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802.11ax Downlink OFDMA and Multi-User MIMO Throughput Simulation
This example shows the transmit and receive processing for an IEEE® 802.11ax™ multi-user downlink transmission over a TGax indoor fading channel. Three transmission modes are simulated: OFDMA, MU-MIMO, and a combination of OFDMA and MU-MIMO.
This example simulates a scenario of an access point (AP) transmitting to four stations (STAs) simultaneously using high efficiency (HE) multi-user (MU) format packets as specified in IEEE Std 802.11ax™-2021 [ 1 ].
The HE multi-user format can be configured for an OFDMA transmission, a MU-MIMO transmission, or a combination of the two. This flexibility allows an HE-MU packet to transmit to a single user over the whole band, multiple users over different parts of the band (OFDMA), or multiple users over the same part of the band (MU-MIMO).
Three transmission modes are compared for the multi-user downlink scenario:
OFDMA - each of the four users is assigned a separate resource unit (RU) and the transmission is beamformed.
MU-MIMO - all four users share the full band.
Mixed MU-MIMO and OFDMA - Two users share a single RU in a MU-MIMO configuration, and the remaining two users are assigned a single RU each.
For a detailed overview of 802.11ax formats, see the 802.11ax Waveform Generation example.
For each transmission mode, the AP transmits a burst of 10 packets, and each STA demodulates and decodes the data intended for it. An evolving TGax indoor MIMO channel with AWGN is modeled between the AP and each STA. The raw AP throughput is provided as a metric to compare the transmission modes and is calculated by counting the number of packets transmitted successfully to all STAs. The simulation is repeated for different path losses. In this example, all the transmissions are beamformed. Therefore, before simulating the data transmission, the channel between the AP and each station is sounded under perfect conditions to obtain channel state information.
Transmission Configuration
An wlanHEMUConfig
object is used to configure the transmission of an HE-MU packet. Three transmission configuration objects are specified to define the three different AP transmissions:
is a MU-MIMO configuration which consists of a single 242-tone RU with 4 users. Each user has one space-time stream.cfgOFDMA
is an OFDMA configuration which consists of four 52-tone RUs, each with one user. Each user has two space-time streams.cfgMixed
is a mixed OFDMA and MU-MIMO configuration which consists of one 106-tone RU shared by two users, and two 52-tone RUs, each with one user. The MU-MIMO users each have one space-time stream, and the OFDMA users each have two space-time streams.
A 20 MHz channel bandwidth is used for all transmissions. Other transmission parameters such as the APEPLength and MCS are the same for all users in all configurations.
First, the MU-MIMO configuration is defined. The allocation index 195
defines a single 242-tone RU, with four users in MU-MIMO. For a description of selecting an allocation index, see the 802.11ax Waveform Generation example.
% MU-MIMO configuration - 4 users on one 242-tone RU
cfgMUMIMO = wlanHEMUConfig(195);
The allocation plot shows a single RU is assigned to all four users.
The transmission parameters for each user are now configured.
numTx = 6; % Number of transmit antennas guardInterval = 0.8; % Guard interval in Microseconds % Configure common parameters for all users cfgMUMIMO.NumTransmitAntennas = numTx; cfgMUMIMO.GuardInterval = guardInterval; % Configure per user parameters % STA #1 cfgMUMIMO.User{1}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMUMIMO.User{1}.MCS = 4; cfgMUMIMO.User{1}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #2 cfgMUMIMO.User{2}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMUMIMO.User{2}.MCS = 4; cfgMUMIMO.User{2}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #3 cfgMUMIMO.User{3}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMUMIMO.User{3}.MCS = 4; cfgMUMIMO.User{3}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #4 cfgMUMIMO.User{4}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMUMIMO.User{4}.MCS = 4; cfgMUMIMO.User{4}.APEPLength = 1000;
Next the OFDMA configuration is defined. The allocation index 112
defines four 52-tone RUs, each serving a single user.
% OFDMA configuration - 4 users, each on a 52-tone RU
cfgOFDMA = wlanHEMUConfig(112);
The allocation plot shows the four RUs, each with a single user. When comparing this allocation plot to the full band MU-MIMO plot, it is apparent that the total number of subcarriers used (4x52 = 208 subcarriers) is less than the MU-MIMO allocation (242 subcarriers). The fewer number of subcarriers allow guards between each OFDMA user.
The transmission parameters for each user are now configured.
% Configure common parameters for all users cfgOFDMA.NumTransmitAntennas = numTx; cfgOFDMA.GuardInterval = guardInterval; % Configure per user parameters % STA #1 (RU #1) cfgOFDMA.User{1}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgOFDMA.User{1}.MCS = 4; cfgOFDMA.User{1}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #2 (RU #2) cfgOFDMA.User{2}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgOFDMA.User{2}.MCS = 4; cfgOFDMA.User{2}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #3 (RU #3) cfgOFDMA.User{3}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgOFDMA.User{3}.MCS = 4; cfgOFDMA.User{3}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #4 (RU #4) cfgOFDMA.User{4}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgOFDMA.User{4}.MCS = 4; cfgOFDMA.User{4}.APEPLength = 1000;
Finally, the mixed MU-MIMO and OFDMA configuration is defined. The allocation index 25
defines a 106-tone RU with two users, and two 52-tone RUs, each with one user.
% Mixed OFDMA and MU-MIMO configuration
cfgMixed = wlanHEMUConfig(25);
The allocation plot shows the three RUs, one with 2 users (MU-MIMO), and the others with one user each (OFDMA).
The transmission parameters for each user are now configured.
% Configure common parameters for all users cfgMixed.NumTransmitAntennas = numTx; cfgMixed.GuardInterval = guardInterval; % Configure per user parameters % RU #1 has two users (MU-MIMO) and a total of 2 STS (1 per user) % STA #1 (RU #1) cfgMixed.User{1}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMixed.User{1}.MCS = 4; cfgMixed.User{1}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #2 (RU #1) cfgMixed.User{2}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 1; cfgMixed.User{2}.MCS = 4; cfgMixed.User{2}.APEPLength = 1000; % The remaining two users are OFDMA % STA #3 (RU #2) cfgMixed.User{3}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgMixed.User{3}.MCS = 4; cfgMixed.User{3}.APEPLength = 1000; % STA #4 (RU #3) cfgMixed.User{4}.NumSpaceTimeStreams = 2; cfgMixed.User{4}.MCS = 4; cfgMixed.User{4}.APEPLength = 1000;
Channel Model Configuration
A TGax indoor channel model is used in this example. An individual channel is used to simulate the link between the AP and each user. A TGax channel object, tgaxBase
is created with properties relevant for all users. In this example, the delay profile (Model-D) and number of receive antennas are common for all users. Model-D is considered non-line of sight when the distance between transmitter and receiver is greater than or equal to 10 meters. This is described further in wlanTGaxChannel
. A fixed seed is used for the channel to allow repeatability.
% Create channel configuration common for all users tgaxBase = wlanTGaxChannel; tgaxBase.DelayProfile = 'Model-D'; % Delay profile tgaxBase.NumTransmitAntennas = numTx; % Number of transmit antennas tgaxBase.NumReceiveAntennas = 2; % Each user has two receive antennas tgaxBase.TransmitReceiveDistance = 10; % Non-line of sight distance tgaxBase.ChannelBandwidth = cfgMUMIMO.ChannelBandwidth; tgaxBase.SampleRate = wlanSampleRate(cfgMUMIMO); % Set a fixed seed for the channel tgaxBase.RandomStream = 'mt19937ar with seed'; tgaxBase.Seed = 5;
Next a channel is created for each user. The channel for each user is a clone of the tgaxBase
, but with a unique UserIndex
property, and is stored in a cell array tgax
. The UserIndex
property of each individual channel is set to provide a unique channel for each user. The resultant channels are used in the simulation as shown below.
% A cell array stores the channel objects, one per user numUsers = numel(cfgMixed.User); % Number of users simulated in this example tgax = cell(1,numUsers); % Generate per-user channels for userIdx = 1:numUsers tgax{userIdx} = clone(tgaxBase); tgax{userIdx}.UserIndex = userIdx; % Set unique user index end
Beamforming Feedback
Transmit beamforming for both OFDMA and MU-MIMO relies on knowledge of the channel state between transmitter and receiver at the beamformer. Feedback of the per-subcarrier channel state is provided by each STA by channel sounding. A null data packet (NDP) is transmitted by the AP, and each STA uses this packet to determine the channel state. The channel state is then fed-back to the AP. The same process is used for 802.11ac™ in the 802.11ac Transmit Beamforming and 802.11ac Multi-User MIMO Precoding examples, but an HE single user NDP packet is used instead of a VHT packet. In this example, the feedback is considered perfect; there is no noise present for channel sounding and the feedback is uncompressed. The heUserBeamformingFeedback
helper function detects the NDP and uses channel estimation to determine the channel state information. Singular value decomposition (SVD) is then used to calculate the beamforming feedback.
