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IP addresses top 22 million
Statistics from the Taiwan Information Network Center showed that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses registered in the nation topped 22 million last year, an increase of 22.6 percent compared with 2007, the National Communications Commission said yesterday. The number was almost equal to the nation's population, the commission said, adding that Taiwan was ranked fourth in Asia in this category, behind only China, Japan and South Korea. "The results show that the Internet and its infrastructure are widely available to people in Taiwan," the commission said. Statistics also showed that more than 15 million people in Taiwan used the Internet last year, with the majority of them falling into the 12 to 35 age group.
Population hits 23 million
The nation's population stood at 23,046,177 at the end of last month, an increase of 79,718 people compared with a year earlier, the Ministry of the Interior reported on Sunday. The ministry said that the number of registered households reached 7,657,870 at the end of last month, an increase of 1.85 percent, or 139,309 households, over the same period last year. Taipei County had the greatest number of households, totaling 1,340,934 households, or 17.51 percent of the national total. Trailing Taipei County was Taipei City, with 957,954 households, or 12.51 percent of the country's total, the ministry said. The island county of Kinmen saw the highest rate of population growth over the past year, followed by Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County. The highest rate of decline came in Lienchiang County, which includes the island of Matsu, followed by Taitung County, the ministry said. A total of 13,469 babies were born last month, for an average of one birth every 3.3 minutes, while 9,689 people died, an average of one death every 4.6 minutes. A total of 15,166 couples tied the knot last month, while 3,064 couples divorced.
KMT warns against split
The Taipei City chapter of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) warned yesterday that the pan-green camp could benefit if the pan-blue camp nominated two candidates for the legislative by-election in the city's sixth district (Da-an, 大安). Hsu Wen-rong (徐文榮), deputy director of the chapter, urged KMT headquarters to negotiate the nomination with the New Party, which said it intended to compete for the seat. KMT Taipei City Councilor Chiang Nai-shin (蔣乃辛) won the party's primary on Sunday and will run for the seat left vacant by former KMT legislator Diane Lee (李慶安). The KMT is scheduled to officially approve Chiang's nomination during its Central Standing Committee meeting tomorrow.
German smuggler arrested
A German national was arrested on charges of smuggling 2.4kg of heroin into Taiwan from Thailand, police at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport said yesterday. Mario Schubat, 38, was arrested on Sunday night at the airport. He had traveled on a China Airlines flight from Bangkok. Customs officers said they found the 2.4kg of heroin powder in his luggage. "He refused to say who gave him the heroin and to whom he was delivering the heroin, and refused to be questioned at night. So we will question him during the day," an airport police officer said over the telephone. Drug trafficking carries a possible death penalty.


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Foreign investors have been able to invest in Mexico's fuel stations for several years now, but thefts have caused shortages that threaten to limit profits and discourage further investment. The problem has prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to move against corrupt employees of state-owned Pemex. But while the fight against insider theft makes progress, the problem of criminal theft from pipelines will remain.
What Happened
From targeting operations at a single refinery, Mexico's government has since expanded its offensive against the deep-seated problem of fuel theft in the country by sending troops to scrutinize fuel refining and transport operations nationwide. Soldiers were deployed to every refinery in Mexico by Jan. 7, raising the likelihood of more widespread fuel shortages as a result of disruptions caused by the greater scrutiny. Shortages in central Mexican states due to operations against the thefts continued, with customers at fuel stations in Guadalajara, Morelia and other major central Mexican cities experiencing long lines amid reported price gouging.
Why It Matters
The battle against criminal groups who profit from sales of stolen fuel is a key part of the new administration's approach to reducing losses at state energy firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). A 2018 estimate determined that fuel theft cost Pemex $1.6 billion. For comparison, that equals about 12 to 13 percent of the company's gross income for 2017. Moving against fuel theft may also enable the government to gather evidence that it can use to prosecute or remove key union officials at the company who are loyal to the opposition Revolutionary Institutional Party.
In the short term, Mexico's moves to combat fuel theft will cause significant business disruptions.
The shortage of available gasoline and diesel across the country will grind some businesses' operations to a halt, and it's unclear how quickly the government will conclude its refinery inspections to allow production and transport of fuel to return to normal. Though going after fuel thieves abetted by Pemex union members will have long-term benefits for the state's and company's finances, the shortages will also exasperate Mexican consumers.
In the event that the shortages persist for months, voters in areas most deeply affected will begin turning against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Eroding voter approval across the country could then push the Lopez Obrador government to bring other key legislative measures to a vote sooner rather than later. Some measures, such as reforming the constitution to allow more frequent, binding referendums require a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and a majority of state legislatures. If the government — now firmly under the control of Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement party — waits too long to hold such votes and voter anger builds, the party risks losing the congressional or state majorities it needs to conduct the reforms in midterm elections slated for 2021.
Fuel theft in Mexico has grown dramatically over the past decade as criminal groups began siphoning from pipelines as well as stealing whole fuel shipments from terminals and refineries with the help of Pemex employees. In late December, the Mexican government ordered an intervention in federally owned fuel infrastructure to curb theft of fuel from refineries.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Shack, The Trinity, & Growing Up with Cannibals – William-Paul Young
The interesting life of William-Paul Young, author of the bestselling book The Shack, which has recently been adapted into a screen-play hitting theaters on March 3, 2017. In our interview with Paul, we discuss his upbringing with his missionary parents in the islands of New Guinea, where he encountered many hurts and joys. We also discuss the origins of his book, The Shack, as well as his upcoming book, Lies We Believe About God. Throughout the course of Paul's life, he's been learning how to live within the grace of each day and shares with us many deep layers of wisdom. We invite you to share in the grace of our day as we hang out with William-Paul Young!


text: Day 2: Epping to Harwich for ferry (61 miles) Written by admin// May 15, 2016// No Comment// Blog, Cyclethon 2016 Hamburg// Jeremy picked up successfully in Chelmsford. Related Posts Day 8: arrival in Hamburg (photos) Day 8: bitten but not beaten (55 miles) Day 7: Paul has rear issues & Bill needs your prayers Leave a Reply Cancel reply Name* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


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For ten consecutive years, has staged the country's only outdoor, ride-in custom motorcycle show for 21st Century cafe racer enthusiasts. This year marks the 11th staging at Sewickley's War Memorial park located 12 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh. The Saturday, August 11 event will attract the nation's top custom speedbike builders showcasing motorcycles evoking the classic ton-up street racers from Mid-Century England. This year's event will award cash and prizes totaling more than $30,000 in six judged classes including: Best Japanese Cafe Racer, Best British Cafe Racer, Best European/American Cafe Racer, Best Bobber, Wildest Engineering and Best in Show. A special, $500 cash prize will be awarded the machine chosen by attendees as Best in Show, with the bike featured in an upcoming issue of.
As the only custom cafe racer showcase staged outdoors where builders are required to start their machines before riding them into the staging area, Cafe Racer Magazine's Reader's Ride-In Bike Show draws in over 2,500 visitors each year and is unique among custom motorcycle events. The park will be filled with not only genre-bursting motorcycles, but plenty of vendors offering the latest motorcycle riding gear, custom parts and accessories, along with local food trucks, a swap meet and used bike corral and toe-tapping rockabilly music courtesy DJ Blair from roots band Highway 13. For additional details, visit .


