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Here i go again...
Entry posted by princess_mercedes ·
617 views
All was going very well with my band. I had lost 41kg. I had thrown out most of my fat clothes. I was feeling fantastic. Pretty close to the green zone.
Tuesday 13 August 2013 - I've got the flu. Coughing and spluttering and feeling like crap. Keep coughing up flem. Yuck...
Thursday 15 August 2013 - 3 days of cold and flu capsules and I'm not feeling any better. My throat feels really puffy and swollen. Looking forward to having Friday off to attend a friends wedding. Got my outfit all sorted. I'm looking pretty good too. I'm down to 107.6kg. I'll just dose up on cold and flu capsules.
Friday 16 August 2013 - I've been up almost all night. I couldn't sleep laying down because I'd throw up. Ended up on the couch, trying to sleep upright, but from 12pm onwards if I drank any water, even a sip, I would fall asleep and wake up shortly after throwing the water straight back up. Not able to keep any fluid down all night. Feeling pretty lousy. Once my surgeon opened I rang up and got an appointment straight away. I need some fill taken out. ASAP.
Went in and saw Dr Treacy. He attempted to remove some fluid from my band. No luck after numerous tries, in different positions, with different size needles. He thinks I may have a kink in my port line. He even puts a little more fluid in the band, hoping it may unkink it and then he can suck some fluid back out. It doesn't work. At this stage I've only keep down a few tiny tiny sips of water since last night.
I go and get an xray, so he can see where the kink is in the port. The xray shows a kink up close to the port, so Dr Treacy says he'll give me a local anaesthetic, a small quick cut and unkink the port line. All good.
Wheeled into the theatre, surgeon ready to go. Local anaesthetic given. Now comes the quick cut. He seems to be having trouble sorting out the kink. He says he can't see the kink where the xray showed it would be, so he'll open the cut a little more and search a bit further along the tube. Ok. Can't feel anything. Just looking forward to a drink. Hurry up and finish. He gives more local anaesthetic, apologizing for not being able to find the kink. This is taking a while now. More tugging, pushing and pulling. Dr Treacy is getting pretty rough now. I can feel pulling and pushing and starting to be in pain. This is hell. Feels like he's trying to rip my intestines out. Bad pain. I'm swearing at him. Surgery stops. They clean me my and I'm wheeled out into recovery. I don't think he stitched me.
Feeling pretty crappy now. I get more pain relief through the drip and normal saline drip to rehydrate me. A few minutes later I'm feeling good. Ok, get to this wedding.
Dr Treacy comes and informs me that he was not able to find the kink. It was not where the xray said and after lots of looking he is concerned. I'm feeling really good (must have been the drugs) and am like, yep, that's cool. When can I go home? I've got a wedding to go to. He's says no, you have to have a general anaesthetic. We've got to fix this. It will all be covered by the original cost as it is a compilation, so no out for pocket for me. Cool, I don't really care.
He informs me that I am in serious danger. I NEED to have major surgery today. I'm crying and a bit of a mess. The wedding is for the daughter of a really good friend's daughter who I have known since birth and I HAVE to be there.
I ring my husband who knew I was going in for a fill and tell him the local procedure didn't work. He's like, do you want me to come and get you. I'm like yes, I have to go to the wedding, even if I'm in a wheelchair, doped up, I can't miss it. Apparently I need surgery, but I can't miss this wedding. He'd ready to come and get me.
Dr Treacy comes back, someone must have overheard my conversation. I'm informed that I'm going in for surgery NOW. I will miss the wedding. I'm a blubbering mess. I'm wheeled back to the operating theatre. Going under, I'm devastated.
I wake up in recovery. Lots of cool drugs. I feel great, just a little discomfort around my stomach.
Sometime later when I'm fully conscious and in my own room, Dr Treacy comes to see me. He explains that the problem with my kinked port line was a complication that he had never even heard of. Scar tissue had grown over my port line, kinking it completely, so that no fluid could get through. He found a kink, unkinked it and then tested to see if he could get any fluid into the port. Nothing. He searched further down the port line and at the very bottom where it connects to the band, he found another section of scar tissue completely kinking the port line. He decided that the band must be faulty and removes the entire thing and replaces it with a new one. Luckily, he didn't have to restitch my stomach at all and was able to thread the new band straight through the hole from the old band.
OK, all fixed. I ask how long I'll need off work and am told 2 weeks. I don't really understand why I need that long and want to get back to work on Monday. No, major surgery requires major rest. The recovery will be faster than the original surgery but I have had major surgery. Man these drugs are good. Tell my boss, who just knew I was having the day off to go to a wedding. Sorry, major surgery today. A surprise for everyone involved.
I'm home 2 days later. All good. I have 4 incisions like the original surgery, but this time my stomach is deep purple with bruising and fairly tender. The realisation of what has happened has still not really hit me. It is only a few days later when I'm speaking to my mum that I realised what a bad situation I was in. Holy crap. It takes about a month for the bruising to go away. But I feel fine and am back at work 2 weeks later like Dr Treacy said.
Dr Treacy was fantastic the entire way throughout my experience. He tried his absolute best to fix my band, doing everything he knew how. He was an absolute professional, so much so that I never fully understood the danger I was in because he and all the staff stayed so calm! In the end I was just a one in a million. Damn it! I can't thank Dr Treacy enough for the way he looked after me. And I told him so, first follow up after the surgery.
So because I have a new band, and with all the swelling, there is no fluid in the band and I have to start from scratch to get to the green zone.
