text:
Speakers ! Come and share your passion and experience at the third edition of the best technical WordPress event of this year, that will take place in Lyon, April 28th 2018.
What does it take to be a speaker at WP Tech ?
- you have reasonable experience on the topic you wish to tackle while still being accessible
- you want to share your knowledge and experience with the community
- you are passionate about WordPress and development best practises
- you want to talk about technical stuff surrounding WordPress while respecting the GPL terms
Why be a speaker at the WP Tech ?
- you want to show WordPress is a powerful and technically advanced solution
- you understand the value of sharing and its power within the community
- you also want to learn a few tricks (and you will !)
- you'll meet a ton of new interesting and inspiring people
- you know sharing excellent content will make you famous (and you deserve it)
What can I submit ?
We're accepting any kind of format : full length talk, lightning talk, workshop, roundtable meeting, coding dojo… anything between 10 and 50 minutes.
Of course, English speakers are more than welcome !
We have two conference rooms to allow for highly technical or more accessible topics.
Now it's your turn !
If you're interested please submit one or more topics/ideas using the form below.
If you have no ideas, here are a few :
- How to create Gutenberg blocks
- WordPress as a headless CMS with React and the REST API.
- How to monitor your PHP code to enhance site performance
- Advanced media management within WordPress
- Workshop : develop your first WordPress Theme
- Developing a Repo Ready theme: tools and best practises
- Customizing WooCommerce with hooks
- Building a Progressive Web App with WordPress
- Workshop : your first WordPress plugin
What are you waiting for ?
Exactly like the previous editions, the volunteers for the WP Tech will vote for their favorite submissions and will establish the program for the day. We'll get in touch with everyone who submitted a topic to tell whether it's been scheduled or not.
The call for speakers will end on February 17th, at midnight.
Thanks for your participation !


text:
We would love for you and your family to be a part of our "family" here at 5 Points Church. We invite you and your family to join us for service.
Children's Service times:
Nursery: 11:00 a.m. Ages: Infant - age 5
Age 6 and up join their parents in the main worship service.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Big Fun Comes to Big Water in Foley
The first phase of what is billed as "Your Southern Destination Reinvented" is now open in Foley. The Park at OWA (a Creek word meaning "'big water") a 21-ride, themed amusement park features a variety of midway games, quick service dining options and a gift shop filled with one-of-a-kind OWA inspired collectibles. OWA will ultimately encompass over 500 acres including a 14 acre lake. A 150 room hotel is now open with shops and restaurants coming online later this year. Future plans call for a water park, more hotels, condos and a first-class RV Park. General admission tickets to The Park at OWA are $34.99; Junior Admission (42" and below) is $27.99
Children 3 and under - Free Military (Active) and Senior (60+)
Admission is $27.99. For more info go to visitowa.com.
From family friendly fun to a night out on the town we have so much to offer, take a look around our directory to plan your perfect vacation.
For more than 30 years, ITEX Corporation (OTCQB: ITEX) has helped tens of thousands of businesses generate new sales, conserve precious cash flow and increase profits. With our leading payment technology platform for processing transactions and our exclusive distribution channel, member businesses utilize our


text:
For millions of expats working in the country, the fear of having to pay levies is very real, observes Saad Maniar…
Over the years, one of the big attractions of working in the UAE has been its tax regime: it charges no income tax on salaries. However, today, for millions of expats working in the country, the fear of having to pay taxes is very real.
Recently, speculation over the dreaded possibility of income tax has grown, after reports that the federal Government is drawing up plans to introduce a value-added tax and a corporation tax.
There is currently no personal income tax in the UAE. However, there are other tariffs, like the municipality service charges, which are levied on individuals living and working in the UAE, and the service charges of 5-10%, charged on food purchased in restaurants. Hotels charge 10-15% service charge per night on room rates.
This is the latest move by the UAE authorities, seeking to bolster state revenues.
Oil-price deregulation
The government recently moved swiftly to safeguard against oil-price shocks, by deregulating gasoline and diesel prices. Beginning August 1, the Ministry of Energy implemented a new pricing policy, linked to global oil levels. Up until last month, UAE residents enjoyed some of the lowest domestic fuel prices in the world, due to heavy government subsidies that helped to keep prices low.


text:
The day is very similar for "Strip" FUT and FUE with some minor difference listed here
Arrival (30 minutes): You will be greeted by the receptionist, who will ask you to pick out your lunch for the day. After We will take pre-operative photos and take care of any final paperwork.
Meet with Physician (as long as necessary): After your photos, you will meet with your physician to review the surgery.
General Preparation for Surgery (30 minutes): You will be escorted back to the surgery room to be prepared for surgery. You may wish to use the restroom at this time, however, you may take a break anytime during the surgery. Some of the things that will occur during this preparation stage are as follows:
- You will be placed in a surgical gown and asked to sit in the surgical chair.
- Your vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation) will be measured.
- You will be given pre-surgical medications consisting of an antibiotic, Valium, and Prednisone prior to surgery. If you have questions or are allergic to any of these medications, please call us prior to your surgery.
- You will be asked to pick out movies you may choose to watch during the day. We have a selection of DVD's and Videos to choose from or you may bring in your own DVD's or videos to watch. We also have channels such as CNN, Fox, etc. The surgery takes about 6-8 hours. Some patients sleep off and on during the surgery due to the effect of the Valium, while others stay awake and watch movies or listen to music of their choice. No Reading during surgery is allowed.
Preparation of Donor Area FUE (15 minutes):This is one major difference. In order to do FUE the entire donor area that will be harvested has to be shaved. So we will either shave the entire donor area and give you a "marine type" hair cut" or we can get a little creative. If the procedure is small we can just shave a strip and let the long hair cover it.
Local Anesthesia for the Donor and Recipient Site Areas (15 minutes): The surgical assistants will inject the donor and recipient site areas with a local anesthetic. Lidocaine is injected using a very small needle. You may feel a mild stinging sensation with the injection which subsides within a minute. After the initial stinging sensation the area is numb.
Graft Removal by FUE(2-4 hours): The process of obtaining the grafts is longer since each graft has to be harvested one at a time. Depending on the number of grafts it could take 2-4+ hours. This is done with the patient lying on his stomach.
Inspection and Organizing of Grafts: Immediately after the FUE grafts are removed they are given to the technicians who trim and organize them as well as place them into cold hypothermasol. This is being done while the physician continues to harvest the grafts one at at time.
Lunch: (1/2 hour) You will be provided with lunch. Please let us know, in advance, if you have any dietary restrictions.
Creation of Recipient Site Incisions: (1-2 hour)Once all the grafts are harvested the physician will begin making the recipient site incisions. The physician will make all the tiny incisions in which the grafts will be placed. Almost all incisions are made prior to placing the grafts in the incisions. This usually takes about 1-2 hours. If it is a two day procedure some incision may be left for the second day for fine tuning.
Placing of Follicular Unit Grafts: (2-4 hours) After the incision have been made the surgical assistants will start placing the follicular unit grafts. Most of the placement is done by the technical staff with over site from the physicians at regular intervals. Each graft is coated with Acell to insure good growth.
Stick and Place and Fine Tuning.During the placing process and at the end the physician will continually check the placement of the grafts. When there are a out 300-400 grafts left the procedure will be stopped and the pattern and distribution will be rechecked. At this time fine tuning with more incisions for the final grafts will be made and placed.
Completion: Most surgeries are completed by 5-6:00PM. You will be given detailed post surgical instructions. If the next day is a week day, you may return to the office for a hair wash and check up. You will be given an after-care kit containing post-op medications.
Variations: With FUE there can be some variation in the order and logistics of the case depending on if it is a one day or 2 day procedure. In addition sometimes in FUE it is better to make the incision before the FUE extractions are done. This can be beneficial in some cases.
Suture/Staple Removal: There is no suture or staple removal with FUE .
PATIENT PHOTOSView Photo Gallery
PATIENT VIDEOSView Video Gallery
"Thank you very much for your attention. I am very happy with the results of the surgery. After 3 months only I already have full hair coverage in all the affected areas and don't need to use the hair clips like I used to do for many years. Please give my beast regards to Dr. Shapiro and the team..."Read More


text:
National Programs
The depth and breadth of our insurance knowledge and expertise is nowhere more evident than in our National Programs Division, which has origins dating from the 1970s. Today, this Division manages or administers more than 34 programs that provide a broad spectrum of insurance products and services to a wide variety of customers. In most cases, the insurance carriers that support the programs have delegated underwriting and, in many instances, claims-handling authority to our programs operations. These programs are generally distributed through nationwide networks of independent agents and offer targeted products and services designed for specific industries, trade groups, professions, public entities and market niches.
Use the search feature at the top of the page to search through all Brown & Brown Programs or click any of the logos below for more information on available programs within a specific brand.


text:
Oct 19, 2012
Feature and Follow Friday {10}
14 comments:
Thanks for visiting my blog!ReplyDelete
I returned the favor via GFC :)
Thanks for stopping by :)Delete
I haven't read anything by Sophie Kinsella, but will be trying some soon!ReplyDelete
Old GFC follower
My post - F&FReplies
You definitely should- her stories are always filled with humor :)!!Delete
Chick-lit is a great way to make a change of scenario indeed :)ReplyDelete
I guess adult fiction would be where I got the most out of my usual genre...
Murphy's LibraryReplies
There's lots of great adult fiction out there- I always end up loving my YA novels a bit more though :P Happy Saturday !Delete
I LOVE Sophie Kinsella. I've read all her books. I call them "indulgent nonsense!"ReplyDelete
Thanks for the follow. I followed back!Replies
Aha! I love that =)Delete
Thanks for stopping by !
I love Y.A too. Following backReplyDelete
I'm a total YA freak and I usually don't stray too far out of that genre, but I'll remember your recommendation of Sophie's books the next time I'm looking for something different!ReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by my FF'S for this week
Book Me! and Carmen Jenner.com
Have a great week! =DReplies
Sophie's books are perfect if your looking for something different from YA- thanks for stopping by ! Happy Monday :)Delete
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog this past Friday (sorry for the late response)!
I hope you'll continue to visit my site throughout the week (for Tuney Tuesdays and What's the Word? Weekends too)!!! :D
Great answer to this past FF's question!!! I'm totally a new follower of yours!!! :D
J.B. jbkantt.blogspot.com/Replies
I'll definitely stop by your blog- I'm curious about those memes :PDelete
Happy Monday =) !!!


