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I've had nothing but respect for what Kat Von D does since her days on TLC while the name Deadmau5 has been relevant to me since Ghosts N' Stuff. I had no idea that they were romantically involved with each other but they are & since December 15, 2012 at 10:41pm EST they've been engaged. How do I know the exact date & time of their engagement? The same way I know the world is set to end when time runs out on some Mayan calender; the Internet.
@deadmau5 YES!In regards to the couple, mazel tov. I cheer for just about anyone who finds happiness without hurting anybody while proving that love isn't some dying fad. I wouldn't even mind being one of those people some day. However on the day I work up the guts to ask "That Special Someone" to marry me, I'll be shocked if I do it via Twitter.
— Kat Von D (@thekatvond) December 16, 2012
I hope that Deadmau5 proposed in person and not just on Twitter...I've always been under the impression that this is the type of thing that you do face-to-face with someone. This method doesn't have that awkward "Please don't stutter, please don't stutter, please don't stutter" feeling that accompanies the butterflies that we all enjoy in our stomachs so much. You also don't share any eye contact with that person & you miss out on watching their face transition from "What are you doing" to "OMG You're doing that". There's something I enjoy about these little things; as dreadful as they are.
— DJ girlfriend (@DJgfproblems) December 16, 2012
@deadmau5 the only person's opinion that matters is mine, and I got swept off my feet! So there ya have it! You're a genius! #duhI'm not brushing the idea of an e-proposal off.
— Kat Von D (@thekatvond) December 18, 2012


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Today, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld (pdf) the ruling in Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, deciding that providing a full text search database and providing access to works for people with print disabilities is fair use. The court also ruled that the Authors Guild lacked standing, and therefore could not assert infringement claims against the HathiTrust. The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), of which the American Library Association (ALA) is a member, filed an amicus brief (pdf) in support of the HathiTrust.
ALA President Barbara Stripling released the following statement in response to the ruling:
"The Second Circuit today affirmed more than a lower court decision–it affirmed that the fair use of copyrighted material by libraries for the public is essential to copyright law. ALA is pleased that the court recognizes the tremendous value of libraries in securing the massive record of human knowledge on behalf of the general public and in providing lawful access to works for research, educational, and learning purposes, including access for people with disabilities.
"The continued acknowledgement of the importance of fair use to enable learning and support for the development of a well-informed citizenry makes the U.S. copyright law unique and well-functioning."
This decision affirms that libraries can engage in mass digitization to improve the discovery of works and provide full access to those works to students with print disabilities enrolled at the respective HathiTrust institutions. The general public can search the database using keywords and locate titles held in 80 member institutions. Full text access to the underlying works is allowed only for students with print disabilities enrolled at the University of Michigan and certified as disabled by a qualified expert.
Students with print disabilities are blind or have a handicap that prevents them from reading printed text. Because of the full conversion of the texts to digital format that is accessible, these students can use adaptive technologies, such as text-to-speech, to read.
ALA will continue its defense of fair use in the HathiTrust case, should additional appeals be filed.
Carrie Russell
Latest posts by Carrie Russell (see all)
- Helping authors get rights back through termination of transfers - August 29, 2018
- August CopyTalk: Controlled digital lending by libraries - July 16, 2018
- Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act passes the Senate - June 29, 2018

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm sure investors are paying attention when funds are flowing into IVV and SPY. Last Thursday was one of those days that reported billions of funds flowing into these two sp500 related ETFs.
Who says that these fund flows isn't dumb emotional money thinking the bear market is over! This kind of fund flow always happens near tops just like in January when investors stuff their accounts to make it for the 2017 tax season. In late January 2018 is when my 5 wave counts finished, which was followed by another record-breaking secondary top. The bullish "C" wave is about as choppy as you can get, so this tells me that IVV was also in a rally going against the larger trend. Missing an expanded top anywhere throws the entire wave count into disarray forever, if it is not rectified instantly. Every major index in the USA has this expanded pattern, so it's not just one lonely little pattern. Expanded tops happen frequently so they sure are not rare market patterns.
I started a new category with IVV as I may post more of IVV in the future.
Since the expanded pattern is basically an inverted flat or zigzag, it would be a bear market rally. To confirm that this is still part of a bear market rally, then IVV still has to crash below that $256 price level. Lower lows and lower highs are the signs of a bear and right now we are in No man's land like Flanders Fields, except we have bulls and bears fighting over who controls the space.
These counter rallies can be terrifying for the crowd that is fearful of missing out. Decisions made under fear never seems to work out very well.
I don't trust in-flow numbers that much as I think insider buying reports are far more important.
Hits: 27


