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Privacy Policy Notice
Topalsson GmbH, (hereinafter "Topalsson") processes Personal Data (as defined below) in the course of its business, including the Personal Data of people browsing the websites of Topalsson (the "Sites").
The purpose of this "Privacy Policy" is to inform all individuals from whom Personal Data is collected by Topalsson ("You" or "Your") how Topalsson collects and uses such Personal Data and how You can control its use.
1. Scope of this privacy policy
This Privacy Policy sets forth the principles and guidelines governing the protection of Your Personal Data including the Personal Data collected on or through the Sites.
Topalsson collects Personal Data either online (including via email) or offline and this Privacy Policy is applicable regardless of the means of collection or processing.
Personal data ("Personal Data") means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person. An identifiable person is a person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to the person. Non-Personal Data means any information that does not result in the identification of a person.
For visitors and users of the Sites: each Site is subject to Terms of Use that can be found on each Site and are incorporated into this Privacy Policy. Your use of the Sites and any Personal Data You provide on the Sites are subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the applicable Terms of Use.
2. Data collected
1. Visitors
Visitors are individuals who visit the Sites without registering themselves. Their Personal Data likely includes:
- IP and/or MAC address
- Cookies (as described in section 10)
- And any other Personal Data as may be relevant for the purposes listed below.
2. Users
Personal Data collected (including from those who visit Sites and enter information) for the purposes listed below likely includes:
- title
- first and last name
- postal address
- email address
- telephone number(s)
- login and password
- university, degree and courses taken
- type of organization (company, school, university, etc.), organization name, organization size, department and job title
- industry and industry sub-industry sectors
- people to whom purchases are shipped
- financial data (credit card number and expiry date,
- name and address of the cardholder)
- IP and/or MAC address
- Cookies (as described in section 10) and
- any other Personal Data as may be relevant for the purposes listed below.
In all cases, however, the Personal Data gathered is limited to data necessary for the purposes described in Article 4 below.
For visitors and users of the Sites: in order to use certain functions and features of the Site, Topalsson requires that You provide certain Personal Data when visiting or using the Site. You are free to decide whether or not to provide all or part of Your Personal Data. However, if You choose not to provide all or part of this Personal Data, the purposes as described in Article 4 hereafter might not be achieved or not properly achieved, some areas and functions of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may be refused access to certain pages on the Site. In particular, You will not be authorized to purchase software licenses or other products or services via the Site.
3. Protection of personal data concerning children
For visitors and users of the Sites: in order to use certain functions and features of the Site, Topalsson requires that You provide certain Personal Data when visiting or using the Site. You are free to decide whether or not to provide all or part of Your Personal Data. However, if You choose not to provide all or part of this Personal Data, the purposes as described in Article 4 hereafter might not be achieved or not properly achieved, some areas and functions of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may be refused access to certain pages on the Site. In particular, You will not be authorized to purchase software licenses or other products or services via the Site.
Certain Topalsson products and services may be appropriate for use by children, however, in which case children below the age of consent under local data protection laws must seek consent from their parents or guardians prior to creating a Topalsson account or registering a product. Teachers and school administrators may act in the place of parents and guardians and provide consent for the collection of Personal Data from children (schools should always ensure that they have received permission from parents or guardians to do so).
If parents or guardians become aware that their child has provided Topalsson with Personal Data without their consent or without a teachers or school administrator consent, they can ask Topalsson to remove such Personal Data and terminate the child's account by sending an email to email@example.com
If Topalsson becomes aware that it has collected Personal Data from a child below the age of consent under local data protection laws without consent from a parent or guardian, Topalsson will take steps to seek the parent's or guardian's consent for that processing or to remove such Personal Data and terminate the child's account.
2. Purposes and legal grounds for processing personal data
Whether You are a visitor or a user, Topalsson collects Your Personal Data for the following legal grounds and for the following purposes:
Processing activities based on Your consent:
- To improve Your user experience
- To recognize that You have given a Personal Data so You don't need to do it for every web page requested
Processing activities based on Topalsson's legitimate interest:
- To enable Topalsson to manage surveys.
In addition, when You are a user, Topalsson collects Your Personal Data on the following legal grounds and for the following purposes:
Processing activities based on Your prior consent:
- To enable You to request and receive information on Topalsson and Topalsson products and services from Topalsson or a third party engaged by Topalsson
- To ascertain Your requirements and interests and provide You with the most suitable products and/or services
- To enable Topalsson to manage its marketing activities
- To enable You to register for a seminar, webinar, or event
- To enable You to enter a contest
- To enable You to create a user profile ("TLogin"). Topalsson provides You with the possibility of using its Sites (including forums, blogs, and networks), and Topalsson products and services that require You to register and create a TLogin. User profiles provide the option to display personal information about You to other users, including but not limited to Your name, photo, social media accounts, postal or email address, or both, telephone number, personal interests, skills, and basic information about Your company. These profiles may relate to a single Site or may also allow You to access Topalsson products and services, or both.
Topalsson may provide a hashed user ID to third party operated social networks or other web offerings (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Google) where this information is matched against the social networks' data own data bases in order to display to You more relevant information.
Processing based on Topalsson's legitimate interest:
- To enable Topalsson to manage its marketing activities for similar goods and products if You are already using Topalsson products and services
- To manage the Topalsson obligations related to applicable export laws, trade sanctions, and embargoes issued, without limitation, by the European Union and its member states, and of the United States of America. This may include (i) automated checks of any user registration data as set out herein and other information You provide about Your identity against applicable sanctioned-party lists; (ii) regular repetition of such checks whenever a sanctioned-party list is updated or when You update Your information; (iii) blocking of access to Topalsson services and systems in case of a potential match; and (iv) contacting You to confirm Your identity in case of a potential match
- To manage the Topalsson License Compliance program.
Processing based on the performance of a contract:
- To provide You with a personalized interactive use of the Sites
- To allow You to open and maintain an account in order to obtain specialized documentation and technical assistance
- To access all the features and options offered by the Sites
- To enable You to exchange with other users of the Sites
- To enable Topalsson to manage its business relationships, including sales opportunities, commercial offers, purchasing, contracts, orders, invoices, which may include conversational data triggered via chat functionalities on the Sites, contact forms, emails, and voice messaging data
- To provide You with commercial or support-type services
- To enable You to purchase software licenses, or products or services, download software and/or register software licenses and
- To manage Your training and/or certification on Topalsson products and services. Topalsson may also track users' learning progress in order to make this information available to them.
Generally, when consent is not required, You cannot opt out of non-marketing related communications that are required for the relevant business relationship. With regard to marketing-related communications (e.g., emails and phone calls), Topalsson will (i) where legally required, only send You such communications after You have opted in, and (ii) provide You the opportunity to opt out of receiving further marketing-related communications from Topalsson.
When You register for an event organized by Topalsson, Topalsson may share Your name, company, and email address with other participants and sponsors of the same event for the purpose of communication and the exchange of ideas. In addition, Topalsson may ask You for information about Your health for the sole purpose of identifying and being considerate of individuals who have disabilities or special dietary requirements throughout the event.
Subject to applicable local law, by providing Personal Data such as but not limited to e-mail address, You hereby expressly authorize Topalsson and its affiliates and subsidiaries ("Topalsson Group Companies") to use it together with other relevant Personal Data to send You commercial or marketing communications. Topalsson might also use Your email address for administrative or other non-marketing purposes (for example, to notify You of significant changes to the Sites).
5. Personal data retention period
Topalsson does not store Your Personal Data for more time than necessary. Retention periods may vary depending on the data categories and the processing activities.
Where Topalsson is processing and using Your Personal Data as permitted by law or under Your consent, Topalsson will store Your Personal Data (i) only as long as required to fulfill the purposes set out above, (ii) where Topalsson has a legitimate interest in using Your Personal Data, until You object to Topalsson's use of Your Personal Data, or (iii) where You gave Your consent, until You withdraw it. However, where Topalsson is required by applicable law to retain Your Personal Data longer or where Your Personal Data is required to assert or defend against legal claims, Topalsson will retain Your Personal Data until the end of the relevant retention period or until the claims in question have been settled
6. Transfer of personal data
If You are accessing the Sites from a location outside of the European Union, with laws or regulations governing data collection, use, and disclosure that differ from those of the European Union, please note that through Your continued use of the Sites, which are governed by German law, the corresponding Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy, You are transferring Your Personal Data to the European Union and You consent to that transfer.
Please note that Topalsson may transfer Your Personal Data outside of the European Union, as long as before transferring Your Personal Data, Topalsson has ascertained that non-European Union entities, including Topalsson Group Companies, offer an adequate level of protection in accordance with European legislation.
7. Right access, to rectification and other rights
Topalsson will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Data collected is used for the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy and that such Personal Data is correct and up to date.