text:
|8-Dec-14 1:00 PM CST
Oregon Woman dies when Rocuronium instead of Fosphenytoin Administered by Mistake
A Portland, Oregon admitted that patient, Loretta MacPherson, died earlier this week from a medication error initiated during an emergency room visit. Fosphenytoin, an intravenous drug used to treat seizure disorder, was to be administered to MacPherson, but the paralyzing agent, rocuronium, was administered instead. Rocuronium, which is a neuromuscular blocking agent, is often used during surgical procedures when patients need to be placed on a ventilator. Used under the careful watch of an anesthesiologist, rocuronium is a safe medication, but in this case, because it was administered incorrectly, the drug had fatal results.
It is unclear how the error occurred, but hospital officials state there will be a full investigation into the error. Questions are being raised about the manufacturer packaging, how the pharmacy compounded the drug, as well as storage and administration of the drug. Officials for the hospital, St. Charles Health Systems, state this is the first incidence of a medical error of this magnitude in the 28-year history of the health system. Officials state there are three individuals involved with the medication error.
MacPherson, who had recently had brain surgery, stopped breathing and suffered from cardiac arrest shortly after the wrong drug was administered. St Charles Health System reported the incident to the Oregon State Attorney General's office, but no criminal charges are expected to be charged. Unfortunately, medical errors are responsible for thousands of death each year. This incident comes on the heels of the Health and Human Services department announcing there has been a reduction in the number of deaths related to medical errors from 2010 to 2013. Obviously when an issue such as this arises it serves to remind the medical community that there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to keep patients safe.
CBSNEWS (2014) "Hospital medication error kills patient in Oregon", CBSNEWS,
Wozniacka, g., (2014) "Oregon hospital: Medication order killed patient", YahooNews, http://news.yahoo.com/hospital-says-medication-error-killed-patient-200501465.html, retrieved 5.December 2014
|For additional information on this article, please contact:
|Source: Sandy Andrews


text:
We understand you want to use your yard as a getaway, where you and the family can spend quality time together. Nothing stops the fun faster than a swarm of mosquitoes, a fire ant mound or blood-sucking fleas. Call SafeHaven and let us use our decades of pest knowledge to solve your pest problems. SafeHaven specializes in the use of all natural essential oil products made by a fellow Lake Highlands local Mosquito Steve. We have been the largest Mosquito Steve Certified Applicator for 3 years running. Not to mention, Mosquito Steve products are harmless to kids, pets, and plants. Let us treat your yard and maintain or Install your Mosquito Misting System using all natural essential oils that are EPA Minimum Risk Products under 40 CFR 152.25(f).
Protect your Yardyour-web-guy2017-05-31T21:04:09-06:00


text:
Listen to this article
The name Bugatti conjures up images of the Riviera in the 1920s – all speed, fizz and sparkling elegance. But the family who made the cars had another, somewhat bleaker story. Rembrandt Bugatti was the gaunt, coal-eyed younger brother of the engineering genius, Ettore, who designed the vehicles. For many years Rembrandt was dubbed simply "the other Bugatti", but in fact he was a fine sculptor – among whose creations was the dancing silver elephant on the bonnet of the Bugatti Royale.
His work was shown at the Venice Biennale when he was just 19 and he was awarded the French Légion d'Honneur for art at 27. He won the admiration of Apollinaire, the great promoter of Picasso, and Hébrard, the foundry that acted as Bugatti's gallery, also cast works by Degas and Rodin. But in 1916, at the age of 31, he committed suicide; his career cut short by illness, poverty, disappointment in love and the first world war. Now, almost a century after his death, his reputation is being restored by two exhibitions of his work; one at London's Sladmore Gallery, the other at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
The Bugattis were as much a family of artists and artisans as mechanics and engineers. Carlo, Rembrandt's father, designed furniture, interiors and objets d'art and was such an aesthetic polymath he was dubbed "Leonardo" by his friends. It was perhaps his own sobriquet that inspired him to name his third child equally audaciously.
Born in Milan in 1884, Rembrandt's talent first emerged in a string of cows he moulded aged 15 out of a lump of clay he found lying around his father's workshop. Human relationships were difficult for the shy adolescent, but when in 1903 he moved from Milan to Paris he would spend hours observing the baboons, giraffes and panthers in the zoo of the Jardin des Plantes.
Making sculptures of animals offered him a refuge from human interaction but still allowed him to depict inwardness, affection, irritation and the other states of mind that animals share with people. He captured the rhythm and movement of animals as well as their awkwardness with an empathy that seemed sometimes mutual.
"Bugatti did not make sculptures of animals so much as portraits," says Edward Horswell, director of the Sladmore Gallery. "He saw each animal as an individual. Many sculptors have succeeded in capturing a range of emotions in models with whom they can converse. Bugatti's uniqueness lay in extending it to his mute subjects."
Nowhere is this more evident than a portrait of a family of deer in which a fawn nudges the head of its mother while the father rests his head gently on its rump, and animals of different species – donkeys and emus, even dogs and panthers – are often presented in pairs entwined in silent communion.
Although Bugatti had smart family connections (his father was friends with the composer Giacomo Puccini and the painter Giovanni Segantini), he was divorced from the Parisian avant-garde. The critic André Salmon described him crossing the road to avoid the in-crowd at cafés: "More out of fear from people than out of pride, Rembrandt made his way through the noisy groups of young artists as quickly as possible and without shaking any hands …A melancholy young man …his shock of hair covered a brow which was both luminous and sharply modelled. He had the sunken eyes of a solitary man given to meditation."
Yet despite his isolation, Bugatti's works were not entirely untouched by those around him. A bronze panther has a gestural, impressionistic surface; a lion, a touch of the studied primitivism of Rousseau's paintings. French animaliers of the 19th century such as Antoine-Louis Barye were the pioneers of their day but they sculpted animals from photographs and drawings or by dissecting carcases. Bugatti, by contrast, observed them for days, sometimes weeks, before capturing the subtlety of their expressions in clay.
In 1906, in order to expand his sculptural menagerie, Bugatti started making extended visits to the Royal Zoological Gardens in Antwerp – at that time the largest zoo in Europe. While there, he cast what is arguably his most revolutionary work, a giant anteater whose whorled, circular bulk seems inflected with futurist and expressionist traits. There are also glimmers, in its serpentine lines, of Ettore's car designs for such beasts of the road as the Bugatti Atlantique.
Around this time he also started experimenting with human subjects. Peeved by one critic's description about the "drawing room scale" of his sculptures, he embarked on a monumental piece, nine feet high, of a man almost Rubenesque in his virility. But most of Bugatti's human figures were distant and dreary compared to his animals, their faces vague and inaccessible. It is in his often slightly woebegone animals that you sense his true feelings. A sculpture Bugatti made of a young girl in the nude holding a cat outstretched in her arms is believed to be a portrait of Kathleen Bruce (later the wife of the Antarctic explorer Robert Scott), his greatest passion, cruelly toying with his affections.
Although poised on the brink of stardom in 1914, hailed by critics as a "truly exceptional talent"' with "marvellous sensibility" and earning the equivalent in today's money of around €10,000 a month from Hébrard, the first world war blew away not only Bugatti's income, but his subject matter and, most importantly, his hope.
All the animals in the Antwerp zoo, that he had so lovingly sculpted, were killed in 1915 when food became scarce. Bugatti volunteered as a stretcher-bearer at an Antwerp hospital where he contracted tuberculosis – an incurable disease in those days. On January 8 1916, Bugatti went to mass at the Madeleine in Paris. After the service, he bought himself a bunch of flowers and then went home and killed himself with gas.
The 300 or so works he left behind have been slow to take their place in the critical pantheon. The market has always recognised their value and, at upwards of £2m, his bigger animal bronzes are some of the most expensive on the market. The 17 sculptures in the exhibition at Sladmore Gallery – some of which are on loan – range in price from £175,000 to £3m. They include one of Bugatti's earliest known sculptures, made when he was just 16, of a horse and donkey yoked together and drawn from the fields where he lived at that time, in a village outside Milan. Also featured are two tender portraits of adolescent antelope comforting their sick mothers and two tapirs, nuzzling each other in piggy affection. A sculpture made shortly before his death shows the odd juxtaposition of animals Bugatti liked toying with: a stand-off between a rooster and a frog.
Perhaps with the fanfare of two substantial exhibitions, Rembrandt Bugatti will enter the art history books, too.
'Rembrandt Bugatti: Emotions in Bronze', Sladmore Gallery, London, to November 8, www.sladmore.com; 'Rembrant Bugatti', Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, March 28-July 27 2014, www.smb.museum
Get alerts on Rembrandt Bugatti when a new story is published


text:
Seal the Loop Action Day
November 2016
Seal the Loop Action Day – November 2016
It was another successful turnout with 200 students from Rye Primary School and staff attending. There were representatives from Zoos Victoria and local conservation groups.
This year the education and beach clean-up event took place at the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron and is held to raise awareness of the diverse marine life in our bay, the importance of correct rubbish disposal and the harmful effect that rubbish can have on marine life.
Our next Seal The Loop Action Day will be in 2017.
Everyone's Favourite Piece of the Mornington Peninsula
Sites fill up fast so book now to avoid missing out!