Once I'm recovered from surgery and back on solids, I have a huge appetite compared to what I had. I eat copious amounts of food. My weight creeps higher. Not creeps, just steps. Leaps. I get regular fills but Dr Treacy is careful to make sure I don't get over full.
By Christmas I've put on 20kgs. By February I've gained 28kg. I feel terrible. None of my clothes fit, except the few fat clothes that I kept. I have to go shopping for a new fat wardrobe. Very depressing.
28 April 2014 – We have a new staff member at work. A really big girl who wear baggy clothes. She mentions that she has lost 38kgs. I ask how, lap band, Dr Treacy.
I realise how far I've fallen in the past few months and come on Banding Together. I actually remembered my password.
And now here I am. I'm getting another fill next week, hoping to get to the green zone.
I suppose some people might think that I've wasted the last 2 ½ years weight loss wise. I've lost more 41kg and put 28kgs back on. I'm a failure as a bandit.
But I would still do it all again in a heartbeat. I don't ever regret getting my band.
I just have to get back on board, get back to following the golden rules of banding and remember, that I've done it once, so I can do it all again. Loose this weight and get even healthier than I was before. Even get to my surgeons goal weight of 99kg.
So here I go….


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Romantic Gifts For Men
Gift Giving: Romantic Gifts for Men;
Gifts and Gift Giving for Men: Ideas to help you choose romantic gifts for the man in your life.
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If you are seeking romantic gifts for your man, first look at what men want according to a survey by Arthur Aron.
When asked to rank the following nine items in order of romantic preference, men said: 1. Taking walks together 2. Kissing 3. Candlelight dinners 4. Cuddling 5. Hugging 6. Holding hands 7. Sitting by the fire
What does that say to you for gifts to your man?
Maybe the gifts of:
A Walk in the Woods or on the Beach
Choose an area particularly suited to a few private kisses.If you can't get there now, the gifts could be as mundane as a new jogging suit or sports shoes with a description of the walk those shoes would take.
A Cozy Dinner by Candlelight
The gifts could be a gift certificate to a romantic restaurant or the candles with a description of the dinner to come.
ACandlelight Picnic Under the Stars
The gifts could be a picnic hamper or even a tent with a description of the romantic evening to come.
Wine on a Rug in Front of the Fire
The gifts could be a bottle of wine, wine glasses, or even a soft area rug with a description of the night of the fire.
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Additional information about gifts and gift giving for men.
Outstanding Links Singles Personals Abuse Alternative Medicine Baby's Sign Language Be a Matchmaker Birthday Book Blended Family Books Boys: Parenting Breast Feeding Choose Personal Matchmaker Communication Discipline Your Child Dr. Luv Eating Healthy Elder Housing Esteem for Children Family Fitness Friendship Gender Understanding Games for Kids Gifts Gifts for Men Gifts for Women Girls: Parenting Grandparents Halloween Heart Express Holistic Health Homefront Kids' Activities Kids' Games Kids' Toys Intimate Lovers Love & Chemistry Love & Marriage Men Nutrition Organic Gardening Organic Food Parenting Rainforest Recipes Romance Second Marriage Senior Cohousing Seniors Shopping Place Single Parents Spoiling Infants Sports & Recreation Stepparents Stress Teens: by/for teens Timeout Toys for Kids Traveling Travel with Kids Walking Wedding Wheels Women You Dating Web Dating Again Dating Tips Dating with Kids Meeting Tips for Singles Happiness Love & Romance Tips Lunchbox Notes Math/Science Fun for Kids Stay in Touch with Kids-Grandkids Free Newsletters Singles Senior Cohousing DFW Earth/Green Living
Note: The opinions expressedherein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect theposition of CyberParent. They are not intended to take the place of advice of ahealth, legal, or other professional whose expertise you might need to seek.

subset: commoncrawl


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Shoe comfort for women: From Philly Fashionistas
Philly Fashionistas with Biana DeMarco
Philly Fashionistas with Biana DeMarco
Ladies, don't fall prey to Shoe-icide. Even your highest, most gravity defying shoes can be transformed to feel to like butter. The key is to never leave the store with a pair that pinches, squeezes or rubs your pretty little feet in the first place.
Coming from a woman that appreciates high heels, I can tell you that if a shoe's uncomfortable from the moment you put it on, it's time to reconsider the purchase. Never buy shoes thinking that you'll break them in or get them stretched. No matter how tempting they may be, this is about as realistic as buying jeans two sizes too small; thinking that you'll go on a crash diet. To ensure that the shoe is right for you, try standing and walking around the store. The entire theory about beauty requiring sacrifice is completely bizarre.
How beautiful can you look if you can't walk with ease? Once you've found the shoe that's both gorgeous and comfy every issue thereafter can be easily solved. With that being said, even the most comfortable of shoes needs time to mold to your foot and I've got just the tools to make this a seamless process. And since owning comfortable shoes is one of life's necessities my tips will make the most unapproachable of shoes feel more comfy than they look.
What's In Your Shoe Arsenal? People associate height with discomfort, when in reality platforms and wedges are the Zoloft to Shoe-icide. But support is something that all shoes can have more of. One of the biggest problems with high heel shoes is that their angle puts your entire weight on the ball of your foot.
This is where Foot Petals come in. Tip Toes by Foot Petals, $6.95 are a super adorable and inexpensive solution to burning and sliding feet. Plus, they'll put a bounce to your step with their ultra soft texture. And since you never know when or where you'll need to be rescued from foot pain, keep Foot Petals on hand whenever you wear heels.
