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Batting paradise in God's own country
A rich treat is in store for cricket fans of football-crazy Kochi, as the pitch is expected to favour the batsmen.india Updated: Apr 04, 2006 21:50 IST
Having won the first three one-dayers at Delhi, Faridabad and Goa, India will be looking to clinch the series by winning the fourth match against England on April 6.
The Nehru Stadium has always been a happy hunting ground for the hosts and a special one for Sachin Tendulkar, who, however, will not be seen in action as he is recuperating from a shoulder surgery in London.
Going by the history and present form, the home team start as firm favourites to secure an unassailable 4-0 lead in the series.
A rich treat is in store for the cricket buffs in this football-crazy city, as the pitch is expected to favour the batsmen as compared to the slow wickets at Delhi and Faridabad.
And if local lad S Sreesanth, who was dropped for the Goa match, is named in the playing eleven, the atmosphere at the stadium would no doubt be electric.
The stadium has a reputation of being a batsman's paradise. In the four games so far staged here, on three occasions the score went past 300 and five batsmen have scored hundreds.
Though the 22-yard strip here would be a nightmare for bowlers, one person who would like to take this pitch and carry it around with him wherever he goes is Sachin Tendulkar.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is mulling with the idea of bidding for Test status for the venue, which was put on the international cricket map when it hosted the first match on April 1, 1998, in which India defeated the Steve Waugh-led Australians by 41 runs.
At this venue Sachin rolled his sleeves over to claim his first five wicket haul in his career to fashion India's win as the Aussies crumbled to 268 all out from a healthy 203 for three.
Sachin returned with a superb 10-1-32-5 in that match after. India scored 309 for five, thanks largely to Ajay Jadeja's century (105) and Mohd Azharuddin's knock of 82.
Save for the match between India and Zimbabwe in 2002, which was a low-scoring affair after the home team was done in by rookie medium pacer Douglas Hondo, the other contests were high scoring affairs.
India successfully chased South Africa's total of 301 for three in 2000, when Jadeja (92) and Robin Singh (42) nullified the centuries scored by Gary Kirsten (115) and Herschille Gibbs (111) who were involved in a record 235-run opening wicket stand. India ultimately finished at 302 for seven winning with two balls to spare in front of a nearly one lakh crowd.
Last time when India played last year, they defeated Pakistan. Sachin disappointed again with the bat, but claimed his second five wicket haul and earned an unique distinction of being the only Indian to claim two five wicket hauls in the same venue.
In that match, India scored 281 for eight, thanks to centuries by Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid and Pakistan were bowled out for 194.
Laxmipathy Balaji and Zaheer Khan made early inroads, before Sachin overawed the Pakistanis polishing off the middle and lower order to return with figures of 10-1-50-5.
Despite the searing heat and the high humidity level, which is expected to test the players physically, the scenario on April six will not be different. The decibel levels will reach a crescendo as the expected sell-out crowed will be rooting nothing short of an Indian victory.
First Published: Apr 04, 2006 16:18 IST


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In the land of the free and the home of the brave, bigger almost always means better, especially when it comes to revenue. These 10 American companies top the Fortune 500 list for annual revenue, but that doesn't mean each doesn't face its own challenges. Rising competition, falling prices, and a touch of mismanagement are just some of the problems these companies must address.
But at the end of the day, these 10 American workhorses drive much of the country's growth, and most show no sings of slowing down. Click through the slideshow below to find out more about America's biggest companies.
Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool also recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, CVS Health, Ford, and General Motors. The Motley Fool also owns shares of ExxonMobil, and General Electric Company. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

subset: commoncrawl


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In a single word, the market for asset-based long term care (ABLTC) protection is booming. All factors considered the growth outlook continues to be promising for financial professionals and carriers alike, and most important for the policyholders who seek the peace of mind provided by the guarantees and benefits that ABLTC provides.
In fact, 2017 marked the third consecutive year of double-digit growth for ABLTC products. In contrast, sales of stand-alone LTCI declined 22.8 percent from 2016 to 2017, following the 12.6 percent decline in 2016 (from 2015). ABLTC sales are now more than 10 times the premium volume of stand-alone LTCI.
In its recent report on sales of combination products, LIMRA reported more than $4.1 billion in premium, and more than 260,000 policies sold, in 2017.1 This includes policies with chronic illness and acceleration-only riders, as well as long term care extension products, which offer a more robust and fulsome long term care benefit solution. All told, these products now represent 80 percent of the overall market for individual long term care solutions.
When we look more narrowly at ABLTC products offering extension of benefits for long term care expenses, the data show those to be the fastest-growing segment. The number of long term care extension policies sold in 2017 grew 24 percent compared with 2016, while long term care acceleration policies sold grew two percent in that period, and chronic illness acceleration policies declined three percent. The latter two types are primarily life insurance sales and accordingly more closely follow life sales trends.