% Create an NDP with the correct number of space-time streams to generate % enough LTF symbols cfgNDP = wlanHESUConfig('APEPLength',0,'GuardInterval',0.8); % No data in an NDP cfgNDP.ChannelBandwidth = tgaxBase.ChannelBandwidth; cfgNDP.NumTransmitAntennas = cfgMUMIMO.NumTransmitAntennas; cfgNDP.NumSpaceTimeStreams = cfgMUMIMO.NumTransmitAntennas; % Generate NDP packet - with an empty PSDU as no data txNDP = wlanWaveformGenerator([],cfgNDP); % For each user STA, pass the NDP packet through the channel and calculate % the feedback channel state matrix by SVD. staFeedback = cell(1,numUsers); for userIdx = 1:numel(tgax) % Received waveform at user STA with 50 sample padding. No noise. rx = tgax{userIdx}([txNDP; zeros(50,size(txNDP,2))]); % Get the full-band beamforming feedback for a user staFeedback{userIdx} = heUserBeamformingFeedback(rx,cfgNDP); end
Simulation Parameters
Different path losses are simulated in this example. The same path loss and noise floor is applied to all users. For each path loss simulated, 10 packets are passed through the channel. Packets are separated by 20 microseconds.
cfgSim = struct; cfgSim.NumPackets = 10; % Number of packets to simulate for each path loss cfgSim.Pathloss = (96:3:105); % Path losses to simulate in dB cfgSim.TransmitPower = 30; % AP transmit power in dBm cfgSim.NoiseFloor = -89.9; % STA noise floor in dBm cfgSim.IdleTime = 20; % Idle time between packets in us
Simulation with OFDMA
The scenario is first simulated with the OFDMA configuration and transmit beamforming.
The steering matrix for each RU is calculated using the feedback from the STAs. The heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix
helper function calculates the beamforming matrix for an RU given the CSI feedback.
% For each RU, calculate the steering matrix to apply for ruIdx = 1:numel(cfgOFDMA.RU) % Calculate the steering matrix to apply to the RU given the feedback steeringMatrix = heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix(staFeedback,cfgOFDMA,cfgNDP,ruIdx); % Apply the steering matrix to each RU cfgOFDMA.RU{ruIdx}.SpatialMapping = 'Custom'; cfgOFDMA.RU{ruIdx}.SpatialMappingMatrix = steeringMatrix; end
The heMUSimulateScenario
helper function performs the simulation. The pre-HE preamble of 802.11ax is backwards compatible with 802.11ac, therefore in this example the front-end synchronization components for a VHT waveform are used to synchronize the HE waveform at each STA. For each packet and path loss simulated the following processing steps occur:
A PSDU is created and encoded to create a single packet waveform.
The waveform is passed through an evolving TGax channel model and AWGN is added to the received waveform. The channel state is maintained between packets.
The packet is detected.
Coarse carrier frequency offset is estimated and corrected.
Fine timing synchronization is established.
Fine carrier frequency offset is estimated and corrected.
The HE-LTF is extracted from the synchronized received waveform. The HE-LTF is OFDM demodulated and channel estimation is performed.
The HE Data field is extracted from the synchronized received waveform and OFDM demodulated.
Common pilot phase tracking is performed to track any residual carrier frequency offset.
The phase corrected OFDM symbols are equalized with the channel estimate.
Noise estimation is performed using the demodulated data field pilots and single-stream channel estimate at pilot subcarriers.
The equalized symbols are demodulated and decoded to recover the PSDU.
The recovered PSDU is compared to the transmitted PSDU to determine if the packet has been recovered successfully.
The simulation is run for the OFDMA configuration.
disp('Simulating OFDMA...');
throughputOFDMA = heMUSimulateScenario(cfgOFDMA,tgax,cfgSim);
Simulating OFDMA... Pathloss 96.0 dB, AP throughput 66.1 Mbps Pathloss 99.0 dB, AP throughput 66.1 Mbps Pathloss 102.0 dB, AP throughput 49.6 Mbps Pathloss 105.0 dB, AP throughput 16.5 Mbps
Simulation with MU-MIMO
Now the scenario is simulated with the MU-MIMO configuration. The heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix
helper function calculates the beamforming matrix for an RU given the CSI feedback for all users in the MU-MIMO allocation. A zero forcing solution is used to calculate the steering matrix within the helper function.
% Calculate the steering matrix to apply to the RU given the feedback ruIdx = 1; % Index of the one and only RU steeringMatrix = heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix(staFeedback,cfgMUMIMO,cfgNDP,ruIdx); % Apply the steering matrix to the RU cfgMUMIMO.RU{1}.SpatialMapping = 'Custom'; cfgMUMIMO.RU{1}.SpatialMappingMatrix = steeringMatrix;
Run the simulation for the MU-MIMO configuration.
disp('Simulating MU-MIMO...');
throughputMUMIMO = heMUSimulateScenario(cfgMUMIMO,tgax,cfgSim);
Simulating MU-MIMO... Pathloss 96.0 dB, AP throughput 110.5 Mbps Pathloss 99.0 dB, AP throughput 110.5 Mbps Pathloss 102.0 dB, AP throughput 63.5 Mbps Pathloss 105.0 dB, AP throughput 0.0 Mbps
Simulation with Combined MU-MIMO and OFDMA
Finally, the scenario is simulated with the combined MU-MIMO and OFDMA configuration.
The steering matrix for each RU is calculated using the feedback from the STAs, including the MU-MIMO RU. The heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix
helper function calculates the beamforming matrix for an RU given the CSI feedback.
% For each RU calculate the steering matrix to apply for ruIdx = 1:numel(cfgMixed.RU) % Calculate the steering matrix to apply to the RU given the feedback steeringMatrix = heMUCalculateSteeringMatrix(staFeedback,cfgMixed,cfgNDP,ruIdx); % Apply the steering matrix to each RU cfgMixed.RU{ruIdx}.SpatialMapping = 'Custom'; cfgMixed.RU{ruIdx}.SpatialMappingMatrix = steeringMatrix; end
Run the simulation for the combined MU-MIMO and OFDMA configuration.
disp('Simulating Mixed MU-MIMO and OFDMA...');
throughputMixed = heMUSimulateScenario(cfgMixed,tgax,cfgSim);
Simulating Mixed MU-MIMO and OFDMA... Pathloss 96.0 dB, AP throughput 66.1 Mbps Pathloss 99.0 dB, AP throughput 66.1 Mbps Pathloss 102.0 dB, AP throughput 66.1 Mbps Pathloss 105.0 dB, AP throughput 47.9 Mbps
Plot Results
The raw AP throughput for each transmission mode is plotted. The results show for this channel realization at high SNRs (low pathloss) the throughput provided by the MU-MIMO configuration exceeds OFDMA configuration. The packet duration of the MU-MIMO configuration is roughly half that of the OFDMA configuration which provides the throughput gain. As the SNR decreases, the noise dominates and transmit beamforming with OFDMA becomes more effective. The performance of the combined MU-MIMO and OFDMA configuration follow a similar trend to the OFDMA configuration as the packet duration is the same. The performance differs due to different RU sizes and number of space-time streams.
% Sum throughput for all STAs and plot for all configurations figure; plot(cfgSim.Pathloss,sum(throughputOFDMA,2),'-x'); hold on; plot(cfgSim.Pathloss,sum(throughputMUMIMO,2),'-o'); plot(cfgSim.Pathloss,sum(throughputMixed,2),'-s'); grid on; xlabel('Pathloss (dB)'); ylabel('Throughput (Mbps)'); legend('OFDMA','MU-MIMO','MU-MIMO & OFDMA'); title('Raw AP Throughput');
Selected Bibliography
IEEE Std 802.11ax™-2021. IEEE Standard for Information Technology - Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems - Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements - Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications - Amendment 1: Enhancements for High-Efficiency WLAN.


text:
Psali Adam on the 3rd Hoos
I remembered the sins, of my ignorance, I cast off my tears, and sat down and cried.
All the sighing, of my chest, (are) burning like fire, in my heart.
The darkness of my mind, I have followed, The commandment of Jesus, I have abandoned.
All the evil conduct, of my nature, I have followed, without hope.
Therefore I, have collapsed, like the house, that is built on sand.
The heavenly beings, but also the earthly, were perplexed because of my sins, as I have become mire.
Behold I see, that my soul is lifeless, and placed in a tomb, like the dead.
Gather my brethren, and cry out with me, until the end of time, for I have fallen.
Egypt is shining, with the oil of prayer, and tearful supplications, in the night.
For You have snatched me, unless I become humiliated, I who have fallen, among the thieves.
The instinct of sin, uproot from my heart, and also O Lord, my heart's ignorant thoughts.
Grant unto me, spiritual wisdom, and vitality, in my prayer.
That I may be fervent, in the wisdom of speech, and be in fellowship, after the enmity.
My Master You know, that my instincts, lean towards the ignorance, of this world.
Woe unto me, if You count my affliction, for great disgrace will fall, upon my weak spirit.
Lord remit, the afflictions, of my nature, and the weaknesses of my flesh.
Incline Your ear, quickly to my weakness, as You have accepted, the prayer of the publican.
Save me O Lover, of mankind, for my instincts have sunk, in the terrors of this world.
We ask you, O Great King, to remember Your servant, in Your Kingdom.
Behold a thief, had declared that to You, and You visited him O Lord, with Your mercy and salvation.
Yours is the honor, Yours is the majesty, O Creator, of heaven and earth.
Forgive me hastily, that I may rest, for my wickedness and cruelty, are weighty upon me.