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We asked Southington's Connecticut General Assembly candidates the following questions:
1) What should the General Assembly do over the next two years to help the state's economy?
2) Other than the economy, what are the top issues the General Assembly must address in the next two years? Why?
3) Southington faced unique challenges from the state during the last budget season with $5.1 million in mid-year holdbacks to Southington's education funding and a $27 million package for municipal grants that left Southington off the list. What did you (or would you have done) to represent the town during this process?
Here are their answers:
Liz Linehan
(Democrat, Incumbent)
1) We need a three-pronged approach. First, we need to make it easier to do business in Connecticut. We must continue to create business-friendly policies like the ones I supported as a member of the commerce committee, including the One-Stop Permitting Portal and Small Business Hotline, which makes it easier for businesses to get a shovel in the ground and navigate starting a business in Connecticut.
Second, I will continue to support manufacturing, which is expected to continue to grow throughout the next decade. Pratt and Whitney will be hiring 25,000 new jobs in the next seven years and will spur jobs in the supply chain. Many of those are in my district.
I created an annual event at the capitol which pairs students with manufacturers, which has already resulted in filling open jobs and full tuition reimbursement to college for students entering the program—with a guaranteed job offer out of school for those who successfully finish the program. I have also worked with the department of labor to promote apprenticeship programs to businesses in my district. In 2017, $2 million of federal apprenticeship funding was left unused, which could have been used to hire and train workers in the trades and manufacturing.
Third, I am working with conventional high schools to resurrect and grow shop programs, bring manufacturing in to the schools, change curriculum to include tech to go towards a student's GPA, and educate parents about the high paying careers in manufacturing without the huge college debt.
2) The economy, state budget, and state affordability continue to be the top issues, but it is correct to say that as your state representative it is important that I tackle at all the issues we face. The health and safety of our residents is a priority.
This past session, I co-authored and passed legislation which ensures your healthcare will cover prescription medications, hospital visits, mental healthcare, drug rehabilitation and more, regardless of what happens on the federal level. To combat the opioid crisis, I co-introduced and passed a bill to strengthen the prescription monitoring program in an effort to stop doctor shopping and forged prescriptions.
Additionally, I worked with the regional action councils to train teachers and administrators in our schools in the adolescent S-BIRT certification program, which trains school employees to recognize drug abuse, intervene and refer a student to treatment. This is particularly important so that kids can reach out to the adult of their choosing, without being referred to a guidance counselor, and therefore not breaking that trusted bond we have with our kids.
Finally, I authored a bill to protect kids from predators after a Southington bus driver was arrested for molesting a child over a period of eight years. This legislation ensures that the school system and parents are always notified of any such arrest, even if it didn't occur during work. It passed the house, but ran out of time to be called in the senate.
I will raise this legislation again in 2019, and will continue my efforts to protect residents (especially children), and continue to make healthcare a priority.
3) The mid-year holdbacks were extreme, and particularly detrimental to Southington—but we overturned the governor's holdbacks, returning every dollar in the bipartisan budget, which I supported. However, that wasn't enough, so I co-sponsored legislation to prohibit any governor from ever making mid-year cuts to education again.
The bill passed but was vetoed by the governor. The House overturned the veto, but the senate did not vote on it. I will be co-sponsoring this legislation again in 2019.
Before the holdbacks, Gov. Dannell Malloy's 2017 proposed budget cut $3 million from Southington, and I was vocal in my opposition, publicly testifying against his cuts, calling it a "direct assault on the middle class". That proposed budget was defeated, as well.
Additionally, Southington was poised to lose $58 million in reimbursement for combined sewer projects. I strongly opposed this cut and was successful in defeating the measure—saving an extraordinary amount of money for the town, which would otherwise be passed on to residents.
If you factor in the $5.1 million returned to Southington in the budget, that totals $4,044 in savings per Southington household. This savings undoubtedly contributed to your Town Council passing a zero-increase budget and is a direct savings for each taxpayer.
I will continue to fight for every Southington resident, and be a strong voice for the middle class.
Diane Pagano
(Republican, Challenger)
1) The General Assembly should work together to implement a zero-based budget. Many of us already use something like this in their own households. We look at our monthly anticipated income, and apply it to our monthly bills. Even though we try our best to budget income, sometimes expenses exceed our revenue, and in that case we have to cut back the next month or do without.
Hartford needs to stop doing what it has always done, and work with an accounting philosophy that makes sense. Each department will start with $0 and add each expense line item that is necessary. This will have an immediate impact on the budget. When revenue is received, it is deposited into the corresponding fund.
This money will be used for what it is intended for, not to be "banked" and then swept into a different accounts to be used for something not originally intended. Like in our homes and businesses, a zero based budgeting process will afford the state government and taxpayers more accountability, and more reliability.
2) Some of the top issues the General Assembly must continue to address are those surrounding our veterans, our seniors and the disabled.
Our veterans have served our country selflessly, and we have the responsibility to provide them with the tools and resources they need to maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle.
The Medicare savings program is an important program for our seniors and disabled. During the last General Assembly session, the income thresholds were slated to go back to federal minimums, which would have been devastating for many families. Once the extent of the cuts was known, Republican legislators led the charge to have the income limits restored.
As an owner of a caregiving agency, I am aware of the importance to keep programs like this intact. While the program has been restored, the continued funding is in peril. The qualifications for the program has to be looked at, and assets should be considered in the application revenue as this program is to help the less fortunate (a goal I share) but not to sustain those with significant assets already.
3) My understanding is that Southington is one of the many towns in Connecticut that watched their budget closely and made every effort to spend frugally during the time of uncertainty, caused by the budget standoff in Hartford.
What should have been done is that before any bills were addressed, Hartford should have adopted a state budget. From there, towns like Southington would be able to plan for the future instead of having to resort to a crystal ball and hope.
That is not fair—not fair to the towns nor to the public at large. In the meantime, while Southington was being cut, the City of Hartford was receiving a $500 million bailout of its debt.
In my opinion, Hartford should have been allowed to file for bankruptcy. Why should Southington's taxpayers have to foot the bill for irresponsible economic decisions in Hartford? They shouldn't. If I were a representative at the time, I would not have sat on the sidelines like my opponent did and let this bailout happen. Leaders lead. I would have led the rally cry in opposition.


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Married abroad
What's your story? Discussions your reasons for going abroad.
Moderators: jamesbond, fschmidt
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10 posts • Page 1 of 1
Married abroad
This is a long story. Think I might make a youtube video about it. I was born in the former yugoslavia and grew up in the u.s. My mother also grew up in the U.S. but she would go back to the old country every year and that's where she met my dad. I'm a pretty decent looking guy and could never for the life of me get a decent girl. I've lived in NY, Houston, and California. Seen a lot of this country and believe me, most people are the same everywhere. America is filled with obese, drug addicted, alcoholic women. The decent girls' egos are so inflated that they are unapproachable or simply have way too many options.
I went to Europe for the first time (since I was born) when I was 20. I was reluctant because I didn't want to leave my friends for a month (stupid 20 year old college student in me). I was in culture shock. I went to my aunt's in Germany first and then went to the former Yugoslavia to Croatia and Serbia where I have family. Was a good experience but I didn't appreciate it at the time.
As time passed, it slowly hit me that I was beginning not to enjoy the United States anymore. The hustle and the bustle and the rat race with no breaks, no relief, no joy. I kept going back to Europe and started learning my native language (Serbo Croatian). By the way, I was accepted right away. Friendly people all over. They want to engage with you. I got more women there in one month than I had in years of dating in the United States. I had experiences that I could write a book on. By the way, beautiful women. It was truly an adventure. This girl I met at a wedding invited me to go to the city where she was going to college and stay with her. I said hell yeah. I took the bus and stayed with her for a couple of weeks. We then went to a music festival where my uncle lived so we stayed with him. The best time of my life.
She's gone. She ended up being a vindictive girl whose unfounded jealousy caused her to destroy the relationship. Oh well. I met my wife a year later so it's cool. By the way, it took me a few tries of going to Europe to actually make things happen. Don't expect to just have things thrown at you over there. Especially in Western Europe as they have been brainwashed the same way Americans have. Not to the same extent but it's there. So if it doesn't go for you, keep trying and don't give up and don't be too down on yourself.
Don't fall in love with the first woman who gives you attention. This is difficult as it is easy to fall in love if you have been getting no attention for years. I made this mistake and my heart was broken (crying in the shower like Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura lol). But yeah. Anyways my wife and I plan on moving back to europe in a couple of years. We just need to save up some more money. America is just becoming a hassle to live in. Not enjoyable. But like Winston says, if there is a will, there is a way.
Here are some tips:
1.) Don't hang out with other Americans while abroad. As a matter of fact. Stay the hell away from them. It is reducing your experience. And don't even look at it like it's an experience. Try and live like they live. Try and blend in. Be yourself though. I mean if you don't speak the language communicate in English of course. I mean but just chill and take in the vibes and the culture. Don't join any tourist group where you will be sight seeing. It's not a zoo. Those tour groups are like watching a TV show and wishing you were a character in that show. Don't wish, be a character!
2.) Don't try and focus too much on finding a girl. Don't drive yourself crazy because honestly I think that the second you stop caring is when it starts happening. That's my experience. Plus if you spend too much time thinking about finding a girl it will show. Don't make it obvious and just relax and be yourself.
3.) Frequent the same bar. Go when nobody else is there and wait for people to start showing up even. If you feel this bar sucks, even if it has pretty girls, go to another one. There are plenty. I just start talking to the bartender and BSing. Usually they will have a friend that walks in. Throw a few words to add to there conversation. (This isn't how I met my wife but I've gotten a lot of dates like this believe it or not). Even if there isn't a girl there. The bartender or someone might invite you out afterwards or whatever and you can meet someone there. The point is, it's easy as hell to make friends.
4.) Don't give up and don't take life too seriously. I know it's hard because we have been conditioned like that. And it's easy to fall into a rut here in the U.S. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't trust everyone in Europe or other places abroad either.
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Re: Married abroad
Glad to hear of your story skweeps. A lot of guys in the US are also realizing just how horrible the 9 to 5 rat race is. You said you met more women in one month in Europe than you had in years of dating in America. That's awesome!
"When I think about the idea of getting involved with an American woman, I don't know if I should laugh .............. or vomit!"
"Trying to meet women in America is like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics."
Re: Married abroad
Thanks jamesbond. By the way, about work. I take home around 60k(after taxes) in the United States. If I moved to Germany to work I'd be making 1500-2000 euros a month (after taxes). Big pay cut but believe me it's worth it. A lot of jobs offer paid vacations. Sure you work, but you get longer vacations in Germany. Plus, the workers are treated with more respect socially. For example, I know waiters, dishwashers, guys who clean parks, landscapers, etc who have awesome lives in Germany. Many are married and have kids. Others just live a good single life. It's up to you. The point is, nobody looks down on you for having these types of jobs in Europe. In America on the other hand, you are made to feel lesser for working as a dishwasher or maintenance at an airport or bus terminal. The cost of living is much cheaper. The quality of life is just much better. Money isn't everything. As long as you can afford to live, life is much more fulfilling. You can feel it. Just like Winston says, life feels meaningless in the United States. That's because it is. What is life if all you do is work work work? It's not worth it. I can't wait to get out of here and to start a new chapter, hell, a new book in my life. If anyone has any questions just ask me.
Re: Married abroad
I have heard other people say the same thing about life in Europe, that it's not the work alcoholic lifestyle like it is here in the United States. I know in Germany employees get 6 weeks paid vacation a year and 12 paid holidays. In the USA, you get 2 weeks of vacation a year and around 8 paid holidays.
I want to visit Germany soon, probably Berlin first, then Munich and Frankfort. While I am in Europe I also plan on visiting Warsaw Poland and maybe Krakow as well.
"When I think about the idea of getting involved with an American woman, I don't know if I should laugh .............. or vomit!"
"Trying to meet women in America is like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics."
Re: Married abroad
Is yugoslavia a good country to visit? Is it friendly for Americans? Isnt yugoslavia now called serbia or croatia? Is it peaceful there now?
How was NY? Was it as exciting as in the movies? Is it easy to make friends there? It claims to have something for everyone.
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!
Join my Ukrainian/Russian Women Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!
"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
Re: Married abroad
Winston, NY is full of transplants from all over the country and world. It used to be ok. It is an exciting city but it's not the place to make connections with people. It isn't laid back at all and all you have time for is work and sleep. It's become a dreadful city. Yugoslavia did have a war. It now consists of Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. It is a safe place. Much safer than the united states. You can walk the streets at any hour in any neighborhood and not have any problems. Just stay away from Kosovo. Novi Sad and Belgrade are good towns to explore. Novi Sad especially.
Re: Married abroad
I think i posted a response winston. But I'm not sure if it went through.
Re: Married abroad
I am surprised to hear that the cost of living is cheaper in Europe. Is that true in Germany? I was thinking of taking a trip there next year.... maybe. My employer pays for a trip home, but I hear we can sub out another trip. We may visit some family who is temporarily there.
Anyway, what is cheaper in Europe than in the US? Food? Housing? Other things? Is it medical care? That would make sense.
Re: Married abroad
Dubrovnik is meant to be beautiful. Is that in Croatia? I could fly there in about three hours from where I'm living. If the women are as nice as you say OP, it could be a viable option for me.
I agree with your tips skweeps. Good advice!
Re: Married abroad
MrMan, yes it is cheaper. Google cost of living in a city in Germany versus a city in the U.S. a website should pop up and it will list a various number of comparisons. The only thing that's more expensive is gas.. and bananas. HA! If you live outside of the city center you can get a decent apartment for a decent price. Food and rent are both cheaper. If you want to buy a home then it is more expensive but who wants a burden of a mortgage anyways? The way I see it, the more stuff you want, the more work and stress comes with it.
Zambales, Dubrovnik is in Croatia, yes. But this isn't the town you want to go to if you want to find a nice girl. Dubrovnik is filled with tourists (many from America and other Western countries) during the spring and summer. It is a beautiful town but take your girlfriend there, don't go looking for a girlfriend there. That goes for anywhere on the sea. Osijek is a good town to meet women.
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10 posts • Page 1 of 1