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Fighting the Good Fight: Looking Back Five Years
I was recently invited to share the story of my company, Hip Pocket, with another startup community. The organizers' stated goal for my talk was to help attendees, "hear your Fintech startup story" and because, "we need to inspire hundreds more like you."
The organizers were lucky enough to catch me on a great week and my talk was inspiring…according to those who talked with or emailed me afterward.
But, the attendees were catching me on a pretty great week that was almost five years in the making.
The truth is, many entrepreneurial weeks – maybe most – feel like this:
Many – maybe most – of my fellow founders will identify with the feeling of being knocked down unexpectedly…from behind…then slammed around repeatedly…then pushed off the edge…only to fall face first and mouth open into dirty water…and I think I saw a bandaid in there…maybe two…and now I have an infection.
That can be the entrepreneurial experience in the bad times. The "we're almost out of money, crying in the kitchen with your spouse" times.
I've been there! You?
When that happens, it's easy to question why anyone would want to go on this ride.
For many, it's a compulsion from the onset. Or a deep seated unrelenting drive to create.
But for others, like me, it was mostly accidental and only makes sense now in hindsight.
This September will mark five years since the Startup Weekend where the base idea for our company was first uttered aloud in a simple one-minute pitch format.
I went to that 2012 event by myself as a non-technical participant. I had been in the financial services industry for seven years at that point and was curious about how technology would impact our industry. This event could help me better understand how technology can impact industries as well as how you can take an idea to prototype in a short time.
Before going, a friend who would later go on to found one of the early GAN accelerators, suggested I consider pitching my own idea vs. just expecting to join another team. That day, I worked on this:
And yes, I still have this piece of paper.
The basic idea – with the worst name ever in "NetWorthing" – was that people often make less than optimal financial decisions on most products, while banks make a lot of money when this happens. But, what if everyone could easily see the best financial decisions of anonymous peers and then act quickly to never fall behind?
At the root of my pitch wasn't the solution. The root was that banks make money unfairly due to customer inertia and technology could be an equalizer.
The idea received enough votes to recruit a team of three others to help build the idea out, and enough validation and traction to finish third overall that weekend.
Since then, here's some of our story in numbers:
- Four co-founders in 2012
- Several co-founder "Come to Jesus" meetings over the summer of 2013
- Only one founder left by fall of 2013
- Two accelerators in 2013 and 2017
- Four angel investors in 2016
- One substantial pivot & two abandoned products in 2016
- Three brief times into negative cash balance
- Fourteen corporate clients over the years
- Countless wipeouts we only sometimes saw coming:
Oh yeah, nice try…we got this, we got this like a boss…..IEEEEEE!!!!!
After all of this, we were invited to share our "Success Story" at that event…as well as here on the Techstars blog.
I didn't ask any of the organizers why they considered us a success worthy of a spotlight.
Are we a success because we've survived five years?
Are we a success because we've been able to generate sales, investors, and some potential large partnerships?
Or, are we a success because we've had our asses handed to us repeatedly and we still get back up again and again?
Something like this:
There's something to that last one in hindsight. Something I didn't understand before reflecting on it.
We've been through the startup valley of death in that we've experienced many of the top reason startups fail, and yet we haven't stayed down.
You could label our story as obstinance or tenacity, but we came through the fray and now have assembled a team that has fallen in love with the problem of helping people save money from their phones in just minutes.
The solutions and partners and paths forward have changed a lot over time, but we're still on a mission to compete with all we have! We haven't forgotten why we got into the arena in the first place…because we believed we could win!
Or, at a minimum, that we had to get into the arena and fight the good fight. We had to fight the problem.
This despite selling B2B into a regulated industry…which has challenges:
Just one more corporate vendor vetting step to clear and then contract is…IEEEEEE….MY FACE!!!!
When you're in the thrash of entrepreneurship, aka the wipeouts, it can be hard to take stock of where you've been as well as staying focused on what's ahead. It's hard because you're experiencing the physical and emotional shock of the recent blow, which is understandably disorienting.
But the pain of each blow is eventually paired with time-tested knowledge that "this too shall pass." Eventually, the time between shock/pain and recovery gets quicker.
NOTE: I'm referring to the outside pain of the startup journey and not the pain of depression, which is very real and can f*ck with a lot of us. That's real and requires the strength to engage with those around you for help. A strong founder support group is vital for this and so many other reasons. Here are some resources on this topic.
There will be shocks and pain ahead. But, if you believe in your industry, in the problem you're solving, and in your ability to address it, then you should stay the course. You should fight through and endure some of the pain.
It's to be expected, especially toward a point of breakthrough. Recently, I've found it useful to reread "The Dip" by Seth Godin at these times of potential greatest pain and greatest breakthrough.
If the fundamentals of your industry are the same and you believe you can get through this, then you owe it to fight through the last mile at a time when so many give up.
I wrote this piece to share our own LONG journey with those are are on the same path.
I wrote this for those of you in pain.
I wrote this for those who may be starting and unaware of the potential obstacles – which despite the painful pictures above – are often just obstacles to be bested.
I wrote this for 2012 me who read and was told how hard entrepreneurship is and yet was still unprepared and had to experience the pain for himself to really understand.
And I wrote this for so many of you in the final dip.
Wherever you are, know this: You. Are. Not. Alone!
You have many, many fighting the fight with you.
Entrepreneurship isn't an overnight success story, though it can seem so when you compare your own struggles with someone else's exit.
I hope today is a great day. Or a good day. Or even just a day.
I hope the same for myself but I know you or I will still be OK if there's some pain. I finally understand this. It just took me five years to figure that out.
Are you ready to learn, network, startup? Find a Startup Weekend event in your region today!
This post is also published on Medium.
Cape Town Startup Globalisation
We're halfway through July here at the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in Cape Town, which means that the 2017 class of FinTech startups have less than 3 weeks left before they stand on stage at the annual Demo Day.
These 10 startups will be representing their companies as capable, forward-thinking visionaries, setting a path to the future of financial technologies.
Although likely not at the forefront of the founders' minds, their efforts through the program will further solidify Cape Town as a nascent startup ecosystem on the brink of massive expansion.
Investors and potential partners from across the world will be looking eagerly to see the opportunities coming out of the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in Cape Town.
By the time Demo Day comes, the Techstars team will have spent the past three months in closed quarters, getting intimately acquainted with these teams and their companies.
These 10 startups have been selected from a global network that spans far outside of just Cape Town. In fact, 40 percent have relocated from across the world, mostly outside of Africa, to take part in the hands-on accelerator programme located in the buzzing Techstars corner of Barclays' Rise office space.
When creating global businesses, why relocate from a first world America, or Israel, both of which are renowned for their tech entrepreneurship ecosystems?
It's no secret that Cape Town's tech scene, while having the continent's strongest funding landscape, is still considered "emerging," at best.
Or is it?
More importantly, is an "emerging" ecosystem any less empowering for local and global startups than a Silicon Valley, or do some startups thrive globally even more in these emerging ecosystems?
Regardless, these international startups have officially been welcomed with wide open arms by the local startups in the class, to work together as ambassadors of a startup ecosystem rooted at the tip of Africa.
Local "Activation" Initiatives
Many cities across the world have initiatives to represent their city as buzzing tech cities worthy of the world's attention. London has Silicon Roundabout, and here in Cape Town, we have Silicon Cape. This is an initiative that I've previously been part of driving, in collaboration with some of Cape Town's most prolific internet companies, VC's, and government representatives.
This and similar initiatives, as their names suggest, are primarily focused on getting locals to rally behind creating a more supportive environment for technology-based startups in their backyard.
However, with the focus on creating a local community brand, it's not always the case that these types of initiatives achieve much success and ensure the creation of more or better startups.
So, what does?
The Startup Genome, through their Global Ecosystem Report, believes they have anecdotally uncovered what does, as they define startup ecosystem life cycles and maturity in four phases, the first of which is "activation."
This phase is focused on removing barriers and attracting resources – a key responsibility for initiatives such as Silicon Cape, who look at how to promote investor and founder appeal by addressing any government regulations around financial or IP issues.
South Africa also provides a great economy for international businesses to open an office and access a talented local workforce.
Local Funding Landscape
According to South African Venture Capital and Private Equity venture capital survey, the Western Cape has emerged as the center for venture capital activity in South Africa.
The majority of the country's startups are based here, and 75 percent of venture capital deals were concluded in this province. Some of the largest tech exits have also stemmed from the Western Cape, with the most recent being the $100 million sale of GetSmarter to 2U in May 2017.
Despite the relative maturity of the funding landscape in Cape Town in comparison to the rest of Africa, it still pales in comparison to international benchmarks.
Access to tech startup seed funding in particular is extremely limited, with companies like Yoco, a thriving mobile card payments platform, having raised their initial round from dozens of angel investors, mostly from outside the country.
However, looking forward, cryptocurrency disruption may transform the financial venture capital industry, drastically improving access to capital, irrespective of what corner of the world a business operates.
Companies, including two within the the current Techstars class, can now look to raise millions of dollars directly from a crowd of investors through an ICO — Initial Coin Offering — which often sells out within a matter of hours.
In their report, Startup Genome outlines what they have identified as the next phase of ecosystem development after activation: "based on rigorous analysis, we definatively find that globally connected startup ecosystems grow faster and perform better than less-connected places."
So while Cape Town is a far distance away from most of the world's major cities (it's historically known as "The Cape Of Good Hope" as European explorers discovered the city in the first successful attempt to establish direct trade between Europe and the Far East), it is a highly desirable destination.
In today's startup world it also reinforces the idea that entrepreneurship and being part of innovative startups allows you to live your dream, and work from wherever you choose.
Cape Town has consistently been ranked highly in the top 10 travel and culinary destinations in the world, receiving the spot of number one city on the Condé Nast World's Best Food Cities list.
Members of the 500 Startups "Geeks on a Plane" trip through Africa have cited this as a reason that Cape Town is compared to the lifestyle fueling the San Francisco startup culture and dubbed Africa's Silicon Valley.
Just a few hours outside the city, the Cape Town community even has it's own version of the Burning Man festival — Afrika Burn. The original event started in San Francisco, and accordingly to Elon Musk, who came up with the idea for SolarCity while at Burning Man, Burning Man is synonymous with Silicon Valley.
Elon Musk is one of the highest profile tech entrepreneurs, who also happens to be South African. As is his colleague from PayPal, Roelof Botha, well known for leading investments at Sequoia Capital into Youtube, Tumblr, and countless others.
On European soil you'll find SA expat Saul Klein, previously with Index Ventures and co-founder of Seedcamp, an early stage investment company that has invested in over 200 tech startups.
Afrika Burn took place just before the accelerator program kicked off, noticeably bringing in high profile tech entrepreneurs such as Brock Pierce, co-founder of Blockchain Capital, the first VC fund dedicated to Blockchain ecosystem.
Brock would later be found walking around the co-working space, inspiring entrepreneurs with the belief that every industry will eventually be disrupted by blockchain technologies.
Local Startup Communities
Cape Town also has the highest number of accelerators (20+) and coworking spaces (25+) on the African continent.
Rise, where Techstars is hosted in Cape Town, is a network of coworking spaces spread across four continents, an initiative in partnership with Barclays to support a community "working together to create the future of financial services."
Right now, it's easy to consider Rise as one of the most powerful hubs in the Cape Town tech startup community, albeit only primarily focused on financial technology startups.
Through a careful curation of community, Cape Town's ecosystem is tightened locally through a common goal, and expands its reputation globally through connected communities like Rise. Of course, there's also the Techstars community, who eagerly support their fellow entrepreneurs coming out of the Cape Town program, and other programs across the world.
On the surface it may appear to be an extremely exclusive privilege to have access to the Techstars community, who have been primed to "Give First" to each other, but in truth that privilege is very naturally extended to second and third degrees outside of the Techstars worldwide network.
The presence of strong global goodwill networks like Techstars, Rise, Silicon Cape, or other entrepreneur support programs plays a huge role in enabling startups across the world to thrive, in a world that is becoming increasingly globalized.
The New Era of Fintech Disruption in NYC
I'm thrilled to be joining Techstars as managing director for the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in New York City. I am taking the torch for this role from the talented Jenny Fielding, who is continuing her role of managing director of Techstars IoT.
Over the past five years, I've been fortunate to have helped nurture the largest community of Fintech entrepreneurs in the world through Empire Startups. My experience in Fintech started before the hashtag with product management and strategy leadership roles at Blackrock, Goldman Sachs, Instinet, and E*Trade. Most recently, I was the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Barclays Accelerator in NYC.
In my past Fintech experience, I've learned that building great companies is about throwing out the rulebook, not just creating a mobile friendly version of it.
As tweetable as that may sound, it's a wild oversimplification. If you just build it, they won't come. This is especially the case in Fintech, where even the greatest hustlers can fail to acquire customers and secure distribution partnerships.
My deep dark secret is that I've also been in the belly of the beast and lived to tell the tale. I've been on the inside of the largest and most successful investment banks and asset managers and have built the products that Fintech startups seek to disrupt today. I've been an agent of change and I've also been mired in the opposite. Now I'm ready to take that experience and help startups pave their way with new products and disruption.
While small, agile startups will always ship technology faster than larger teams, some say Fintech distribution, customer acquisition and trust can't be accelerated. I disagree.
Here's how we'll do it:
- Capitalize on the lessons learned by the global Techstars network on building products that instill trust in consumers in order to build great businesses.
- Laser-focus product roadmaps by working with our "enterprise customer-in-residence," Barclays.
- Hone the story and test business models by leveraging the top community of Fintech mentors in the world.
Ready to knock the cover off Fintech? Apply here.
This blog post, and the million moving parts before it, would not have been possible without the mentorship, support, and 5am Slack messages of Greg Rogers and Jenny Fielding. I truly thank you and am honored and humbled to join the team.
5 Disruptive Fintech Services
The year of 2005 gave rise to a new technology that would take the financial sector by storm. Fintech was the buzzword of that year, with companies either uttering it out of fear or jubilation at what was to come. This breakthrough in technology saw technologists in t-shirts and jeans competing with the suits in the highly corporate banking sector to offer the same services at a fraction of the cost. Consequently, Fintech services are changing how many industries conduct their business, from loans to investments and so much more.
1. E-Commerce
Imagine a scenario where you need to urgently buy a home appliance but you do not have the full amount at once. Your options are to either take out a loan or go to the store and pay for the goods at unfathomable interest rates.
Some B2B Fintech companies have come up with an innovative solution to this. They enable online retailers to instantly offer monthly repayment plans for goods at checkout on a shopper's existing credit card. This bears no risk to the seller as customers use their current credit cards.
Also, breaking up payments into smaller installments attracts more customers to you and your net sales will increase. Fintech services such as these are proving to be quite disruptive to the market.
2. Money Transfer
In this digital age, it's no longer a viable option to have to wait days or even weeks to send money overseas, nor can you incur such high costs. Without banks as the middle man, Fintech companies have come up to fix this problem by offering affordable rates for sending money and also fast transfers – in a matter of minutes!
Send money in your currency and the recipient receives it in their currency.
3. Loans