Make me worthy, of the Flesh of Your Son, to renew me, in what pleases Him.
Shepherd, and Redeemer, seek Your lamb, I the lost.
Cover Art by: Mena Antoun – www.behance.net/gallery/6747501/The-Sinful-Woman

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bulls Feast on Deals, Drive Dow to Sixth Day of Green
FOX Business: The Power to Prosper
Inspired by a flurry of M&A deals that underscore growing confidence in the recovery, Wall Street climbed to fresh two and-half-year highs on Monday, giving the blue chips their first six-day surge since early November.
Today's Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.48 points, or 0.57%, to 12161.63, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 8.18 points, or 0.62%, to 1319.05 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 14.69 points, or 0.53%, to 2783.99. The FOX 50 picked up 6.90 points, or 0.74%, to 939.99.
The red-hot markets continue to mount their offensive, largely shrugging off continued political uncertainty in the Middle East and consistently disappointing monthly labor reports. The latest rally left the blue chips in territory unseen since June 2008 -- three months before the implosion of Lehman Brothers that rocked the global economy.
The bulls on Wall Street used a slew of acquisition announcements, including the $7.3 billion takeover of Pride International (NYSE:PDE), to fuel Monday's buying binge.
"I think the market is starting to run momentum to new highs," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global. "It's just kind of feeding on itself higher."
Most of the Dow's 30 stocks closed in the green, driven by financial giants American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). The weakest links from the index, were Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Kraft (NYSE:KFT).
Tech stocks such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) helped push the Nasdaq to its highest settle since November 2007.
The gains come after the Dow rallied 260 points last week -- its ninth weekly gain of the past 10 -- and the Nasdaq leaped 3.07% for its best week since June 2010.
Without any major economic or earnings reports to use for guidance, much of the focus was on a trio of acquisitions announced on Monday: Danaher (NYSE:DHR)scooped up medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter (NYSE:BEC) for about $6.8 billion, oil driller Ensco (NYSE:ESV) bought rival Pride International for $7.3 billion and AOL (NYSE:AOL) will swallow The Huffington Post for $315 million.
Wall Street typically cheers strategic acquisitions such as the ones unveiled already this week because it often leads to more deals and shows companies are confident enough about the economy to shell out the big bucks.
Monday's rally underscores Wall Street's ability to continue to shrug off the turmoil in Egypt. Fears that the chaos there would spill over into oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia or cause the closure of the crucial Suez Canal have still not been realized, relieving the bulls in the markets.
In a clear sign of the receding worries, crude oil, which relies on the Suez Canal for transport out of the Middle East, backed away from its crisis highs for the fourth day of the last five. Crude settled at $87.48 a barrel, down $1.55, or 1.74%. Gold gained 70 cents a troy ounce, or 0.05%, to $1,347.60.
In the only noteworthy piece of economic data on the agenda, the Federal Reserve said U.S. consumer credit jumped by $6.1 billion in December -- nearly tripling forecasts from economists for a rise of just $2.3 billion. The report is a sign consumers have been confident enough to increase their credit-card debt.
Corporate Movers
AOL (NYSE:AOL) unveiled plans to acquire online news site The Huffington Post for $315 million. As part of the deal, Arianna Huffington will become editor-in-chief of a new AOL division housing its content and The Huffington Post. AOL said it will use $300 million of cash on its balance sheet to pay for the deal.
Danaher (NYSE:DHR) acquired medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter (NYSE:BEC) for about $6.8 billion, marking a 45% premium before rumors of a potential deal began swirling. The all-cash deal places an $83.50-a-share value on Brea, Calif.-based Beckman, which makes and markets biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies.
Ensco (NYSE:ESV) bid $7.3 billion for rival Pride International (NYSE:PDE) in a marriage that would create the second-largest offshore oil and gas driller in the world. The $41.60-a-share deal puts a 21% premium on Pride.
News Corp.'s (NASDAQ:NWSA) FOX network set a new all-time ratings record by drawing 111 million viewers for its coverage of Super Bowl XLV. The figures topped the 106.5 million viewers that tuned into last year's game. News Corp. is the parent of FOX Business.
Nasdaq OMX Group's (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Nasdaq Stock Market acknowledged a confidential document-sharing service was been hacked into, perhaps in an effort to find nonpublic inside information that could be illegally traded on. Nasdaq said it has notified its customers and is consulting with authorities.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) beat the Street with a non-GAAP profit of $1.02, compared with forecasts for 92 cents. However, the toy maker's sales fell 7% to $1.28 billion, trailing consensus calls for $1.3 billion.
Global Markets
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.89% to 6051.03, Germany's DAX gained 0.93% to 7283.62 and France's CAC 40 leaped 1.08% to 4090.80.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.46% to 10592, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1.49% and China's Shanghai Composite closed up 0.30% to 2798.96..


text:
This is another in a series I'm writing for the North Coast Journal based on my book in progress, The Drunken Botanist.
(Your intrepid reporter at the Cassissium. Notice the pen and notebook. This is work. Really.)
After a week spent touring distilleries in France, Scott and I had come to suspect that anything called a museum must receive special benefits: tax cuts, subsidies, an extra-long vacation every August. It seemed like every distillery had created an official museum devoted to their product. The museum was often nothing more than a few glass cases in the gift shop, but a smiling woman in a blazer and a badge stood nearby, ready to hand us a brochure in our choice of language and give us a guided tour of the glass cases.
We took the tours seriously. I was doing actual research for a book, so I accepted the brochure, took notes, and snapped photographs. We saw many sepia photos of handsome French men standing in front of barns—the founders of the distilleries, we were told, and proof that their now-legendary elixirs came from humble origins. There were also farm implements, strange twisted bits of copper distilling equipment, and tattered Art Deco posters of the sort that you now see adorning the walls at Applebee's, except that these were the originals. And there were crusty old bottles filled with murky liquids that we would not be invited to taste.
Once we realized that every distillery possessed such a museum, we'd come to feel that participating in the so-called tour made us unwitting accomplices in a French tax evasion scheme. It was like that feeling you get on Facebook when you "like" a post about a particular microbrew and realize that you're participating in a giant marketing survey, spending your precious hours entering data free of charge that will be sold to corporations for an enormous profit, in exchange for the ability to share Daily Show clips with your friends—but then you push that realization away and you keep putting in those volunteer hours anyway.
So by the time we arrived in Nuits-St.Georges, just outside Dijon, we were quite jaded about the distillery museum. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the Cassissium, France's national museum of the black currant, and found ourselves in a slick, museum-like lobby being offered a headset and urged to join the short introductory film, which was just underway in a sizable auditorium down the hall. There we watched an animated black fruit expound upon its historical significance and nutritional benefits, all of which was awkwardly translated to English subtitles for our benefit. The French take their cassis seriously.
The tour that followed took us past several rooms filled with the usual glass cases, and then into a monstrous distillery where black currants were crushed by the ton and macerated in a clear and very boozy eau-de-vie, then watered down with sugar syrup until it reached about 20 percent alcohol and was ready to bottle.
This is creme de cassis. I'm going to bet that many of you have never had it, or if you have, you didn't make it part of your regular drinking routine. I intend to change that.
Black currants (Ribes nigrum) are native to Europe and not widely grown or eaten here. Currants (not to be mistaken for the very small, seedless raisins that Americans confusingly also refer to as currants) have an overpowering tartness and an indescribable—well, currantness—that doesn't appeal to our palate. This is a shame, because black currants are very high in vitamin C and antioxidants, and cassis is unambiguously delightful and perfect for these unexpectedly warm, bright fall afternoons we are enjoying right now.
A good liquor store probably has a couple of dusty bottles of French cassis in stock. Read the label carefully and make sure you're not buying something artificial. You want a bottle that contains nothing but fruit, sugar, water, and spirit. Once you find it, do what the people at the Cassissium recommend and turn it over, then watch the cassis run down the inside of the bottle. If it coats the glass and slides down in a slow, languorous, syrup-like fashion, you've got the right stuff. (Online options include K&L, DrinkUpNY, and Astor Wine & Spirits.)
An even better option is Clear Creek Distillery's cassis, made in Portland from black currants grown in Scio, Oregon. (Everything Clear Creek makes is worth drinking, and if you go to Portland, make time for a stop at their tasting room – minus the museum.) A bottle costs just over twenty dollars and will certainly get you through the winter.
Now, what do you do with it? You pour a dollop into a glass and then add white wine, sparkling wine, hard cider, or beer. That's right, beer. Here's how this works:
Kir: A kir is a splash of cassis in white wine. If you tell the people at the Cassissium that you are from California, they will lecture you very sternly about never, ever mixing their beautiful cassis with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. This is an atrocity, an epic clash of fruit in the glass, and an insult to all of French culture. (At least, that's what I think they said.) They recommend a white Burgundy (of course they do), but I'd try it with any dry, mineraly white wine. Actually, I think that what you're going to do is buy whatever white wine you like, throw a little cassis in, and call it awesome. That's fine with me. We've let the French have had their say, so now we can do as we please.
