australia when he was sixteen. He was a frozen-chicken thawer, sugar-mill rolling-stock unhooker, fashion-industry trainee, student, department-store Santa, TV producer, newspaper columnist and screenwriter. Then he had a wonderful experience. He wrote a novel for young people. Now he's one of Australia's most popular children's authors. Visit Morris at his website: href='http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/'>morrisgleitzman.com
13 books for sports-obsessed kids
Need a little more punch from your page turners? We hear you, sports fans. These sporty books are guaranteed to win you over. From underdogs to champions; from Olympic champs to YouTubers – these reads make quite the A-Team.


text:
package service

import (
	"context"
	"go-common/app/common/openplatform/random"
	rpcV1 "go-common/app/service/openplatform/ticket-sales/api/grpc/v1"
	"go-common/app/service/openplatform/ticket-sales/model"
	"go-common/app/service/openplatform/ticket-sales/model/consts"
	"go-common/library/database/sql"
	"go-common/library/ecode"
	"go-common/library/log"
	"math"
	"time"
)

//GetPromoOrder 获取拼团订单详情
func (s *Service) GetPromoOrder(c context.Context, orderID int64) (res *rpcV1.PromoOrder, err error) {
	var promoOrder *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrder, err = s.dao.PromoOrder(c, orderID); err != nil || promoOrder == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionOrderLost
		return
	}
	res = &rpcV1.PromoOrder{
		PromoID:  promoOrder.PromoID,
		GroupID:  promoOrder.GroupID,
		OrderID:  promoOrder.OrderID,
		IsMaster: promoOrder.IsMaster,
		UID:      promoOrder.UID,
		Status:   promoOrder.Status,
		Ctime:    int64(promoOrder.Ctime),
		Mtime:    int64(promoOrder.Mtime),
		SKUID:    promoOrder.SKUID,
	}
	return
}

//CheckCreateStatus 检测用户是否满足创单条件
func (s *Service) CheckCreateStatus(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.CheckCreatePromoOrderRequest) (res *rpcV1.CheckCreatePromoOrderResponse, err error) {
	var promo *model.Promotion
	if promo, err = s.CheckPromoStatus(c, arg.PromoID, arg.SKUID); err != nil {
		return
	}
	var promoOrderInfo *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrderInfo, err = s.GetUserJoinPromoOrder(c, arg.PromoID, promo.SKUCount, arg.GroupID, arg.UID); err != nil && err != ecode.TicketPromotionRepeatJoin {
		return
	}
	res = &rpcV1.CheckCreatePromoOrderResponse{
		Amount:        promo.Amount,
		SKUID:         promo.SKUID,
		PrivSKUID:     promo.PrivSKUID,
		UsableCoupons: promo.UsableCoupons,
	}
	if err == ecode.TicketPromotionRepeatJoin {
		err = nil
		res.RepeatOrder = &rpcV1.RepeatOrder{
			OrderID:  promoOrderInfo.OrderID,
			IsMaster: promoOrderInfo.IsMaster,
			Status:   promoOrderInfo.Status,
		}
	}
	return
}

//GetUserJoinPromoOrder 获取用户正在参与该活动的订单
func (s *Service) GetUserJoinPromoOrder(c context.Context, promoID int64, skuCount int64, groupID int64, uid int64) (res *model.PromotionOrder, err error) {
	currentTime := time.Now().Unix()
	res = new(model.PromotionOrder)
	if groupID == 0 {
		//1.1找出该活动正在拼团中且未过期的拼团
		if _, err = s.dao.GetUserGroupDoing(c, promoID, uid, consts.GroupDoing); err != nil && err != sql.ErrNoRows {
			log.Warn(err.Error())
			return
		}
		if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
			//1.2该活动没有正在拼的团,找到用户发起未支付的拼团
			if res, err = s.dao.PromoOrderByStatus(c, promoID, groupID, uid, consts.PromoOrderUnpaid); err != nil && err != sql.ErrNoRows {
				log.Warn(err.Error())
				return
			}

			if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
				//未找到
				err = nil
				return
			}
			//找到,重复参加
			err = ecode.TicketPromotionRepeatJoin
			return
		}