For the fast-growing ABLTC—or long term care extension—market, the top three carriers accounted for 68.8 percent of the market share in 2017, down slightly from 71.2 percent in 2016. Those three carriers —Lincoln Financial, OneAmerica® and Pacific Life—have remained unchanged, as have other carriers in the top 10 in terms of market share.
In addition to accelerating the policy death benefit, long term care extension products extend benefits for long term care expenses if the death benefit is exhausted. And, if a policyholder doesn't exhaust the death benefit for long term care expenses, the remaining portion will still pass to heirs. Another common feature of these products is that they offer guaranteed premiums, benefits and cash surrender values. In an era of rate hikes on stand-alone LTCI policies, these products are becoming attractive to a growing number of people as they become aware of their options and the significant need for long term care planning as part of their overall financial plan.
More options, more carriers
The market is continuing to increasingly embrace recurring premium ABLTC protection, one of the more recent innovations since ABLTC products were first introduced several decades ago. Recurring premium options allow greater flexibility for long term care planning in the context of individuals' overall financial plans, allowing them to choose say 10-year, 20-year, or even up to lifetime premium payment options.
Single-premium options, including annuity-based long term care protection, continue to remain attractive for many. As people re-evaluate their financial plans near retirement, repositioning an asset to provide long term care protection is often an opportunity and a common sales theme in this market. Other times, people have a lump sum—like an inheritance or buyout— and find a single-premium ABLTC product a good option to provide long term care protection if it's needed or a way to leave a legacy to the next generation through the remaining death benefit if long term care benefits aren't exhausted.
By the numbers, recurring premium policies are ever more popular and fueling the growth. Last year, recurring premium ABLTC policies accounted for 89 percent of all ABLTC policies sold according to LIMRA. The average premium for these policies was $6,397, and the average face amount was $319,776. At one time recurring premium options couldn't compete on price with stand-alone LTCI insurance, but as rates have risen for stand-alone LTCI the value offered by the recurring premium options has become more attractive—especially given the guaranteed rates and additional benefits that stand-alone long term care insurance can't provide.
As we'd expect, given the growth opportunity, more carriers are evaluating and entering the ABLTC market although the pace has been measured. These products offer growth potential, but they also offer some inherent complexity from both business and actuarial management perspectives. Given the challenges and headlines in the stand-alone LTCI market in recent years, it is important to "measure twice and cut once." To me, this means taking the time to learn from challenges in the stand-alone LTCI market and ensure we have a full understanding of the risk profile so our products will stand the test of time.
Independent agents lead the way
In 2017, independent agents sold more than 60 percent of all ABLTC policies and reported 28 percent growth in premium on those policies, even though the number of policies sold remained flat from 2016 according to LIMRA. Across the market, we're seeing a growing awareness among financial professionals of how ABLTC can help protect a client's income throughout retirement by helping with long term care expenses.
Affiliated agents and broker/dealers also showed strong growth in both policies sold and premiums from 2016 to 2017, showing that, across distribution channels, financial professionals and their clients see the value in ABLTC protection. The only channel that posted declines in both ABLTC premium and policies was banking and savings institutions, which likely had more to do with structural changes and uncertainty around the DOL Fiduciary Rule than ABLTC products, and we would expect to see a rebound in that channel as DOL concerns are resolved.
Bright outlook continues
ABLTC's emphasis on guarantees is likely to resonate even stronger if uncertainty in today's broader economic climate continues to emerge, and their value will be magnified in the event of an economic downturn. The guarantees also provide a strong backdrop for advisors, regardless of what best-interest standard might emerge. Quite simply, these products do what they are designed to do: Provide peace of mind year after year.
Demographic trends also favor this market. The 50-and-over demographic is growing. By 2020, more than 118.7 million people will be 50+, up from an estimated 108.7 million in 2014.2 As the number of people grows who are either retired or preparing for retirement, the market for solid financial guidance grows as well.
That doesn't mean ABLTC is only for those nearing retirement however. There's growing evidence that younger people find ABLTC an attractive alternative to "use-it-or-lose-it" stand-alone LTCI protection. This generation is also seeing their older relatives cope with long term care expenses in retirement, and are increasingly building long term care protection into their financial plans. LIMRA reports that about half of in-force ABLTC policies—48 percent by number of policies and 56 percent by face amount—are held by people under 50, although those numbers include acceleration-only policies so aren't necessarily indicative of broad long term care awareness.
And finally, a reminder of one of the chief advantages of ABLTC protection: Although growth in the market is fairly recent, the products themselves are time-tested. Throughout economic downturns, healthcare upheaval, and disruption in the stand-alone LTCI market, ABLTC products have a decades-long history of delivering on their promises when customers need them most!