text:
Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold Assistant Dean of Administration and Strategic Initiatives School of Communication
- Additional Positions at AU
- Unit HR Representative
- Degrees
- BA, International Studies; BA, German, Bradley University, Peoria, IL Certificate in German studies, Goethe Institute, Prien, Germany. Additional studies at University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria & American University, College of Arts & Sciences, Washington, DC
- Languages Spoken
- German
- Bio
- In her role as Assistant Dean for Administration & Strategic Initiatives, Kristi provides leadership for the School of Communication's external research funding administration, execution of strategic partnership agreements, inclusion and community building efforts and full time human resource management from the Office of the Dean. In collaboration with the Dean and other senior administrative leadership, she creates strategies, budgets and resource scenarios for initiatives for the School's centers, labs, institutes, and special projects. Kristi collaborates with other SOC and central university colleagues on projects, grant agreements, contracts, memorandums of agreement, personnel items, and issue resolution. She oversees all full-time staff recruitment, hiring, and personnel actions as the School's HR representative. Another key role for Kristi is working with the SOC and AU community on development and implementation of activities, events, trainings, and processes to improve inclusive excellence and celebrate the community's diversity. She manages the internal and external relations in the SOC Office of the Dean, ensuring excellent service to constituents and appropriate issue resolution, and supervises AU's Game Lab administration. Kristi serves on a number of university committees.


text:
198. Aughinish Island, Newquay, Co. Clare
Sleeps: 2 • Bedrooms: 1 • Price Band: E/F
Booking Request
We aim to get back to you within one working day, you will be asked for some contact details on the following page.
Small stone cottage (next to 200) on the delightful small island of Aughinish on the N. Clare coast in Galway Bay. The island has a rugged coastline and Martello tower and is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Situated in the Burren with its unique landscape, historic monuments, archaeological sites, rare flowers, caves and birdlife. Nearest beach 500m. Tracht Strand and nearest pub 3 miles. Kinvara for shops, pubs, restaurants and boat hire (6 miles). Linane's Lobster Bar 10 miles. Fishing, Aillwee Caves in Ballyvaughan 12 miles. Ferry trips to Aran Islands. Private walled garden and courtyard with furniture.
Furnished with cosy sofa and open plan kitchen/sitting/dining room with wood burning stove. Electric shower and W.C. Steep French stairs to open plan loft bedroom with a double bed. Electric convector heater. Duvets. Washing machine. Microwave. Basic 2 ring cooker. No smoking. No pets.
Wireless broadband possible. Electric slot meter.
Linen, Towels


text:
U.S. Army
Army Reserve / National Guard
Post-9/11 Era
Combat Veteran
Managing TBI and finding success
Tasks that once seemed simple became difficult for Schuyler. He had trouble concentrating and had problems with eye strain. After discovering he had a traumatic brain injury (TBI), Schuyler went to a TBI clinic. He—and his family—learned ways to manage his symptoms, and Schuyler overcame his challenges.Find Local Support