Ideal for open and closed toe shoes, these little cushion miracles are something that I personally can't live without. Foot Petals are a perfect accessory for virtually any occasion and shoe and a true companion to high heels. For more varieties of foot pads, check out the Foot Petal site.
The Shoe Whisperer- Band-Aid brand is synonymous with adhesive bandages but for all you ladies who know a thing or two about footblisters, it's a life saver! But who wants to fuss with bandages that peel off and leave adhesive marks when you don't have to? With Band-Aid Friction Block, $6.99 you will never have to deal with blisters again. It's an invisible alternative to bandages, looks like a mini deodorant stick and fits perfectly in small bags and clutches. You don't have to search high and low, because Band-Aid Friction Block is available at any drug store.
Planning to rock a brand new pair of shoes or know where your old shoes rub? Just roll on Band-Aid Friction Block onto the problem area and forget all about it. We all spend countless hours on our feet working and running daily errands, so only commit to a shoes that feel as fabulous as they look. If you run into a problem you can always refer back to my tips, but whatever you do, avoid Shoe-icide at all costs.
Happy shoe shopping, ladies!
Be sure to check out Biana's website PhillyFashionistas.com for the latest fashion trends in Philly and beyond!
Register NOW with Philly2Philly!
Follow us on Philly2Philly's Facebook page! And, don't forget to "like" Philly2Philly


text: pupton 2 Report post Posted July 25, 2013 Hi I've installed a Tandberg LTO5 drive not my backup server running 7.6.123, update 184.108.40.206 on a Win 2003 box. This site states the drive is supported with this version but I cannot see it. Usual reboot etc carried out, device disabled in Device Manager. Any suggestions? Paul 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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James (Jim) Edward Martin, 81, passed away Tuesday, November 13, 2018 after an extended illness. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a graduate of the former Flaget High School and attended the University of Louisville. He was a member of the Civil Air Patrol and the Kip Kug computer user's group. In his early years, Jim was an officer with the City of Louisville Police Department. He later retired as a buyer and developer of computer systems for G.E. He was a long-time member of Southeast Christian Church and greatly enjoyed his years serving as an usher.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse Ernest Martin and Mary Gilkey Martin. He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Della (Dolly) Martin; his children, Kathleen Paulino of New Jersey; Karen Bond (Brian) of Arizona; Geoff Martin (Tracy) of California; Laura Martin-Spetter (Geoff) of Idaho; and his stepdaughter, Aimee Johnson (Craig) of Fisherville, Kentucky. Jim had 24 grandchildren, Hayden Paulino; Brianna, Tyler, Carissa, Jaren, Susanna, Charlotte, Rebecca, Megan, Alec, Oliver, Juliette, Davis, and Felix Bond; Aspen and Magnolia Martin; Lydia, Clay, Luke, Ben, Hannah, Mia, and Ava Johnson. Jim is also survived by his brother, Frank (Chris) of Maryland, and their sons Steven, Matthew, and Kevin.
Visitation will be 11am-2pm Saturday, November 17th at Stoess Funeral Home in Crestwood, KY, The Memorial Service will begin at 2pm. A private family burial at Louisville Memorial Gardens East will be held at a later date.
Expressions of sympathy in honor of Jim may be made to: BesideU For Life Pregnancy and Life Skills Center, 701 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40203.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of James Martin, please visit our floral store.


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Safety Roundup: Jeep Cherokee Airbag Software, Canyon, Colorado Seat Attachment
Manufacturers Focus on Safety in Latest Recalls
In today's safety roundup, we have an expansion of an airbag software programming recall on the Jeep Cherokee and a recall of 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models for seat frame attachment hooks that may not have been properly attached to the vehicle during assembly.
For the Jeep recall, it's an expansion of an earlier recall for airbag software on the Jeep Cherokee, now covering a total of 230,240 vehicles in the U.S. and 316,774 vehicles globally. In what FCA describes as "harsh, off-road environments," certain maneuvers and vehicle angles can cause inadvertent deployment of side curtain and seat-mounted side airbags. The deployment threshold will be revised to prevent further false deployments.
The General Motors recall covers 48,309 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon units in the U.S. and 4,620 in Canada for seat frame attachment hooks that may not have been properly attached to the vehicle during assembly. Dealers will inspect potentially affected seats and repair as necessary. Neither FCA nor GM are aware of any injuries or fatalities related to either issue. Owners can visit my.gm.com for the Colorado or Canyon, or moparownerconnect.com for the Cherokee, and enter their vehicle identification number (VIN) to see if their vehicle is affected.
Source: General Motors, FCA


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In this Q & A with author Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, many topics regarding kids' vulnerabilities to modern tech are covered and no punches are pulled. He is speaking as an addictionologist who has spent his career working with hard-core drug addicts and is extremely concerned about addiction potential via screen tech in our young people. It's a scary read, mostly because of his specific examples and research citations to support his concerns. But don't be afraid – we need this information to make the right decisions for our kids and to help them understand the behind the scenes forces at play and the related risks of screen addiction.
What Our Experts Are Saying
Insights, recommendations, and advice for parents balancing kids and technology from the doctors, subject matter experts and thought leaders in the Modern Parent Project community.
What to Do?
Direct, straightforward and summarized advice and recommendations. Parents, please consider the following insights when navigating the challenging topic of kids and technology.