Let's face it, paying off loans is not a bed of roses. Half of the time, you do not know what your repayment rate is and the other time, you spend dreading to go to the bank to repay your loan or even find out how much you need to pay. Fintech companies like CommonBond have come up with an innovative way to help students get out of this fix.
They pay off the borrower's lender and then deal with the students at a more personal level. This works well the borrowers as they are assured of the whole repayment, and the borrowers can easily get all the information they need about their loans.
CommonBond also offers other services such as funding students in need and helping them identify job opportunities.
4. Mobile Payment
So you are a small business and have no idea how to go about receiving payments from your customers. How are you ever going to consolidate all those payments? Well, not to worry, Fintech companies are now helping small businesses operate like large companies all from the comfort of your tablet or phone.
They let you accept both card and cash payments once a customer has browsed your products, chosen what to buy and is at checkout. The customer then proceeds to receive a receipt either physically by mail or printed.
5. Investment
Have you watched one of those movies where you see stock traders huddled in a room trading and making lots of money from it? There are several Fintech companies that enable you to trade via their platform from your laptop or phone.
What's better, is that they give you information on trading trends at the click of a button so you can have information on all the stocks you are trading and users can slowly build their portfolio.
Fintech is definitely here to stay. The rise of Fintech services is sure to grow in the next couple of years and we will see many businesses adopting Fintech services due to their accessibility, low cost and efficiency. This is good news for both business owners and customers, as they will be able to offer their services and goods at reduced costs.
Going Beyond Bitcoin: Revolutionary Applications of Blockchain
If you've heard the word Blockchain mentioned in conversation, you probably have heard it been used synonymously with Bitcoin. Well, that is not the case. Bitcoin is essentially only an application that is built on the blockchain platform. Blockchain, more impressively, is a secure, distributed and shared database on which various applications, not only digital currency, can be built.
If you are wondering what some of these applications are, this article will give you a few that will have you thinking outside the box.
Digital Identity
The world today is at a great risk of digital insecurity. It is estimated to cost the digital security industry about $18.5 annually. Managing digital identities could be made both efficient and secure by Blockchain technologies, thus reducing cases of fraud.
Whether it is banking, healthcare, citizenship documentation, national security or retailing, the adoption of Blockchain technologies would be beneficial. This is because they are based on digital signatures and irrefutable identity verification based on public key cryptography.
Distributed Cloud Storage
Before, the only way to share a digital document with another person was to send it to them and ask them to make revisions on it. This scenario would create a lengthy back and forth between the people concerned as one had to wait until the other person was done editing and sending the document so as to view it.
That is how databases work today. Even in banks! They briefly lock access while they make a transfer and then update the other side and finally reopen access to update. This process is not very efficient. Imagine if the database can be accessed concurrently and a single version of it is always available.
Smart Contracts
What would you say if someone told you that you could significantly slash your mortgage rate? Ridiculous, right? At least not in the current economy. Wrong! The use of smart contracts is increasingly drawing near. Smart contracts are simply digitized contacts that are entered by the Blockchain that is automated and can self-execute.
The current norm is bringing in a third party to execute a contract rather than trusting one central authority. Companies such as Rootstock and Ethereum are trending in this area.
Online Voting
Whenever the topic of Online voting is brought us, there is a general sense of apprehension. This is because many think that it is sufficiently insecure. The adoption of online voting can be made more acceptable through the use of Blockchain technology. This is because is it transparent and immutable in nature.
In 2014, the Liberal Alliance, a Danish political party became the first major political party to adopt Blockchain technology for internal voting. Other organizations around the world have expressed interest and we will, in the near future see it being actualized. An added advantage is that the implementation of Blockchain technology for voting should increase the number of voters per region.
Tracking Taxpayer Money
Blockchain technologies can be used to track money including students loans and international aid. It has potential to be used also to manage the distribution of grants as this has proven to be rather complex. Blockchain will make this easier as it is accessible to both parties, thus solving the problem at hand.
Record Keeping
When you buy something online from a site, you get a digital receipt, closely resembling a physical one. Imagine if you could integrate all your receipts from all your spending into one Blockchain. All your data can be verified without a third party and it will all be immutable and unforgeable. The best thing about it? All your records are automatically timestamped.
Most of these applications are still in development phase and the full extent of Blockchain capabilities has yet to be unearthed. The bottom lone is that Blockchain is here to stay and is transforming how we, as a society, function.
The purpose of Techstars' Worldwide Entrepreneur Network is to help entrepreneurs succeed. Check out the impact of the Techstars' network over the past 10 years.
Top Four Predictions for Fintech in Africa for 2017
Blockchain Everywhere
The Blockchain may be the more notable technological innovation that has come out of Cryptocurrency. In 2017, we will see a plethora of uses for the Blockchain. We've already seen the Blockchain being used for diamonds (Everledger) and land title registrations (BenBen). Expect to see even more startups going after new and currently unimagined uses for the Blockchain.
The Year of Mobile (again)
2016 saw monthly mobile money transactions exceeding one billion per month (more than double what PayPal processes). Expect to see even more proliferation of mobile, as a payment platform in both emerging and mature markets. Mobile wallets will become ubiquitous, while contactless and peer to peer payments on mobile will eat into credit card transactions.
Katlego Maphai, the founder of Yoco and a Techstars mentor remarked: "Money 'electronification' is getting a strong push globally, even at a policy level in some nations out of necessity. Sub-Saharan Africa will be active in this trend. It presents substantial growth opportunities for ambitious startups. Through this, I expect to see an increase in VC activity in the ubiquitous payments space, with expansion activities coming out of fintech ventures from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. It may include some potential ecosystem collaborations across these markets."
The Rise of the Robots…AI
2016 saw a milestone breakthrough in AI with Google's DeepMind beating the world number one at the extremely complex game of Go. Expect to see AI becoming more prolific in combating fraud, improving credit scoring, impacting insurance and a new stream of robo-advisory across multiple segments.
Barclays Rise is growing an ecosystem for fintech in Africa, leading this initiative is Yasaman Hadjibashi, Group Chief Creation Officer for Barclays Africa. She had this to say: "As one of the major opportunities for our continent to make a difference, I see alternative lending frameworks, products and experiences as a unique chance to help Africa's emerging generation youth, customers, employees and entrepreneurs on their path to success. Therefore, fintech ventures, industry experts, researchers, advanced data scientists and innovators, who are actively focused on this opportunity, are my personal target for new exciting collaborations and solution execution."
To apply to the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars in Cape Town complete the application here. Applications close on 5 February 2017.
Banks Shouldn't Reinvent the Wheel
Laura is the cofounder and CRO at Alloy (Barclays NY '15), which offers an identity and onboarding API for financial services companies. To send feedback, questions, or simply connect with Laura: Twitter, LinkedIn, or email email@example.com.
We've added "aas" to so many functions and products, from Software to Platforms to Backend (there's some joke to be made here, but I'll refrain…). If you started building products or services in the last few years (like me), you might take for granted that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you want to access basic infrastructure and functionality; you probably rely on AWS for hosting, and use a CRM in the cloud to keep track of your customers.
But when it comes to financial services, building products & services is still largely on-premise, and most product managers and developers are reinventing the wheel.
Development and product teams can focus on what they're good at.
Let's say you have a great idea for a new savings app based on behavioral economics. To build an MVP and get your first 100 users on it, you'll have to have a mechanism to move money and you'll have to be compliant with KYC and AML regulations. Neither are easy tasks, and neither one is core to your product or competitive advantage. They're simply table stakes for getting off the ground.
APIs are the way to make viable financial ecosystems and the key to making Financial-Services-as-a-Service possible. A variety of well-designed, easy-to-integrate APIs will let you launch faster while staying focused on your product and customers. You may integrate Plaid, Dwolla, Twilio, or some combination of the three. Think of the developer hours you're saving by not building those functions yourself.
Big financial institutions can become platforms (the American dream!)
On the other side, big financial services companies are also getting into APIs, and for good reason. They don't just want to use the services, they want to be the platforms upon which those services are built and distributed. They want to be ecosystems. Be Apple, not Tidal.
Without APIs, banks, and financial institutions are siloed. Few users want to process a payment through their bank or make a trade through an archaic brokerage online when they can use Venmo or Robinhood. But banks have trouble building this themselves — for one thing, as one of my favorite fintech VCs put it recently, "banks think they've hired developers, when in fact, they've just built IT departments". By embracing APIs, they can take advantage of innovation without doing it all themselves, by opening themselves up.
Open API platforms and initiatives are allowing bigger financial services institutions (e.g. BBVA, Capital One, Barclays) to have innovative products and services built off of their platforms, bring exciting experiences to customers, and get talented developers connected to their banks without completely renovating their core banking systems.
This was originally published on Medium.
Startups Will Save the Banks, Not Just Disrupt Them
Henry David Thoreau once said: "In entrepreneurship is the preservation of the world."
Ok, maybe he didn't say exactly that. But the spirit of distilling corporate structure into only what is essential to nurturing innovation is what has led me to Techstars. In 2014, when Greg Rogers kicked off the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in London, we discussed how the community can help tear down the barriers to entry in FinTech. In 2015, Jenny Fielding asked me to join a star-studded cast of mentors as she launched the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in NYC.
In 2016, I joined the Techstars family as Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Barclays Accelerator, Powered by Techstars in New York, and now in 2017, I've become the managing director of the program.
Defending and distilling innovation is what first led Lockheed Martin to cordon off dev resources into skunkworks operations away from their primary roadmap. Accelerators and incubators are the modern and scalable skunkworks, and these programs and their startups will save the banks and not just disrupt them.
Are you a bank in need of innovation, courting and keeping top talent, and diversifying your product roadmap? The question to ask is: "How are you embracing the startup community?"
Banks are wildly desperate for innovation, but moving fast is simply not their key focus or distinctive competency. Firstly, the comp model of traditional financial services rewards technologists for stability and continuity, which can compete with, if not discourage, innovation.
That's right, Wall Street technologists are essentially paid to shower customers in mediocrity.
Secondly, traditional banks and asset managers with fiduciary responsibility simply can't afford to "fail fast." They don't have the freedom to be cavalier and take chances by diverting their roadmaps away from longstanding competencies. The net result is that banks must look to the ecosystem to play a major role in building out new businesses, products and features.
Talent Acquisition
Startups are helping to keep top technical talent in FinTech. Young developers demand more than just a strong base salary and the bragging rights of a bulge-bracket firm. They want transparency into the company's overall strategy, the ability to influence the product roadmap, and a modern software framework to move quickly.
It's more common in traditional banking to see the decision-making centralized to a few, little optionality in projects to work on, and a frustrating pace dictated by older tools and legacy code. Startups keep employees happy by offering complete transparency, a seat at the table, and the ability to work with a modern stack. (You mean it's not the hoodies and foosball? Nope.)
Banks who forge close ties with the startup ecosystem can ensure the top technologists are still addressing their greatest challenges.
Product Diversification
Banks don't always have the luxury of putting a minimally viable product in the wild and leveraging customers feedback to refine their offering. The dynamic regulatory environment and deep subject matter expertise involved in FinTech often results in only mature products being introduced.
Startup companies are able to help banks diversify their product investments, offering the opportunity for the banks to explore and invest in a portfolio of new markets and nascent technologies such as blockchain, social sentiment, artificial intelligence, and gamification.
After 15 years building industry-leading FinTech products for some of the world's largest investment banks and asset managers, I couldn't be more excited for this latest challenge – to help entrepreneurs seek out and capitalize on subject matter experts to solve critical problems in finance. Ensuring the curse of the incumbent technologists does not paralyze innovation.
I swear to
never rarely launch PowerPoint and pledge to save the banks, not break the banks.
Our 5 Favorite Startup Digest Reading List Articles From Last Week
5 hand-picked articles from across the Startup Digest Reading Lists. Sign up to receive great weekly content on various topics from expert curators.
1. Amazon is Trying to Patent Paying with a Selfie
By Leena Rao
Digest: FinTech
Curators: Camron Miraftab & Thilmin Gee
Several large companies have recently announced integrating selfie technology for increased payments security. Amazon continues this trend. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bVzGIz
2. Instagram May Change Your Feed, Personalizing It With an Algorithm
By Mike Isaac
Digest: Product
Curators: Sophie-Charlotte Moatti & Reza Ladchartabi
Instagram is changing their algorithm to place the photos and videos it thinks you will most want to see from the people you follow toward the top of your feed. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bVzvk1
3. Meet The Chinese Tinder
By Emma Lee
Digest: Angel Investor
Curator: Berg Moe
Sudy is a new swipe-based dating app that only pairs rich men with attractive women, especially catering to college students who are looking for financial help on tuition fees. During the seven-month beta test starting in September last year, Sudy has enrolled over 10,000 members, mainly from the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bVyu8H
4. MIT: Red lights could someday be a thing of the past
By Lucas Mearian
Digest: Mobility & Transportation
Curator: Timo Hoffmann
MIT's "lightTraffic" vision, with video explaining how traffic lights will become obsolete when there are autonomous vehicles roaming the streets. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bVxg4P
5. Iranian Artist using 3D Printing to Combat ISIS
By Isaac Kaplan
Digest: 3D Printing
Curator: Dilanka
This is one of those unexpected uses of 3D Printing with interesting social and political implications. Check it out. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bVyYlP
Sign up for these or other Startup Digest reading lists, here.
Our 5 Favorite Startup Digest Reading List Articles From Last Week
1. We got 10 CEOs to tell us their one killer interview question for new hires
By Jason Karaian
Digest: Leadership & Resiliency
Curator: Sarah Jane Coffey
Not only are these pretty great interview questions, several of them would also work as journaling prompts. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bQmvPL
2. Fintech is Just Getting Started
By Alan Carlisle
Digest: FinTech
Curator: Camron Miraftab
Driven by the desire to revamp or obviate the need for banking legacy systems, the fintech industry has risen to prominence. This article provides a nice summary of a number of service-offerings by banks that may be disrupted in the near future by fintech companies. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bQlPoT
3. Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship Series
By Kauffman Foundation
Digest: Startup Communities
Curators: Julian Miller, Brad Feld, Shane Reiser
The numbers are in and for the first time in the last 6 years entrepreneurship in the form of "Main Street" small businesses is on the rise, ultimately making startup communities more robust ecosystems. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bQoE_j
4. Full Color 3D Printing using Paper
By YouTube, electrictv
Digest: 3D Printing
Curator: Dilanka Wettewa
Did you know you can 3D Print in FULL COLOR using paper? The MCOR Full Color Printer does just that. If you touch these prints, they feel like hard plastic (I've experienced this in real life) and the detail is pretty damn cool. The only downside is that the MCOR printers costs a lot more than regular old desktop 3D Printers! Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bQmSsb
5. Sephora Accelerate – Supporting female founders of beauty start-ups
By Sephora Accelerate
Digest: Women Entrepreneurship
Curators: Babs Lee, Lilibeth Gangas
Sephora is looking for beauty startups founded by women for Sephora Accelerate, a startup bootcamp with a focus on the beauty industry. Startups that are selected to be part of the program may have a chance to pitch their products or technology directly to senior leaders from Sephora's Merchandising and Innovation teams as part of the Demo Day. Criteria and application is at the link. Read More
More from this reading list: http://eepurl.com/bQobEn