Author's Bio
Dennis Martin
FSA, FCIA, MAAA, is senior vice president of Individual Life and Financial Services for the companies of OneAmerica®. He formerly worked as senior vice president of Product and Business Development, overseeing insurance operations and product development for life, annuity and asset-based long term care, as well as broker-dealer operations. In addition, he provides leadership and vision for the current and future product portfolio and identifying opportunities for expansion. Martin joined the companies of OneAmerica® in 2009. Earlier in his career, he gained actuarial and marketing experience at Great-West Life in Canada and spent eight years with the Western & Southern Financial Group and Columbus Life building out their product development capabilities. In addition to his actuarial and product knowledge, Dennis has significant experience working directly with sales and distribution across multiple distribution channels. Martin is a graduate, with honors, of the University of Manitoba, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and Actuarial Science. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). Martin may be reached at OneAmerica, One American Square, P.O. Box 368, Indianapolis, IN 46205-0368. Telephone: 317-285-2672. Email: [email protected]


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If you would like to speak with a member of the OverBoard team, please feel free to give us a call Mon to Fri, 9.30 am - 4:30 pm. Alternatively, if we are closed do leave us a message and we will aim to call you back the following working day.
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Update 12/11: Tanner got adopted!
APA! pulled Tanner from TLAC when he was scheduled to be euthanized because of a broken pelvis. Unfortunately, we don' t know the story of this little guy before he showed up at TLAC. He's doing great in foster care and will be getting surgery soon to fix his pelvis.
We would love to be able to send Tanner home to his new permanent home to recover after surgery. If you're interested in adopting him, please send an email to [email protected]
Here's what his foster mom says about him:
Tanner is quite the puppy. He's friendly, smart, and independent. He loves to hang out outdoors, give kisses and to receive belly rubs. He learned how to use the doggie door by watching the other dogs. We'll say he's partially potty trained and should be easy to completely train.
Tanner loves to play and gets along well with other dogs of all sizes, as well as children. He's been very tolerant with being picked up incessantly by my four year old twin nieces. In short, Tanner will make a great addition to some lucky family!


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The IRS has posted changes to a number of forms and publications due to the December enactment of tax reform in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and by January enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which extended certain expired provisions. Changes include the following:
- Schedule C of Form 1040 was amended to reflect extended tax provisions by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Changes were made on pages C-9, C-15, and C-16.
- Form 4684 downloaded before February 23, 2018, that changes to the instructions were made. The changes reflect enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123, with regards to qualified disaster losses.
- Form 982 was amended to reflect enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Specifically, IRS said line 1e of Form 982 may be checked even if the discharge was not subject to an arrangement that was entered into and evidenced in writing before January 1, 2017. The Service also reminded taxpayers of a change to a requirement for excluding principal residence indebtedness discharge in 2018, noting that in order to exclude principal residence indebtedness discharged in 2018, the 2018 discharge must be subject to an arrangement that was entered into and evidenced in writing before January 1, 2018.
- Changes were made to Publication 972 to reflect extensions to the nonbusiness energy property credit and disaster relief provisions, made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The Service noted that when using the 2017 Publication 972, the nonbusiness energy property credit has been extended through 2017 and taxpayers who have an amount that they claimed on Form 5695, line 30, should report the same amount in the already marked entry space under line 10 of the Chief Tax Credit Worksheet and ignore the asterisk.
- Publication 334 was amended as a result of the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act to address the exclusion from gross income the discharge of qualified real property indebtedness under tax code Section 108.
- The 2017 instructions for Form 1040NR were amended to reflect the Bipartisan Budget Act. The Service said it made changes to Line 50 and Line 51 regarding energy property and fuel vehicle credits.
- Publication 523, related to the extension of the credit for home energy efficiency improvements and the credit for energy improvements to non-business properties was amended due to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Effective February 9, 2018, these credits are extended through 2021. The publication was also amended to note that a taxpayer may be able to exclude forgiven mortgage debt from gross income in 2017 if such an agreement was in place before January 1, 2018, the Service explained.


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Man, I've spent about 5 hours digging and I'm still pretty confused as to whether or not I should jump into Filemaker for my limited use scenario.
I have a small therapy company with 8 therapist. I have my therapists complete a pretty simple spreadsheet that tracks their time. Basically they clock in and out, and record the total count of tasks performed for that day... patients treated, daily notes, evaluations, etc. Using this information and a pre-determined time value for each of these tasks, I can calculate billable time, and overall productivity.
What is missing for me is the ability to do more than look at, or manually compile this data over time in other spreadsheets to report trends, comparisons between disciplines, etc.
What I am imagining in my head.
- Therapist logs into a website and has the ability to start a new daily timesheet, save it, work on it periodically during the day, then at the end of the day submit it. Each therapist would probably be "connected" for less than 10 minutes per day completing it, four days per week.
- Data is saved in the database and tagged with the name, date, and discipline of each therapist that submitted it.
- Then I am able to login and report the data in many different ways.
- A simple date range list report with each therapist and their total hours for that date range for payroll. Ideally exported such that I could import into payroll software.
- A date range report showing the average productivity of each therapist over that range. Would be cool if I could even formulate this into a narrative. During this period you saw X patients, completed Y evaluations, etc.
- Be able to run a report that compared individuals over time in a line graph. I've done this manually in a spreadsheet, but it takes forever to keep up with.