What NOT to Do?
The wrong words or actions can sometimes make things worse with kids. Parents, please consider avoiding the following potential traps.
Understand what makes today's kids vulnerable to becoming addicted to their screens
Have you noticed that many kids have a perpetual need to be entertained by their digital devices? Dr. Kardaras states that one reason is that passive screen stimulation comes at the expense of active, creative play. When images are provided for them, they don't use their own imaginations. When this happens consistently over time, creative abilities can be stunted. If you are concerned that your child is already hooked or dependent on screen time, help is available.
Pay special attention to gaming habits
Why a special focus on gaming? Because, as Dr. Kardaras states, " Hyper arousing games create a double-whammy. Not only are they addicting, but then addiction perpetuates itself by negatively impacting the part of the brain that can help with impulsivity and good decision making." You know your child better than anyone. Is s/he able to use video games moderately? If not, gaming is likely costing him/her socially (in their real world) and could be affecting their mental health. Again, outside help can make a big difference in overcoming these challenges.
Don't believe the anti-addiction crowd
There is a vocal minority of so-called experts who prefer to ignore the growing body of cutting edge scientific research that demonstrates clear neurobiological similarities between gaming, gambling and substance addictions. And Dr. Kardaras states in no uncertain terms that based on his decades of clinical experience, "It's easier to treat a heroin addict than a true screen addict."
Don't mistake active social media usage for genuine connection
Yes, your teen has 400 "friends" and "followers," and regularly gets "mentions" "shares" "likes" and "retweets." S/he also has a robust community of online gamers or fellow enthusiasts of any given hobby or interest. But while your teen may enjoy these different ways of expanding ones exposure to and validation from others with common interests, there is no substitute for "genuine, in-depth, face to face intimacy and connection." Furthermore, despite all the benefits social media provides, it can also set kids up for negative self-comparisons and for feeling alienated (as they see all the amazing things everyone else is doing without them).
Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – And How to Break the Trance
"Glow Kids," a new book by addiction expert, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, explores how compulsive tech usage can neurologically damage kids' developing brains in much the same way that drug addiction can.
By SETH FERRANTI (article)
The YouTube experience doesn't end for my kids after I take away their iPads. It follows them everywhere: when they're playing with toys, riding in the backseat of our car or roaming the supermarket aisles. That's because the two have developed a habit of living out their lives as if there's an imaginary camera trained on them, just like their favorite YouTubers. "Dad is making a right turn now," my 5-year-old son Jack will say as he newscasts the ride to school to a fictional audience. "Don't forget to subscribe," his sister Ella, 6, will often interject — again, to no one in particular.
When I was their age, I'd pretend to be a soldier or a baseball player. Today, kids apparently aspire to be vloggers. It's not enough for them to watch their favorite shows. They want to broadcast their lives, banter with commenters and keep their make-believe view counts high. It's a shift from the era of Mickey Mouse or Hannah Montana – and one that bodes well for YouTube as it tries to capture a generation of children who couldn't tell you what a cable box was for.
Last year, YouTube launched its first kids app, YouTube Kids. The app, which had more than 10 billion views the first year alone, comes with stricter advertising guidelines, parental controls and voice search that has an uncanny ability to understand kids (It took me weeks to realize what my kids were saying when they kept asking to watch a channel with 2.7 million subscribers called CookieSwirlC. I kept calling it Kooky World Sea).
"The family and learning space is incredibly important to YouTube and one that is continuing to grow," said Malik Ducard, YouTube's global head of family and learning. Children ages 11 and younger are one of the fastest growing audiences for digital video, growing nearly four times as fast as viewers ages 18 to 24, according to eMarketer.
That growth has no doubt been perpetuated by the legion of young YouTube creators who have uploaded playtime videos, educational tutorials and "unboxing" clips — videos showing in painstaking detail the process of removing a new toy or gadget from its packaging.
My children are so captivated by unboxing videos that I'm scolded if I ever attempt to help them open a new toy. So I surrender the gift, which they put on the dining table for imaginary display. "Hi, boys and girls, welcome to YouTube Toys," my daughter will say. "I'm Ella and this is my little brother Jack."
Come Easter egg hunt time, they do the same with the plastic eggs, describing to a camera that doesn't exist the tiny treats inside each egg they crack open.
By watching these unboxing videos, my kids stay informed about the latest toys. I was naive to think cutting our cable service a year ago – and all the TV commercials that came with it – would insulate them from marketing. There seems to be no more effective YouTube recruitment tool or advertising strategy than having kids watch their peers.
"Kids used to put on a cape and play Superman around the house," said Nancy Mramor Kajuth, a psychologist who specializes in the influence of media. "Now they're pretending to be someone they know from YouTube. They're learning how to be kids from the kids they watch."
On occasion, Jack and Ella have asked my wife and me to help them launch their own not-for-pretend channel — perhaps one in which they narrate scenes with their Shopkins toys. We always decline. We both work and don't have the time or energy. We're also wary of exposing them to some of the uglier aspects of the Internet, namely trolling.
I'm no Luddite – I know my kids can't live without technology. But I still feel more than a twinge of guilt handing them the devices to keep them occupied when I have to work, cook or clean up a mess (usually theirs).
Pediatricians have for years recommended no more than two hours of screen time per day for children older than 2. However, the proliferation of handheld devices has spurred talk of revising the recommendation to reflect the reality that kids use tablets and phones much more.
