text:
Anderson .Paak's New Direction: "Oxnard"
by Noah Adaikkalam
Oxnard (2018), Anderson .Paak's latest studio album, was released November 16th. Andy is a very important artist to me. Malibu (2016) is my most listened to album, and "Put Me Thru" my most listened song last year. Going into this project's release, I wanted something similar to the Malibu/Venice sound that he previously produced; a sort of beachy accompaniment that relies on homemade instrumentals and Andy's rhythmic singing/rapping over his drums. All the songs told stories, lyrically interesting and rhythmically executed.
Oxnard kept up the same musicality, but took the sound in a different direction. I wasn't down for it at first, really only making it to "Who R U?" before setting the album aside. I cycled through this about three times before finally sitting down and taking preliminary notes on all the songs after "Who R U?". It became clear to me that the talent is still there, but the execution missed certain aspects.
"The Chase"
The record starts with the sound of a car door opening and closing. A radio shifts from station to station, as an Arabic guitar riff and wind chimes introduce Kadhja Bonet's silky voice. Then track goes silent and .Paak picks up the drums again, a refreshing sound. Bonet sings in an ominous, somewhat Arabic sounding tune. Andy's bars come in harder than expected joined by suspenseful sounding guitar chords and strings, mixing with horns. The strings are all provided by Bonet, setting themes up for the album through her dominating lyrics and instrumentation. This is the first song with a distinct shift, an opening that contains straight rap then instrumentally expands into .Paak singing the song through to its end. Bonet's presence offers a more complicated (more layer and instruments) sound than Jose Rios and Kelsey Gonzalez, the guitarist and bassist of .Paak's band The Free Nationals. This was the primary sound on his other projects: Malibu (2016) and Venice (2014). It's definitely new, an unexpected opener in my opinion, not something I am entirely comfortable with. My mental map of Anderson's music has the harder rap tracks a few songs into the album. It is not bad, but I expected more singing and less rapping.
This song sounds good. It starts with an unconventional cling-clangy intro, and is met by up and coming R&B singer, Norelle. The bass and guitar are influenced by Rios and Gonzalez, which shows in the song, as the rhythm and chords are a refreshing callback to their earlier work. Lyrically, the entire song is about getting head while driving on the I-9 freeway, as a distorted voice speaks at the beginning. Not to say that Anderson hasn't had songs like this before, it's just that placing the track second on the album felt a bit abrasive. Musically, I love it. The guitar and bass are familiar, bread and butter .Paak: jazzy almost funky. The singing is great, Norelle/Andy singing their parts on top of eachother for the most part, creating a really interesting sound that highlights both of their voices. Lyrically, I wanted more, and the 35 second outro monologue was uncomfortable to listen too.
This song was released a month ago as a sampler to the album. The funky roots are there, Andy back singing and THEN rapping. It is a good extension of the sound that I have grown comfortable with in my years of listening to. The first verse is solid. .Paak is comfortable in this sound and you can feel it.
The Kendrick verse kills, as expected. It comes in early, about a minute and a half into the track. He sings his own backups and then raps all over, crushing it through and through. His flow is amazing and he rides the funk beats behind him in that distinct laid back yet very thoughtful Kendrick style. Andy comes in for another verse after Kendrick. Funk keys and chords are perfectly interwoven through the beat, captained by .Paak's own drumming. The guitar, done by Rios, and the keys by Rob Lewis, a producer out of Queens mesh really well.The song really knows its sound and holds the funky roots the entire way through.
The song is about avoiding paparazzi, needed more tints on your windows, and struggling between enjoying the money of fame but wanting more privacy. Both Kendrick and .Paak specifically calling out the ways they flaunt their wealth.
Norelle, comes in again, helps Andy sing the song out. This is probably my favorite song on the album, the Kendrick, .Paak colab is timeless.
"Who R U?"
This song is mostly percussional, which is a new direction for .Paak, and not something that I was anticipating hearing. Similar to "Bubblin", the single he dropped earlier this year, .Paak is flexing in this song, focused on stunting on rappers. The beat is heavily percussive with very little instrumentation. Dre has some vocals here and there throughout the song. It sounds weird to me, like it's off a different record. Andy's comfort in the funk/jazz/rap sound shows, and results in songs where I feel that I can hear him having fun. "Tints" is a perfect example of this. Similar to the opening track, it is a bold shift in direction for .Paak's sound, and something that really set is sound apart was the talented guitar, bass, and keys going on under him. There is very little of that on this track. While I see the direction he was going it, I actually think it makes his sound less unique and didn't work.
Lyrically, the song is about wealth. He is flexing on what he is able to flaunt, while calling out other who can't and who aren't as tough as they say they are. It's a trend on the tracks, similar to "Tints" as if to look back on how far he's come and relish what he has now. I don't mind that, but I feel like Andy's lyrical capabilities expand beyond just money.
"6 Summers"
"6 Summers" follows the previous sound. The guitar, by Gonzalez, is much more prominent. But the opening lyric "Trumps got a love child and I hope that bitch is buck wild" is just a kind of What? moment. The way he sings it, the way it's delivered, the way it mixes, just seems to be odd. The heavy percussion doesn't mix well with the repeating guitar riff and clapping and maracas, Andy has to screaming over it. That gives the track almost a punk feel.
Then the word "Summers" echoes and the song shift entirely. Minor chords, with tribal sounding light percussion replace the guitar riff and heavy percussion. Anderson starts singing, and moves into a sort of talk-rapping. Gonzalez's bass gets more funky. The second part is a hell of a track. There is even an injection of social justice: "We need more peace and less lone gunners,"
"Dr. Mr President it's evident that you don't give a damn," and "'Cause there's money to be made in a killin' spree / that's why he tryna start a war on the Twitter feed." Then he refocuses at the end of the chorus with: "This shit gon bang at least six summers, but ain't shit gon change for at least three summers". He takes a clear political stance, a message that is very meaningful and he does so comfortable under familiar chords and beats. The second half of this song is amazing, a strong and definitive sound that .Paak has mastered. The first half still feels underdeveloped and uncomfortable.
"Saviers Road"
The song opens with the sound of a tuned up church organ, followed by a small church choir that repeats the line "Here I go again" throughout. It leans on a solid guitar riff, simple, that repeats in the background. The lyrics are spiritual, at one point paraphrasing the Lord's prayer, which adds a gospel vibe that I am very much down for it's something like the first half of "The Seasons/ Carry Me" off Malibu. It's a solid contribution, a good transition track, nothing too crazy.
The bassline moves so seamlessly I almost mistook it for the new Free Nationals song. The choral singing reenters. Andy goes back and forth between leading the chorus and singing with em. The song is dedicated to a girl, detailing his struggles with monogamy. The lyrics questioning the concept, fighting with it as a construction, reflecting the pain it causes him and lashing out at himself. I like the speed the song moves at, and the lyrics, while dramatic, are funny to listen too.
Then it shifts into the second half. The bass still plays its role, but the beat changes up and the song gets heavier. .Paak starts to complaining rather than just talking through it. SiR comes out in some of the background vocals. SiR, and a recorded .Paak sing in the background, while Andy talk-sings his way through the story, the bassline matching his singing. This sound is not exactly a new sound for him, rather a 50/50 of the jazzy bass lines mixing with the heavier funky ones.
It sounds like an intersection of"What More Can I Say" off Yes Lawd! (2016), the NxWxrries project, and the second half of "The Seasons/ Carry Me" (2016).
"Mansa Musa"
.Paak opens up, then the verse from Cocoa Sarai hits the ground running again, making this a really challenging transition for me to get on board with. Dre is featured on the lyrics, he sings in a weird accent, his general sound and flow a square peg to the circle hole that is the song. There is still a good back track in the form of a brass bass line that makes the song bump, but it's a really tough transition to swallow. It's a more upbeat party song that starkly contrasts the sound arch of the previous two songs. The previous two songs brought the energy down and this is a somewhat rigid yank back up.
Yet the song is aptly named. Mansa Musa, being arguably the most wealthy man in history, wealth derived from Gold, something Andy has a lot of. The sound of this track meshes well with lyrics about stunting, and comparing yourself to the richest man in history, yet I don't think it fits in with the album. As a stand alone track, it's not half bad, I still think the bassline is a bit to overpowering, drowning out the other sounds, specifically one really amazing sax riff, and making the sound feel like an elephant waddling back and forth. The screws need to be tightened, and the musical real estate redistributed more fairly.
"Brother's Keeper"
This track expands upon the sonic direction taken earlier. It's a much more mainstream sound, featuring trap snares that come in with a loud, somewhat directionless choral backing. Pusha T comes in halfway through the song talking as Anderson keeps the chorus going. The focus on the concept of being his "Brothers Keeper". The concept, taking care of your 'brothers,' is highly relevant in the industry today given how many artists we've lost this year, specifically Mac Miller, who was close to .Paak. Pusha's verse, both in the way his voice sounds and in the lyrical content, calls out how much of a bitch life can be, talking about the hardships just in a different way.
Similar to "6 Summers" and "Smiles/Pretty" the second half of the song breaks down, being reclaimed by Andy's sound. Kadhja Bonet enters with a laid back guitar riff, cushioning us and contrasting how hard the last song and half came in. Andy repeats "I will never let you go."
The second track of "Smiles/Pretty", "Mansa Musa" and this one don't seem to have a solidified place in the album. Each three tracks has a somewhat similar sound, but they are missing a connect track or sound, the gap in sound being slightly to different from track to track. The lyrics work song for song, minus Dre's one weird verse in an accent, but if I want to look at the project as one big arch of sound, these three stand out. They have a much more percussive, commercial sound that .Paak feels uncomfortable in.
Snoops voice is the first thing you here, calling for the intro. With the constant g-funk vibe that follows Snoop around, he goes into a historical telling of rap music from his perspective, reflecting on the days before The Chronic (1992). The music is gorgeous, another amazing bassline with great keys that live in minor chords. As Andy takes the verse back he sings through the song. The Last Artful, Dodgr, a musical rap goddess out of Portland, mixes her vocal perfectly with Anderson's. The main chorus is "Let's get back to all that ghetto shit we love" reflecting on his earlier years the same way Snoop is. This song embodies the spirit of the title: "Oxnard" Oxnard, of course, being where .Paak grew up. At certain points throughout the song the two almost sound like they are the same person. The bassline reliant, G-Funk sound, that reminds me a lot of "Ain't No Fun" off of Snoop's first studio record Doggystyle (1992), is a new evolution of .Paaks sound that I love. This one functions more smoothly, as all of the composers' sounds mix together really, really well. Andy seems comfortable, something I would attribute to the G-Funk being something he grew up listening to and admiring, as well as having Snoop on the track to help him with the sound.
A lengthy sample comes in with Rodney Dangerfield and Johnny Carson talking back and forth about having no luck with girls. Then a guitar riff paves the way before Andy comes in singing. It feels like Andy is singing directly to the listener. He sings this song in, rap-sings his bars, and then sings the chorus. This is the by far the slowest song on the album, a change in pace that I really appriciate, and the downshift in sound between "Anywhere" and "Cheers" works perfectly.
J. Cole also does his patented punctual rapping, bringing back the patented 2014 Forest Hills Drive sound. The two voices come together very well, attesting to the main chorus of the song "Come meet me in the middle." The two rappers seem to do a great job of this, with Bonnet's backings sewing their two verses together invisibly, something you don't hear until you do.The lyrics of the song, singing about relationships, compromises and making shit work, exactly like their voices do. Then the song ends and she sings us out, taking the last minute of the song as a tribute to her beautiful voice.
A funky guitar riff introduces the song, followed by a faint siren in the background. Andy goes back to rapping, the guitar and drums move together, and a brief trumpet riff sets the whole track into motion. Andy takes a bar to acknowledge his life moving too fast, wanting to slow it down and missing Mac Miller. He questions if this life is the life he actually wants. The song flourishes under him. The roots of the guitar chords expand until they are taken over by a keys and a trumpet getting louder with the beat. Andy's lyrics come in harder and louder. The song bridge explodes with his singing, as the synths gain some momentum and compete for the spotlight.
Q-Tip comes in with a much-appreciated verse. His bars are solid, somehow slowing the song down even more. He calls out the violence in the world, as well as nostalgically reflecting on his own rap career. He simultaneously comments on the movement of rap music culture during his time as an artist. He finishes by throwing it back out to Andy at the end of his verse, as if to say "this your job now." Andy takes it back with his singing/rapping chorus/bars mix and locking the sound down as it winds to an end.
"Sweet Chick"
This song has a solid chorus backing it up. This song's about girls, a comfortable subject matter for Andy. It's all about his girl, paying tribute to her, painting her out to be the best girl that he could possibly have, and highlighting all the sides and dimensions she possesses. He devotes a verse to nerdy girls, sweet girls, cougars, and fit girls. At one point, there is an odd call out to "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, the song that haunts my 6th grade dances. Sweet Chick is a hell of a song. The keys background chorus lyrics give it the sound of a much lighter church-influenced track. BJ the Chicago Kid comes in with some dope R&B sounding verses, owning the higher range of the lyrics with a male voice to contrast Norelle and Bonnet. Kid gives a flourish to the end of his notes like nobody's business; it's a hell of a job from this guy. His feature matches the gospel sound of the song. Another new direction, similar to Saviors rode, but going further into sound, BJ the Chicago Kid helping him clear the remaining distance. The song ends with an odd spoken outro, the aforementioned girl going off on Andy, almost threatening to kill him.
"Left to Right"
Kelsey Gonzalez, the bassist from the Free Nationals, is the on guitar for this one, but you hardly notice the guitar chords. The song is much more percussive, lots of clapping and beats over instruments which hide in the background until halfway through the song. Andy starts singing, dropping the strange dialect he was talking in, something Jamaican sounding. The chorus keeps repeating "Left to Right, Left left to right" like an instruction for some dance, trying to transfer the vibe of the album onto the listeners. The chorus is repetitive, some good background vocals bringing the track back to the sound of the previous four songs. Then, as the lyrics fade out, the beat descends and Andy stops talking, his last words "Still a Miracle" ringing in the listener's ears. It's an uncomfortable end to the record. Again, it's a horribly jarring shift in sound directly before the record comes to a close. It seems to conclude his overall attempt at this new more percusional based sound. I don't know why all of these percussion tracks feature someone else on the drums, given that he is a drummer. This probably accounts for the discomfort I can hear.
As made evident thus far, I don't like all the new shifts in sound. Andy feels uncomfortable on these songs, and each one seems to stick out, not picking up where the left one left off and adding to the arch of the album. "Who R U?", "6 Summers" and "Brother's Keeper" all sound too mainstream, perhaps a result of too much production on the end of Dre. "Mansa Musa" and "Left to Right" are far to percussive. The mainstream and percussive directions of his sound are not something I feel Andy is entirely comfortable with, and that's why they stick out and sound whack to me. That being said, "Anywhere" "Sweet Chick" and "Saviors Road" take him in new directions, G-Funk and Gospel respectively, and I think those work. Perhaps as a result of early on musical influence, or more comfort or appreciation for those genres, the comfort is back on those tracks and they sound amazing. "Cheers" and "Tints" are repetitions of a sound I recognize and I love, giving him the chance to take his bread and butter sound further than he did with Malibu, which is an amazing thing to experience.
But as a project, I still wanted more. It competes with Venice(2014), but I am disappointed that four of the songs weren't good and the filler middle ones were just average. I hope that whatever he comes out with next, hopefully something with Knxwledge, will help him isolate his sound. I look forward to more mastering of the funk/jazz sound he's got, hopefully with the addition of more G-Funk and Gospel themes he can really revolutionize music where it is, but in order to do that he needs to give up appealing to the more mainstream audience.


