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Continuous Integration on the Force.com platform using Git, Bamboo, & JIRA
When we develop applications on the Force.com platform we perform a lot of activities to create, test and ship our code. We repeatedly carry out tasks like Run All Tests to ensure that the code that we have just committed to the repository does not break the build. This may involve (repeatedly) deploying your code to a QA org, and running all tests on that org. These activities are not only time consuming but also repetitive and soon become boring as you re-iterate this cycle for every code commit.
I am a big proponent of automating developer workflows to improve productivity and to reduce the cognitive effort required to develop and ship software by automating repetitive tasks where possible. Techniques such as Automated testing, Continuous Integration, and Continuous Deploy enable Continuous Delivery - a desirable model to deliver software in the modern Agile world.
Thankfully, it is possible to streamline Force.com development by automating almost all of these tasks, and this article will describe one way of adding Continuous Integration to your dev setup using Git, JIRA, and Bamboo. This article assumes that the reader has some familiarity with these technologies. We will be using Bitbucket to host our Git repository
Follow these steps to set up Continuous Integration with Git, JIRA and Bamboo.
Step 1: Setup your Git repository on Bitbucket
- Log into your Bitbucket account, and create a new repository.
- Follow the instructions in Bitbucket to clone the repository on your machine.
- Add some code to your local repository, and push the commit to the bitbucket (remote origin) repository.
I chose Bitbucket because it has inbuilt hooks to integrate with JIRA.
Step 2: Associate your JIRA project with Bamboo
To complete this step you will need a Bamboo feature license in JIRA.
- Create a new JIRA project (if you don't already have one).
- After you have set up the project, click on "Administer Project" to go to the project administration page.
- Under the Settings section, select the "Bamboo Project". You will be directed to the "Associate a Bamboo Project" page where you can assign an "instance" and enter the Bamboo project key.
Basically, this step links your JIRA project with your Bamboo project.
Step 3: Link Bitbucket to JIRA
In this step you will link the Bitbucket repository to the the JIRA project. This means that every time you commit some code to the Git repository and insert the JIRA task ticket number in the commit comment, the commit information will be displayed in the Commits tab under the Activity section.
- Go to your repository settings in Bitbucket and click on Links.
- Then, click on the Atlassian Jira icon under "Add a new link", and enter following details.
- Bitbucket is now linked to JIRA. If you commit your changes with the JIRA ticket number, your commits will appear against the JIRA ticket in the Commits tab under the Activity section.
Step 4: Setup Bamboo in JIRA
In this step we configure Bamboo and create a build Plan that Bamboo will execute to checkout the code from BitBucket and deploy it to the CI org and Run All Tests.
- Log into JIRA again, and click on the Atlassian Bamboo Admin link in the main settings drop down menu.
- On the Atlassian Bamboo Admin page, configure Elastic Bamboo by adding the AWS Access Key ID and updating Elastic Bamboo Global Settings. Read the Bamboo documentation for more information on how to set up Elastic Bamboo. Setting up AWS instances is out of scope of this article.
- Once Elastic Bamboo is configured and linked to AWS instance(s), you are now ready to create a Plan for your project.
- A plan defines everything about your build process, including what gets built, how the Build is triggered and what jobs are executed.
- Click on the Create Plan button to go to the Plan wizard page, and then click on the "Create a New Plan" link.
- Enter Plan details like Plan Name and Plan Key. If the project does not exist in the drop down list then select the new project option and enter the Project Name and Key.
- Enter Source Repository information
- Enter Trigger details like Trigger type, Polling Strategy, and Polling Frequency. This determines how and when the job should poll the repository. In this case we are requesting the job to poll the repository for changes every 30 sec.
- Complete the process by clicking on "Configure Tasks" which takes you to the Configure Tasks wizard page where you can add tasks to the plan that will be executed in the desired order.
- You should now see the Source Code Checkout task automatically added for you. Click Add Task to add the build task.
- Since we will be using the Force.com migration toolkit which is based on Ant, you need to add the Ant task from the list.
- Enter the Ant Task details as shown below. The Target is the ant task that will be run by this job, and the Build File is the location of the build.xml file stored in the repository.
[EDIT: One of the readers rightly pointed out that the "Build File" entry above should be build/build.xml, and "Target" entry should be deployPackaged instead of buildCI]
We have now created a Plan in Bamboo that will checkout the code from our Bitbucket repository when it changes (i.e. when we commit and push something to the repository), run the ant task that will deploy the code to the CI org and runs all tests. The CI org details are listed in the build.properties file and deploy and run all tasks are defined in the build.xml file.
Step 5: Add build.properties and build.xml to the repository
You have setup a Bitbucket repository, linked it to a JIRA project, and created a Plan in Bamboo that checks out the code from Bitbucket and added an ant task to run the build.xml file. The next step is obviously to write the build.xml file and add it to the repository.
Add a buid directory to your root project directory that will hold the build.xml and related build.properties and Migration toolkit jar file(inside lib folder) as shown below. This structure will keep the src and the top-most folder clean.
The build.properties file contains your username, password, server url for the CI org.
# The password is all that should be changed in normal circumstances
sf.username = <username>
sf.password = <password>
# Setup polling params
sf.maxPoll = 500
sf.maxWaitMillis = 5000
# More optional params
# sf.pkgName = <Insert comma separated package names to be retrieved>
# sf.zipFile = <Insert path of the zipfile to be retrieved>
# sf.metadataType = <Insert metadata type name for which listMetadata or bulkRetrieve operations are to be performed>
sf.serverurl = https://login.salesforce.com
# If your network requires an HTTP proxy, see http://ant.apache.org/manual/proxy.html for configuration.
The build.xml file contains the target and tasks which will deploy the code to a CI org using the credentials from build.properties, and run all tests.
<project name="ACM" basedir=".." xmlns:sf="antlib:com.salesforce">
<taskdef uri="antlib:com.salesforce"
<property file="${basedir}/build/build.properties"/>
<property environment="env"/>
<property name="lib.dir" value="${basedir}/lib" />
<property name="src.dir" value="${basedir}/src" />
<target name="cleanAfter" depends="deployPackaged">
<echo level="info">Clean Down Workspace Ready for Next Build</echo>
<delete dir="${basedir}" failonerror="false" />
<delete includeEmptyDirs="true" failonerror="false">
<fileset dir="${basedir}"/>
<target name="deployPackaged">
<echo level="info">Perform a Deploy transaction</echo>
<zip destfile="${src.dir}/batch.zip"
includes="applications/*.*, classes/*.*, staticresources/*.*,documents/**/*.*, email/**/*.*, labels/*.*, objects/*.*, workflows/*.*, pages/*.*, components/*.*, tabs/*.*, letterhead/*.*, triggers/*.*, layouts/*.*, reports/**/*.*, profiles/*.*, package.xml"
maxPoll="${sf.maxPoll}" pollWaitMillis="${sf.maxWaitMillis}"
runalltests="true" >
This is a very basic build.xml file, but you can extend it to add builds for different orgs, and can add tasks that trigger other tests like Selenium scripts. If you now run the Bamboo Task from JIRA it should run your build, and if it is successful, the build run info will also be listed against the JIRA ticket that was used in the latest code commit in the Build tab under the Activity setion.
You can also (optionally) enable notification on your Bamboo Plan inside JIRA to send you or a group of users an email whenever a build succeeds or fails.
Let me know in the comments if you want me to elaborate or explain a step in more detail, and I'll be more than happy to help.Tweet
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Fisherman Girl Escape
Fisherman Girl Escape is a point and click escape game developed by 8BGames. Imagine that you are about to pick up a Fisherman Girl to go out for fishing. When she went to take the fishing rod; she got trapped in her room. Find some hidden object to solve some interesting clues to escape from the Fisherman Girl. Good luck…Have fun!
Categories and tags of the game : Escape, Point And Click, Puzzle