		//1.3该活动有正在拼的团,查看该用户的拼团订单信息  to do
		if res, err = s.dao.PromoOrderByStatus(c, promoID, groupID, uid, consts.PromoOrderPaid); err != nil && err != sql.ErrNoRows {
			log.Warn(err.Error())
			return
		}

		err = ecode.TicketPromotionRepeatJoin
		return
	}
	var promoGroup *model.PromotionGroup
	//2.1检查该拼团的状态
	if promoGroup, err = s.dao.PromoGroup(c, groupID); err != nil || promoGroup == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionGroupLost
		return
	}
	if promoGroup.Status != consts.GroupDoing || promoGroup.ExpireAt < currentTime {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionGroupLost
		return
	}

	if promoGroup.OrderCount >= skuCount {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionGroupFull
		return
	}
	//2.2检查用户是否参与过该拼团
	if res, err = s.dao.PromoOrderDoing(c, promoID, groupID, uid); err != nil && err != sql.ErrNoRows {
		log.Warn(err.Error())
		return
	}

	if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
		err = nil
		return
	}

	err = ecode.TicketPromotionRepeatJoin
	return
}

//CreatePromoOrder 创建活动订单
func (s *Service) CreatePromoOrder(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.CreatePromoOrderRequest) (res *rpcV1.OrderID, err error) {
	var (
		number int64
		status = consts.PromoOrderUnpaid
	)
	if arg.PayMoney == 0 {
		status = consts.PromoOrderPaid
	}
	if arg.GroupID == 0 {
		//团长订单
		if status == consts.PromoOrderUnpaid {
			//非0元单
			if number, err = s.dao.AddPromoOrder(c, arg.PromoID, 0, arg.OrderID, 1, arg.UID, status, arg.PromoSKUID, arg.Ctime); err != nil || number == 0 {
				err = ecode.TicketAddPromoOrderFail
				return
			}
			res = &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: arg.OrderID}
			return
		}

		//0元单
		var conn *sql.Tx
		if conn, err = s.dao.BeginTx(c); err != nil {
			err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
			return
		}
		var groupID = random.Uniqid(15)
		if number, err = s.dao.TxAddPromoOrder(c, conn, arg.PromoID, groupID, arg.OrderID, 1, arg.UID, status, arg.PromoSKUID, arg.Ctime); err != nil || number == 0 {
			err = ecode.TicketAddPromoOrderFail
			conn.Rollback()
			return
		}
		var promo *model.Promotion
		if promo, err = s.dao.Promo(c, arg.PromoID); err != nil || promo == nil {
			err = ecode.TicketPromotionLost
			conn.Rollback()
			return
		}
		currentTime := time.Now().Unix()
		expireAt := int64(math.Max(math.Min(float64(promo.EndTime), float64(promo.ExpireSec+currentTime)), float64(currentTime)))
		if number, err = s.dao.TxAddPromoGroup(c, conn, arg.PromoID, groupID, arg.UID, 1, status, expireAt); err != nil || number == 0 {
			err = ecode.TicketAddPromoGroupFail
			conn.Rollback()
			return
		}
		conn.Commit()
		res = &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: arg.OrderID}
		return
	}

	//非团长订单
	var conn *sql.Tx
	if conn, err = s.dao.BeginTx(c); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxAddPromoOrder(c, conn, arg.PromoID, arg.GroupID, arg.OrderID, 0, arg.UID, status, arg.PromoSKUID, arg.Ctime); err != nil || number == 0 {
		err = ecode.TicketAddPromoOrderFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	var promo *model.Promotion
	if promo, err = s.dao.Promo(c, arg.PromoID); err != nil || promo == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionLost
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdateGroupOrderCount(c, conn, 1, arg.GroupID, promo.SKUCount); err != nil || number == 0 {
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoGroupFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	conn.Commit()
	s.dao.DelCachePromoGroup(c, arg.GroupID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrders(c, arg.GroupID)
	res = &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: arg.OrderID}
	return
}

//CancelOrder 取消订单
func (s *Service) CancelOrder(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.OrderID) (res *rpcV1.OrderID, err error) {
	var promoOrder *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrder, err = s.dao.PromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID); err != nil || promoOrder == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionOrderLost
		return
	}
	var conn *sql.Tx
	if conn, err = s.dao.BeginTx(c); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
		return
	}
	var number int64
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdatePromoOrderStatus(c, conn, arg.OrderID, consts.PromoOrderCancel); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoOrderFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	if number == 0 {
		conn.Rollback()
		res = &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: 0}
		return
	}
	if promoOrder.GroupID == 0 {
		conn.Commit()
		s.dao.DelCachePromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID)
		res = arg
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdateGroupOrderCount(c, conn, -1, promoOrder.GroupID, 100000); err != nil || number == 0 {
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoGroupFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	conn.Commit()
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoGroup(c, promoOrder.GroupID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrders(c, promoOrder.GroupID)
	res = arg
	return
}