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Boston Gardens
Photo: Peter Vanderwarker
Another spring tradition in these parts is the annual Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill Tour (beaconhillgardenclub.org/tour) on May 18. Opening up a world the general public normally doesn't see, this self-guided tour hosted by the Beacon Hill Garden Club upholds a tradition that goes back to 1928. Visitors can pick up tickets and maps at an information table set up at the corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon streets, and then head out on their way to peruse the nearly dozen private green spaces that are being highlighted. There's no better way to enjoy a leisurely day strolling the charming, brick-lined streets of Boston's Brahmin stronghold.


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Archive for September, 2008
Engaging the unengageable
by Deanna Miller, RN, MSN/Ed, HCE
As managers we often hear the terms "engagement" and "employee satisfaction" interchangeably. Even though you are a great manager and truly care about your staff it is often difficult to get them motivated and engaged in what they are doing. I was off on leave for about a month and during that time period I continuously brainstormed to come up with interventions to "get them engaged."
Here are my secrets to successful engagement….please share yours.
1. Eat lunch with your staff with an "anything goes conversation." (They love seeing that even the manager is human…it has proved to be a blast)
2. Plan an outing away from the facility. (I have planned an early dinner at a nearby lodge on two consecutive Fridays so that everyone can come regardless of scheduling. Budget for special events)
3. When they bring concerns, work related or personal, listen to them and make great eye contact. Always keep those personal conversations confidential.
Get your facility into debate mode
p>by Shelley Cohen, RN, BS, CEN
Most of your staff members are probably keeping an ear tuned to the presidential prospects for the upcoming election. With this is mind, many will be listening to and watching the debates between both the presidential and vice presidential hopefuls. This is a wonderful opportunity for nurse leaders to take advantage of the debate and relate to the workplace.
The structured debate can serve as a springboard for initiating change, implementing evidence-based practices, or even defining unacceptable behaviors for a department. When staff have a chance to hear the pros and cons, as they do in a debate, they learn how to validate their needs. A controlled, professional, yet fun, environment of presenting both sides is what the debate process has to offer. Examples include debating changes in holiday scheduling, or how patients are assigned.
To get into the debate mode, start with these steps:
1. Provide the staff a list of current practice issues and have them vote on the two issues of greatest concern to them
2. Post the date you will be holding the debate (in place of a staff meeting) in emails, on bulletin boards, or both
3. Invite someone from fiscal services and administration to evaluate the debate
4. Display a poster of five keys to effective debates for one week
5. Post Web sites where staff can learn more about debating, such as www.articleinsider.com
6. Have staff select one peer who will oversee/facilitate the debate and develop the ground rules for the debate
7. Provide a debate worksheet to get them started
What are some other ways to engage staff in the debate process?</p
Legislative lessons from school
Many of you have been following my intermittent posts on my journey, at the age of 54, to pursue my MSN degree. In just a few weeks, I will have completed course No. 4 on healthcare delivery systems. One of our assignments was to interview a person in a legislative position and discuss the many facets of his or her role as it relates to how healthcare is delivered to his or her constituents. The legislator I selected happened to also be a family practice doctor. I just couldn't resist. Oh sure, I could have picked a female legislator, or one whose name has been in a headline more often than deserved, but not me. I went straight for the jugular-a doctor who is my state rep, which brought me to an interview that was more of one as a constituent that that of a master's level student.
The interview was a grand opportunity to better understand not only how the state process works, but how and why many decisions are made regarding healthcare bills. In the state of Tennessee, our legislature had been handed a bill that would make it optional for adults to wear helmets on motorcycles. Being an ED nurse, I am sure you can guess what my vote would have been on this! This motorcycle-riding physician, father, and state legislature felt otherwise. He strongly felt his job was to represent all of his constituents who wanted the helmet option. We agreed to disagree on this issue and I left the interview feeling our county/district was in good hands.
As we look to the last quarter of this year, by the end of December, I will be halfway through the program. I feel like my brain is packed with so much information, I will have to upload more GB to store any new lessons for 2009!
Are you still wrestling with whether or not you should go back to school? Are you having an argument with yourself over what to specialize in?
Take notecards to a new level!
You've made your new staff member feel welcome, and are almost ready for his/her 90 day evaluation. How about writing a SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE note card, signed by you and your charge nurses? Or, can you scan a picture of their preceptor(s) or shift peers to the inside of the card? How about having the entire team sign the card and present it at a staff meeting?
Kick it up a Notch:
Send a handwritten note to the employee's family and/or their spouse/significant other! I once had a director who sent a holiday card to my home (it was near my 90 days in the department). She included a note specifically to my husband. She knew his name and included several compliments about my performance, and thanked him for "loaning" me to the department for 40 hours a week.
Both my husband and I were so impressed! I highly recommend this as a retention tool; I still work for that director!
What ideas for retaining staff at their 90 day evaluation have YOU implemented?
Excellent Quote:
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Take the fear out of performance reviews
Nurse managers and staff communicate effectively every shift, about a number of topics, and usually with little anxiety. But put staff performance up for discussion and the tension rises.
Performance reviews are critical to staff development; therefore nurse managers need to know how to minimize this tension and make them as productive as possible. To conduct the most effective and painless performance reviews, follow these tips:
Remove the shock. The feedback given in a performance review shouldn't be a surprise. Make sure you communicate and provide staff members with constructive criticism throughout the year, instead of springing it on them all at once. Also, never miss an opportunity to let staff know when they set a positive example for your facility. For example, if you notice a staff member has done well during the past few months, pull him or her aside and tell them how much their good work is appreciated. In doing so, you will minimize the chance of the employee getting defensive when you discuss areas that need improvement and they will know their hard work is not going unnoticed.
Give them time. Performance reviews are most effective when both the nurse manager and the staff member prepare for them. Inform employees of their performance evaluation at least two weeks ahead of time so they can organize their own materials, such as an informal evaluation of their performance or a list of goals they wish to achieve in the future. Employees will arrive for their review collected and more open to discussion.
How do you reduce staff anxiety during performance reviews?
Make it fun … and improve your environment!
This is a practical idea that can easily be implemented in any unit:
Who is your one staff member who LOVES taking pictures (it seems every unit has at least one!). Ask him or her to take candid digital shots of staff (but be careful to avoid patient faces). Print photos that are large enough to be seen from a distance–a mix of 8×10 and 11×14 works well. Purchase an assortment of frames that complement each other. Check craft and hobby stores, larger chain stores, or perhaps you can ask your corporate buyer to suggest an approved vendor.
Hang the pictures in a collage design in your department–NOT in the staff break room. The idea is to choose a wall easily seen. You want your patients and visitors to know this is a great place to work. You want potential employees to know your department takes pride in recognizing each other. And you want your staff to feel celebrated and appreciated.
Periodically rotate the photos so newer staff members have as much "exposure" as the old timers!
What are some other ways to celebrate and appreciate staff?
And lastly, here is an interesting thought to ponder:
"Three people were working at a construction site. All were doing the very same job, but when each was asked, "What is your job?," their answers varied. "Breaking rocks," the first one said. "Earning my living," said the second one. The third person said, "I'm helping to build a cathedral."
(Peter Schultz, former CEO, Porsche; as cited in 1001 Ways To take Initiative At Work).