Is filemaker the right choice? I mean, I'm sure that it can do all this. But I only have 8 people that will barely use it. My budget is less than $500 per year to pull it off. I'm just hoping someone can tell me whether or not this is a relatively easy thing to do on this platform and if it can be done inexpensively for such a small team with limited use.


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Magnesium 300 Powder is a therapeutic dose of the most well absorbed forms of magnesium blended with organic whole food in a great tasting powder. Magnesium is an essential nutrient required for proper functioning of nearly every system in the body. Among its critical roles are assisting with ATP production, promoting healthy neurotransmitter levels and cognitive health as well as cardiovascular support. It is also necessary to drive enzymatic reactions and is a major contributor to the production of protein in the body. There have been studies demonstrating widespread deficiencies of this vital nutrient even in developed countries indicating the need for an increased intake of magnesium. Innate's Magnesium 300 Powder boasts the citrate, glycinate and malate forms, all of which have been shown to be well absorbed and helpful in restoring adequate magnesium levels. The infusion of organic spinach, a whole food magnesium source, provides a whole food complex to accompany the clinical dose of magnesium optimizing its utilization.
|Age Group


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Mach LED 300DF (focusable)
Light quality and optics
Superiour colour rendition
With colour rendering indexes Ra = 95 and R9 (red) ≥90 the surgeon recognizes clearly the tiniest nuances of colour in tissue.
For recognizing the exact colour spectrum of the wound the exact rendition of the red colour range is essential.
R9 (red) = 90 means for the surgeon a visibly better recognition of details.
The colour spectrum of the wound is rendered naturally with rich contrast.
The OT-light clearly provides welcome relief for your eyes.
Facetted multi-lens system
A multitude of computer-calculated facetted lenses guarantees homogeneity and lowest shadiness in the light field.
Separately arranged optical systems, with one LED module, generate their own light field, which increases the contrast effect of the OT-light.
Light intensities of 160.000 and 130.000 Lux can be attained without difficulty.
Merging of the individual luminous fields
By turning of the sterilizable handle the three LED-clusters swivel.
The single light fields are joined and overlap to one field with increased light intensity.
By turning of the adjustment ring at the sterilizable handle the bulbs are moved inside the reflector up and down.
The focussable light beam allows a punctual illumination of deepest wound channels with hight intensity and an exact matching of the light field diameter with the size of the wound field.
Additional comfort
Cool light
The LED technology is much more effective than conventional light sources such as halogen bulbs.
The heat radiation is reduced to a minimum without using any expensive filter technique.
The temperature increase in the surgeon's head area is almost nonexistent.
Flow properties
During development high attention was paid to the performance of the new LED OT-lights in laminar-flow ceiling systems.
Easy maintenance
With only a few steps the lamp housings can be opened to have access to all system components.
Due to the module technology all components can be easily exchanged.
Within 30 seconds you exchange the bulb. The housings are easy to clean.
Housing of die-casted aluminium
The material guarantees shock resistance and long life.
Technical data
Light intensity Lux at 1 meter distance: 130.000
Colour rendering index Ra: 95
Colour temperature (Kelvin): 4500
Dimming range (%): 50-100
Number of LED's: 36
Focusable size of the light field (in cm): 14-28
Total power consumption (W) :58
Life-span of the LED's (h): ≥40.000
Working distance (in cm): 70-140
Height adjustment (in cm): 118


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In response to national and state concerns about the impact of bullying on students, The 82nd Texas Legislature approved measures that require school districts to develop anti-bullying policies and interventions. It further directed the DSHS, in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to provide an annually updated list of best practice-based early mental health intervention and suicide prevention programs for implementation in general education settings.
Bullying Prevention Resolution for SHACs:
a model resolution for local School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs) to consider recommending for adoption by local school boards.
Bullying Prevention Resources Digest:
a list of websites and resources that offer curricula, videos, handouts, connection to expert speakers, and other resources that can be used to address bullying and suicidal behavior - many of which are free.
Bullying Prevention Resources - Annotated:
an annotated list describing the content and tools that can be found at each site.
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The Digital Bible Library® (DBL) is an online digital asset and licensing management platform developed and maintained by the United Bible Societies. DBL gathers, validates, and safeguards a large collection of quality, standardized, digital Scripture texts and publication assets, in hundreds of languages — all contributed by a growing number of partnering translation agencies. DBL enables the secure licensing and distribution of these resources to approved internal or external ministry partners. In this way, DBL seeks to empower others to reach people from every tribe, in every nation, with the power of God's Word in their heart language.
Content Updates
October 2018 Content Update
2032 text entries
1393 unique languages
5,467,000,000 language speakers
756 complete Bibles
1130 Testaments
146 Portions
162 contributing entities
System Updates
Introducing DBL Metadata 2.0
Synopsis This article provides a summary of recent changes to the metadata format for entries archived in the DBL. Background The metadata format for DBL began as a description of bundles which were originally text only, and uploaded via … [Read More...]