// PromoPayNotify 支付通知
func (s *Service) PromoPayNotify(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.OrderID) (res *rpcV1.OrderID, err error) {
	var promoOrder *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrder, err = s.dao.PromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID); err != nil || promoOrder == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionOrderLost
		return
	}

	var promo *model.Promotion
	if promo, err = s.dao.Promo(c, promoOrder.PromoID); err != nil || promo == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionLost
		return
	}
	if promo.Status != consts.PromoUpShelf {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionEnd
	}
	if promoOrder.GroupID != 0 {
		//非团长订单
		if _, err = s.dao.UpdatePromoOrderStatus(c, arg.OrderID, consts.PromoOrderPaid); err != nil {
			err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoOrderFail
			return
		}
		s.dao.DelCachePromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID)
		s.dao.DelCachePromoOrders(c, promoOrder.GroupID)
		res = arg
		return
	}

	//团长订单
	var (
		conn   *sql.Tx
		number int64
	)
	if conn, err = s.dao.BeginTx(c); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
		return
	}
	currentTime := time.Now().Unix()
	groupID := random.Uniqid(15)
	expireAt := int64(math.Max(math.Min(float64(promo.EndTime), float64(promo.ExpireSec+currentTime)), float64(currentTime)))
	if number, err = s.dao.TxAddPromoGroup(c, conn, promoOrder.PromoID, groupID, promoOrder.UID, 1, consts.GroupDoing, expireAt); err != nil || number == 0 {
		err = ecode.TicketAddPromoGroupFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdatePromoOrderGroupIDAndStatus(c, conn, arg.OrderID, groupID, consts.PromoOrderPaid); err != nil || number == 0 {
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoOrderFail
		conn.Rollback()
		return
	}
	conn.Commit()
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID)
	res = arg
	return
}

//CheckIssue 出票检查
func (s *Service) CheckIssue(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.OrderID) (res *rpcV1.CheckIssueResponse, err error) {
	var promoOrder *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrder, err = s.dao.PromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID); err != nil || promoOrder == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionOrderLost
		return
	}
	if promoOrder.IsMaster == 0 || promoOrder.Status != consts.PromoOrderPaid {
		err = ecode.TicketPromoOrderTypeErr
		return
	}
	var promoGroup *model.PromotionGroup
	if promoGroup, err = s.dao.PromoGroup(c, promoOrder.GroupID); err != nil || promoGroup == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionGroupLost
		return
	}
	if promoGroup.Status != consts.GroupDoing {
		err = ecode.TicketPromoGroupStatusErr
		return
	}
	var groupOrders []*model.PromotionOrder
	if groupOrders, err = s.dao.GroupOrdersByStatus(c, promoOrder.GroupID, consts.PromoOrderPaid); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
		return
	}
	var promo *model.Promotion
	if promo, err = s.dao.RawPromo(c, promoGroup.PromoID); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionLost
		return
	}
	stock := int64(len(groupOrders))
	if stock < promo.SKUCount {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionGroupNotFull
		return
	}
	res = new(rpcV1.CheckIssueResponse)
	res.PromoID = promoOrder.PromoID
	res.GroupID = promoOrder.GroupID
	for _, v := range groupOrders {
		temp := &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: v.OrderID}
		res.PaidOrders = append(res.PaidOrders, temp)
	}
	return
}

//FinishIssue 完成出票
func (s *Service) FinishIssue(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.FinishIssueRequest) (res *rpcV1.GroupID, err error) {
	var (
		number int64
		promo  *model.Promotion
		conn   *sql.Tx
	)
	if promo, err = s.dao.Promo(c, arg.PromoID); err != nil || promo == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionLost
		return
	}
	if conn, err = s.dao.BeginTx(c); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUnKnown
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdateGroupStatus(c, conn, arg.GroupID, consts.GroupDoing, consts.GroupSuccess); err != nil {
		conn.Rollback()
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoGroupFail
		return
	}
	if number == 0 {
		res = &rpcV1.GroupID{GroupID: arg.GroupID}
		return
	}
	if number, err = s.dao.TxUpdatePromoBuyerCount(c, conn, arg.GroupID, promo.SKUCount); err != nil || number == 0 {
		conn.Rollback()
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoGroupFail
		return
	}
	conn.Commit()
	s.dao.DelCachePromo(c, arg.PromoID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoGroup(c, arg.GroupID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrders(c, arg.GroupID)
	res = &rpcV1.GroupID{GroupID: arg.GroupID}
	return
}