You have a right to access Your Personal Data. In addition, You have a right to request the rectification, completion, update or erasure of Your Personal Data. You have a right to restrict processing. You also have a right to obtain a copy of Your Personal Data stored by Topalsson. You have a right to object, in relation to specific processing of Your Personal Data. Additionally, You may have a right to data portability.
If You have an account, You can exercise Your rights by logging on to Your account. Otherwise, You may exercise Your rights by sending an email to: firstname.lastname@example.com
Depending on the scope of the request, Topalsson reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee to cover any out-of-pocket costs incurred in connection with such access, modification and deletion of Personal Data. Topalsson may deny access to Personal Data in limited circumstances, defined by applicable laws and regulations.
8. Data recipients
Your Personal Data may be disclosed to and used by a Topalsson GmbH for the purposes stated in Article 4 of this Privacy Policy.
Where Topalsson has knowledge that a third party to which Topalsson has provided Personal Data for the purposes listed in Article 4 above is using or disclosing Personal Data contrary to this Privacy Policy or to applicable laws, Topalsson will take reasonable steps to prevent or stop such use or disclosure. Topalsson will also disclose Your Personal Data to third parties if Topalsson determines that such disclosure is necessary for technical reasons (such as hosting services by a third party) or to protect Topalsson's legal interests (such as in the event of a sale of assets to a third company, or a change of control or a total or partial liquidation of Topalsson).
Additionally, Topalsson may share Your personal Data with the reseller assigned to You or in the territory where You are located for the purpose of Topalsson business. Topalsson may also share Your Personal Data with business partners when Topalsson and the business partner sponsor an event together or participate in a marketing promotion together and in which you engage.
Topalsson may also disclose Your Personal Data if required by law or if Topalsson believes in good faith that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process (for example, a warrant, a subpoena, or other court order) or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Topalsson, Topalsson's customers, or the public. If allowed by applicable law, Topalsson may also share Your Personal Data with third parties in order to offer You targeted marketing or advertising.
9. Data security
Topalsson undertakes to ensure the protection and security of Personal Data that You choose to communicate, in order to ensure the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and prevent Your Personal Data from being distorted, damaged, destroyed or disclosed to unauthorized parties.
Topalsson maintains reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. As part of those safeguards, Topalsson employs sophisticated technology designed to protect Personal Data during its transmission and prevent transmission errors or unauthorized acts of third parties. However, while Topalsson strives to protect Your Personal Data, in light of the inevitable risks of data transmission over the internet, Topalsson cannot guarantee full protection against any error occurring during the course of Personal Data transmission which is beyond Topalsson' reasonable control.
Since all Personal Data is confidential, access is limited to employees, contractors and agents of Topalsson or Topalsson Group Companies who have a need to know such data in carrying out their tasks. All the people who have access to Your Personal Data are bound by a duty of confidentiality and subject to disciplinary actions and/or other sanctions if they fail to meet these obligations.
However, it is important for You to exercise caution to prevent unauthorized access to Your Personal Data. You are responsible for the confidentiality of Your password and information appearing on Your account. Consequently, You must ensure that You log out of Your session in the event of shared use of a computer.
10. Cookies
The Sites may use cookies or other technologies serving the same or similar purpose (together referred to as "cookies"), that may collect or store Personal Data. Cookies are text files stored and used to record Non-Personal and Personal Data concerning Your browsing and use of the Sites. Cookies can be either persistent (i.e. remain after You logoff from the Sites in order to be used on Your subsequent visits to the Sites) or transient (i.e., removed when You close the web browser).
To view the list of cookies Topalsson uses and their purpose, follow the link below:
Topalsson uses cookies in order to:
Improve Your user experience through, for example:
- enabling a service to recognize Your device so You don't have to give the same information several times during one task
- recognizing that You may already have given a username and password so You don't need to do so for every web page requested;
analyze traffic and data on the Sites to:
- measure how many people are using the Sites, so the Sites can be made easier to use and navigate and to make sure there is enough capacity to ensure the Sites have adequate response times
- help Topalsson understand how users interact with the Sites so Topalsson can improve their functionality and performance.
Topalsson may also use third party services (such as Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Piwik, DART, LinkedIn) to perform services on its behalf, in particular to:
- analyze Your browsing habits and measure the Sites audience,
- analyze Your interests and offer You targeted marketing or advertising,
- allow You to share content from the services with other people on social networks or to let these other people know what You are looking at or what You think (e.g., the "Like" button on Facebook)
In such a case, cookies provided by such third party vendors may be used and stored. By transmitting the information generated by these cookies, the cookies' settings ensure that an IP address is anonymized before geo-localization and before storage. Our providers will use this information for the evaluation of Your use of the Sites, compiling reports on the Sites activity for Topalsson, to propose better services to You that are suited to Your needs, and display advertisements You that are suited to Your needs. Cookies will not associate Your IP address with any other data they hold.
When You browse the Sites, cookies are enabled by default and data may be read from or stored locally on Your device if Your browser settings allow. You will be notified of the use of cookies the first time You access the Sites with a different device; Topalsson will not install any cookies before obtaining Your explicit consent. You may decide to accept or refuse some or all cookies. You can configure Your browser software to refuse all cookies (including cookies used for web analytics services); if You do so, however, some areas and features of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may not be able to access some parts or services of the Sites.
11. Links to websites not controlled by Topalsson or its subsidiaries
The Sites might offer links to third party websites that may be of interest to You
Topalsson does not exercise any control over the content of third party websites or the practices of these third parties in connection with the protection of Personal Data that they might collect and are thus not in the control of Topalsson. Consequently, Topalsson shall have no liability for the content of third party websites or the practices of these third parties concerning the protection of Personal Data.
It is therefore Your responsibility to inform yourself of the privacy policies of these third party websites.
12. Dispute resolution
Although Topalsson has put in place reasonable safeguards to protect Personal Data, Topalsson recognizes that there is no method of transmitting or storing Personal Data that is completely secure.
However, Topalsson is committed to ensure the privacy of Personal Data: if You have a reason to believe that the security of Your Personal Data has been compromised or misused, You should contact Topalsson via the following address: email@example.com
Topalsson will investigate and attempt to resolve complaints regarding use and disclosure of Personal Data in accordance with the principles contained in this Privacy Policy. Unauthorized access to Personal Data or the improper use of Personal Data may constitute offenses under local law. If Your usual place of residence is in European Union, Lichtenstein, Norway or Iceland, You have a right to file a complaint with Your competent data protection authority
13. Contact
For any additional question concerning this Privacy Policy, to opt out of receiving information from Topalsson or any request regarding Your rights in Your Personal Data You may send an email to the following email address: firstname.lastname@example.com
Please note that You may also contact Topalsson Data Protection Officer via the following address email@example.com
14. Date of entry into force of the privacy policy and changes to it
This Privacy Policy may be updated according to Topalsson' requirements and circumstances, or where required by applicable laws and regulations so please check back periodically for updates.
If major changes occur to this Privacy Policy, Topalsson may inform You via email or via posting a notice on the Site.
Last modification: Apr 21th 2020.


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Av. Vitacura 10.151, Vitacura, Santiago Chile |
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Romain Grosjean ended the day third with Heikki Kovalainen eighth during qualifying for tomorrow's United States Grand Prix. Cool, dry, misty conditions prevailed during the morning's final practice session, with rising temperatures and sporadic gusts of wind the feature of qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas.
An unpredictable Q1 session saw varying grip levels and wind speed make a significant impact on the latter stages of proceedings. Romain Grosjean benefitted to progress in tenth position without the need for a run on the medium compound tyre, having topped the times with his initial effort on hards. A comfortable start for Heikki Kovalainen meanwhile saw him move through to the next phase in seventh place after a solid medium-shod run.
Q2 by contrast was a tightly fought affair. A single run on medium rubber for Romain clinched fifth spot on the time sheets; the Frenchman setting a competitive first lap before aborting his second attempt after a big lock-up. A solid opening effort from Heikki was followed by a last-gasp second stint, in which the Finn soaked up the pressure to reach the pole position shootout by the narrowest of margins in tenth.
A single, medium tyre run apiece in the final showdown brought a strong finale to Saturday in Austin for the boys in black and gold; Romain making his third top-three qualifying appearance from the last six races, with Heikki impressing in eighth.
Heikki Kovalainen, E21-05
"I knew yesterday that we had a good car, but I didn't really set myself a target for qualifying. I felt that I got pretty much everything I could from it today, as I struggled a bit compared to yesterday with the cooler temperatures this afternoon. Overall, everything's been positive so far and we got into the top ten. I'm not making any predictions, but we've seen that Kimi could do pretty well working forwards from similar grid positions so hopefully tomorrow we can have another good day."