DBL Summit, September 2018 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC
You are invited to attend the 2018 DBL SUMMIT at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC on Monday, Sept 24 to Wednesday, Sept 26


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Domaine Furniture was founded in 2003 with over 13 years of experience as furniture manufacturer,home furniture supplier,hotel furniture supplier,we provide all kinds of modern furniture.
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text: It's week three of the 'little things' summer swap challenge and Clare made a video this week on making a mini easel card to put inside our little boxes. One of the little mirrors which came in the kit was used on the card. As normal I have 'modified' the procedure to fit the stash that I have. Notably, I don't have any stencils and so 'made' one from acetate and my die cutter. Sponged through distress ink in pink and then stamped in black with one or two of the number stamps that I acquired yesterday. On top of that, the stamping in silver and blue, was done with slightly older stamps (OK who am I kidding- the banner/pendant stamp I got last week). The silver strip is an old hair band that I cut up and used the flowers off years ago and the sequin ribbon I have had lying around for *years*.


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Reverse 3-Up – What Is Affluence Network Token VS BTC
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You are able to run a search on the web. First learn, then models, indicators and most importantly practice looking at old charts and pick out trends. Anytime you learn to keep a trading diary screenshots and your comment/forecast. Precisely what is the best way to get confident with charts IMHO. Oh certainly, and don't fool yourself into thinking that you get the uptrend will never decrease! Always will go down! Viewers incremental benefits are more reliable and profitable (most times)
It should be difficult to get more modest increases (~ 10%) throughout the day. Study the way to read these Candlestick charts! And I discovered these two rules to be true: having modest increases is more profitable than attempting to resist up to the summit. Most day traders follow Candlestick, therefore it is better to examine publications than wait for order confirmation when you believe the price is going down. Secondly, there's more volatility and reward in monies that never have made it to the profitableness of sites like Coinwarz.
It's definitely possible, but it must have the ability to recognize opportunities no matter marketplace conduct. The market moves in relation to price BTC … So even supposing it's in a BTC tendency down can make money by buying the altcoins which are altcoin oversold trading ratios-BTC. Sure, your purchasing power in DOLLARS may be lower, but as long as your purchasing power in BTC is still growing you'll be alright.
Entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency movement may be wise to research possibilities for making enormous ammonts of cash with various forms of online marketing.There could be a rich reward for anyone daring enough to brave the cryptocurrency marketplaces.Bitcoin design provides an instructive example of how one might make a lot of money in the cryptocurrency marketplaces. Bitcoin is an outstanding intellectual and technical accomplishment, and it has generated an avalanche of editorial coverage and venture capital investment opportunities. But very few people understand that and miss out on quite lucrative business models made available because of the growing use of blockchain technology.
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Bitcoin is the chief cryptocurrency of the internet: a digital money standard by which all other coins are compared to. Cryptocurrencies are distributed, worldwide, and decentralized. Unlike traditional fiat currencies, there is no authorities, banks, or another regulatory agencies. As such, it is more resistant to outrageous inflation and tainted banks. The advantages of using cryptocurrencies as your method of transacting cash online outweigh the protection and privacy threats. Security and privacy can easily be attained by simply being intelligent, and following some basic guidelines. You'dn't place your entire bank ledger online for the word to see, but my nature, your cryptocurrency ledger is publicized. This can be fixed by removing any identity of ownership from your wallets and thereby keeping you anonymous.
Cryptocurrency is freeing individuals to transact cash and do business on their terms. Each user can send and receive payments in an identical way, but they also take part in more sophisticated smart contracts. Multiple signatures enable a trade to be supported by the network, but where a particular number of a defined group of folks consent to sign the deal, blockchain technology makes this possible. This permits progressive dispute arbitration services to be developed in the foreseeable future. These services could enable a third party to approve or reject a trade in the event of disagreement between the other parties without checking their cash. Unlike cash and other payment procedures, the blockchain constantly leaves public proof that the transaction occurred. This can be possibly used in an appeal against businesses with deceptive practices.
Since among the earliest forms of earning money is in money lending, it is a fact which you can do this with cryptocurrency. Most of the giving websites now focus on Bitcoin, some of those websites you are needed fill in a captcha after a certain period of time and are rewarded with a small quantity of coins for visiting them. It is possible to see the www.cryptofunds.co site to locate some lists of of these websites to tap into the currency of your choice. Unlike forex, stocks and options, etc., altcoin markets have very different dynamics. New ones are always popping up which means they do not have a lot of market data and historical view for you to backtest against. Most altcoins have rather inferior liquidity as well and it is hard to think of a reasonable investment strategy.
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In the case of a fully functioning cryptocurrency, it may also be exchanged as a commodity. Promoters of cryptocurrencies say that this form of virtual income isn't handled by way of a key bank system and it is not thus susceptible to the vagaries of its inflation. Because there are always a restricted quantity of items, this cashis worth is founded on market forces, permitting homeowners to trade over cryptocurrency trades.
