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7A Sylvan Street, Galston NSW 2159
Flawless Galston Village home
Immaculately presented in a family friendly neighbourhood is this extremely well maintained 4 bedroom home featuring a large walk-in-robe and ensuite to the master bedroom, 3 large bedrooms with built-ins, with both the ensuite and main bathroom recently refreshed.
The kitchen boasts dual drawer dishwasher, plenty of storage with electric appliances, bench seating overlooking views to the backyard. The living zones include lounge room, dining room, massive rumpus and family rooms.
Additional Features:-
- Ducted Air Upstairs & Split System Downstairs
- Plantation Shutters
- Ceiling Fans
- Garden Shed
- Double Auto Garage
- Large walk-in linen press with shelving
- Downstairs powder room & huge combined laundry
- Weekly Rent includes hedging
- Outside Pets Considered
The expansive covered entertaining area sits alongside a paved courtyard and a neat patch of lawn. A casual walk brings you to cafes, supermarkets and shops at Galston Village.
To obtain further information or to arrange an inspection please contact Ryan Schache from the Guardian Realty Property Management Team on 9651 1666.
We have obtained all information in this document from sources we believe to be reliable; however, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Prospective tenants are advised to carry out their own investigations.


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Man charged after allegedly threatening ex-boss | Police reports May 6-May 12
A man fired from his job and seeking, according to police, to "get even" with his former employer faces criminal charges after traveling to Riverside and threatening harm.
Riverside police say Edward J. Alopogianis, 34, of Bridgeview, went to his former employer's home in the 400 block of Desplaines Avenue on May 10 at about 6 p.m. Police say he parked in the driveway and then walked around the victim's house, banging on windows and doors, screaming profanities and threatening to "beat up" his former boss.
The victim reportedly told police he had a falling out with Alopogianis recently at a job site in Countryside where Alopogianis allegedly tried to steal some tools and then struck the victim with a hammer.
Alopogianis continued to be combative after his arrest, damaging the holding cell at the central lockup in North Riverside so badly that he was charged with felony criminal damage to property in addition to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Impersonating a cop
Alberto D. Guerrero, 29, of Chicago faces one felony count of impersonating a police officer, after he allegedly claimed he was a cop in order to coerce payment from someone who had been involved in a minor traffic crash with his sister on May 1 in Berwyn.
The victim, a 43-year-old Riverside woman, went to police after Guerrero reportedly showed up at her door and identified himself as a Berwyn police officer. He reportedly told her that "she better make good with the insurance on his sister's vehicle."
According to police, the victim's insurance company had refused payment for the minor damage. The victim reported the incident to Riverside police. Guerrero surrendered to police on May 6 after he learned Riverside detectives were looking for him.
Bike runs into vehicle
A 15-year-old Riverside-Brookfield High School student was slightly injured after he barreled into the side of a car at the intersection of Golf Road and Ridgewood roads on May 7 at about 8 a.m.
According to police and backed up by surveillance video, the bicyclist was headed east in the north crosswalk when he pedaled into the side of a car driven by a 49-year-old Brookfield woman who was headed north. She was ticketed for failure to yield, although the police report notes the vehicle was already in the crosswalk when the bicyclist was entering the crosswalk at a high rate of speed.
'Zombie' raccoon alert
Riverside police are advising local dog owners to protect their pets from the distemper virus after encountering confirmed canine distemper viruses in raccoons "displaying abnormal neurologic signs."
Distemper affects the respiratory, nervous and gastrointestinal systems of dogs, resulting in tremors, seizures, discharges from eyes and noses, sneezing and coughing, among other signs. The virus can be fatal.
A press release issued by police on May 13 encourages pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and supervise them while they're outside, even in fenced yards.
"It seems every year around this time we get a rise in calls about raccoons acting oddly, and we respond to calls about raccoons that may be a danger to the public," said Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a press release. "Our policy allows us to put down animals that are suffering or pose a threat to public safety."
Weitzel urged residents to call police if they see a sick raccoon.
"We've had a number of cases concerning raccoons with distemper in our jurisdiction," Weitzel said.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, May 6-May 12, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
— Compiled by Bob Uphues
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text:
In Bellevue, the State of the City is Strong, Mayor Says
The City of Bellevue is in good shape, Mayor Ed Riehl said in a state of the city address last week.
Riehl used part of Wednesday's city council meeting for the annual task of explaining where the city is and where it's going.
"Like our logo states, Preserving Our Past and Preparing for Our Future, we must continue to strive for these two key points," said the mayor, in the second year of his second 4-year term. On preserving the assets in the community, Riehl pointed to the success of Fairfield Avenue as an entertainment and shopping district. "It is what attracts people to work, shop, play, and purchase housing to call home," he said. Meanwhile, there is work underway to stretch that success further east on Fairfield, including redevelopment of the landmark Marianne Theater, which is expected to become a brewery.
"Work continues with Hardman Group to redevelop the Marianne Theater into a viable economic driver for these blocks. Engineering is underway to finally construct a 30-plus parking space in the 100 block of Taylor to increase parking for our business district and we continue to research ways to add more," the mayor said. "A conversation and study is underway to address the Route 8 corridor not only in Bellevue but Dayton to the easy and Newport to the west with other stakeholders at the discussion table."
Riehl noted that Bellevue's housing stock is strong - a point backed up by Councilman and real estate agent Steve Guidugli who noted that young buyers are scooping up properties at prices above $200,000 regularly. "This shows," Riehl said, "that our incentive programs we have in place, rental conversion, off-street parking, and good historic preservation practices all are working to add value to our town." More housing is on the way to the development on Ross Avenue and another project by Ashley Residential is slated to begin on Fuhrman Avenue.
"But, as always, there is work to be done," the mayor said. That work includes continued exploration of the benefits of so-called land banks, the process by which governments put parcels of land together for future sale, and the addressing of troubled and problem properties in the city. "We need to work to get these distressed properties into the hands of renovators to make them tax-generating assets in Bellevue."
The mayor pointed to planned infrastructure and city services improvements like the new fire truck coming to the Bellevue-Dayton Fire Department. Covert Run's new storm water management project and the reconstruction of Lincoln Road are evidence of strengthened partnerships with other entities like Sanitation District 1, the Northern Kentucky Water District, and Duke Energy, he said.
Upgrades are also planned for the city parks. "We continue to hear from our citizens on how to improve on our recreation needs and work to accomplish their goals," Riehl said. Engineering is underway to control the erosion along the river at Thomas J. Wiethorn Memorial Park and to create the pathway for Riverfront Commons, the riverfront recreational trail that will stretch across Northern Kentucky's River Cities.
The city will also continue to foster a strong relationship with Bellevue Independent Schools, he said. "Our school system is a vital piece of the puzzle that makes up Bellevue's big picture," Riehl said.
The mayor also touched on some decisions at the city building that became controversial during council meeting, such as the placement of a Red Bike station with plans for a second one to connect the city to Cincinnati's bike-share program. "Preparing for the future, we must develop a community that is walkable, bike-friendly, and is engaged about its future," Riehl said. "We must continue to research, support, and activate initiatives that will guarantee community growth in our future, some of which we have already taken steps to achieve, like planning for Riverfront Commons and bringing Red Bike to Northern Kentucky. This will make Bellevue a pedestrian bike-friendly place to visit and call home. These sometimes tough and controversial decisions we make today not only impact Bellevue today but truly set the stage for a sustainable Bellevue for the future."
Looking towards the future is what city council has done, the mayor said, when it explored and/or approved initiatives like tax increment financing (TIF) districts, energy incentives (EPAD), and to push for appropriate developments along the riverfront.
"All of us working together can and will make Bellevue the great place we call our home," Riehl said.
-Michael Monks, editor & publisher
Photo: Mayor Ed Riehl (center) completes his state of the city address (RCN)


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This June, Children's Special at the National Museum celebrates the launch of our special publication for families, Get Curious!
1 - 30 June 2019 - 10am - 7pm - Free Admission
The Official Interactive Family Guide to the National Museum of Singapore. Explore our permanent galleries as a family with this book, and discover the exciting stories of highlighted artefacts through themes such as Animals, Colours, Shapes, Transport and Values.
Visit our basement level to discover magical story worlds of the land, sea and forest, play on bouncy castles, discover toys of the past and share stories of what's in your world. Join fun programmes such as character tours, Young Cinema screenings, and engaging workshops where you can create your own wind-up toys and artworks. While you're here, don't forget to stop by our special exhibition on Singapore's Food Packaging story at our level 1 Stamford Gallery! Get curious – what interesting stories will you find at the museum?
Get Curious! – The Official Interactive Family Guide to the National Museum of Singapore
Explore the galleries as a family using our specially-developed publication, featuring lots of fun and interactive activities. Readers can also participate in our "What's your toy story?" campaign (a campaign entry card is included with each copy of Get Curious!) and stand a chance to have your treasured toy displayed in our Growing Up gallery!
Get Curious! is available at the Canyon (Basement level) and the Museum Label Shop (Level 1) at a special price of $18 per copy for the month of June (U.P. $24.90)
Discover stories of Singapore – from the land and sea, to the forest and you and me!
- Stories of the Land: Piece together a huge jigsaw puzzle of Singapore 163 years ago!
- Stories of the Sea: Be an archaeologist! Find out more about the bowls and vases that were brought to Singapore by ship hundreds of years ago, and weigh yourself against an anchor from a sunken wartime troopship!
- Forest Playground: Play on bouncy castles shaped like birds of the Malayan rainforest. Toddlers can also explore our special sensory play tents!
- Stories of You & Me: Take a closer look at toys from the past and compare them to popular toys of today. Draw or print a photo of an item which you treasure - share with us why it is special to you and find out what items are special to others!
Curious young visitors can learn about people, plants, animals, and more. From character tours to theatrical productions and engaging workshops, choose from 11 exciting programmes throughout this month of the June school holidays!
A. Get Curious about People
B. Get Curious about Plants and Animals
C. Get Curious about Treasured Items
D. Get Curious about Food