Romain Grosjean, E21-04
"It's not been the easiest weekend in terms of finding the right balance with the car, so to be third on the grid is a good result. We managed to go through Q1 on the hard tyre which was not the plan initially, but it was a nice surprise and gave us options for the two following sessions. It's great for the team to have Heikki [Kovalainen] in the top ten too – especially with Mercedes and Ferrari struggling a little bit – as we're still fighting them hard in the Constructors' Championship, so hopefully we can score good points with both cars tomorrow. Sebastian [Vettel] and Mark [Webber] were very quick today, but of course we'll do our best to round up the bulls in the race; we are in Texas after all!"
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: "We're very happy with today's performance from both drivers"
How was qualifying for the team?
We're very happy with today's performance from both drivers. Romain is once more leading the charge against the Red Bulls after a reasonably straight-forward progression through the qualifying sessions. Heikki has come in and demonstrated that he's certainly got the ability to deliver at the front of the pack; progressing through to the top ten with no real dramas despite his limited experience with our car.
How impressive has Heikki been so far this weekend?
He's jumped into the car and delivered exactly what we've wanted from him. He qualified solidly in the top ten and has a realistic opportunity to score good points tomorrow. As we've seen this year, our car is often stronger in the race than it is in qualifying so he has great potential tomorrow; especially as he's learning the car more with every lap.
Considerations for the race?
Our long run pace looks good and there are overtaking opportunities here. The track has evolved well since last year, so there isn't such a hunt for grip and that should help tyre performance. We're feeling quite confident.


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Cards host enthusiastic Pitch, Hit & Run event
Kids participate in competition looking to advance to All-Star Week championship
ST LOUIS -- Nick Cass stood on the top step of the dugout at Busch Stadium on Saturday morning and bent over to talk to his younger brother.
Long before the big leaguers took the field in front of thousands of fans, a small group of children participated in the Cardinals' team championship round of Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit & Run competition. The competition included hitting off a tee, running from second to home and throwing pitches at a strike zone.
Saturday's event brought wide eyes from those participating.
"To actually stand there [at home plate], it's overwhelming just to see you have so much field to hit the ball to," said Karly Bruntjen, first-place winner in the girls' 13-14 age division. "It's crazy."
More than 4,000 local competitions take place each year, with participants needing to advance through a local competition and sectionals to reach the team competition held in each Major League city between May 31 and June 29.
The top three winners from each age group among all 30 teams will have the opportunity to compete in the national competition during All-Star Week on July 14 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The top three winners will be announced on June 29 on MLB Network.
"It was my first year doing it, and I didn't even expect to get here," Bruntjen said. "Hopefully I move on."
The program was started in 1997 as a way to get more people back into the game of baseball. Since then, two current Major Leaguers have participated -- Twins outfielder Chris Parmelee and Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer.
No matter what the result was for Saturday's participants at Busch Stadium, the experience is one to remember. They posed for photos on the field and laughed and joked in the dugout.
"To be able to stand at home plate where the greats stand, that's a pretty unique feeling," Pitch, Hit & Run representative Matt Engleka said. "Some of the younger ones are a little too young to realize that, but as they get older they'll remember this day for the rest of their lives, and their parents definitely will."
One key objective of the program is to have fun. That explained why Cass, who won the boys' 13-14 age division, bent over to give his brother, who finished second in the 7-8 age division, words of advice.
"I was like, 'No matter if you came and you lost, as long as you gave all your effort, that's all that matters,'" Cass said. "I think it's pretty cool having my brother here, I think it's a pretty cool experience."


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Electrolytic Machining of Brass – Part II:
After the perhaps overly optimistic attempt at electrolytic machining in Part I, I decided to try etching parts from thinner sheets of brass. Sheet with thicknesses of .010 and .015" were chosen and I used the advanced image search feature of Google to search for black and white appropriately steampunk images.
Once I had collected a few that I liked I arranged them in OpenOffice.org Draw and scaled the sheet to a convenient size. After saving the file I printed out a copy and used a Sharpie to fill in the blank areas. This was much easier and quicker then attempting to do the same operation on the computer. Once I had the blank areas filled, I scanned the image back into the computer, composed a pair of mirror image masks, and printed the result on some Press-n-Peel Blue.
I've discovered that our new Samsung CLP-300 color laser printer lays down an excellent layer of black toner on the Press-n-Peel. Unfortunately, it will not feed the Press-n-Peel film through by itself, it jams almost instantly. However, it you fold a piece of paper over the leading edge as shown, it feeds through the printer with no problem at all.
I polished the brass highly prior to ironing on the film as I have discovered that this minimizes the amount of finish work that the brass requires after the etch.
One of the trickiest tasks was to get both sides of the film justified before ironing it on to the brass plate. I lined up the two haves carefully on a light table and then taped them to a folded piece of paper to form a book.
As you can see I'm still trying to get the ironing-on process down, the opposite side of the brass from the iron was particularly hard to get a clean mask. I cleaned up the lines and filled the voids with a small paint brush and some paint.
Here are the results – this is after about 45 minutes in a 120 degree Fahrenheit bath with a single car battery. The etch goes clear through most of the design. The top is etched slightly more then the bottom of the plate, Perhaps this is due to the hot electrolyte rising or the cathodes may be slightly farther from the workpiece at the bottom.
Below is a .010" piece of brass that was etched with two car batteries in series in about ten minutes – it was left a bit too long. A note of caution, when the plate fell apart it shorted the batteries. There was smoke, if I had not been monitoring things closely there might have been fire.
Here's a close up of one of the "charms". You can see that the two masks on either side were not quite aligned. Some pieces were better, some worse.
Here is the complete collection including Sherlockian, cog, and Ankh earrings. The other charms will, along with a length of chain, form a necklace.
The teeth on the cog earring are actually quite small and detailed. This will be quite a successfully technique once I figure out how to align the two masks with a high degree of precision and once I determine the best way to iron on the toner mask. One idea that I have read about is to remove the toner fuser from a laser printer and use it instead of the iron to melt the toner to the brass plate.
Please note that several aspects of this article include dangerous compounds and energies. Copper sulfate is poisonous and the used solution needs to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. Car batteries can also be particularly dangerous, accidentally shorting the poles can lead to fire, explosion, and flying hot acid – very bad, that. This article makes no attempt to comprehensively address these risks. The responsibility for your safety and the safety of those around you – should you decide to attempt similar experiments – is your own.


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Why not organise a Teddy Tennis Play date with your children's best friends
Teddy Tennis Playdates are custom designed to meet you needs. You choose the time, the duration, the location and invite the attendees and we will do the rest. What we can guarantee is that every child will have a wonderful, fulfilling, and memorable and action packed time.
To find out more speak to Head Ted or email us at email@example.com providing us with you name, location and contact details.


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Published in Desert Exposure, April 2012, at: http://www.desertexposure.com/201204/201204_sotol.php
A modern-day adventure on the road to rediscover a classic Mexican liquor.
For John Grady Cole, the first taste of Mexico after crossing the border illegally was a generous draught of sotol.
The US and Mexican borderlands were different then — no border wall, no Predator drones flying overhead, and no drug war raging. Today, the cattle fences that obstructed Grady's joy in open range riding are the least of the obstructions in the borderlands.
Multiple checkpoints, manned by heavily armed soldiers and drug agents often wearing black ski masks, now make traveling through the borderlands something akin to making your way through an occupied zone.
For too many years, the combination of the border security buildup on the US side and the barrage of reports about horrific drug war violence on the other side bred fear and reluctance.
Recently, the violence that has for years wracked the northern reaches of Chihuahua and Sonora has diminished, and you can also find some reassurance in that there have been no reports that noncitizens are being targeted. My eagerness to return to the deserts, grasslands and mountains of the Mexican borderlands has been rising over the past year or two. The border security buildup and the unending drug wars have trapped us in our country.
Unlike Grady in Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses (or Matt Damon in the film adaptation of the great novel), I didn't cross on horseback when I began traveling into Mexico's borderlands a few months ago. But there was something like the same sense of adventure of traveling into unknown parts.
In early January, after driving south from Palomas on a new highway, I turned southwest toward Ascensión and then, after a couple of interviews, headed to Janos — an Apache settlement dating back to the 17th century and later a colonial military outpost. Janos, which sits on the banks of the now-dry Río Casas Grandes, is the gateway to the Paquimé or Casas Grandes ruins that lie about an hour south. Janos is situated almost directly south of the southeast corner of New Mexico's Bootheel. (Google Map it!)
At sundown I arrived at Rancho La Guadalupana on the eastern outskirts of Janos. Celso Jacquez offered me a copa of sotol — and I relaxed into the spirit and enchantment of Chihuahua.
Celso Jacquez and Emma Jacquez in Janos.
I didn't go to Janos to drink sotol, but rather to interview Celso, the former presidente of the Janos Municipio (roughly "county") and Chihuahua representative on the Border 2012 environmental commission, a binantional project of the Mexican and US governments. His counterpart in New Mexico was Allyson Siwik, the environmental expert and determined activist who directs Silver City's Gila Resources and Information Project (GRIP).