text:
ATomic Dilemma
by James A. Crabtree
Arguably the most hated Australian tennis player since a young Lleyton Hewitt, life isn't easy for Bernard Tomic.
In fact Bernie has almost gone in search of bad press. There was the turning down of Lleyton Hewitt as a practice partner. The allegations he was going to quit Australia at his father's behest and play for Croatia. In the 2012 Miami Masters he asked the chair umpire to remove his own father. During last years US Open John McEnroe accused Tomic of tanking a loss to Andy Roddick. Following all that he angered the old guard of Australian tennis with apparent refusal to play Davis Cup. And then we have the numerous driving issues, too numerous to mention.
Nevertheless Tomic is also the man with the best chance of restoring Australian tennis fortunes.
It must be tough for him. Most people find young men in their late teens and early twenties irritating to the say the least. Unless you are a fifteen year old girl chances are you also find Justin Bieber and One Direction intolerable.
Another difficulty for Tomic is the daddy dilemma as Bernard is not the person with the biggest ego among his entourage.
What on earth is young Bernie supposed to you?
The youngest Wimbledon quarterfinalist since Boris Becker in 1985 Tomic started 2013 well. He won all three of his singles Hopman Cup matches against none other than Tommy Haas, Novak Djokovic and Andreas Seppi. He then went onto win Sydney. There he beat Marinko Matosevic, Florian Mayer, Jarkko Nieminen, Andreas Seppi (again), and Kevin Anderson for his tenth win in a row and his first career singles title.
Quickly Tomic went from being loathed to loved.
The following week at the Australian Open, Leonardo Mayer and Daniel Brands fell victim. By this time the whole of Australia was in a flutter and Tomic was not only invincible, but was displaying the sort of ego not seen since Clubber Lang.
Then there was the rumoured incident before the big Australian Open 3rd round match. On the practice court where John Tomic is notoriously hot headed Bernie sat after practice, his dad stood behind and berated him incessantly for ten minutes. Eventually Bernie walked off shaking his head. Not the best possible way to get a sense of Zen before a match?
Bernie went on to lose the match, and hasn't won more than two matches in a row since. Of course his drop in form went unnoticed until dad John reportedly beat up Bernie's hitting partner Thomas Drouet. Complications have heightened further since Drouet has come forward with other incidences.
What is Bernie supposed to do?
Judy Murray once commented that talent got her son, Andy Murray, within the top 100, but it was hard work and determination that propelled him to the heights he now knows. Compare the 2013 Andy Murray with the 2005 version of himself and we could be looking at a different athlete.
It is obvious that Bernard could administer similar changes.
This poses the question, who would be the perfect person to guide arguably the most naturally talented youngster on tour? Tennis Australia are already trying to help solve the crisis, and undoubtedly all the familiar names will arise such as Tony Roche, Pat Rafter and Scott Draper. Again akin to the LTA Brad Gilbert hiring for Andy Murray perhaps the best coach for the player is not one made by a committee. And besides, Bernie has had more than his fair share of runs with a number of high profile Australian coaches during Davis Cup play already. Perhaps he needs someone with an old school work hard mentality similar to Ivan Lendl or someone who can understand the games intricate details such as Andy Roddick's old coach Larry Stefanki.
Sacking the only coach you have ever known would be difficult enough, now imagine starting that ordeal with the word 'Dad'. Bernard obviously needs a new coach, but probably deep down worries about what his father will do without him.
10 Ways to Make the Professional Tennis Tour Cooler
by James A. Crabtree
Okay, this article will likely get some of you upset and I am sure I may even be accused of being a halfwit. However, they are just ideas, not set in stone, where imagination has gotten the better of me and will probably never happen.
Of course if any of them do happen, I do want a cut of the action and full praise for being a genius.
Cool Idea 1
Get rid of the 32 seed format in grand slams, which has been in place since Wimbledon 2001. Why should we get rid of it? It is far too much protection to the high seeds. The knock on effect is too many of the same matchups from tournament to tournament, less chance for the draw to open up for a no name and thus less variety. Boring. Go back to the 16 seed format, which could right now pair 17th ranked Gilles Simon in a first round match up with Djokovic or 24th ranked Jerzy Janowicz with Andy Murray. Now that would be good.
Cool Idea 2
Shuffle up the events (sorry Chris Skelton). Now for those of you who like uniformity and probably have a tidy bedroom you will likely prefer all the clay court tournaments bunched together, all the grass courts back to back and then a season of hard court events. Like neatly folded bed linen all this is rather…BORING! Why not see which players can mould their games quickly from surface to surface?
In fact this fantastic idea hinders the specialist from racking up points at certain times of year.
Cool Idea 3
Have an indoor event in Australia in October, mainly because I live in Australia and it is a long time between Aussie Opens. Another tournament is needed in this far off distant land to keep the tennis heart pumping throughout the course of year. Twelve months between Aussie Opens is just far too long. Also it would be great to have tour events in some tiny countries. Monaco is taken care of but how about Liechtenstein, San Marino and Vatican City!
Cool Idea 4
There is no ATP 1000 event on grass. Thus the tour needs one and needs to extend the grass court calendar a little longer. Actually, imagine having a top class grass court event in South America or somewhere that is typically only played on clay.
That being said it would be great to mix up the court surfaces across the globe. A clay event in England would be great addition.
Cool Idea 5
More of an exhibition, a "blast from the past" event. This would involve two of today's top players slugging it out with old school wooden racquets. In fact let's go full 1970's; short shorts tight shirts, moustaches and the winner must hurdle the net.
Cool Idea 6
Coaching Court – this court could be inside the main ground or enclosed in a glass box outside (cooler option) at any big tournament. Throughout the first few days coaches of respective players would offer instructional analysis and drill summaries for onlookers for free. A brief question and answer service would conclude each session.
Cool Idea 7
Another exhibition match – but the catch? No topspin allowed. I want to see Rafael Nadal chopping at the ball for an hour. If topspin is inadvertently used a side-court judge will determine if a player is to lose a point.
Cool Idea 8
Local area wildcard recipient. Don't worry, they won't just be gifted the entry but an open tournament, where anyone can enter, will be played out. The beneficiary will go straight into the main draw and a possible Vince Papale moment will be born.
Cool Idea 9
Live in match tweeting!! At every changeover a player must tweet what is going through their minds. If they choose to follow or retweet Justin Bieber they will be punished with immediate deduction of a game.
Cool Idea 10
Remember back when we thought of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi as friends? When they did stuff like this?
Well the impromptu match needs to be brought back. Not necessarily Manhattan but how about the smallest little tennis club here and there that nobody in their right mind would have expected.
Novak Djokovic, worthy of a Montage
by James A. Crabtree
Novak Djokovic is the spoiler of many parties. He has captured almost everything the game has to offer. He has won when he shouldn't have, caused Roger Federer to smash a racquet, caused Rafa even more OCD's, won over partisan crowds and nudged his way to the top of the tennis word.
But Novak wasn't always this way. He was very soft for what seemed like a long time. He looked like the sort of guy who gets beaten up by meanies wearing skeleton costumes at a High School party.
Should we bring up the past? Novak used to be a quitter on an incredible scale. In 2006, Djokovic retired when two sets down in the French Open quarter-final against Rafael Nadal. In 2007 he quit during his Wimbledon semi-final, yes SEMI-FINAL AT WIMBLEDON again against Nadal, blaming a blister on his toe that had even the commentators querying his toughness. In 2008 he won a slam, then he started tinkering with his serve and everyone but his mother said he was finished. Then 2011 happened and we tried to find the reason why he started dominating. We couldn't figure it out. Surely blatant hard work couldn't be the only answer? Perhaps a combination of Zen, yoga, stretching and gluten free all rolled into one?
The question is what happened? Yes Novak was always pretty good. He always had the skill set but appeared to lack the mental toughness. He had won that early slam but what he continues to achieve since and keeps achieving is ridiculous. Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Marián Vajda, a former Slovakian professional tennis player. What links Marián with Mr. Myagi is unknown but speculation abounds that he has asked Novak to wash his car and paint his fence.
These days nobody can work out an attack against Novak. Russian cold war scientists and probably Matt Damon from his Goodwill days have been employed using the finest oversized computers to work out a mathematical code to take down the Serb. In truth, nobody knows what to do. To play him is worse than a headache, it is a flipping migraine.
Like so many of the greats before he finds a way to win when he should have already lost. Just ask Stan the Man Wawrinka who almost reached the upper echelons at the Aussie Open only for Novak to refuse to give up. Ask Andy Murray who really could have had him in that second set in the Aussie Open final. The guy atop is a vexatious unrelenting baseliner, a bothersome retriever, a troublesome and tiresome returner. The most stubborn player currently with a racquet. And I mean that in a good way. I mean he has refused to lose. He slides, he attacks, he skids, he does the splits then he has the audacity to speak to the home crowd in any language going.
Okay, so Novak hasn't been unbeatable this year, he has lost to Del Potro and Haas but on the big occasions when it has mattered he has simply gotten the job done.
Think back to Monte Carlo recently. Before the tournament began there were questions whether Novak would even play because of a dodgy ankle. Before you know it he struggled through a tough first rounder with Mikhail-Youzhny and tough second rounder with Juan Monaco. After that Novak battled on and snatched away what has come to be known as the invitational Rafa Nadal Monte Carlo Closed.
Yes, Rafa did play pretty bad in the final and Novak even admitted to the fact. But it was a Samson moment, the locks had been cut. Rafa was all but unbeatable on clay and more invincible at Monte Carlo. Will the Rafa locks regrow in time for the French Open? Unless Novak gets a career threatening blister he is a lock in to unify the grand slam belts…right?
All that remains is a montage…
Dr. Nadal, the Villain of Monte Carlo
by James A. Crabtree
The documentations decree that a Bond baddie must often appear amicable at first, preferably have an accent, seek world revenge or domination and hang out in playgrounds of the rich.
Therefore dear old Rafa could well be the quintessential James Bond baddie. Just for a moment imagine Dr. Rafa stroking a white cat, sitting on a swivel chair overlooking a giant screen of the globe and the locations he has already dominated.
Suddenly Bond is brought into the room, shackled by two goons.
"Aaaa, Mr Bond, it is more than dream to meet you," Dr. Rafa, would say. "Unfortunately you are too late, the cities for my supremacy has been set forth. I will rule the world again. And now, eh, you will die, no?"
Rafa is back from injury, showing that he does live twice; proving intuitive improvisation is the secret of his genius. No doubt he seeks vengeance for the heinous crimes of the rats that have leap frogged him in the rankings whilst he has been away. The world once, is not enough, and how dare the Scottish division of the MI5, Serbian Poliza and Swiss Secret Service for their aggression while he has been away. But now he is back and doing what he does best, serving up thunderballs in his favourite hunting ground of Monte Carlo.
His success at the tournament that is the playground of the rich can only be compared with the mindboggling feats of other athletes. Heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano won 49 straight fights over four years, and Edwin Moses reigned as hurdles champion from 1977 to 1987 including 122 consecutive victories. Dating back to 2005 and including this year's event Rafael Nadal has won 44 straight matches in Monte Carlo. This includes 8 straight titles.
The odds appear overwhelmingly in the Spaniards favour. When dealing with a Casino the house always wins, and in this case Rafa is the house. He has lost only once at the event, in 2004 to Guillermo Coria, when ranked 109 in the world. He had his revenge a year later against Coria in the final. Of the 44 matches he has won consecutively so far he has only lost a set six times. Of those matches the deciding set has never even been a true battle.
But what is it about Monte Carlo? It isn't the closest to his home island of Majorca but it isn't far off. In truth the glam doesn't suit Mr Nadal as some others who call the tax haven home, such as an overabundance of top 50 players including some guy called Novak. But the crystal waters that the club overlooks surely calm the tenacious Spaniard.
A ninth title seems more than likely. Never bet against Dr Rafa, no? Besides, nobody even resembling Bond is in attendance.
In Appreciation of Tommy Haas
By James A. Crabtree
What thirty five year old Tommy Haas has done this year is just absurd. The guy is not just old; he is pretty much prehistoric.
Tommy turned professional in 1996 and lost his first grand slam match to Michael Stich at the U.S. Open that year. That was the same year Renée Zellweger said "You had me at hello" to Jerry Maguire, everyone danced 'the Macarena' and approximately 45 million people were using the Internet.
Some of the big and very much now retired players young Tommy beat in the years following were Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1997, Marcelo Rios in 1998, Tim Henman and Andre Agassi in 1999, Pete Sampras in 2000 and Andy Roddick in 2002.
Yet Tommy is still swinging. Better, stronger and faster. In many ways he makes a mockery of the suggestion that the modern player is a much better player/athlete/tactician. He still plays very much the same game he always has. The groundstrokes are still crisp and aggressive, he isn't afraid of the net and he will likely still have a slight emotional meltdown during the match.
Many a professional athlete has tried a comeback from the usual ailments that affects us all over time, but few have shown the resolve to not only to make it back, but stay back and truly return to a respectable level.
Haas has come back from various injuries for the joy of playing in front of his young daughter. His determination to continue playing shows there is a fire inside that is still burning. It is obvious that Tommy has an increased duty to physical fitness, as he is known to practice hard but also put in the work before and after practice. It would not be unreasonable to believe that Tommy Haas is indeed the result of military intervention courtesy of the Office of Scientific Intelligence and is the new 6 million dollar man (that's 31 million adjusted to todays money).
2013 has seen him register wins over Alexandr Dolgopolov, Gilles Simon, John Isner and a certain Mr Novak Djokovic. All while wearing the sort of awful translucent fashion statements and lame black socks that you expect your dad to wear in attempt to embarrass. Indeed, Tommy is still human and a dad, so some things should be expected.
The German who is as much an American now is the quintessential nearly man, one of the best to have knocked on the door of grand slam contention having reached 3 Australian Open semi-finals and 1 Wimbledon semi-final. Obviously he still believes he can add his name to the history books having climbed to his current ranking of 14 after an all time high of 2 back in 2002. Not a bad comeback after dropping out of the rankings in 2010.
Tommy does have a long list to be encouraged by such as Andre Agassi, who held the number won spot aged thirty three and Ken Rosewell who won the 1972 Australian Open aged thirty seven. Fabrice Santoro played twenty one years on tour, Jimmy Connors competed in his final ATP match in 1996 at the age of forty three and Pancho Gonzalez sustained his mission until the age of forty six.
Tommy will surely join this list at some time. But for now Tommy is no Haas been.
The ATP Quarterly Review
By James A. Crabtree
So it's April and that means two things. The first quarter of the year is over and the European clay court season is about to begin.
So what have we learned?
Well, rather a lot.
December 2012
The beginning of the tennis year started in December 2012. With this the whole of Australia became hysterical after Bernard Tomic went nuts at the Hopman Cup and beat both Tommy Haas and Novak Djokovic. After that young Bernie continued the streak and won his first title in Sydney prompting some to feel, including probably Bernie himself, that the second coming of Rod Laver was upon us. He did of course become unstuck at The Australian Open, after much hoopla, in a one sided loss to a certain Mr Federer. Bernie hasn't done much since and it's doubtful the European clay will help his cause.
During the same period Janko Tipsarevic quietly won in Chennai, Gasquet in Doha and Andy Murray in Brisbane. More fuss was made of the emergence of Baby Fed Grigor Dimitrov who made the Brisbane final, and the fact Tomas Berdych lost in the quarters and was wearing unbranded clothing – the poor darling. He has since signed with Swedish fashion brand H&M.
January 2013
A week later and David Ferrer was up to his usual tricks – cleaning up at ATP 250 events, this time in Auckland. As a matter of fact Ferrer should be banned from 250 events or at least given some sort of handicap like favoured racehorses. He has won 20 career tournaments 12 of which have been ATP 250 events. Not bad for a labourer from Spain.
Two weeks into 2013 and it was already the Australian Open, which went very boringly to Novak's script. Highlights included Federer in pink shoes and Stan Wawrinka's battle where he managed to scare Novak in his silver shoes, in the fourth round.
Davis Cup followed the first slam of the year with the surprise elimination of understrength Spain at the hands of Canada and a certain Mr Milos Raonic.
February 2013
By February Frenchman Richard Gasquet was proving he is still a force, beating the rising Benoit Paire who has severe difficulty against his countrymen.
Down in Zagreb Marin Cilic won his first tournament since Umag in July last year. We bet he wishes the entire tour was played in Croatia as he would surely be the world's number one player, having won 5 of his 9 tournaments on home soil.
The week, however, belonged to Rafael Nadal who made his comeback to the tour in Chile after what felt like a ten year absence. Nadal lost to Argentinian Horacio Zeballos in the final who was on fire for the week, prompting many to say that Nadal was indeed finished and would never return to his best.
Over in Rotterdam Juan Martin del Potro beat Julian Benneteau, who had taken care of childhood rival Roger Federer earlier in the tournament. Sadly for Benneteau he lost his eighth successive ATP final, a streak he would surely like to break.