text:
We've been waiting for Vivo to release the new V5 and it's coming very soon. In India, the new Vivo V5 will be available beginning November 26 for only 17,980 INR which is about $265 in the US. The new model was recently launched as a powerful 20MP camera smartphone that the selfie addicts will love. Just like the Vivo X7 Plus, the V5 promises to be a great selfie cam but with a more affordable price tag.
A 20MP front-facing camera is too high for any smartphone but Vivo knows there are people who will appreciate the awesome feature. It boasts of a Sony IMX376 1/2.78" high-quality sensor, f/2.0 aperture, front LED flash, and a 13MP rear camera with Phase Detection AF. The front-facing camera is even better than the rear camera.
Other specs include a 5.5-inch IPS LCD, 720p resolution, 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass, fingerprint reader, 4GB RAM, octa-core processor, 32GB onboard storage, microSD slot for storage expansion, and a 3,000mAh battery. The display is a bit underwhelming and we don't know which chipset is installed but this one is powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow topped with Funtouch OS 2.6. Vivo also added split-screen multitasking with the Smart Split 2.0 feature.
You can get the Vivo V5 in either Grey or Crown Gold metal. Audio quality is good enough with the AK4346 Hi-Fi audio chip giving off 115dB signal-to-noise ratio. Phone will be out this coming November 26 in India. No mention if and when it will be released in other markets but we'll let you know soon.
SOURCE: Vivo

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) aims to support general practice activities, including continual improvements, quality care, enhanced capacity, and improved access and health outcomes for patients.
The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) will change from 1 August 2019 when the removal of four of the existing PIPs will be replaced with a new incentive, the PIP QI (Quality Improvement). The PIP QI is designed for general practice to implement changes that are relevant to their patient population. This means a practice can focus on improving patient outcomes and access to care while also developing efficient business processes. The new incentive aims to improve patient care in aspects such as management of chronic conditions, safety and performance.
From the PIP QI implementation date, 1 August 2019, the following four incentives will cease:
- Asthma Incentive
- Quality Prescribing Incentive
- Cervical Screening Incentive
- Diabetes Incentive.
The following seven incentives will remain:
- eHealth Incentive
- After Hours Incentive
- Rural Loading Incentive
- Teaching Payment
- Indigenous Health Incentive
- Procedural General Practitioner Payment
- General Practitioner Aged Care Access Incentive.
A general practice will need to meet two components to qualify for a PIP QI Incentive payment.
1, Participation in continuous quality improvement activities.
a) The PIP QI Incentive rewards practices for participating in continuous quality improvement activities in partnership with their local PHN.
2. PIP Eligible Data Set.
a) The PIP Eligible Data Set is the data collected against the specified Improvement Measures.
Data provided will be de-identified and any measures from an individual practice will not be made available to the Department of Health.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Australian Medical Association (AMA), Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM) and National Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO) are working together as members of the Practice Incentives Program Advisory Group (PIPAG), along with the Department of Health, to ensure that the PIP QI initiative is focused on quality improvement. The Colleges, AMA, RDAA, AAPM and NACCHO are also working closely with PHNs to ensure the program has strong governance of general practice data.
The Commonwealth Department of Health has released three key documents relating to the new PIP Quality Improvement (QI) Incentive payments:
- PIP QI Incentive Guidelines – Draft
- PIP QI Incentive Improvement Measures – Final
- PIP Eligible Data Set Data Governance Framework – Final
Practices will be supported to access a Data Report that demonstrates practice performance against PIP QI benchmarks. This report is a great way to identify the health needs across your region and assist you to identify areas of improvement that will ultimately lead to an increase in patient visits and better patient outcomes.
The report uses de-identified data drawn from PATCAT. For more information on your data sharing agreement process through PENCS software or how to use your Data Report, contact your Western Victoria Practice Facilitator.
Western Victoria PHN's Practice Facilitation team will be contacting you to support you with introducing the changes. Information will also be made available via our website or please contact us to schedule a visit from your assigned Practice Facilitator. Please ensure you include your name and the address of the practice in your request email.