But concerns about crossborder water depletion and dust pollution fell away that night as I was treated to a glass of reposado sotol — whose alluring aroma seemed to capture the essence of the desert after a long-awaited rain.
In McCarthy's novel, an amused Mexican girl served Grady and his buddy Lacey Rawlins mugs of a strong homebrew that is still a favorite drink in mountain towns and the rancherias of Chihuahua, northern Durango and Coahuila — the only areas of Mexico where the sotol plant grows. Pleasantly plastered, the two young cowboys let their cares drift away as they began their troubled romance with Mexico.
Even before I took my first sip, I knew that work was over for the day. First the rich aroma, faintly smoky but also with a tantalizing allure of the desert after a long-awaited rain. "Do you know the song 'Viva Chihuahua'?" asked Celso. I did, but hadn't until then understood the reference to sotol in the verse he began singing: "Tierra que sabe a cariño, Tierra que huele a sotol." (Chihuahua, "Land that tastes like love, Land that has the aroma of sotol.")
I, however, was treated by Celso and his son Jacobo to an enticing liquor that poured from a bottle of Don Cuco Sotol into a crystal bar glass. "It is truly more of a spirit, like cognac," explained Jacobo, describing the reposado sotol I started appreciatively sipping. It's a sotol that is picked, cooked, fermented, distilled, aged and bottled by the Jacquez family, which owns the Don Cuco Sotol brand.
Since that first drink, I have been, as it were, on the sotol road in Chihuahua, captivated not only by the quality of the spirit but also pursuing sotol's still largely untold story — one that I am finding out has deep roots in our crossborder history and shared natural world.
There is an abundance of possible starting points for the story. You could start with the sotol plant itself. Its name comes from tzotlllin in Nátuatl, is formally labeled a Dasylirion, is often called sereque in Chihuahua, and is known as the "desert spoon" on this side of the border. Its thin serrated leaves circle in rosette style the fleshy core or piña, which after 7-15 years produces a magnificent shaft or quiote, artfully designed to spread its seeds and pollen.
Or you could start the story in Madera with Don Refugio Pérez Marquez — or Don Cuco, as he was affectionately and respectfully known by family and friends in the Sierra Madre. As legend goes, Don Cuco learned the art of sotol selection, fire-pit cooking, fermentation and distilling at least in part from the Tarahumaras who also lived in the mountains around Madera in west-central Chihuahua. His rugged profile appears on the bottles of the Don Cuco brand, which include blanco, suave, reposado, añejo and crema varieties of sotol.
Don Cuco insisted on the high quality of his sotol, making certain that the distilled sotol had the exactly right aroma and necklace of bubbles ("collar de perlas") when shaken and poured. Don Cuco was the grandfather of Celso, whose entire family is involved in the campaign to introduce this spirit of the desert into the US market. It is a product of "Las Generaciónes" — the slogan of this family of five generations of sotoleros.
Yet the story of sotol goes much deeper into this history of culture than the mid-1800s. Throughout Chihuahua you will find abandoned and still-used stone-lined fire pits, where the sotol piñas are buried and then cooked over two weeks until dripping and succulent with their rich desert sugar. Cooking and fermenting sotol is part of the Raramuri/Tarahumara tradition, but you can also find this same type of firepits in the ruins at Paquimé and in other settlements of their precolonial civilization, which emerged around 200 AD and began flourishing around 1200.
Sotol is also part of Mexico's revolutionary tradition. Pancho Villa and his army of rebels drank sotol both as an intoxicant and as a tonic. No different than most varieties of liquor, sotol has long been appreciated for its medicinal purposes in Chihuahua — whether to dull pain or to purportedly cure an array of maladies. You may know of the gusano found in the bottom of the bottles of mescal — traditional drink of southern Mexico — and some of us (men) may have even gulped down the mescal-soaked worm in a hopeful attempt to boost virility.
In Chihuahua, folklore has it that drinking sotol that has aged in a bottle containing a rattlesnake can cure just about anything that ails you, including cancer. Telling the story of sotol requires sorting through layers of myths and folktales — the rural legends of the Sierra Madre.
Part of the allure of the sotol story is its history as the traditional home-brewed liquor of peasant revolutionaries, the mysterious and enduring Raramuri people, and the Spanish-speaking mountain men (and women) of the Sierra Madre. When proudly displaying his sotol-soaked snakes, Melquiádes Alvarez, a sotolero in Nuevo Casas Grandes, explained that the rattlesnake sotol cure came not from Raramuri tradition, as is commonly believed. Rather, it had a Chinese origin, not a Mexican curandero one.
As the story goes, in the early 1920s Sonoran judiciales forcibly rounded up Chinese immigrants and then left them to their fate in the Chihuahua Desert. The new Chinese members of the Casas Grandes community soon began mixing rattlesnakes and sotol for miraculous cures.
The tradition of sotol is not limited to the southern reaches of the Chihuahua Desert. Sotol grows abundantly in west Texas, southern New Mexico, and southwestern Arizona at elevations between 2,600 and 7,900 feet — but only in rocky, well-drained terrain. In times when our nations are so badly divided and when our understanding of each other is rapidly eroding, it's reassuring to know that the architecturally elegant and drought-proof sotol knows no borders.
But the story of sotol the spirit cannot be told without also telling the story of border control, prohibitions and smuggling — and the visionary plans of the Jacquez family to revive the crossborder marketing of sotol. Before Prohibition (1919-33), drinking sotol was not uncommon in West Texas. Yet soon after the Prohibition laws started limiting American access to booze, Mexican sotol producers began exporting unprecedented quantities of all varieties and qualities of sotol to meet the illegal demand in the US market.
As soon as the US mafia, together with what are now a couple of elite families of Juárez, began opening up their own production facilities for cheap whiskey and brandy, however, the sotol industry went into rapid decline. The Mexican sotoleros — burdened with an arduous process of harvesting wild sotol and a long production process — couldn't compete with the cheap grain liquor being churned out in Juárez. The new liquor magnates, together with their associates in government, also began cracking down on the sotoleros — spreading the new narrative that sotol was not the drink of the gente de razón (nonindigenous) but only of the poor and uncouth.
This narrative that sotol is nothing more than rotgut, a rústico drink of sandal-clad peasants, has over the last century nearly killed the tradition of sotol in Chihuahua. There, like elsewhere in Mexico, cheap tequila and Tecate Lite have come to dominate the alcohol market.
Now, however, the Jacquez family is telling a new story about the plant drink that smells like love and the desert to tequila aficionados. Influential mixologists (bartenders who aim to serve the best-quality liquors and mixed drinks) say there is the potential to create a niche market for sotol — perhaps even sparking a boom in sotol demand, mirroring the tequila boom and the current rise of mescal.
The Don Cuco Sotol story is one of family pride in producing over five generations the highest quality of 100% sotol that is wild-harvested, unadulterated (even by water that doesn't come from the plant itself), and fermented and distilled with care and the wisdom of generations. Sotol, as I have experienced, is a family story.
Truth be told, I don't know much about liquor, let alone the finest of spirits. By no means a connoisseur. A lover of liquor, yes, but an expert? Certainly not.
My appreciation of this special family and the enchantment of the land and people of Chihuahua have undoubtedly contributed to my enthusiasm about the quality, cultural import, and potential of Don Cuco Sotol.
But I am not alone. Don Cuco has been winning gold prizes across the nation. In Albuquerque, I sat down to lunch with Mike Morales at the city's new tequila bar, Zacatecas Tacos. Morales, a self-styled "tequila journalist," sponsors an annual tequila-tasting contest and consults nationally for liquor distributors and destination bars. So, with my own expertise in question, I will quote someone who is nationally recognized as an expert in Mexican spirits.
"I fell in love with this family's spirit as soon as I inhaled it!" Morales told me. "To me, Don Cuco Sotol carries the best of all worlds. It opens up — blooms — so much that it demands to be treated like a fine wine. It has the smokiness of some of the best mezcals, but the flavor is simultaneously reminiscent of the best tequilas and then, not at all."
As a former salesman and closer observer of the liquor industry, Morales knows well that the story and image behind the product are critical to good marketing. What makes the Don Cuco Sotol so unusual is not only that the story is so appealing, but also that it is so true — in marked contrast to most of the "lies of the liquor industry."
"There is no mistaking that Don Cuco Sotol is produced — handcrafted, micro-distilled — and lovingly brought into the market by the Jacquez family," Morales told me.
Fortunately, I am still on the sotol road. Many more stories to hear and tell. Many more copas to drink.