Kir Royal: Do the same thing, only with sparkling wine. One of the great benefits of cassis is that it will greatly improve a mediocre sparkling wine—but this is not to suggest that you should go out and buy the cheapest possible fizzy stuff. There's a limit to how much alcohol (or calories) a person should reasonably consume in a day; don't waste your allotment on junk. I am very happy with the Segura Viudas Brut that the Co-op sells for eight bucks; try that if you're on a budget. And by all means, do not pollute a bottle of very fancy Champagne with cassis. It will not make fancy Champagne any fancier; it will simply change a flavor that some winemaker worked very hard to perfect. So choose a middle-of-the-road bubbly.
Kir Normand or Kir Cidre: Called a "cider and black" in the UK, this is hard cider with cassis. Yum.
And about that beer….In the UK, a "snakebite and black" is equal parts lager and cider with cassis. Some people add a little cassis to Guinness or another stout. Beer drinkers, commence experimentation. Salúd!


text:
Much of business centers on giving people what they want. This means understanding customers' interests and needs by accumulating and organizing customer data. However, the methods you use to collect that data need to abide by data privacy laws. Breaching those laws can incur fines, penalties, and loss of reputation. Here are five tips for secure customer data collection.
How do you collect customer data securely?
There are five key points to consider when collecting customer data in a way that balances effectiveness with regulation compliance. Adhering to these enables you to obtain the information you need while still respecting customer privacy.
1. Prioritize security
Investing in robust security systems and providing your employees with training in data privacy best practices is a nonnegotiable step. Modernizing your security measures is also essential to protecting customer data effectively. Establish rigorous protocols for handling and disclosing customer data, and enforce strict consequences for any policy infringements.
2. Exercise ethical data collection
According to the Cisco 2022 Consumer Privacy Survey, 81% of consumers believe a company's approach to personal data is a reflection of their approach to customers. Seventy-six percent said they would not buy from a company they did not trust with their data. Such statistics emphasize the importance of honesty and transparency in regard to collecting customer data. This necessitates creating clear and comprehensive privacy policies that allow customers to decide what information they want to share, and clearly stating how their data will be used.
3. Collect only the data you need
There is a vast ocean of data out in the digital world. Most of the data a business collects serves no purpose, wasting resources to obtain and taking up storage. Sorting through all that data can overwhelm analysts and delay informed decisions. Therefore, it's vital to establish guidelines before data collection, including:
Identifying the information of utmost importance
Ensuring alignment with your business objectives
Planning how the data will be analyzed
Determining how this data can enhance your business
4. Back up all data
Your efforts in collecting customer data would be in vain if it's lost due to cyberattacks, natural disasters, or IT failures. Thus, a solid backup and data recovery plan is a necessity to safeguard this valuable information.
5. Update customer data regularly
Outdated or incorrect data, such as phone numbers, emails, and addresses, can hinder your ability to nurture customer relationships. To avoid this issue, regularly review and remove unnecessary data, duplicates, and inactive contacts.
If you're seeking reliable IT solutions to optimize your data collection efforts, don't hesitate to reach out to us today.


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The new ArmaLite AR-10(T) chambered in .260 Remington features a 22" stainless steel Match barrel and National Match trigger that perfectly complement the flat shooting, ultra-accurate .260 Remington Cartridge.
The AR-10(T) in .260 is a hunter's dream for game as small as bobcats and big game. Marksmen will value its deadon accuracy in match shooting. The .260 is especially suited to younger or novice shooters because of its low recoil. ArmaLite's customers have been asking for this rifle. Now, it's here for the 2010-2011 hunting season. See your ArmaLite dealer for details.
ArmaLite has one of the broadest product lines in the firearms industry. We manufacture and sell semiautomatic rifles in a variety of calibers including 5.56mm and 7.62mm, long range super-accurate bolt action rifles in calibers including .308 Winchester, 300 Winchester, 338 Lapua, and 50 BMG, and classic 9mm pistols. Visit: www.armalite.com


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Your privacy is important to us, so we protect the information we collect from you while doing business together.
We obtain this information in several ways: through our websites, apps, and social media pages; your use of electric, gas and/or steam services; any devices and technologies related to any energy efficiency, demand management, distributed generation or other initiatives or programs we may offer to you from time to time; third-party sources, social media platforms, and in-person, phone, email, text or written correspondence with you.
This information may include your name, account number, home or business address, email address, telephone number, energy use data (including but not limited to smart meter readings), location information, or other information that is specific to you as our customer or that you otherwise elect to share with us.
At the end of this Privacy Statement, we provide you with the opportunity to choose regarding our use and disclosure of your Customer Information to third-parties for marketing purposes. Customer Information includes your name, account number, home or business address, email address, and telephone number.
How We May Collect and Use Information
We gather and use information to do business with you, including sending you bills, letting you know about products and services we offer, and addressing your questions or concerns.
We may use information from programs in which you voluntarily participate. Some of these programs have additional rules, which may contain additional conditions regarding how we may use and disclose your information. We recommend that you read any such rules carefully.
We may use your information for business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, developing new product offerings and services, enhancing, improving or modifying our product offerings and services, identifying trends in energy use, developing and promoting programs and initiatives to encourage more efficient energy use and to manage demand for electricity, determining the effectiveness of our programs and promotional campaigns, and operating and expanding our business activities.
We may use information as we believe to be necessary or appropriate, to: (a) comply with requirements or directives of our governing regulatory agencies including, among others, the New York State Public Service Commission, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; (b) respond to requests from government or judicial authorities; (c) enforce our terms and conditions of service and applicable tariffs; (d) protect our operations or those of our affiliates; (e) protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you or others; and (f) allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain. We also may use your information to send or serve marketing communications, offers, and promotions that may be of interest, including on social media platforms.
We send occasional online surveys to gather information about your use of, and your opinion about, our programs and services, our energy related product offerings, and our websites and apps. Participation in our online surveys is voluntary. If you choose to participate, the information you provide will be used to improve our websites and apps and the programs, products and services we offer to you.
How We May Share Information
We may share information with our service providers or contractors in order to help us to do business with you, including processing payments, answering questions, developing and promoting programs, product offerings or services, or fulfilling your requests for a product or service.
We may share information with third-parties to permit them to send marketing communications or information about products and services that may be of interest, consistent with your choices. Also consistent with your choices, we may also share information with third-parties who provide energy-related products and services.
We may need to share information as we believe necessary and appropriate to: (a) comply with the requirements or directives of our governing regulatory agencies including, among others, the New York State Public Service Commission, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; (b) respond to requests from government or judicial authorities; (c) enforce our terms and conditions of service and applicable tariffs; (d) protect our operations or those of our affiliates; (e) protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you or others; and (f) allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain. We also may use your information to send marketing communications, offers, and promotions that may be of interest.
We may disclose information to a third-party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
Other Information We May Collect, Use, and Disclose
We use software to automatically collect other information that does not directly identify you. This information, such as the name of the domain or IP address where you access the Internet, the date and time when you access any of our websites, and the information that you view while using our services, is typically used for statistical purposes to help us to evaluate and improve our product offerings, services, and websites and apps, diagnose and correct technical problems, and detect fraud or other illegal activity and protect our systems.
We may also aggregate information so that it does not identify you or any other customer or user (for example, we may aggregate information to calculate the percentage of our customers who have a particular telephone area code). Please note that we may use and disclose this other information or aggregated information for any purpose, except where we are required to do otherwise under applicable law.
Some of our website pages may use "cookies", i.e., small amounts of data that is stored on your computer or other device where you access the Internet to allow our websites to provide you with customized information, or to recall data so you don't have to retype it. We may use session ID cookies, which terminate when you close your Internet browser, or persistent cookies - a small text file stored on your computer's hard drive for an extended time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions. You may also wish to refer to http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html. However, if you do not accept these cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our services. For example, we may not be able to recognize your computer and provide personalized content. Pixel tags (also known as web beacons and clear GIFs) may be used to, among other things, track the actions of users of the Services (including email recipients), measure the success of our marketing campaigns, and compile statistics about usage of the Services and response rates.
We use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and other similar technologies to collect and analyze information about your use of the services across the devices you use, including to report on activities and trends. The service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources. You can learn about Google's practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ or Google's security and privacy principles at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245. You can opt out of Google Analytics on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Statement by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. If you are using the Con Edison mobile app, you can opt of the Google Analytics for the Con Edison mobile app anytime by navigating to the Manage Account tab.
We may collect the physical location of the device you use to communicate with us. We may use your device's physical location to provide you with personalized location-based services and content. We may also share your device's physical location, combined with information about what advertisements you viewed and other information we collect, with our marketing partners to enable them to provide you with more personalized content. In some instances, you may allow or deny such uses and/or sharing of your device's location, but if you choose to deny such uses and/or sharing, we and/or our marketing partners may not be able to provide you with the applicable personalized services and content.
Con Edison has implemented policy guidelines and reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to help safeguard your information, from unauthorized access or improper use. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us right away.
Con Edison's equipment and services are a part of our nation's critical infrastructure; we are therefore vigilant about protecting our systems. Any electronic correspondence that you send to Con Edison, including email or any forms that you complete and transmit through our websites, may be monitored for suspected illegal activity and/or shared with regulatory, public or government agencies.