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At first glance it seems so simple, behave intentionally. But the reality of it exists somewhere out of sight in the midst of distractions and time rushing by. And it's in this midst of everyday life where mindfulness is such a great tool for recognizing intention.
Breathe deeply as you pay attention to what you are thinking and doing within each moment, it's there that you can live intentionally.
The best way to insure you achieve the greatest
satisfaction out of life is to behave intentionally.
Deborah Day


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Why more men are turning to hair transplant surgery
More men are turning to hair transplant surgery to restore their thinning locks, choosing procedures that work just as well for women. HELLO! investigates the growth industry…
Although the basic principle is the same, FUE is more popular because, unlike FUT, it leaves no linear scarring and delivers more natural-looking results. It requires no stitches so is less painful, with a faster recovery time – patients can leave the clinic immediately after the transplant. "We have seen a steady increase in the number of patients booking consultations for FUE hair transplant procedures, due to the sophisticated nature of the treatment and the results that can be achieved," says hair transplant surgeon at The Private Clinic of Harley Street, London.
However, with a standard FUE procedure, the patient needs to shave their entire head, which may make them feel self-conscious. To combat this, Thomy has pioneered the micro unshaven-FUE (micro UFUE) procedure, with no need to shave or trim before the procedure. "About 40 per cent of the transplants I do are now by micro UFUE," Thomy says. "The procedure is almost undetectable."
To contact hair transplant surgeon, visit theprivateclinic.co.uk. Prices vary, but standard FUE procedures start at around £2.50 per hair. A micro UFUE costs around £4 per hair, and can be paid in instalments.


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The upheavals in the Middle East have convinced both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to refocus development policies. The problem is how to plan for the future with the present so uncertain.
Ordinary people in ther Arab world are making themselves heard
Oft criticized for imposing their own agendas on developing countries, the world's leading international monetary institutions are engaged in critical reflection, specifically about how initiatives have failed large parts of the population in the Arab world.
At a one-day conference sponsored by the World Bank in Washington DC, World Bank President Robert Zoellick spoke of the need to focus more on long-term good governance in attempts to alleviate poverty.
"Many of the underlying grievances and triggers of these unprecedented events are economic and social in nature, though they've taken on a political form," Zoellick said. "They…will not go away just because one government fell, or one leader replaced another."
At the same, the World Bank sees a chance to right some of the wrongs of the past.
"We have to give it a shot," World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Shamshad Akhtar told Deutsche Welle. "We have to understand that we have to listen to people. It's complicated to get advice from people who may not agree amongst themselves. But I'm cautiously optimistic."
But after revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, and the ongoing uprisings in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya, a full-blown strategy is a long way in the offing.
"We're in wait-and-see mode," the spokesman for the World Bank's Berlin office, Steven Jouy told Deutsche Welle. "We have to see what the new governments do because we need stable governments as partners."
Therein lies one crux of the problem. Historically, the World Bank has worked with - critics might say propped up - Middle Eastern leaders with little or no accountability to the people they governed.
Corrupt governments meant that developmental aid did not reach the people for whom it was intended. And economic misery, just as much if not more than desire for political change, has inspired the protests and uprisings across the region in the past few months.
The problem in figures
Protestors in Egypt brought down the government
Money alone is not the problem. The World Bank, for instance, committed $3.5 billion (2.46 billion euros) to the Middle East and North Africa in 2010.
At the same time, per capita gross national income in the region was only $3,594 and unemployment, especially among young people, was far higher than the world average.
Fifty-six percent of World Bank aid to the region goes to financial- and private-sector development. But it hasn't had a significant trickle-down effect to ordinary people - in part, say critics, because of the orientation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund themselves.
"One problem is that they ignored the social impact of the policies," Hamed El-Sa'id - a professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in England and the co-author of a book on the World Bank and the Middle East - told Deutsche Welle.
"They said it was not their role," Sa'id explained. "The result was a massive increase in both poverty and unemployment. That was compounded by the fact that the World Bank and the IMF dealt with corrupt governments and were subject to influence, especially from the US. So they were less strict with pro-US regimes."
Good money handed out to bad governments, as the World Bank and the IMF have found out, does not alleviate poverty or lead to political reform.
"There's a broad consensus that we should reinstate a governance agenda more forcefully, and that we need to decide what that entails," Akhtar said. "We're choosing to focus on the economic governance agenda."
But perhaps there is another way around the problem of governance.
Middle East Marshall Plan?
Zoellick has called for change at the World Bank
In an article published late last month, the Dean of the Columbia Business School in the US used Egypt to illustrate what he feels has gone wrong in many parts of the Middle East.
"There are only 663 listed companies, for a population of 83 million," Hubbard wrote. "The missing middle - small and medium scale business - is Egypt's main economic problem. Education over recent decades has developed a deep pool of skilled labor among the young, but without a thriving local business sector, the Egyptian economy can never absorb young workers."
Hubbard suggests a kind of Marshall Plan for the region, emphasizing loans to local businesses and requiring that countries institute reforms to allow business sectors to function - something that implies political change toward better governance.
"I think it's a very good idea," Sa'id said. "In the past governments in the Middle East have been part of the problem, and that's why so many of them have lost legitimacy."
The World Bank, too, is broadening its focus.
"Our modus operandi has changed," Akhtar said. "We're not just talking to governments, but to other segments of society to gather their impressions of what went wrong. And we will be involving them in the designs for programs and involving them with the government. Governments will have to get used to this."
Still, there are limits on how much well-meaning organizations can bypass state structures.
"You can't work anywhere without governments, and there's no development without good governance," Sa'id added. "In the past the NGO sector tried to bypass governments but it didn't work. Some of them were even accused of being terrorists."
For better or worse
The future of Libya is particularly up in the air right now
What is clear is that many countries in the Middle East are at a crossroads, where the path taken could be positive or negative. And both the region itself and the West need to adapt with the times.
"Things could get better, or they could get worse, too," Sa'id said. "It depends on what happens in the Middle East, and on whether good governance comes about. Change of this sort in the Middle East would give Washington motivation to change as well. Otherwise why should they have that motivation?"
Those sentiments seem to resonate at the world Bank itself.
"There's been a lot of soul-searching within the bank," Akhtar explained. "Events are moving pretty fast in the region, and it's important to realize that while people have been able to achieve this change, they also need to be more organized."
In other words, the experts say it may well ultimately be the people in the Middle East and North Africa themselves who determine whether Western developmental aid is in future better directed toward governments that will spend it where it was intended to go.
Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Rob Mudge
Five weeks after the toppling of President Mubarak, Egyptians took to the polls to vote on a referendum to amend the constitution. The move has split Egypt with youth leaders of the revolution opposed to the changes. (19.03.2011)
While NATO ambassadors met in Brussels to discuss a possible role in enforcing a United Nations-backed no-fly zone over Libya, France says the alliance is ready to back up the mission within a few days. (21.03.2011)


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Climate change is coming to Langley.
A public hearing on whether the City of Langley should officially support statewide ballot Initiative 1631, which would charge carbon emission fees on sources of greenhouse gas pollutants, is scheduled Oct. 15.
The city council voted to schedule the public meeting after hearing from council member Peter Morton. He presented the idea of Langley officially taking a stand on the carbon emissions fee, which would apply statewide.
"I'd like the city of Langley to pass a resolution in support of initiative 1631," Morton said. "A municipality cannot take a position on an item in an election without a public hearing."
The resolution is supported by local members of the Citizen's Climate Lobby that advocate in favor of the carbon emissions tax.
Initiative 1631, "The Carbon Emissions Fee Measure," is on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
Revenue gained from the pollution tax would promote clean energy and address climate impacts and pollution.
Mercer Island and Bainbridge Island have passed similar resolutions supporting the initiative, Morton said.
He said he wants to hear all opinions about climate change and what impact the initiative may have.
"Persons pro and con can choose to come to the meeting," he said.
Morton noted that the City of Langley has consistently established policies associated with sustainability, environmental protection and the reduction of its carbon footprint.
In the proposed resolution, it states that all of Western Washington, specifically Langley, suffered severe smoke from summer wildfires.
"Clearly, climate change is affecting our city," it states.
In the city's comprehensive plan, it also recognizes that Langley should anticipate and deal with effects of global warming.
The location and time of the Oct. 15 public hearing are still being worked out. Meeting details will appear on the city's website.