You can buy a bottle of Don Cuco Sotol at the Pink Store in Palomas or buy it at many online outlets. And if you are ready for fun and adventure, if you feel that it is time to reconnect the US and Mexico borderlands, visit the Don Cuco distillery in Janos and then continue on to Casas Grandes and Paquimé. You may also want to visit the Don Cuco Sotol website (www.doncucosotol.com) and watch the great video about sotol.
Tom Barry, senior policy analyst at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC, is author of many books, including The Great Divide, Zapata's Revenge and, most recently, Border Wars, published last year by MIT Press. (See the November 2011 Desert Exposure) Barry, who lives in Pinos Altos, has been writing on border issues and US-Mexico relations since the late 1970s. He blogs atborderlinesblog.blogspot.com.
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if we can get it together. It's chillier this morning and it's rainy and overcast.. and Californians are bad drivers who cannot figure out how to drive in the rain after all these years, so I am always loathe to get on a highway but this is all beside the point...
Jake said "Trick or Treat".
Jake SAID "TRICK OR TREAT"!
His bus driver told me that he said it on the bus yesterday afternoon. His teacher was talking with all of the kids as they were being pinned down. buckled in.
She asked the kids "Who's going to say Trick or Treat?" and they were answering, and Jake at the front of the bus said "I say trick or treat."
and from the back of the bus his driver, who speaks English as a second language, said "Jake! I heard you say trick or treat." and ran up and hugged him.
She told me all about it when they arrived in front of our house, and I mostly believed her, and wanted to encourage Jake so I asked him if he had said it... and he smiled and giggled!
this morning I asked him, when it was just the two of us lounging on my bed, "When we go out to night to get candy, what do you say?"
and he said "trick or treat" and he smiled.
appropriate language, answering a question, responding to a general query put out to a group,
timely responses
what's happening? is he talking more often? will there be more?
hope is such a painful wonderful emotion.


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For over a month, the nation has been treated to the spectacle of a massive temper tantrum by those on the extreme left, and the coddling of those destroyers by leftist politicians.
I'm not talking about the legitimate demonstrations that have been going on. Those are guaranteed rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution. But there's nothing in that amendment which gives anyone the right to destroy anything.
Yet destruction marches on.
I can almost understand the removal of Confederate statues, even though I don't agree with the methodology. After all, what country builds monuments to the losing side of a war? But that's not the point. The destroyers have reached the point where they are destroying just to destroy.
We can see where this is going by what's being destroyed now. They've torn down the statue of a man who was an abolitionist 30 years before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as a statue of Frederick Douglass, a famous black abolitionist. As far as I'm concerned, that proves this is no longer about black lives matter. Now they're talking about tearing down statues of all our historic figures and even "white" statues of Jesus. Apparently they think that he was a racist too. But perhaps the one statue that most proves this is about destruction and nothing else is the statue that was torn down of an elk; yes, an elk.
If destroying our nation's monuments isn't enough, there's been an increase in flag burning going on as well. Now I realize that's nothing new, but it's a rather clear statement of where the mob is coming from. They don't see the flag as a symbol of freedom, as it is seen around the world, but one of oppression, following the warped teachings they've been hearing.
I recently wrote about the current conditions in our country looking more and more like revolution and this destruction is making it look more and more that way. Tearing down statues, burning books and destroying other things associated with a nation's history are all part of the Marxist playbook for revolution. In their world view, it is necessary to destroy the past in order to create the future. Perhaps that's because they don't have anything better to offer.
Sadly, many leftist politicians are unwilling to punish those who are unwilling to take any action towards making these people pay for their criminal actions or even put an end to the wanton destruction. Worse than that, it seems like some of them are even applauding those who are breaking the law. Isn't that what the mayor of Seattle did with CHOP?
This sort of support is only emboldening the mob, giving them more reason to keep destroying and demanding more and more of society in general. It is convincing them they are right and that they can get whatever they want.
Let's Keep it in Perspective
In reality, the mob that I'm talking about is a small percentage of our overall population. Even so, they currently wield a big stick and they're using it very effectively. They've learned the lessons of political correctness and previous work by the black lives matter movement and are using that to allow the tail to wag the dog.
What do I mean by that? I mean that this small group of people is dictating what major corporations, cities and even society is doing. They are setting the standard which everyone else must meet and they're doing it through threats and violence.
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This is strangely reminiscent of the NAZI party's Brownshirts, their personal army of rabble-rousers. Few pay any attention to this group, but the Sturmabteilung were the NAZI party's "paramilitary arm," otherwise known as "thugs." Their official function was to act as guards at NAZI rallies and assemblies, but they also disrupted the meetings of other political parties and were busy intimidating everyone from trade unions to Jews. Eventually, they were disbanded, but only to be replaced by the SS, which should give you a pretty good idea of how squeaky clean they were.
Historically, intimidation has been an effective tool used by many in politics. We even have it in our own history. The "shoulder strikers" of the mid-19th century were often employed by politicians to intimidate election officials, their opponents, and businesses, all in an effort to get the vote to go their way.
That's a whole lot more similar to what's going on today than most people realize. The current mob isn't changing the culture at the ballot box, at least not yet; they're changing it by threatening companies and politicians to meet their demands. Failure to heed those demands can lead to violence, financial ruin, and destruction.
I think it's becoming increasingly clear that this isn't accidental; nor is it spontaneous. Just like back when the Black Lives Matter movement started, there have apparently been advertisements, soliciting to hire paid agitators. The most likely culprit behind that movement is George Soros, the far-left billionaire who has made it his mission to bring down America. Somehow, it always seems to come out that he's funding every anti-American movement and group out there.
Coincidentally (yeah, right… some coincidence), Soros also funds the Democrat Party, and just about every Democrat candidate there is, the more radically left, the better. At the same time, he spends millions of dollars trying to suppress the Republican Party and anyone who has a conservative message and a platform to voice it.
Just as coincidentally, the far-left politicians are the same ones who are supportive of the anarchist message of ANTIFA. In other words, they are supporting a terrorist movement, which is using violence to bring down American institutions, American history, traditional American values, and traditional American culture. They're just using the current Black Lives Matter protests as camouflage. Like Rahm Emmanuel, former mayor of Chicago said, "Never let a crisis go to waste."
Where's this All Going?
If I can add another coincidence in here, which really isn't a coincidence, all of this is happening at the same time that there's a concerted effort to silence conservative voices. Granted, that's not anything new. Political correctness has always been about silencing conservative voices. You either parrot the PC message or you get called out and cut off.
But the efforts to silence Republican and conservative voices are increasing all the time. A large part of the reason why the president is always tweeting is that that's about the only way he can make sure that his message gets out to his followers, without being corrupted by the left-wing's media lapdogs. They have become so good at misquoting his words, that they can now outright lie about them with a straight face. He could say "black lives matter" and they'd turn it into "kill the blacks."
We now have a situation where Facebook is censoring the president's posts and having them "fact-checked" by people who compare them to the New York Times. If they don't agree with what the Times, a clearly leftist publication, says on some topic, those posts are marked as "untrue."
Many people are seeing this as an effort to win the November election, but they're being a bit to short-sighted. Those on the left aren't just interested in winning the next election; they're not even interested in winning every election. They're only interested in total control. That's their end game.
Talk to any strong Democrat and they'll gleefully tell you that the Republican Party is going down. That's what they want. Hey, I might not like the Democrat Party and what they stand for, but that doesn't mean I think we should eliminate them. Our country needs to have at least two strong political parties, and it just so happens that we only have two. Neither is indispensable.
Communist China has one political party and look where it's led them. The same can be said for the former Soviet Union. Perhaps they were a bit more hypocritical about it, as they still had elections. But there was only one party on the ballot you could vote for. It really made election day exciting.
When there's only one party, the country falls into the trap of that famous quote about absolute power. Yet there are those who want just that. We've got them on our side too, but there are a whole lot more of them on the other side.
With the left in full out conservative suppression mode, it really questions the ability of any Republican candidate to win in the fall. That's a scary prospect when you think about it. The way things are going right now, if the left ever manages to gain total control of our nation's government, as they did in former President Obama's first term, there's no saying what they will do. But I'll tell you this; they're probably going to work overtime to make sure that whatever they do can't ever be undone.
The other thing they'll probably do is try to make it impossible for Republicans to ever regain power. They've already floated a number of proposals which will put them in permanent control, including immigration amnesty, vote by mail, and stacking the Supreme Court. They want their way and they aren't going to allow anything to stop them.
Taking it to the Next Step
Kicking Republicans out of power and keeping them out of power isn't all of it. Not by any means. During the last few years, the far-left wing of the Democrat Party has gained tremendous power. They have made it increasingly clear that their goal is to turn the United States into another socialist country. That will soon be followed by the United States becoming a failed socialist country.
They say that the hardest thing to kill is a bad idea and socialism sure seems to prove that point. It is being taught in our "institutes of higher learning" (almost a parody) and talked about fondly by the "intellectual elite." Any time anyone brings up the fact that socialism has never worked, they brush it off, saying that "nobody has done it right before."