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Dynamic Rate Type Overview
Basis Platform supports dynamic rate types (also known as real-time bidding) with third party services. Campaigns with dynamic line items include planning, tracking delivery, and billing.
When you change rate types between CPM to Dynamic CPM, CPC to Dynamic CPC, or CPCV to Dynamic CPCV, Basis Platform maintains the net rate (or est rate).
Note: Basis Platform caps the total gross spend at the contract cost.
During campaign planning, the inventory units (imps/clicks/CVs), rates, and costs are estimated projections. Under the Cost column, you can also enter the estimated quantity in the ad serving field. Basis Platform calculates the ad serving costs in the tooltip. When the campaign is live, Basis Platform updates the actual totals based on your entered delivery (clicks or impressions or completed views), rate, and cost.
Dynamic Pricing Rate - Estimated Examples


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Academic Skills Enhancement
In making the transition from GCSE to A Level study, we want to encourage a change in mind-set and attitude towards learning. The Sixth Form College provide a platform for each A Level first year student to embrace the challenge and high academic demands of further education, whilst also recognising themselves as an active learner and not a passive learner.
Academic Skills Enhancement is a course which every first year A Level student enrols onto as part of their further education curriculum. The main objective of Academic Skills Enhancement is to acclimate new students to the cornerstones of A Level academic skills. We aim to ignite a spark of interest, intrigue and creativity for learning and reflection which students can use as a skill to take into their lessons.
Academic Skills Covered
Analysing Data
Extrapolating Information
Debating Skills
Creative Problem Solving
Critical Questioning
Creating Revision Resources
The Impact
We aim for students to have at their disposal an academic toolkit which can be transferred into every academic pursuit within college, further refine and review, and ensure that the skills learnt raise aspirations and potential for academic success.
For further information, please follow the ASE Blog http://academicskillsenhancement.over-blog.com/


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Words travel upon the breeze.
Slipped from my lovers lips.
My eager ears delight.
Warm and welcoming.
Air swirling around.
Embracing me.
The tenderness as it caresses my skin.
Lifting my head.
Up to the sky.
Gentle fingers under my chin.
Supporting me.
Whispers comforting me.
Telling me to let go.
Worries gone.
Release the fear within.
My grip weakens.
Why do I fight to hold on?
Clinging to what I'm powerless to change.
When I wasn't looking.
Solace found me.
Holding me when I couldn't.
Loving me when I didn't.
The clarity that I found.
Spreading through me.
Finally free from the chains.
The weight lifted.
My spirit raised.
Rising up.
Never to be held down again.
© Katrina Storey 11/30/13