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Sizing Up Servers: Intel's Skylake-SP Xeon versus AMD's EPYC 7000 - The Server CPU Battle of the Decade?by Johan De Gelas & Ian Cutress on July 11, 2017 12:15 PM EST
- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- Xeon
- Enterprise
- Skylake
- Zen
- Naples
- Skylake-SP
Energy Consumption
We tested the energy consumption of our servers for a one-minute period in several scenario. The first scenario is the point where the server under testing performs best in MySQL: the highest throughput just before the response time goes up significantly.
To test the power usage of the FPU, we measure the power consumption when POV-Ray was using all available threads.
(on paper)
Best Throughput
at Lowest Resp. Time (*)
100% CPU load
|Dual Xeon E5-2699 v4
|2x145 W
|Dual Xeon 8176
|Dual EPYC 7601
Both the Xeon 8176 and Dual EPYC server had a few more additional components (a separate 10 GBe card for example) than the Dual Xeon E5-2699v4 system, but that does not fully explain why idle power is so much higher, especially on the Dual Xeon 8176. We lacked the time to fully investigate this, and the last two systems have relatively new firmware.
The only conclusion that we can draw so far, is that the EPYC 7601 is likely to draw more power when running integer applications, while the rather wide FP units of the Intel CPUs are real power hogs even if they do not run heavy AVX applications. To be continued...
219 Comments
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StargateSg7 - Sunday, August 6, 2017 - linkMaybe I'm spoiled, but to me a BIG database is something I usually deal with on a daily basis
such as 500,000 large and small video files ranging from two megabytes to over a PETABYTE
(1000 Terabytes) per file running on a Windows and Linux network.
What sort of read and write speeds do we get between disk, main memory and CPU
and when doing special FX LIVE on such files which can be 960 x 540 pixel youtube-style
videos up to full blown 120 fps 8192 x 4320 pixel RAW 64 bits per pixel colour RGBA files
used for editing and video post-production.
AND I need for the smaller files, total I/O-transaction rates at around
OVER 500,000 STREAMS of 1-to-1000 64 kilobyte unique packets
read and written PER SECOND. Basically 500,000 different users
simultaneously need up to one thousand 64 kilobyte packets per
second EACH sent to and read from their devices.
Obviously Disk speed and network comm speed is an issue here, but on
a low-level hardware basis, how much can these new Intel and AMD chips
handle INTERNALLY on such massive data requirements?
I need EXABYTE-level storage management on a chip! Can EITHER
Xeon or EPyC do this well? Which One is the winner? ... Based upon
this report it seems multiple 4-way EPyC processors on waterblocked
blades could be racked on a 100 gigabit (or faster) fibre backbone
to do 500,000 simultaneous users at a level MUCH CHEAPER than
me having to goto IBM or HP for a 30+ million dollar HPC solution! Reply
PixyMisa - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - linkIt seems like a well-balanced article to me. Sure the DB performance issue is a corner case, but from a technical point of view its worth knowing.
I'd love to see a test on a larger database (tens of GB) though. Reply
philehidiot - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - linkIt seems to me that some people should set up their own server review websites in order that they might find the unbiased balance that they so crave. They might also find a time dilation device that will allow them to perform the multitude of different workload tests they so desire. I believe this article stated quite clearly the time constraints and the limitations imposed by such constraints. This means that the benchmarks were scheduled down to the minute to get as many in as possible and therefore performing different tests based on the results of the previous benchmarks would have put the entire review dataset in jeopardy.
It might be nice to consider just how much data has been acquired here, how it might have been done and the degree of interpretation. It might also be worth considering, if you can do a better job, setting up shop on your own and competing as obviously the standard would be so much higher.
Sigh. Reply
JohanAnandtech - Thursday, July 13, 2017 - linkThank you for being reasonable. :-) Many of the benchmarks (Tinymembench, Stream, SPEC) etc. can be repeated, so people can actually check that we are unbiased. Reply
Shankar1962 - Monday, July 17, 2017 - linkDon't go by the labs idiot
Understand what real world workloads are.....understand what owning an entire rack means ......you started foul language so you deserve the same respect from me...... Reply
roybotnik - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - linkEPYC looks extremely good here aside from the database benchmark, which isn't a useful benchmark anyways. Need to see the DB performance with 100GB+ of memory in use. Reply
CarlosYus - Friday, July 14, 2017 - linkA detailed and unbiased article. I'm awaiting for more tests as testing time passes.
3.2 Ghz is a moderate Turbo for AMD EPYC, I think AMD could push it further with a higher thermal envelope i/o 14 nm process improvement in the coming months. Reply
mdw9604 - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - linkNice, comprehensive article. Glad to see AMD is competitive once again in the server CPU space. Reply
nathanddrews - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link"Competitive" seems like an understatement, but yes, AMD is certainly bringing it! Reply
ddriver - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - linkYeah, offering pretty much double the value is so barely competitive LOL. Reply


text:
Posted by newsbot on June 23rd 2010
To start off, I asked David if he sees the DRAM market shrinking with less demand from desktop PCs. He said that he expects to see desktop PC use to continue on its current level or to grow. With users of mobile devices needing someplace to store all of their data, this will most likely be a desktop PC. He told us that he sees laptop and netbook markets shrinking and tablet like devices growing, while smartphones will continue to explode.
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Actress McKenzie Westmore is host of Syfy's "Face Off".
Creative Commons
The hit SyFy special effects makeup challenge show "Face Off" is holding open casting calls and accepting submissions from Special Effects (SFX) Make-Up Artists to compete on the third season of the series. The winning SFX artist will receive $100,000 and a year's supply of make-up courtesy of Alcone. Taping of the show is scheduled to take place from January 23, 2012 through March 10, 2012.
Details Here:


text:
Vertical Blinds
Very modern looking, vertical blinds may control the amount of light intake to create the mood in any room and location. Can be offered with a great range of colours, fabrics. Balances heat and light, very stylish and smart for either modern or classic home design.
An innovative thinking for your budget and at the same time having a premium quality.
There are 2 applications which may suit your desire, chain control and remote control.
All blinds are manufactured with strict quality controlled and supervision and we are able to produce large quantities without compromising the integrity of the product.
All Belle Blinds And Shutters products are backed by a manufacturer's no fuss replacement warranty for your peace of mind.
Request a Quote
Get in touch with us and receive a free quote for the services you request. One of our friendly customer service representatives will respond to your enquiry shortly and be in contact with you.


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Proper tree care is crucial for the livelihood of your trees, and the safety for you and your home, or property. Trees provide numerous benefits to those living and working in the urban environment, and these benefits increase with three size and age. Although trees are highly beneficial, they can also cause problems such as dropping branches or having root conflicts on the property that they exist. Furthermore, hazards can be created from ice storms, which are common here in Minnesota, and from strong winds. As understanding potential tree risks can be time consuming, arborists can help you manage the trees on your property and understand how to identify potential risks from branches and disease. We are properly trained to manage your trees with the best strategies and safety precautions. YTS tree care service, your Maple Grove, Minnesota arborist will help you improve tree health, maintain trees, and remove trees that are too far gone to save or that create potential dangers. Continue reading
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text:
Another day, another draft. I know I pretty much say that every time, but this one is rather odd:
First tab.
Another day, another draft. I know I pretty much say that every time, but this one is rather odd:
First tab.
I like it a lot - the writing, tone, and general concept are all great. However, the scip itself, while close to great, is not quite there - it's a little less than the sum of its parts. I've only got two issues with it, but they're pretty big ones. First, you say that the manual needs to be read in its entirety for the effect to manifest. However, you then go on to say that the front cover is the "only part that can be read safely."
I also don't think the manual should be there at all. You just have it be the spray can and the drip bottle. What's the point when it's effects are exactly the same as that of the manual? Even disregarding the manual's effects, I don't see why a spray can (anomalous or not) would need a manual - there's nothing that would need to be conveyed to the user that couldn't be conveyed by the label alone.
Plus, as a minor point, I don't think you should bother with the picture - it's so boring that it seems like it's just there for the sake of having a picture.
On your first point, yes, that line is a mistake and should be fixed.
On the second point, the manual is there for a reason. See, the article is about escalation, in multiple ways. The manual can only be used to make yourself understand the language you created (as giving to someone else to use would only create another, independent language) and because of that, you need the spray to make other people understand your language. The manual isn't actually for the spray, it's just needed to make it work. This is also way the spray is a lot more expensive, because the company realize that you'll have to buy the spray if you want to get any sort of use out of either product. The bottle is even more expensive because they also realize that using the spray on anyone else would likely make them despise you, and therefor they sell the solution for even more money.
As for the picture, I'll think about it.
Draft has been updated, especially in regards to the tone of the labels. Feedback is appreciated, as always.


text:
Col. Doc Hill has once again made it known that there is a new video that talks about the story in New Vegas with perspectives from all the developers also it has some pretty good production values for a developer diary;
Man I post alot in here. Anyway, new video over at Kotaku, new to me anyway. Basicly just a bunch of Obsidian people talking about the game, some new footage of the game. Standard stuff. Found here: http://kotaku.com/5640787/story-time-with-fallout-new-vegas
Gosh this game is almost here.
Template "DAC Completely Wasted"
Designed by St. Toxic.
Code © Flugel von Flartwerk GroupDeveloped by DarkUnderlord
Based on a drunken peyote haze ride into the wildnerness.


text:
Mouse Catch
Help the cat in "Mouse Catch" to catch the crafty mouse. To reach the mouse we'll have to dodge all the obstacles we come across on our way. Move the cat up or down to avoid all the dangers, such as dogs, streetlights, benches... Gather cans of food to boost up your energy and get closer to the mouse.