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Feedback from Flowers Ukraine' customers
2007-2008 year
What do customers say about Flowers Ukraine in 2009 year?
Customer testimonial archive 2009 year
Ukraine floral shop
Testimonials for Ukraine florists
2006 year part 2
Customer' feedback 2008-2010 year
Category: Gift Basket
The Fruit Basket includes many delicious items to make the day of your loved one.
Grapes, pineapple, apples , pears, oranges, etc - great surprise for those who spin out his/her health. Lots of vitamins and positive emotions
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1999-2023 © Flowers Ukraine - Shipping flowers to Ukraine. Local florists online.All rights reserved. Developed by IOIX Ukraine Co.
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24/7 Support: ICQ: 123209961
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text:
A dear friend and true expert, Dr. Eleanor Henry, writes on how to manage meetings.
By Dr. Eleanor Henry
"Last week's meeting would have started on time, but the starting time wasn't emailed out until one hour before, so the participants, the few which showed up, straggled in and began work 15 minutes late. The room was hot and muggy from a recent air conditioner breakdown. The chair opened the meeting but the minutes from the meeting before were not done so the participants could not approve the old minutes. Also, no one remembered all of the open action items. It didn't matter because 7 people were required for a quorum and only 6 attended. The agenda wasn't complete and the read-aheads that the briefers provided were not distributed before hand. Others wanted to call in but could not because no one had arranged a dial-in link. Even if there had been, the racket from hammers and drills of people trying to fix the air conditioning in the other room was nearly deafening. The briefer struggled to make himself heard above the din. The computer, slide projector and screen hadn't been set up and no copies of the slides were available, so the attendees huddled around the briefer's 15 inch computer screen. At least they could hear him better."
The story above is a combination of events from meetings in the past year. Anyone in business, or really in any organization, spends a lot of time in meetings. Some are short and others long; some are productive and some seem worthless. Leaders want their meetings to have a specific and measurable goal, to accomplish that goal, and to be only as long as required to achieve their objective. The post Making Meetings Matter has been very well received, and its lessons have proven effective, but it only tells part of the story. The people in charge of administrative support have as important a role as the chair in making meetings matter.
Dr. Eleanor Henry is a retired Army nurse and contractor with Booz-Allen-Hamilton who works in my directorate. She has put together an excellent guide for administrative personnel who are charged with making meetings matter, and has allowed me to post her work below.
How to Manage a Recurring Meeting – A Checklist
Time frame
One week before the meeting
o Meet with meeting organizer to
Develop the attendee list
Verify if type of meeting (in person vs. Video teleconference (VTC) vs. Telecom)
Determine the appropriate venue for type and number of attendees
Determine if those who RSVP "no" should be required to send a representative in their stead
Determine if refreshments will be served, and payment source for them
o Reserve venue 30 minutes before the meeting to allow for room set-up
o Reserve venue 20 minutes after meeting to allow for breakdown and cleanup
o Arrange for VTC or telecom
o Arrange for IT support if VTC is requested,
o Arrange for access to base for attendees without CAC
o Arrange for parking for senior attendees
o Send out evite: body of the message should notify invitees that materials will be attached to the evite
o Edit the attendee sign in sheet to reflect changes in invitees, if any
o Manage Briefs as they are submitted
Acknowledge emails from invitees
Rename meeting documents according to naming convention
Drop briefing materials into the desktop file you created previously
o Manage refreshments, if any
Order refreshments
Request delivery 1 hour before meeting
Three working days before the meeting
o Attach all meeting materials to the evite
· Dial-in information
· Agenda
· Meeting Summary
o Send updated evite
o Notify organizer of RSVP status of Invitees who have
· Accepted
· Declined (determine if those who have declined should send an alternate)
· Not responded
· Been added-on by having the evite forwarded to them
o Contact declining attendees to ask for alternate, if appropriate
o Send evite to alternates for declining attendees
o Ask the organizer about any special issues s/he anticipates will arise during the meeting, and what s/he wants you to do about them
o Using the agenda as a basis, prepare your note taking materials
o Finalize payment arrangements for refreshments
Day before the meeting
o Send reminder to those who will be attending in person to print out their own materials ++++OR ++++ Print out the materials as directed by the meeting organizer
o Print out the attendee sign in sheet
o Print out the VTC information as an emergency reference
o Arrange for a voice recorder for use during the meeting
Check the batteries
Make sure the recorder is operational and you know how to use it
o Prepare your laptop for use during the meeting
o Prepare your paper file and have it available to carry to the meeting
One hour prior to meeting
o Accept delivery and pay for refreshments
o Set up refreshments
Thirty minutes prior to meeting
o Arrange for admission and escort of visitors who do not have access to venue
o Set up the voice recorder
o Boot up the laptop
o Open all meeting documents on your laptop
o Check to see if documents will be projected properly
o Check to see if VTC working
o Check to see if telecom working
Fifteen minutes prior to meeting
o Select a seat at the table where you can make eye contact with the meeting chair
o Remind the chair that you will be helping to keep the agenda on time
o Arrange for signals you can use to communicate related to time keeping
During the meeting
o Circulate the sign-in sheet and assure all attendees have signed it
o If the group is chartered, assure there is a quorum of voting members specified in the charter
o Make on-the-spot corrections to the minutes and documents as required by the chair
o Display meeting documents as required throughout the meeting
o Capture important discussion points
o Capture all due outs, including
· The deliverable
· Responsible action officer
· Due date
o When required by the chair, summarize the due-outs for the attendees
o Ask for clarification as required
Immediately after the meeting
o Meet with the chair to determine any actions immediately required
o Ask for feedback about the administrative support your provided
o Breakdown and clean up
Day after the meeting
o Convert the sign in sheet to a .pdf file
o Upload to the SharePoint location the following
.pdf of sign-in sheet
Meeting entire file folder and all contents
Voice recording of meeting
o Create a new meeting file folder for use during the next meeting
Two days after the meeting
o Prepare a draft of the meeting minutes
o Determine which agenda items need to be included on the next agenda
o Draft the next agenda
Three days after the meeting
o Proof and spell check the draft minutes and agenda
o Email to the meeting organizer the following documents
Draft meeting summary
Draft agenda
One week after the meeting
o Confer with meeting organizer to finalize agenda
o Create a checklist of people who will be briefing
o Send personal emails to all those on the agenda
Confirm the title of their presentation and the amount of time they have been given
Request their briefing material and specify a due date one week in advance
Offer your assistance in preparing for their presentation


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March 13th, 2014 Watch List
After a weak open, and being in the red most of the day, the S&P found some buyers and closed fractionally higher… a huge victory in my opinion considering the continued headwinds facing the market.. ie China worries, Ukraine/Russia tensions. There were some nice movers with Z breaking out nearing the 200dma 83.87, SCTY…Please subcribe to read more.
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The troubled Baltimore Co pound in MD has banned the public from photographing pets in the facility and the ACLU has written to county officials condemning the ban:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland says Baltimore County officials violated free-speech rights by banning photography at the county-run animal shelter, a move the ACLU describes as an effort to stifle critics.
The letter describes the photo ban as showing "a government agency endeavoring to limit its exposure to criticism and public accountability, and to stifle any perceived criticism that does arise, even where the agency's purpose of serving the animals of Baltimore County is undermined as a result."
County spokeswoman Ellen Kobler says the complaint is baseless and stems from a small group of pesky do-gooders:
"This is a story manufactured by a handful of advocates who were disrupting shelter employees from doing their jobs," Kobler said.
Don Mohler, chief of staff for the County Executive, also has excuses:
"[The animal advocates] wanted to manufacture a crisis, and they would wait around until a dog soiled the cage and immediately take a picture and post it — inferring that the dog had been living in those conditions for a period of time, and that's not true," Mohler said.
Such dedication. Waiting around for a dog to pee in his cage so they could snap a photo. But in case you don't buy that, he's got another good one:
"This is not about photography," Mohler said. "This is about the fact that there is a group of advocates who really want Baltimore County to release wild cats into the community."
The county apparently has a kill policy for cats it determines to be feral. And pesky do-gooders, along with the overwhelming majority of the general public, think that's wrong.
Not to be outdone, Kobler also offered a back-up excuse for the photo ban to the newspaper:
"For some animals, the shutter click and the flash can frighten animals that are already nervous in a shelter environment. So sometimes, the staff members might ask people not to take an animal's picture," she said.
Both Kohler and Mobler said that the public is generally allowed to take pictures of the animals. Except when they're not. But that's because reasons.
So to recap, it's not that Baltimore Co is trying to silence critics and violate their Constitutional rights, it's assorted other things:
- Volunteers photographing shelter pets are disruptors who prevent the staff from doing their job of killing more than 60% of the animals in their care.
- They wait around all day for a dog to lift his leg in the cage just to capture the puddle on the floor.
- They actually don't care about photographing animals, they just want the county to stop killing feral cats and start doing TNR like other progressive shelters.
- The flash from the camera scares animals and the county officials just aren't going to stand by and let shelter pets be frightened. After all, there's killing to be done – lots of it. Calm, friendly killing – not like the flash of a camera.
If for some insane reason you are still not feeling reassured, I got you:
County Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said the shelter has made strides in overcoming past issues. He trusts it's being run well.
"Every time there's a policy, there's a reason," he said.
So there you go. There's some reason for the photo ban. This guy apparently doesn't know what that reason may be but strides have been made and everything is fine, probably.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)