It's a delicate subject that requires more research given how new the technology is. Still, experts say too much screen time can over-stimulate children and make them disengaged from the real world, not unlike TV. "If kids have fun with their screens, that's great. But they also need to ride a bike, swim and learn to solve problems with their Legos," said Mramor Kajuth, the psychologist. Parents of young YouTube creators say their children are picking up a host of skills running a YouTube channel with millions of viewers.
"My kids are learning about technology, contracts, how to deal with deadlines and money management," said Mike Jones of the Happy Family Show, a channel created by his children, Christine, 21, Kevin, 16, and Josh, 10.
Launched five years ago, the Happy Family Show largely consists of the kids holding Barbie dolls and acting out scripted episodes. A cousin of stop animation, the genre has mushroomed on YouTube. The Happy Family Show now has more than 330,000 subscribers and more than 165 million views.
Yet it wasn't an easy decision for Mike and his wife, Sarah, to let the children start the channel. They worried about privacy and trolls. They're careful to never reveal their address. And they didn't allow the kids to show their faces in the videos until long after they started the show. "It was hard in the beginning," Kevin said about the abusive comments. "It teaches you to develop thick skin," said Christine.
Last week, the Indianapolis family attended VidCon, a massive get together of online video creators in Anaheim, where they spoke on a panel titled "So Your Kid Wants to Be on YouTube — Now What?" Joining them on stage was Brian Alexander, whose 10-year-old daughter Presley runs an educational YouTube channel called Act Out Games. To shield Presley from nasty comments, Brian reviews everything that's written under the videos. He supervises conversations with fans. And he's involved in the production of all her clips.
"It's been an amazing thing for our relationship," he said. "We're very, very close because of it." A helpful resource has been a Facebook group for parents of children on YouTube. The group of about 60 members often trades names of viewers who are particularly mean so that they can block them. Presley takes extreme pride in her dedication to the channel. She's created and posted a video every day for the last three years.
"Someday we're going to miss a day," said Brian, a Denver-based executive at an education services firm. "But it's not going to be my fault. I'm doing everything I can to stay committed."
Meanwhile, Brian's 4-year-old son Cooper is starting to appear on the channel, which has garnered 2.6 million views. "He's seen us doing this his whole life," Brian said. So naturally, what did Cooper like to play growing up? Pretending to be a YouTube star.
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In December, we launched our 3rd annual Stack Overflow Annual User Survey to learn more about our site demographics and user trends throughout 2012. Compared to last year, we received an even larger sample size this year with almost 10,000 respondents!
Here are a few larger trends we've observed over the past three years:
Since 2009, site traffic to Stack Overflow has grown by a whopping 261.7%! As if this weren't enough, we're also now the 86th largest global site, according to Alexa. Our crazy goal of breaking into the top 50 is looking less crazy!
No real surprise here, but of the mobile family, the number of users who own Android devices increased 29.2% from 2010 to 2012—a bigger increase than owners of iPhones and iPads combined. Despite the rising mobile trend, we were surprised to learn that only 7.7% of you are employed as mobile apps developers and 51.8% of companies still don't have a mobile app.
Since 2010, we've seen a 2.2% uptick in workplace satisfaction, so 70% of you are happy in your current jobs. We're not going to point fingers or anything, but we hope there may be some causation for those of you who found your current job from among the 10,000+ roles that were posted on Careers 2.0 last year.
Since we now have three years' worth of data, we wanted to put together something a little special for this year's overview, so check out the infographic below that our designer created to highlight some of our key findings.
In our effort to make all information publicly available, here is a basic report of the results. You can see the latest version (2015) below.


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How Freelance Management Platforms Are Transforming Marketing
Feb 27, 2019 Emily Brungard
Collaboration, Freelance Experts, Marketing Technology, Torchlite
Even the best freelancers will fail if they aren't set up for success by their client. Companies can hire all the incredible freelance experts, but if they don't accurately communicate their expectations, aren't available to answer questions, or lose track of payments, they're bound to be disappointed by the results.
Simply having access to top talent isn't enough. To be truly effective, you need a place to make sure your contractors are kept in the loop, paid on time, and easily accessed.
Why you need a freelance management platform
Finding a freelancer takes a lot of time, but so does hiring a full-time employee. If you're going to make the effort to find the perfect on-demand expert, you need to hold onto them. Using a freelance management tool like Torchlite enables you to keep track of who you've worked with, create collections of pre-approved experts for your team to use, and makes it easy to track a freelancers time and progress in real-time.
Keeping your experts organized doesn't just provide peace of mind — it increases your team's speed to market. If you work with freelancers often, having a familiar set of experts can also decrease the time it takes to get new projects moving.
Let's say you're launching an extension of your brand. Your internal team is probably pretty busy — which is why you've built a collection of design experts you've worked with in the past. When you're working on a time-sensitive project, you don't have time to waste hunting for a freelancer with the capacity to take on your project. A freelance management platform streamlines the process of identifying the best expert for a job by storing information about whether a freelancer has worked with you before, their skills, location, availability, and hourly rate. The process becomes more efficient and effective.
This graphic from Hacker Noon explains how freelance marketplaces can make the search process easier for both freelancers and companies searching for top talent.
According to PayPal's U.S. Freelancer Insights Report, half of U.S. freelancers have experienced not being paid. If an expert who has completed work for your company isn't getting paid, it will be difficult to convince them to work with you again. No matter if the issue comes from a forgetful contact at the company or an accounting department delay, freelancers depend on being paid on time. By automating the invoicing and payment process, companies can show freelancers that they are respected and valued, and encourage their best work.