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No. 803 – CAPE AND HOOD IN "SUMMER SKY BLUE" – Even the baby is thought of when it comes to knitting–perhaps more so than the adult–for here is baby's early fall cape and hood for those evenings when it is just a bit too cool for baby to be without some sort of covering. Here is a practical answer, and an answer soft and alluring. The embroidery on the cape and hood has that "smart touch" that gives the garment a look of regality–for his–or her–Royal Highness–the Baby.
6 months to 1 year
1 pair American Standard No. 2. 1 Circular No. 4.
Paradise Zephyr 10 ounces.
6 sts to 1 inch.
K – Knit
P – Purl
ch – Chain
h d c – Half double crochet
cr – Crochet
sl st – Slip stitch
rnd – Round
beg – Beginning
tr cr – Triple crochet
s c – Single crochet
d c – Double crochet
tog – Together
st – Stitch
sts – Stitches
y o – Yarn over
p – Picot
P.s.s.o. – Pass slip stitch over
*(asterisk). When this symbol appears, continue working until instructions refer you back to this symbol.
Even means that a row must be worked without increasing or decreasing.
Work means to continue with the stitch as described.
Half Double Crochet – Yarn over, draw up a loop in st, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook.
Slip Stitch – Insert hook in next st, yarn over and draw through both loops on hook.
Blocking – Pin the garment, with rust proof pins, wrong side out, on a pressing board in exactly the measurements desired. Place a damp cloth over garment and with a moderately hot iron, press lightly, allowing the steam to go through. Lay on a flat surface until thoroughly dry.
Needle Gauge – When making a garment–work a swatch, using the needles called for to determine whether or not your work measures the same number of stitches to the inch as given in the scale. Change size of needles accordingly.
When Using Colors – In changing colors always K the first row on right side regardless of pattern.
Starting at neck, with No. 2 needles, cast on 76 sts K 1, P 1, for 3 rows. Beading: K 1, *Y O, K 2 tog, repeat from *across row. K 1, P 1 for 3 rows, cast on 2 sts. Change to No. 4 circular needle.
Yoke – Work in garter st (K each row).
Row 1–K 8, *inc 1 st, K 5, repeat from *across row to within last 8 sts, K 8. Do not inc in first and last 8 sts throughout yoke. Cast on 2 sts.
Row 2–K 1 row. Row 3–On next row, K back to within last 4 sts, bind off 2 sts for buttonhole, K 2.
On next row, cast on 2 sts over those bound off, K across row.
*Repeat Row 1 (but do not cast on the 2 sts).
K 3 rows even.
Repeat from *until you have 182 sts, working 2 more buttonholes, 1 inch apart.
On next row, K 24 sts, *slip 1 st, K 18 sts, repeat from *to within 25 sts, slip 1 st, K 24.
On next row, K 3, P to within last 3 sts (Purling the sl st), K 3, repeat these 2 rows for 1 inch.
On next K row, K 3, inc 1 st, K 9, inc 1 st, K 10, sl 1 st, continuing pattern across row, making an inc in center of each gore. Inc in 4th to last st same as beg of row.
Work even for 1 inch.
Inc in same manner every inch, until cape measures 11 inches from end of yoke.
K 12 rows, 6 ribs, bind off loosely on wrong side.
Cord–Ch 3, join, work 5 s c in ring. Work 2 s c in each st, until you have 12 s c. Work even until you have 5 rows. Fill with cotton. S c around decreasing a few sts in each row to close opening. Ch 24 inches. Make another ball in same manner and attach to 2nd end.
Starting at first half of neck edge, with No. 2 needles, cast on 42 sts, K 1, P 1 for 4 rows.
Change to No. 4 needles. *K 1 row, P 1 row for 1 inch always knitting first 4 sts on Purled rows for border at front.
Now K 2 sts tog at back edge, repeat from * until piece measures 5 inches, 37 sts. (measuring after the K 1, P 1 edge).
Work 1 inch even.
To start peak at top: Row 1–K 30 sts, turn.
Row 2 and all even rows, P back, slipping first st.
Row 3–K 24, turn.
Row 5–K 18, turn.
Row 7–K 12, turn.
Row 9–K 6, turn.
All sts are now on left hand needle (this completes half of hood). On next row starting at back, K 9 turn.
Following row: K 15, turn. Next row K 21, turn.
Continue in this manner, increasing 6 sts every other row, until you have 33 sts on right hand needle, turn.
P back and on next row, K 37.
Work other half to correspond increasing 1 st every inch at back edge.
Fold in half and sew seam.
Sew hood to cape, starting about 2 inches from beading at beg of cape, gathering across leaving 2 inches at end.


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My morning go-to over the years have ranged from apple cider vinegar recipes to warm lemon water because they both have so many health benefits. Recently, I thought, why not combine them, with the addition of a few other superfoods?
The combination of ingredients really makes it beneficial to overall health from digestion to healthy skin, all while strengthening the immune system, perfect for flu season!
Health Benefits
Lemon Water – increases the metabolism, detoxifies, clears skin, improves digestion
Apple Cider Vinegar – reduces sugar cravings, strengthens the immune system, aids in digestion
Turmeric – helps joint & muscle health, strengths the immune system, promotes glowing skin
Ginger – relieves heartburn, fights infections, clears skin
Cayenne – boots metabolism, detoxifies,
great source of Vitamin E (anti-aging!)
Don't get me wrong, this drink definitely has an acquired taste, especially if you aren't used to using any of the ingredients. You can adjust the spices according to your liking, or start out slowly adding ingredients. I look forward to it for a little morning relaxation to start the day!
Morning Wellness Latte
- 10 oz boiling water
- 1 lemon
- 1 dash Turmeric
- 1 shake Cayenne
- 3 shakes Ginger
I'd love to hear your morning go-to drink, or if you've tried something similar to this one!
Xo Brittany


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S: Intervalia Studio One - Year One
FC: Year One
1: "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." -Confucius This is a collection of shots from our first year in operation. It was tough to choose which photos would make the cut - it was like picking a favorite child, but we think we have a great selection of frames here. We've learned a lot and have met some fantastic people along our journey. We would like to thank all of the beautiful models who've graced our lenses, our friends for putting up with us, and our families for all of their support. Mark and Anthony
3: When we first started shooting, all we had for lighting was a single PAR-56 Spotlight. Using a fog machine, we began playing with the unique light.
4: Taffara Murray
5: Eventually we got tired of shooting ourselves, and sought out models to shoot... | Left: Brian Stever Right: Katelyn Richard
6: Left: Dan Maxwell Right: Katelyn Richard
7: Left/Middle: Brittany Severin Right: Claire Bonsey | We started to experiment with alternative light sources. Using light ropes and lightbulbs, we were able to achieve some amazing results.
9: Claire Bonsey | Tyler Gamble | Vlada Tabachuk | Connor Bernard Douglas
10: Experimentation moved to other things... Quickly, we discovered that we could do more than just shoot models. Our imaginations were only limited by the time we had to actually shoot the things we thought up. The possibilities seemed endless. Then we discovered high speed photography.
11: This particular shoot was really complicated. We had to coordinate the flashes with the explosions of the balloons. We used a pellet gun to burst the balloons, and had to time the shots perfectly. Eventually we figured out a process of firing the gun and the camera at the precise moments to get the desired results.
12: We had to be extra creative with Sasha, aka Scribble. She's a DJ and we were tasked to do some promo shots with her, so regular model setups just wouldn't do. Smoke effects and gelled lights put her right at home, and created some excellent results. | Sasha Morozova "Scribble"
13: Top Row: Savannah Murray, Kyla Nicolle, Nathaniel Watson Middle Row: Tamara Chemij Bottom Row: Taffara Murray, Matt MacDonald, Jocelyn Conway
14: Claire Bonsey | James Densley | Jeff Roper | Kaitlin Knox
15: As we went on, we got to work with more and more amazing people. Each shoot brought new experiences, and we honed our skills. | Top: Nicki Davis Middle: Trinette Nurse Jenna Bourgeois Miss Magenta Bottom: Vlada Tabachuk
16: "My Living Will"
17: "Skin Deep" This concept shoot with Kaitlin Knox was about eating disorders in young women. The message we wanted to convey, was that women are beautiful as they are. | Eight out of 10 women are not happy with their reflection. It is estimated that 200,000-300,000 Canadian women aged 13-40 have Anorexia Nervosa, and twice as many have Bulimia.
18: Top: Anna Clark, Tamara Chemij, Vlada Tabachuk Middle: Kaitlin Knox, Vlada Tabachuk Bottom: Vanessa Comeau, Karrie MacLeod, Taffara Murray
19: Kaitlin Knox Trinette Nurse Samantha Greenwood-Gardner | Pauline Malpage Vlada Tabachuk Kyla Nicolle
20: When shooting with Tara Main, we wanted to do something unique that we haven't tried before. Using a high definition projector, and our white background, we shot some gorgeous silhouette shots.
21: Brittany MacDonald | Wendy Reid | Nicki Davis | Ashley Campbell
22: Top: Cristina Graham-Dwyer Middle: Jocelyn Conway Pauline Malpage Jennie Herbin Bottom: Briana Landry
24: Wendy Reid Corinne Victoria Carpenter Taffara Murray | Melissa Preston Alison Beaulieu Sarah Ainsley Harrison
25: Brittany MacDonald | Courtney MacRoberts | Ashleigh Dumas | Brayden Stewart
26: When we did our first "Rain" shoot in February, it was highly experimental, and we were really just playing around. We decided it was time to have another go at it, and under more controlled settings, we were able to surpass the results we got the previous time. The shoot was so popular that it inspired many other shoots just like it in the local photographic community. | Pauline Malpage
27: Left: (Top)Jocelyn Conway (Bottom)Brittany Severin Right: (Top)Briana Landry (Middle)Ashley Nicole Hamilton (Bottom)Tamara Chemij
28: Bre MacKinnon Kelsie Huskins Ebony Harnish | Pauline Malpage Vlada Tabachuk Kyla Nicolle
30: Top: Taye Landry, Kaitlin Knox, Pauline Malpage Middle: Jennifer Delorey, Kyla Nicolle, Ebony Harnish Bottom: Ebony Harnish, Mike Hampson, Lindsay McNally
31: Scott Gray, Tara Main
32: "The Fallen Angel" When Claire Bonsey asked us to do another creative shoot with her, it started out with just a scattered collection of vague ideas. Those ideas just blew up and everything flowed together. New lighting techniques, light ropes, smoke effects, and some prop modification completed one of our most popular shoots.
33: Left: (Top)Vlada Tabachuk (Bottom)Lauren Messervey Right: (Top)Jennifer Delorey (Middle)Pauline Malpage (Bottom)Ebony Harnish
34: Taye Landry Kelsie Huskins Ebony Harnish | Pauline Malpage Vlada Tabachuk Mike Hampson
35: Top: Ebony Harnish Bottom:Pauline Malpage | Mike Hampson
36: Ebony Harnish
37: Colin Gaudet
38: We always seem to be subjecting Tara Main and Scott Gray to extreme cold when we shoot them together. We thought the Moonlight Silhouettes were cold enough... then they endured the ice cold water for us. In our defense, it was supposed to be a very hot day. It turned out to be overcast, and started naturally raining too!
40: Lindsay McNally Codey Shrider
41: Siobhan Camp
43: Sarah Lynn Deveau
44: Brad Marchand
45: To my wonderful assistant, and studio manager - my best friend, and my rock, thank you for always being there for me. You keep me inspired, and pick me up when I fall. You're not afraid to tell me when something sucks, and you don't let me get away with passing something off, when it truly is amazing. Without you, I'd be nowhere - you believed in me when no one else (including myself) would. So, thank you for being the brightest light in my entire arsenal. -Anthony