You Can Choose How We Use, Disclose, and Share Customer Information
We give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your Customer Information to other third-parties for their direct marketing purposes (except in circumstances required by law, regulation or order). If you would prefer that we do not share your Customer Information on a going-forward basis with other third-parties for their direct marketing purposes, you may opt-out of this sharing by:
- unsubscribing from the list of Customer Information we would share with other third parties
- unsubscribing directly from the emails sent to you by other third parties
- calling 1-718-802-6079
Special Notes
Links: This Privacy Statement does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information or other practices of any third-parties, including any third-party operating any site or service linked to our websites. The inclusion of a link on our websites does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or our affiliates. Please note that we are not responsible for the collection, usage and disclosure policies and practices (including the data security practices) of other organizations, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, web browser provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider or device manufacturer, including any information you disclose to other organizations through or in connection with our apps or social media accounts.
Children's Privacy: We do not direct services to individuals under the age of thirteen (13), and we request that these individuals do not provide information to us.
Access and Update Your Data: Contact us to request a copy of your energy use data, or to update any inaccurate or outdated Customer Information. We will seek to respond to your request for access or correction promptly.
Retention, Accuracy, and Data Quality: We will retain information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. In addition, we take steps to keep information complete and accurate for its intended purpose.
Modifications to this Privacy Statement: Con Edison may modify this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect legal, technological, or other developments. Any updates will appear on the Privacy Statement page.
Contact Us: If you have questions about this Privacy Statement, or if you believe that we are not following the Privacy Statement as it is set forth here, contact us.
IAPP Silver Member
The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) is the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community and resource. We believe respecting our customers' privacy and protecting personal data is a fundamental responsibility of our business. As a member of IAPP, we are committed to maintaining a data privacy program that complies with the most current global standards and enables us to better serve you. Learn more about IAPP corporate members.


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At All Seasons Catering, it's our pleasure to offer you Summit County, Colorado's premiere catering services. As a chef-owned catering company, we have the expertise necessary to choose the finest ingredients and to prepare the most spectacular dishes and artful presentations.
We are full-service Colorado caterers and event designers, which means that we will, if you like, guide you through the entire process of planning an event or gathering step-by-step. In addition, we will arrange all rentals, set up, decoration and removals from the event site, and provide a well-groomed, intelligent staff that will respond to your needs before you realize you have them!
Located in the heart of Summit County, Colorado, motivated and focused on product and quality, All Seasons Catering provides you with a strong commitment to providing the highest standards in catering and customer service. Whether your event is in Frisco, Breckenridge, Dillon, Silverthorne, Keystone, or beyond, we're here to make your event a memorable experience.
All Seasons Catering will custom-design any event, including weddings, to suit your needs, expectations and budget.
We can help you plan the most amazing of events or days by working closely with you and planning every detail according to your exact specifications. This way you have more time to worry about other issues, and you avoid the errands and phone calls involved with planning a catered event. Having your wedding in Summit County? Great! We can help!
In addition, if any of your guests have special diets, we can accommodate your needs with our exquisite vegetarian, diabetic, heart-healthy, or low-fat menu selections.
All recipes and meals may be customized, and we will also incorporate your long-time family favorites into your menu if you wish.
We are fully insured and contract our events to ensure quality and our clients' peace of mind. We work with only the most reputable Colorado firms when dealing with rental equipment, and we provide everything necessary for your catered event--you do nothing but enjoy the party.
We believe that our food, elegant designs, and setups all speak for themselves. When you hire us to cater and plan your Summit County or Colorado event, you can relax, knowing that you've hired the best--we do the rest!
Whether you're planning a corporate luncheon, a family reunion, or an extravagant wedding, All Seasons Catering is your key to a successful event.


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It's done. In truth, I never thought we'd get this far.
Holder's defiant.
Here's Issa's "Statement on Bipartisan Vote Holding Attorney General in Contempt over Refusal to Produce Fast and Furious Documents."
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his refusal to produce Operation Fast and Furious documents subpoenaed last October. The vote on H.Res. 711, making a finding of contempt, was approved by a vote of 255 to 67. Seventeen Democrats crossed party lines to join the majority in the finding of contempt against Attorney General Eric Holder. The House is also scheduled to vote later today on H.Res. 706, authorizing civil action in courts to compel production of subpoenaed documents. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa issued this statement following passage:
"Today, a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for his continued refusal to produce relevant documents in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. This was not the outcome I had sought and it could have been avoided had Attorney General Holder actually produced the subpoenaed documents he said he could provide."The Congressional inquiry into Operation Fast and Furious, and the cover-up by Justice Department officials of wrongdoing, has been a fair and fact based investigation. False and partisan allegations by the White House and some congressional Democrats about the Oversight Committee's efforts were undermined by the votes of 17 Democrats. These Members resisted the pressure of their own leadership and the Obama Administration to support this investigation on the House floor."Claims by the Justice Department that it has fully cooperated with this investigation fall at odds with its conduct: issuing false denials to Congress when senior officials clearly knew about gunwalking, directing witnesses not to answer entire categories of questions, retaliating against whistleblowers, and producing only 7,600 documents while withholding over 100,000."I greatly appreciate the ongoing efforts of Senator Chuck Grassley, his staff, and other Senators on the Judiciary Committee who have pressed the Obama Administration for the full truth. Senator Grassley began this investigation and has been a full partner throughout it. I must also recognize the hard work done by many of my colleagues here in the House – without their efforts the Justice Department's stonewalling would have succeeded."My message to my colleagues and others who have fought for answers: We are still fighting for the truth and accountability – for the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, for whistleblowers who have faced retaliation, and for countless victims of Operation Fast and Furious in Mexico. Unless President Obama relents to this bipartisan call for transparency and an end to the cover-up, our fight will move to the courts where we will prevail in getting the documents that the Justice Department and President Obama's flawed assertion of executive privilege have denied the American people."
Been getting a lot of congrats from various quarters, some quite surprising. Now, it seems, I'm not so dangerous to talk to. I tell all of them, "Hold all applause until the end of the scandal." Because if you think this is done, it's not. Much more fighting for the truth and justice for the victims of Gunwalker looms. As always, our job is to ferret out the inconvenient truths and stiffen the spines of people who ought not need it. But I would be lying if I wasn't just a little bit proud of what we've accomplished so far.


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CL3 Firmware V5.81 (Previous version)
Important Notices
Refer to these release notes when updating CL series. Please read the following instructions before updating.
Cautions when updating
- Use the "cl*_firm581.zip "(* is the model number) when updating.
- If updating from CL V5.80, copy files "CL_SUBP_V581.BIN" and "MCLP5_81.PGM" to the root directory of the USB flash drive. Follow the instructions on the update guide. You don't need to update the Dante firmware.
- If updating from CL V5.70 or older, copy files "CL_SUBP_V581.BIN" and "MCLP5_81.PGM" to the root directory of the USB flash drive. Follow the instructions on the update guide. You also need to update the Dante firmware. You can now update the Dante firmware for CL also by using the USB flash drive. This method allows you to update both the firmware and the " CL_SUBP_V581.BIN " and "MCLP5_81.PGM" files together at the same time.
- If updating from CL V1.61 or older, or if the message "NAME SUB CPU is old" appears after updating to V5.80, copy "CL-MD101.BIN" file in CL*_firm580/NAME SUB (* is the model number) to the root directory of the USB flash drive. Follow the instructions on the update guide. This method allows you to update both the Dante firmware and the " CL_SUBP_V581.BIN " and "MCLP5_81.PGM" files together at the same time.
Before copying files, delete all files with extension .PGM and .BIN if any exists in the root directory of the USB memory. Prior to V3.0, the CL and QL Series used different files when updating, but both files used the same name * "C-MD1.BIN." For this reason, an error may occur during update when the incorrect "C-MD1.BIN" file is used or left in the root directory.
Updating Dante firmware by using a USB flash drive takes approximately 30 minutes.
Please do not use the EEE function (*) of network switches in a Dante network.
Although power management should be negotiated automatically in switches that support EEE, some switches do not perform the negotiation properly. This may cause EEE to be enabled in Dante networks when it is not appropriate, resulting in poor synchronization performance and occasional dropouts.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that:
- If you use managed switches, ensure that they allow EEE to be disabled. Make sure that EEE is disabled on all ports used for real-time Dante traffic.
- If you use unmanaged switches, make sure to not use network switches that support EEE.
* EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) is a technology that reduces switch power consumption during periods of low network traffic. It is also known as Green Ethernet and IEEE802.3az.
Cautions for Dante Firmware
- You need to update the Dante-MY16-AUD firmware to V3.3.9 or later before using the Dante-MY16-AUD with the CL series.
- The Dante Firmware Update Manager since v22.214.171.124 for Windows does not support Windows XP. Please use Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10.
- Follow the instructions on the update guide.
- The Dante settings might not be properly initialized when the firmware is updated, which results in data inconsistency between the CL/QL console and the R series units. This might occur only when the Dante Latency was set to 0.25ms or 0.5ms. Therefore, after updating, it is recommended to briefly change the Latency to 1.0ms on the console with the Console ID #1, then restore the original setting again. This will remove the possibility data inconsistency between the console and the mounted R series units. However, Dante Controller will be needed to manually change the settings of R series units that are not mounted on the console with Console ID #1.
Cautions for Dante Domain Manager (DDM)
- Please check here when using DDM.
CL/QL/RIVAGE PM/R/Tio Series Editor/Firmware/R Remote Compatibility
Please make sure to use appropriate version of CL Editor or QL Editor which is compatible with your console firmware in reference to the following compatibility chart. Using an unsupported Editor/firmware combination may result in unexpected behavior.