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My vacation took me far away from the first couple weeks of the latest installment of music director mania. The third week had some underplayed gems on the program - Mendelssohn Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Beethoven Consecration of the House, Schumann Rhenish. (Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 21 with Pollini rounded out the show.)
Legitimately a masterpiece, the Schumann is also the least underplayed of the of the three. Nevertheless, I would gladly trade in a few extraneous repetitions of Bruckner 4, Beethoven 3, (and while in the key of E flat, throw in Ein Heldenleben) for a couple more performances of the Rhenish over the years. Consecration of the House might fall under the rubric of 'forgettable' works by great composers, and even butt of the (hilarious) observation that there are no undiscovered masterpieces. (Then again, there is no bit of received wisdom that can't be shoehorned into a tired old saying by some wag in the musicians' lounge either.) And even so, this 'Wellington's Victory for arts administrators' might have some deeper, hidden meaning, maybe a wry comment on banality by the great composer, who knows. It is hard to get to the bottom of a piece if you never hear it. I would trade at least a couple of the hundred or so 7th symphonies to play it once or twice a decade. Finally, while no Midsummer Night's Dream, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage is not without charm of its own, but hasn't been played here since the (Fritz) Reiner era. (Maybe the programmers promised to get around to it in the Carl Reiner era.) Heck, we've played "Bear Down {redacted} Bears" more times than that since then, and if we had a better football team, the programming imbalance would be even more lopsided.
Recently, the subject of programming came up in a discussion with a friend of mine, who I'll call Dr X. The Doctor, who has attended scores of concerts over the span of about 20 years, admitted to me the woeful inadequacy of his musical training as a schoolboy, and later, as a college student. He went on to confess further that he relied on the orchestra as his main source of musical education, assuming that attending as many concerts as possible would lead to his developing a well rounded knowledge of the classical genre. He also admitted to being something of a homebody whose exposure to concerts came almost exclusively from the {redacted}SO.
This immediately piqued my interest, as I am of the opinion that organizations dedicated to the so-called 'high arts' have a duty to enlighten as well as entertain. The Doctor, who has continued to renew his subscription year after year, has undoubtedly been entertained, but I was keenly interested to know what sort of education he had obtained merely by attending our concerts over the span of many years. After a considerable amount of cajoling, I persuaded the good Doctor to put his knowledge into writing.
The Doctor asked that I beg the readers' indulgence, as he claims to have written nothing more than prescriptions since his student days and is a little shy about his prose. He also asked me to state that he often arrives at concerts dead tired after a long day at the clinic, which might have lead to him nodding off a few times over the years; and of course, he had no idea there would be a test at the end.
The Doctor asked that I beg the readers' indulgence, as he claims to have written nothing more than prescriptions since his student days and is a little shy about his prose. He also asked me to state that he often arrives at concerts dead tired after a long day at the clinic, which might have lead to him nodding off a few times over the years; and of course, he had no idea there would be a test at the end.
What I learned at the Symphony
by Dr X
The father of so-called classical music is Bach. Unfortunately, as his music is best handled by specialists, it is rarely heard in the concert hall today.
The first of the great symphonists was Haydn. A simple man, he was practically innumerate, writing about 6 or 7 symphonies but giving them numbers like 96, 104, and so on. In spite of its high quality and universal appeal, his music is rarely played.
Mozart wrote a great many piano concertos, three Italian operas, and parts of a requiem mass. As a symphonist, his output was slightly greater than that of Haydn. Sharing Haydn's innumeracy he gave his symphonies evocative titles such as Jupiter, Haffner, Prague, and Thirty-nine.
The first composer to complete a well-ordered set of nine symphonies was Beethoven. The even numbered were evidently 'practice symphonies' written between the more serious compositions and are rarely performed any longer.
Schubert, mainly the composer of about a thousand songs, took enough time off to write either one, or two-and-a-half symphonies. Sensing his own early demise, he numbered them 8 and 9.
Berlioz wrote one Fantastic Symphony. Mendelssohn and Schumann were also composers, but their symphonies have been mostly forgotten, or are apparently of interest to academics only.
The most important composer of the 19th century, Richard Wagner didn't write any symphonies at all, in fact, he might have loathed instrumentalists. He is best known for the Ring cycle and for inventing a chord progression which he expanded into a 5-hour long opera, Tristan and Isolde. The harmonic ambiguity of Tristan and Isolde permeated all music that came after, and miraculously, even some that came before.
Wagner's chief disciple was Anton Bruckner, who wrote the same symphony 11 times, elevating the idea of chord progressions as music to its highest level.
Brahms completed 3 symphonies that end loudly, and one which is no longer played.
Tchaikovsky finished 3 symphonies before effecting his own demise. His Pathétique symphony, oddly given the designation as 'number 6' is chiefly known for ending softly yet still remaining part of the repertoire.
No one knows how many symphonies Dvorak wrote. One or two of them (numbered 8 and 9, of course) remain in the repertoire to this day.
Mahler raced against his own mortality to finish a complete set of 9 symphonies. Depending on who you ask, Mahler had enough ideas in his head to write about 25 symphonies, or maybe 4 really good ones.
Richard Strauss came from a musical family. He showed great promise in his early 'tone poems' but gave it all up to write operas.
Stravinsky was another composer of the early 20th century who showed great promise before retreating into neoclassicism.
The great French composers were Debussy and Ravel. The former wrote La Mer, the latter, a bunch of 'Spanish' music.
Schoenberg was the most important composer of the 20th century although he wrote almost no music. Taking Wagner's ambiguous chord progression from Tristan, he essentially posed the question "What if everybody behaved like that?" and in answer came up with the 12-tone system. The result was the end of tonality and the beginning of the 2nd Viennese school. The greatest accomplishments of the 2nd Viennese school were intimidating composers like Stravinsky, Strauss and a few others.
Shostakovitch and Stalin spent a lifetime thumbing their noses at each other; the resulting gift to us is a fine set of about twelve symphonies.
The two greatest composers alive at the end of the 20th century were Elliot Carter and Pierre Boulez. At the turn of the 21st century, one of them was still composing music, but no one knows who.


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VIIRS Instrument
[08-Jan-07] VIIRS was designed to collect radiometric measurements of Earth in the visible and infrared spectra. These data are used to provide insight into the properties and dynamics of different geophysical phenomena, including aerosol and cloud properties, sea, land and ice surface temperatures, ice motion, fires, and the albedo of Earth.
Credit: NASA. Download this image (PNG, 357 KB).


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As soon as reports started emerging that Michael Jackson had suffered a fatal heart attack, fellow celebrities and fans started to pay tribute to the King of Pop on Twitter.
P Diddy commented: "Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him."
Lindsay Lohan wrote "RIP Michael Jackson . My love and prayers go out to the Jackson family...'you are not alone'."
Her on-off girlfriend DJ Samantha Ronson meanwhile said: "His music is just as relevant now as it was the day they pressed record, I'm sure it will remain so for generations to come. RIP Mr Jackson."
Mariah Carey was devastated by the news. She wrote: "I am heartbroken. My prayers go out to the Jackson family,and my heart goes out to his children
"Let us remember him for his unparalleled contribution to the world of music, his generosity of spirit in his quest to heal the world & the joy he brought to his millions of devoted fans throughout the world. I feel blessed to have performed with him several times & to call him my friend.
"No artist will ever take his place. His star will shine forever."
US reality star Kim Kardashian had known Jacko her entire life. She wrote: "I'm looking at pictures of my 14th bday party at Neverland Ranch, these memories will last forever!"
Chris Moyles said: "Michael Jackson was to me what I imagine Elvis was to another generation. I bought his songs and I saw him live. His death is very sad."
X Factor winner Alexandra Burke wrote: "May MJ Rest in peace. Sometimes God need's to call his angels home. May His music live on..."
Actress Demi Moore wrote on her Twitter site: "I am greatly saddened for the loss of both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Especially for their children!"
Husband Ashton Kutcher reacted like most fans, initially stunned, baffled and looking for confirmation of the early news reports that were coming out.
"Michael Jackson had a heart attack?" he asked on his Twitter page, before updating: "Mike Jackson passed away today from a heart attack. That's what tmz said. Wow"
He later wrote: "Pray for his kids."
TV presenter Alexa Chung said she actually found out about his death via Twitter. She said: "V strange to discover MJ has died via twitter. How modern. Sang 'heal the world' in his honour."
Teen singer Miley Cyrus wrote: "Michael Jackson was my inspiration. love and blessings."
Stephen Fry was shocked at the news. "Goodness. Michael Jackson. Poor old soul. Oh dear."
Pink said: "Michael Jackson was one of the best that ever did it. RIP"
And rapper MC Hammer also paid tribute, saying: "I will be mourning my friend, brother, mentor and inspiration... He gave me and my family hope. I would never have been without him."
Musician Wyclef Jean wrote: "he lives forever in my heart i will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and i played him music... R i p to Michael Jackson my music god ... Some lost Elvis Presley and we lost Michael Jackson... I cried today because Michael Jackson was a Father that we all lost!"
Usher wrote: "Again.. my heart goes out to the King of Pop and his family."
Princess of pop Britney Spears wrote: "He was a wonderful man and will be greatly missed."
Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote: "We lost a great entertainer and a pop icon. My thoughts and prayers go out to Michael Jackson's family, friends and fans."
Katy Perry simply wrote: "Oh my God."
The site was so flooded with activity that people found they could not post.
And fans were quick to post messages reacting to his sudden death.
ElToroDiablo posted on gossip website TMZ.com: "God bless you Michael, heaven just got another beautiful angel."
Kimbers wrote: "What a sad day. I hope Michael Jackson finds the peace that eluded him in life."
Another fan, Sineen, wrote on website MJSite.com: "I never thought that one day would come and i'll have to write this down, Michael Jackson is no longer with us. May your warm soul rest in peace. I'll always love you Michael. Keep the faith!"
Rulintheroost posted on political website The Huffington Post: "RIP Michael. Your music was a joy to many people around the world."