// PromoRefundNotify 退款通知
func (s *Service) PromoRefundNotify(c context.Context, arg *rpcV1.OrderID) (res *rpcV1.OrderID, err error) {
	var promoOrder *model.PromotionOrder
	if promoOrder, err = s.dao.PromoOrder(c, arg.OrderID); err != nil || promoOrder == nil {
		err = ecode.TicketPromotionOrderLost
		return
	}

	if _, err = s.dao.UpdatePromoOrderStatus(c, arg.OrderID, consts.PromoOrderRefund); err != nil {
		err = ecode.TicketUpdatePromoOrderFail
		return
	}
	s.dao.DelCachePromoGroup(c, promoOrder.GroupID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrder(c, promoOrder.OrderID)
	s.dao.DelCachePromoOrders(c, promoOrder.GroupID)
	res = &rpcV1.OrderID{OrderID: promoOrder.OrderID}
	return
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


2012 SIRIUSXM INDIE AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED!
TORONTO, ON – February 22, 2012 – Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2012 Independent Music Awards – The SiriusXM Indies. The winners will be presented on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the legendary Canadian Ballroom of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, beginning at 8:00pm. Now in their 12th year, The Siriux XM Indies acknowledge, promote and honour achievements of Canadian and international artists in the independent music sector. In total, 140 nominees have been shortlisted for this year's ceremony; the full list of nominees and award categories can be found below.
The 2012 SiriusXM Indies will feature performances by Passion Pit, The Sheepdogs, Dan Mangan, Rich Aucoin, The Pack A.D. and Young Empires, along with a special reunion by this year's Hall of Fame inductees Treble Charger. The show will be broadcast live to air on "The Verge" (XM 151) and "Iceberg" (Sirius 151). Tickets for the Sirius XM Indies are available for purchase for $39.50 at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.ca, www.canadianmusicfest.com, www.indies.ca, Rotate This and Soundscapes.
An initiative of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Music & the Arts (CAAMA), the awards are limited to independent artists and cover 14 genres of music. Both a public and an industry vote decide the winners. Voting is now open at www.indies.ca. For additional details and voting information, please visit the website.
SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR) is the country's leading audio entertainment company and broadcasts more than 120 satellite radio channels featuring premier sports, news, talk, entertainment and commercial-free music. SiriusXM Canada offers an array of content from the most recognized news and entertainment brands as well as from professional sports leagues including the NHL, NFL, MLB and CFL. SiriusXM programming is available on a variety of devices including pre-installed and after-market radios in cars, trucks and boats, smartphones and mobile devices, and consumer electronics products for homes and offices. Sirius XM programming is also available online at www.sirius.ca and www.xmradio.ca and on Apple, BlackBerry and Android-powered mobile devices. SiriusXM Canada has partnerships with every major automaker and its radio products are available at more than 3,000 retail locations nationwide. To find out more about Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. (TSX: XSR), visit our website at www.siriusxm.ca.
Celebrating 30 years, Canadian Music Week is Canada's leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country's music, media and entertainment industries. Combining four information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; a comedy festival; four awards shows and the nationís largest New Music Festival – Canadian Music Fest – CMW spans a five-day period from March 21 to March 25, 2012 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and over 60 various downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net.


Municipalities provide vital public services. Specific functions vary, (e.g., water, transportation, human services, airport), but the main purpose is always to provide services to the public in a cost-efficient manner. CPS works closely with a range of municipal agencies to share vital information and provide industry standards. Over the years, the company has developed collective knowledge and experience that has lead to setting new industry benchmarks. For example, CPS critical infrastructure security services have become an industry leading service provided to a range of different organizations.