In Brazil Rafael Nadal seemed unfazed by his previous loss and romped to victory over taking out the ever moody David Nalbandian in the final. Nadal as usual bit the trophy he won and expressed how the win was dreamlike.
San Jose played out at the same time and for the last time with Milos taking out old and temperamental Renaissance man Tommy Haas, who may have found the secret of eternal youth.
Memphis indoors provided for Kei Nishikori his third title and hopefully some suede shoes. The Japanese star didn't drop a set.
'Allez' in Marseille for Jo-Wilfred Tsonga where he ousted Tomas Berdych winning his tenth career title and fifth on home soil. Interestingly a player of Berdych's stature has a pretty mediocre collection of titles with only eight since 2004.
In Buenos Aires David Ferrer picked up his second title of the year and probably breathed a sigh of relief that a certain Mr Nadal didn't make the trip. A dream for him no doubt.
A week later and Berdych, after beating Federer in the semi's, lost in another final this time in Dubai. This title went to Novak Djokovic, who was playing his first tournament since winning in Australia. Two out of two for the super Serb.
At Delray Beach the enigmatic Latvian Ernie Gulbis showed another glimpse of talent downing Edouard Roger-Vasselan in the final to win his second title there.
Meanwhile in Acapulco Nadal was playing havoc with Ferrer's schedule and duly destroyed his fellow countryman in the final 6-0 6-2. Ouch.
March 2013
The onset of March brought two big tournaments and the end of the big hard court tournaments until after Wimbledon.
First was Indian Wells where Nadal was back to dreaming. Here he made it official he was back and could beat anyone after adding to Federer's horrible 2013 with a quarterfinal win. He then outlasted Del Potro in the final. More than dream dream.
Over in Miami Andy Murray won his second tournament of the year and seemed more genuinely pleased than when he won the U.S. Open (insert Sean Connery accent – "where's my watch"). Although it was a great win, the field was depleted with injuries and no-shows. One notable was Tommy Haas making his first 1000 event semi final since 1952 or something. The tournament should also be remembered for the first round squabble between Llodra and Paire that makes "Days of our Lives" look harmonious. And no, they won't be on each other's Christmas card list.
The Sum Up
The first three months has seen the emergence of new talent in Tomic, Dimitrov and Paire, and the revival of old in Haas and Gasquet. Most notably for the first time since 2004 Federer and Nadal are both ranked outside the top 3.
Only time will tell what the next quarter will bring.
Federer v Nadal – An Old Rivalry
By James A. Crabtree
Before, it was Laver and Rosewall, McEnroe and Borg, Agassi and Sampras.
For the past year it's been more about Djokovic and Murray.
One hundred years from now the beginning of this millennium will be remembered for clashes shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The biggest headline in tennis once again took centre stage at Indian Wells in the men's quarterfinal.
Federer will undoubtedly be remembered as the greatest player of all time. What will perhaps be forgotten is that Federer has been consistently owned by the man who chased him in the rankings for so long, Rafael Nadal. Nadal leads the Federer/Nadal conflicts with 19 wins to 10, and significantly by 8 wins to 2 in grand slams.
The most recent encounter between these two at Indian Wells had the build-up.
Federer has not won a title since August last year and in many ways is playing a match in a more timid style than that of which we are accustomed to seeing.
Nadal, as we all know, is back after a very lengthy absence and has a point to prove on hard courts and in a tournament in which he lost to Federer last year.
When Federer beat Nadal in the Indian Wells 2012 semi-final it was his first victory against the Spaniard on an outside hard court since Miami in 2005. The 2013 display went back to the script of old whilst Federer and his army of fans searched for answers with no more imaginative excuses than his age and injury.
Nadal's display of aggression after a lengthy layoff from injury was significant although Federer's lack of hostility on court, faltering serve and inconsistency was disheartening. Federer's main hard court weapons, the flatter forehand and faster serve have all but eluded him so far this year.
These players know each other's games inside and out and new strategy is almost impossible. Like a childhood sibling fight all tactics have been used before, only a heightened level of spite could prove a difference.
A spite that was missing for Federer resulting in the 28th encounter being an epic anticlimax.
Nadal's biography 'RAFA' is as much about Federer as it is about Nadal, with detailed schemes of how the Spaniard would overcome the Swiss inundating the text. More than simply a great matchup Nadal treats the issue with obsession, a mountain he must climb. In contrast for Federer to play Nadal seems like an exhausting chore and whether he admits it or not, one he would rather avoid.
Indeed, in their most recent battle, Federer seemed more fatigued by an opponent that has always troubled him. For some reason Nadal always thinks of himself as the underdog. And these may have been the prevailing issues rather than any of the subplots leading up. Federer struggles against Nadal, always has, and perhaps, always will.
This rivalry has been going on a long bloody time, nine years to be exact. They have met 29 times, have played seven exhibitions of which Nadal has won five, will meet a few more times before they retire and then will undoubtedly play each other a further absurd amount of times more on the Champions tour.
If the current game plan remains the same, it would be hard to imagine a reversal of fortune for the greatest player of all time.
State of the Union
by James A. Crabtree
What a disappointment the American men currently are.
For a country that is so rich in tennis history it is heart breaking to see a power house such as the United States limp through the season.
True, some players have been playing well. Sam Querrey has displayed a mild resurgence, James Blake is attempting one last hurrah, Jack Sock could well be a diamond in the rough and Mardy Fish is back at Indian Wells but hasn't played since the 2012 U.S. Open. Outside of the top 100 Tim Smyczek looks to be a hustling player making waves. The players hanging in the bottom half of the top 100 such as Brian Baker and Michael Russell, are those with heart whilst the majority of the new batch, thus far, are all hype.
The real disappointment lies with the supposed new generation of stars. Granted, they do all talk a good game, profess their commitment to hard work and assure us that they are just that one big win from joining the elite. At this point none look like worthy candidates to propel the stars and stripes forward during the teenage years of this decade and for the most part lack true grit.
Ryan Harrison is still only twenty years old, and players tend to show their potential at around twenty two these days. Impressively Harrison has the skills to battle with the elite, just not the temperament to outclass anybody notable so far.
In 2011 Donald Young reached a career high ranking of 38, the fourth round of the U.S. Open and made the final of a 250 event in Thailand. The John McEnroe prophecies were starting to ring true until 2012, when Young pressed the self-destruct button and lost seventeen matches in a row. 2013 hasn't been so bad, but Young is way off in the rankings.
Back in the early eighties many players from the eastern bloc looked to defect their homeland for the American dream. These days the reverse is happening. After some financial disputes with the USTA, Russian born Alex Bogolmov Jnr decided he was more Russian than American in 2012. Jesse Levine is another with eyes on being part of a Davis Cup team, having aligned with Canada, the country of his birth. Reportedly both players still live in Florida.
None of the current crop look poised to make a leap.
For those who can remember, rewind ten years prior and it was a much different story.
Pete Sampras was sailing off into the distance after his fourteenth slam. Andre Agassi had recently collected his fourth Australian title, and Andy Roddick was only months away from cracking the big time.
In many people's eyes Roddick didn't win enough, mainly because he failed to win a second slam. It must be remembered that his second chance was always going to be a lot tougher thanks to a certain Mr Federer who spoilt many careers. Now with the oft-criticised Roddick gone, and enjoying retirement, the torch as America's best player hasn't been passed onto a worthy candidate.
Now before the stomach acid of the Isner fans starts churning let's remember that big John does very little outside of the U.S. or Davis Cup duties and has been looking rather out of sorts this year. Is it too soon to count him out?
And when was the U.S. this unsubstantial? Certainly not twenty years ago when the Americans were surely the majority in any draw.
So what has happened in the years since? Is the college system watered down, do the Academies need a revamp, is American tennis stuck in the past or just stuck in a lull?
As much as champions are formed at the grass root level, the formative years are spent idolising a hero. Naturally, an idol a young player can relate to will only help to cultivate progression.
With so many tournaments stateside, roughly 18% of the total tour, it is bad for tennis to have a weak America. And with so few American contenders a sense of complacent mediocrity can set in quickly.
Australian Open Recollections
By James A. Crabtree
The Aussie Open is over and this means constant therapy and prescription pills until the French Open.
Regardless, here are some pointless observations, rumours, thoughts and complete randomness that needs to be shared.
1. Fred Stolle said, adamantly, a few days before the tournament that "Djokovic will win it all unless he breaks his leg." Not only was he right but I do hate it when old people get it so so right.
2. During the qualifying rounds I got to know a guy I simply referred to as Security Guard Joe. Our conversations were like those you expect to share whilst drinking a brew with an old guy at a bar.
"Got any good bets?" he asked.
"Monica Puig, I'd say she will reach round 3, at least." I responded boldly.
"Good. I'll put some money down."
I was wrong, need to avoid Security Guard Joe.
3. Bernie Tomic was the only non-seeded player to list Monaco as his residence, so somebody good is doing his accounts! According to rumour the young Australian was given 32 different racquets by Yonex to trial. He chose the 31st and is happy with it. Lets hope he is not as picky with shoes.
4. Djokovic should be featured in the next video by PSY, of Gangnam Style fame. He really should be, the guy just cant stop doing the dance.
5. Ever wondered why so many players look so clean cut? Wonder no more as the Australian Open featured a "Player Beauty Bar."
6. Sloane Stephens had roughly 17,000 twitter followers before her match with Serena Williams. One little win later and she had 35,000. She now has over 60,000.
7. Spoke to an old Czech reporter who has been coming to the Open since 1991. He had some great tales, including the legend that Marcelo Rios spent $300,000 in the casino in 1998, the year he reached the final as the number one seed. Wow.
8. The media received a very cool media pack, sunscreen, that included a little towel, pen, mini fan, media guide and a USB stick that is not compatible with my computer….ARGHH.
Also, some journalists partook in a special Cardio Tennis session run by Tennis Australia. All athletes (I use that word very loosely) took themselves far too seriously, and all were panting like poodles on a hot summers day after only five minutes action. One journalist by the name of Crabtree was awesome and won a towel but we shall go into no further detail of these incredible exploits. 😉
9. Bumped into Security Guard Joe. Luckily for me he didn't put a bet on Monica Puig because he couldn't remember her name.
"My shift is over soon mate, got any other good bets?" he asked.
"Del Potro is probably due a good run," I suggested.
"Del Potro? "
"Yeah, the Argentinian. He should go deep, I'd put a dollar on him." I said.
Security Guard Joe left quickly like I was Old Biff with a sports Almanac from Back to the Future 2. Del Potro lost later that day in the third round to Jeremy Chardy. I am not Old Biff, and really need to avoid Security Guard Joe for the rest of the tournament.
10. Stan vs Novak, for many this was the match of the tournament – can't stop thinking about this one and a possible alternate reality where Stan got it then cruised through the rest of the tournament. Stan was amazing, up 1 set and 5-2 in the second. Imagine if he had capitalised and become the other Swiss with a slam.
11. The Media restaurant never once skimmed on portions. Thanks guys, but more dessert options next time, please.
12. Beneath Rod Laver Arena I passed a guy I thought I recognised, some small time Aussie player I thought. I said "Hey mate," and he responded with a "Hey Mate" of his own. I stopped for a second, hang on, that wasn't the Aussie I thought it was and this guy is wearing Nike's with a hint of pink. That was bloody Roger Federer.
13. Popped in to see the stringers and one old time doubles player had a tension of 33lbs. What the!
14. The old Czech reporter told of how he once hit with Andre Agassi, whilst the eight-time grand slam champion was waiting around for Brad Gilbert on a practice court. I am insanely jealous.
15. Where's Wally. Captain Australia. A bloke with a giant phone. A guy with a giant head. The Heard stole the show at matches featuring Aussie players. This crew should be a perquisite at every grand slam.
Like many of you I am having Aussie Open withdrawals. Hope this offers you some solace. Roll on Roland Garros.
Ramblings from a Tennis Journalist: Australian Open Men's Final Flashbacks
James Crabtree is currently in Melbourne Park covering the Australian Open for Tennis Grandstand and is giving you all the scoop directly from the grounds.
By James Crabtree
MELBOURNE — The Australian Open is over, and Novak Djokovic has been crowned champion again winning his third title in a row.
A lot went on today, more than just Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic hitting a few balls.
A huge number of people arrived early to watch the game on the grounds, taking in some of the live music and consuming a seriously jolly amount of booze.
Within the cornered off zones the linesmen sat tensely in their portable offices watching TV, hoping later that they wouldn't be ridiculed by Hawkeye.
The ball boys and girls meanwhile added each other to their various Facebook accounts or goofed about playing cricket with a tennis ball and, as a substitute for a bat, a diseased looking flip-flop possibly borrowed from a vagrant.
Things started to heat up early for the journalists securing their court passes for the big game. It's amazing how many chose instead to watch the game, whether it a first round or final, down in one of the media hubs on their own personal screen. A plus side is the constant availability of stats; the negative is the lack of feel or atmosphere.
A walk through the corridors and all feels remarkably lonely compared to the hustle bustle of only a few days before. Like a summer hotel that attempts to stay open through the later seasons, looking after only a select few guests.
One of the guests is a former regular that now wears a suit, and happens to have a TV camera following him. He speaks to another more recent guest who carries a racquet bag in preparation of a hit. This guest wears a hoody, and seems a little in awe of the guy in the suit. They are Andre Agassi and Andy Murray respectively.
Back at the Media Hub the journalists again prepare, and what a sight. Some are cracking their knuckles for a tough night on the laptop. The others limber up their belts for an extra serving at the media café, which I must say are very generous.
Before you know it, it's game time and some journalists find they haven't prepared properly, even though they have been provided with a plethora of information both online or in print.
The match starts and all goes to form. Deep baseline rallies that evoke memories from Wilander to Agassi to Safin to present day and Djokovic. Nobody giving an inch, both wanting a mile.
A change of ends brings the KIA adverts, and I genuinely mean that I like them. Actually, I now want a KIA Sportage and even want a job with KIA. No, not as a mechanic, but thinking up cool adverts.
Ah, The Nappies.
Back to the tennis, no breaks of serve. Lots of baseline rallies, slides and amazing gets. Andy saves one break point with a 23 ball rally. Scottish and Serbian fans given up momentarily trying to electrify their man, neither has the patience.
The game stays the course. Tiebreak time. Andy Murray gets it and looks officially on his way to a heroic victory. He is playing great aggressive inspiring tennis and is not Scottish but British. Officially Great British in fact.
Change of ends, no breaks of serve. I spot Andre Agassi's head in the presidential box and it is very shiny. The rumour that he is to star as Lt. Theo Kojak in the new season of Kojak is one I made up, but want to become true.
Hey did you hear that Andre Agassi is going to be in Kojak on TV?
Back to the tennis, four games all and Novak is talking to himself, at his box and bouncing his racquet on the ground. He is not happy, but still in the game, no breaks of serve yet…Speaking of servers, what happened to all the big servers and one-two punch of years past? Imagine a deck of cards with no Aces — that's modern tennis. Boom Boom Becker would be rolling in his…big bed in Monte Carlo.
Another KIA advert, good but not as good as the nappies but still kinda cool.
If you stay in Australia long enough you become a citizen. You can fill out all the documents, learn the anthem, take the immigration test or simply have your name Aussiefied meaning it will have an 'O' inserted on the end of it.
This just happened for Novak who has just become 'Doco!' He is now an Australian.
Agassi watches intently as the 2nd set heads for a tiebreak, I'm tweeting too much and the 3g keeps dropping out on my phone. A true first world problem. Need 4g now, I can't live like this.
Andy Murray is serving and a flock of seagulls (not the band) flying above interrupt his second serve with an errant feather that drifts down. Andy misses the serve and loses his focus.
Novak gets the second set. Andy looks distraught and has blisters. Andre looks impressed.
More holds of serve until Murray loses his at 3-4 down. Is this the match decider? Keyser Söze/Kevin Spacey looks worried. Everybody who has been going for Murray suddenly changes allegiance. Djokovic chases down everything, like Hewitt on drugs. Djokovic gets the set, his confidence flowing and breaks Murray. The match is all but over.
Djokovic is unbreakable. Murray is spent, losing points easily and thus England, Wales and Northern Island have given up on him meaning he is back to being Scottish.
After 3 hours and 40 minutes Novak claims victory and is soon screaming at his entourage in delight. Moments later some tech guy who looks like a bearded gamer dressed like a teenager is setting up the trophy island.
Some speeches later and Novak gets his trophy again from a former owner, Andre Agassi.
The 2013 Australian Open is over. All the winners have been decided. Congratulations Novak.
The quickest way to a journalist's heart is through his stomach. Djokovic talks about his victory then goes round the press conference room and hands out chocolates. A bad word will never be printed about Novak again — what a genius! Raise your game Roger and Andy, the press need chocolates. This is not bribery but necessity.
P.S. Real good chocolates and see you next year Aussie Open, miss you already.