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Ünal Seven is a Director at the CBRT.
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Recently, the volatility in supply of food and food prices has been making it more difficult to design policies at the macro level, especially in developing countries. This volatility occupies a place on every policymaker's agenda due to the widespread impact of the food sector on the general economy. The group that is most severely affected by this volatility is the low-income household group spending a significant ratio of their income on food; and when all the sectors that have a reciprocal relationship with the food sector are taken into account, it is more easily observed how large the impact horizon of the volatility in this sector is. That's why taking measures that will make a favorable impact on the level and volatility of food prices is one of the issues that policy makers have been discussing recently. One of the foremost steps is defined as achieving increased agricultural productivity. The studies (World Bank, 2007; Abbott, Hurt and Tyner, 2008; Trostle, 2008; Alston, Beddow and Pardey, 2009; and Dorward, 2013) suggest that an improvement in agricultural productivity positively effects food supply and the level and volatility of food prices.
The agricultural sector is a very important sector in most countries and Turkey is no exception. The recent elevated level and volatility in food inflation damages the general inflation outlook, aggravates healthy price formation, adversely influences pricing behavior by increasing inflation uncertainty, leads to stiffness in inflation expectations and reduces room for maneuver of monetary policy. Considering the fact that food inflation accounted for approximately 20-30 percent of overall annual CPI inflation recently, it is evident that decreasing the level and volatility of food inflation would bring about important gains with respect to social welfare and monetary policy.
Utilization of high technology and modern equipment in agriculture brings about production growth. As the income structures of agricultural producers are not stable enough to realize the investments with their own funds, their working capital and investment needs are supported with loans. While access to technology and equipment in agricultural production is determined by the producers' borrowing capacities, this capacity is highly dependent on the development level of agricultural banking. A developed agricultural financing system provides the producer with technical assistance when needed while purchasing technological machinery-equipment, choosing fertile farmland, construction / modernization of facilities, construction of irrigation structures and purchasing seeds/ seedlings/ livestock. In other words, agricultural producers' access to loans significantly contributes to agricultural growth. Therefore, achieving an operational agricultural credit mechanism is very important for an economy.
In Turkey, a significant proportion of total loans is composed of loans for consumption; the importance of agricultural loans, which will directly support agricultural production and so total production in the country, is a newly recognized issue. Public banks, which have been extending agricultural loans for a long time, have the largest share in agricultural loans in Turkey with a ratio of 68 percent. Private banks have made a big entrance into the sector by providing financing products designed to meet the needs of farmers other than conventional agricultural loans and received 32 percent from the total agricultural loans. They have played a pivotal role in the coining of the term "private agricultural banking" and helped to drive a 2.5-fold increase in agricultural loans over the last 5 years (Chart 1). Nevertheless, the ratio of newly extended agricultural loans in total loans is still quite low. This suggests that there is still a lot of space to be filled in with respect to agricultural loans. According to the data provided by the BRSA, the ratio of agricultural loans (fishery and forestry loans included) in total loans is 4 percent, but this ratio also includes general purpose loans drawn for agricultural purposes. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which focuses on more refined agricultural loan data, the ratio is 0.5 percent.
Another factor encouraging banks to extend agricultural loans is that the loan collection rate of agricultural loans is high. In June 2016, the ratio of non-performing loans was 2.4 percent in the agricultural sector; 3.3 percent in total loans and 4.2 percent in SME loans. Moreover, banks' having insurance for risks that cannot be controlled by farmers such as drought, frost and flood would increase financial debt. In agricultural loans, farmers can meet their needs at the beginning of the season with interest-free loans and make their payments during the harvest period.
In Turkey, agricultural banking is a relatively new, profitable and ever-growing field, especially for private banks. However, the volume of agricultural banking in Turkey is quite low compared to other countries with high agricultural activity. An analysis of agricultural loans over the last 20 years in countries with developed farm sectors such as the USA, Israel, Italy and New Zealand reveals that the agricultural loan ratios in these countries are significantly higher than that of Turkey. In developing countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Thailand, the ratio of agricultural loans in total loans is also significantly higher than in Turkey. Therefore, Turkey has a great potential to increase the ratio of agricultural loans in total loans.
An increase in agricultural loans offers new opportunities for the agricultural sector. In their study (2016), Aysoy, Seven and Tümen analyzed the relation between the development level of agricultural banking and agricultural productivity by utilizing the FAO's country-based data for 1991-2014 and revealed that the higher the level of agricultural loans, the higher the agricultural productivity. In Chart 2, it can be easily observed from the plain country data that there is a positive correlation between agricultural labor productivity and total agricultural loans.
To conclude, it can be asserted that establishing a modern agricultural finance model in Turkey will likely increase agricultural productivity significantly. According to FAO data, the ratio of newly extended agricultural loans in total loans in Turkey over the last 10 years was approximately 0.5 percent. The sector is targeting to achieve 10 percent. The regression coefficients in Aysoy, Seven and Tümen's study (2016) suggest that achieving this target can bring about a 100 percent rise in agricultural production. In this respect, provided that an effective growth strategy for agricultural loans is implemented, the contribution of the agricultural sector to the overall economy is expected to increase significantly. In particular, the microcredits to be provided to producers with an expert view will enhance productivity and contribute to solving structural problems in Turkish agricultural sector. Encouraging the banking sector to achieve product proliferation in agricultural loans and concentrate more on extending microcredits intended for agricultural machinery-equipment and production technologies would be a valuable policy recommendation that will improve agricultural productivity.
Abbott, P. C., C. Hurt and W. E. Tyner (2008). "What's driving food prices?" Farm Foundation Issue Report, Farm Foundation, Oak Brook , IL , July.
Alston, J. M., J. M. Beddow and P. G. Pardey (2009). "Agricultural research, productivity, and food prices in the long run." Science, 325, 1209–1210.
Aysoy, C., Ü. Seven and S. Tümen (2016). "Agricultural credits and agricultural productivity: Cross-country evidence." Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, unpublished manuscript.
Dorward, A. (2013). "Agricultural labor productivity, food prices, and sustainable development impacts and indicators." Food Policy, 39, 40–50.
Trostle, R. (2008). "Global agricultural supply and demand: Factors contributing to the recent increase in food commodity prices." Outlook Report No. WRS-0801, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture , Washington , DC , May.
World Bank (2007). World Bank Development Report 2008, World Bank, Washington, DC.
Ünal Seven is a Director at the CBRT.
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* The views expressed here are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye.


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Archive for July 2018
After the Deadline: What Happens to Families Deemed Ineligible for Reunification?
Summer 2018 will be remembered for many major stories on immigration and immigration policy. Several of these stories centered on events in California. Among these events are two crucial decisions by California judges. The first was a decision by Judge John Mendez in Sacramento, who made the initial ruling against the federal government in its…Read More
Reality TV to Real-Life: How to Become 90 Day Fiancé
Few things make better television than new romantic relationships. This is part of the thinking behind the TLC network's reality/documentary show 90 Day Fiancé. The show follows several couples that have applied for or received a K-1 visa in the United States. This particular visa scheme allows an engaged couple to spend 90 days living…Read More
What Are the Ramifications Now That Trump's Travel Ban Stands?
It's only mid-July, yet this summer already feels like a series of immigration policy changes. We've seen the Trump Administration ramp up its stance on zero tolerance for illegal immigration, make announcements on asylum policies and changes to the asylum system, and even take the drastic step to separate minor children from their parents or…Read More
Feds vs. California: What Will Happen to California's Sanctuary Laws?
The battle between the federal government and the State of California began early on in 2018. What began as a verbal spat regarding the federal government's immigration policies and California's support for sanctuary cities, quickly escalated in March 2018. It was back in March that the federal government sued California over its sanctuary laws, claiming…Read More