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Deconstructed Nature Original Painting by MaryLea Harris
Deconstructed Nature Original Painting by MaryLea Harris
"Deconstructed Nature " (2016) by MaryLea Harris in Bend, OR.
Original acrylic on canvas with painted edges.
30" x 30" framed with natural wood floating frame and wire, ready to hang.
Signed by artist on the back.
My abstract art is meant to explore our relationships between physical place, connection, belonging, and our collective personal journeys. I'm exploring color, texture, and line. I'm focusing on the interplay of "positive" and "negative" space as I reflect on my own positive and negative growth experiences from the past few years. The cracks are how the light gets in. I'm using these maps as a form of art therapy to explore living more simply while celebrating nature, color, texture, and line. This is part of my Happy Little Leaves series.
I want the viewer to feel happy and playful. I want them to be in the moment and feel joy. Life is short and meant to be celebrated.


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Los Angeles-based collective Salt Petal is invigorating audiences and critics alike with a tropical surf-dance sound in a category all its own. A cross-border combination of Argentinian folk, Brazilian tropicalia, cumbia and up tempo surf rock blurs ethnic and musical boundaries, bringing to mind Blondie, Os Mutantes, Gal Costa, and 60′s rock and roll. The band's sound is one of the freshest to come out of Los Angeles, showcasing deep South American rhythms with vibrant indie pop harmonies and textures.
Salt Petal's latest release, Rare Hearts, set to release on April 28, was recorded at the famed London Bridge Studios in Seattle with producer Eric Lilavois (Saint Motel, Atlas Genius) and mixed and mastered by Raymond Richards (Local Natives, Avid Dancer). The album aims to be a constant reminder for humanity to have faith and love in ourselves, in order to continue to get through difficult moments. The central theme is "exploring the fight everyday against yourself to be able to see what you have around you" reveals vocalist Autumn Harrison.
Their sound is heavily influenced by the adventuresome explorations of South America's music revolutions in the 60s and 70s, such as Tropicalia, Gonzalez confides,"Tropicalia had such a great philosophy of taking things on, consuming and devouring what was available and experimenting with it in a boundary-less way, in the search of a new identity." Salt Petal aspires to do the same, with their new release Rare Hearts. They write from loving a variety of sounds found in California, with rhythms and sounds from across the Americas considered on equal footing with rock, soul, and blues. The musical collective describes their sound as subconscious and a natural extension of who they are and hope that Rare Hearts will inspire people to be passionate, courageous and of course to dance!
The band's latest funky single 'Disco Rats' is an engaging joyride filled with lavish electronics and bold Latin horns. One listen and you'll understand why Salt Petal is in such high demand for festivals around the world.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/salt_petal


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Ash K, in the Fourth Division, picked up a rare win when newcomer, Carl Tatum, who had previously not won a single match secured a maximum in a 7-3 defeat of the club's H team. Stuart Wickham also won all his matches. Crawley Ridge B maintained their promotion push when they beat Tennis H 8-2. Peter Greenwood-Sleep and Richard Pape both notched maximums with team-mate Richard Hornby winning a couple. Tennis J overcame Broadmoor C 7-3 with all three Tennis players, Charles Burton, Dave Lewis and Graham Rudd twice successful but all lost to Broadmoor's Gabriel Ailiaoe. Ash G beat the club's J team 8-2 with both Bob Murrell and Ray Mears unbeaten. Roger Fletcher supported with a duo. Cody E lost their 100% record to their F team when they lost 6-4. Both John Sheehy and Phil Russell were unbeaten for the F team. Frimley E shared the points with Fleet B with Fleet's Rob Brook unbeaten, James Maxwell and Stephen Bridle each won twice for Frimley
In the First Division, leaders Central B, came up against their A team who had just two players. Phil Snelson was unbeaten for the A team with Ramesh Bhalla supporting with a brace. Bentley A picked up a crucial 7-3 success against Tennis A. Andy Mudie won all three for Bentley with Micky Lang supporting with a duo. Rod Kay won twice for Tennis. Ash A beat Ash B 9-1 with Nick Mills and Dave Gilham both securing maximums and Dave Halfpenny winning a couple. Tennis B beat Cody A 6-4 with Simon Turner recording a full house. Team-mate Rob Gladstone won a couple.
Tennis E, in the Second Division, picked up their first success of the season when they overcame Broadmoor A 7-3. Andy Murdock notched up a trio with team-mates Graham McCulley and George Carder each winning twice. Ash C edged past Broadmoor B 6-4. Again all three Ash players, Nigel Tustin, Frank Winnard and Chris Carter won twice with Robert Hawes recording a maximum for Broadmoor. Frimley B picked up a welcome success, 6-4, over Fleet A. The star player for Frimley was Hudson Foley with a maximum whilst Vasco Correira supported with a brace. Fleet's David Joyce also won twice.
In the Third Division Tennis F beat Ash F 7-3 with Peter Killick winning all three for Tennis and Darren Brown contributing a couple for the promotion contenders. Karim Lawji won a pair for Ash. Ash D secured a welcome victory by beating Cody D 7-3. Both Margaret Thornton and Dave Brown recorded maximums. Cody C overcame Ash E 6-4 with no player unbeaten. David Thomas and John Harvey each won twice for Cody as did the Ash duo of Jo Bartlett and Amy Parkes. Frimley C maintained their 100% record with an 8-2 defeat of their D squad. Both Bob Walker and Peter Farrelly were unbeaten for the C team.


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Main Street Gallery
Main Street Gallery
825 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060|435.200.4445
Visit Gallery | Directions
Ashley Sorenson has had the opportunity to gain experience from galleries throughout the country. From one of the top non-profit galleries and rotating museum exhibitions in the state of New York to one of the oldest galleries in San Francisco; these renowned organizations continue to foster some of the most knowledgeable and well trained staff in the industry. She has professionally represented both old and modern masters including Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso, Miro, Dali, Chagall and Warhol to some of the most successful living contemporary artists today.
As the owner of Main Street Gallery, Ashley is committed to sharing with you the advise, expertise and information you need to assemble a uniquely tailored collection to enjoy for years to come.
Title for a Featured Showing or Event:
Heading for a Featured Showing or Event | Short Description for Showing or Event to highlight Gallery


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Recently these Chinese company has announced Oukitel U16 Max. Now today we have for the first time hands on video.
To remind you U16 Max is the first 6 inch big screen smartphone from Oukitel. Screen will be made in LTPS technology. While the backside or cover will be made from aircraft luminium alloy. But also the frame will be made from metal. So overall it gives you premium feeling.
At this moment in these video we can see some features of Android nougat. But what is most interesting that Oukitel U16 Max has big screen, but still at the same time you can use it with one hand. When we talk about camera it will have 13 megapixel camera.
Also if you ask yourself how much it will cost, then at this moment we can't be 100% sure, but according to the company the price will be below $150. U16 Max will be launch by Aliexpress official during its 7th Anniversary which will start by March 28th.


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Coaching DBs at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst, Illinois, is the closest I've come. The opportunity to get back on the grass, to compete, to talk football … that's priceless. Sure, it keeps me young. And I love the cheap jerseys from China. That's a special thing when you build a relationship with your players. Man, it's awesome. So is the feeling when your guys start to develop in a football program you believe in.
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Via Tampa Bay Buccaneers' jerseys reporter was on a charter, diving for lobster off the Florida Keys, when he and a shark went after the same lobster. Sapp got the cheap jerseys lobster, but the shark got a piece of Sapp (the lobster was probably a tastier bite, if were being honest).
This is the game of football. Injuries are part of it. It's a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play. general manager Doug Whaley, May 24, speaking to WGR 550 about how injuries are part of cheap nfl jerseys China. The quote generated strong reactions both around the league and from non-sports authority $20 off $100 coupon 2013 news outlets for Whaley's apparent honesty about the safety of the game, although in a later statement he said he used a "poor choice of words" in simply describing how football is a physical sport.
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amirez Ramirez played 10 years and was a consistent, if unspectacular, performer.
By Welters estimate, she was on the road at least half of the past year. She spoke on panels, made media appearances and trekked to small towns across America and Canada to spread the gospel of women in football. She gave a speech in best college cheap elite jerseys uniforms Station, Texas, for the American Heart Association and traveled to Regina, Canada, to give a speech and put on a clinic for the football-crazed city that boasts more than 3,000 flag football jerseys, 287 of whom are girls.
Those teams do typically get worse the following year; they decline by an average of 5.6 spots in terms of points allowed per possession. Teams that excel in the red zone, meanwhile, see an improvement. Four teams had a positive gap of 10 spots or more between their ranking in points allowed per red zone trip and their ranking in overall defensive scoring allowed per possession. Those cheap teams jerseys improve their points per possession ranking by an average of 5.3 spots the following year.