Corral is a MapReduce framework designed to be deployed to serverless platforms, like AWS Lambda. It presents a lightweight alternative to Hadoop MapReduce. Much of the design philosophy was inspired by Yelp's mrjob — corral retains mrjob's ease-of-use while gaining the type safety and speed of Go.
Corral's runtime model consists of stateless, transient executors controlled by a central driver. Currently, the best environment for deployment is AWS Lambda, but corral is modular enough that support for other serverless platforms can be added as support for Go in cloud functions improves.
Corral is best suited for data-intensive but computationally inexpensive tasks, such as ETL jobs.
More details about corral's internals can be found in this blog post.


By using our regular domestic cleaning you can enjoy fresh and tidy house on regular basis. Your kids room will be tidy and ready for next day of pre school preparation or just relaxing in living-room without worrying about tidying your house.
We offer ironing and folding clothing with our services, additionally with your carpets being vacuumed regularly you will need carpet cleaning less frequently, this and many more benefits will be open for you with our company's regular cleaning service.
Our regular cleaning service could also be helpful to landlords of HMOs.
We are experienced in cleaning student houses. Keeping them in good shape will save you money long term as you might avoid replacing carpets, ovens so dirty they cannot be cleaned etc.
Housekeeper can be very expensive if you have to hire one, however with our excellent cleaning job orientated cleaners we can solve your problems.


text:
"""General helpers for tests.
"""

def assert_raises_with_message(
    exception_type, message, function, *args, **kwargs):
    """Assert that a function raises an exception with :param message: as its
    message.
    """
    try:
        function(*args, **kwargs)
    except exception_type as ex:
        if str(ex) != message:
            raise AssertionError(
                'Expected {0} with message of {1}, but message was {2}'
                .format(exception_type.__name__, repr(message), repr(str(ex))))
        return
    raise AssertionError('{0} not raised'.format(exception_type.__name__))


text:
> MEMBERS STATEMENTS School cleaners
MEMBERS STATEMENTS School cleaners
August 21, 2018 tags: portfoliospeeches parliament speeches
Mr BURGESS (Hastings) (09:55:58) — Union organisers were sent to visit all Victorian schools to try to pressure cleaners into joining. Only 12 of those many hundreds did. The union told the cleaners that if they did not join they would lose their jobs. Now it is clear for everyone to see who is really running this state, because true to that promise every one of those many hundreds of metropolitan cleaners were sacked.
What a shining example of the utter incompetence of this Labor government the Minister for Education is, and what an embarrassing mess this minister, whom others refer to as Lord Farquaad, has made of school cleaning in this state. He wiped out hundreds of small businesses and crushed the hopes and dreams for the future of hundreds of Victorian families that stand behind those businesses. The minister took a healthy industry that sustained hundreds of small family businesses and employed hundreds more people — an industry that kept our schools clean and comfortable for our children, and businesses and workers that went the extra mile to ensure their school communities had everything they needed when they needed it — and in just a stroke of Lord Farquaad's mighty sword reduced it to just six businesses, including companies that had previously been convicted and fined for underpaying their employees.
Filthy schools, no flexibility of cleaners or cleaning, closed businesses, no jobs at all and cleaners being underemployed, underpaid or not paid at all — these are just some of the problems this minister imposed on Victorian metropolitan schools. Just 38 days after sacking hundreds of these businesses and causing so many problems for so many families, now this incompetent minister has decided to carry out an audit. If he had bothered to get this audit done earlier, he would have known what the facts were. He must not roll this out to regional schools.


Prior to the 1951 judicial reorganization, Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction was rarely invoked; on average there were about seven appeals per year. Thus decisions of the Superior Court, particularly in civil cases, often established Delaware law. In the absence of an appeal that law became final and accepted as binding authority. Many such rulings were published in the official Delaware Reports and in the Atlantic Reporter. Given the public interest in having the law "settled" (as well as right), some Superior Court opinions published a half-century ago and more are still valid Delaware law.


- Breakage deposit in cash 300.00 EUR fixed price. Payable in resort.
- Final cleaning 15.00 EUR per person. Payable in resort.Valid to November 29, 2019.
- Final cleaning 17.00 EUR per person. Payable in resort.Valid from November 30, 2019.
- Pet 30.00 EUR fixed price. Bookable extra, payable in resort.
- Extra bed 30.00 EUR per person/day. Bookable extra, payable in resort.