Perhaps the reason for that is that socialism can't be done right. To do so requires perfect people, who are totally unselfish and willing to give their lives for the collective. But we humans aren't like that; not even those who are trying to push socialism down our collective throats. They're perhaps the worst of all because each and every one of them is interested in pushing socialism for what they can get out of it, whether that be some financial benefit or political power.
One of socialism's biggest errors is that it doesn't give anyone any incentive to do better. You can't get paid more for doing more, so why bother? That one thing is enough to cause socialism to fail. Without anyone being given any incentive to do more, society can't move ahead. People need their needs met, but they also need to know that they have an opportunity to better their own lives.
Should the more socialist wing of the Democrat Party ever gain control, it will be the end of the United States as we know it. Oh, it might still exist in name, but that's it. All the technological advances that our country has been known for and all the wealth we have generated will become a thing of the past. Without the ability to start a business, build something for ourselves and better our own lives, people will stop putting forth the effort. We, just as many other countries have done before, will fall.
Just Let Me Say…
The United States isn't perfect. We have our flaws. We have a checkered past. And we still make mistakes today. But this is the greatest country the world has ever spawned. Even with all our failures, we are the most altruistic country in history. We are the ones who run to help, whenever there is a need. We are the ones who protect the underdog and cheer him on. We are the police of the world and rightly so.
Maybe it's time for people to stop concentrating on the bad that this country has done and start looking at the good once again. I'm not talking about ignoring the bad. No, I believe in learning from our mistakes. But it's hard to have pride in a country when you don't see the good that it has done.
When I listen to Black Lives Matter and others on the left, I hear a common thread. It's the same thread that's calling for the destruction of our monuments. That thread is that this country is all bad; it's never done anything good; in fact, we're somehow guilty for everything bad that has ever happened, anywhere in the world. No wonder they want to destroy our past and our heritage; they don't understand what it is.
That's the mob which wants to rule. They want the rest of us to bow to their ideas of who we are; ignoring history, except those parts they can use to make our country look bad. Well, I for one won't bow. I'll admit we're not perfect, but rather than using that as an excuse to destroy, I'd much rather use it as an excuse to build. One thing that has made the history of the United States unique is that we have always improved. That's what needs to come of this, not wanton destruction and mob rule.


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1297.0 - Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/03/2008
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This group covers the sciences and technologies supporting fishing and production of freshwater and marine fisheries (including shellfish and crustaceans).
070402 Aquatic Ecosystem Studies and Stock Assessment 070403 Fisheries Management 070404 Fish Pests and Diseases 070405 Fish Physiology and Genetics 070406 Post-Harvest Fisheries Technologies (incl. Transportation) 070499 Fisheries Sciences not elsewhere classified Exclusions:


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This week, a series of new passenger protection rules put forth by the Department of Transportation (DOT) will take effect. The most visible of these rules, a law that requires airlines to include mandatory government taxes and fees in advertised fares, will officially kick in on Thursday, January 26. (Other rules pertaining to baggage fees and ticket cancellation policies started Tuesday, January 24.) But we've already seen quite a few airlines and booking sites begin to display prices for plane tickets and flight-inclusive vacation packages that incorporate airfare taxes and fees.
What should flyers expect when booking plane tickets this week and hereafter? Here's what you need to know about the new rules and how they're shaking up the travel industry:
What Will Change on SmarterTravel?
Going forward, we'll be reporting the fares they way they're presented on the airline and travel booking sites—with the mandatory government taxes and fees built in. Of course, the prices in our airfare deals will appear more costly, but they'll reflect the new fee-inclusive advertised fares displayed on booking websites. Fortunately, you'll have to do less work to figure out the true price of your plane ticket.
Will the New Full-Fare Advertising Rules Apply to Vacation Packages?
Yes—that is, if the packages cover airfare. Travel providers (including both online and brick-and-mortar travel agents) will have to include mandatory flight taxes and fees in package costs as long as the trips include flights. Two popular vacation booking sites have already publicly addressed this issue: Apple Vacations and Go-today announced price modifications on their websites. According to Apple Vacations, "Effective January 26, 2012, all Apple Vacations' advertised pricing will change. The price you see in our advertisements will be the complete cost of the vacation including all taxes and fees associated to the airfare."
How Will Travel Booking Sites and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) Be Affected?
Just like the airlines, travel booking sites (like Intrepid Travel and Monograms) and OTAs (like Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity), have to include mandatory flight taxes and fees when advertising airfares.
How Will Fare Aggregators Be Affected?
Fare aggregators such as Kayak and our sister site TripAdvisor Flights already include taxes and fees in their listings. A spokesperson from Kayak told us, "The new ruling has not changed how we display fares. Before the DOT full-fare advertising rule, Kayak had already been displaying fares with full taxes and fees included." So basically, there's nothing new here.
Will All the Airlines Roll Out Fee-Inclusive Fares Right Away?
Yes. Even Spirit Airlines—the carrier notorious for its excessive fees—now displays fee-inclusive airfares on its site. (But Spirit's not exactly quietly complying with the changes.)
What Will the New Fares Look Like?
Now that taxes and fees are included in advertised fares, ticket costs will appear higher than what we're used to. Here's a sample of some recent pricing changes we spotted on JetBlue and American:
- Before the rules went into effect, JetBlue advertised a fare from New York City to Hamilton, Bermuda, for $99 each way. The same fare is currently displayed as $299 round-trip, including taxes and fees. (JetBlue breaks down the total price as $198 for the fare and $101 for additional taxes and fees.)
- A Boston-to-London flight was for sale via American Airlines for $500 round-trip before the new rule. That flight is now listed as $699 round-trip, including taxes and fees.
What Other Rules Will Go Into Effect This Week?
The DOT's new full-fare advertising rules are part of a larger of group of airline passenger protection regulations that kick in this week. The following rules went into effect on Tuesday, January 24:
- Passengers will have the option to change or cancel a reservation within 24 hours of initial booking (as long as the ticket purchase is made at least a week in advance of departure).
- Airlines can no longer increase the price of a ticket after it's been sold.
- The airlines will have to inform passengers if a flight will be more than 30 minutes late.
- Airlines will be more upfront about baggage fees. Costs for baggage must be displayed on the "first screen containing a fare quotation for a specific itinerary," says the DOT. Baggage fee amounts must also be displayed on electronic ticket confirmations.
What do you think about the new rules for flyers? Do you have any questions about the DOT's regulations? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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text: Immerse yourself in the spirit of the season while singing and dancing away to lovely Christmas carols, romantic waltzes and beautiful melodies like Jingle Bells, O Holy Night, Hallelujah, a show-stopping performance of Walking in the Air and many more! Marvel at the magnificent palace decorations including 150 beautiful chandeliers, over 50 Venetian candelabras and huge arched windows revealing a joyous wintery landscape including ice rinks and ice skaters. Christmas with André is guaranteed to warm your hearts and get you in the festive spirit. Join André for his inaugural Christmas concert all from the comfort of your local cinema. An unforgettable festive treat for the whole family. André Rieu says: "Christmas is my favourite time of the year and nothing could be better than spending it with my friends, family and fans in my hometown. I want to invite my cinema audiences on this beautiful journey to Christmas wonderland." Bring your loved ones and enjoy this spectacular musical event on the big screen. Accompanying classic Christmas tunes and some incredible surprises, cinema audiences will also enjoy exclusive backstage access, and cinema host Charlotte Hawkins will be speaking with André about the creation of his musical winter wonderland. It's the perfect festive gift. Get your tickets now for Christmas with André!


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- Sale Price: $39,995
- Save: $19,767
Sleeps 9
1 Slides
BunkhouseU Shaped Dinette
34ft Long
6,265 lbs
284BHS Floorplan
Sleeps | 9 | Slides | 1 |
Length | 33 ft 7 in | Ext Width | 8 ft |
Ext Height | 11 ft 1 in | Int Height | 6 ft 9 in |
Interior Color | MODERN FARMHOUSE | Exterior Color | WHITE |
Hitch Weight | 815 lbs | GVWR | 7600 lbs |
Dry Weight | 6265 lbs | Cargo Capacity | 1235 lbs |
Fresh Water Capacity | 38 gals | Grey Water Capacity | 39 gals |
Black Water Capacity | 39 gals | Tire Size | ST205/75R14D |
Furnace BTU | 30000 btu | Number Of Bunks | 2 |
Available Beds | RV Queen | Refrigerator Type | Gas/Electric |
Cooktop Burners | 3 | Number of Awnings | 1 |
LP Tank Capacity | 20 lbs | Water Heater Type | Tankless |
TV Info | LR LED Smart | Awning Info | 16' Power with LED Lights |
Axle Count | 2 | Number of LP Tanks | 2 |
Shower Type | Tub/Shower Combo | Electrical Service | 30 amp |
Jayco Jay Flight travel trailer 284BHS highlights:
- Double Size Bunks
- Entertainment Center w/TV
- Queen Bed
- Outside Fridge
- Exterior Storage
Loads of fun like hiking, fishing, and playing outdoor camping games are waiting for you to make that reservation, hitch up and head out! This trailer allows the owners to sleep in privacy behind the space saving sliding door on a 60" x 75" queen bed. And the kids or grandkids can sleep on the double size bunks in the rear next to the full bathroom including a tub/shower. They even have a wardrobe nearby for their things. The slide out jack-knife sofa and U-shaped dinette offers more floor space, a place to relax and dine, plus you can play games at the dinette. The kitchen includes full amenities at your fingertips, plus you all can enjoy the entertainment center with TV when inside. When you want to be outdoors, relax under the 16' power awning after grabbing your camping chairs, and you can grab a beverage from the outside fridge!