The future of the workforce lies with independent contractors
As more and more professionals make the switch from corporate to freelance, top talent will demand the flexibility that freelance work provides. The freelance economy has redefined work as we know it by enabling a more efficient, on-demand labor model.
Freelancers who use freelance management platforms like Torchlite don't have to worry about business development, have access to secure and timely payments, and enjoy the flexibility that comes with being their own boss.
Companies are feeling the benefits of an on-demand workforce that goes beyond not having to provide benefits to contractors. Companies are able to work on one-off or experimental projects that require highly-specialized skills with the help of freelancers. If they can't dedicate a full-time employee to a project, a freelancer allows companies to try new things without interrupting in-house projects. With increased competition, these agile practices are an integral part of staying relevant in the eyes of customers.
Bring your marketing into the modern age
Ditch your spreadsheets. If you want to truly optimize workflows, a centralized freelance management system is the answer. Instead of searching for a spreadsheet here, an invoice there, and an email elsewhere, tools like Torchlite streamline the entire process.
From the moment you engage an on-demand expert until the job is done and payment is processed, freelance management tools make the process easier. Both freelancers and the businesses benefit from using this martech. It's a sure way to stay organized.
The two-sided Torchlite platform enables customers to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. On the other side, it makes independent work easier for freelancers by keeping communication and collaboration, time tracking, invoicing, and payment in one place. Ready to bring your marketing into the modern age? Request a demo of Torchlite today.


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"The Catholic priesthood must have the spirit of discipline, or, to use a more deeply Christian word, obedience. It is obedience which binds together all ranks into the harmony of the Church's Hierarchy."
-- Pope Pius XI (On the Catholic Priesthood)
For My Sick Pastor
Divine Savior Jesus Christ, during Thine earthly sojourn Thou didst bring comfort and healing to so many who were sick. Behold, Thy friend whom Thou lovest is sick. I beg of Thee to comfort and bring relief to my sick pastor. Send him an angel to strengthen him. Restore him to health, if it be Thy holy will.
For him I offer to Thee all the prayers and good works of this day, and I beseech Thee to bear and answer my prayer. Amen


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DEAN Ryan believes he can develop an environment that helps more Dragons become Wales stars at the next World Cup.
Flankers Aaron Wainwright and Ross Moriarty and hooker Elliot Dee are currently on international duty in Japan while lock Cory Hill was selected in the original squad only to suffer injury anguish.
Prop Leon Brown was in Wales' training squad and played against Ireland this summer while fly-half Sam Davies, wing Ashton Hewitt, centre Tyler Morgan and flanker Ollie Griffiths have all had call-ups in recent seasons.
Ryan, who took over at Rodney Parade this summer, believes there are plenty of Dragons capable of being in Wayne Pivac's squad in the next World Cup cycle.
"There are loads of players who have surprised me and one of the motivations is to create an environment where they can grow," said the director of rugby, who won four caps for England.
"There are some here that can play international rugby and there are some that can play at the highest level of domestic rugby.
"I just don't think that sometimes they have been given the foundation to do that, and if you play this sport you just want to get a chance to show what your best is.
"If we get that foundation better then we will surprise with the ability that we have in the room.
"There are players that I would love to get back in the Wales set-up because they are capable of playing international rugby. I want the Dragons to be a foundation that they can move forward from."
A successful Dragons would lead to greater representation in Pivac's squad with fly-half Davies hoping to profit from a change of management.
READ MORE: Davies - I want to stamp my authority on Dragons
Ryan is surprised that the 25-year-old, who swapped the Ospreys for Rodney Parade in the summer, hasn't played Test rugby since winning his eighth cap against Samoa in 2017.
"I've been blown away by how smart Sam is," said the director of rugby. "I struggle to know why he is not in the international squad and I see it as my responsibility to create an environment to keep him getting better, because he sees the game faster than I do.
"I think that I can help him in terms of how to manage other people and get the best out of them, but ultimately he has so much to offer Wales and the game."
While plenty of Dragons are hoping to force their way into the international squad, Wainwright has established himself.
The flanker made his professional debut against Cardiff Blues in October 2017, won his first cap the following summer and on Sunday produced a remarkable performance when starting at blindside in the World Cup win against Australia.
"We are proud of all of the boys in that Wales camp but Aaron was exceptional last weekend and it's brilliant to see," said backs coach Barry Maddocks.
"We had to play him (in 2017) because of several injuries in the back row and it was credit to him that he grasped that opportunity with both hands.
"Aaron has played exceptionally well for the Dragons and has gone to another level over the last couple of months. He has pushed on with Wales and that is brilliant for us.
"He is an exceptional individual and is a really good athlete, but he is mild-mannered and a fantastic in the group."


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Academic experience
During my time at Leuphana in Lüneburg, I really enjoyed participating in a variety of not only interesting but also very different courses. As a science student at UQ, I was fortunate enough to have many electives and was hence able to take courses that appealed to me from a range of non-science related fields; psychology, digital media, sustainability, logistics and languages. Unlike my approximately 300 person lectures at UQ, the courses I took part in at Leuphana were more tutorial styled with around 20-30 people in each class. Small class sizes meant that sessions felt more like interesting discussions than a real class and allowed the development of relationships between professors and fellow students. Before the official semester commenced, I took part in a 3-week intensive German course. While this course was, as the name suggests, intense, it was a great refresher for my German and the perfect opportunity to meet and become friends with other exchange students before the uni was in full swing with all the Germans. One of the courses I took was 'Tandem' - I highly recommend this to anyone making an exchange semester in a foreign language speaking country if it is offered. Through tandem, I improved my conversational German immensely, made a wonderful friendship, learnt so much about the German culture and had the most fun that I believe one can have in a university subject - I also received an A+ with minimal stress - as I said, I strongly recommend!