Here is the trendiest thing about cryptocurrencies; they usually do not physically exist anywhere, not even on a hard drive. When you examine a unique address for a wallet containing a cryptocurrency, there is absolutely no digital information held in it, like in precisely the same way a bank could hold dollars in a bank account. It is simply a representation of value, but there isn't any real tangible sort of that value. Cryptocurrency wallets may not be seized or frozen or audited by the banks and the law. They do not have spending limits and withdrawal limitations imposed on them. No one but the person who owns the crypto wallet can decide how their wealth will be managed.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, LiteCoin, Ether, YOCoin, and many others have now been designed as a non-fiat currency. Put simply, its backers assert that there's actual worth, even through there is no physical representation of that worth. The worth increases due to computing power, that is, is the lone way to create new coins distributed by allocating CPU power via computer programs called miners. Miners create a block after a period of time which is worth an ever diminishing amount of money or some sort of reward so that you can ensure the shortfall. Each coin consists of many smaller components. For Bitcoin, each unit is called a satoshi. The blockchain is where the public record of transactions lives. Most all cryptocurrencies function as Bitcoin does.
The fact that there's little evidence of any growth in using virtual money as a currency may be the reason there are minimal attempts to control it. The reason for this could be just that the marketplace is too little for cryptocurrencies to justify any regulatory attempt. Additionally it is possible that the regulators simply do not understand the technology and its implications, expecting any developments to act.
Mining cryptocurrencies is how new coins are put in circulation. Because there's no government control and crypto coins are digital, they cannot be printed or minted to create more. The mining process is what makes more of the coin. It may be useful to think about the mining as joining a lottery group, the pros and cons are just the same. Mining crypto coins means you will really get to keep the total rewards of your efforts, but this reduces your likelihood of being successful. Instead, joining a pool means that, overall, members will have a greater chance of solving a block, but the benefit will be divided between all members of the pool, according to the amount of shares won.
If you are thinking of going it alone, it's worth noting the applications configuration for solo mining can be more complicated than with a swimming pool, and beginners would be likely better take the latter path. This alternative also creates a steady stream of earnings, even if each payment is small compared to entirely block the benefit.
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The physical Internet backbone that carries data between the various nodes of the network has become the work of a number of firms called Internet service providers (ISPs), including firms that offer long distance pipelines, sometimes at the international level, regional local pipe, which ultimately joins in families and businesses. The physical connection to the Internet can only happen through any of these ISPs, players like level 3, Cogent, and IBM AT&T. Each ISP manages its own network. Internet service providers Exchange IXPs, owned or private businesses, and sometimes by Governments, make for each of these networks to be interconnected or to move messages across the network. Many ISPs have arrangements with providers of physical Internet backbone providers to offer Internet service over their networks for last mile-consumers and businesses who need to get Internet connectivity. Internet protocols, followed by everyone in the network makes it possible for the information to flow without interruption, in the appropriate area at the right time.
While none of these organizations owns the Internet collectively these businesses determine how it operates, and recognized rules and standards that everyone stays. Contracts and legal framework that underlies all that's taking place to discover how things work and what happens if something bad happens. To get a domain name, for instance, one needs consent from a Registrar, which has a contract with ICANN. To connect to the Internet, your ISP must be physical contracts with providers of Internet backbone services, and suppliers have contracts with IXPs from the Internet backbone to attach to and with her. Concern over security issues? A working group is formed to work on the problem and the solution developed and deployed is in the interest of all parties. If the Internet is down, you might have someone to phone to get it fixed. If the issue is from your ISP, they in turn have contracts in position and service level agreements, which govern the manner in which these problems are worked out.
The advantage of cryptocurrency is that it uses blockchain technology. The network of nodes the make up the blockchain is not governed by any centered company. No one can tell the miners to update, speed up, slow down, stop or do anything. And that's something that as a dedicated advocate badge of honour, and is identical to the way the Internet operates. But as you understand now, public Internet governance, normalities and rules that govern how it works present constitutional difficulties to an individual. Blockchain technology has none of that.
For most users of cryptocurrencies it is not essential to understand how the process works in and of itself, but it is fundamentally vital that you understand that there is a procedure for mining to create virtual currency. Unlike monies as we know them now where Governments and banks can just choose to print endless amounts (I 'm not saying they are doing so, just one point), cryptocurrencies to be operated by users using a mining software, which solves the advanced algorithms to release blocks of monies that can enter into circulation.
You've probably seen this often times where you frequently spread the nice word about crypto. It's not volatile? What goes on if the value crashes? sofar, several POS devices delivers free conversion of fiat, alleviating some concern, but until the volatility cryptocurrencies is addressed, a lot of people is likely to be resistant to put up any. We must find a method to combat the volatility that's inherent in cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum is an incredible cryptocurrency platform, nevertheless, if growth is too fast, there may be some issues. If the platform is adopted fast, Ethereum requests could improve dramatically, and at a rate that exceeds the rate with which the miners can create new coins. Under a situation like this, the entire stage of Ethereum could become destabilized because of the raising costs of running distributed programs. In turn, this could dampen interest Ethereum stage and ether. Uncertainty of demand for ether can result in a negative change in the economic parameters of an Ethereum based business that could lead to business being unable to continue to manage or to cease operation.