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Most people equate the smell of success with money. Me? I associate it with blood, sweat and tears. I am working on some big projects and it truly is taking all three to get it done. But, that's the cost of success and growth. Success never comes without pain.
Are you willing to breathe deep and work hard to get through to the sweet smell of success?


text: Painting Vinyl Windows? Yes, It Can Be Done, And Here Is How 17 February 2015 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Articles Vinyl windows offer homeowners an attractive, low-maintenance and affordable option when choosing new windows. They are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and pre-molded colors, and this makes them ideal for buying and installing the same day. Some people looking for a specific color may not always find their exact choice, though, and they would like to paint their windows. Despite rumors to the contrary, painting vinyl windows is a possibility. Read More


text:
The last week of class, at last!
I can rest for a little while until the next semester.
I'm so glad that I'll graduate in '09.
Stay tuned!
The last week of class, at last!
I can rest for a little while until the next semester.
I'm so glad that I'll graduate in '09.
Stay tuned!
It is with a heavy heart to start my post off with a passing. As you know over the weekend that actor Paul Newman went home with God. He was 83. Paul was one of the cool guys with an air of rareness that other actors tried to copy. When I hear the song Cool like that, it reminds me of Mr. Newman. What I won't forget about Mr. Newman is his memorable role on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.
Paul was very giving to many causes. He always put others before himself. What's so sad is that I never got a Chance to see him and thank him for what he's done. I also feel guilty that when he was at death's door, I made a bet that he would pass away this year. I swear that I'll give the money that I won to one of his charities (if they accept Pay-Pal.)
Thank you, Paul! For everything! We'll miss you deeply!
Paul Newman–1923-2008
Stay tuned!
There is a manga that keeps popping up in my mind. You guess by the blog entry that it's Love Mode. Love Mode is a controversial manga about sexual awakening through the eyes of Japanese men. It has gaphic love scenes and its sexy. So sexy that after you read it you'll be wanting to take a shower like Izumi.
I read only a little of Love Mode, I'm still thinking about reading all eleven volumes; after I finish reading my other books.
Stayed tuned!
Do you think they'll ever be a live action version of Love Mode on H.B.O. someday? It might happen, but I doubt it! 🙂
It's raining today on Friday.
I should be home in bed resting, or writing.
I should be at home reading and watching a movie.
I should be drawing and spending time with my family.
I should be home listening to my music.
I should be home.
But instead, I'm in school. Making up for the classes I have missed due to the blackout.
But I look forward to Saturday.
Then I can do the things I want to do.
Next week is the last school week.
I can hold out.
Stay tuned!
I have a few deaf friends in my life that love television shows from time to time. I try to fit a little time to learn sign language to talk with them. I don't watch much TV, but the only deaf show that is on right now is Mr. Wonder's Workshop. As I was dreaming, I had a dream that the soap opera 'Voices Carry' was on. The show was played by both hearing and deaf people. As I watched the show, I realized that deaf people are the same as hearing people.
Not since Children of a lesser god that the world needs more of 'voiceless' shows than ever. TV sucks now than ever. With people being kept away by gatekeepers, we are forced to go on the cyber realm to find that audience that will support us. I don't know if I'll ever make a 'voiceless' opera like 'Voices Carry', but what I do know is that TV has shunned out the deaf world.
Stay Tuned!
After many years of denying the rumors and gossip, former America Idol runner-up Clay Akin has come out to the world that he is in fact gay. It was just the pressure that got to him. I do like Clay's music just like I love Sir Elton John's, but just because Clay Akin has told the world about his homosexually, doesn't mean that I will stop playing his music.
In a world where the best people are overlooked because they don't fit the eye of the media, we judge people by the flaws, not their talent. Who gives a dime that Clay Akin is gay or that Toni Morrision is Black and writes smut. So what! We shouldn't judge people on their race, sex, or ect. They have a gift to share. Give Clay a break, please?
Stay tuned!
If I were given a movie pass, I'll take a day off from school and watch Twilight with a bucket of popcorn and muddy buddies. And I'll have a cherry cola to fill me up while I watch Bella and Edward share their embrace. However, I don't have the money. I'll see what I can do to get by. Maybe I can go to epoll.com and save up my points to cash it all on a movie gift card.
Stay Tuned!


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A moderate earthquake magnitude 5.4 (mg/mb) was reported Saturday, 21 kilometers (13 miles) from Weiyuan in China. The temblor was reported at 02:43:45 / 2:43 am (local time epicenter) at a depth of 8.2 km (5 miles). Global time of event 2014-12-05 06:43:45 UTC/GMT. A tsunami warning has not been issued, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Exact location of event, longitude 100.5053 East, latitude 23.3688 North, depth 8.2 km.
Did you feel it?
Leave a comment or report about shaking, activity and damage at your home, city and country. Read more about the earthquake, Seismometer information, Date-Time, Location, Distances, Parameters and details about quake recorded in: 21 km WSW of Weiyuan, China.


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Get your relationship back under way with our different counselling
We believe that one of the greatest gifts in life is a loving, lasting, fulfilling relationship with a partner. We will use our skills, knowledge and experience to help you develop and maintain this.
We offer a unique service, jointly providing highly effective Relationship Counselling to our clients.
Neil and Maria work together with our couples. This has a very different dynamic than one counsellor working with a couple.
This enables us to work faster, dig deeper, get balance and achieve better results.
We create a safe space where there is no judgement and give you both the opportunity to express everything that needs to be expressed. We help you to understand how you got to where you are and help you create the future that you want as individuals and as a couple.
We will tailor what we do and how we do it to meet your specific needs. Most of our clients need six sessions, spread over three to four months to get the outcomes that they want.
Why Are We Better?
- Many of our clients have previously been through traditional relationship counselling and, in their words 'spent months getting nowhere'
- We only work with a few couples at any time to ensure we can spend the time needed to support them.
- We maintain availability to meet new clients very soon; normally within a week.
- We believe that what we do is unique and is very effective, as our client testimonials demonstrate.
We are a premium price service as we invest a significant amount of time helping our clients achieve the outcomes they want as quickly as possible. We do this by working intensively with them, providing unlimited 24 hour, seven day a week support and using a wide range of tools and techniques to match the needs of each couple and individual.
The way in which we work is very different from traditional relationship counsellors:
- We treat every couple as unique and tailor our approach to meet your specific needs
- We give unlimited telephone and email support between sessions as we recognise the need for us to be there to help you both on the journey, when you need it. Our clients really value the opportunity to get help 24/7 to resolve problems if they occur and answer questions.
- What normally works best is to meet intensively over six sessions. The session time is significantly longer than the traditional fifty minutes.
- The length of the first session is normally about three and a half hours. This is to enable us to understand:
- how you have both got to where you are right now,
- the significant events in your relationship and before,
- the unhelpful patterns of behaviour that have been created
- he outcomes that you both want as individuals and as a couple
- This then gives us the foundation to deal with the past and help you to create the future that you both want
- Subsequent sessions are normally about two and a half hours each. In these sessions we will use whatever tools and techniques that will get the best results for you.
- We like to be able to end each session at a good place rather than when the clock says.
- Sessions will be a mix of working on the 'us' of your relationship' as well as on individual issues or unhelpful patterns of behaviour.
- There will be significant homework for you to do between sessions.
Contact Us
If you have a problem, we can help with relationship counselling
Have A Question? Need An Answer?
why not send us a message below…
We are based in Lymington Hampshire and see clients from all over the UK
Complete and submit the form below and we will respond to
you as soon as we can, even if it is in the evening or weekend
By adding a short description of your issue as well as any questions,
we can give you our best reply.
… or call us on 02381 680 008
As we believe in being here when you need us,
flexibility is an important aspect of what we offer you.
One client told us "When shopping around for counselling, 95% demanded weekly sessions
at specific times, and we're totally inflexible. You can give us the flexibility we need, and
besides which, I like the idea that Duo Coaching is a man and a woman."