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Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was bounded on the north by Bithynia and Paphlagonia, on the east by Pontus, on the south by Lycaonia and Cappadocia, and on the west by the remainder of Phrygia, the eastern part of which the Gauls had invaded. The modern capital of Turkey, Ankara (ancient Ancyra), was also the capital of ancient Galatia.
Celtic Galatia
Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace, who became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. They were an intermixture of Gauls and Greeks, and hence Francis Bacon and other Renaissance writers called them "Gallo-Graeci," and the country "Gallo-Graecia".
The Galatians were in their origin a part of the great Celtic migration which invaded Macedon, led by the 'second' Brennus, a Gaulish chief. He invaded Greece in 281 BC with a huge warband and was turned back in the nick of time from plundering the temple of Apollo at Delphi. At the same time, another Gaulish group were migrating with their women and children through Thrace. They had split off from Brennus' Gauls in 279 BC, and had migrated into Thrace under their leaders Leonnorius and Lutarius. These Gaulish invaders appeared in Asia Minor in 278–277 BC; others invaded Macedonia, killed the Ptolemaic king Ptolemy Ceraunus but were eventually ousted by Antigonus Gonatas, the grandson of the defeated Diadoch Antigonus the One-Eyed.
As so often happens in cases of invasion, the invaders came at the express invitation of Nicomedes I of Bithynia, who required help in a dynastic struggle against his brother. Three tribes of Gauls crossed over from Thrace to Asia Minor. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the same number of women and children, divided into three tribes, Trocmi, Tolistobogii and Tectosages. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Celts. While breaking the momentum of the invasion, the Galatians were by no means exterminated.
Instead, the migration led to the establishment of a long-lived Gaulish territory in central Anatolia, which included the eastern part of ancient Phrygia, a territory that became known as Galatia. There they ultimately settled, and being strengthened by fresh accessions of the same clan from Europe, they overran Bithynia and supported themselves by plundering neighbouring countries.
The constitution of the Galatian state is described by Strabo: conformably to Gaulish custom, each tribe was divided into cantons, each governed by a chief ('tetrarch') of its own with a judge under him, whose powers were unlimited except in cases of murder, which were tried before a council of 300 drawn from the twelve cantons and meeting at a holy place, twenty miles southwest of Ancyra, which was likely to have been a sacred oak grove, for it was called 'Drynemeton' the "fane of the oaks" drys + nemeton "sacred ground". The local population of Cappadocians were left in control of the towns and most of the land, paying tithes to their new overlords, who formed a military aristocracy and kept aloof in fortified farmsteads, surrounded by their bands.
The Gauls were great warriors, respected by Greeks and Romans. They hired themselves out as mercenary soldiers, sometimes fighting on both sides in the great battles of the times. For years the Gaulish chieftains and their warbands ravaged the western half of Asia Minor, as allies of one or other of the warring princes, without any serious check, until they sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax, who reigned in Asia Minor. Hierax tried to defeat king Attalus I of Pergamum (241–197 BC), but instead, the hellenised cities united under his banner, and his armies inflicted several severe defeats upon them, about 232 forcing them to settle permanently and to confine themselves to the region to which they had already given their name. The theme of the Dying Gaul (a famous statue displayed in Pergamon) remained a favorite in Hellenistic art for a generation. Their right to the district was formally recognized. The three Gaulish tribes were settled where they afterwards remained, the Tectosages round Ancyra, the Tolistobogii round Pessinus, sacred to Cybele, and the Trocmi round Tavium.
But the power of the Gauls was not yet broken. The Attalid Pergamene king himself soon employed their services in the increasingly devastating wars of Asia Minor; another band deserted from their Egyptian overlord Ptolemy IV after a solar eclipse had broken their spirits.
In the early 2nd century BC they proved terrible allies of Antiochus the Great, the last Seleucid king trying to regain suzerainity over Asia Minor, but after the defeat of the Seleucid king to the Romans, Rome at last proved a worthy protection against them.
In 189 BC an expedition was sent against them under Caius Manlius Vulso, who defeated them. Henceforward their military power declined and they fell at times under Pontic ascendancy, from which they were finally freed by the Mithridatic Wars, in which they heartily supported Rome.
In the settlement of 64 BC Galatia became a client-state of the Roman empire, the old constitution disappeared, and three chiefs (wrongly styled "tetrarchs") were appointed, one for each tribe. But this arrangement soon gave way before the ambition of one of these tetrarchs, Deiotarus, the contemporary of Cicero and Julius Caesar, who made himself master of the other two tetrarchies and was finally recognized by the Romans as 'king' of Galatia.
Celtic Capital in Anatolia: Ankara
The history of Ankara, can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hatti civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later by the Lydians, Persians, Macedonians, Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans.
In 278 BC, the city, along with the rest of central Anatolia, was occupied by the Celtic race of Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara one of their main tribal centres, the headquarters of the 'Tectosage' tribe. Other centres were Pessinos, today's Balhisar, for the 'Trocmi' tribe; and Tavium, to the east of Ankara, for the 'Tolstibogii' tribe. The city was then known as Ancyra. The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers; a warrior aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants. However, the Celtic language continued to spoken in Galatia for many centuries. At the end of the 4th century AD, St. Jerome, a native of Galatia, observed that the language spoken around Ankara was very similar to that being spoken in the northwest of the Roman world near Trier. See Tectosages of Volcae
Pessinus was the city in Asia Minor (presently Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey) on the upper course of the river Sangarios (modern day Sakarya River), 120 km SW of Ankara, from which the mythological King Midas is said to have ruled a greater Phrygian realm. It certainly dated back to 700BC. It was a major, hellenized city in the region of Galatia since the fourth century BC. The Seleucids lost it to Attalid Pergamon, which became part of the Roman Empire where it is was assigned to the provincia Galatia (later part of Pontus diocese).
Its greatest pride was the greatest temple of the Mother Goddess Cybele, said to be founded by Midas, which gave it prestige and even temporary political autonomy, but in 205BC a Roman Senate delegation got the aniconic statue transferred to Rome, introducing the Magna Mater cult there to help fight Carthage's Hannibal. The statue was first placed in the Temple of Victory on the Palatine Hill, but in 191BC a new sanctuary was built for her on the summit of the hill, one of the most sacred places in Rome.
It is known to be reached by Christianity in the fifth century AD. After the Byzantines lost it to the Seljuk Turks, it became an inconspicuous mountain village at 900m height, gradually getting depopulated since it was fully protected, no modern construction allowed. The last constructions from Antiquity were pulled down in the 19th century, but archeologists from the Ghent University are digging there since 1967.
The Kybele Archaeological Culture Center, located in Ballihisar Village of Eskişehir's Sivrihisar district, has on display artifacts dating to the Phrygian and Roman eras from the ancient city of Pessinus.
Tavium, or Tavia, was the chief city of the Galatian tribe of Trocmi, one of the three Celtic tribes which migrated from the Danube Valley to Galatia in the 3rd century BCE. Owing to its position on the high roads of commerce was an important trading post. The site was successively occupied by Hittites, Cimmarians, Persians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, and Ottoman Turks. At the time of the Roman Empire, Tavium was an important crossroads and a stopping place on the caravan routes.
One of the few things we do know about Tavium was that there was metalworking, because coins have been found that were minted there in the early 1st century bearing the likenesses of Marcus Aurelius and Elagabalus. Copper, tin, iron and silver were mined in the nearby mountains. If we can draw parallels with other Celtic sites of the time, the smelting and stamping was done by a small group of artisans working in one or two stone huts.
In the temple at Tavium there was a colossal statue of Jupiter in bronze, greatly venerated by the Galatians. There was some doubt about the exact site of the city, but it is today generally believed to be the ruins situated close to the village of Nefez Keui (Nefes Köy, today known as Büyüknefes), inhabited during the winter by nomadic Turkish tribes, lying in a very fertile plain east of River Halys, in Yozgat Province.
These ruins were partly used in building the neighbouring village of Yuzgat. We find there the remains of a theatre and possibly of a temple of Jupiter; these have a number of inscriptions, mostly Byzantine. In the Notitiæ Episcopatuum this see is mentioned up to the 13th century as the first suffragan of Ancyra.
The names of five bishops of the area are known: Dicasius, present at the Councils of Neocæsarea and Nice; Julian, at the Robber Synod of Ephesus (449), and at the Council of Chalcedon (451), and a signer of the letter from the Galatian bishops to the Emperor Leo (458); Anastasius, present at the Council of Constantinople (553); Gregory at the Council in Trullo (692); Philaretus at Constantinople (869).
Roman and Christian Galatia
On the death of the third king Amyntas in 25 BC, however, Galatia was incorporated by Octavian Augustus in the Roman empire, though near his capital Ancyra (modern Ankara) Pylamenes, the king's heir, rebuilt a temple of the Phrygian goddess Men to venerate Augustus (the Monumentum Ancyranum), as a sign of fidelity. It was on the walls of this temple in Galatia that the major source for the Res Gestae of Augustus were preserved for modernity. Few of the provinces proved more enthusiastically loyal to Rome. The Galatians also practiced a form of Romano-Celtic polytheism, common in Celtic lands.
During his second missionary journey Paul, accompanied by Silas and Timothy (Acts 16:6), visited the "region of Galatia," where he was detained by sickness (Epistle to Galatians 4:13), and had thus the longer opportunity of preaching to them the gospel. On his third journey he went over "all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order" (Acts 18:23). During the journeys of Paul he was received with enthusiasm in Galatia. In Acts 14:8-23, at Lystra the multitude could scarcely be restrained from sacrificing to Paul, assuming that he and Barnabas were gods (calling them Hermes and Zeus) after Paul healed a man who "was crippled from birth and had never walked" (Acts 14:8). It is reported that even "the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds" (14:13). Paul emphatically urged them not to do so; he was later stoned by a crowd of Galatians (Acts 18:19-20) and left for dead. Despite this, a portion of the Galatians seem to have retained belief in the gospel Paul preached to them (Gal.1:2b, where the plural phrase "churches of Galatia" is used). Crescens was sent thither by Paul toward the close of his life (2 Timothy 4:10).
Josephus related the biblical figure Gomer to Galatia. "For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites." Antiquities of the Jews, I:6. Although others have related Gomer to Cimmerians.
The Galatians were still speaking the Celtic Galatian language in the time of St. Jerome (347–420 CE), who wrote that the Galatians of Ancyra and the Treveri of Trier (in what is now the German Rhineland) spoke the same language.
In an administrative reorganisation about 386-95 two new provinces succeeded it, Galatia Prima and Galatia Secunda or - Salutaris, which included part of Phrygia.
The fate of the Galatian people is a subject of some uncertainty, but they seem ultimately to have been absorbed into the Greek- and/or Turkish-speaking populations of west-central Anatolia. Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Celtic Tomb Near Gordium of King Midas