text:
Make Facebook Posts Count
It is not a surprise that Facebook is frequented at greater rates during evenings and weekends. These are great times to post an update or announce a new product. However, some industries find that certain days are even better than others. The infographic drawn up by LinchpinSEO is a great guide to these trends.


text:
How was your day? If it wasn't that great, don't despair that you need to pack it all in and start again.
Based on the women I spoke to, those who dominate their careers from boardroom to army base, the formula for happiness depends a lot more on what you do outside of the office than in it.
For Junior Doctor Storm Lonsdale, who encounters death on a regular basis working at a London A&E, switching off from work by going climbing or meeting friends for a drink is fundamental.
Army Staff Sergeant Sara Canning feels like she can achieve anything at work by starting her day early with a run.
It goes without saying that enjoying the job itself is key.
But if you want to start feeling better about your day come Monday morning, what's clear is that preparing well both mentally and physically for your day ahead, and then allowing yourself time to kick back after work, leaves you in a far better position to confront work challenges.
Whether this inspires you to change career altogether or just set your alarm for an hour earlier, finding your own formula for happiness and success comes down to two things: self-knowledge, and trial and error.
Jo Bertram, 34, is Regional General Manager of UK, Ireland and the Nordics at Uber. After studying Physics at Cambridge and getting her MBA in Paris, she spent four years working in business consultancy in Africa before joining Uber in 2013.
Getting plenty of sleep is vital for my happiness, as is disconnecting from work.
I'm very ambitious, so when I've had a tough time with work-life balance in the past I've created a yearly bucket list of things that I then commit to making happen, such as going to a friend's wedding or booking a holiday.
I'm more resilient now after facing some big challenges at work, including vicious trolling that forced me to quit Twitter earlier this year. Unfortunately when you compete with an established industry like Uber has, there are some that will lash out and social media provides an easy platform.
I used to personalise everything and get very upset if something went wrong, assuming it must be my fault.
Now I focus on the bigger picture and realise it's not about me. I spent a lot of time building up a picture of my dream job. I loved working in Africa as I saw the impact my business had. I'm a bit socially awkward and hate networking, so would instead ask everyone I knew out for coffee to discover what resonated about their jobs.
The opportunity at Uber popped up when a friend contacted me via LinkedIn.
I had never heard of the company, but the job matched my skills and it seemed like a dynamic business, so I jumped at it.
I ask my team to rate their happiness at work out of 10 so I can get a clear picture. I'm an eight out of 10 (I'm British and cynical, so I doubt 10 is ever possible).
Jo's path to career enlightenment
- Have a f**k off fund. If you end up in an awful job, savings give you the time to think about what you want.
- Don't worry too much about a plan. Make decisions based on whether you'll enjoy the challenge, not if they'll look good on your CV.
- Arrange social events after work. I don't like letting people down, so saying I'll meet a friend at 7.30pm means I can't work late.
- Seek advice. I wouldn't find my job description as exciting as the role actually is, so talk to someone doing the type of job you're interested in.
Storm Lonsdale, 27, is a Junior Doctor currently working in A&E at Queen's Hospital, London. Volunteering at an HIV orphanage in Kenya inspired her to study medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. This year she'll begin anaesthetic training in intensive care and her ambition is to work in conflict zones.
I encounter death on a regular basis and speaking to patients' relatives is one of the hardest parts of the job.
Often your best isn't good enough and as a doctor you see how unfair life is. It's a small downside and is balanced with the special moments I experience every day. I was part of a team looking after a very sick boy with meningitis who was in intensive care for a long time.
We didn't think he was going to survive so watching him walk out of hospital was amazing.
You realise that without our intervention that person would be lost. I love that I never clock-watch at work and am constantly challenged. I hate feeling bored.
When the blue phone in A&E rings with a five-minute warning of a cardiac arrest coming in, the team of doctors and nurses immediately snaps into action.
I have to be extremely focused to cope with the pace of such a busy ward and, as a junior doctor, I know it's my responsibility to speak up if I'm feeling overwhelmed.
The team support makes it easier and we have a debrief after any cardiac arrest so we can voice our emotions. There are few jobs where you have such intimacy with a complete stranger; it's a huge responsibility and privilege.
Doctors aren't great at work-life balance because if something goes wrong it's more important to stay. When I work regular hours, I might go climbing or for a drink after work.
I have good financial security as a doctor, though mine isn't the highest paid profession: I'm on around £30K because I live in London.
My family work in creative fields; my mum and dad met when she was a model and he was importing Levi's, and my sisters are artists and designers. They are proud of me, though my dad thinks the NHS works its staff too hard. But the way I see it, everyone who loves their job works hard at it.
Storm's secrets to success
- Don't take work home.The time you're away from work is your own and you don't help anyone by ruminating. Switch off by going for a drink or doing some exercise.
- Think long-term. It can be soul-sucking when friends are establishing careers and you're still a student, but doctors have to play the long game and know the rewards will come eventually.
- Make your career work for you. My aspirations to travel and do humanitarian work have drive the choices I've made.
Julia Stephenson, 41, worked at Universal Music and went on tour with Nelly Furtado as a Road Manager, before joining the BBC as a Publicist. She retrained as a lawyer and has combined her old and new careers as a Legal Advisor at ITV plc.
As soon as I walked into ITV I knew it was the right place for me.
There's a diverse mix of nationalities, races and backgrounds, and being back in a media environment felt like home.
Working with like-minded people in an intellectually stimulating job is more important to me than money. I could work at a leading Magic Circle law firm and earn £100K, but wouldn't have time to spend it.
I'm a creature of habit: I get up at 6.30am and go for a run.
As soon as I arrive at the office, I run through my to-do list. I adore my team.
We're currently six women and very chatty, usually about our latest Netflix binge. We're collaborative and solve problems together.
We're all at different life stages: some have children, others are dating or single. We're from different backgrounds but are great friends and go out for dinner regularly.
Our team director makes sure our successes are celebrated and we have a monthly meeting where we nominate someone to win the 'Top Dog' award.
My colleagues are important to happiness. It's the opposite of the temporary role I took while transitioning to law, which was so negative that I left before I had another job.
I found out the next day I had aced an interview at the BBC – sometimes you have to have faith. Life is too short to do something that doesn't make you bounce out of bed.
Julia's career top tips
- Outline your agenda early. Don't set a precedent of working late when you start a new job or people will expect it.
- Be yourself. It's exhausting to put on a 'work persona' so find an environment where you'll be accepted for who you are.
- It's never too late to change careers. It was a big challenge being a trainee lawyer at an older age and I had to battle my own insecurities. You have one life and you can do as many things as you want with it.
- Take time to reflect. Turn off your phone and ask whether what you're doing is making you happy. If it's not, ask what you can do to change it.
Roberta Benteler, 32, spent her early career in finance. At 26 she quit to intern for independent designer Saloni and started Avenue 32, a luxury e-commerce website of emerging design talent and established brands.
People think that designer clothes, travel and fashion shows are what make me happy, but I would give them all up for my team.
My happiest moments aren't being snapped by photographers, which is quite stressful, but during our monthly company breakfasts when we all eat together.
We've grown to 40 people in the six years since I started Avenue 32. The average age of people who work for me is under 30, so I feel like I'm mother to a second family.
The first thing I do when I arrive at our open-plan office is go around and chat with everyone, maybe ask how a business trip went or check on the interns who sit next to the directors.
I know that even if I'm having a hard time in my personal life, the positivity of my team will cheer me up.
I have workaholic tendencies and used to wake up in the night to check emails.
I have to make a conscious effort to take time for myself.
I don't get up at 5.30am anymore but I still like to exercise, have a long bath or cook an omelette and read the news. I take my mornings slowly so that when I arrive at the office around 9.30am I'm happy and balanced.
I knew nothing about e-commerce when I started Avenue 32.
My naivety was a blessing; had I known how much money and work it would take, I would have been terrified.
The business is 100% family financed, which is a double-edged sword; I'm lucky to have their mentoring but it's a lot of responsibility.
We relaunched the website recently and faced some big challenges. It has made the team stronger though – we all pulled together and introduced new reporting structures as a result.
Back when I was working in finance I was well paid but isolated; I wouldn't do it again for the world.
Roberta's philosophy for enjoying each day
- Keep your team happy. Everyone contributes to our internal newsletter – even if only to mention their new haircut, birthday party or holiday.
- It's just a job. While this is my dream job, I don't let work make me unhappy.
- Crisis is necessary. Overcoming challenges makes work fun. If you don't have any problems it can become routine.
Sara Canning, 27, is an Aircraft Communication Specialist in the 1 Army Air Corps, who has served in Australia and Northern Ireland. The daughter of a soldier, she joined the army at 18 and currently lives in military quarters in Somerset with her 10-year-old son.
I never think of myself as a woman leading men.
We're soldiers – we wear the same uniform, carry the same weights and go through the same training. I don't shout.
I find it more effective to be calm, quiet and clear on what I expect. Some people say women aren't as strong as men but I would argue that strength isn't just physical.
I've known some incredibly physically strong women in the army whose characters and mental attitudes have been just as inspiring.
Contrary to popular belief, there's no shame around crying.
We've been through extraordinary things together and it's important to expect and accept emotions – it's seen as strength not weakness to let them out.
All soldiers know there's a possibility of being in danger on the frontline and we're trained for it.
I've never had to test out my killer instinct so I don't know for sure how I would react under fire.
The whole army ethos is about working together and my colleagues are my family; I love knowing that I'll probably be working with the same people for the rest of my life.
I thrive on being active and start my day with exercise, whether it's a full-on physical training session or just walking the dog.
I feel desk-bound since being promoted to Staff Sergeant, so I get up twice a day to train or walk over to the helicopter hangers to inspect the equipment.
I wasn't always fit but I love running and compete in cross-country and triathlons.
Last year I applied to go on a never-before-attempted expedition to Antarctica with an all-female group of soldiers. If I make the cut we'll go to the South Pole unassisted – a monumental task and one I've been working towards alongside my regular job.
I believe in keeping things challenging, otherwise I become bored.
Sara's guide to a fulfilling work day
- Iron your work 'uniform' every morning. Discipline builds confidence. By taking pride in your appearance, you take more pride in your actions, too.
- Eat a protein-rich breakfast. I have up to four boiled eggs to fuel me through the morning. If you don't eat, you'll be hungry and miserable at work.
- Start your day with a physical challenge. Going on an eight-mile march with weights strapped to my back makes me feel like I can do anything.
- Reframe how you view obstacles. I see everything as a blessing. I believe if you work hard you'll eventually see the rewards.
This feature originally appeared in ELLE's October 2016 issue