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disabling "Show live previews of windows in switcher" leads to wrong mouse position while enabling it breaks "Show Desktop" hot corner
|Assigned to
|compiz (Ubuntu)
Nominated for Trusty by Alberto Salvia Novella
Bug Description
A related bug report is here:
Since that one was already closed and I can't change the status of it, I report this problem here.
Also here:
compiz: 0.9.11+
unity: 7.2.0+14.
If disabling "Show live previews of windows in switcher" in ccsm (Unity Plugin --> Swither), minimize a window (let's say firefox or gedit), remaximize it. Then if I want to click somewhere or select text in the window, I have to put the mouse pointer one line above and several charactors left (compared to the real position I want) to do it.
However, if enabling "Show live previews of windows in switcher" , then you cannot use the hot corner to "Show Desktop" (ccsm-->General Options-->Key bindings-->Show Desktop). Set it to BottomLeft (any corner that's not conflict with other key bindings), with "Show live previews of windows in switcher" enabled, you can just use the hot corner to show desktop for once. Then if you check the Show Desktop setting in ccsm, it will be blank (not None but blank, nothing there). You can't use the showdesktop hot corner any more.
This problem started from 13.10 and continues now in 14.04...
- disabling "Show live previews of windows in switcher" leading to wrong
- mouse position while enabling it breaking "Show Desktop" hot corner
+ disabling "Show live previews of windows in switcher" leads to wrong
+ mouse position while enabling it breaks "Show Desktop" hot corner
|Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :
Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.
|Changed in compiz (Ubuntu):
|New → Confirmed
|Peter Roos (roospeteristvan) wrote :
Disabling live previews is essential for me, as with the nvidia drivers I get ugly black window contents while minimizing windows. However, this bug also affects me, causing a much greater functionality problem.
|Ningfei Li (ningfei) wrote :
For me, the nvidia driver works well. I have GT650M and I installed the proprietary driver in the source (nidia-331 331.38-0ubuntu7 from the restricted channel, nvidia-setting 331.20-0ubuntu8 and nvidia prime 0.6.2 from the main channel). Before this, I also tried to install the nvidia drive sometime when I was using 13.10. But it didn't work, causing an window corruption. I think I saw somewhere that since 319.XX and later verion, nvidia driver became better, especially for dual graphic card support. Now I can use either intel card or nvidia card and swith them using nvidia-setting (with nivida-prime installed as a request) or using prime-indicator from ppa source.
But here, this problem, wrong mouse position and broken showdesktop hot corner, do exist no mather you are using nvidia card or intel card, single card or dual card...
|Peter Roos (roospeteristvan) wrote :
Well, I ended up enabling the live previews (as was by default), and disabled the minimizing and unminimizing animations. This way I have a faster workflow, and don't see ugly black squares moving through my screen.
|Sebastian Ilea (s3b4) wrote :
I have this bug, too in Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit, wuth Unity.
|added: trusty
|Changed in compiz (Ubuntu):
|Undecided → Critical
|Changed in compiz:
|New → Confirmed
|Changed in compiz (Ubuntu):
|Confirmed → Triaged
|Ongun Arısev (ongunarisev) wrote :
I also have this problem on Ubuntu 14.04 64-bıt with Unity desktop as of 13.1.2015.
|Sanjeet Arora (sanjeetarrora) wrote :
Even I'm facing the same issue. My laptop has "Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)" and I'm using :-
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS
Release: 14.04
Codename: trusty
64 bit
|Alvaro de Lucas (alvarolucas) wrote :
Still there on 16.04 (August 2016)
|valk (vkhalil) wrote :
+1 still there on 16.04
|Alvaro de Lucas (alvarolucas) wrote :
+1 same problem on 16.04
|Picolli (olihui) wrote :
+1 on 16.04.1 64bit
Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller"
Vendor: pci 0x8086 "Intel Corporation"
Device: pci 0x0166 "3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller"
Revision: 0x09
Driver: "i915"
Driver Modules: "drm"
|Anthony Koenada (koenada) wrote :
I am also experiencing this issue. I can confirm the same issue with same results as originally described
|djipey (jeanpatrick-francoia) wrote :
I'm also having this issue. Ubuntu 16.04, fresh install.
|Ongun Arısev (ongunarisev) wrote :
Still present in Ubuntu 16.04 64-bit hot corners work with this setting disable, but mouse point is not correct. Is there a workaround for this?
|dwilches (dwilches) wrote :
Version 17.10, bug still present. Happens randomly and only with maximized windows.
Workaround: drag your window so it is not maximized anymore, and then maximize it again.
|dwilches (dwilches) wrote :
I mean Ubuntu 17.04 up here ^
|nshiell (nshiell) wrote :
This bug seems similar to an issue I'm having with XUbuntu (Xfce) in VirtualBox
As I work around I can:
1. Press Crtl+Alt+F6 (to drop down to a TTY)
2. without logging in Press Ctrl+Alt+F7 (or whichever keys you need to get back into your GUI)
Issue seems to go away then


text:
Artwork of the Week: Others Will Follow
Artwork of the Week: Others Will Follow
Artwork of the Week: Mens Ceremony
Dot painting has become the definitive art form not just of Indigenous Australians, but of an entire nation. Yet its history may surprise you.
Artwork of the Week: Lady of the Beasts
Australian artist Sarah Hickey captures the jungle that inhabits us all in this stunning artwork of the week.
Artwork of the Week: Mythology of the Oceans and Heavens
Surrealist artist Vladimir Kush's artwork takes a vibrant and humorous look at humankind's use of mythology to explain the marvels of our world.
Artwork of the Week: Star Guitar
Turning a city commute into a work of art.
Artwork of the Week: My Body, My Rights
Celebrated body artist Hikaru Cho joins with Amnesty International to champion freedom for individuals to make decisions about their own health, body, and sexual life.
Artwork of the Week: Louis Wain's Cats
How his dying wife's love for their cat lay the foundation for an English artist's life work.
Artwork of the Week: Lost Ones
Religious imagery arrives in a dystopic future in Lost Ones, a haunting digital artwork by German artist Axel Sauerwald.
Think it's impossible to make great art with Microsoft Paint? Think again.
Artwork of the Week: The Visit from Death
Menzel was revered as a realist with an obsession with detail, but 'Visit From Death' reveals he a funny side to one of Germany's greatest artists.


text:
Tidbits, False Ham News, Fact, Fiction and Trolls
This is a bit of a random post, as I want to cover a fair bit of area. During the course of my amateur radio interests I do participate in the FlexRadio Systems Community Forum, periodically look at the QRZ.com website, and occasionally look at the infestations at other websites like eHam.
The Community is a pretty decent bi-directional information and idea exchange, very lightly moderated and wide ranging. You can find current products, announced new products, hypothetical possible future products and legacy discontinued products discussed. Biggest weakness is the rudimentary Community search and keyword sort the platform offers. There is some workaround for that available if your search using Google.
Personalities, language and temperament do come into play even in a more level forum like this Community, with fairly predictable results. Of course only those who wish to contribute their thoughts and Ideas post. It is a decent place all around, and about the only one where you will see lots of posts from FlexRadio Systems employees and Alpha team members.
There are a bunch of unofficial Yahoo Groups with some FlexRadio System content, but unless you like endless user-created surveys or repeated posts on several Yahoo Groups all cluttering your inbox, they are not so useful, and as a rule I let emails from these "reflectors" accumulate in a special folder. After a periodic skim through they get deleted in bulk. There is almost no FlexRadio System participation other than rare posts to correct misconceptions the Yahoo Group is giving legs to.
On the air you hear all sorts of discussion on FlexRadio Systems. A fellow ham recently emailed me asking if what the 40m (7.133.5) group said Gerald K5SDR was true? Think about this, if Gerald K5SDR was on the air he truly is the voice of FlexRadio Systems, so that there was even a question should have been a clue that BS was being passed as accurate. The storing being told is that on the air Gerald K5SDR had said FlexRadio Systems was now in 2017 going to start hiring actual employees as they had only agency contract staff until now. The implication seemed to be that the company was a marketing shell without any real substance. It seems unlikely Gerald K5SDR was on 40m actually discussing his company's hiring history & his forward hiring plans. Expect there is some kernel of factual information somewhere at the start (Guessing. But maybe FRS has developed enough need to hire full time professionals for specific tasks they contracted out? I know many firms do this until they have enough need to keep a direct hire fully engaged). But the result was "Fake News" – though that is nothing new for Amateur Radio.
The QRZ.com site underwent a modernization early in the year that replaced the list-based formatting I enjoyed for being so quick to review with a tile-based eye-candy format. I don't look at the website very often, and it is now only by happenchance that I see a thread that interests me enough to click through. Standards are pretty decent in the forum threads, though there is some name-calling/slagging that seems to be on the simmer ready to be served up by too many hams. The old PHP style forums are pretty ubiquitous and familiar for most internet connected hams.
The ARRL I guess still has a website, but again I seldom go there since they went eye-candy over function and dropped so much of the user based content. Increasingly there are ARRL publications and information that seem to be only part of the story, or even outright incorrect (Example – who could depend on their repeater guide these days? Things that have never changed are suddenly wrong, phantom repeaters that have never been on the air are listed, and somehow they have a disconnect with some of the repeater coordinating groups over sharing data. ) Their website is a non-factoras an information source.
Then once in a blue moon I have a look at the chaos of eHam's forums. It would seem that eHam has a moderation policy that can be summed up as "as long as we don't get sued, any forum activity that increases page views (which equates to advertising "clicks" or more simply is money for eHam) is okay." The SDR forum is rift with open Troll activity – persons who have no first-hand experience the SDR being discussed but have a vendetta that creates controversy are encouraged. Remember the apparent eHam formula – controversy creates page views, which then creates advertising revenue for eHam. Useless place but like a filling missing in a tooth, somehow the controversies draw in participation. For those of you old enough to remember the old original BBS systems (like FidoNet) you would recognize the Troll-Creates-Activity pattern, and the monetarization through advertising makes it in eHam's best financial interest to let it all roll on. A hit is a hit is a dollar.
There are other information quality problems with online forums. Some of them are Repeated Misstatements, Persistence of Temporary Information, Arm Chair Experts sans Actual Experience, Sock Puppets, Misconceptions of Audience Size/Composition/Quality/Participation/Awareness, Unrecognized Humor/Cynicism, Mischief, Economic Background Agendas, Hidden Trolls, Search Weighting due to Repetition, Language Barriers, Difficulties Timelining Evolving Information, Platforms that lack Error Correction Editing features, Outrageous Noise over Signal Ratios, Thread Bumping games, and so on..
So where does this all leave a ham?
Perhaps taking a sampling of all, but trusting their own personal experience and first hand user experience above other sources?
Would seem to make sense to me.