Personal experience
What I got out of the exchange in Lüneburg is more than I could have ever imagined! The initial shock and anxiety associated with living away from home in a non-English speaking country were quickly forgotten as I began to make some of the best friends from all corners of the globe and emerge myself in amazing German cultures; speaking the language, eating the food and of course, drinking the beer! In my time in Germany I learnt so much more than just university related educations - the challenges and fulfilling feelings of independence, more German than I learnt in five years of secondary school classes, how to be friends with students from anywhere in the world, how to travel on a budget without sacrificing comfort or missing opportunities and the ability to say 'cheers' in over 20 languages - just to name a few! As cliche as it sounds, I really feel that I have grown from my time abroad and now know myself a whole lot better. I feel I will take more opportunities and have a greater appreciation for the smallest things in life (like free public bathrooms and walking outside in less than four layers).
Lüneburg is a beautiful town with a population of primarily university students. It was affected minimally during the World Wars and hence has retained its historic beauty and has an incredible vibe. If however, you're feeling the small town too much and want something a little bigger, one of Germany's biggest cities, Hamburg, is just a 30-minute train ride away (also free for students!).
Accommodation wise, I got to experience the best of two worlds. I elected for accommodation organised by the university's 'housing office' and expected a dorm-style shared student situation. To my initial disappointment, for my first four months, I was living with a host family sharing a flat-like area with two other foreign girls. Eventually, this situation grew on me as I became close to the girls and was able to experience life in a 'German household'. In my last two months in Lüneburg, a dorm-like apartment building became available and I relocated. Living with only students meant freedom, fun, friendships and the occasional frustration with unhygienic student behaviour. In terms of which option I would recommend from my two very different experiences, I would say, depends on the individual - if you would like to be a real German local, go with the host family, however if you're more about the freedom to come and go as you please, have people at your place and not feel too held down by noise or curfew restrictions, definitely opt for the dorm (mine was called campus 4 and was actually an abandoned orphanage - living history right there!). Location wise, one can live on campus, close to campus or in the city centre. Regardless, these locations can be travelled to and between by a free (for students) 5-10 minute regular bus or 10-15 minute bike ride.
n terms of budgeting, I was pleasantly surprised with how little I was spending compared to what I had anticipated. In general, groceries and clothing are cheaper than Australia and unlike UQ, prices of food on campus is actually affordable! As I realised I was spending less than imagined, I began to take advantage of 'spare' cash for travel and other indulgences (such as paying 50 euro cents to use a bathroom rather than waiting until getting home). Depending on how much travel and shopping you can forego, you can really do living really cheaply! Those forgone expenses, however, can be minimised with the right research - overnight buses for travel
were not only my favourite cheap travel option but also meant one less night of accommodation costs.
Professional development and employability
I believe that my participation in exchange has enhanced my academic development and employability greatly! With a whole new skill set ranging from independence, self-organisation to street smartness and communication through language barriers, I can now bring many qualities that I previously did not have, to a workplace or educational institution.
There were just too many highlights of my experience to pick out a single one as number one, for this reason, I will list a few captions of some of my instagram posts while I was abroad (#UQabroad #aussieabroad #yeahgood) - Departure, Topdeck Tours, New Friends, Oktoberfest, German Medi-Evil Festival, Weekly Wednesday Karaoke, Berlin (university organised trip), Outdoor Ice Skating, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Couch Surfing, Concerts, International Dinner, Aussie Reunions, Salzburg, Munich, Party in University Corridor, Currywurst, Christmas Markets, 14km Run through a German Forest, German Christmas, Family Reunion, Prague, New Years in Prague, Vienna, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in Austria, Copenhagen, Australia Day, Stockholm, End of Exams, Paris, Belgium, Carnival in Cologne, Poland + Hungary (visiting homes of new friends), Barcelona and Home!
Top tips
- Everyone will tell you about how amazing it will be - no matter what, it's going to be even better! DO IT!


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After being announced at MWC 2017, Huawei's P10 and P10 Plus smartphones will available to Canadians on June 6th.
Huawei says this is the first time that one of their flagship lines has come to Canada. The dual-camera system on the P10 and P10 Plus was made in collaboration with Leica.
The specs for both phones are as follows:
- Kirin 960 Octa-core processor
- 5.1-inch 1080p display on the P10 and 5.5-inch WQHD display on the P10 Plus
- 3,200 mAh and 3,750 mAh batteries in the P10 and P10 Plus respectively and both support Huawei's SuperCharge
- The P10 will come with 32GB of internal storage, while the P10 Plus will get 64GB, both phones will have 4GB of RAM and a microsSD card slot
- Both the P10 and P10 Plus have a dual-camera lens system, with one being a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and the other a 12-megapixel RGB sensor with enhanced fusion algorithms
- USB Type-C port, NFC, GPS
- Both phones are available in a Hyper Diamond-Cut and Sandblast finishes
- Android 7.0 Nougat with Huawei EMUI 5.1
The P10 Plus will be exclusive to Rogers and they will also carry the regular P10. The standard P10 will be available at Bell, Videotron and Fido.