text:
Charts & Figures
Search Results
Report To Adapt To Direct-To-Consumer Trends, Use A Direct-To-Value Strategy
Brands Benefit From Direct Consumer Relationships That Offer Unique ValueApril 2, 2019 | Ryan Skinner
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) startups like Warby Parker and Casper used to be rare; now they number in the hundreds, and they'll soon be in the thousands. Marketers whose response to this competition...
Forum Consumer Marketing 2019
Beyond The Direct-To-Consumer RevolutionApril 2, 2019 | New York City | Jim Nail, Anjali Lai, Melissa Parrish
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands have captured consumers' admiration and loyalty … but most have an unsustainable economic model. Traditional brands are optimized to deliver financial...
Webinar Define And Measure Emotion For More Effective Customer EngagementFebruary 5, 2019 | Jim Nail
Emotions are essential to marketing, experience, and loyalty but have eluded the rigorous quantification and measurement that now apply to engagement, conversion, and sales effects of marketing....
Webinar Privacy Concerns Cripple Attribution MeasurementNovember 20, 2018 | Tina Moffett
The marketing ecosystem is responding to increasing concerns about data ethics and privacy with tighter controls on data sharing. The impact on marketing performance measurement is severe,...


text:
Cameron Phillips
Research Associate
Cameron Phillips is a native of Los Angeles and believes in a creative and community-led planning process. Her current research explores the impact of land use decisions on low-income communities of color and how to create economic benefits in Los Angeles' environmental justice communities. In her previous role as a research assistant at Liberty Hill Foundation, her work emphasized the role of community-based organizations in local planning and the importance of community engagement through all phases of project design and completion. Cameron holds a Master in Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a BA in English and Political Science from Mount Holyoke College.


text:
Using SQLite in Visual Studio Projects
Play Using SQLite in Visual Studio Projects
You can find many resources in the web writing about using SQLite with Universal Windows Platform (UWP) but where do you find SQLite in Visual Studio? This video shows you where to get the SQLite Toolkit, how to install SQLite package in your Visual Studio project as well as the code inside a record into the SQLite database.
The code for this video is in the link below.
Download this episode
- Low Quality MP4 (8.9 MB)
- High Quality MP4 (24.8 MB)
- Mid Quality MP4 (15.5 MB)
More episodes in this series
Getting started with cross platform Office Add-ins
Related episodes
Sneak Peek at .NET Conf 2018
Developing for IoT devices with Visual Studio
Inventory and Store System - Part 5.3 (Hooking into Event System Events via Code)
All About DocumentDB
Inventory and Store System - Part 4.1 (Wiring up the UI)
All About Visual Studio 2017
SOLID Design Patterns
Snack Pack 5: Android Archive Manager for Visual Studio
TWC9: Visual Studio 2017 Powers Up Your Productivity, Holoportation, Slack on the C64 and…
Episode 11: Xamarin Profiler with Nina Vyedin
The Discussion
I really appreciate the video. Through yet simple.


text:
London is a very green city. Its parks, gardens and canopy of trees make it an attractive place to live, work and invest. They also form part of the history and character of the city. These green places and features already provide us with space to relax, help to clean our air and are habitats for wildlife. However, we believe that planning and managing them as an integrated green infrastructure will provide more benefits to Londoners as the city grows, its climate changes and we tackle the city's poor air quality.
What is Green Infrastructure?
Green infrastructure is just as important to the city as its grey infrastructure of rail, roads, pipes and cables. It is a network of parks, green spaces, gardens, woodlands, rivers and wetlands, as well as urban greening features such as street trees and green roofs, that is planned, designed and managed to:
- promote healthier living, providing spaces for physical activity and relaxation
- cool the city and absorb stormwater to lessen the impacts of climate change
- filter pollutants to improve air and water quality
- make streets clean, comfortable and more attractive to encourage walking and cycling
- store carbon in soils and woodlands
- create better quality and better-connected habitats to improve biodiversity and ecological resilience


text:
various times through Sunday, May 26
Rosen Centre Hotel
9840 International Drive
Calling all creeps: Your midyear fright fest is back and bigger than ever. If you're looking for a prime example of how passionately robust Orlando's horror community is, you can find them all in one bloody hive for a few days – and you might even meet a few celebrities along the way. Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) and a slew of other icons make appearances this weekend alongside face-melting live music and a tattoo festival. The icing on the skin-cake, of course, is the Zombie Walk on Friday. If you've never been to a Spooky Empire event, you owe it to your bucket list to check this one out. Just be prepared: That bucket may be occupied by a severed human head. – Adam McCabe
Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.


text:
Barbados' 15 and under male and female table tennis players had a rough baptism against North America today, losing both match-ups 5-0 on day one of the ITTF World Cadet Challenge being played at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.
Tyrese Knight was the only competitor in the boys' category who came close to winning a match against Bryan Ho, who managed to hold on to a 3-2 victory. Knight got off to a good start winning the first set in the best of five 11-9. But Ho came back to win the second set 11-3 to level the score at 1-1. The third set showdown was a bit closer between the two but the Canadian held on to take that set 12-10 even though local boy Knight fought hard to win the penultimate set 11-9 and lock the match 2-2 to make the game a bit more interesting. However, Ho played the better of the two in the decider to defeat Knight 11-8, which ended the game 3-2.
Earlier, Knight also went down 3-1 to another North American Jeremy Hazin. Knight won the opening set 15-13 but was unable to finish the remainder of the match on a high. Hazin came back strong in the second, third and fourth sets 11-2, 11-5 and 11-7 to defeat the Barbadian.
Marcus Smith also had a rough time on the table for the hosts in his two matches. In his first match against Ho, he too got off to a good start winning the first set 11-9 but was beaten in the next three sets 12-10, 11-5 and 12-10. In his second match, he went down in straight sets 11-2, 11-3 and 11-8 against Hazin.
Ramon Jackman also had a taste of the competition and he too was unable to give the very few Barbadian supporters something to shout about as he was easily defeated at the hands of 13-year-old Jack Wang, 11-5, 11-3 and 11-6.
The Bajan girls also had a poor showing against North America and were defeated in three straight sets in their respective contests. Kenady King was the first on court representing the Barbados female team and she went down 11-5, 11-3 and 11-4 to Crystal Wang, and in her second game against 12 and under world champion Amy Wang, King also lost 11-1, 11-8 and 11-2. Janae Lewis also played two matches and lost both against Wang 11-6, 11-1 and 11-5. Lewis also was unable to produce a win in her second game and lost to Wang 11-1, 11-3 and 11-2. While in a match-up that read 11-6, 11-5 and 11-5, Jazel Griffith of Barbados put up a bit of a fight for the hosts but could not handle the speed and accuracy of Justina Yeung of Canada.


text:
The time has come—another major update has just launched for Bejeweled™ Stars! Let's take a look at what's inside.
40 New Levels
Levels everywhere! Levels for days!
We listened to our fans, and for this update we created twice as many levels, each one a unique challenge. If you've connected Bejeweled Stars to your Facebook account, you've now got even more opportunities to race your friends and family across the sky.
New Mechanic FrostBloom
We wouldn't give you more challenges without also giving you an awesome new tool for tackling them. When you make it to level 236, you will get to try our newest mechanic, FrostBloom!
FrostBloom creates an icy explosion that wipes out obstacles on your board. You'll have to be clever about positioning each FrostBloom as it appears at the top of your board. A timer indicates how many turns you've got left before your FrostBloom detonates, giving you time to move it into the perfect spot.
5 New Charm Sets
Once again, we've got even more Charms for you to collect. With Charms Direct Messaging (introduced at our last major update), you can send messages using Charms to your Facebook friends. Or you can update your Charm tag to show your friends what's on your mind. New Charms also mean more opportunities to interact with Yama the CharmLlama, who gives away rewards if you can answer riddles.
Permanent Heart Upgrades
If you just can't get enough of Bejeweled Stars, we have some good news. Head over to our in-app Store and you can now purchase Permanent Heart Upgrades! With one of these upgrades, you'll be able to hold more Hearts, forever!
Dozens of Tiny Improvements
We wanted to make Bejeweled Stars as clear and fun for our players as possible, so we went through the entire game and added tiny improvements to your gameplay experience. You'll notice that extra hard levels are now labeled, so you can spot them from a mile away. We've also adjusted our menu layout and created a brand-new tiered reward system. Plus, our graphics now look better than ever.
Bejeweled Stars is available on Facebook, the App Store and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with news and updates.
Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.