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Psalm 2
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
As Christians I think we stumble around when it comes to God's sense of humor. Moreover, we usually stumble in one of two directions.
- The first approach is that we do not think God has a sense of humor at all and therefore take a rather fundamentalist approach to the topic and frown upon any laughter at all, especially when it comes from kids.
- The second approach errs in the other direction, the direction of flippancy. We think God has a sense of humor like Ashton Kuchar when he was best known for the classic MTV series "Punk'd".
In actuality the Bible presents the topic of God's humor in a way that makes both the dour fundamentalist and the pop evangelical uncomfortable. The humor of God in the Bible is much more satirical. I believe that modern evangelicalism is in desperate need to regain this view of God and adopt it too.
There are a couple places in the Bible that highlight this satirical approach to God's humor and I would like to point them out to you and then tell you why its important for us today.
The Tower of Babel
The Biblical account of the Tower of Babel is a fascinating story that is loaded with imagery & typology. The setting of the story is after Adam & Eve have been banished from the Garden of Eden, Cain has murdered Abel and wickedness is spreading in the world. What is the result of this wickedness? A man-centered civilization named "Babel". Man, instead of "filling the earth", like God told Adam to do, is rallying to one place where they are trying to "make a name for themselves". Furthermore, they are trying to build a tower that will "have its top in the heavens".
The men building the Tower of Babel are trying to recreate another Garden, they are trying to make a meeting place with God. However, they are not doing it according to God's command (that comes later with the antitype of Babel, the Tabernacle) and therefore God essentially laughs at them. The entire text of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) is centered around the one phrase, "God came down" (v. 5). The four verses before it show how much Man is trying to make a name for Himself without God & the four verses after highlight God's coming down to show the foolishness of Man's rebellion.
God's entire attitude towards man's rebellion here is one of satirical humor. God is in heaven and he laughingly comes down to see what sort of puny rebellion man is up to. This is foreign and offensive to our modern sensibilities.
Early Church Persecution
The other example I would like to highlight is found in Acts 4. It is the story of Peter & John being brought before the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and being scorned for their preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In response to this castigation Peter & John return to the group of believers in Jerusalem and tell them what had happened. The immediate response of the entire group of believers is to turn to Psalm 2 in prayer.
Psalm 2 (quoted above in full) is a messianic psalm that highlights the Lordship of Jesus upon his resurrection. The believers in the book of Acts knew what the resurrection of Jesus meant. It meant that Jesus was the Lord's anointed. If you look at Psalm 2 you will see God's response & what happens to the nations that set themselves up against the Lord's anointed. God's response to rebellion against His anointed is laughter. That's right, laughter.
Furthermore, the end result of rebellion against the Lord's anointed is being dashed to pieces like a piece of pottery. For those of you who don't know, this is exactly what happened to Jerusalem in 70AD and it is exactly what Jesus prophesied would take place in Matthew 24. But Psalm 2 does not just say this is what will happen to Israel when they reject the Lord's anointed, Psalm 2 says this is what will happen to all the nations who do not make peace with the Son.
Pop Evangelicalism & the Humor of God
This does not sit well with modern pop evangelicalism. In our day and age the Gospel has been transformed into the "3 Steps to Heaven" program. Therefore, we individualize everything to the degree of online marketing firms.
This is not the Biblical Gospel!
The Gospel of the Bible is a Gospel of cosmic and historic significance. The Gospel is the story of the take over of the Kingdom of God upon this sinful world. The historical event of the resurrection stands as the decisive victory in the great battle over this world; the Kingdom of Heaven won this battle!
We need to return to a Biblical understanding of this sort of cocky humor. When the Supreme Court thinks they actually have some sort of say over what marriage is we should look to the scriptures and see that God is laughing; and we should be too! We should be laughing because we should know that this is not something that is up for debate! We should laugh because we should know that in the long run every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and opposition to this truth can only end in broken pottery!
Instead of taking this stance modern Christians have either embraced the heresies of the modern culture or apologized for what the Bible says about our culture's licentious behavior. We need to return to a Biblical understanding of the humor of God. We need to laugh at the apostasy of our culture knowing that the victory is Christ's and whether in revival or in destruction his name will be exulted.
Food for thought.


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OneSpin Announces Immediate Availability of OneSpin 360 EC-FPGA Tool Qualification Kit Certified for ISO 26262, IEC 61508, EN 50128
Users Deploy EC-FPGA Formal Sequential Equivalence Checking into Automotive ASIL D Projects with no Additional Tool Qualification Requirements
MUNICH and SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 14, 2018 – OneSpin® Solutions, provider of innovative formal verification solutions for highly reliable, digital integrated circuits (ICs), announced immediate availability of its OneSpin 360 ECFPGA ™ Tool Qualification Kit certified by internationally-recognized testing body TÜV SÜD. The certification states that EC-FPGA meets the most stringent tool qualification criteria set by functional safety standards ISO 26262 (TCL3/ASIL D), IEC 61508 (T2/SIL 3) and EN 50128 (T2/SIL 3).
"OneSpin's EC-FPGA is the only EDA tool to exhaustively verify highly optimized FPGAs for autonomous vehicles, aerospace, nuclear power plants, railways and medical devices to eliminate systematic errors introduced during implementation," notes Dr. Raik Brinkmann, OneSpin's president and CEO. "With this certified Tool Qualification Kit, our users can deploy EC-FPGA seamlessly in their safety-critical flows to achieve a new level of productivity and standard compliance."
EC-FPGA is an automatic sequential equivalence checker that prevents fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) design flows from introducing synthesis, place-androute and other implementation errors. Safety standards require rigorous verification before production to minimize the risk of failures in the field. Using advanced formal technology, EC-FPGA detects corner-case design flow bugs with a process that is orders of magnitude more efficient and rigorous than gate-level simulation.
OneSpin also announced today that its general tool development and testing process has been audited by TÜV SÜD. (For more details, see accompanying news release dated February 14: "OneSpin Completes Series of Factory Inspections, Audits by Internationally-Recognized Testing Body TÜV SÜD.") Additional Tool Qualification Kits for other OneSpin tools will be available later in the year.
Availability and Pricing
OneSpin 360 EC-FPGA Tool Qualification Kit is shipping now. Pricing is available upon request. OneSpin has direct sales channels in the United States, Europe and throughout Asia, backed by a variety of customer service and support options including on-site training, hotline support and consulting services.
To learn more about the OneSpin 360 EC-FPGA Tool Qualification Kit, visit onespin.com/tuv.
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OneSpin Solutions has emerged as a leader in formal verification through a range of advanced electronic design automation (EDA) solutions for digital integrated circuits. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, OneSpin enables users to address design challenges in areas where reliability really counts: safety-critical verification, SystemC/C++ high-level synthesis (HLS) code analysis and FPGA equivalence checking. OneSpin's advanced formal verification platform and dedication to getting it right the first time have fueled dramatic growth over the past five years as the company forges partnerships with leading electronics suppliers to pursue design perfection. OneSpin: Making Electronics Reliable.
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Wiping out partisan bias in U.S. House elections
Barack Obama won a clear victory in the presidential election, and Democrats won 25 of 33 Senate races. But they failed miserably to win the House, falling short by more than 30 seats. How could the same voters deliver such different outcomes?
The answer lies in the way we elect House members. Because of where each party's voters live, Republicans have an intrinsic advantage under today's winner-take-all voting rules. Left unreformed, the rules will distort House representation for at least a decade.
Last week, Democrats won the most votes in contested House races. FairVote's post-election analysis of partisan voting trends suggests an underlying national preference toward Democrats of 52 percent to 48 percent. (If there had been no incumbents and each party had run a candidate in every district, the Democrats would have won 52 percent of the votes.) With a comparable edge in 2010, Republicans gained 64 seats to take the House. But this year, winning a House majority would have required a much bigger swing toward Democrats, as much as 55 percent of the vote, a historical high.
Incumbency and campaign spending helped Republicans, but their biggest advantage is structural. We elect House members in 435 districts, each with one representative. If ordered by their partisan leanings, 241 districts tilt toward Republicans. Only 194 lean toward Democrats. Of districts where one party's underlying advantage is at least 8 percentage points, Republicans have the edge in 195 and Democrats in 166.
This partisan tilt has dramatic consequences. Partisanship is the dominant factor in determining election outcomes. The major-party presidential candidates raised more than $2 billion, but they focused on just 10 states — all of which were swing states in 2008. The remaining states' electoral votes were accepted as locked up for one party or the other because of their underlying partisan tilt.
House races can be similarly grouped. In 2010, Democratic incumbents went 139 and 0 in the most Democratic districts but were swamped in Republican districts. This year, Democrats won 176 of the 177 most Democratic districts, but Republicans didn't need to win a single Democratic-leaning seat to keep their majority.
Independent redistricting alone will only modestly reduce this partisan bias. Although gerrymandered maps boosted Republicans in several states, maps drawn by independent commissions would still leave Democrats at a disadvantage because they are more packed in urban areas. More than two-thirds of the 68 most one-sided districts are Democratic. But Republicans dominate in 192 of the 323 remaining districts where one party has an edge of at least 6 percentage points. Last week, Democrats gained only three seats in those 192 districts.
Democrats have faced this bias for decades — in 1997, the GOP had an edge of 43 House seats in districts largely drawn by Democrats — but they could win House majorities because their "blue dog" centrists could outperform their presidential nominees. As ticket-splitting has dropped off, those candidates are losing — and the longtime partisan bias in districts is exposed.
The good news is that bias can be removed through laws replacing single-member district elections with fair voting plans that are grounded in our own traditions. As recently as 1968, many House members were elected in larger districts that had more than one representative. Fair voting alternatives to winner-take-all elections are increasingly common in local elections.
FairVote has drawn voting plans for every state that are designed to allow like-minded voters to elect representatives in proportion to their voting strength. Candidates would run in larger congressional districts, with three to five seats. Rather than nine single-member districts, for example, Massachusetts would have three districts that would each elect three representatives.
Fair voting has great potential, grounded in major parties that see the value in their candidates winning seats across the nation. It also would probably boost the election of women and racial minorities.
Simply highlighting existing biases helps focus attention on Congress. House Republicans kept their majority this year only through incumbency and structural bias. We should ask for fairness — and openness to reforms that establish what every American can support: a level playing field.
Richie is executive director of FairVote, a nonpartisan organization based in Takoma Park, Md.