The Firmware Set is a set of main (and sub) firmware of the device and the Dante firmware. The version of Firmware Set is the same as the version of the main firmware. Refer to the release note of each firmware about the details of the Firmware Set.
Main Revisions and Enhancements
Changes in V5.81
- Now supports updated networking parts. Hardware revised due to the parts change have "A" marked next to the model number on the serial number label, and these products cannot be downgraded to versions earlier than V5.81.
Fixed bugs in V5.81
- Fixed a bug that cannot change the Dante Latency settings from the console of R series fitted with a Brooklyn 3 Dante module. (The Dante module used in this product can be identified in Dante Controller).
- Fixed a bug in which, if a console file (.CLF) saved on an older version was loaded into a console running V5.80, the message "Parameter out of range" might appear at the bottom of the display during file load and some parameter data was not loaded correctly.
- Fixed a bug in which Shure AXT400 did not appear in the ONLINE DEVICE LIST.
- Fixed a rare problem in which the Dante module did not operate when starting up due to specific network conditions.
New features in V5.80
- Now supports control of AFC Image from the console, allowing object panning and scene recall.
- Added support for the latest Shure product variants and new RF Bands in the QLX-D, ULX-D and Axient Digital product lines.
Improvements in V5.80
- Improved the performance of the connection between CL/QL Editor and the console when used on networks with high latency.
Fixed bugs in V5.80
- Fixed a rare problem in which CL/QL consoles interfered with TCP communication of other networked devices when used together with a DHCP server and those devices were rebooted.
- Fixed a bug in which the remote control status would occasionally not update from SYNCHRONIZING to CONTROLLABLE when Rio3224-D2/Rio1608-D2 were mounted.
Known issues
- If a device running V5.80 or later has been enrolled in Dante Domain Manager and then is downgraded to V5.70 or earlier, the Dante module may occasionally not work correctly and control of the module is not possible.
In the event of this happening, re-enroll the device in Dante Domain Manager and then restart it.
Alternatively, initialize the device and its Dante settings* but make sure to back up the console data before initializing.
* While holding down the [STORE] key and the [INC] key (CL series), or the master section A and B [SEL] keys (QL series), turn on the power to the device to initialize it. - The following problems are found in version 8.1.1 of CL StageMix.
- If the CL StageMix screen is switched from the Master Bank that shows the Stereo/Mono levels properly to another bank and then returned to the Master Bank via the Navigation/Meter Bridge, the level meters in the Master Bank become inactive. This can be solved by rebooting the application or changing the metering points for Output Channels from the SETUP options.
- CL StageMix is often forced to terminate if a scene is recalled via a console just after the DANTE NAMES TO CHANNELS function in the Input Port Patch OPTIONS menu is executed. This can be solved by rebooting the application.
- The console may become inoperable after a "kernel sysdwn" message due to an unexpected error.
If this happens, the console needs to be restarted. However, since all the settings including Dante settings* will be initialized to the default, please back up data regularly.
* It will be set to DAISY CHAIN after the initialization. If the console is used via a redundant connection, unplug the Dante network cable first before reconfiguring the Dante settings. - A device enrolled via DDM (Dante Domain Manager) rarely appears with a "VIRTUAL" indicator on the DEVICE MOUNT page. If this indicator is shown, press the REFRESH button.
- If Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) is patched to the CL series device using Dante Controller, the patching may not be recalled correctly when the CL series device is restarted. In such cases, patch the DVS again. In addition, when using a version of DVS for Windows that is older than v3.2.0, patches after CH41 cannot be performed from CL series consoles.
- Loading of a file created by version V1.15 or older will not include the mount information of Dante devices other than any connected R-series. It is the same when recalling a DANTE INPUT PATCH LIBRARY. Please reset MOUNT, PATCH, and DANTE INPUT PATCH Library data using V1.51 or later if necessary.
- You can use the following amount of CL/QL/RIVAGE PM/R Remote units to remotely control each device unit (listed at left).
- RMio64-D/RSio64-D/Tio1608-D (V1.04 or later): Maximum of four CL/QL units, or six R Remote units.
- Rio/Ri/Ro/Rio3224-D2/Rio1608-D2: Maximum of four CL/QL/RIVAGE PM units plus six separate computers operating R Remote.
- You can connect up to ten units of external controllers such as MonitorMix.
- When setting up the latency in Dante Controller, and there is a discrepancy in latency with the transmit device or the receive device, the largest (slowest) latency setting becomes effective.
- You need to assign Y###- (# is a three-digit hexadecimal number containing the digits 0 - 9 and uppercase A - F (000 - FFF)) to the head of the device label for CL/QL consoles to recognize the device as a SUPPORTED DEVICE.
- An appropriate device label will be automatically assigned to a Dante-supported device manufactured by Yamaha by referring its device ID and so on. (You will still need to assign a device label manually to some of the products such as AIC128-D.)
- Device labels need to be assigned manually to third-party products including Dante-MY16-AUD2.
- Regarding wireless receivers manufactured by Shure, refer to their setup guide to set up properly.
- Restriction of a device label
- # is a three-digit hexadecimal number containing the digits 0 - 9 and uppercase A - F (000 - FFF)
- * indicates any desired character (alphabetical uppercase or lowercase, numerals, or - (hyphen) may be used) Up to 31 characters including the 'Y' are supported.
- For the R-series, make sure that the ID indicated by Y###- is not duplicated by any other R-series unit, even if it is a different size.
- In V2.0 and later, custom fader bank settings are not only included in user settings, but in scene data as well. The custom fader bank settings that are called up vary depending on the logged-in user, the type of the loaded data, and the version. Please note the following points:
- If you load console data of the ALL type as Administrator, the custom fader bank settings for the saved Administrator are recalled. If you load ALL data as Guest or another user, the custom fader bank settings for the saved current scene are called up.
- If you load ALL data that was saved in CL V1.70 or earlier, since scenes do not include custom fader bank settings, the custom fader bank settings for the current scene when the load was performed are applied to all scenes. Therefore, before loading ALL data, we recommend that you either change users to set the custom fader bank to the desired setting, or that you enable Recall Safe for the custom fader bank.
- File Converter V5.2.0, compatible with CL firmware V2.xx, V3.xx, V4.xx and V5.xx and QL firmware V3.xx, V4.xx and V5.xx has been made available for use.
Licenční smlouva a stažení souboru
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Yamaha hereby grants you a license to use copy(ies) of the software program(s) and data ("SOFTWARE") accompanying this Agreement, only on a computer, musical instrument or equipment item that you yourself own or manage. The term SOFTWARE shall encompass any updates to the accompanying software and data. While ownership of the storage media in which the SOFTWARE is stored rests with you, the SOFTWARE itself is owned by Yamaha and/or Yamaha's licensor(s), and is protected by relevant copyright laws and all applicable treaty provisions. While you are entitled to claim ownership of the data created with the use of SOFTWARE, the SOFTWARE will continue to be protected under relevant copyrights.
- You may not engage in reverse engineering, disassembly, decompilation or otherwise deriving a source code form of the SOFTWARE by any method whatsoever.
- You may not reproduce, modify, change, rent, lease, or distribute the SOFTWARE in whole or in part, or create derivative works of the SOFTWARE.
- You may not electronically transmit the SOFTWARE from one computer to another or share the SOFTWARE in a network with other computers.
- You may not use the SOFTWARE to distribute illegal data or data that violates public policy.
- You may not initiate services based on the use of the SOFTWARE without permission by Yamaha Corporation.
- You may not use the SOFTWARE in any manner that might infringe third party copyrighted material or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights, unless you have permission from the rightful owner of the material or you are otherwise legally entitled to use.
Copyrighted data, including but not limited to MIDI data for songs, obtained by means of the SOFTWARE, are subject to the following restrictions which you must observe.
- Data received by means of the SOFTWARE may not be used for any commercial purposes without permission of the copyright owner.
- Data received by means of the SOFTWARE may not be duplicated, transferred, or distributed, or played back or performed for listeners in public without permission of the copyright owner.
- The encryption of data received by means of the SOFTWARE may not be removed nor may the electronic watermark be modified without permission of the copyright owner.
This Agreement becomes effective on the day that you receive the SOFTWARE and remains effective until terminated. If any copyright law or provision of this Agreement is violated, this Agreement shall terminate automatically and immediately without notice from Yamaha. Upon such termination, you must immediately abort using the SOFTWARE and destroy any accompanying written documents and all copies thereof.
If you believe that the downloading process was faulty, you may contact Yamaha, and Yamaha shall permit you to re-download the SOFTWARE, provided that you first destroy any copies or partial copies of the SOFTWARE that you obtained through your previous download attempt. This permission to re-download shall not limit in any manner the disclaimer of warranty set forth in Section 5 below.
You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of the SOFTWARE is at your sole risk. The SOFTWARE and related documentation are provided "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, YAMAHA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AS TO THE SOFTWARE, EXPRESS, AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. SPECIALLY, BUT WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YAMAHA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.
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Last updated :January 28, 2020
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I know this is an unusual "take" on the assignment. Some bloggers are posting about their favorite people, favorite techniques, favorite cards or layouts that they used.