text:
There can't be many things more frustrating for a popstar than having the release of your album pushed back. Spare a thought for JoJo then, who has been waiting (not so patiently) since 2009 to put out her third studio album Jumping Trains. All signs are finally pointing towards a spring release, but with the bulk of the material recorded almost three years ago, will it sound fresh enough for today's charts?
Fortunately, she doesn't have to worry about such an issue, as those familiar with her most notable hits 'Leave (Get Out)' and 'Too Little Too Late' will know that she's honed a sound that will never go out of fashion: the power-pop anthem. "The walls burned up and our love fell down," she belts over airy guitars and fist-clenching, stadium ready beats Kelly Clarkson wouldn't cock a snook at. The result is exactly as you'd expect, and it's all the better for it.
Watch the 'Disaster' music video below:


text:
CES was hoping and the buzz was around various forms of wireless use. Ford with Sync, Microsoft with KIA, Wireless devices and devices using wireless were all around most of them Internet enabled.
Mobile World Congress is going on in Barcelona and it's expected to do well next week.
I want to point out that these events are following the money which is no longer about the network its about the consumers freedom of choice.
As congress and the FCC contend with the legacy of the PSTN the new network is flourishing and its not about wireless its about customer choice. The wireless world may still have the same issues facing it that their fixed line brothers faced. Brough Turner points out that over 90% of the packets on any network head for the Internet.
If I were at the FCC I would be ready to advocate that its time to treat all networks as if they were accessing the Internet. Looking at competition not based on the technology but on the services and the primary services. Voice, video and data are probably going to converge at some point as well with the over the top (internet) model
Legacy service providers are looking for protection, but government should praise itself for enabling the competitive landscape we are heading for rather than embedding old rules into the new environment.
In these days of government bail outs its hard to see what is the economic downturn versus technological progress.
If the goal of net neutrality is to support the progress, I would contend it's to dynamic a market to codify. If its to protect the applications from abuses by the legacy networks, I am not sure its needed.
Tags: 4G Wireless, broadcast, CES, FCC, Ford, Government, Internet, KIA, Microsoft, Mobile World Congress, regulation, Supercomm
- Related Entries
- Its a MSlate vs iTablet - Jan 11, 2010
- Did you buy your car to access the road? - Nov 02, 2009
- Your Huddle Masses Yearning to be Free - Oct 19, 2009
- Dear Congress; A Phone Number does not a Service Make - Oct 12, 2009
- What Is and Isn't under the FCC Jurisdiction - Oct 05, 2009
- Bright Shiny Object - Death Star Apple Part 2 - Aug 25, 2009
- Death Star Apple - Aug 24, 2009
- Should Skype be redesigned? - Jul 07, 2009
- The Dead Zone: The realities of Coverage - Jun 27, 2009
- Indirect Consequences - As the FCC settles down - Jun 19, 2009
Copyright 4g-wirelessevolution


text:
Rentright.co.uk is the UK's ultimate property portal dedicated purely to residential lettings. To start your search enter your location or postcode in the box above.Tenant Information
Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and the seat of the monarchy in Scotland. It is the largest financial centre in the UK after London.