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Text: Psalm 146:1-10
"Praise the Lord; praise the Lord, O my Soul!" This opening verse from Psalm 146 got me thinking this week: "What does it mean to praise the Lord?" and "What are we praising the Lord for?" We see professional athletes taking a knee and praying after touchdowns and pointing to the sky when crossing homeplate after a homerun. And so often, we feel compelled to praise God when we've received God's blessings or after we've sensed or experienced God present in our lives.
And I think those, for the most part, are all good reasons to praise God. But I wonder, is there more to when and what we praise God for?
I mean, what about the harder times, when there seems to be no concept of blessing in our lives or the world we live in? I wonder what it looks like to praise the Lord in light of black churches being burned. How do black female pastors receiving death threats praise the Lord? And this past week, my former Executive Officer's daughter – both he and his daughter are African-American – while shopping in a store was told by some random stranger to "Go back where she came from." What does it mean for them to praise God? I wonder what it means to praise the Lord when we think about all the stress in our lives, all the bills that continue to pile up, and those who are getting older just seem to be getting sicker and more frail with each passing year? What does praising the Lord look like, what does it mean to praise the Lord in light of all that happens to us in the present?
We have this saying about raising corn in Minnesota: "Knee high by the 4th of July." What that meant is that farmers, having gotten the corn in by the end of May, and having cultivated between the rows and controlled the weeds through June, the corn should have grown to about knee high, by the 4th of July. Yet there was one little thing the farmers couldn't control: the weather, specifically, the rain. The soil being sandier where I grew up, and there not being good sources for irrigation, farmers were at the mercy of the weather. I remember my dad, listening to the weather reports on the radio where the weatherman would report that rain was in the forecast…..but of course, you never could really predict when it would rain, or how much would fall, and if it would be enough when it did. And there were years when the corn wasn't knee high, it was more like ankle high…and there were years it was knee high, but it showed signs of withering in the summer heat as it didn't have enough rain. All my dad could do is continue to listen to the forecast and occasionally look up to the sky and wait…and hope…..and trust that the rain would fall, and that it would be enough for the corn to grow and thrive.
The psalmist sings praises to God, for a vision of life that brings justice for the oppressed, food to the hungry, freeing the captive, giving sight to the blind, raising up the lowly, and even watching over the strangers, orphans and widows of the world. The psalmist's praise is a song really…..of trust.
And that got me thinking: what if praise isn't so much about our longing for what's good about the past, but rather trusting in God's promised future for us in the midst of an uncertain present? The psalmist today praises God….but that praise isn't for what God has done in the past so much, but rather it's praise for the vision of life that God has promised in the future – a good and life-giving future for all people.
Praise looks like trust. The psalmist turns to God in trust in light of the knowledge that human efforts have their limits. The psalmist trusts that God promises this future…..it will come…..and God alone will make it happen. And the psalmist praises God, looking forward to this promised future.
The thing about God's promised future is that while we know it is trustworthy and good and life-giving, we also know that it may not come when we expect it or it may not happen in the way we expect it to. Trusting like that, praise like that, is certainly hard to do. It's easier to keep the status quo. It's more comfortable to wish and long for the success of the past – the good old days. Our expectations are much more realistic than God's….mainly because we know and can control the outcome.
But to trust God, to look to God's future…..trusting that what God has in store for us is so much greater and beyond what we could possibly imagine. We trust a God who knows what we need – maybe better than we know ourselves. We trust, we allow ourselves to be open and even obedient to God's plans, remembering that words of the prophet Jeremiah, that God's plans are "for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."
And perhaps such a God, who cares so much about us in our present that God would promise us this future full of hope…..such a God is worthy of our faith; worthy of our praise. Amen.


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OMG!!! Today the heat killed me, it´s so hot outside I probably hate it right now but in a few weeks went the winter comes I will miss it.
Following my promise this is the second outfit wearing short, in this case a black one with buttons on front pockets, yesteday it was black with zippers on back pockets matching the red blouse with red espadrilles already seen it.
Red blouse/Bachino-
Black short/old-
Red espadrilles/old-
Black handbag/Prune.


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I picked up running a few decades later while living near the beach and training for volleyball. Sand running became part of my sport and then it evolved into how I liked waking up every morning before work. There's nothing like running in the soft, quiet sand alongside dolphins swimming in the water beside you.
Spring, but that was completely unintentional and spontaneous, though it gave me a bit of the bug.
My training allowed me to see not just more of Paris, but another side of many cities I visited during the 3 months leading up to the big day. I did my first long run at altitude while in Lake Tahoe, which I don't recommend....ever, unless you're looking to medal, and not just the medals they hand everyone at the end for participating.
There was some sand running while I was in LA to take me back to my roots, though my roots never included more than an hour jog. That extra hour brought a new appreciation to my calves.