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Wingate by Wyndham is located near the Asheville Airport, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., restaurants and within a short drive to downtown Hendersonville. The hotel amenities include free airport shuttle, business center, free hot breakfast, pool, non-smoking hotel, Wi-Fi, and free parking.
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Sweden-born fan funding platform, Corite – co-founded by Universal Music Sweden alumni Mattias Tengblad (CEO) and Emil Angervall (COO) – is planning to launch a new blockchain-based platform.
The announcement follows the company's successful closing of a US $2.2m pre-sale for the utility token $CO that will serve as the native currency of the platform.
The platform will allow $CO token holders to participate in blockchain fan funding and promotion, get early access to invest in music projects, in addition to earning rewards for "contributing and participating in the governance of the Corite ecosystem", according to a media release.
The project is being developed in partnership with Swedish blockchain technology pioneers ChromaWay.
Investors include NGC, CoinCO, Coin98, KuCoin, Kyros, Exnetworkcapital, Bella Finance, 1001 capital, Hilbert Capital, artist Danny Saucedo and Hitco Entertainment Co-Founder Charles Goldstuck.
Development on the platform is already underway, with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) slated for Q3 2021.
Corite, which inked a partnership with L.A-based HITCO Entertainment in May, enables fans to directly invest in their favorite artists, and to earn a proportion of said artists' streaming royalties in return.
HITCO, run by L.A Reid and Charles Goldstuck, acquired a minority stake in Corite as part of the partnership announced in May, which sees the platform expand into the US.
Corite was launched in Sweden in 2019 and has also since expanded to Europe. The company says that thousands of backers have signed up to become active stakeholders in their favorite artists through the platform.
The platform has run more than 150 campaigns, generating millions of streams. Artist collaborations include Danny Saucedo, Sabina Ddumba, Kid Travis and King Charles.
"The new music industry will be driven by hundreds of thousands independent artists using the power of the fans to grow their careers."
Mattias Tengblad, Corite
Mattias Tengblad, CEO and Co-Founder of Corite said: "The new music industry will be driven by hundreds of thousands independent artists using the power of the fans to grow their careers.
"Blockchain technology is the perfect answer to this trend, enabling artists to keep control of their art with higher margins and also create new revenue streams monetizing digital art and music. This is what we call fan power."
"With this next big step in the evolution of Corite, fans will be able to actively invest in artists and music using cryptocurrency."
Emil Angervall, Corite
Emil Angervall, Co-Founder of Corite added: "With this next big step in the evolution of Corite, fans will be able to actively invest in artists and music using cryptocurrency.
"Royalty splits and other utilities are secured through smart contracts on the blockchain. Our vision is to build a truly decentralized platform – ruled by artists, backed by fans."Music Business Worldwide


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Congratulations to Meghan DiBona, our 3,000th RPLU designee! This is a great achievement and we want to recognize the time and effort you've put into the program.
"The RPLU program is the preeminent designation program in the professional liability insurance industry and earning the designation shows commitment to the industry and the profession," stated PLUS CEO Robbie Thompson.
"The RPLU program is a comprehensive Professional Liability program that provides a solid foundation of Professional Liability for underwriters and other insurance professionals. The Core and Elective Modules allow learners to tailor the program to their personal interests," Meghan said. "I recommend the RPLU program to individuals who are new to Professional Liability as well as more experienced individuals who are seeking a refresher in various Professional Liability lines."
The first class of RPLU graduate came in at just 29 people, and now, 25 years later, we have our 3,000th RPLU designee. The program has only continued to improve, and we're excited to make achieving your RPLU more accessible than ever. Our online eLearning platform has officially launched, and you can purchase modules to take online at the comfort of your desk. The first module is free—take a look!
Visit the PLUS website to learn more about the online eLearning platform here, and learn more about the RPLU program here.
Congrats again to Meghan, and here's to another 3,000 RPLU designees!


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Charvel once again ups the ante for modern high performance combined with elegant style and crushing tone with the Pro-Mod DK24 platform. These stunning new instruments are designed especially for a new breed of player whose musical vision and versatility knows no boundaries.View All DK24 Models
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The Gotoh 510 tremolo is an impressive low-maintenance alternative to a Floyd Rose®. The recessed design accomodates many playing styles, and the self-lubricating Graph Tech® TUSQ® XL nut prevents strings from sticking.View 2PT Models
Pro-Mod DK24 HH 2PT models feature a switch for toggling between series and parallel for a simple way to add another dimension of tone to your guitar. Double your tone with a quick flip of a switch.View Models
DK24 2PT HHPickup Control Diagram
DK24 2PT HSHPickup Control Diagram
DK24 2PT HSSPickup Control Diagram
Floyd Rose Models
Pro-Mod DK24 Floyd Rose models allow for excellent tuning stability throughout flutters and aggressive dime bombs, courtesy the recessed Floyd Rose® 1000 Series double-locking tremolo bridge system.View Floyd Rose Models
DK24 FR HHPickup Control Diagram
DK24 FR HSSPickup Control Diagram
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DK24 HH HT models experience maximum sustain and fuller tone from the Charvel string-through-body hardtail bridge.View Hardtail Models


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Mr Sanjay Dang heads UV Overseas and its sister concern Footwear INC where we produce TPR outsoles. A visionary in the field, he has been at the forefront of the industry for the last 30 years.
He started working as an outsole trader at the age of nineteen and has been a force to reckon with ever since. He has a particular interest in ensuring that our units are eco-friendly, and as a result, Footwear INC was the city's first no-waste outsole production unit. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and Sunday rides on his Harley Davidson.
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Ms. Sanjika Dang is a lawyer by degree and handles marketing and sales at UV Overseas. Taking in her father's footsteps, she is passionate about growing UV Overseas as a truly international business. She hopes to equip the factory with cutting-edge technology, a workforce with equal representation, and consistent focus on sustainable habits. She splits her time between India and Europe, attending trade fairs, visiting customers, and forecasting new trends. She does pro-bono legal work in her time away from the factory.
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This year's Young Shareholders arrived at The Billington Group Head Office in Liverpool on 23rd July to kick start their weeks work experience.
Adam Whiteley, Nicholas Verkerk & Daniel Kearney will go on to travel to Lancaster, Chester, Wellingborough & Bickenhill to meet employees from across the business, go on factory tours and sample some of the food at EPC & Dunkleys.
Young Shareholder week is an opportunity for the young family members to learn more about the business and to ask any questions they may have about how the Group runs.
We look forward to updating you with how they got on once they have finished their week at The Billington Group!


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John McCain and James Gandolfini ate together in Columbus Circle, where they discussed Gandolfini's Iraq doc and McCain's disgust with Columbia University. Rachel Zoe left her agency Magnet and her home was burglarized, but she says that neither has anything to do with her boast that she's more influential than Anna Wintour. Kate Hudson and Ron Burkle went out again, this time at Upstairs on Spring Street. Mary-Kate Olsen exclaimed to a partygoer at the Beatrice Inn, "Christ saves all! I save all" before smooching him on the cheek. Tyra Banks jumped off a garbage truck wearing a bright orange jumpsuit on 57th Street. Richard Gere bought an apartment in Julian Schnabel's building.
A new porn video titled Not the Bradys XXX is selling well following the claim that the actresses who played Jan and Marica Brady had a lesbian fling while filming the show. British actress Amara Karan doesn't want her mom to see her make out with Jason Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited. Producers of Janice Dickinson's reality TV show had to remove the minibar from her hotel suite after she racked up a $900 tab. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford director Andrew Dominik says he'll never work with James Carville (who has a cameo) again, because the Ragin' Cajun came unprepared and couldn't get his lines right. Car king Lee Iacocca thinks that there's something wrong "philosophically" with George Bush's brain and that Jeb would have made the better president. Jimmy Buffett is claiming that the "Carrothead" kids' club of Six Flags theme parks is in copyright violation of his "Parrothead" adult fan club. In his memoir, Police Academy star Steve Guttenberg claims he once tied up a woman for some S&M play, went out to get "protection," and then couldn't remember where she lived. Cindy Adams says that either the Mets or the Yankees have expressed interest in signing Barry Bonds for next season.