text:
Votre titre Audible gratuit
Tales of the Alhambra
One of the most entertaining travelogues ever written, Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra is a heady mix of fact, myth, and depictions of secret chambers, desperate battles, imprisoned princesses, palace ghosts, and fragrant gardens, described in a wistful and dreamlike eloquence. Irving, who also penned "Rip Van Winkle" and "Sleepy Hollow," wrote Tales of the Alhambra during a stay at the legendary Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The Alhambra is a combination fort, palace, and gardens dating from the thirteenth century, filled with fantastic Arabic architecture (ornate plasterwork, ceramic tiles, sculpted marble fountains, and archways) and plenty of room for imagining the days of its former greatness, which Irving brings to life most memorably.
Even though Tales of the Alhambra is over 170 years old, it seems as if it was written yesterday. There are tales of princes, genies, lost and found loves, enchanted treasures, battles, hellish headless horses, and commentary on the Spanish landscape and nature of the Spaniards that he lives with. Full of bewitching music, the smell of roses and exotic perfumes, fiery sunsets, and the ghosts of the past, Tales of the Alhambra is a sensory treat as well.
Autres livres audio du même :
Ce que les membres d'Audible en pensent
- Jefferson
- 29/12/2011
A Fascinating Travelogue, History, and Fantasy
In Tales of the Alhambra, Washington Irving recounts his 1829 sojourn from Seville to Granada and his stay in the marvelous Moorish castle-palace, the Alhambra. He engagingly describes the Spanish landscape and people and the Moorish civilization that played such a vital role in Spain for so many hundreds of years. Irving's writing is vivid, imaginative, beautiful, and witty. And he clearly loved the enchanting courtyards, gardens, fountains, rooms, decorations, inscriptions, towers, walls, and vistas of the "pile" that epitomized the romantic heart of Spain for him: "Perhaps there never was a monument more characteristic of an age and people than the Alhambra; a rugged fortress without, a voluptuous palace within; war frowning from its battlements; poetry breathing throughout the fairy architecture of its halls."
In addition to telling the history of the Alhambra, Irving retells the tales set in or around it that he heard from local people or read in old manuscripts. The tales are humorous, eerie, or moving fantastic legends that feature Christian or Moorish characters from throughout the history of the Alhambra: ancient necromancers, chivalric knights, love-struck princes and princesses, talking birds, enchanted soldiers, phantom armies, foolish kings, sensual Padres, discreet duennas, spying barbers, punctilious governors, roguish bandits, proud poets, poor students, magical treasures, and more.
Reader Kevin Foley is professional, but almost too bland and metronomic, so that at times I wished that Ralph Cosham had read this book, the full, revised, 13.5 hour 1851 edition, instead of the 8.5 hour 1831 first edition. Foley does spark into life when he reads Spanish or English with Spanish or Moorish accents or English spoken by a hawk, an owl, a bat, a swallow, a dove, a raven, or a parrot. And Irving is so excellent that I do recommend this audiobook for anyone who has visited the Alhambra or who is thinking of doing so. And for anyone who likes travel literature and Arabian Nights-like tales or who is interested in the Moorish empire and its influence on Spanish culture.
8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
- Sergio Remon
- 06/04/2016
Wonderful story, questionable reading
I don't think I really need to mentioned why Tales of the Alhambra is a wonderful read. It's a classic of travel...what?...Fiction? The real issue here is the reading. Now in general, I would not say that Kevin Foley is not a good reader. He speaks in a clear if somewhat stilted manner (which could be partly because of the source material.) My real issue with his reading is the insistence of using what is some sort of, I don't know what... Mexican?...Accent. I find the use of this accent insulting as it makes the character (or persons) speaking it sound like dimwitted fools. This is an overall unfortunate situation. As many of the writers who visited Spain from the 1800's to the mid 1950's (Hemingway, Pritchett, Welles, and Michener) have a habit of portraying the inhabitants as ignorant, illiterate peasant fools. this greatly diminishes their writings on the subject. All of this is made worse when the audio book reader, like Kevin Foley does here, give the speakers a ridiculous and wholly inaccurate accent.
4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
- Rodrigo De Carlos Boutet
- 25/02/2017
Excellent performance for this marvelous book!
This book is really a great read! You find yourself in two long gone worlds: that of 19th century Spain, and that of the old kingdom of Granada and it's legends.