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Michaele Manigrasso, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
I graduated from Syracuse University with a degree Bioengineering. I received my joint PhD from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) and the University of Medicine and Dentistry School (UMDNJ-NJMS, Newark, NJ) in Biomedical Engineering. My graduate studies focused on the identification of arachidonic acid metabolites as key regulatory pathway in bone regeneration using a novel mouse fracture model.
Following my PhD, I completed a JDRF-funded postdoctoral fellowship at The University of Mississippi Medical Center in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics where I concentrated on examining the role of androgens and estrogens in the development and progression of type 1 diabetic renal disease.
After the completion of this fellowship, I decided to continue my work in diabetic renal disease and joined the Diabetes Research Program at NYU in to September 2012 under the mentorship of Dr. Ann Marie Schmidt.
I hope to combine my previous research examining gender in diabetes with my current project at NYU to explore the role of RAGE and inflammation in the pathogenesis of type1 diabetes in both males and females. Most importantly, the training that I continue to receive through pursuing these studies will contribute to my development into an independent investigator dedicated to research for finding the cure of end-organ complications associated with type 1 diabetes.
1. Manigrasso MB. Diabetes and vascular disease: sex matters. Vascular Pharmacology 2012; 57(2-4): 78-80.
2. Maric-Bilkan C and Manigrasso MB. Sex differences in hypertension: contribution of the renin-angiotensin system. Gender Medicine 2012; 9(4):287-91.
3. Manigrasso MB, Sawyer RT, Hutchens ZM Jr, Flynn ER, Maric-Bilkan C. Combined inhibition of aromatase activity and dihydrotestosterone supplementation attenuates renal injury in male streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Am J Physiol-Renal Physiol 2012; 302(9):F1203-09.
4. Barsony J, Manigrasso MB, Xu Q, Tam H, Verbalis JG. Chronic hyponatremia exacerbates multiple manifestations of senescence in male rats. AGE (Dordr) 2012; Epub ahead of print.
5. Manigrasso MB, Sawyer RT, Marbury DC, Flynn ER, Maric C. Inhibition of estradiol synthesis attenuates renal injury in male streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Am J Physiol-Renal Physiol 2011; 301(3):F634-40.
6. Liu J, Sharma N, Zheng W, Ji H, Tam H, Wu X, Manigrasso MB, Sandberg K, Verbalis JG. Sex differences in vasopressin V2 receptor expression and vasopressin-induced antidiuresis. Am J Physiol-Renal Physiol 2011; 300(2):F433-40.
7. Manigrasso MB, O'Connor JP. Accelerated fracture healing in mice lacking the 5- lipoxygenase gene. Acta Orthopaedica 2010; 81(6):748-755.
8. Venegas-Pont M, Manigrasso MB, Grifoni SC, Lamarca BB, Maric C, Racusen LC, Glover PH, Jones AV, Drummond HA, Ryan MJ. Tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} antagonist etanercept decreases blood pressure and protects the kidney in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus. Hypertension 2010; 56(4):643-649.
9. A, Xu Q, Manigrasso MB, Biswas M, Flynn E, Iliescu R, Lephart ED, Maric C. Expression of aromatase, androgen and estrogen receptors in peripheral target tissues in diabetes. Steroids 2010; 75(11):779-787.
10. O'Connor JP, Capo JT, Tan V, Cottrell JA, Manigrasso MB, Bontempo N, Parsons JR. A comparison of Ibuprofen and rofecoxib effects on rabbit fibula osteotomy healing. Acta Orthopaedica 2009; 80(5):597-605.
11. Xu Q, Prabhu A, Xu S, Manigrasso MB, Maric C. Dose-dependent effects of dihydrotestosterone in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat kidney. Am J Physiol-Renal Physiol 2009; 297(2):F307-315.
12. Capo JT, Kinchelow T, Brooks K, Tan V, Manigrasso M, Francisco K. Biomechanical stability of four fixation constructs for distal radius fractures. Hand (NY) 2009; 4(3):272-278.
13. Garman JH, Mulroney S, Manigrasso M, Flynn E, Maric, C. Omega-3 fatty acid rich diet prevents diabetic renal disease. Am J Physiol-Renal Physiol 2009; 296(2): F306-316.
14. Manigrasso MB, O'Connor JP. Comparison of fracture healing among different inbred mouse strains. Calcif Tissue Int. 2008; 82(6): 465-474.
15. Manigrasso MB, O'Connor JP. Characterization of a closed femur fracture model in mice. J. Orthop Trauma 2004; 18(10): 687-695.
16. Simon AM, Manigrasso MB, O'Connor JP. Cyclo-oxygenase 2 function is essential for bone fracture healing. J Bone Miner Res 2002; 17(6):963-976.


text:
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text:
Attraction Information
- Museums and Art Galleries
Ages: 4+
Venue type: Indoor
Discover how Cardiff turned from a small market town in the 1300's to one of the world's biggest ports in the 1900's at The Cardiff Story Museum.
The fun, free and interactive galleries are in the beautiful historic Old Library building; full of stories, objects, photographs and film telling the history of the people of Cardiff.
The Cardiff in Context gallery is split into 3 areas. A Port of Some Importance show how and why people first settled in Cardiff and how their communities developed, with hands-on activities to help you discover the city's Bronze Age, Roman, Norman and Medieval past!
The Changing Cardiff exhibit shows how the today's city has been shaped over time, varying with the wealth and success of the docks.
Working Lives explores how 'Cardiffians' have made their living over the years from the land and sea, to industry and hospitality. You can eavesdrop on historical characters and examine personal items in the Object Theatre.
The Cardiff Story also has a varied programme of temporary exhibitions running across another 3 whole galleries too, so repeat visits are just as interesting because, so long as you leave a few months between, there's bound to be something different to see!
Plus, the 2nd Friday of every month is dedicated to your under 5's at Dinky Dragons! From 10am until 3pm there's special provision and activities for the small ones, including play, stories, detective trails, rhymes, crafts messy play and musical fun.
- Picnics Allowed
- Toilets Available
- Baby Changing Available
- Disabled Toilets Available
- Wheelchair Friendly
- Pushchair Friendly
Getting There and Contact Information
The Old Library, The Hayes, Cardiff, Glamorgan and Cardiff, CF10 1BH, Wales
Click here to visit The Cardiff Story Museum's website
029 2078 8334
Standard Opening Times and Pricing
Opening hours
Monday to Sunday 10:00 - 16:00
Free admission