text:
Are you being called to lead the way for others as a
messenger, medicine woman, way-shower, wisdom keeper or priestess?
Hello Beautiful Sister,
I'm excited for you to listen to my free recording of
5 Signs that you are called to Sacred Feminine Leadership.
This isn't your typical free gift audio. This is an experience.
You'll be deeply guided into ceremonial space where you will not only receive the sacred woman's wisdom I share, you will also experience a transmission of energy that will nourish your feminine soul.
I invoke a powerful circle of Goddesses.
I share the 5 signs that indicate a leadership calling.
Are you experiencing any of them?
I also talk about the #1 mistake women are making by reacting to their "inner call" rather than responding to it. I'll share with you how you can avoid months or even years of suffering by avoiding this mistake.
All you have to do to have this free gift is
Love & Sisterhood,
Creator of the Priestess Rising Initiation Program


text:
funny valentines day cards hallmark
Funny i updated my giant list of clever valentines day sayings! there are now 158 gloriously cheesy valentines day sayings paired with small treats. Pho funny valentine's day quotes: great funny quotes about valentine's day, sayings, greetings and wishes shop our range of unique valentine's gift ideas and find everything you need for the most romantic valentine's day yet. to is a great online collection of awesome photo frames, beautiful photo effects, trendy Instagram-like filters and realistic photo montages find the perfect present today. Funny Valentine s Day cards using jokes for kids most of us have had enough of the typical hallmark-style valentine s day card (not that there s anything wrong with them). These cards are easy to put together and allow you little love to get creative without too much work! To-morrow is St for couples and romantic singles with fancy getting your boyfriend or girlfriend a funny gift this valentine s day? whether you find soppy declarations of love a bit cringey, or you reckon your partner. Valentine s Day To-morrow is Saint Valentine s Day All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your windo To be your Valentine from sweet and sentimental to funny and cheeky, discover unique valentine s day greetings famous quotes, love quotes and quotations on valentine s day by noted authors, writers, celebrities. From invitations to postcards to greeting cards Zazzle has all the Funny Valentines Day cards you need like and share our valentine s day quote collection. Shop our amazing selection right now! Watch funny videos and video clips at Break valentine's day is all about putting a smile on someone you care about! try these funny valentine s day love quotes and win your lover s heart with humor. com happy valentine s day! (funny valentine s day ads) a large text message collection of funny mobile phone sms txt messages, ranging from humorous jokes to sweet love poems. Our editors find the best funny videos, clips and pictures for you to watch right now valentines day. Funny Valentine s Day Gifts | Stupid parenting. com - Need something to show that special someone how much you Love favorite. or hate them? Our items will guarantee giggles this the luckiest valentines. Directed by Julie Dash share; via: bitsandpieces. With Alfre Woodard, Loretta Devine, CCH Pounder, Tom Wright repost-vote-recaption. A woman returns to her home town to sort out her troubled marriage and finds new comments i forgot to get my wife, karen, a st. Telling someone how much you care can be a daunting task valentines day card, so i made this one up. This Valentine's Day, say it with… 1 it worked! she s still laughing. Caffeine celebrate valentine s day by the beach in santa monica with valentine s day specials, events, & offers available throughout santa monica & los angeles. 2 finding the perfect valentine's day card is a challenge. Cheese it's often impossible to put love into words. Nothing says "let's touch our lips but no matter what you want to say to that. By Simran Khurana find cheesy and funny valentine s day quotes here with this collection of hilarious romantic quotations and more. Tickle your darling s funny bone with these funny Valentine s Day sayings personalize and print free classroom valentine s day cards from home. The bond of love grows stronger when you share a sense of humor visit americangreetings. Danna Little Cute girl Make Up tutorial valentines day com to download valentine s day cards with your kids today! today we have our valentines day special! previous gta 5 funny moments livestream: gta 5 funny moments. Thanks for Watching !! Subscribe My Channel for More Funny Videos : Decided to post this one on the vlog channel :) Hope you enjoy it! Happy Valentine s Day! FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER to stay up to date: I updated my giant list of clever Valentines Day sayings! There are now 158 gloriously cheesy Valentines Day sayings paired with small treats


text: The first work in my new series; Peaks And Valleys, is making it's debut. I am titling this piece, 'A Slippery Slope'. Finding the voice for this series took some time. I am learning that this is part of creating a series; finding all the elements that create a body of work, knowing I can sustain the work through numerous pieces, discovering the nuances, while answering the creative questions, and feeling the artistic inspiration as the series progresses.


text:
Economic Room with barbecure facilities
Glamping is a merger of Hostal + Camping. the accommodation is in economic rooms with private bathrooms, called DORMIS.
The construction has 5 DORMIS
4 Dormis: Double / Twin, maximum 3 people: configuration of beds: matrimonial + single.
1 Dormi: Matrimonial.
1 Common Living Room, with armchairs, dishwasher and refrigerator.
There is a shared corridor with terrace tables, and a large picnic space with mesons and grills.
IMPORTANT: there is no TV in the Glamping construction
Consider: the rooms have bedding, but not towels.
* can be requested for a supplement.
Breakfast: not included
* can be paid directly at reception. (Breakfast is served in the main dining room of the hotel, it is buffet style.
cost per person, per day $ 5,000) served from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.


text:
Inventory Reductions and Cost Savings are Driven by Our Data Analytics Platform
Transitioning to a Vendor Managed Inventory program should increase your visibility into the supply chain. Our real-time data analytics platform works alongside our VMI programs to provide up-to-the-minute reporting and forecasting for your parts.
To deliver on our commitment to provide cost reductions require a disciplined approach to determining the how much of each part to have at each location in your factory, as and when it needs to be there, and our backend platform enables Allied to deliver and document positive operating results.
Our back end infrastructure is managed by Amazon Web Services, one of the largest and most advanced providers of cloud computing today.
Through our partnership, we are able to bring the power of big data and near-infinite scalability to apply the right forecasting models to your materials.
All of this infrastructure works to ensure that once parts are moved onto an Allied VMI program, you will never see a stockout of a component that we supply.


text:
Wolf Face Hoodie
Find 12 Wolves Hoodie The Mountain
White Wolf DJ Hoodie
Wolf Heart Hoodie
The amazing hoodieis created forall the wolf lovers out there! The awesome Wolf Heart Hoodie is designed by The Mountain. Hand-dyed with special eco-friendly inks in the USA, the animal hoodie won't fade even after many washes. Made from preshrunk 100% cotton, the pseudo 3D hoodie is comfortable and safe to wear. A perfect gift! Get it now at the clothingmonster.com!
Yin Yang Wolves Hoodie The Mountain
From the American brand The Mountain comes the eye-catching Yin Yang Wolves Hoodie The Mountain. Made from high quality fabric and hand-dyed with organic inks in the USA, the wolf hoodie is comfortable to wear. The pseudo 3D hoodiecomes from the new collection 2016. Shop at the clothingmonster.com!


text:
Miss 501 (2002)
Directed by Jules KaratechampGenres - Culture & Society, Music | Sub-Genres - Gender Issues | Run Time - 75 min. | Countries - United States | MPAA Rating - NR
Share on
Synopsis by Perry Seibert
Jules Karatechamp's Canadian documentary Miss 501 (A Portrait of Luck) takes a look at some underground scenes in Toronto. The center of action is Burger, a drag queen, who works at a bar, Bistro 422, that is populated by other minority types like homosexuals, punk rockers, and people with sadomasochistic sexual fetishes. Karatechamp tells their stories, continuing on the sexual themes of his previous work, Deep Inside Clint Star. Miss 501 was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
bartender, Canada, club [place], drag-queen, fetish [sexual], homosexual, punk-rock, sadomasochism, underground [counterculture]


text:
Our Gear
Being in a band means experimenting with sound. When we get stuck it's nice to challenge the status quo with a new instrument that we don't know how to play. Here are some of the toys that help us make fun music.
Bass/Synth - Fender Rumble 200
Guitar - Egnater Tweaker 40 & Fender Blues Junior
Fender MIM Telecaster
Pure Salem Tomcat (Banana Puddin')
Gretsch G5420T
Pearl Export Kit
Vintage Zildjian Cymbals
2B sticks
Teenage Engineering OP-1
Korg MicroKorg
Roland JU-06
Teenage Engineering OP-Z
Guitar Pedals
In order of pedalboard chain
Boss TU-2
Xotic XP Compressor
JHS Superbolt V1
EHX Micro POG
Hartman LM-308
EHX Nano Big Muff Pi
Strymon El Capistan
Strymon BlueSky
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus


text:
Phanda Pusha Playing really worked out fantastically well for the South African man who won a whopping R145m on the last Powerball draw. While Lotto and Powerball winners are normally (and rightly) rather secretive, this winner's ticket story is proof that sometimes luck really does come through at the right time.
Powerball winners: R145m in the bag
Last Friday's Powerball draw was not just a shit ton of money, but also on record as the biggest Powerball jackpot in history.
National lottery operator Ithuba Holdings have revealed that one man claimed the entire prize after getting in contact telephonically on Monday.
The winner bought his R20 ticket at Evander Dienstasie, 1 Rotter Dam Road, in Evander, Mpumalanga.
So who is this winner? Well, a 34-year-old engineer based in Secunda.
"It was not easy to make the call [to claim the winnings]'" Thabo said' Telling TimeLIVE that he found out on Saturday afternoon that he was about to be rather rich. "I needed to properly digest it and accept that my life has changed'" he added.
The winner left things rather late after only arriving at Ithuba's office on Tuesday morning.
The winning numbers were 1,15, 23, 24, 35 with a Powerball of 4.
The public relations manager for Ithuba ,Naledi Masopha, has since confirmed to eNCA that wins of this magnitude require psychological councilling, due to the upheaval that comes with it all.
"Because it is such a significant amount that has been won' the person would need to get in touch with us and as soon as they get to the offices of the national lottery' they would be offered financial advice and some psychological assistance as well. As you can imagine' R145-million is a lot of money and a life-changing thing as well."
To win the full jackpot, players have to match five numbers as well as the Powerball. You can either play by visiting one of your local Lotto outlets or by downloading the app online.
A ticket costs R5 per line, making the mystery man's win on an R20 ticket even more special. Lucky numbers or a couple of quick picks? South Africa will probably never know.
In May last year, one Gauteng granny also turned a R20 lotto ticket into tasty winnings. While not quite R145m, she is still enjoying her R25m.