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| Main |
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Edward Grothus 1923-2009
Ed Grothus at The Black Hole August 2005
Many of you know political activist and artist Barbara Grothus, and folks all over the world knew her illustrious dad Ed Grothus, who passed away this week. We were lucky enough to have gotten a meandering tour with Ed of his famous "Black Hole" in Los Alamos several years back while we were in Los Alamos for peace events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima. Our visit with Ed was fascinating and moving. "Atomic Ed" will be missed by many, but his peaceful legacy will definitely live on. Here's a reminiscence of a life well lived that was put together by the Grothus family. Our condolences to all of Ed's friends and family.
Edward Bernard Grothus, of Los Alamos, died of cancer at home, at peace and surrounded by love on February 12, 2009. He was born June 28, 1923 in Clinton, Iowa. His family moved permanently to Davenport, Iowa in 1930.
Ed Grothus with "stuff" outside The Black Hole
Following graduation from high school, he traveled extensively by ship and motorcycle. He attended the University of Iowa where he (most importantly) learned to play bridge and made lifelong friends. He eventually followed his father's trade as a machinist, the trade that brought him to Los Alamos in 1949. "Working at the Lab," he said, "gave me an education that I could get nowhere else." He met Margaret Jane Turnquist playing bridge in Los Alamos. They were married in 1951. In 1952 he began working at the Lab's R-Site where he was a link in the process for making "better" atomic bombs. By 1968, he had become an antiwar activist and was an alternate delegate for candidate Eugene McCarthy at the notorious Democratic Convention in Chicago. He left LASL in 1969 when his conscience could no longer tolerate his role in nuclear bomb development. Since then, because of his singularity in speaking out against the nuclear mission of the Laboratory, he became the most interviewed and photographed person in Los Alamos.
Ed Grothus dressed as Peace Cardinal at Los Alamos Peace Rally
Ed was a hardworking and successful entrepreneur who invested in "things." A child of the depression who extolled thrift and hated waste, he established the Los Alamos Sales Company in 1951 to buy and resell things -- mainly surplus equipment from the Los Alamos Laboratory. For many years the company operated as a catalog business, selling to universities world-wide. He typed and mimeographed pages that were assembled into catalogs by his children who also assisted with mailing, packing, and shipping.
Ed in front of Black Hole surplus-store-museum-studio-peace-shrine
Ed took an active interest in the community. When the government began to plan a subdivision for individual owners to develop, Ed got involved. He helped name the streets on Barranca Mesa and purchased the lot on which he built the first adobe home in Los Alamos. He took great pride in his plans and designs for the house, seeking to make it as durable, functional and maintenance free as possible. Nearly 60 years later, the house remains a testament to his attention to detail. Ed was a founding member of the do-it-yourself home builders association known as "The Nailbenders." Later, in a new area known as Pajarito Acres, he was the first to build a home with the intention that it would be a rental property. When government houses came onto the market, he bought and sold those too, and upon his exit from the Laboratory, he and Margaret used proceeds to purchase The Shalako Shop which they operated for thirty years.
Ed's Omega Peace Institute in Los Alamos
In 1973, he purchased the Grace Lutheran Church property which he first called "The Omega Peace Institute" and later named "The First Church of High Technology." In 1976, he acquired the adjacent "Mesa Market" property, which remained a grocery store for two years. When the grocery operation ceased, the Los Alamos Sales Company began moving things into the building. In recent years, the operation became known as "The Black Hole," because "everything went in, and not even light could get out." The business is well-known to set-decorators, artists, inventors and tinkerers, and tourists from around the world. He worked at the business six days a week until his illness forced him to slow down in late 2008. He never stopped thinking about the business despite his physical absence from it.
Sunflower peace display, 60th Hiroshima anniversary, Los Alamos
Ed refused to abandon The Black Hole during the forced evacuation of Los Alamos in 2000 when the government-set fire devastated the mountain landscape and burned more than 400 residences. The fire burned up to the foundation of the Black Hole, but Ed's vigilance kept the fire from consuming it. He was arrested after the fire passed and was sentenced to community service for "refusing to obey a police order." He had predicted such a disastrous immolation and had encouraged the County to build a perimeter road as a fire barrier. He strongly fought the use of salt on snowy streets because of its killing effect on trees and the subsequent erosion of soil and further environmental degradation.
Grothus was most known for his antiwar and antinuclear activism. He was a frequent writer of "Letters to the Editor" and in 1966 wrote "An Ode to a Leader, Misleading," dedicated to President Johnson. In it he wrote ". . .search and destroy, ignoble duty . . ." His motto became "Semper Fabricate, Numquam Consumite" or "Always Build, Never Destroy." As an early Obama supporter, Ed was pleased to note in his inaugural address that President Obama said, ". . . people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy." Despite his antiwar and antinuclear stance, he never called for the closure of the Laboratory. He said the Lab should stop making things useful only for killing, but he supported a mission for scientists to more efficiently harvest the energy of the sun, the infinite power source.
Preparing and launching peace lanterns, Ashley Pond, Los Alamos
Grothus designed and commissioned two granite obelisks to mark the explosion of the first atomic bomb. The obelisks were quarried and carved in China, then shipped to Los Alamos in December 2007. The obelisks are white granite and are designed to sit on black bases, "doomsday stones," engraved with text in 15 languages that describe the "most significant man-made event in human history." Important to him among the messages engraved in the stone was, "No one is secure unless everyone is secure." When erected, each monument will weigh over 39 tons and stand nearly 40 feet tall. At the time of his death, Grothus remained optimistic that the obelisks would find a home.
He was featured in numerous international magazine and newspaper articles and stories on national radio and television. He has appeared in various historical books, as a character in novels and, thanks to a variety of international artists, in theaters, galleries and music productions. He also has a significant presence on the internet. He was the subject of two documentaries including "Atomic Ed and the Black Hole," by filmmaker, Ellen Spiro, broadcast on HBO. He was also the subject of investigations by the FBI and Secret Service on several occasions.
In 2006 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Indigenous World Uranium Summit for his work to promote a Nuclear-Free Future. In 2007, he was humbled to be the first non-Native American to receive the prestigious Alan Houser Memorial Award from the Houser family at the annual Governor's Awards in the Arts for the State of New Mexico.
He was proud of his family with whom he enjoyed traveling, working, exchanging thoughts and opinions and sharing challenges and successes. Ed's deafness, "my only problem," was a cruel burden, not just for him. A voracious reader and life-long learner, his intellectual curiosity and interest in ideas, "things" and world events remained strong even as cancer consumed all his energy. "Dying," he said, "is not very exciting."
The eldest of eight, he was predeceased by his parents, Edward Theodore Grothus and Regina Hebinck Grothus, his son Theodore, his grandson Preston Edward Burns, and his brother Joseph Grothus. He is survived by Margaret, his wife of 57 years, his children Barbara Grothus of Albuquerque, NM; Tom Grothus (Wendy Slotboom) of Seattle, WA; Susan Burns of Albuquerque, NM; and Mike Grothus (Heidi) and their children, Casey and Michelle Grothus of Niwot, CO. He is also survived by three sisters, three brothers, and their extended families. Loved and admired by many, despised by a few, he will not soon be forgotten.
Ed Grothus and one of his ever-present bolos, 2006
Friends are visiting DeVargas Funeral Home at 623 N. Railroad Avenue in Espanola, NM from 1:00 to 5:00 on Sunday, February 15. There will be a private interment at Guaje Pines Cemetery. A public memorial service will be scheduled soon.
Peace begins in the heart. Life is short. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you remember Ed by spending precious time with your loved ones.
Here's a video of Ed from last year that includes footage of his obelisks. And here's an article memorializing Ed from the Los Alamos Monitor.
Click on photos for larger images. Last photo by Telstar Logisitics. Check out more of their excellent photos of Ed and The Black Hole here. All other photos by M.E. Broderick, taken the weekend of August 6, 2005 during peace events in Los Alamos commemorating the 60th anniversary of the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima. See her set here.
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February 15, 2009 at 03:21 PM in Current Affairs, Local Politics, Nuclear Arms, Power, Peace | Permalink
What a great human being!
Peace to you Barbara and your family!
Posted by: mary ellen | Feb 15, 2009 5:00:13 PM
Oh Barbara! It didn't connect for me, when we discussed your father at the inauguration party, that we were talking about Ed! I still consider myself lucky to have met him when I first moved to New Mexico. He was a wonderful man, and many, many people in this state will miss him. My love to you and your family.
Posted by: sophie | Feb 15, 2009 6:07:44 PM
Wow, Barb and Mary Ellen. Thank you for such lovely illustrations and all the links with the story.
Just to set the record straight, the obituary was begun by my father, but it was a family project, everyone contributed. There was no single author.
Thanks to everyone for the lovely sentiments, all over the internet. It will be a full-time family project to keep up with the work load that Ed carried.
Peace to everyone. Love, from the Grothus Family
Posted by: bg | Feb 16, 2009 8:44:29 AM
Ed was a New Mexico treasure. His courageous and creative fight against nuclear proliferation and for peace is known around the nation and many parts of the world. Peace to the family.
Posted by: L. E. | Feb 16, 2009 9:00:00 AM
Peace to you and your family.
I was born in Sterling, IL a few miles from Clinton, IA. Small world.
Posted by: Leo Cuevas | Feb 16, 2009 1:52:30 PM
Thanks for publishing this. I've visited Ed and the Black Hole many times over the years and always enjoyed Ed's company and unique perspective on LANL and the need for nuclear disarmament. Plus, the Black Hole is so full of mindbending items!
Condolences to the Grothus family. I hope Ed's obelisks will be placed as he wanted them to be, for us and future generations if humans can survive these crazy times.
Posted by: Rod | Feb 16, 2009 4:06:45 PM
For anyone interested, here is a memorial site for Ed.
with a link back to this site.
Posted by: Fran Hogan | Feb 16, 2009 4:50:29 PM