The Olympiads inspired me to run in London during the games, but my pace never seemed to move past that of most children playing who start very enthusiastically, and then often get distracted and forget what they were doing.
There was some versions of running along the canals of Venice and on the steep trails in the hilly, but picturesque Cinque Terre, though I'd say the focus here was more on carb loading, even though I was still over a month out from the race.
What I did in Munich during Octoberfest was more like running away from the beer halls and the impossibly large libations and pretzels. Again, more carb loading.
Then of course there's been the "home" running along the Seine, through the many beautiful gardens, around the Louvre, past Notre Dame, over the Promenades des Plantes, along the Canal St. Martin, and through the Bois de Vincennes park.
So I felt like a winner before I even started the half marathon. I got to run (and carb load) in some really pretty places, which helped mask the pain in my hamstring that started during my very first long run. I figured it was a beginner's injury, and I just needed to run more to build the muscles. When that didn't work, I thought, I just need to stretch more. After being nearly crippled after a yoga session, I realized I must have a tear and should just take bigger breaks in between the runs. See, trips above for the quasi-break schedule, especially Octoberfest and the week after when I returned home with a cold. Unfortunately those 2 weeks coincided with the 2 weeks prior to the half marathon. So I was going into the race a bit cool and loose, and with a hamstring that still wasn't happy.
I woke up yesterday morning thinking I'm just going to give it a go. I can walk. How bad can it be? Temps Sunday were about 45 degrees and misty. Purrr-fect. Rain jacket, rain hat on. Let's do this.
I met my friend Stephanie at the start, along with our great support personnel Lisette who served as bag carrier, photographer, pinner and jill of all trades. We were all smiles under the Eiffel Tower, even though we couldn't see the top of it when we arrived....or at any part during the race.
About 30,000 people signed up for this race this year, and nearly 23,000 showed up and ran. The other 7,000 were very smart and said why on earth would I run a great distance in this weather. I must admit that normally on a day like this, I wouldn't even venture out to do errands.
The first runner left at 10am, and we got over the start line closer to 10:30am. It was a slow process getting everyone on the road, and running.
People wore a range of old sweatshirts and trash bags to stay warm and dry before the race, and then threw it off as soon as the race began, leaving a fine mess to clean up.
Did I mention it rained? The...whole...time? It actually wasn't as miserable as all the thinking I did about it beforehand while I tracked the miserable weather. Don't get me wrong, I would have been very happy if it didn't rain, and was just a wee bit warmer, but I like to think the rain was an added incentive to run faster and finish sooner.
Luckily there were a few tunnels that provided momentary relief from time to time and opportunities for nose blowing and new chants. Not exactly sure what I was saying but I think everyone was expressing happiness about the short moments of euphoric dryness.
Even crazier than the 23,000 people running in the rain, were the fabulous Parisians who came and stood still in the rain, supporting everyone with banners, cheers and high fives. Lots of "Allez, allez, bravo!" There were also bands set up all along the course playing a range of bag pipes, rock and roll (all sung in English) and a lot of cowbells. Yes, cowbells.
I was happy to complete the first half of the race at my ideal pace of 10 minute miles. No, I'm not going to quit my day job for the track. Ooops. The problem for me occurs during the back half when my pace slows to a walk, and sometimes a crawl, but I was fully pumped and chewing on French gummy bear protein bites that had a bit more caffeine than I'm used to, so I buzzed right along with my Parisian peeps. Interestingly, the water stations hand out oranges, and sugar cubes. There's a big bucket of cubes that you can put your wet, sweaty hands into like everyone else, and have some straight up sucre. I stuck to the gel jolts. I could feel my hamstring getting worse, but I figured, I'm still running, so how bad can it be (yes, that is always an ominous line, but bare with me)?
The winner crossed the finish line, just a hair before me. That timeclock reads 58:10. Yeah, but where was he at Octoberfest?
I found myself gaining energy as we passed the Louvre and rounded the bend along the Seine to our final destination of the Eiffel Tower. I went into the race thinking I'd be the person picking up the race cones as I finished since I wasn't anticipating getting across the finish line before dark, but looking at my watch I suddenly thought, I should try and finish this in 2 hours. Adrenaline makes me a little crazy.
Damn if I didn't cross the finish line at 2:04, and yes, I do know that in most Kenyan conversations this is nothing to brag about. I've never run that far or that fast, but now I'm hooked, and must get in before 2 hours in the NEXT race. I did have some delusions of grandeur while running as well. How hard could a marathon be? Uh, twice as hard. No, actually it must increase exponentially after the first 15 miles. I've been eyeing the full marathon in Bordeaux for some time since it includes unbelievable eating and drinking in grand chateaux and vineyards...while running...and wearing costumes. I have a year to ponder and/or prep for that, and am at least way ahead on the eating and drinking training.
|I'm all smiles in the home stretch
And then I couldn't find Lisette who had my warm clothes, not to mention my phone and apartment keys. My lips were blue when she found me, but a little hot chocolate pepped me up, and the long shower that followed revived me, and got me looking to my next race!