text:
Lecrae: Engaging Culture or Forsaking Christ?/
It's not often that mainstream media show interest in a gospel artist. But at this year's Grammy Awards, MTV and XXL Mag took notice as Christian rapper Lecrae won "Best Gospel Album" for Gravity.
"[He] has done well to exist within hip-hop's secular sphere" said MTV, highlighting Lecrae's past collaboration with DJ Don Cannon and rapper Big K.R.I.T., and his participation in BET's Hip-Hop Awards Cypher in 2011.Read More


text:
For years, Starbucks has dreamt of creating its own branded currency. But the reality has fallen short of the vision. But blockchain-based currencies and platforms like Simple Token will enable Starbucks — and countless other brands — to create their own branded currencies easily and affordably.
In 2013, founder Howard Schultz told investors
"What we're establishing is the Starbucks currency. … Stars can now be leveraged across consumer products … to provide our customers with a reward and an incentive to come back and forth. This is just the beginning of us being able to thread these multiple channels of distributions and brands."
In 2015, Starbucks advanced its vision of "Stars as Currency" by announcing a partnership with Spotify. Schulz described the bigger vision of turning its ecosystem of partners into an economy of shared purpose and value.
"Last week, we announced the first of what I believe will be many unique partnerships in which the ecosystem of Stars as Currency will be external to like-minded companies and brands whose customer base is analogous to us.
Spotify will be buying Stars as Currency at a wholesale level. … Those stars will be rewarded to existing customers. But the big idea is they will be an incentive for new subscribers to sign up and receive stars as rewards."
Over the next 12 to 18 months, I would suspect that we will be announcing a number of partnerships … that will create this external ecosystem of Stars as Currency.
But these partnerships didn't materialize. Instead, Starbucks pulled back to a more traditional approach. This month Starbucks announced a co-branded credit card. Not quite the "digital currency" that Starbucks first envisioned.
The problem wasn't customer demand. Wouldn't it be great to send someone a cup of coffee without having to create an eGift card? Or have other merchants recognize your Starbucks status with their own benefits?
The problem was the complexity. Companies have tried to link loyalty programs before, but interoperability and convertibility are too hard. Similarly, points are a rather blunt instrument for creating personalized incentives and rewards.
Blockchain changes all of this. Harvard Business Review writes that
"Loyalty programs are ripe for some kind of disruptive innovation that would make them easier to use. Blockchain may just be the answer. … For consumers juggling an array of loyalty programs, blockchain could provide instant redemption and exchange for multiple loyalty point currencies on a single platform."
What Starbucks was unable to achieve in years, any company will now be able to do in months.
There are some companies looking to build traditional loyalty programs on blockchain. They will manage and issue points as cryptocurrency. But this is a horseless carriage — looking at the new through the lens of the old.
Simple Token is taking a different approach. They recognize that the opportunity goes far beyond loyalty and points. It's the same insight that Howard Schulz had in 2013. A brand at the center of an ecosystem can create its own economy, creating liquidity, incentives and rewards for all stakeholders. Grow this micro-economy and you create value for everyone involved.
The power of the Simple Token platform is to give Starbucks and any other brand a turnkey solution to creating their own currency, with interoperability, transparency, convertibility and personalization.
As with many other innovations, Starbucks was ahead of its time in seeing the potential of digital branded currencies to redefine customer engagement. But the technology wasn't ready. It is now.
Note: I am an advisor and investor in Simple Token.


text:
NANO price prediction for 2019, 2020 and 2025. We analyzed NANO price history and important news, as well as the fundamental reasons for an asset to grow or fall. Our NANO price forecast is not investment advice.Read full article
Hi there, Don't forget to sign up now for free to personalize your watchlists and receive price alerts.
NANO price prediction for 2019, 2020 and 2025. We analyzed NANO price history and important news, as well as the fundamental reasons for an asset to grow or fall. Our NANO price forecast is not investment advice.Read full article
A time of reckoning is coming for the NANO cryptocurrency, which went through a period of highly active shilling on Reddit. The NANO developers thatRead full article
Crypto.com, the pioneering payments and cryptocurrency platform, announced today that it has listed Nano (NANO) to its App.Read full article
Read our article on what Nano (NANO) project is about. Nano (NANO) overview: technology, team, roadmap and future projections.Read full article
Nano, a leading cryptocurrency focused on making digital payments simple and intuitive for everyone, has this week welcomed the release of its Solidus update.Read full article
Binance Academy announced a bounty program that will reward individuals for submitting terms to be included in a crypto glossary.Read full article
Over the last 24 hours, there has been a generally bullish outlook across most pairs. Candlesticks have all turned green with all indicatorsRead full article
The developers of the cryptocurrency NANO want to boost global adoption by implementing the currency into online games and social platforms.Read full article
On three hour charts, a slow uptrend has reverberated across the various cryptos. This is after the coins underwent a bearish rally on FebRead full article
After the bearish 2018 when all the coins have fallen the hardest, potential investors are quite shy these days when it comes to investing in crypto. But some coins are really worth keeping an eye on, and two of them are definitely Monero (XMR) and Nano. They have some pretty...Read full article
You know that Bitcoin is frequently panned for having a very slow transaction speed but you probably don't know about the cryptocurrencies with the fastest transaction speeds. In this article, we tell you exactly that. However, you must bear in mind that the list we provide will not be in…Read full article
Nano (NANO/BTC) is one of those crypto tokens that on paper seems to have it all. Transactions on the network are virtually instantaneous and there are no fees involved. So what can we expect from this promising project over the coming year? On the basis of a strong showing throughout...Read full article
After a bearish last quarter of 2018, investor optimism is slowly picking. For most coins in the top twenty bracket, chart patterns have goneRead full article
Silver Miller, a United States-based securities law firm committed to investment fraud and consumer class action cases, has joined forces with Levi Korsinsky to file a class action lawsuit against Nano (NANO) and the controversial BitGrail cryptocurrency exchange for allegedly defrauding investors according to a press release on January 7,…Read full article
According to a press release the Silver Miller law firm is moving forward with a lawsuit against the Nano development team for their role in the loss of some $170 Million worth of their XRB token.The suit alleges that not only did Nano (formerly known as RaiBlocks/XRB) violate securities law,...Read full article
Nano's days in court pile up as more former investors seek justice.Read full article
U.S. law firms Silver Miller and Levi & Korsinsky have filed a class action lawsuit against Nano devs for allegedly violating securities laws.Read full article
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Miller (www.SilverMillerLaw.com) and Levi Korsinsky, LLP (www.zlk.com) have commenced a class action lawsuit on behalf of...Read full article
Once again, Nano's developers and some other parties are facing the allegations of fraud and violation of the Securities Act. According to the lawsuit the defendants tricked the investors. The lawsuit was proposed in a California federal court on Friday. Also Read: Apple Has Lost as much as the Market Cap...Read full article
Nano News: Since its origin as RaiBlocks (XRB), NANO has been leaping both in terms of development and earning recognition. The network welcomes two good news this week, for one it released a major update and CoinGate announces its support by stores in over 100 countries.Read full article
The official release states that Nano (NANO) is to be listed on the world's first ZERO Trading Fees crypto currencyRead full article
How will NANO perform in November 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 5 years? Let's examine the popular altcoin's price prediction and forecast.Read full article
Congratulations to Nano community on winning the round 4 of the vote. We are looking forward to trading Nano on txbit.io soon!Read full article
While NANO price continues to drop with the market, the project has announced the launch of the official website for the Chinese NANO community.Read full article
The over 40% massive boost Nano (NANO) witnessed in January 2018 after the transformation of its name from Railblocks (XRB) was succeeded by aRead full article
This price analysis of Nano looks at the short and long term price action for NANO/USD and NANO/BTC. Can NANO see a price breakout soon?Read full article
Huobi Global launches Nano (NANO) PR Newswire SINGAPORE, Oct. 31, 2018 SINGAPORE, Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nano (NANO) launched on Huobi Global on October 31, 2018 (GMT+8...Read full article
If you are looking for an eco-friendly cryptocoin with great scalability and a host of other features, Nano (NANO) is a solid bet to make.Read full article
Nano (NANO), the coin whose aim is to become the world's next digital currency, is celebrating the withdrawal of its Brola lawsuit by releasing a new update and going live on investFeed, the company announced in an October 1, 2018, Medium post. Lawsuit Dismissed Formerly called Raiblocks, Nano is known…Read full article
Nano coin has seen a small 0.57% price drop over the past 24 hours of trading. It is currently exchanging hands a t a price of $2.27 afterRead full article
On Friday, the majority of top market cap virtual assets lost a bit of their 'price fat', sliding from their weekly maximums, BTC, ETH– about 0.5 to three percentRead full article
On August 22, 2018, ZenCash rebranded into Horizen. We look at their motivations for doing this, and what this means for the privacy cryptocurrency.Read full article
This price analysis for Nano cryptocurrency takes a look at the long-term and short-term price action of NANO/USD and NANO/BTC.Read full article
Nano, formally RaiBlocks, certainly brings plenty of new things to the table. But to say it has had a bumpy ride since its launch in 2015 would beRead full article
In today's Bitcoin in Brief, we've got details of a new interoperability alliance to create proxy tokens such as bitcoin that can be represented on aRead full article
On 20th August, Nano posted their weekly Developer Report on their official Twitter handle. The post included Nano's version 15/15.1, stress testing and more. On 19th August the Nano team added nano:V15.0 to the docker file. Post its release, the team found that the code needed some bug fixing. The team...Read full article
The world can be a mean place, and never is this more evident than on Crypto Twitter (CT) and Telegram.Read full article
Nano cryptocurrency increases its scalability with a new feature of 750 transactions per seconds TPS. The new feature was made known through its official Twitter handle on the 18th of August. The new height of transaction per second is the zenith the crypto has reached, and it will lead to...Read full article
NANO has seen its fair share of news this week following the successful testing 200 Transactions Per Second (TPS) earlier this week. NANO also saw a huge 47% jump in price during the week.Read full article
Nano appears to be rising from the dead following a 37% increase in price after announcing their 200 TPS testing went off without a sweat yesterday.Read full article