The Balearic Islands are true jewels hidden in the Mediterranean Sea. Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera are, of course, the most popular and it's easy to see why. Any of the islands have this picturesque, rural vibe about them that will instantly enchant you. A yoga retreat in one of the Balearic Islands is guaranteed to make you forget all life's worries. Expect great beaches, chill-out times, numerous hot spots, and amazing landscapes. Indulge in a deeply relaxing yoga practice in one of Spain's famous islands and we guarantee a fabulous time!


text:
STATE HONORS BUSINESSES AND EVENTS FOR GREEN PRACTICES
HONOLULU — The state honored 16 businesses and five events today for their innovative work to conserve energy and implement sustainable practices that will protect the environment and help Hawaii meet its clean energy goals.
"These businesses are demonstrating that you can improve your bottom line while supporting the transformation to a more sustainable Hawaii," Gov. David Ige said. "Through a host of innovative measures, such as installing high-efficiency lighting systems and utilizing rain catchment systems, these businesses are doing their part to reduce our impact on the environment and help end our reliance on imported fossil fuels."
The businesses and events were recognized during the 2016 Hawaii Green Business Program (HGBP) awards ceremony. HGBP provides assistance to businesses committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. The awards were presented by Gov. Ige and hosted by the Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), Department of Health and the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association.
"We commend the leadership shown by these businesses to reduce their impact on our environment and energy systems," said DBEDT Director Luis P. Salaveria. "In Hawaii, the continued push for sustainability and carbon reduction are widely embraced across the state from the smallest towns to the urban core of Honolulu."
Recognizing the state's commitment to conservation and sustainable development, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Council selected Hawaii as the venue for the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress – the world's largest conservation event. This will be the first time the World Conservation Congress will be held in the United States. A number of this year's Hawaii Green Business awardees will host some of the 6,000-8,000 delegates who will be in Honolulu this September for the conference.
The businesses and events honored at this year's HGBP awards ceremony undertook a wide array of green initiatives that included installing LED and CFL lighting, recycling food scraps, growing their own organic produce, taking steps to reduce water use, and equipping dishwashers with heat recovery units. The businesses can be viewed in an interactive map on HSEO's Green Business Program website: energy.hawaii.gov/green-business-program
The honorees of the 2016 Hawaii Green Business Awards are:
Ala Moana Hotel
DoubleTree by Hilton Alana-Waikiki
Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki
OHANA Waikiki East by Outrigger
OHANA Waikiki Malia by Outrigger
Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort
The Kahala Hotel and Resort
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa
Mariott's Maui Ocean Club
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
Valley Isle Excursions
Lanikai Juice – Kakaako
Honeywell Energy Solutions
The Hawaii Green Business Awards also honored five green events:
Honolulu Museum of Art – Plastic Fantastic?
UH Manoa – 4th Annual Sustainability in Higher Education Conference
Hawaii Tourism Authority – 2016 Hawaii Tourism Conference
HPU – Presidential Lecture Series on Global Leadership and Sustainability
Sony – 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii
For a description of the awardees and their energy efficiency accomplishments, please see separate Awardee Accomplishments document.
Awardee Accomplishments (PDF)
ABOUT HAWAII STATE ENERGY OFFICE
The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) is a division of the state's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. With the state's goal to reach 100 percent renewable energy generation by 2045, HSEO is leading the state's charge toward clean energy independence. HSEO is committed to developing and deploying high impact solutions that will maximize Hawaii's renewable energy resources and improve efficiency and transportation standards. Through effective policies and innovative programs, HSEO has positioned Hawaii port as a leader in clean energy innovation, which will generate quality jobs, attract investment opportunities and accelerate economic growth.
For more information, visit energy.hawaii.gov
DBEDT State Energy Office


Compare Electricity and Gas plans, prices, rates and discounts in Darlington Point, 2706, New South Wales.
Darlington Point is a suburb located in Murrumbidgee Council in the Riverina district of western New South Wales, Australia. The population of Darlington Point is approximately 1,016 people. Best places to be in Darlington Point are Altina Wildlife Park, Whitton Punt Reserve, Lions Park and Hawkesbury Park Country Cottage. Some suburb around Darlington Point are Willbriggie, Benerembah, Coleambally, Griffith Dc, Whitton, Kooba, Hanwood, Warrawidgee and Widgelli.
Why Darlington Point should compare energy prices using Econnex?