"We are excited to be working with Rogers, Bell and Videotron in bringing these fantastic new smartphones to Canada. This is a huge step forward in positioning HUAWEI in the Canadian device market," said Felix Li, President, HUAWEI Devices Canada. "Our new P10 line weaves together the exceptional imaging capabilities of Leica with our stand-out design and hardware innovations to bring users a powerful mobile experience."
At launch, the P10 will be available in gold and black at Rogers. They will also carry the P10 and P10 Plus in an exclusive Dazzling Blue colour, later this summer. Black is the only colour option for the P10 at Bell, Videotron and Fido.
Pricing for the P10 and P10 Plus wasn't announced.


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On the Road
The yellow brick road. The road not taken. The long and winding road. The road to redemption. Whatever we're on here, it's a helluva ride.
There were times when many of us wanted to give up. There were times when we felt like the season was slipping through our fingers. There were times when it felt like our players had given up. Too many times we'd read the same tired old quotations in the papers after a loss. "We weren't ready to play." "We didn't have the effort." "We didn't play as well as we thought we could." It was disheartening.
Instead, this weekend tUMD showed exactly what kind of team they really are. Gritty, defensively sound, with explosive offense. tUMD chased Yale's goaltender from the game after he gave up five goals, a season high. The power play was lethal, and they got a shorthanded goal and killed off a two-man disadvantage, which was actually more like a 2 1/2 man disadvantage as one player did not have a stick.
We've had our ups and downs, our roadblocks and setbacks. Forwards, defencemen, goalies, fans, everyone. We lost a player to the pros at mid-season. We had a horrible first game in our new rink. We limped into the playoffs, some might say. We lost to a lesser team in the Final Five.
And we closed down our rink in style. We won a marathon 3OT game. We had a player put up five goals on the southern branch of our school. We never got swept, never lost back to back games. We have a Hobey Baker finalist. AND WE ARE GOING TO THE FROZEN FOUR.
And by we, I mean the players of course.
Certainly there was a lot of pressure on tUMD on Saturday. Yale was ranked as the top team in the PWR, which comes with its own pressures, but most folks felt that ranking was undeserved, which means losing to them would be a bit shameful. I'm sure that was more in the minds of fans than anything else. (I think it's funny that fans think they know the mindset of players; one fan of a nameless team [literally] stated that tUMD deliberately lost to Bemidji in order to get placed in the East regional, which is ludicrous.)
tUMD had to weather quite the storm in the first period; the first ten minutes were uneventful but then they had to fight off the two-man disadvantage, followed by another penalty, and Kenny Reiter and the penalty kill stood tall. Then MCON and Fonz had a 2 on 1 on the PK and Mikey scored, then plowed over a Yale player and taunted him. And that set the tone for the game.
Bergy scored even strength on a soft goal that Rondeau just... I don't know, missed? He tried to catch it and looked like... well, what I would look like if I played goalie. Yale started to get chippy, and Jack Connolly scored a sick goal from a wicked angle on a power play after a Yale played ran Kenny.
Yale's Brian O'Neill scored on a power play and gave them a little life. Then he decided to run Jake Hendrickson and head-butt him. I thought Yale students were supposed to be smart, but I cannot think of a dumber thing to do. It wasn't O'Neill's first dangerous hit on a tUMD player; he also took an elbowing penalty earlier in the second. The referees decided to kick him out of the game. This was certainly a fortuitous call for tUMD and a backbreaker for Yale, but perhaps Mr. O'Neill will think twice about headshots now, knowing that his desire to injure other players contributed to the end of his team's season.
My Guy Mike Seidel scored on the power play 20 seconds in, and then when another Yale player made a dumb mistake and put them down two players, Justin Fontaine cashed in on a lovely tic-tac-toe play.
Yale scored two in the third period, which was enough to cause severe panic for Biddco and me. My heart was pounding and my legs were shaking. I couldn't stay still and had to pace around a little bit, then sit down, then stand, then sit. I couldn't even eat the green bean casserole with bacon that MEg had made.
Then tUMD's brilliant defence kicked in, and while I was still scared out of my mind, they remained calm and collected and in control. It wasn't until there were about 30 seconds left in the game that I really, truly believed we would win the game.
And then an overwhelming sense of relief flooded over me. I was completely exhausted when we got home after we finished watching the Ugly Helmets - CC game, and still somewhat unable to believe that tUMD is going to be in the Frozen Four. Two more wins and we can finally get that title. 27 years after we should have gotten the first one.
For once, it's not just about the journey, but the destination. GO BULLDOGS!!!!!


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I have loads of experience with clam cleats and sheathed lines and have not had the problems you describe.
Maybe you use inferior material or use it wrong? You might want to check on that.
It is important that the clam cleat size matches the size of the line used in it. Going up or down on the suggested diameters can result in failure of the clam cleat.
Also make sure the sheathing sits tight on the dyneema. If unsure you may fix it with a stitch. Otherwise problems like you describe may occur. This usually only is a problem when you take out some of the dyneema or get rid of some of the sheathing, hence sheathing and dyneema are of different length.
Finally, a clam cleat release works by pulling down (the way it is usually mounted in kite surfing). Pulling up or out will not release easily and will damage the material. Both, lines and cleat.
Proper material as well as proper usage will extend the lifetime of any equipment and will add to safety! Always make sure to use the gear according to its specification.
Safe kiting!