text:
My 3 Favorite Podcasts for Clinicians
Inspiration for the Embodied Therapist
I love listening to Podcasts! We have access to so much great knowledge and wisdom through Podcasts. I wanted to share a few of my absolute favorites for Clinicians passionate about understanding and integrating the body in their work.
My first two favorite episodes are from the Sounds True: Insights at the Edge podcast
1. The Roots of Healing by Gabor Mate [March, 21, 2017]
Throughout this entire podcasted I felt like Gabor Mate had reached into my brain to carefully extract and articulate all of the things I believe and understand about the mind-body relationship. He describes the connection between emotional body and immune system response as well as how the body is trying to communicate with us. This is by far one of my favorite podcast episodes of all time!
2. Linda Graham: Cultivating Response Flexibility: Neuroscience in Psychotherapy [Jun 14, 2017]
In this episode Linda Graham talks about the role of therapeutic yoga and neuroscience in healing. She describes how practices such as being present, setting intention, using mudras and dedicating ourselves to regular yoga therapy practice activates the neuroplasticity of the brain and promotes healing. Understanding the role of neuroscience in healing and the amazingly simple ways an embodied practice can positively influence our brain and nervous system is a critical part of my work. I enjoyed this episode as it speaks to the fundamental principles shared in the Soul Yoga Therapy training programs.
3. This next episode is from the Rich Roll Podcast, called Tommy Rosen On Life Beyond Addiction [July 17, 2017]
Tommy Rosen shares beautifully about his personal journey through addiction, including how yoga played an important role in his healing. Tommy Rosen is a leader and expert in the recovery field and is breaking new ground in field of yoga therapy and addiction recovery.
As a special mention, I regularly enjoy Tara Brach's podcasts, they are a lovely blend of dharma talk and guided practice.
I hope you enjoy!


text:
Woman in Progress: Laura Eperjesi from Laura Eperjesi photography
This week's Woman in Progress is award winning portrait photographer, Laura Eperjesi. Laura creates timeless images which document family lives, and from experience we know that her photographs and bespoke books are ones to cherish - some of my favourite pictures of my children were taken by her. Laura found her soulmate at 19 and married him, 33 years ago, and they share three beautiful daughters. They've also had the chance to live and work in France, Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Hungary whilst bringing up their family, and are now based in The Cotswolds and London. Thanks so much to Laura for taking the time to answer our questions.
What's the one thing in your life that makes things easier?
Anything that makes life easier is worth it. While the kids were young I had a variety of aupairs, as I had no family to help. Never feel guilty, just get the help you need and can afford in order to progress. Childcare in France was amazing. We have a lot to learn.
What's the one thing you couldn't live without?
My husband and cheap flights! The two go well together! I'm always looking for weekend away with just my hubby. We still have a busy house even though my girls are all grown up. Quality time together is priceless.
What's one thing that you would stop if you could?
As a feminist and mother of 3 daughters I want equality. We are not quite there yet!
What one piece of advice would you give yourself 5 years ago?
Life is about the journey….not the destination.
What one piece of advice would you give yourself 10 years ago?
Invest in yourself. You are worth it. Go on courses, have time to yourself. In order to be a better person for you and your family.
What are you most proud of?
Winning the "Cotswold photographer of the year" both 2016 and 2017 for the British Institute of Professional Photographers. I am self taught and it's great to have recognition from other professional photographers. And my daughters…of course!
What's the best lesson you've learned at work?
Always best to be honest, authentic and true to yourself.
What's the best lesson you've learned at home?
Always best to be honest, authentic and true to yourself. (Work and home life seem to merge a lot!)
Did you expect to be doing what you're doing right now?
Definitely not. I trained as a textile designer and worked in textiles for years before travelling abroad and starting a family. However I think that a creative grounding shapes the way I photograph today. I am always looking at colours and textures and how well they work together.
How did you end up doing what you're doing?
I started a small business at home making casts of children's hands and feet. Customers would come in to my house and see my photos of my family on the walls and ask who took them? I had one customer that insisted I photographed her children. So I took myself off to college again to learn the technical side to photograph. Fortunately the eye and the passion was already there.
What top tip would you pass on to other women in progress reading this?
Follow your heart and gut instinct. Try to get the work life balance right. We can't do everything all of the time.
Are you done yet?
I will never be done as photography is my way of life. I will hopefully never stop seeing.
What's next?
I would like to continue my qualifications with in the BIPP and possibly go into teaching women in photography. I would love to share my knowledge and experiences. I would also like to combine my love of travel and work within a charity abroad. I have had a taste of this with a friend who opening up an NGO in Zanzibar . A project for women making jewellery and leather goods.


text:
How can you reduce the cost of your benefits programme while improving the long term health of your workforce?
In this webinar we will be giving practical advice on how to make smarter decisions when designing your benefits programme and how to better budget your spend to the areas that need it most.
Senior HR, Risk Managers, Compensation & Benefits Professionals
Carl Chapman - Workplace Health Client Manager, Mercer Marsh Benefits
Mike Naulls - South of England Growth Leader, Mercer Marsh Benefits