text:
In this second part of his interview with reporters Musikilu Mojeed and Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Governor Samuel Ortom speaks about his relationship with Senator George Akume, his battle with Adams Oshiomhole, the corruption allegation against him and the real reason he left the ruling APC.
PT: Do you mean that all the problems you've had so far originated from the passage of the grazing law?
Ortom: It is, according to them, a result of the impunity from Miyetti Allah. We have called for their arrest and nobody arrested them up till today. That is a problem. With all the provocative utterances they have given inciting the people, including claiming to have been responsible for the killing that has been taking place, giving reasons that their cattle were rustled and all that. They can't be killing innocent people. How can a four-year-old go to rustle cattle? How can a 75-year-old man go to rustle cattle? How can a pregnant woman who is about to deliver go to rustle cattle? You'll come and kill them. We are against any criminal. We are not supporting any criminal in the state. If you want attack them and kill them I have no business with that. But when you come to kill innocent people, that is the point and the main reason why this problem has persisted is as a result of the impunity that has been going on. These people are not apprehended and as I keep saying in any given society the rule of law must be observed, we must respect it, we must observe the rule. It is the law that regulates the activities of human beings. If anybody decides to take the law into their hands then we cannot live together in that society.
PT: I am aware you visited the president a number of times. At what point did you become so frustrated and helpless that you had to start thinking about exiting the party that brought you to power?
Ortom: Well, we have discussed several times. But the issue of exiting the party that brought me to power is as a result of non-integration properly into the party's system. As you are aware, I was a member of PDP until the dying minute when I was frustrated out of PDP so I was looking for another platform and of course APC invited me and felt that due to my popularity, they were sure if we teamed up together we could make it and I also bought into it. We went there, but the leadership did not allow room for integration and so that has been the point. It is like here in Benue State, because all politics is local, the senator who said he is the leader of the party took control and doesn't want input from outside. So my supporters and myself were left out and when we tried to insist that look we have to be integrated, I was given a red card. That I am not needed, and everywhere he went, he demonized me, saying all kinds of things.
PT: What were the issues between you and Senator Akume?
Ortom: He felt that he should have a hold on the party and then decide who gets what. This is democracy. We should allow internal democracy. We should allow people to also have inputs
PT: As governor how come it was difficult for you to take control?
Ortom: You see, I told you I came in when structures of the party were alreadly in place. I had no hold on that. I came in like that so the same people were there. I had wanted a process where we can integrate and make sure that we were all stakeholders. That was rebuked and I reported it but the thing continued. I said well I cannot continue in this manner. There were always major disagreements. When we were talking about prohibition of open grazing he (Senator Akume) was against it. He said the people in Abuja are too powerful. That they are too powerful and that if I don't rescind that decision to sign the law the people from Abuja would move against me
PT: He said that?
Ortom: Yes he told me that and I said no there is no way I can do this. I am representing the Benue people and so if I betray the trust that they had in me by electing me governor by not doing their bidding, by becoming afraid somewhere, I mean that is not leadership. As a leader let me do what I believe to be right. Even if I die, let it be on record that Ortom was killed because of his people. I have chosen to stay with the people and to walk with them. If they crucify me today, if anything happens to me today, everyone will know that it is because I have chosen to stay with the people.
PT: So like Jesus Christ you are ready to lay down your life for your people?
Ortom: Of course I have said it. What else will I do? Whichever way you do one day you will die. But if you die for a just cause, it is okay. Jesus died so many years ago for a just cause but he's a hero. Just like Abiola was recently recognised as a winner of June 12 in Nigeria. That is what I am saying because all these cattle that we are talking about here in Nigeria that are creating so much panic and problems and killings and destruction and all that are not a lot. We are talking about just 20 million cattle. In India, there over 270 million cattle but they ranch. In Brazil, there are over 300 million but they ranch their cattle. You don't see them moving about the way you see it in Nigeria. In America, there are over 100 million cattle but they are surviving. In fact go to the states of America you don't see any cattle. It is only here that even at the airport and offices you see cattle. Even in Kenya, you don't see cattle moving the way they do here. So ranching is global best practice in animal husbandry. So trying to set a pace by doing something new is a difficult task. One day people will understand.
PT: When you announced your decision to leave the party, the national chairman said that you betrayed the APC. Was there some agreement you breached?
Ortom: I did not have any agreement with anybody. I did not betray anyone. The only thing I wanted was to do the wish of my people which I did. Like I told you, there was major disagreement with the leader of the party in Benue State. The things he wanted me to do, I said no this is not right for the interest of this state
PT: Apart for this issue of ranching, what other things did he (Senator Akume) wanted…
Ortom: There are several other things he wanted me to do, he wanted me to be supporting him financially and several other things that he wanted me to do on his behalf and I couldn't cope because the state is not buoyant. He wanted me to give big contracts and pay. I gave him one which he tendered for and got. We could not pay. We paid some but could not continue.
PT: How much was it?
Ortom: Close to N5 billion, road construction and about 10% was paid initially to start the work which was not started and we could not fund further because we had the challenge of even paying salaries. So we could not continue. So that was also an offence against me. He wanted me to do several other things which I could not cope because of the lean resources I had. So I became a problem and he started demonizing me, branding me to be a mad man. He was saying all kinds of things about me. Eventually, he started working against my interest. I felt it was not right to continue to work with him because two people cannot work together except they agree. I believed it was better to move on especially when he said he would mobilize people to work against me. I felt here is a party I don't have the structure of. I came in and promoted him (Senator Akume) and supported him to even win his senatorial elections because if I had not come it was going to be pretty difficult for him. He knew that. That was why he waited and insisted I should come and take the ticket for the party despite what was on ground. When I came in other five aspirants were there. He knew that I was the preferred person.
It is unfortunate that you talk about my national chairman, there are issues that he raised and am going to ask my lawyers to ask him that. Let him expatiate on all those things, all those allegations of fraud he levelled against me. I'm getting my lawyer to write to him.
Of course if we write to him and he is able to explain to my satisfaction, fine. If he doesn't, I will go to court to clear my name because I think that it is wrong for a national chairman to be talking in the manner he did against me. I think Nigeria would like to know.
PT: You met with him and I think he had the impression that he was going to resolve whatever your problems were.
Ortom: That was what he told me and I put the cards on the table. I said the party was no longer under my control and somebody else is running the party. So he agreed that yes we were going to meet.
PT: But there was party congresses just some few months ago. How come that the man still maintained his control of the party even when you did fresh congresses?
Ortom: Like I told you, the structure of the party was with him before I came in and he had indicated that anyone who attempted to change the structure, there was going to be killings and it happened. In just a stakeholders meeting in Otukpo in Zone C, seven people were killed and I didn't want a situation where there would be bloodshed. When we are having bloodshed from herdsmen against the people and several other challenges, kidnappings and all that, I didn't want additional killings. When my people met me I said look lets allow this man, let him have his way, just for people to be safe. Because I think whatever my ambition is, it is not worth the blood of an infant not to talk of a full grown person.
PT: But the national chairman said those of you who left the APC are people who believe in the principle of sharing the money. Then the presidency said those of you who left were bad eggs.
Ortom: Fine if we are bad eggs and if we believe in the principle of sharing the money let them provide a level-playing field. Let us taste our popularity on the ground. We are not in that group. Politics is a game of interest. When your interest is not protected you look for somewhere else. They should have the patience to accommodate opposition even within a family. Within the kingdom of mouth you have the teeth and the tongue. You fight against yourself but you know how to do it. So as far as I know, if you say we are bad eggs, why were we not bad eggs when we were there with them? And the national chairman said what?
PT: That you believe in the principle of sharing the money
Ortom: So what happened when we were there with them? Did he ever say that? It was the same national chairman who was saying that 'no you are a very strong member of our party you cannot go; we cannot allow you to go'. The same man who is coming to say another thing. You praise me with one side of your mouth and the other side you are castigating me. What is the meaning of that? If you talk about sharing money, can Adams Oshiomhole give account? You are aware that one of his kinsmen is it reverend or bishop from his state took him to court to account for the N10 billion house he built. Where is the one I have here, in Abuja or anywhere? Where he is living in Abuja, where did he get the money?
The Bible says that why do you see the speck in your brother's eye without noticing the log of wood in your own eye? First remove the log of wood in your eyes so that you can see clearly to remove the speck in your brother's eye. Adams Oshomole lacks the capacity to talk about corruption. He is in court. Nobody has taken me to court. Adams Oshiomhole is in court, can he come out clean? He that comes with equity should come with clean hands. Is his hands clean? That house he's staying in, in Abuja where did he get the money? The one he built that somebody took him to court, where did he get the money? So these are issues. I think the national chairman should not be talking in this manner.
PT: The President said all of you are bad eggs.
Ortom: Well, Mr President is entitled to his opinion. Unless he comes out to say it about me, it is a difficult thing to put us together and say we are bad eggs. But if he talks about what he means by bad eggs, about Samuel Ortom then I can respond to that but when you just say that, I think it's too vague. I respect Mr President. I believe that all that is happening if he's aware he will not be part of it just like he said during the so-called impeachment that was organised by the inspector general of police and (then) director general of SSS. You come to a state, you have 30 members of the house and you go and give cover to eight members and stop the 22 members from attending their legitimate session and you take the eight members under heavily guided security agencies and you give them cover to just go and make an announcement that we are giving an impeachment notice to a governor. To give an impeachment notice to a governor it should be one third of the Assembly, eight people are not one third of the Benue State House of Assembly.
PT: The impeachment notice came almost at the same time the EFCC came out to say it was investigating you and some members of the Assembly over security vote. What do you make of all these?
Ortom: Well, that is witch hunting, blackmail and intimidation. Nothing more than that because how can you wait all this while. I have been a governor for more than three years and you wait until an impeachment notice is coming when police and the SSS are delegated to give cover to do any illegal thing to say that Ortom is removed as governor and allegation from EFCC is coming. Why didn't they say these things before? But like I keep saying I have not done anything wrong. I have said that let them probe all the 36 states and the presidency, they should go there, they have access. I'm not stopping them from doing what they want to do but bring the other ones to say that truly that you are being fair to Ortom that you are not witch hunting me. If you are not witch hunting me bring out the security probe for the other 36 states and the presidency too.
Recently Adesina, the spokesman for the president said that how can you probe security that who will ever give account of security votes. The kind of things that are involved in security arrangement are deeper than what you can put on paper. There are several other things in governance and if you ask any other person who has governed too they would explain to you what it means. The complexity is such that it is not known and I am not the first governor of Benue State. Why will you start probing security votes from 2015, when I came in till date. How about the other people, including from 1999. I am saying that if you want to probe this thing, if you're taking Benue alone start from 1999 when Akume was governor. You check and bring those records out. Then you can bring my own.
PT: So you are saying that you are not a thief as they are trying to allege
Ortom: How can I be a thief? I don't need to be a thief to survive. I wasn't a thief before I became governor why should I be one when am getting older? I'm 57. Why should I be a thief at 57? There is no point. I was a man of my own before I became governor. In this state, apart from Dangote, I am the only person providing jobs to more than 1000 people, as an industrialist and one of the biggest farmers here, providing ad hoc jobs to several people, when it's cropping and harvesting period. So why do I need to be a thief? God has made me before I became governor.
PT: When you came in, were you able to appoint your own commissioner or the leader of the party did on your behalf?
Ortom: Yes I appointed commissioners some of them, he too contributed in making the cabinet and other stakeholders.
PT: So there wasn't problem at that point?
Ortom: Appointing them? No, no, there wasn't any problem at that point
PT: Because there were suggestions that he wanted you to just fill your cabinet with his nominees.
Ortom: Of course he wanted everything in the government. He wanted to take everything and those are issues put together that made it impossible for him to be comfortable with me.
PT: So you insisted at that point?
Ortom: Of course! I had a template that I said 'look this I can concede but others I couldn't do it. There's no way you will take everything to be with you on your side'. Then there is the issue of dissolution of cabinet which he was complaining that I targeted more of his people but I made sure that those people affected were not just his own people. For me I integrated everybody. Whether they came from him, it was me appointing not him appointing cabinet. He recommended people to me and I told them that as long as they just do the work the way I want I have no problem with them.
PT: So for the next election, how are you sure of defeating, of disgracing your old party, the APC, in the next election?
Ortom: Let me tell you: politics is game, a game of interest. I left the PDP to APC and I secured my interest that was when my interest could not be protected in PDP. But now they have rebranded, they are reformed and are willing to change from their old ways. They have even gone further to apologize to Nigerians and also to those people they offended. So I think, like we that read the Bible, in the Lord's prayer, it is said: 'forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us'. I am not saying I am a saint. So when people come to me and say 'look my brother am sorry for what I did to hurt you,' I am bound to forgive them.
PT: And then you have to work with people like former Governor Gabriel Suswam
Ortom: That was even before my defection to PDP. We have reconciled. Our differences were reconciled. We have been working together irrespective of political parties. We were in different political parties but we worked together.
PT: But you once accused him of mismanaging the state during his tenure. You made several cases of corruption against him. So how are you going to resolve that type of differences?
Ortom: Well, we have reconciled. All I can tell you is that whatever differences we had we have reconciled and we have promised to work together to advance the cause of Benue to greater developments and that is what we are doing.
PT: Some of your critics would say that part of the problems of Benue State, even this insecurity issues, are about governance. Especially also failure to pay salaries for some time and all that. What do you have to say?
Ortom: Well, this interview would not have been complete without asking me about salaries (laughs). But like I said, I appreciate God for how far we have gone. When I came in I inherited over N69 billion arrears of salaries, pension and gratuity. Over N70 billion contract obligation and so it has not been easy trying to cope. But I want you to know that Benue State is the third highest in terms of salary payment.
PT: In the country?
Ortom: Yes. In the country. In the 36 states. First is Lagos. A director for instance in Lagos takes home N345,000. That is the average because there are different salary structure. But the IGR of Lagos of course you know that it is over N35 billion. It is followed by Rivers, where a director takes N285,000, but their IGR too is in the region of more than N10 billion on average. Now come to Benue state. Benue state is number three. A director takes N280,000. What is our IGR? An average of N500 million. So, that is the big challenge I have here. When I came in, the total bill for the local governments was around N3.9 billion and N4.3 billion at the state level. That's 8.2 billion.
Then came the issue of minimum wage for teachers. When they came to me, because of the passion I have for teachers. The figures were not explained to me but I offered to say please because it was one of my campaign promises, I offered to say go ahead and pay them the minimum wage so this took the wage bill to about N8.5 billion. But after series of checks and breaking of linkages and all that we brought it back to N7.8 billion. During the recession what we were having was an average of N5 billion every month, total package.
PT: Is that your entire revenue….
Ortom: Everything! You know an average of that. So it was difficult working out the arithmetic. How do we contain with security issues? How do we contain with overheads? How do you contain with other activities of running government? All these things require funding so it's pretty difficult. So I entered into an agreement with the workers that 'look this is the whole money everything is on the table. I have nothing to hide' and they too appreciated it so they now said okay combine two months and pay us one month salary. I had wanted to adopt a system of paying half salary but they said no that they would prefer that I combine two months and pay them one month. That is largely responsible for the arrears of salaries I have today. We've been paying.
PT So what you do is that you pay every other month?
Interviewee: Yes! Every month we pay. As at 2017 when the year got to an end we had arrears largely because of this accumulation and at the local government we had 11 months. At the state level we had 7 months arrears. But from January 2018 to date we have been able to pay.
PT: So what you are left with now is just arrears…
Ortom: Just the arrears. Let me tell you this issue of non payment of salaries is exaggerated because if you check other states they are even owing more than what I am owing. That's the truth. Today in Nigeria, more than 20 states cannot pay salaries. They are having one problem or the other in coping with this challenge but in my own case it is overblown and my detractors feel they can use this against me. But an average worker here knows because whatever comes is on the table and that is why we had minimum cases of workers rising against me because I have not deceived them. They know that it is beyond me.
But we have now decided on something because Benue state is a civil service state. And so when salaries are not paid everybody is affected. It becomes a big challenge. The clergy have spoken to me. The traditional rulers and everybody who loves me have spoken to me that 'look concentrate and pay salaries'. So as at now, I have suspended ongoing projects that I fund every month. I use whatever is available for salaries.
PT: So it's not possible to pay salaries and fund projects?
Ortom: It is not possible to combine the two. Now we are lucky because since the month of January the federal allocation has been better compared to what we used to get. Before then, I was sometimes forced to take overdraft here and there to make up. We are working towards getting other sources of revenue. We should be able to use it to pay the arrears.
PT: But why do you have more staff, more civil servants than the local and state levels can cope with?
Ortom: You know Benue is more of a civil service state. It will amaze you that with all the challenges I have, people are still coming, bringing their children for employment. If you go to my local government for instance, you have close to 1000 workers. This is a local government that averagely the people you see working there are not up to 100. The others just stay back and collect salaries. Not that they do any form of work.
PT: So how do you want to deal with that type of situation?
Ortom: Well it is something that is difficult to contain with. It is a big challenge.
PT: Now there is also the issue of your former party leader who you said you gave some job and he has not delivered. You paid 10% and more. What do you want to do to situations like that?
Ortom: Well with time if they cannot source resources and do it, we can terminate and look for people who have the capacity to do it and when we get money we pay. That is all about it.
PT: Thank you so much Mr. Governor.
Ortom: Thank you too.