text:
A Practical Methodology For Integration of 4D Seismic in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Reservoir Characterization
- Authors
- Mostafa Hadavand (University of Alberta) | Clayton V. Deutsch (University of Alberta)
- https://doi.org/10.2118/184390-PA
- Document ID
- Publisher
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Source
- SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 02
- Publication Date
- May 2017
- Document Type
- Journal Paper
- Pages
- 353 - 362
- Language
- English
- 1094-6470
- Copyright
- 2017.Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Keywords
- 4D Seismic, Geostatistics, SAGD Reservoir Characterization
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4D seismic is a dynamic source of data that provides information about changes in reservoir-rock and -fluid properties over time. Seismic attributes are sensitive to variations in the fluid content, temperature, and pressure distribution; therefore, 4D-seismic images contain information on the nature of fluid flow within the reservoir. Perhaps the most-reliable and -important information that can be learned from 4D-seismic images is related to anomalies in fluid flow within the reservoir. During steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), the steam-chamber propagation is fairly clear from 4D-seismic images, mainly because of higher gas saturation in the chamber. Therefore, anomalies are revealed by the absence or unexpected location of the steam chamber. In this paper, a practical methodology is proposed for consideration of anomalies identified from 4D-seismic images in geostatistical reservoir models. The geostatistical realizations are updated to enforce missing anomalies and improve reservoir characterization. The updated models are suitable for reservoir decision making and management.
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Abdollahzadeh, A., Christie, M., Corne, D. et al. 2013. An Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithm for History-Matching. Presented at the EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition Incorporating SPE Europec. London, 10–13 June. SPE-164824-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/164824-MS.
Andersen, T., Zachariassen, E., Otterlei, C. et al. 2006. Method For Conditioning The Reservoir Model On 3D And 4D Elastic Inversion Data Applied To A Fluvial Reservoir In The North Sea. Presented at the SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, 12–15 June. SPE-100190-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/100190-MS.
Arenas, E., van Kruijsdijk, C. and Oldenziel, T. 2001. Semi-Automatic History Matching Using the Pilot Point Method Including Time-Lapse Seismic Data. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, 30 September–3 October. SPE-71634-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/71634-MS.
Castro, S., Caers, J. K., Otterlei, C. et al. 2006. A Probabilistic Integration of Well Log, Geological Information, 3D/4D Seismic, and Production Data: Application to the Oseberg Field. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 24–27 September. SPE-103152-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/103152-MS.
CMG. 2012. STARS User Manual, Version 2012. Calgary, Alberta: Computer Modelling Group.
Deutsch, C. V. and Journel, A. G. 1994. The Application of Simulated Annealing to Stochastic Reservoir Modeling. SPE Advanced Technology Series 2 (2): 222–227. SPE-23565-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/23565-PA.
Deutsch, C. V. and Journel, A. G. 1998. GSLIB: Geostatistical Software Library and User's Guide, second edition. New York City: Oxford University Press.
Efron, B. 1979. Bootstrap Methods: Another Look at the Jackknife. Ann. Stat. 7 (1): 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1214/aos/1176344552.
Gassmann, F. 1951. On Elasticity of Porous Media. Über die Elastizität poröser Medien. Vierteljahrsschrift der naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zürich. 96 (31 March): 1–23.
Gosselin, O., van den Berg, S. and Cominelli, A. 2001. Integrated History-Matching of Production and 4D Seismic Data. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, 30 September–3 October. SPE-71599-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/71599-MS.
Isaaks, E. H. 1991. The Application of Monte Carlo Methods to the Analysis of Spatially Correlated Data. PhD dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Mezghani, M., Fornel, A., Langlais, V. et al. 2004. History Matching and Quantitative Use of 4D Seismic Data for an Improved Reservoir Characterization. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, 26–29 September. SPE-90420-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/90420-MS.
Ouenes, A., Fasanino, G. and Lee, R. L. 1992. Simulated Annealing for Interpreting Gas/Water Laboratory Corefloods. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Washington, DC, 4–7 October. SPE-24870-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/24870-MS.
Rama Rao, B. S., LaVenue, A. M., De Marsily, G. et al. 1995. Pilot Point Methodology for Automated Calibration of an Ensemble of conditionally Simulated Transmissivity Fields: 1. Theory and Computational Experiments. Water Resour. Res. 31 (3): 475–493. https://doi.org/10.1029/94WR02258.
Rwechungura, R. W., Dadashpour, M. and Kleppe, J. 2011. Advanced History Matching Techniques Reviewed. Presented at the SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference, Manama, Bahrain, 25–28 September. SPE-142497-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/142497-MS.
Solow, A. R. 1985. Bootstrapping Correlated Data. Math. Geol. 17 (7): 769–775. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01031616.
Tolstukhin, E., Lyngnes, B. and Sudan, H. H. 2012. Ekofisk 4D Seismic - Seismic History Matching Workflow. Presented at the SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 4–7 June. SPE-154347-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/154347-MS.
Warren, J. and Price, H. 1961. Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media. SPE J. 1 (3): 153–169. SPE-1579-G. https://doi.org/10.2118/1579-G.
Wen, X.-H., Tran, T., Behrens, R. et al. 2000. Production Data Integration in Sand/Shale Reservoirs Using Sequential Self-Calibration and GeoMorphing: A Comparison. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 1–4 October. SPE-63063-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/63063-MS.


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Spain Destinations
Spain Guide
Jobs in Spain
Searching for work can be extremely challenging depending on your own skills and the industry you want to work in. If you are interested in Spanish jobs and you want to explore your opportunities, there are plenty of Spain job opportunities as well as freelance options to choose from varying with your own qualifications. Using both local and online resources it is possible to find positions working from home, in Spain or in other countries in the South America region.
You can find jobs in Spain or jobs in Spanish by searching locally where you live and also by looking for available positions right from home, online. Finding Latin America job opportunities can be done with a few specific searches and the right skills and abilities on your behalf.
Looking for Spanish jobs locally can be more challenging especially if you are currently not living in Spain or familiar with the type of work that is readily available.
If you want to apply for a freelance job you can follow this freelance jobs guide who provides useful tips and questions about this alternative way to find a job.
Whether you are searching for freelance jobs in Spain or international jobs in different countries, you can find plenty of work. FreelanceMania gives you the ability to search for available work based on where you are located, if you plan to move as well as your experience and the skills required for the available job.
Finding a job that is Spain-based or requires you to know and understand Spanish online is a way for you to compare all of the options you have available to you before making a decision. When you apply for work online you can also send applications and resumes to multiple jobs within minutes depending on the type of system and job-searching community you are using.
Seeking out Spanish jobs online is also a way for you to keep track of newly-available positions as well as full-time work versus freelance projects you may be interested in. Having accounts when you use online job communities gives you the ability to check the status of your applications and resumes at all times.
Additionally, using online services to look for Spain jobs is a way for you to do so by specific location, keywords relevant to the job you want as well as the responsibilities of the positions. It is also much easier to use tools to update and tweak your resume in order to ensure it is properly formatted before you submit it to potential employers or hiring managers of companies you are interested in.


text: When I got a chance to preview the new winter SB Shades I was like whoa these are some dope designs, I knew I had to post these amazing eye wear peices. So many celebs have been rocking thsese designs like Toya ( Tiny and Toya) and Legacy of the (New Boyz). If you don't have you a pair yet, you better head over to http://www.stevieboi.com !!!


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Music: Sueña un Poquito - Dream A Little Album
Sueña un Poquito (Dream a Little) is Nathalia's 2nd bilingual children's music album. Nathalia's new album has 10 songs in 'Spanglish' and even includes learning planets in Spanish! The album represents true collaboration songwriting with her husband Brian McLaughlin, and Nathalia says 'the album comes from the heart'. She says her inspiration for Sueña un Poquito (Dream a Little) came from her oldest daughter who is in the 'tween' stage. Her daughter still had that childhood 'magic' of living split between a dreamland of fairies and believing in Santa, while at the same time growing up into a teenager. Watching her daughter caught between a kid and young adult world, while capturing the energy of her toddler boy, the album Sueña un Poquito (Dream a Little) was born.Songs: Los Planetas, El Amazonas, Magical, Shine, Norah's World, Pop Pop Pop, Shake Them Bones, Tu Dia Puedes Cambiar, There's No One Like You, Sueño Feliz
Recommended Ages: Ages 3 to 7 years old
Learning music via song is something Nathalia says comes easily for children. 'It's a lot more fun than sitting in class and is a lot less stressful'. In her experience as a music therapist, Nathalia says music engages different parts of the brain, and the way people process music (melody), is similar to the way we learn language. We all remember learning our 'ABC's with the alphabet song!


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We are happy to announce that our 2.0.3 update has been approved by Apple. What's new in this version
- Better support for WiFi hotspots that need an agreement
- Enforces strict safe search on multiple search engines
- Restores support for iPhone and iPod Touch with the older OS 2.2.1. This has been a top faq in the recent past. Users who do not wish to upgrade to the new iPhone OS 3.0 can continue to use the Mobicip Safe Browser with all of its newest features.
Please go ahead and download the latest update (FREE for everyone who has Mobicip already) and let us know what you think!


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Oral Health Issues That Affect ChildrenShare
Oral health problems may occur at any age. Still, most parents want their kids to maintain healthy teeth as the children grow older. Here are some of the issues that may affect a child as he or she grows.
Baby Bottle Decay in Babies and Toddlers
Oral health problems can occur even for the youngest dental patients. Babies and toddlers experience tooth decay and gum inflammation.
One type of tooth decay that is particularly detrimental for babies and toddlers is baby bottle decay. Baby bottle decay is most common among youngsters who drink milk or juice through a bottle, especially when the youngsters ingest the milk as they rest.
Many babies and toddlers sip milk or juice through a bottle at bed time. The sucking soothes the children as they drift off to sleep. Once the patients fall asleep and the swallowing reflex relaxes, the milk or juice pools in the mouth, bathing the teeth in sugar.
Since sugar, including natural sugars, are metabolized by oral bacteria, damage to the teeth results. The bacteria emit acid as a digestive product. This acid dissolves the minerals of the tooth enamel to cause tooth decay.
Additionally, saliva production declines during rest, leaving the bacterial acid undiluted. As a result, the damage to the teeth is even more pronounced.
In order to avoid baby bottle decay, children should be weaned from the bottle as soon as possible. In addition, if a bottle is still used as a child enters toddlerhood, it should only contain water. Milk and juice should only be provided in a cup.
Cavities in School-Age Children
Children of school age are often plagued by dental caries. Kids love candy, sweets, and starchy foods. The junk food not only causes poor overall health, but it also damages the teeth.
The sugars in sweet or starchy foods feed the bacteria in the mouth to incite the release of acids. As the tooth enamel becomes weakened in particular areas, cavities form.
To lessen the chance of a child developing cavities, healthy, low-sugar snacks and foods should be provided. In addition, the child should be encouraged to brush twice daily for at least two minutes. The child should also floss daily.
Preventive dental care is also important to help kids avoid cavities. Dentists frequently help strengthen and protect the teeth with fluoride treatments and dental sealants.
For more information about protecting your child's dental health as he or she grows, schedule an appointment with a family dentist in your local area.