These Jayco Jay Flight travel trailers have been a family favorite for years with their lasting power and superior construction. An integrated A-frame and magnum truss roof system holds them together. When you tow one of these units you're towing the entire unit and not just the frame. With dark tinted windows, you have more privacy and safety. The vinyl flooring throughout will be easy to clean and maintain too. Come find your favorite model today!
Standard Features (2023)
Standard Exterior Equipment
- 20 lb. LP Bottles with Cover (2)
- Enclosed underbelly
- Axles with electric, self-adjusting brakes and easy-lube hubs
- I-Class™ cambered structural steel I-beams
- Fully integrated A-frame
- 5/8 in. tongue-and-groove plywood floor decking
- Magnum Truss™ Roof system with plywood decking
- Seamless one piece roof material
- Large exterior downspouts
- Galvanized steel, impact-resistant wheel wells
- 30-amp service
- Front diamond plate (included in Idaho CVP)
- (4) Stabilizer jacks (included in Idaho CVP)
- Exterior TV mount and bracket
- LED exterior lighting
- Friction hinge entry door with shade-prep window
- G20 dark tinted safety-glass privacy windows
- LP quick connect (outside gas grill prep)
- Detachable power cord
- Backup and side marker camera prep
Standard Interior Equipment
- 81 in. ceiling height
- 7 cu. ft. gas/electric refrigerator (IN built units only)
- Shower/tub surround
- Solid hardwood cabinet doors
- LED interior lighting
- J-Steel™ jackknife sofa with armrest and cup holders (most models)
- Vinyl flooring throughout (including slide floors)
- Window shades
- Smoked-glass cabinet door inserts (select models)
- Residential-style kitchen countertops
- 3-burner range with glass cover
- Oven with glass door and interior light
- Heavy-duty, 75 lb., full-extension, steel ball-bearing drawer guides
- Range hood
- USB charging station
- Queen mattress
- Plywood bed platforms
- Main bed struts
- 300 lb. rated bunk beds (select models)
- 600 lb. rated bunk beds (double bunks)
- Privacy curtains in bunk areas (select models)
- Vented bunk windows (select models)
- 4 in. thick bunk mats (select models)
- Wooden bedroom doors (select models)
- Shower curtain with curved shower track (select models)
Customer Value Package (Mandatory) (IN build units)
- Black tank flush
- Roof mounted solar prep
- Large main entry door grab handle
- Solid Step® entry steps (N/A 38BHDS)
- 6 gal. gas/electric DSI water heater (10 gal. in 38BHDS)
- Cable/satellite TV hookup
- Digital TV antenna
- Goodyear® Endurance® tires (made in the USA)
- Outside shower
- Power tongue jack
- Spare tire with cover
- Water heater bypass
- Power awning with LED lights
- Marine grade exterior speakers
- Keyed-Alike™ entry and baggage doors
- Bathroom power vent
- Bathroom skylight
- Tub surround
Customer Value Package (Mandatory) (ID built units)
- Goodyear® Endurance® tires (made in the USA)
- 6 gal. gas/electric DSI water heater
- Water heater bypass
- Front diamond plate
- Thermal Package Insulation (insulated and enclosed underbelly and foil insulation in roof)
- Keyed-Alike™ entry and baggage doors
- Outside shower
- Power awning with LED lights
- Marine-grade exterior speakers
- Black tank flush
- Spare tire with cover
- Rock Solid Stabilizer System
- Rooftop solar prep
- Large folding entry door grab handle
- Power tongue jack
- Window shades
- Range hood
- 3-burner range with glass cover
- Oven with glass door and interior light
- Microwave oven
- Fitted bed sheet
- Bathroom skylight
- 2nd fresh water tank– 80 gal. total capacity
- 10 cu. ft. gas/electric refrigerator
- Pull-out kitchen faucet with sprayer
- Sink cover and one rolling drying rack
- Kitchen backsplash
- Bathroom medicine cabinet
- Solid Step® entry steps
Elite Package (Mandatory on select IN built models)
- Upgraded graphics package
- Roof ladder
- 8 cu. ft. gas/electric refrigerator
- 30 lb. LP bottles with cover (2)
- 30 in. x 72 in. entry door
- Adjustable and removable dinette table
- Vented kitchen window
- Central command center for main switches
- Overhead cabinets above bed
- Decorative dinette light
- Thermal package insulation
- LED Smart TV
- Slideout end-wall windows
- Second fresh water tank (total 80 gal. capacity)
- Aluminum rims
- Kitchen skylight with shade
- Full-height kitchen backsplash
- Upgraded kitchen faucet with pull-out sprayer
- Kitchen sink covers and rolling drying rack
- Deluxe bedspread with pillows
- Bathroom medicine cabinet
- Porcelain foot flush toilet
Baja Edition (ID built units only) (N/a 236TH & 265TH)
- (2) 30 lb. LP Bottles
- Flipped Axle
- 16 in. Goodyear® Off-Road Tires
- Triple Steps
- 50-amp service
- LED Smart TV
- Outside griddle with bumper mount (select models)
- Hide-a-bed with tri-fold mattress (select models)
- Overlander 1 Solar Package: (1) 200W solar panel and 30-amp digital controller
- 7 cu. ft. gas/electric refrigerator (Indiana built units)
- Chil'n' Store (264BH) (Indiana built units)
- Roof ladder (N/A 236TH and 265TH) (Indiana built units)
- Cargo accessory receiver (34RLOK, 334RTS, 380DQS, 331BTS) (Indiana built units)
- Fiberglass sidewalls (select models) (Indiana built units)
- Rear sofa with folding bunk (331BTS) (Indiana built units)
- 2nd A/C in bedroom (340RLK, 334RTS, 380DQS) (Indiana built units)
- Front bunks with dinette (380DQS) (Indiana built units)
- King bed (340RLK, 334RTS, 380DQS) (Indiana built units)
- Aluminum rims (Idaho built units)
- 30 lb. LP bottles (Idaho built units)
- Free standing table with 4 chairs (select models) (Idaho built units)
- Baja Edition (N/A 236TH and 255TH) (Idaho built units)
- 8 cu. ft. gas/electric refrigerator (Idaho built units)
See us for a complete list of features and available options!
All standard features and specifications are subject to change.
All warranty info is typically reserved for new units and is subject to specific terms and conditions. See us for more details.
Due to the current environment, our features and options are subject to change due to material availability.
Save your favorite RVs as you browse. Begin with this one!
Lakeview RV Centre is not responsible for any misprints, typos, or errors found in our website pages. Any price listed excludes sales tax, registration tags, and delivery fees. Manufacturer pictures, specifications, and features may be used in place of actual units on our lot. Please contact us @519-794-3300 for availability as our inventory changes rapidly. All calculated payments are an estimate only and do not constitute a commitment that financing or a specific interest rate or term is available.
Manufacturer and/or stock photographs may be used and may not be representative of the particular unit being viewed. Where an image has a stock image indicator, please confirm specific unit details with your dealer representative.


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The Rosemount 305 Integral Manifold attaches directly to the patented Rosemount Coplanar™ transmitter, eliminating the need for a flange.
This lightweight, premier manifold comes in a 2-, 3- and 5-valve configuration and allows instrument isolation, controlled venting and added protection from leaking to ensure measurement integrity. This product can be factory-assembled to a transmitter and leak-tested and can be used with multivariable, static and differential pressure transmitters.


text: The 42CS photoelectric and 871TS inductive sensor families feature stainless steel construction, extended temperature ratings and IP69K enclosure ratings. The PHOTOSWITCH 42CS sensor family features a choice of a smooth or threaded 18mm 316L stainless steel housing with a hard plastic lens for enhanced reliability and long service life, as well as an operating temperature range of minus 25 to 85 degrees C. The 42CS sensor family offers polarized retro-reflective, diffuse, transmitted beam, clear object detection and background suppression sensing modes. The 871TS inductive proximity sensors feature a stainless steel 316L barrel and an FDA-certified polyphenylene sulfide plastic face that protects against chemicals and other corrosive agents. Sensors are offered in 12mm and 18mm diameter threaded cylindrical enclosures with operating temperature range of minus 40 to 80 degrees C.