It must be saying something about me that my mind went instantly to shopping!!!
And since blog candy giveaway is one of the requirements to join in this Hop, I thought, "well, why not giveaway a bunch of your favorite things, CardMonkey." (Actually, I don't really refer to myself in the third person ... much. LOL)
I started assembling my giveaway, and it started growing bigger and bigger ... and this post has gotten longer and longer in the months we've had to prepare. So without further ado, let me FIRST show you my fabulous giveaway prize that will be going to ONE lucky CardMonkey follower who leaves a comment below this weekend! (Please be SURE you are a follower on Google Friend Connect -- it's how I check to be sure you're a follower. If instead you get my posts by e-mail or some other way, PLEASE tell me so in your comment).
And let me get down to the business of the Blog Hop first .... You should have come here from Jamie's blog, and you'll be heading to Shannon's blog when you're done here. To get to ALL the fun and prizes GALORE, please start at the very beginning of the Blog Hop at our Hostess Dena's blog. (All of those links are live, so hop, hop, hop!!)
NOW, without further ado, allow me to share with you my PaperJungle essentials ... MY favorite things, in no particular order...
Pink ATG gun: Made by Scotch 3M, this gun dispenses a clean line of strong adhesive. Refills are available in acid-free for long lasting project. MSRP: $39.99
Good value: Use a 40 or 50% off coupon at a major retailer, like Michael's or AC Moore.
Best value: Win one as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Crop-A-Dile: Made by We R Memory Keepers, a Crop-A-Dile is a tool that allows you to set eyelets and grommets, and also hole punch. There are versions available that are handheld, as well as those known as the "Big Bite" that are larger (for table-top use) and have a longer reach. I prefer the Big Bite because my hands are old and arthritic, but the picture here is that of the handheld version. MSRP: From $18 to $40.
Good value: Hunt one down on eBay, for about half the retail value, or use a coupon at a major retailer.
Best value: Win a handheld Crop-A-Dile as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Good value: Best to buy these at a major retailer like Michael's, using a coupon.
Best value: Win a pair of HoneyBees as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Martha Stewart Fringing Scissors: The name speaks for itself: all things crafty! Use these sweet special effects in cutting paper, for things like hair, fringe or grass, or to evenly slice tissue paper at the top of gift packages. MSRP: $12.99
Good value: Amazon.com currently has them listed for $10.07, with free shipping if you're a member of Amazon Prime. Get a free trial of Prime, too!
Best value: Win a pair as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Martha Stewart Fine Ball-Tip Glue Pen: While I'm speaking about the crafting Diva, let me say I can't live without my MS glue pens! They're a little tricky to figure out at first -- exert some pressure at the flexible glue well while laying down the glue, and you'll be just fine! I use it for EVERYTHING!
Good value: Go directly to Martha Stewart Crafts' website by clicking this link. She sells these babies for $3.19 each and they're in stock. Remember, coupons don't always apply to MS craft items.
Best value: I'll part with a new one as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
SookWang Scor-Tape: So now I'm stuck on adhesive -- oops, pardon the pun. Sometimes I crack myself up! ♥ For very strong hold especially on things like rosettes and boxes and such, you should use a good double-sided tape. My favorite is by SookWang Scor-Tape, distributed by Scor-Pal. It is a premium, double-sided, super-sticky, acid-free adhesive tape that's heat resistant. This means it will not lift up or curl when heated. Use it with many different media: glitter, embossing powder, foil, microbeads, flock, on chipboard, matboard, foamcore and more! It comes in all sorts of widths. My favorite to keep on hand are 1/8" (perfect for adhering thin strands of ribbon), 1/4" and 1/2" (best for those 3-D projects you see that I love!). Comes in rolls of 27 yards, all the way up to 4.5" wide! MSRP: $4 (1/8") to $50 (4.5"), and everything in between.
Good value: The "official" distributor of Scor-Tape is Scor-Pal, and here's the link. However, you can generally find many on-line retailers who have it for about 10-15% less. E-bay is NOT a good place to buy this ... I haven't found any discounts on this genuine tape there.
Best value: I'll part with a roll of 1/2" SookWang Scor-Tape as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
(Different colors are in the giveaway) |
Good value: Hands down, the best place to buy Sketch Copic Markers is from Terri Olsen at Stamps Alive! Terri's regular discount price on Copics is $4.20 each plus shipping -- a huge reduction in the MSRP of $6.99. P.S. Congratulations, Terri, on the birth of your new baby Grandson!!
Best value: Terri has generously agreed to sponsor my post here today, and so you'll get some of the prettiest color Sketch Copics in with the "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy! Thanks, Terri!
White Gelly Pen: I've tried them all, really I have. For terrific faux stitching on your cards or layouts, or to add accent dots or "eyelights" to your Create a Critters' eyes, use a White Gelly Pen.
Good value: I buy these at Michael's. I stock up when I have a 20% off your entire purchase, since they're just not pricey enough to waste a perfectly good 40% one item coupon.
Best value: I'll part with a new White Gelly Pen as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Acrylic Stamps: I'll confess -- I haven't been much of a stamper, and have only recently started collecting them to improve the versatility and ease of making a quick card with beautiful designs. Here are three of my favorite sets:
Waltzingmouse Stamps: Their Autumn-Winter sentiment set is crazy-versatile. Check out their other brilliant designs, too.
K Andrews Designs: Kristal's "Positive Thoughts" sentiment collection resonates with me, and I've used it often.
Peachy Keen Stamps: Called "PKS" on most crafty circles, this company has a wonderful selection, but it is most famous for their face stamps. Try the "Everyday Faces" or even Corny faces to add fun to even inanimate objects.
Good value: Occasionally you can find these used on the Internet, such as on one of my favorite Facebook Groups called "~Get It Sold~". Otherwise, MSRP is in the $20 range for each of these sets.
Best value: I have one of the Waltzingmouse Autumn-Winter sentiment sets, as well as one KAD "Positive Thoughts" sentiment sets to give away as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Digi-Stamps: I am a digi-stampin' fool! I love designs by Heather Ellis (particularly her Pure Innocence line) and MelJen Designs.
Good value: Digi-stamps are a GREAT value no matter where you purchase them, and you'll typically have to go directly to the source for them. You can reuse, resize, reprint and use them as often as you wish, of course, honoring the company's Angel Policy not to redistribute or sell them other than a product (e.g., card) you make with them.
Cutting My Designs: I first got into papercrafting after my dear daughter Emily asked for a CRICUT for Christmas 2008. I had no idea what that was, but as soon as I found out, I bought one for "her" ... and then had to have one for myself. I planned to cut fabric with it, as I was "into" sewing appliques.
True confession: I gave up sewing when I saw how much fun it is to work with paper ...and six months later I started blogging about it. Since then, I've bought more than 120 cartridges, and growing strong.
My favorite Cricut cartridge -- my go-to -- is CAKE BASICS. And no, I don't decorate cakes with it. It has a TON of basic shapes and images that I'm always using. I keep it at my left hand at the Cricut station at all times.
My favorite NEW Cartridge is "ART PHILOSOPHY", a Close to My Heart exclusive. OMG, what wonderful images there are on that -- so versatile for every occasion!
Another favorite is "WRAP IT UP" since I can cut shaped cards, packages and sentiments for just about every celebration. Again...versatility PLUS!
Good value: I've never been disappointed buying Cricut cartridges on E-Bay. Be careful though, if you're wanting the Cricut Reward Points and to be able to link up your cartridge to Cricut Craft Room or your Gypsy. Make sure you're buying NIB (New in Box). A favorite retailer there is "Proud Parents", who also sell online as www.cricutmachine.com.
Best value: The Wrap It Up cartridge retails for $79.99 but I have an extra, NIB, and I'll give it away as part of my "CardMonkey Favorites" blog candy!
Cheery Lynn Designs Dies: Having acquired so many Cricut dies, I couldn't imagine why I'd ever want to get into collecting dies to cut on my Big Kick or Cuttlebug. But once you experience the intricate designs now available in dies by several different die manufacturers, you'll be hooked like I am. There's no way to reliably produce such intricate wafer-thin designs on a Cricut. My very favorite thin metal designs are produced by Cheery Lynn Designs!
Good value: My very favorite retailer for Cheery Lynn Designs dies is Alex at Happy Scrappy. Alex offers deep discounts on Cheery Lynn, and soon, Spellbinders dies too, and there is free shipping on domestic orders over $50 -- and reasonable flat rate shipping up to that. Alex generously provided several dies to me for blog hop giveaways, so is honored here as one of my Favorite Vendors sponsors. Please visit Happy Scrappy, shop, and tell him Ellen ♥ CardMonkey sent you!
Best value: I've given away several of the Cheery Lynn Designs dies Alex donated to me, but I've saved My CardMonkey Favorite, called "Fanciful Flourishes" to add to my blog candy here!
Paper: I'm a stickler for paper quality since I invest so much love into making my cards and other paper projects. Two lines are consistently My Favorites both for design and paper quality ("hand", thickness, etc.). Those are Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker LLC, and Bella Boulevard. I have an Iris box full of NSS papers, which I turn to regularly to stimulate my creativity when designing a card.