text:
Captains' Message
Dundalk Scratch Cup
Course Gallery
Video Flyover
Inter Club News
Leslie Walker – Coach
You are here: Home / Visitors / Facilities
This is a short guide to the facilities available to every visitor to Dundalk Golf Club.
Car Parking: There is a large car park within a short walk of the clubhouse, which can be accessed through any of three separate turns on the left of the entrance roadway.
Sign-in: Visitors can sign in at the Professional's Shop which is located on the right hand side of the adjacent to the car park.
Buggies: The club has buggies available for hire and these may be booked via the online booking system or by calling the office or pro shop on 042-9321731. Buggies cost €30 for 18 holes and may be collected from the Pro Shop.
Trolleys: Trolleys are available for rental and can be collected from outside the Pro Shop where there is a trolley dispenser. Trolleys cost €3 to rent and the vending machine takes €2 and €1 coins.
Locker Room: The men's and ladies locker rooms are located to the rear of the Clubhouse. Both have a visitors changing area. Lockers are available for use by visitors. Showers, towels and toilet facilities are also provided in each locker room.
Equipment/ProShop: The Professional's Shop sells a wide range of equipment, clothing and accessories, including crested apparel. The shop also stocks refreshments and rental clubs.
Driving Range: The ball dispenser for the Driving Range is located behind the first tee on the right-hand side of the Clubhouse. A bucket of range balls cost €2. The blue markers and two parallel lines of rope identify the grass bays in operation each day. There are also five covered driving bays at the end of the driving range. The area between the white stakes and the entrance roadway is for those golfers wishing to use and collect their own practice balls.
Pitching, Chipping and Bunker Areas: There are two Pitching and Chipping Areas adjacent to the car-park behind the Pro Shop. The first area is nearest the main gate beside the boundary wall while the other is located to the left of the Office Block and contains an undulating green with five pin positions and two bunkers.
Putting Green: The 9 hole putting green is located between the Pro Shop and the clubhouse.
First Tee: The first tee is located to the right of the Clubhouse.
Competition Sign-In: Depending on the type of competition, sign-in may be in the Pro Shop or the Starter's Officer which is located beside the First Tee. There are computer terminals in both the men's and ladies locker rooms as well as the Pro Shop.
Score Returns: If the score has to be entered into the computer, then there are computer terminals in both the men's and ladies locker rooms and the signed cards should be placed in the box beside the computer. If computer input is not required the scorecards should be placed in the wooden box that will be located in a prominent position between the 18th green and the Clubhouse.
Bar: The bar is located on the first floor of the Clubhouse and is divided into two sections; the TV room and the lounge.
Restaurant: The restaurant is located on the first floor of the Clubhouse. Takeaway sandwiches are available.
The course is open but operating under Giovernment protocols in relation to Living with COVID. All tee-times must be pre-booked through the BRS System or by phoning the Golf Shop on 042-9322218
Mini Gallery
Members Hub Album
Ladies Spring League off to a great start (January 23, 2022)
Ó Gallachóir and Hamill need countback to win betterball competition (January 23, 2022)
Large entries as ladies get started for 2022 (January 16, 2022)
Three birdies help McCarthy to victory (January 16, 2022)
O'Keefe is first winner of 2022 (January 9, 2022)
Member Booking