text:
Background: Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)'s new guideline for statistical quality control (SQC; C24-Ed4) (CLSI C24-Ed4, 2016; Parvin CA, 2017) recommends the implementation of risk-based SQC strategies. Important changes from earlier editions include alignment of principles and concepts with the general patient risk model in CLSI EP23A (CLSI EP23A, 2011) and a recommendation for optimizing the frequency of SQC (number of patients included in a run, or run size) on the basis of the expected number of unreliable final patient results. The guideline outlines a planning process for risk-based SQC strategies and describes 2 applications for examination procedures that provide 9-σ and 4-σ quality. A serious limitation is that there are no practical tools to help laboratories verify the results of these examples or perform their own applications.
Methods: Power curves that characterize the rejection characteristics of SQC procedures were used to predict the risk of erroneous patient results based on Parvin's MaxE(Nuf) parameter (Clin Chem 2008;54:2049–54). Run size was calculated from MaxE(Nuf) and related to the probability of error detection for the critical systematic error (Pedc).
Results: A plot of run size vs Pedc was prepared to provide a simple nomogram for estimating run size for common single-rule and multirule SQC procedures with Ns of 2 and 4.
Conclusions: The "traditional" SQC selection process that uses power function graphs to select control rules and the number of control measurements can be extended to determine SQC frequency by use of a run size nomogram. Such practical tools are needed for planning risk-based SQC strategies.
Impact Statement
The new fourth edition of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline for statistical quality control (SQC) focuses on the application of risk-based SQC strategies but lacks practical planning or design tools. The methodology outlined here will help medical laboratories select SQC strategies that limit the risk of erroneous patient test results. Simple graphical tools—power function graphs and run size nomograms—make it practical for laboratories to select appropriate control rules, the total number of control measurements/event, and the number of patient samples between quality control events (or SQC frequency).
The fourth edition of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)4 guideline on statistical quality control (SQC)was published in 2016 (CLSI C24-Ed4) (1, 2) and was recently discussed in this journal (2). Earlier editions were published in 1991, 1999, and 2006 and have a long history of use in medical laboratories. The new edition introduces several important changes:
"Alignment of principles and definitions to be consistent with and to supplement the general patient risk model described in CLSI document EP23 (3);
Introduction of additional performance measures useful for evaluating the performance characteristics of a quality control (QC) strategy;
A greater focus on QC frequency and QC schedules as a critical part of a QC strategy;
Expanded guidance on setting target values and SDs for QC materials;
A substantial chapter on recovering from an out-of-control condition."
The first 3 changes are concerned with the planning of a risk-based SQC strategy, which is defined as "the number of QC materials to measure, the number of QC results and the QC rule to use at each QC event, and the frequency of QC events," more commonly called an SQC procedure. The last 2 relate to the proper application and implementation of SQC procedures in medical laboratories.
According to Parvin (2), the intention of the guidance is to provide principles and definitions rather than a specific approach, performance metrics, or software tools: "[T]he objective…was to provide a helpful roadmap for designing, assessing, and implementing a statistical QC strategy that is consistent with the patient risk concepts introduced in CLSI EP23. C24 does not recommend a specific QC strategy for any individual device or technology. Likewise, while a number of the QC performance metrics discussed in the document require computer software to compute, the guideline neither makes recommendations nor gives examples of the use of any specific software".
Our purpose here is to consider the practical details of implementing the roadmap for selecting control rules, number of control measurements, and number of patient samples between QC events (run size, SQC frequency) for an SQC strategy. Our approach builds on the C24-Ed4 guidance that recommends the use of Sigma-metrics for characterizing the quality of an examination procedure (4), power functions for characterizing the performance of SQC control rules and number of control measurements (5), and Parvin's MaxE(Nuf) parameter for optimizing SQC frequency (6). The recommended planning process extends an earlier approach using a Sigma-metric SQC Selection Tool (7) based on calculation of a process capability index for the critical systematic error that must be detected to maintain a defined quality requirement (8). This "traditional" planning process has been adapted to include run size by considering the relationship between the probability of detecting the critical systematic error (Pedc) and Parvin's MaxE(Nuf) patient risk parameter, as described by Yago and Alcover (9) for single-rule SQC procedures. Bayat (10) has evaluated those relationships for multirule SQC procedures to support more widespread applications for planning risk-based SQC procedures. Although Yago and Alcover and Bayat provide nomograms that can be used to select SQC procedures based on the relationship between the observed Sigma-metric vs MaxE(Nuf), those nomograms do not consider the probability for false rejection, which is an important design parameter incorporated in the traditional design approach that uses power function graphs.
Methods and Materials
Performance characteristics of SQC procedures
SQC procedures have been traditionally selected through the evaluation of power function graphs (8, 11) that describe the probability of rejection on the y axis as a function of the size of the error (ΔSE for systematic error) on the x axis. The size of the systematic error that is critical for detection, ΔSEcrit, can be calculated as [(ATE − bias)/SD] − 1.65, in which 1.65 corresponds to a 5% risk that an individual test result will exceed the defined ATE. The x axis of a power function graph can also be scaled directly in terms of a Sigma-metric, which is calculated as (ATE − |bias|)/SD when concentration units are used or (%ATE − |%bias|)/%CV for percentage units; therefore, the Sigma-metric corresponds to ΔSEcrit + 1.65 (4).
Fig. 1 shows a set of power curves that are commonly of interest when 2 levels of controls are analyzed. The curves in these figures correspond from top to bottom with the list of SQC rules and number of control measurements (N) shown (top to bottom) in the key at the right side of the graph. Typically, the critical systematic error (ΔSEcrit) is calculated and a goal of 0.90 is set for the probability of error detection (Ped) and a goal of ≤0.05 (as low as possible) for the probability of false rejection (Pfr) to assess the suitability of different control rules and different numbers of control measurements. Yago and Alcover (9) use the term Pedc to represent the probability of detecting the critical systematic error.
Risk prediction for SQC procedures
The risk of patient harm is related to the erroneous test results that are reported when analyzing patient samples. C24-Ed4 describes this as "the expected number of unreliable final patient results". This expression is based on Parvin's definition of a parameter MaxE(Nuf) that represents the "maximum expected increase in the number of unacceptable patient results reported during the existence of an undetected out-of-control error condition" (6). In short, these are increased defective results that may be reported, although controls are being analyzed. The number of defects depends on the quality required for intended use (ATE, TEa), precision and bias of the examination procedure, control rules and number of control measurements being used for SQC, and the number of patient samples in the analytical run (run size, frequency of SQC). The calculation of the MaxE(Nuf) risk parameter is complicated and requires informatics support (12). However, a graphical approach may be used to approximate MaxE(Nuf) based on the relationship between MaxE(Nuf) and Pedc as described for single-rule SQC procedures by Yago and Alcover (9) and for multirule SQC procedures by Bayat (10). Then it is a simple matter to calculate run size and prepare a run size nomogram for different SQC procedures.
Run size nomogram
To develop the nomogram, the example conditions represented an HbA1c examination procedure in which ATE was 6.0%, CV was 1.0%, and bias varied from 0.0% to 3.5% to change the Sigma-metric from 6.0 to 2.5. Pedc and MaxE(Nuf) were calculated from Excel spreadsheets, and those results were used to prepare the nomogram. Run size was calculated as 100/MaxE(Nuf) in accordance with Parvin's model, in which QC events bracket 100 patient samples (i.e., M = 100). Such nomograms can be developed whenever complete power curves are available for the candidate SQC procedures of interest.
Approach for planning risk-based SQC Procedures
Define the quality required for intended use in the form of an ATE.
Determine the precision (SD, CV) and trueness (bias) of the examination procedure from experimental data.
Calculate the Sigma-metric as (ATE − bias)/SD for concentration units or (%ATE − %bias)/%CV for percentage units.
Assess the probability for false rejection (Pfr) from the y intercept of the power curves and the probability of error detection (Ped) from the intersection of the power curves and the observed σ-metric or critical-sized systematic error.
Select control rules and the total number of control measurements to achieve a probability of error detection (Pedc) of ≥0.90 and a probability of false rejection (Pfr) as low as possible.
Convert the observed Pedc to the maximum run size (or frequency of SQC) using a run size nomogram.
Consider other practical factors that will affect the frequency of SQC, and shorten the run size, as necessary, to provide both an effective and efficient quality management process.
Fig. 2 provides a run size nomogram for single- and multirule SQC procedures with 2 and 4 control measurements per event (N, total number across levels of controls). The x axis describes the probability of detection for the critical-sized systematic error (Pedc), which would be determined for the selected SQC rules and N/event from a power function graph. The y axis shows run size, which is the number of patient samples between QC events, calculated as run size = 100/MaxE(Nuf). The logarithmic scale spreads the data around Parvin's suggested MaxE(Nuf) goal of 1.0, which corresponds to a run size of 100. The different lines correspond to different SQC procedures, as shown in the key at the right side of the figure. The highest line is for 13s with n = 2 (SR2), the next lower line for 13s/22s/R4s with n = 2 (MR2), then 13s with n = 4 (SR4), and finally (lowest line) 13s/22s/R4s/41s with n = 4 (MR4).
Note that for a MaxE(Nuf) goal of 1.00, which corresponds to a run size of 100 under the conditions of the risk model, these common single- and multirule procedures provide a Pedc of 0.76–0.86; thus, any SQC procedure that is designed to achieve a Pedc of ≥0.90 will achieve Parvin's goal for low patient risk. A higher Pedc will allow laboratories to increase the run size, e.g., a Pedc of 0.90 would correspond to maximum run sizes from approximately 150–300 patient samples, depending on the particular SQC procedure selected. In contrast, a lower Pedc will lead to smaller run sizes, e.g., a Pedc of 0.60 leads to run sizes of about ≤40 and a Pedc <0.50 leads to very short run sizes of about ≤25.
The frequency of SQC became a major issue in laboratory practice when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published the Final CLIA Rule in 2003 (13) and introduced equivalent quality control as an option for compliance in the Interpretive Guidelines found in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' State Operations Manual. Equivalent quality control (or EQC, as it was known) allowed a laboratory to perform certain validation experiments and then reduce the frequency of SQC to once per week or even once per month. However, those experiments were not scientifically valid; for example, a stability study over 10 days was used to justify reducing SQC frequency to once every 30 days. That shortcoming (along with others) eventually led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to replace equivalent quality control in January 2016 with risk-based individualized QC plans (now known as IQCP). That change in regulations makes the guidance from the new edition of the CLSI C24-Ed4 document critical for SQC practices today.
Key guidance in C24-Ed4 is to define the frequency of SQC on the basis of the number of patient samples analyzed between 2 QC events, i.e., bracketed QC. A QC event is the term used for "the occurrence of one or more QC measurements and a QC rule evaluation using the QC results". For bracketed QC operation, the number of patient samples, or frequency of SQC, is supposed to be determined by the risk of harm to patients if erroneous results are reported, which can be estimated by calculating Parvin's MaxE(Nuf) parameter (6). The practical problem for laboratories is that this calculation is complicated and requires specialized informatics support (14).
As an alternative, Yago and Alcover (9) provided a rule selection nomogram that relates MaxE(Nuf) to the observed Sigma-metric of an examination procedure and the performance of different single-rule SQC procedures. Bayat (10) has extended that approach for multirule SQC procedures. Another alternative, shown here, is to extend the traditional SQC design approach and determine the frequency of SQC using a run size nomogram that relates the number of patient samples between QC events to Pedc, the probability of error detection for the critical systematic error that needs to be detected by an SQC procedure. Pedc is an SQC planning parameter that has been used for many years in the traditional approach that uses power function graphs for selecting control rules and the total number of control measurements/event (15).
An application is illustrated in Fig. 3 for an examination procedure having 4-σ quality (or 2.35s critical systematic error). The traditional goal has been to achieve a Pedc of 0.90 with a Pfr as low as possible. Pfr is evaluated from the y intercepts of the power curves, and the estimates are shown in the first column of the key at the right of the figure. Pedc is evaluated at the intersection of the perpendicular line and the power curves for the different SQC procedures, and estimates are shown in the second column of the figure key. A 13s/22s/R4s multirule SQC procedure having 2 controls/event would provide a Pedc of 0.59, whereas a Pedc of 0.91 could be achieved with a 13s/22s/R4s/41s multirule procedure with 4 controls/event. Fig. 4 shows how to use the run size nomogram to determine the appropriate number of patient samples between QC events. The maximum run size is determined to be approximately 40 patient samples for the n = 2 multirule procedure and approximately 170 patient samples for the n = 4 multirule procedure.
This application corresponds to the 4-σ example that appears in the C24-Ed4 document, in which the recommendation is "a candidate strategy using 13s, 22s, 41s, and R4s together with two QC concentrations at every QC event" (1, p. 44). It is not clear whether N should be 2 or 4, although inclusion of the 41s rule suggests that N be 4. A run size of 125 is recommended but does not correspond to either of the estimates above. The run size of 125 seems to come from the earlier proposed edition of the C24 document that recommended a 13s/2 of 32s/R4s/31s multirule with 3 levels of controls. Thus, the control rules and N have changed in the final document, but the run size remains the same. Some clarification of this example was provided in December 2016 when CLSI issued an editorial omission that corrected the SQC recommendation to read "A candidate strategy is using 13s, 22s, and R4s rules together with two QC concentrations at every QC event" (16). That correction not only removes the ambiguity about the control rules and number of control measurements/event that are recommended (n = 2), but also makes it clear that the recommended run length of 125 is wrong or, at best, arbitrary rather than objective. Use of a multirule SQC procedure with 4 control measurements/event would be more appropriate and would justify a run size of 125 patient samples.
Examination procedures with higher Sigma-metrics (better quality) would permit simpler SQC procedures (single rules, lower N) and allow larger maximum run sizes, e.g., Pedc could approach 1.00 for a 6-σ process for a 13s n = 2 SQC procedure, or a 13s/22s/R4s SQC procedure with n = 2, both of which would allow maximum run sizes of at least 250 patient samples. This assessment is consistent with the 9-σ example shown in C24-Ed4, in which a run size of 200 is recommended. Other practical factors may, of course, impose smaller run sizes and must be carefully considered when defining the final SQC strategy.
It is also apparent that examination procedures with low Sigma quality cannot be adequately controlled by SQC procedures to minimize patient risk. Industrial guidelines suggest that processes with lower than 3-σ quality are not suitable for routine service because they cannot be adequately controlled. An essential part of risk management should be the validation of safety characteristics, such as precision and bias, to ensure they satisfy the requirements for intended use (e.g., ATE); thus, the selection and validation of methods are critical in a medical laboratory, and the prerequisite to implementation should be of a quality better than 3-σ. Methods having low Sigma quality will require well-trained operators, rigorous adherence to a manufacturer's directions for use and preventive measures, frequent control, short run lengths, and thorough corrective actions with an emphasis on elimination of error sources and failure modes.
A prerequisite for these graphical tools, as well as the calculation of MaxE(Nuf), is the availability of information about the rejection characteristics of SQC rules. SQC rules are essentially statistical tests of significance whose performance characteristics can be determined on the basis of the probability theory for simple single-rule procedures. For combinations of rules, computer simulations have been performed to describe the probabilities for rejection under different error conditions (5) and have been available in the literature for decades (17). C24-Ed4 recommends some new SQC rules—81s, 61s, 101s—whose power curves have not been explicitly documented. These rules are described as having been empirically evaluated (17) based on a set of glucose data that is included as Fig. 2A in C24-Ed4. According to Miller and Nichols (18), such empirical validation is the basis for a recommendation of a 13s/22.5s/R4s/81.5s multirule procedure "based on the clinical requirements for patient care, the observed long-term method performance, and the need to identify potential method issues with a false alert rate ≤1%". Note the introduction of 2 additional new control rules—22.5s and 81.5s. Interestingly, the set of glucose data shows an SD of about 4 mg/dL at a concentration of 273 mg/dL, or a CV of about 1.5%. Given the CLIA criterion of 10% for acceptable performance in proficiency testing and assuming no bias, the Sigma-metric would be 10%/1.5% or 6.7. Such a method could be adequately controlled by a 13s control rule with n = 2, as shown by its power curve in Fig. 1. That observation suggests that the introduction of new control rules should require proper performance characterization of their power curves, both as single rules and as particular combinations recommended for multirule procedures.
It is also possible to develop nomograms that relate run size directly to the observed Sigma-metric by substituting run size for MaxE(Nuf) in the graphical relationships shown by Yago and Alcover (9) and Bayat (10). Such nomograms are simpler in principle because they eliminate the need for determining Pedc; however, they risk overlooking the false rejection characteristic of the SQC procedure. The prerequisite for such run length vs Sigma-metric nomograms should be the elimination of high Pfr procedures, as per the example shown in Fig. 5, where all the SQC procedures have Pfr values of ≤0.03 or 3%. For a 4-σ process, similar run lengths can be determined, e.g., approximately 40 for the n = 2 multirule procedure and approximately 180 for the n = 4 multirule procedure. Ultimately, such Sigma-metric run size nomograms are simpler and may be preferred, but analysts should appreciate the underlying requirement for power curves for the SQC procedures.
In conclusion, there are serious limitations with the guidance from the new CLSI C24-Ed4 document. The lack of practical tools to support the planning of risk-based SQC procedures, as well as the lack of performance characteristics for some new control rules that are proposed, is a problem. Other issues, such as the practicality of bracketed QC for continuous operation and result reporting, may also be problematic for laboratory practice. Even if the guidance is intended to only emphasize principles and provide a roadmap for risk-based SQC strategies, it leaves laboratories without sufficient direction to implement the recommended practices.
International standards, such as ISO 15189 (19), typically provide high-level guidance that sets requirements for what to achieve without describing how to do it. For example, ISO 15189 requires that "the laboratory shall design quality control procedures that verify the attainment of the intended quality of results," but does not describe how to accomplish this. CLSI documents typically fill the gap between the "what to achieve" and "how to do it," but that is not the case for C24-Ed4. The recommended SQC planning approach cannot be implemented solely on the basis of the guidance provided in the document. Simple graphical tools, such as Yago and Alcover's MaxE(Nuf) nomogram for single-rule SQC procedures (9) and Bayat's MaxE(Nuf) nomogram for multirule SQC procedures (10), offer alternatives, but they may be limited because the probability of false rejection is not included as a planning parameter. That limitation can be overcome by extending the traditional SQC planning approach based on power curves and adding run size nomograms to determine SQC frequency, as described here. We hope and expect others will also develop new tools to support the planning of risk-based SQC strategies.
Additional Content on this Topic
Selecting Statistical Quality Control Procedures for Limiting the Impact of Increases in Analytical Random Error on Patient Safety
Martín Yago. Clin Chem 2017;63:1022–30
What's New in Laboratory Statistical Quality Control Guidance? The 4th Edition of CLSI C24, Statistical Quality Control for Quantitative Measurement Procedures: Principles and Definitions
Curtis A. Parvin. J Appl Lab Med 2017;1:581–4
↵4 Nonstandard abbreviations:
- Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute
- statistical quality control
- quality control
- Pedc
- probability of error detection for critical systematic error
- MaxE(Nuf)
- maximum number of unreliable final patient results before an out-of-control error condition is detected
- ΔSEcrit
- critical systematic error that needs to be detected to maintain a defined ATE quality requirement
- ATE or TEa
- allowable total error
- Pfr
- probability of false rejection.
Authors' Disclosures or Potential Conflicts of Interest: Upon manuscript submission, all authors completed the author disclosure form.
Employment or Leadership: S.A. Westgard and J.O. Westgard, Westgard QC, Inc.
Consultant or Advisory Role: S.A. Westgard, Abbott Diagnostics.
Stock Ownership: J.O. Westgard, Westgard QC, Inc.
Honoraria: S.A. Westgard, ThermoFisher Diagnostics.
Research Funding: None declared.
Expert Testimony: None declared.
Patents: None declared.
Role of Sponsor: No sponsor was declared.
- Received January 23, 2017.
- Accepted May 9, 2017.
- © 2017 American Association for Clinical Chemistry