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|8-Bit Black Hearts Evil Meter Pin - $2.95
Thankfully, there is someone out there who understands. He's the villain's villain. He's there to see that us villainous connoisseurs get the help we need. He's Atticus Q. Redghost, head ghoul in charge of Evil Supply Co. and they just re-launched their website.
I've talked about Evil Supply Co. before here and I'm very excited that they finally finished their long awaited store revamp and relaunched their site. If you need evil stationary, Atticus is your man. I assume. No one knows if he's really a man or a ghost or a figment of our collective imagination.
From notebooks with wills on the back to awesome patches and pins to complete your evil genius style, they have everything you need. One of their best products is the Mister Ghost's Highly Enviable Monthly Parcel of Simple Yet Amazing Wonderments. For $12, you can get a monthly surprise box of stickers, cards, patches and envelopes. It's like an evil stationary Birchbox!
Fellow villains, times are tough. Let Evil Supply Co. help make things just a little bit easier. See some of their awesome products under the cut!
|Edgar Allan Poe print - $5.25
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|Villain Pep Talk Print - $10
|Thanks card - $2.75
|Paradoxes journal - $3.25
|Bat patch - $4
|Haunted sticker - $1.25


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I watched the briefing today regarding downtown streetcars, and it triggered a couple of additional thoughts.
When you start looking at the streetcar as a way to increase property values and development, why wouldn't it go into the more undeveloped sections of central Dallas? The parts where most of the maps are drawn in the briefing are getting redeveloped on their own. I didn't see any streetcar lines being considered for Deep Ellum or the Farmers Market.
With respect to DART, I hope that all rail lines are funded for southern Dallas and to DFW Airport before streetcars are funded.


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This shot was taken for an assignment for a photography hangout I take part in on Google+. The idea was to shoot a creative advertisement style cocktail shot that somehow captured emotion.
After the assignment was given I quickly went to our liqueur cabinet where we also happen to store glasses and my eye was drawn right away to the margarita glasses we had. I think they're hand made as they're not all exact a not perfectly straight. I also wanted a little umbrella, this is a cocktail shot! The final touch was the smoke to add some sort of mood to the image.
To get the final shot I made about 9 exposures which I masked together in Photoshop. I first took a shot of the glass by itself. Another shot with the added umbrella and then several with the smoke since it kept changing and I wanted to blend a few of the different smoke movements into the single image.
The smoke was made with dry ice. I had a huge chunk and had to break it into little pieces to drop into the liquid which was water with some blue food coloring. This shot was done with 3 studio strobes.
I had one light below and behind aiming at the background with a red gel. The glass was sitting on a DIY shooting table with piece of glass painted white on one side. The purple color on the table was achieved from the red reflecting off the background.
The main light was in front and below with a DIY strip box aiming up and reflected off a piece of foam core hung above the subject. The 3rd, and last, light was behind and to the right with a DIY snoot to aim directly at the glass to brighten it up from behind.
Please also find below this final image a few bts(behind the scenes) shots I took.
If your interested in following me on Twitter you can either click on the link below or go to twitter and click on follow. I'm now also on Google Plus which is a great new platform. Are you on Facebook? If so please 'like' the Maugiart Photography Page.
Here are some BTS (Behind the scenes) shots of my setup. This first shot shows the strobe below and behind with the red gel. I also placed a piece of thin nylon fabric to diffuse the light by about 2 stops.The background is the the left in this image. That reflector was placed on the right of the subject to help reflect more light but also to keep it somewhat diffused. For the table I just set my glass on 2 overturned children chairs which the correct height I was after.
This shot shows a better over all view. The main light in front was attached to a boom to hold it low to the ground.
This final shot is just another angle of the overall shot.Follow @wordpressdotcom


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Late Lineup Change Proves Grand As Saints Win 7-2 In Game One of DoubleheaderST. PAUL, MN August 21, 2014
LINCOLN, NE (August 21, 2014) – Henry Wrigley was in the original starting lineup for the St. Paul Saints. Moments before the game he was scratched and Joe Bonfe was inserted into his spot in the lineup. It proved to be the right move as Bonfe hit a grand slam and set a career high with five RBI as the Saints took game one of a doubleheader over the Lincoln Saltdogs 7-2 at Haymarket Park on Thursday evening.
With the Saints trailing 1-0 in the fifth Joey Becker led off with a single and moved to second on a single by Tyler Peterson. It was the University of St. Thomas grads first professional hit as he finished the game 2-3 with a double and a run scored. After a failed sacrifice bunt Devin Thaut walked to load the bases. Evan Bigley extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single to center tying the game at one. With two outs Joe Bonfe came through with a grand slam home run, his fourth homer of the season and the fourth grand slam by the Saints this season. It's the second time in franchise history they have hit four grand slams, also accomplishing the feat in 2009. The most grand slams the Saints have hit in franchise history are five, done back in 1996.
The Saltdogs made it 5-2 in the fourth when Ian Gac hit his 21st homer of the season, a solo drive to right.
Angelo Songco got the run back with a solo homer of his own in the sixth inning, his 13th of the season, to give the Saints a 6-2 lead.
Bonfe capped off his evening with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Saints starter Jeff Shields went the distance going 7.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five.


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18 St Georges Road, ToorakVIC3142
Sold 04/07/2017 Undisclosed
Enquire Now
Situated in Toorak's finest tree lined boulevard is "Mowbray". Located on 5414m2 with dual frontage to St Georges Road and St Catherine's Lane within walking distance to Toorak Village shops, cafes, restaurants and Melbourne's top private schools. What once was a palatial six bedroom family residence with formal lounge, formal dining, staff quarters, outdoor entertaining area, pool, tennis court is now a renovator's delight or a new home site (STCA). The house suffered a fire at the rear three years ago and has been left in the same condition since then.
Further Details
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"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" became a major international success story for Chinese cinema and propelled the career of its director Ang Lee, pictured here in 2001. (AFP/Lucy Nicholson)
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A prequel to the Oscar-winning Chinese martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will be shot in New Zealand this year, Film Auckland said Tuesday.The original movie, released in 2000, broke new ground in introducing Western audiences to Chinese cinema and Film Auckland's deputy chairman Alex Lee said securing the follow-up was a major coup for New Zealand.It also won four Oscars in 2001, including best foreign film, and launched the Hollywood career of director Ang Lee, who went on to win two best director Academy Awards for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi".


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For those who don't like to wear a suit on long distance triathlons, the iSHORTS combined with the iSINGLET is the best solution. Made in Water Wear Weapon French fabric, the iSHORTS can be worn under the wetsuit. In additon, there's no need to change at the first transition thanks to the tripad, adapted to bike hundreds of kilometres. Finally, pockets on the sides are ideal for your nutrition to keep you energised.
- Composition : 80% Polyester / 20% Elastane
- Fabric made in France
- Tailored in Spain
Tri Pad


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Gucci 2012-13 Fall Winter
Wouldn't it be nice to click the heels twice and end up at the Gucci fashion show February 22nd in Milan? There'd be no place like that fashion home! Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini calls the fall 2012 collection,"a dark glamour…," with its dark shades of jewel tones: blue, plum, burgandy and a striking green.
OH…and there's tons of black! But, not a simple black…there's velvet, silk, leather, feathers, and tapestry. Don't miss out on Gucci's bags for men.
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About Author
I'm a media strategist, fashion fan and whimsical event planner. For years, I've been "reporting" from fashion shows and fabulous events to my loved one out of pure joy. Unbeknowest to me in February 2012 my sister started kristysamone.com with photos and letters I'd sent her from New York Fashion Week. She said, "I think you need a blog!" LOL! I've been trying keep us with this and life ever since:) Thanks so much for reading!View all KristySamone posts.


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What you do not know Consultants can do
Many companies habitually hire consultants as they know what they can gain from them. No matter how big or small the company is, consultants can give what you need. Consultants can…
Provide Immediate Solutions
They have the important skills and experience in different areas of expertise to provide immediate solutions you need. Through their extensive tests and studies, you will receive accurate solutions.
Deliver Quickly
Consultants concentrate well on the tasks given to them. They do not have extra tasks like the management so they can focus on their job.
Share Knowledge
You can ask them about your company's plans and strategies. Consult about the cause and solution of a specific issue in your company environment. They share ideas that are absolute and effective.
Make Changes
Consultants provide assistance to a company who wants to make a change internally. This is a complex task and an expert help is advisable to see correct results.
No man is an island. It is better to ask for help than to carry everything on your own. Assistance from a consultant or a consultancy firm can help you improve and achieve your goals. Consider hiring a consultant and experience a professional support.


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If you're flying from or into Florianopolis airport or simply collecting someone from their flight to Florianopolis, discover all the latest information you need from Florianopolis airport. Find directions, airport information and local weather for Florianopolis airport and details of airlines that fly to and from Florianopolis. Make use of our handy maps or videos to ensure you'll easily find your way to Florianopolis airport, whatever you need, Skyscanner's got it covered.
If you haven't booked your flights yet, but want to fly from Florianopolis airport, let Skyscanner find you the best deals. Skyscanner lets you search for the very best flight prices from Florianopolis airport quickly and easily, you can search for flights from Florianopolis airport by month, to find the cheapest days to fly, or even the whole year. If you're not sure where you want to fly to, why not let Skyscanner inspire you with our 'flights to everywhere' search tool.
Skyscanner searches hundreds of airlines and compares flights on thousands of routes to bring you find the best holiday deals. Did you know that Skyscanner is not just for flights? Whether you need a hotel at Florianopolis airport, Skyscanner compares all major hotel suppliers to find you the best prices of hotels in Florianopolis.
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- Lages airport (174km)
- See all airports in Brazil.


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Seven Affluent Loyalty Principles
Notes from The Art of Selling to the Affluent by Matt Oechsli
01. Don't tell people about your service – show them.
02. Practice hospitality by doing the little things.
03. Be available to affluent customers or clients 24 hours a day even if you don't believe it's necessary.
04. Enable customers or clients to make one call to get the answers.
05. Never say no.
06. Help customers or clients help you to provide Ritz-Carlton level service.
07. Set a leadership example.
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