Nokia reported third-quarter earnings down 28 percent on a year earlier, and revenue down 5 percent. Its share of the mobile phone market slipped too.
Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 totalled €12.24 billion (US$17.68 billion), a figure which will disappoint analysts who had expected something nearer $18.59 billion.
The company reported net profit of €1.09 billion, down from €1.56 billion a year earlier.
During the quarter Nokia closed its acquisition of Navteq, a distributor of digital maps for GPS (Global Positioning System) terminals, bringing it additional sales of €156 million but an operating loss of €80 million.
Nokia sold 117.8 million mobile devices in the third quarter, giving it 38 percent of a market it estimates at 310 million devices. That's down from a share of 39 percent a year earlier, and 40 percent in the second quarter, it said.
Phone sales rose 13.9 percent year on year to 33.6 million in Nokia's largest regional market, Asia-Pacific, but declined 5.5 percent to 27.4 million in Europe. Nokia sold 19.8 million phones in Greater China, up 4.8 percent year on year despite a dip there in the second quarter.
The company had warned in early September that it expected its market share to drop as it refused to engage in a price war with other manufacturers.
"We will move to maximize our bottom line with the right combination of margin and market share," said President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in a conference call with analysts.
One factor affecting Nokia's results is a move to cheaper handsets: handset sales for the quarter rose 8 percent by volume compared to a year earlier, but dropped 7 percent by value.
"There's only one way average selling prices can go -- and that's down," said Gartner research director Carolina Milanesi.
The average selling price of Nokia's phones slipped to €72 in the third quarter, from €74 in the second quarter and €82 in the third quarter of 2007, the company said.
Nokia's flagship N96 smartphone will be struggling in this market, Milanesi said. Its over-long feature list, including a digital TV receiver that won't work in many European countries, makes it expensive to manufacture at a time when operators are being more careful about how they subsidize phones for new customers.
Despite the economic downturn, Nokia sees itself as "well positioned for the current times," it said.
The company still expects the mobile phone market to grow -- to 1.26 billion units this year from 1.14 billion in 2007, and it sees its share of that market remaining steady or rising in the fourth quarter.
Despite the broader trend towards cheaper handsets, there is keen interest in Europe in high-end touchscreen models, Milanesi said, with the mid-year arrival of Apple's iPhone 3G, High Tech Computer's Touch Diamond and Samsung's Omnia.
Nokia unveiled its first touchscreen model, the 5800, on Oct. 2.
"They missed a great opportunity with the 5800 in not selling it across Europe in time for Christmas," said Milanesi.
Nevertheless, Kallasvuo remained confident about the company's range of phones.
"Our smartphone portfolio has improved and is gaining momentum this quarter," he said.
At its infrastructure joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, the company expects market share and sales for the full year to remain broadly unchanged from 2007, an outlook Nokia has maintained since reporting its second-quarter results in July.
Kallasvuo refused to be drawn on the company's prospects for 2009. "The uncertainty is much more than typically," he said.
Milanesi sees little good news ahead, though. There's evidence that Western European buyers are waiting longer before replacing their phones because of uncertainty about their finances, an uncertainty that will continue to affect mobile phone vendors through the first half of 2009, she said.
Nokia's finances are less constrained than those of its customers, said CFO Rick Simonson.
"We have a very comfortable level of instant liquidity. Since 2007 we have focused on short-term, high-quality investments," he said.
"People in the supply chain are more reliant on short-term credit, and we have a very sophisticated analysis of the liquidity of our distributors and suppliers. We do extend short-term credit based on that," he said.


Birds are the only living animals with feathers, but why exactly do they have them?
This self-proclaimed "bird nerd" has a sincere admiration for all things feathered.
What in the World is a Catio?
Here's how to give your feline friend the experience of being outdoors while keeping wildlife safe.
Migration is much more than simply flying south for the winter. It's not just for the birds, either.


♛ Looking forward to the upcoming show in Woodstock at the tase Left Cafe located at 125 West Van Buren St, Woodstock Opera House, Woodstock, IL 60098 on Friday March 9, 2018. A wonderful listening room. I love it because they have an acoustic piano and a great sound system. I'm the featured artist for the night meaning I'll perform for 30 minutes which translates into 6- 8 songs. If you're up that way I'd love to see you there.
The Bruce Hornsby video featuring Bruce and Eldon was just released as a part of Pandora.com's Encore Program sponsored by Prudential. The video features both Bruce and Eldon as they talk about musical influences, songwriting and commitment a life-long pursuit of musical excellence. Here's the link to Pandora.
The King-o-Keys & His Smokin Aces will be performing at the Taste of Westmont. The Aces will be smokin' and we'll serve up some Blues, Rock n' Roll and a whisper of Jazz really on the rocks.
Looking forward to the Songwriter's Showcase in Aurora. Since it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas you can count on hearing my new Christmas Classic, Christmas Sugar Daddy.
The King-o-Keys will be broadcasting Live from the lounge at radio station WZRD 88.3 FM. The King will be performing solo (Straight Up), but stay tuned there just might be some special guests.
The King-o-Keys & His Smokin' Aces will be performing at the Muddy Waters Blues Jam.
The King-o-Keys & His Smokin' Aces will be performing on the Irving Street Stage.
'Blues, Rock n' Roll and a whisper of Jazz...straight up, or on the rocks' This is a special Tuesday Night Performance on WZRD. The King-o-Keys & His Smokin' Aces will be debuting their 5 song EP with live performances on the air.
I'm excited because this is the first time the Men's Breakfast will have a performance. I've recruited some outstanding Christian musicians to help me perform some original Praise and Worship songs…a musical testimony.