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Confrontation – Classic The legendary skirmish game
Confrontation Classic is a major reference in the world of miniature wargaming. It's a game for two or more players, which takes place in a medieval fantasy world filled with legends, heroes, and tales of bravery. Confrontation takes place in the vast setting of Aarklash.
It's now up to you to take command of the armies and impose your rule !
This Celebration box will be enriched with all the stretch goals and bonuses unlocked during the campaign.
And more minis yet to unlock !
A complete and evolving world
Confrontation Classic represents a historic point in the world of skirmish miniature wargaming. With it, you will discover a living and deep setting. Nearly 1500 different miniatures were imagined by the best artists, and the authors have described in detail the vast world of Aarklash. You can lead the agile Daïkinee Elves, the powerful Ophidian Alliance, the fearsome Griffins of Akkylannia, or any of the 16 factions represented in the box! From the high mountains of Lanever to the plains of Avagddu, from the furthest reaches of the Eastern lands to the dark swamps of No-Dan-Kar, challenge your enemies, engage in battle, and become the hero the storytellers will tell stories about forever!
What about the rules ?
Confrontation Classic wil provide in the Celebration Box two booklets (in english and french) with the Core Rules for Confrontation.
The advanced and complete rules of Confrontation as well as the Dogs od War expansion (soon) are already downloadable !
They are available in french, english, italian, german and spanish. You will also find the Confrontation 3.5 errata in french and english on :
You want to discover more about Confrontation ? Check the Discovery Booklet.
The community of Confrontation is global. The game was originally sold in 40 countries and was translated into 5 languages. The players gathered in clubs, held conventions, and have developed many websites to find each other, share their battlefield feats, and trade game tips. We can't list them all here, but here are the Sans-Détour reference sites for Confrontation. There you'll be able to find our news, resources, and meet other players.
- https://confrontation-universe.com/ The Confrontation reference site: Subscribe to the mailing list in order not to miss any of our news, download rules and newsletters, etc.
- https://www.facebook.com/confrontationresurrection/ The official Facebook page of the game: news, contest games, discussions, etc.
- https://www.instagram.com/confminiatures/?hl=fr The official gallery: visuals of the factions, concept art, etc.
- @CONF_universe To be kept aware of information live.
- Discussions and exchanges with all of the fans and players on Discord https://discord.gg/eMEkRK
- The Bounty Hunter Program Get the word out about the Confrontation Classic Kickstarter over social media and earn rewards. Learn more about the Bounty Hunter program.
In 2018, we celebrate Confrontation's 20th anniversary, which is a much awaited event for the player's community.
Rackham published the Confrontation miniature game between 1997 and 2007. It was translated in five languages. During these ten years, the players experienced:
- Four editions of Confrontation and The Age of the Rag'Narok
- Dogs of War, an additional content for Confrontation 3
- An epic battle game: Rag'Narok
- A board game: Hybrid, and its expansion Nemesis
- A magazine: Cry Havoc
The Aarklash universe also inspired various creations, such as Arcana, or City of Thieves and its expansion The King of Ashes, but also video games. It has also inspired a role-playing game, named after one of its major cities: Cadwallon.
Editions Sans Detour
Éditions Sans-Détour have published The Call of Cthulhu in France since 2008.
In 2015, the 7th edition of The Call of Cthulhu was subject to a crowdfunding campaign which was the most successful campaign in Europe, across all categories. Sans-Détour continues to use crowdfunding and has always delivered their projects.
Our website: http://sans-detour.com/
Kickstarter Exclusive
By backing now on Kickstarter, you're guaranteed to get the complete edition of Confrontation Classic: meaning the 178 miniatures from the launch and all of the stretch goals which are unlocked. The event box will not be available in stores. However, it doesn't seem reasonable to us to offer it to stores with all of the unlocked stretch goals, as in that situation we'd be getting about 30% of the final sale price, which, to turn a profit on this production, would mean selling it for roughly 1200 dollars (or more depending on how many stretch goals are unlocked). The complete offer you can enjoy here is thus a Kickstarter exclusive.
The miniatures
The core box contains 178 unique miniatures from the 16 factions of the game, plus all the unlocked stretch-goals.
Check the Starting Selection Catalog here.
Shipping costs will be calculated after the end of the campaign. You will be informed of the total amount of these shipping costs via the pledge manager: these costs will be based upon the weight of the initial box and, of course, the weight of every additional stretch goal contents and miniatures that will be unlocked during the campaign, and added to the box. In order to be cost efficient for our backers, all shipments will be sent by a logistics partner based in the final recipient's geographical area. For example: subscribers from the American continents will receive their parcel from our US based logistics partner, whereas Europeans will receive theirs from our French based logistics partner, etc.
The following spreadsheet shows low and average estimates of the shipping costs per geographical area. These estimates are based solely on the weight of the starting material featured in the Kickstarter campaign. Therefore, they may evolve throughout the campaign, depending on the unlocked stretch goals, or which Add-on contents you choose to add to your order.
Please note that international regulations prevent us from shipping parcels to the following countries: North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan and Syria. We add the following countries to the list of countries where we will not deliver: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia.
We'll present here the planned calendars for the project's completion. For the duration of these, please remember that these are estimates which can change depending on circumstances.
Risks and challenges
The main challenge surrounding this epic project is to respect the historical work of the authors and artists who gave life to this prolific universe. The Confrontation players' community awaits a lot from this come-back and we really don't want to disappoint them.
Our experience at managing crowdfunding projects significantly reduces the risks about the way we will lead this crowdfunding campaign. We will focus on every step of this project's life, so as to avoid any mistake:
- This project is about republishing an emblematic game, therefore we know what the customers' and players' expectations are. We listen to what people say on social media, and consult with the most passionate players.
- We have a very clear communication plan and an excellent media relaying.
- An entire team of professionals is entirely dedicated to this project: project manager, art director, legal, communication…
- We already master the various stages to manufacture the miniatures: concept-art, modeling, master, sprue-casting or complete and assembled miniatures…
- We have contacted many manufacturers in various countries and have already worked with Chinese, German and Spanish partners. We also discuss with fellow publishers in order to identify and avoid any incidents.
- We have an already established logistics network; we know everything about transportation, customs…
Funding period
- (30 days)


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Jamie's presentation was extremely well received
Jamie's recent talk was his sixth
"Jamie's recent talk was his sixth at one of our events, he continues to receive outstanding applause from our attendees. Jamie did a brilliant job relating our business applications to his adventure experiences and expedition planning along with his themes of overcoming fear and finding success in failure. These principles come alive due to his energetic presentation style, his vibrant personality and superb use of humor in his stories."
Pamela K. Vaughn - Metavante
Jamie was awesome!
"Jamie was awesome! Few speakers can keep my attention for every second of a one hour session - Jamie did. I couldn't wait to hear what he was going to say next or where his story was headed. He did a great job of picking up on some issues in our open Q&A with our CEO and weaving them perfectly into his message. Amazing!"
Brian Galloway - Siemens Building Technologies
Your presentation was absolutely spectacular!
"Your presentation was absolutely spectacular! You tell a wonderful story with great passion, humor and a sincere humility. The parallels you were able to draw between your experiences and the challenges people in the audience face in both their personal and professional lives really hit home. I have been in this business a long time and that is first standing ovation I have ever witnessed at a customer event."
Jim Sweeney - Distributed Systems Services, Inc.
First and foremost: WOW!
First and foremost: WOW! I attend a great many conferences (too many?) and get to see some pretty high profile speakers. Your talk was one of the most captivating and memorable I have ever seen. You made me laugh till my sides hurt and moments later,your words brought tears rolling down my cheeks. Throughout, I didn't dare divert my attention. In short, you nailed it!!
Gary C. Bhojwani - President & Chief Executive Officer Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America