text:
Available Portable Cabin Stock
About Our Buildings
We supply new and used portable cabins. Our buildings are high quality, bespoke and affordable. Take a look at the building we delivered to Pets At Home in Stoke. We also provide high quality, high specification modular buildings. Our second hand site cabins are ideal for:
Portable Offices
Portable Canteens
Portable Meeting Rooms
Portable Workshops
Buying one of our used jackleg cabins offers many benefits. One of the biggest advantages of buying our used portable buildings is their value for money. We are able to provide mobile buildings in a variety of ages that have a long life span, if appropriately cared for, and a wide range of sizes and specifications. Our refurbishments are of a high standard and can offer the buyer a high quality building for a smaller cost compared to buying new. We can alter buildings to your requirements and offer sound advice to help you achieve the building that best suits your needs.
Delivery information for used portable cabins
Midlands Portable Buildings supply tailor made refurbished portable buildings – nationwide. Provide us with your postcode and we will give you a price for delivery. Our used portable buildings provide an ideal space for offices, canteens and welfare facilities. Our used portable cabins are tailored to suit any requirement you have. Call our expert team on 01889 271406 to find out more. Midlands Portable Building may even come and visit your site and provide you with a range of options. We provide a range of vinyl and carpet flooring, email us at [email protected] to find out how we can help. To see our full stock, click here.
Hire Information
The hire prices listed above are all based on a minimum term of 52 weeks, we do however offer both shorter and longer term rental periods. Prices will vary depending on the length of hire you commit to.
Essential Buying Portable Building Tips
- Consider the space you have – If you have a spacious area for a portable cabin, the building should slot right in, although in some cases, space can be limited. Therefore, at MPB, we have a professionally trained installation team to help deliver portable buildings in the tightest of spaces. We also complete a site visit to ensure the buildings can be delivered safely.
- Think about the foundations of the building. Will it be sitting on tarmac or grass? Do you have knowledge of where your services are located in relation to where the building will be sited? Here at MPB, we can ensure all facilities are up and running for your building. We offer a full turn key contract, where we will take care of everything from planning and building regulation applications, design and manufacture installation and handover.
- Identify the primary purpose of the building – is your building going to be a classroom or an office for example? Are there any particular design aesthetics that you will need to achieve such as cedar cladding or a brick slip finish? Would you prefer the low maintenance finish of a plastisol steel exterior? At MPB, we adapt our buildings to suit any requirement you may have. Our design team will collaborate with your needs to ensure you are delighted with the result.
- How many people do you need to house in this building? A standard 32′ x 10′ Portable Building is the most popular size, it provides an ideal space for 4/5 people with desks. It can also be adapted to include toilets and a kitchenette. Whereas, a 20′ x 10′ building can ideal for tighter spaces or a smaller workforce. Modular buildings can provide volumetric space for teaching and offices. We supplied a spacious, double storey classroom to Grestone Academy. Or to see our full range of modular buildings, click here.
- How long do you want it for? We have a range of buildings available for hire and sale. A cost-effective solution is hiring a portable cabin, they can cost anywhere from £20.00 per week. If you are about to buy a portable building, think how long you would need it for. At MPB, we also look at buying buildings back from our customers – subject to condition.
- Want it new or refurbished? Our new Portable Cabins are constructed to meet your requirements, although they can be more expensive than our refurbished range. Our used portable cabins use the same high-quality materials and often are much more cost-effective.
- Do you want affordable prices, high quality and personalized layouts for when you buy a portable building? MPB Ltd offers a range of solutions for your requirements. If you would like to buy a portable cabin, see our list of available buildings below or see our used portable cabins page for a wide range of options.