Good value: My Favorite Retailer for all of the designer papers you might need is Stop and Scrap. They carry many, many major designers' lines, at great discounts, and their customer service is excellent! I bought my latest supply of NSS "Li'l Monster" collection from them on clearance ... I don't think they're carrying NSS any more, but I'll be buying my next order of Bella Boulevard from them for sure, once my wallet can take the pressure of seeing all the other fantastic papers in stock and on pre-order. When I asked for an additional pack of "Li'l Monster" to giveaway, they didn't hesitate to step up to sponsor this prize ... thank you!!
Best value: I have a full collection of "Li'l Monster" paper set by Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker to giveaway in my blog candy, thanks to Stop and Scrap!
At the risk of totally boring you with more of my very Favorite Things, I'll list some more essentials in the PaperJungle, and may add to it over the course of this hop:
- GEEZ!!! I can't believe I missed this entirely in my main features list, since I use it ALLLLL the time ... STICKLES!!!! I have them in every color available. I'm giving away one large bottle in my blog candy, too!
- Creative Charm Embellishments
- Hug Snug Seam Binding
- Mei Flower Satin Ribbon
- Action Wobbles
- Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue
- My hot glue gun (any one!)
- Martha Stewart fine glitter
- Amazon.com - for everything!
- Shutterfly for photo books
- Ikea - for scrap storage supplies
- I-Rock and I-Top
- Online shopping
- USPS online shipping of Priority Packages - 15% discount!
- Crafting magazines for inspiration (Paper Crafts, Scrapbooks Etc., CardMaker, Creative Keepsakes, Cricut Magazine, Cards .... I buy 'em all or subscribe (cheaper)
- ... more coming soon! ...
www.stampsalive.blogspot.com |
www.happyscrappy.us |
www.stopandscrap.com |
Be a follower of CardMonkey via Google Friend Connect, so I can check my list. If you can't join GFC, then please indicate in your comment how you follow my posts (e-mail, etc.). Sorry if this sounds cranky, but I do put a lot of time and effort into my blog and I want you here :).Leave a comment during the "Our Favorite Things Blog Candy Extravaganza Blog Hop", March 3-4, here on the CardMonkey blog. The comment MUST include the answer to this question: "What is YOUR favorite thing in your arsenal of paper crafting? It can be a product, a service, a vendor, a supply, whatever. Please be specific, and if you'd like, provide links ... Let's build a Resource Directory together!"Your comment should also include a way for me to contact you when youwin!
A Winner has been announced and it's SUZANNE ROSEBERRY! Congratulations! To others, thank you for playing along. All comments are still welcome, but you will not qualify for this blog candy any longer.
Now, for more of Our Favorite Things, please hop over to Shannon's blog at http://my-o-scrappin.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by! And Good Luck!!


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When it comes to the versatile health savings account, misunderstandings abound.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are powerful savings vehicles that can encourage Americans to save for future healthcare expenses. These accounts are triple tax advantaged:
Bonus: Your employer may also contribute on your behalf.
Plus, the money can be used to pay for a variety of qualified expenses, including co-insurance, deductibles, dental and vision care, prescriptions and many other items. HSAs aren't for everyone, but for those who can benefit most, they do more than help keep your taxes in good shape.
Read on to debunk some of the misconceptions around what HSAs can and can't do to help you and your family plan for a healthy future.
You might be thinking of FSAs (flexible spending accounts), which are also funded with pre-tax dollars and can pay for certain qualified expenses. With FSAs, you typically get a year to spend your funds or forfeit that money. But with HSAs, funds roll over year after year, making them ideal for tax-efficient savings.
Plus, the money is yours even if you leave your job. Simply transfer the funds to another custodian. Talk with your advisor and accountant first about rules and limits.
HSAs benefit just about everyone, and enrollment is relatively equal across age groups. The misconception may have arisen because HSAs are associated with high-deductible health plans, which means you pay a certain amount out of pocket before insurance kicks in.
Not unless the law changes. Currently, you can wait years to request reimbursement for a qualified medical expense. You do have to hold on to the relevant receipts and documentation, however.
That's true for regular health insurance, unless you're receiving unemployment benefits. But it's not true for long-term care premiums, which are considered a qualified expense (up to the established age-based IRS limits). Keep in mind, once you're enrolled in Medicare, you can no longer contribute to an HSA, but you can use the funds for Medicare premiums. You can also use the money to pay for COBRA premiums should you need to.
Your HSA funds may earn interest like your savings account, but if they do, it isn't taxable. Even better? Many HSAs allow the money to be invested in bank accounts, money markets, stocks and mutual funds.
Some accountholders even choose to pay current medical expenses out of pocket to allow the HSA balance to grow tax free for as long as possible and use the funds for retirement health needs.
Please note that all investments are subject to risk, including loss.
Qualifying withdrawals are tax free. But nonqualified withdrawals are taxable as ordinary income AND subject to a 20% penalty unless you're: a) over 65, b) disabled or c) a non-spouse beneficiary who makes a withdrawal after the passing of the original accountholder.
Not exactly. If you name your spouse as beneficiary, it'll retain its preferential tax treatment when it changes hands. However, if you name someone other than a spouse, the account will cease to be an HSA upon your death, and the heir will have to pay taxes on it.
If the recipient is enrolled in a high deductible health plan, you can contribute to their HSA on their behalf (up to the annual limit), and they can deduct the contribution on their tax return. Two gifts in one! Bonus: the contributions are "above the line" deductions so they apply whether the person itemizes or not.
HSAs can actually act like super IRAs. For example, HSAs allow employer contributions. IRAs don't. HSAs don't require minimum distributions. IRAs do. And if you don't need the funds for healthcare expenses, you can use your HSA money as an advanced-age traditional IRA after age 65 (IRAs allow withdrawals at 59 1/2) without penalty, though you'll have to pay income tax on the funds.
They might be, averaged over a year. But switching to an HSA can come with sticker shock. You're responsible for all costs until you meet your high deductible, meaning you may pay considerably more for doctor's visits or prescriptions before your insurance benefits take over. That's the main reason HSAs were given preferential tax treatment. They're intended to help you boost your savings to cover a higher deductible before your insurance benefits take effect.
Ask your advisor whether an HSA could help benefit your health and wealth.
Sources: healthcare.gov; nerdwallet.com; paychex.com; AHIP.org's "Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans Grow as Valuable Financial Planning Tools," April 2018
Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax advice. You should discuss any tax matters with the appropriate professional.
Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax filing status and other factors. Withdrawal of pre-tax contributions and/or earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax and, if taken prior to age 59 1/2, may be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty.


text:
Emergency Nightingale hospitals could be turned into vaccination centres
The Nightingale hospitals which were established to create extra capacity for coronavirus patients could be used as mass vaccination centres, according to the Prime Minister's spokesman.
If a vaccine becomes available, the government wants to be able to vaccinate up to 1,000 people per day in a bid to restore some kind of normality by the middle of next year.
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Hide AdThe PM's spokesman said Nightingale hospitals are "one possible way" that large numbers of people could be vaccinated quickly.
Current plans for the rollout of a vaccine would see vaccines delivered at GP surgeries, pharmacies and mass testing centres, with retired medics and medical students likely to be drafted in to administer them.
Of the seven Nightingale hospitals, four are on standby for coronavirus patients. The Manchester hospital is in use, and those in Harrogate and Sunderland are "ready to take patients if necessary," according to Downing Street.
Is a vaccine ready?
Pfizer and BioNtech's coronavirus vaccine is 90 per cent effective and could be rolled out by the end of the year.
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Hide AdThe government has secured access to 10 million doses which will be available before the end of the year, and a further 30 million beyond that, subject to final regulatory approval.
Other vaccine trials are also expected to produce results soon, such as Astra Zeneca and Oxford University's, which is likely to report its findings in the next week or so.
Who will be the first to get a vaccine?
When a vaccine is ready to be delivered to the public, different groups will be prioritised access to it according to their level of risk.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is in charge of setting the priority levels, and has said that care home residents and workers will be the first to be vaccinated.
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Hide AdThe vaccine would then be distributed to older people in ten year age bands, from the over 80s to over 60s.
Adults with underlying health conditions will be vaccinated next, then over 50s as the last group in phase one of the program.
Chairman of the JCVI, Professor Wei Shen Lim said that "if phase one is completed then we will have protected hopefully 99 per cent of those individuals who are at risk of dying from Covid-19."


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Golden Llama Treasure Hunt
Check out Cost Plus World Market Holiday World Market's Christmas Shop
Don't you just love my Wish List slideshow?
I think I am going to make one of these every year, and on my birthday, and on valentine's day too!
I am going to go Llama crazy this holiday season, how can you resist any animal that looks like it is smiling/happy? I think it's why I also like Sloths, looking at them always makes me smile. And aren't the holidays all about surrounding yourself with things that make you smile?
And because I know many of you will ask, NO, I do NOT know where the Llama is hiding, I have the clues my butterflies, but you need to hunt for it to get the reward.
Visit Cost Plus World Market, (warning: this is an affiliate link so if you shop using this link you will be supporting my Llama habit!) then come back here and let me know which of the Llama products (or other Christmas Items!)would you most want Santa to slip into YOUR stocking this year and why? And if you visit your local store and find the Llama, please tag me on twitter and let me know! (@Tracy_Iglesias or @Ascending1)
FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own! This post also contains affiliate links) I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.