text:
How Did London Take It?
By now I imagine every Londoner who's remotely interested in the subject has seen the extraordinary website 'Bomb Sight', which maps all the bombs that fell on London during the Blitz.
It seems everyone who lived through it has a story about a bomb falling near them; a neighbour or relative who heard something overhead and either turned or continued across the road, making a life or death decision.
The new project maps the bombs that fell in London between July 10, 1940 and June 6, 1941. Exploring the app,you can see just how often they hit: very few areas were spared, and some locations can barely be seen for red dots. Walking around the streets, it's still easy to see where the bombs fell. There are very few streets that don't have an ugly sixties building stuck on the site of a lost house. Many more bombs fell for years after the period we term 'the Blitz' of course, but this was the densest concentration.
After the war, virtually every house and church tower with a crack in it was pulled down, and London rebuilt itself as it had so often before. If you go to Gdansk in Poland, you'll see streets reconstructed to appear exactly how they looked before the war – we did the opposite, for better or worse, and part of me wishes that the old layouts had remained. London would have had an 'Old Town' like so many cities in Europe, and the philistine developers would not have got away with so many crooked deals struck with councils. But you can't live in a theme park, and perhaps the city's survival is partly down to its ability to renew itself constantly.
You can visit the site here.
7 comments on "How Did London Take It?"
I saw this some days ago and wondered if you'd seen it. An amazing depiction of all the bombs that fell during that period and you can go area by area and street by street.
My Father was in London and attached to SHAEF as a civilian/Major for 15/16 months soon after this period. He was an OWI officer on General Eisenhower's staff and lived through a lot of the later bombing.
He always said how frightening it was to hear the motors on the flying bombs go silent, how everyone then counted, and then braced for the explosion.
One fell in the backyard of the roominghouse he stayed in and it had been such a heavy bombing night, nobody knew a bomb was in the back garden until the landlady opened her back door and hurriedly cleared the house. Then they went to work while the block warden got in the bomb disposal squad.
He always said he found Londoners to be amazingly staunch: hear the sirens go off, hear the flight of V2s aloft, hear the motors begin shutting off, start counting, hear the explosions, toast each other with what was left in their glasses, and then pass the bottle.
For some while after he returned to the States, he ate his meals fast. Mother would always ask him to slow down as it was not good for his health. He always laughed and said he'd learned to gobble down his food while in London. Better to be full and blown to kingdom come than go out hungry, he'd say.
With this graphic represenation, I can see what he meant and hats off to Londoners.
Dan – amazing. All I can offer is a visit to my Dad in Ealing. It was a lovely summer morning and I took the long and pretty way around, and I came across a plaque marking where the first V2 rocket landed in London. Kind of took the warmth from the day. But thank you – it sparked memories of some dear departed who went at their food with the same enthusiasm.
I saw it a couple of days ago, too, but on the site you can, as Dan says, go street by street. My father, though raised a pacifist, tried to enlist but they wouldn't have him because he was only barely over 5ft. They took his brother, though, because he was a cook. I have English cousins as a result of that. The first and second war must have done a lot towards mixing up the world's gene pool.
If anyone is interested in the view from the ground.
(Just don't blame me if you loose track of time, reading some of the 47,000 entries).
Snowy – that is one heck of a resource you've referenced there.
Anybody seen a spare 'o' knocking about? I'm sure I had one yesterday!
Must have slipped down the back of somewhere, while I was changing the antimacassars.
Just looked at that BBC file, Snowy, and since time today is not loose, I'm filing it for later. That is one gigantic collection and everyone will be so glad the BBC put it together.
Comments are closed.


text:
SHOWstudio and Walter Van Beirendonck dream the world awake
Published on September 16, 2011 11:36 Berlin Time
What happens when an avant-garde Belgian designer like Walter Van Beirendonck teams up with the renowned fashion-video producers at SHOWstudio? Hypercolor magic, naturally. The London company has taken a selection of Beirendonck's clothing and created something at once both mindblowingly original and completely timeless. There's nothing more to say other than 'you need to see this.' So:


text:
French, 17th century, male.
Born 1604, in Tours; died 14 February 1676, in Paris.
Painter, draughtsman, engraver (etching/burin), art writer. Religious subjects, historical subjects, figures, genre scenes, interior scenes, architectural interiors, landscapes.
The son of a tailor, Abraham Bosse went to Paris aged about 15 to improve his drawing skills, which showed considerable promise. He appears to have started his study of engraving under Melchior Tavernier. Back in his native city in 1622, he engraved a ...


text:
EMP Resilient Center:
Electromagnetic Pulse/ Intentional Electromagnetic Interference/ High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP/IEMI/HEMP) and Geomagnetic Storm shielding is a custom demised steel wall, slab-to-roof facility shell, installed with 360° protective hardened enclosure. EMP/IEMI/HEMP facilities include all shielding, housing, filtering and/or hardening for all electrical, mechanical and related MEP/FP infrastructure and subsystems. All facilities are designed, installed and tested per MILSTD-188-125-1/2 standards.


text:
Wholesale Fashion Jewelry and Accessories
Zalson Jewelry sells cubic zirconia, sterling silver, rhodium and gold plated jewelry to retailers, catalog companies, online stores, and independent resellers. Over 3,000 unique jewelry designs are in stock and ready to ship.
Sign up for a free account and our experienced sales staff will provide you with the best service and value in the fashion jewelry industry. Browse our catalog of thousands of products including fashion accessories. We accept multiple methods of payment and we ship worldwide!
We manufacture a majority of our cubic zirconia jewelry at a company owned factory in China and are joint venture partners with two other factories. We stand behind our product because we make it ourselves.
Our value is our knowledge and tenure in helping our customers succeed.
We deal exclusively in high volume jewelry at wholesale prices. We offer an unparalleled selection of original designs ready to charm and delight your client with excellent craftsmanship and creative brilliance. As your source for high-end cubic zirconia fashion jewelry and accessories, we offer great deals on a regular basis.
Just getting started and fretful of the "minimum order" to buy wholesale? Not a problem. We have a starter program and reps available to help you get your fashion jewelry business going.
Need a better discount for your volume order? Not a problem. Qualify for deep discounts with higher volume purchases. Additional discounts apply for orders over $1,000USD. Contact a sales rep for more details.
whatsapp: +86 13070259537
E-Mail: email@example.com


text:
|Photo courtesy Mae
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Funny how things work out sometimes.
Take the altruistically-inclined Virginia-based alternative rock band Mae, for instance.
It was a confluence of major band events that sparked what has now become an integral part of the band's overall mission: to not only make great music for their fans and grow their base, but also to make a difference by encouraging that base to support their impressive variety of wide-ranging charitable endeavors, and thus, walk hand in hand with the band in their efforts.
"In this relatively small pocket of time, we lost two original members and we were without a record label," Mae guitarist Zach Gehring told me from his hotel room in Pittsburgh.
"So we really had to sit down and ask ourselves why we were going to continue, what reasons do we have to go on. If you're going to continue writing music that you think people should hear, we feel you have to have a reason to continue to do so, otherwise I think people can pick up on the 'trite creativity for recreation' kinda thing."
So after splitting with Capitol Records in 2008, Mae, which stands for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", a course taken by the band's drummer at Old Dominion, found themselves with a startling, albeit daunting new found sense of freedom.
And after a month of soul-searching, Mae's core mission became clear: make a tangible difference in people's lives while also continuing to create new music.
"We found ourselves in this one moment where because we weren't beholden to a record label, we were not only able to do whatever we wanted, but at the same time we recognized what we could do with our fan base and with our music, which is to use it for something good", Gehring continues. "It's all been a combination of us being in a position where we were able to do what we wanted to do with the music without answering to anyone, as well as harnessing the power of music and our fans and giving back as much we could."
Part of this "giving back" is Mae's current "12 Songs, 12 Months, 1 Goal" project, where all proceeds from digital downloads of one of their songs every month for a year go to whatever humanitarian-based cause they are funding at a given time. It's pretty simple: you buy one of their songs online, you get some good tunage, and the money goes to a good cause.
But they aren't stopping there.
Mae won a contest on ideablog.com, with their fan base's support, where the winner got $10,000 to put towards an "idea," and Mae's "idea" was to use the money to help build a home for a family in need in Newport News, VA. in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity.
Now they have another "idea" they hope to win with: "50 States, 50 Schools In Need," which has the band working with donorschoose.org to help fund an educational project in every state, to give teachers the supplies they need to make a difference in their student's lives. You can go to ideablog.com and see what it's all about, and if you like it, you can vote for Mae's "idea."
And at a gig in Salt Lake City recently, Mae worked with The Road Home, a Utah-based social service agency, encouraging their fans to bring toiletries and other personal items with them to the gig so they could be donated to the homeless.
But at its core, Mae IS a rock band, so how has this 'feel good' philanthropy affected their relationship with their fans?
"I think what all of this has done is that it's emphasized the symbiotic nature of the band/fan relationship," Gehring said. "A band is often up on a pedestal and the fans are looking 'up' to that, looking for any scrap they can get from the band. We wanted to do away with those barriers, we really wanted to focus on the fact that without our fans, we couldn't do what we wanted to do, with our music or the other things we do. We wanted to involve them in a way that makes them much more necessary in our process."
"We've had fans donate $500, we had a fan in Arizona fundraise and raise a thousand dollars. So to have your fans do that, and be that committed with you, it just shows how devoted and loyal they are, and how much they do care about things other than the typical 'fan fare' that happens between a band and their fans. It puts them right there with us, in our goals, and our motivations, and our mission."
Mae plays the Black Cat in DC on Sunday November 8th.
Check Mae out at http://www.whatismae.com.


text:
SARNIA, Ont. — Once again, the SEC is loaded with talent in 2018-19.
Fans in the SEC will be all too familiar with the talent in the league, but several of the team's top contributors have flown under the radar on a national scale throughout their careers. With the player turnover in the league following the 2017-18 season, there will be new faces of the conference this year.
The Kentucky Wildcats loaded up with several high-profile freshmen, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. Teams like the Tennessee Volunteers and Mississippi State Bulldogs will rely on experience and talent to get them back to the NCAA Tournament. There is a healthy mix of experience and youth in the conference, which in turn will lead to excitement and an unpredictable race for the SEC title.
Looking ahead to the season, here are 10 names who have flown under the radar so far in their careers on the national scene that you will want to watch over the course of the 2018-19 campaign.
Note: Players like Tremont Waters, Grant Williams, Jalen Hudson, Jontay Porter, Quinndary Weatherspoon, and Daniel Gafford weren't listed because people should be familiar with their names by now. Continue reading Take Note: Ten Underrated Names to Watch in the SEC in 2018-19