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Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Teaser Tuesday 193: Frankenstein
* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!
I have just started Frankenstein by Mary Shelley for a Goodreads classics group read. This is my first tiem reading the novel, though it has been in my possession for some years. This is from chapter four:
Some miracle might have produced it, yet the stages of the discovery were distinct and probable. After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.
To many readers, who have perhaps known Frankenstein only at second hand, the original may well come as a surprise. When Mary Shelley began it, she was only 18, though she was already Shelley's mistress and Byron's friend. In her preface she explains how she and Shelley spent part of a wet summer with Byron in Switzerland, amusing themselves by reading and writing ghost stories. Her contribution was Frankenstein, a story about a student of natural philosophy who learns the secret of imparting life to a creature constructed from bones he has collected in charnel-houses. The story is not a study of the macabre, as such, but rather a study of how man uses his power, through science, to manipulate and pervert his own destiny, and this makes it a profoundly disturbing book
14 comments:
- Alice Audrey said...
My dd just mentioned this book and author. She learned about the writing session in school and was thoroughly impressed.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 11:06:00 AM
- Laurel-Rain Snow said...
I do like the sound of this...thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 11:16:00 AM
- Unknown said...
I really have to read this. I just love gothic literature.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 11:29:00 AM
- Udita Banerjee said...
Brilliant book!
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 11:53:00 AM
- Heather said...
Alice: Small world! The book does have an interesting history. Reading it also has me wanting to watch Young Frankenstein again. Maybe this weekend... :D
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 12:07:00 PM
- Heather said...
Laurel-Rain: Thanks, I am eager to get further into the book, and am hoping it is a fast read.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 12:07:00 PM
- Heather said...
Valentina: I like gothic lit as well, and it doesn't get more gothic than this, does it?
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 12:08:00 PM
- Heather said...
Udita: I take it you have read it? I hope to get further into it tonight.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 12:09:00 PM
- Yvonne said...
I never read this one, but it's one I've been wanting to read.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 2:01:00 PM
- Heather said...
Yvonne: It's one I've been wanting to read for a while, too, so was glad to see it nominated and chosen for our October group read.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 2:45:00 PM
- Shelley Munro said...
Such an interesting history behind the story.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 4:56:00 PM
- Heather said...
Shelley: There is indeed. I confess, though, that I have skipped the 50+ page introduction. It is my experience that intros tend to assume you've already read the book and include spoilers. So, I do not read them before reading the book. Then I might go back and skim it.
- Tuesday, October 22, 2013 10:25:00 PM
- kayerj said...
I've never read this book but I enjoyed your teaser.
- Monday, October 28, 2013 3:38:00 PM
- Heather said...
Thanks, Kelley! ☺
- Tuesday, October 29, 2013 10:01:00 AM


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Tactics are great, but keep the main the thing the main thing: whatever is at the core of what you do, excel at it, and the other pieces will fall into place.
Logan Allec is the founder of Money Done Right, a personal finance website devoted to helping everyday Americans live happier lives by giving them actionable ideas on building, growing, and maintaining wealth. Money Done Right is an affiliate partner with over 100 brands, primarily in the fintech space.
Before becoming an Internet entrepreneur, Logan was a practicing CPA with a multinational professional services firm serving large, publicly-traded companies. His experience helping large corporations save millions of dollars in taxes inspired him to help everyday people lead better financial lives as well. This desire became his motivation for founding Money Done Right in July 2017 as a hobby and then a side hustle while he was still working at a CPA firm. Within eight months of launching, Logan quit his day job and started working full-time on Money Done Right. The site grossed over $300,000 in 2018, primarily from affiliate revenues.
Logan has been recognized as a personal finance, tax, and credit expert in publications such as CNBC, USA Today, MarketWatch, U.S. News & World Report, HuffPost, Reader's Digest, and more.
Living in Santa Clarita, California, with his also-entrepreneurial wife Caroline, Logan enjoys playing basketball at the gym and exploring local hikes. He's also been known to be quite competitive at board games.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
Everyday Americans are horrible at money: they run up credit card debt, they don't save for retirement, and many of them – especially my generation, Millennials – are scared of investing. They simply do money wrong. And I want to help them do it right – hence my website and business, Money Done Right.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I wake up between 6:30 and 7:00, say good morning to my wife in bed, then dash up the stairs to my home office. I check any emails or Slack messages from my team – most of whom are in a different time zone than I am – to make sure that they have the information they need to do their work for the day. And then I'm off to the races, ticking items off of my to-do list in Todoist.
I find that utilizing tools is essential to my productivity. My home office actually doubles as a guest bedroom, so it has a nice comfortable bed in it. I have to figure out productivity hacks to prevent me from plopping down on it with my phone and wasting time. This is where tools come in: I set up my Todoist, Google Calendar, and Slack in such a way that they are constantly giving me instructions throughout the day. This way, I can't think to myself, "Wow, I have some spare time right now; I think I'll plop down on this bed right here."
How do you bring ideas to life?
I hire people a lot smarter than me to execute on my ideas – and I also pay them good money to come up with these ideas themselves! I think that hiring out execution is something that entrepreneurs should start doing as soon as they can afford it.
What's one trend that excites you?
I'm super excited about all the new personal finance apps that have been popping up recently. It seems like every few months there's some incredibly useful new financial app coming on the market to help people make better financial decisions, and I love partnering with these companies for the benefit of my readers!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
At night, I've made it a habit to put my phone far away from me before lying down in bed. This helps me avoid the all-too-Millennial temptation of checking on my phone before shutting my eyes for the night. I really think that this habit has helped me sleep better, which makes me more productive. As a bonus, when I wake up in the morning, I avoid the temptation of wasting valuable time mindlessly scrolling through my phone.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don't lose the habit of regular exercise. During the period of time when I was both working a demanding corporate job while simultaneously growing my business on the side, I stopped exercising regularly, and I feel like I'm still struggling to get back into shape.
Tell us something that's true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
The free edge of fingernails and toenails is green in color.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Check in with individual members of your team and ask them if there's anything you can do to support them in their tasks.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Try everything, but drop anything that doesn't work. I think in the constantly-changing digital space, it's important to try new things, or you could become obsolete rather quickly. But don't hold onto anything too closely, and realize that just because something is working for someone else doesn't mean that it's going to work for what you're doing.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
As a financial publisher, content is king. If my site doesn't have good content, it will fail. Unfortunately, a while back I opted to move away from working with freelance writers of my own choosing and hired an agency to take care of all the site's content. This was a bad move. The content the agency produced was not a good fit, and I ended up spending thousands of dollars on content that simply wasn't in line with what I was looking for. Rather than trying to force a square peg into a round hole (or whatever the expression is), I decided to cut my losses after a few months and go back to a freelancer model.
What is one business idea that you're willing to give away to our readers?
While it's tempting to throw out hip ideas like "create the Uber of mobile massages!" (sounds shady already), I think that folks who want to get their feet wet in business should start with something tried-and-true but really get creative with who they're going to market to and then crush it with that particular market. One idea I have is to provide gardening and weedpulling services to new, HOA-governed, tract home communities. Often the homes in these communities are serviced by the HOA-contracted landscape service who may be charging way too much for the amount of work they do. So why not find out what the HOA-contracted service is charging and figure how much profit you – with your low-overhead one-man or one-woman show — could make if you undercut them on price by 10%? Then go door-to-door, introduce yourself to the homeowners as a new business owner, and offer to do gardening for a little bit less than the other guys.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
When it comes to massages, I usually go with the $20-per-hour Chinese foot massage joints. But sometimes you really want to treat yourself with something a little nicer, you know? So recently my wife and I went to our favorite massage place, Heaven Massage in Sherman Oaks (note to all the Angelenos out there: be sure you to go Heaven Message at 13509 Ventura Boulevard and not Heavenly Massage at 11313 Ventura Boulevard). It came out to about $100 for the both of us, but it was money well spent because we both felt rejuvenated and ready to take on anything afterward.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
I love using Slack to communicate with my team. When I started my business, I was using a combination of email and Skype to communicate with people, but since transition to Slack, teamwide communication has been so much easier.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I recently enjoyed "Louder Than Words" by Todd Henry. It's full of actionable tips on audience building. One takeaway that I need to constantly remind myself of is that it's often the case that the more competent you become at something, and the more you associate with others who are competent at that something, the more obvious you think your expertise is to everyone else. But this is rarely the case.
What is your favorite quote?
"Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that." Anthony Volodkin.
This quote speaks to me because when it comes to running an online business, it's easy to think that there are shortcuts to getting to where you want to be: the perfect sales funnel, the gorgeous site design, the most carefully-crafted copy and calls to action.
But that ain't it! In the long run, success comes from being undeniably good, and in my case, this means creating undeniably good financial content.
Key Learnings:
• Systematize your workflow such that it gives you little opportunity to waste time.
• Make exercise a regular part of your day or at least your week, no matter how busy you are.
• Stick with what works but don't be afraid to find new things that work.
• Tactics are great, but keep the main the thing the main thing: whatever is at the core of what you do, excel at it, and the other pieces will fall into place.
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.


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LEMAN, Sparta Logistics and BORUSAN LOJISTIK join forces
20. 十二月
In the pursuit of the shortest lead times and the ability to deliver the best service, LEMAN, Sparta Logistics and BORUSAN LOJISTIK enter into a strategic partnership on Turkey.
All three companies have solid experience on Turkey-Denmark traffics and consolidating their volume, the partners will be able to offer even more frequent departures to their clients.
The opportunity to choose from even more departures gives the customers the flexibility they require.
This strategic collaboration will also increase the level of service for all parties involved, and the customers will definitely feel the positive synergies in this constellation.
Best regards
Sparta Logistics, BORUSAN LOJISTIK and LEMAN


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Pandemic Response Matrix
Minnesota Metro Region EMS System. (2020). Pandemic Response Matrix.
This document from 3/12/2020 outlines the standing orders that EMS directors may implement during crisis conditions to provide the best pre-hospital care and transport guidance to the most people. It outlines the following options for 22 different scenarios: transport by EMS, transport by law enforcement, referral to use alternate transportation to a medical facility, referral to a clinic or other medical facility, and provision of home care information.
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Atherton Scenics Painted Civil War Small Stone Bridge 9804
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Atherton Scenics
- Painted Civil War Small Stone Bridge
- Hard Polyfoam - Colors as shown in photos
- Approximately 10" long x 4" deep x 2.5" tall
- Figures NOT included - show for scale only
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- Multi-use piece that can be used for many different periods and battles
- Can be used for different scales
- Detail and size is perfect for any diorama
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