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This place is the place you can't miss at York! How could I possibly paint York without my own version of the Micklegate Bar! I arrived early on Saturday morning and set up beside one of the pubs which would come in handy in case I needed to use the loo. I hadn't been painting much before this, so I felt a bit timid, trying to impress myself and not just fully concentrating and getting on with the business.
But somehow I managed to survive this one and I was pleased that it looked more like a drawing in the end, than a painting. I painted shape by shape as can be seen in some of the progress shots below.
Painting is a wonderful thing!
Nothing beats singing while painting in the hot August sun and getting people coming round to have a peep or two.
Summerlight Micklegate Bar, 10" x 8", Oil on canvas, 2013 |
Adebanji painting Micklegate Bar- I love to sit when I paint, I feel more relaxed and it helps me avoid rushing which is so evident when ones legs start to ache. |
Progress Shot 1- All set for the first painting, my palette, brushes all in orderly manner, ready for the attack! |
Progress Shot 3- I normally start with the sky but for some funny reason , this time I painted it last. |
Progress Shot 4- This was towards the end, I was really exhausted after this piece. |
Afternoon Shadows, Micklegate Street
While Ann was taking me around York, this first main street we covered. One thing that caught my attention here was the lovely curve the street had and the white building with black stripes.I just loved the awkwardness of it, it looked as if it was bending or tilting.
I had to stand up to paint this one because there was so many cars parked and it was just impossible to see from a sitting position!
On this day, there were so many hen nights taking place. Lots of groups in different attires booking dinners and lunch in the trendy restaurants and pubs along the street.
Many people kept taking pictures of me. I got one passer by to take a picture of me painting. The commuters always come in handy when it comes to having pictures taken.
I felt a bit more confident while taking on this painting but I took too long to finish it. I think I was trying to convince myself that I could do better than the first one. Maybe just trying a bit too hard.
This piece was more about the drawing of the street, the accuracy of getting all those buildings in without ruining the flow of the piece.
I think I enjoyed the whole progress of the work. Making a very detailed sketch at the beginning saved me from many blushes when things got a bit complicated towards the end.
In all I was very pleased with it in the end.
Afternoon Shadows, Micklegate Street, 10" x 8", Oil on Canvas, 2013 |
Adebanji painting Micklegate Street-I had to stand this time, not my best position but there were too many cars parked. |
Afternoon Shadows,Micklegate Street- The Scene- The picture of the scene. |
When the sun is going down, this scene explodes!
I painted this one to catch the light while it was moving!
I was happy to get the effect I was out to achieve!
Sometimes a scene is all about the drawing or mood, this was purely about the mood, the light in the scene!
The reflections looked great and I think I got really excitted while painting this piece.
I finished faster than normal, but I had to, because the light was going out and I just wanted to make sure I nailed it before it vanished.
You can see that in the picture I took of the scene, the sun had disappeared.
Evening Light Reflections, River Ouse, 10" x 8", Oil on board, 2013 |
Adebanji painting Evening Light Rflections, River Ouse |
Progress Shot 1- my sketch before the painting here was more organic and easy going. It was a simple scene and didn't need any detailed drawing. |
Progress Shot 2- I really like this picture, it tells the story more than I can put in words! |
Evening Light Reflections, River Ouse- The Scene |
"Art, to me, is seeing. I think you have got to use your eyes as well as your emotion, and one without the other just doesn't work. That's my art"-Andrew Wyeth


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By Bertie Russell | –
The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of "Green New Deals" – a reference to Roosevelt's economic reform programme in the 1930s – have been proposed over the past 12 months in the US, Europe, and the UK. Such policies would involve massive state investment in the development of renewable energy infrastructure, retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency, and efficient and high-speed public transport.
Reflecting the understanding that climate change demands deep systemic changes to the economy, the US version includes the introduction of a jobs guarantee: a public-sector job would be available to any US citizen that wants one. And in Europe, proposals call for public investment banks to invest 5% of GDP each year to "radically reduce Europe's carbon emissions, constructing resilient and zero-emissions infrastructure".
Serious commitments to decarbonise infrastructure at scale are no doubt essential. But climate justice theorists have long argued that technical fixes will be insufficient without a parallel transition to a global economy that does not rely on constant growth.
Addressing the climate emergency demands huge amounts of investment, but it also requires drastic changes to the forms of ownership and governance that underpin the contemporary capitalist economy. We need to move towards models of economic democracy, where everything from investment decisions to wages are decided democratically by workers and citizens.
Confronting an abstract concept such as the "global economy" can seem like a daunting challenge. But shifting our perspective to the level of our towns and cities, innovative models of economic democracy are already empowering people to deliver real solutions to the climate emergency.
With 100% of its electricity coming from renewable sources (and more to spare), the German town of Wolfhagen is particularly demonstrative of what can be achieved when municipalities adopt innovative approaches to the ownership and governance of key infrastructure. Significant lessons can be drawn from Wolfhagen's hybrid model of ownership, which can – and must – be applied to sectors beyond energy production.
Energy democracy
Triggered by the Fukushima disaster – and coupled with long-established social movements against fossil fuels – in 2011 the centre-right German government announced it was pursuing a national policy of Energiewende: energy transition. Yet in Wolfhagen, a town in central Germany with a population of around 14,000, this transition was already well underway.
Back in 2005, the local authority decided to take back the power. In what became the first steps to fulfilling Wolfhagen's plan to become fully self-sufficient on renewable energy, the city government decided not to renew the private company E.ON's licensing agreement, instead putting a public company – Stadtwerke Wolfhagen – in charge. Followed a 2008 decision that all household electricity would be provided from local renewable resources by 2015, the town committed to building a solar power park and a wind farm.
Driven partly by lack of financial resources, and partly by a vision of a co-produced and co-owned energy system, Wolfhagen decided to pursue an innovative form of "cooperative participation" that would put energy into the joint ownership of the municipality and a new citizen-led cooperative – BEG Wolfhagen. Speaking in 2011, the director of the public company Martin Rühl explained:
Through the cooperative participation we want to make the citizens not only co-owners and co-earners, but through the form of a direct participation in the Stadtwerke also co-decision-makers. For future projects, citizens and electricity customers will be at the table from the very beginning.
Formed in 2012 by citizens who had been campaigning in favour of the wind farm development, the cooperative now owns 25% of the energy company. With more than 800 members and wealth of more than €3.9 million, the cooperative does more than just let citizens own a share in the towns energy company – it also lets them control it. The cooperative has two of the nine seats on the board of the energy company, providing citizens with voting rights on all issues concerning electricity production and supply in the region, ranging from the setting of energy prices through to reinvestment in new capacity.
The cooperative itself also has an energy-saving fund, which receives its funds directly from the profitable energy company. Governed by an Energy Advisory Board – comprised of nine cooperative members alongside one each from the local energy agency, the Stadtwerk, and the municipality – the fund is designed to support strategies and initiatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency among its members. In practice, this means citizen-led solutions to decarbonisation have now been provided with a regular and democratically controlled source of funding.
A just transition
What the experience of Wolfhagen shows is that the rapid decarbonisation of our energy supply is wholly compatible with new models of economic democracy. Strong and effective action to address the climate crisis can be met through processes of collective empowerment, without resorting to ecological authoritarianism.
Hybrid models of ownership not only have the potential to provide capital beyond that which can be provided by the state, but to do so in a way that is committed to the common interest. This flies in the face of the logic of private companies that are committed to the bottom line of delivering shareholder profits.
While national government funding is unquestionably needed, given the scale of the climate emergency, it does not have to be an absolute barrier to towns and cities taking action. Local governments shouldn't use national government as an excuse for their own inaction.
If we're really going to address the climate emergency, we're going to need to drastically expand the number and diversity of spaces for meaningful democratic engagement. This doesn't just mean engaging people in government decisions, but creating and funding spaces where citizens (along with government actors and social business intiatives) can collaborate in delivering radical alternatives across our economy.
Ultimately, the urgency and scale of transition required to meaningfully address our climate emergency demands that national governments pursue many of the ambitious plans for investment envisioned by supporters of a Green New Deal.
But Wolfhagen demonstrates that innovative approaches to the ownership and governance of utilities can not only unlock further cooperative capital investment, but also create new forms of democratic engagement in their governance. It's precisely the creation of these democratic spaces that can enable citizens to move beyond individualistic efforts to "reduce their carbon footprint", and instead place them at the core of innovation in delivering a just transition to a sustainable and democratic economy.
Bertie Russell, Research Associate, Urban Institute, University of Sheffield
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.