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Aura moderate conjuration and transmutation; CL 9th; Slot none; Price 16,650 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
This rod appears to be the limbless trunk and branching roots of a miniature tree. It grants its wielder a +5 competence bonus on Survival checks to get along in the wild and to keep from getting lost. Additionally the wielder and any allies within a 20-foot radius of the wielder gain the benefits of the ranger's woodland stride class feature.
If thrust into any natural ground or earth and allowed to stand for 1 hour, the rod grows and blooms into a large tree bearing edible fruit. A sapling rod produces 2d4 pieces of fruit. A creature that consumes an entire piece of fruit gains the benefits of either a cure moderate wounds or lesser restoration spell (recipient's choice). Consuming a piece of fruit from a sapling rod is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, and no single creature can benefit from more than two piece of fruit from a single blooming. A sapling rod can bloom once per week and after doing so reverts to its original state after all the fruit is picked, or after 24 hours, whichever comes first. Fruit harvested from the tree lasts for 24 hours before shriveling into useless husks.
Feats Craft Rod, cure moderate wounds, grove of respite, lesser restoration; Cost 8,325 gp
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Equipment (OGL) © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Ross Byers, Brian J. Cortijo, Ryan Costello, Mike Ferguson, Matt Goetz, Jim Groves, Tracy Hurley, Matt James, Jonathan H. Keith, Michael Kenway, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Tork Shaw, Owen KC Stephens, Russ Taylor, and numerous RPG Superstar contributors


text: A native New Yorker and former biologist, Anne Lesley Groell has been working in science fiction and fantasy publishing for close to twenty-two years—although she has been a devotee of the genre far longer. She worked for two and a half years at Avon Books, then moved on to Bantam Spectra. In the past twenty years, though she has never changed jobs again, she has worked for three different companies under two different imprints. She is currently an Executive Editor for Penguin Random House, and a member of Team Del Rey, where she works with such authors as George R.R. Martin, Terry Brooks, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Naomi Novik, Connie Willis, Peter Hamilton and Harry Turtledove. She lives in New York with her husband, Canadian author David Keck, and their daughter Amy.


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Advanced Search
On Tuesday Oracle announced the latest update of version 7 of the Java Development Kit.
Update 40 (JDK 7u40) adds a number of new features, including advanced monitoring and diagnostic capabilities, a new security policy, improved performance and efficiencies for Java on ARM servers, and support for Mac OS X retina displays.
This release bears the fruit of Oracle's ongoing efforts to merge the HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the JRockit JVM into the JDK. Oracle inherited JRockit when it acquired BEA Systems in 2008, and it had been the strategic JVM for the Oracle WebLogic Suite. The company announced in 2011 that it would merge JRockit with Sun's Hotspot, which has been more broadly adopted.
Specifically, this release bundles Java Mission Control and the Java Flight Recorder into the JDK. The Flight Recorder is a profiling and event-collection framework designed to allow developers and administrators to assemble detailed low-level information about how the JVM and the app are behaving. Java Mission Control comprises a set of tools for detailed analysis of the data collected by the Flight Recorder. Together, these tools allow for the collection and analysis of data from Java apps running locally or deployed in production environments.
Both Java Mission Control and the Java Flight Recorder are available as commercial features of Oracle's enterprise-targeted Java SE Advanced package (licensed under the Oracle Binary Code License Agreement). But developers can download them for free for development and evaluation purposes in JDK 7u40.
The new security feature in this release is essentially a set of deployment rules that desktop administrators can create to address the issue of security and compatibility in browser applets. Desktop admins can create a deployment rule set that allows them to control which applets or Java Web Start apps an end user is permitted to execute and which version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is associated with them. These deployment rules also address issues around end-user awareness of who created an app and their default interactions. As Oracle explains it, "By seeing the actual company or signer, the user is protected from running code by someone that they do not know."
Oracle provides instructions for creating a deployment rule set on its Java Platform Group blog.
This release of the JDK adds full certification for version 7 of ARM-based embedded chip architectures, including new support for "hard-float" (hardware floating point), which is designed to improve performance and responsiveness for GUI apps and Java server apps running on ARM servers.
JDK 7u40 also allows Java to recognize Mac OS X retina displays and automatically generate higher resolution graphics.
Oracle noted in its announcement that JDK7 is now the default Java version for the latest generation of Oracle Fusion Middleware products.
JDK 7u40 is available now for download from the Oracle Technology Network.
About the Author
John K. Waters is a freelance author and journalist based in Silicon Valley. His latest book is The Everything Guide to Social Media. Follow John on Twitter, read his blog on ADTmag.com, check out his author page on Amazon, or e-mail him at email@example.com.
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Maria shared a conference she attended regarding creating with ones hands and then evaluating those creations. This led to a lively discussion about different ways to evaluate students.
Chat here:
Today's conversation came from the recent talk of improving education by bringing merit pay into the schools. Maria asked the question, Is Merit Pay the Way? and Sheila identified an essential question, What would be a good 'no-cost' reward to push people to do better or retain the good teachers? Lisa Thumann joined us in the skype call. The chat room was hopping, so be sure to check the chat and listen to the audio.
Chat Log
Lisa recently returned from the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference in NYC. She shared her impressions and was joined by Karen Janowski who also attended the conference. The conversation continued in a discussion about creativity and how it is addressed in schools. Do schools kill creativity? Listen to the show to hear the conversation. As always, the chat room was rocking!
This week's show began with the question, "Why do we spend our year preparing our students for the following year?" and continued to be a discussion about how to reorganize schools to better facillitate learning for all students. Ginger Lewman joined Lisa and Maria. Sheila Adams was in her return flight from Belize.
Lisa and Maria reflect on EduCon2.1 this week. Sheila talks about the UNH Belize program and the plans for her upcoming trip to Belize.
Tweets about "edtechtalk"
Do you have your EdTechTalk stuff yet? Did you know there are T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, buttons, magnets, and tote bags available? They're all based on Wordle interpretations of the EdTechTalk Delicious tags.
What are you waiting for? These are limited edition items. Shop now and avoid the rush!


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Most of the Necromorphs in "Dead Space" can be killed by dismemberment — chopping them to pieces until they are dead. Some Necromorphs who regenerate quickly must be destroyed all at once, which can be accomplished by burning them using a shuttle's engine, for example.
- Identify the type of Necromorph you are facing
Different Necromorphs have different vulnerabilities and strengths. While dismemberment generally kills them, the means of dismemberment varies for each type. Some die after you sever enough limbs, while for others, chopping off a particular body part is sufficient to cause death. For other Necromorphs, hitting a certain part of the body may cause them to become even more dangerous. To be safe, begin by dismembering the arms and legs to keep the Necromorph from getting close to you.
- Keep a safe distance
While you are still trying to figure out how to kill a Necromorph, it's best to keep your distance to avoid sustaining injury. Certain Necromorphs, such as the Exploders, can cause damage when you hit them, so use long-range weapons.
- Look out for glowing spots
Some Necromorphs, such as the Exploders and Nests, have yellow glowing spots indicating their vulnerabilities. Focus on these spots to destroy the Necromorph.


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Sustainable Cotton
Ranking 2017
Zalando scores 1 out of 100 points in this ranking – showing no significant performance on more sustainable cotton, and has therefore not yet started.
Zalando has no public policy on sustainable cotton in place and makes no mention of any intention to reduce harmful impacts of cotton production on its website. Issues regarding water use, pesticide use and biodiversity in cotton cultivation remain unaddressed as do labour and human rights violations. One point is provided for Zalando's zLabels brand, which sells sustainable products containing organic or recycled cotton.
Zalando does not publish any information about volumes of more sustainable cotton sourced, either in percentage or absolute volume.
Zalando does not publish information on the absolute volume and origin of the cotton used in its products. The company does not provide information on its suppliers (finished product, fabric manufacturers, yarn spinners).


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- Astronomy & Space Science
- Astronomy - general
- Spitzer Space Telescope
- Astronomy & Space Science
- Astronomical instruments
- Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
Article By:
Rieke, George H. Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Last reviewed:2015
- Development
- Design
- Objectives
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
A high-performance infrared telescope that is one of the four Great Observatories. Spitzer was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2003. It takes advantage of dramatic advances in infrared detectors and detector arrays that occurred over the decade prior to its launch. The Spitzer detectors operate over the 3–200-micrometers (μm) wavelength range and are limited in sensitivity only by the faint glow of the zodiacal dust cloud. Ground-based infrared telescopes can operate only at the wavelengths where the atmosphere is transparent, lying between 1 and 25 μm. Even within these windows, the thermal emission of the atmosphere is more than a million times greater than the dilute emission of the zodiacal cloud, and there is additional foreground thermal emission from the telescope itself. High-sensitivity detectors are blinded by these bright foreground signals. Operating in space eliminates the atmospheric absorption and emission; also, a telescope in the vacuum of space can be cooled sufficiently to virtually eliminate its emission. See also: Zodiacal light
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Want to add a little nautical adventure to your key storage? Look no further! This fun key rack will store your keys and give you eight high fives every morning. Made of cast pot metal.
Dimensions: 10 1/2" width, 7" height, 1" projection
Vendor: SPI
1040 East Burnside ~ Portland, OR 97214
Monday through Thursday: 10am to 5pm
Friday and Saturday: 10am to 6pm
Sunday: 12pm to 5pm
Closed on most major holidays.
Email: email@example.com
© 2014 Hippo Hardware and Trading Company
Ecommerce Software by Shopify


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Discount Fashion Warehouse
Shopping / Warehouse and Storage
Call (614) 733-3820Directions
Get directions to thisWebsite
location on Google Maps.
location on Google Maps.
Open websiteShare
in new tab.
in new tab.
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on social media.
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At DFWh there is no reason to pay regular prices! Our inventory includes many of the same mall and catalog label items at discount prices of up to 90% off! We have items from the "World's most famous sportswear & lingerie catalog" and plus-size goods from "America's top plus-size retailers." Do you need missy or career wear from top chains? How about special buyouts from top brands & designer items? We have it all for you at Discount Fashion Warehouse including shoes, boots, fabulous accessories and jewelry!


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Tag / people
He Said, She Said Part 2
Written by, Colin Nicholson.
I've have a mother, a pair of grandmothers, a couple of sisters, and an ex-girlfriend or four, two female housemates a good handful of lady friends – and still no freaking clue. Continue reading →
Be the light that lights the way.
I feel that most of the time we are all so busy dancing LIFE as a quickstep that we forget that we can alter the pace by taking a deep breath, changing the music and just slowing down. Continue reading →
Why you should always choose to be kind or quiet.
Someone much wiser than me once said 'If you have nothing nice to say, it's best not to say anything at all' Continue reading →
Confessions Of A School Teacher
When someone says I have a confession to make I pull out the popcorn and get comfortable, because I know things are about to get real. Continue reading →
Just another manic LOVE day
Legend has it that centuries ago, one of the many Saints named Valentinus was imprisoned for performing verboten weddings for soldiers. While serving time for his crime he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. Some say that before he was executed he wrote her a farewell letter and signed it 'Your Valentine'. Continue reading →
The Star Of My Own Reality
You know how you think that you and your friends are so funny you should have your own half hour sitcom? Continue reading →


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Elevator Phone Monitoring
Elevator Phone Monitoring in Kansas City, Mo
Rampart Security Systems provides 24/7 elevator phone monitoring in Kansas City, MO (and the KC metro area). If you have an elevator in your building, you want a fast, appropriate response when someone pushes the CALL button. Rampart Security Systems' monitoring station monitors elevator emergency calls. Don't leave your visitors without a voice on the other end of the emergency phone line. Get your elevator emergency call button monitored through Rampart.
Your elevator service company can program the phone number we designate into the elevator dialer, and Rampart's U.L. listed, CSAA Five-diamond rated central station will answer your elevator emergency calls.
Next time you have your elevators serviced, call Rampart to make the switch.
To learn more information about our elevator phone monitoring or alarm monitoring in Kansas City, MO, call Rampart at 816-436-3000 today!


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Big Model Railroad Media is Fighting the Video Insurgency...Big Model Railroad Media such as Kalmbach, Model Railroad Hobbyist, and former Kalmbach video guy Allen Keller all have rolled out paywalled video services. They are all professionally produced and edited, and bring to life much of the art and craft of model railroading.
Watching tree making and airbrush techniques, for example, on Trainmasters.tv, boosted my confidence and took the mystery out of methods I should have learned decades ago.
Video tours of layouts also are both impressive and humanizing in a way that staged and static magazine photos often are not. I've particularly enjoyed seeing Bob Hayden and Dave Frary's Carrabasset and Dead River and Tom Piccirillo's Somerset County Traction system layouts--among many others--on video.
Big professional model railroad video is in large part big model railroad media's survival response to shrinking circulation of paper publications. Remember when the local drug and grocery store had most of an aisle of magazines, including Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman? Now it's 6 or 8 feet of magazines, and not a hobby magazine in sight. Model railroad video content, paid up front instead of print media paid by ads, is the idea here. Kalmbach and MRH in particular have positioned their video as complements or adjuncts to their magazine offerings.
Big professional model railroad video is also a response to insurgent small amateur model railroad video, which has sprung up like weeds on YouTube. Big model railroad media has noticed that some of these small do-it-yourself video makers actually are competing with the old magazine-centric model of big model railroad media. For starters, YouTube channels command significant audience numbers--James Wright's thorough and informative model railroad video product review channel has over 28,000 subscribers, Kathy Millatt's charming and edifying how-to channel has over 4,500 subscribers. There are lots of other individual model railroaders posting to YouTube as well, and there's even a group called YouTube Modelers that--in a twist--even publishes its own online magazine.
There is a more ominous competitive threat to Big Model Railroad Media than insurgent collectives of video- and magazine producing model railroaders, and that is how YouTube is changing model railroad commerce. Model railroad manufacturers have already taken notice of the power of online video to connect with customers. Hobby manufacturers and retailers who formerly connected with consumers almost exclusively via ads bought from Big Model Railroad Media now have their own YouTube channels. Woodland Scenics and MB Klein are two excellent examples.
And remember James Wright with his 28,000 subscribers? His YouTube reviews are now a sought-after venue for showcasing new model railroad products and events. In short, YouTube and online video are an alternative to ads in Big Model Railroad Media--why would manufacturers pay money to put ads in big model railroad magazines if a popular YouTube reviewer or your own marketing and video people can show sights, sounds, and motions to a world of Internet users?
I'm currently signed up to all of Big Model Railroad Media's paywalled sites, and I put a fair bit of mileage on several of the YouTube channels. Not sure if I will keep the subscriptions over the long haul, but I would gladly gift them to a newby in lieu of a how-to book or old model railroad magazines, much same way I was helped at the beginning of my model railroad interest. I'll admit that I don't consume video content like "normal" people do: my TV consumption has always been minimal, thanks to a childhood more or less without TV.
...But Big Model Railroad Media is Sitting Out the Audio InsurgencyBut I did hear a lot of radio as a child and young adult, so there's another internet-based form of broadcast-like communication that has more appeal to me than video, and that's podcasts. Podcasts are free and easily accessible via smart phone or computer. Why hasn't Big Model Railroad media launched into podcasting to showcase their strengths--access to the industry and prominent model railroaders, tightly edited expert content--and cross sell their money making magazine and video offerings?
There are a number of model railroad podcasts currently available on iTunes or other sources, most of which enjoy significant listener bases. Some are updated regularly; others are out of production with archived back episodes available. I've mentioned my favorite, Trevor Marshall and Jim Martin's The Model Railway Show, several times here before, and though out of production, its archive is thankfully still available. I also listen occasionally to Lionel Strang's A Modeler's Life, Tom Barbalet's Model Rail Radio, and Mike and Scotty Live. There are others as well.
So far, model railroad podcasts have been grassroots undertakings, typically produced by one or a few folks on a part time basis, with bare bones production. The result is that most model railroad podcasts--like most podcasts generally--tend to be a few people talking in an unedited, meandering conversation for long period of time. For model railroad podcasts, the long conversation format works fairly well, with each of the above podcasts reaching thousands of loyal listeners.
But there's also room, maybe even a need, for another approach to model railroad podcasts besides a couple of dudes cracking in-jokes and talking about trains for an hour or two . For example, how about a radio show-like podcast with a host or hosts that is edited and switches between interviews, stories, and industry news?
Big model railroad media or maybe even a large organization such as the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) are in the best position to launch such a podcast--it's not that great a leap from the editorial and production capabilities required to produce a magazine or video to produce a radio show-format podcast.
The best example of the potential for high-production value, radio show-like model railroad podcasts was the The Model Railway Show mentioned above. It was scripted and featured news, stories, and interviews. To be fair, the show's hosts, Trevor Marshall and Jim Martin, are veteran radio journalists, and their skill and experience was evident throughout each tightly crafted episode. However, TMRS demanded significant time and attention to create, and ultimately Trevor and Jim stopped producing the show so they could focus on their own model railroad pursuits.
Indeed, there are other tantalizing precursors or elements of professionally-produced, Big Model Railroad Media radio show-style podcasts already out there. Model Railroad Hobbyist already has a traditional, monthly (or so) 'couple of dudes talking for an hour or two' podcast. Model Railroader editors have monthly (or so) videos like 'Inside Cody's Office', highlighting new products and industry, as well as separate video previews of the upcoming magazine issues. Could MR not re-fashion these kinds of periodic video offerings into an engaging podcast? Perhaps White River Productions (publisher of Railroad Model Craftsman, Model Railroad News, and other train-focused magazines) could venture into this space with a monthly or weekly radio show-style podcast.
As Trevor and Jim's experience shows, serious podcast production requires serious production wherewithal--it's really more than a hobbyist with a day job can be expected to do. Which is why Big Model Railroad Media players ought to offer podcasts as a digital adjunct to their print and video products.


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Reservation Request Form
Jotunheim is SOLD OUT. To request a spot on the Wait List, please fill our the form below.
February 22 - April 8, 2018
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