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quebec city -- the drums of the
global village are beating loudly. The streets and strategies are a cacophony of mixed messages -- some profound, some a bore. But the pulsating rhythm is alive and chaotic. This is a global culture in the process of creation, out of control but magnetic.
I'm on a mission to monitor the meta-messages of two Summit rituals fighting for airspace in a divided city. I've been peeking in at both sides of the fence, and I say the ring goes to the protest.
However the dangerous excesses of those playing with sticks and stones resound in public opinion, there are an unbelievable number of participants here outside the fence. And they are being treated to something rare and precious -- a collective experience that affirms personal autonomy. You can't get that watching Newsworld. No one is a puppet in this playground, despite the colourful props.
Facing off in front of a 12-foot fence, smudged with the burning intensity of tear gas, a ceremony unfolds in which each participant has the freedom and must face the challenge of choosing his or her own drama. The protestors win because, for every one of us who's here, this is a memorable learning experience.
It is all brought into sharp relief for me when I leave the riot of pink tutus and face paint early on Saturday morning to make a foray into the official world behind the perimeter. I make my way to the Hilton through checkpoint after checkpoint. Every speck of marble floor is shiny and spotless, every piece of fabric on or off a human is starched and pressed. Coming from the riot of costumes on the other side, it's obvious that fashion is a mirror for the mysteries at play. The glyph that gives these threads their symbolic power? Ironing.
I'm pretty sure that anything dishevelled -- take the untamed bedhead running rampant outside -- is more unacceptable in this crowd than offering drug-war funding to extrajudicial death squads. This ceremony of blazers and badges isn't just about keeping everything here under control. The costuming metaphor goes even further. It's about controlling the very fabric of our lives.
But my nose and throat are picking up the prickling from yesterday's tear gas. I'm more sensitive than some because I took a huge hit right by the fence just as it was breached yesterday. The air of democracy is bringing a tickle of chaos from the perimeter into this circle of power. That's a victory.
Chaos is dangerous and uncontrollable. It's imperfect and frightening. But it's a force of nature, and like the warm, breezy weather, it seems to be on our side this weekend.
I'm glad to get back outside the fence. The big march is about to begin. My son Jules and I are here together, and we are veterans. We were in Mexico City last month to welcome the Zapatour to the Zócalo.
We listened as Subcomandante Marcos used most of his time at the podium to poetically honour each and every one who was there -- the grandmothers, young children, youths, people from the north, people from the south, every sexual orientation. Businessmen, workers, everyone, and we liked it that he mentioned us, too.
The culture of inclusiveness that he was affirming was a nourishing reward for being there. And here I am, two countries up and in lots of ways worlds away. But the crazy costumes are offering the same kind of welcoming that he gave. The clown hair and Mother Teresas and plastic bugs. They are all symbols of acceptance and invitations to expression.
Today, with our new goggles and bandanas, we feel elated and prepared. Of course, marching with the militants has its depressing ironies. Chants and slogans are drawn freely from the outmoded baggage of the old, revolutionary left, whether they make any sense or not.
My favourite non sequitur is "Five six, seven, eight, organize and smash the state." Note to self: the battle against the FTAA is fundamentally about trying to retain the power of the state to act as a curb on unchecked cross-national investor rights. But face it. The inclusive culture of resistance means you have to suffer foolish sloganeers gladly.
Participatory democracy is a lovely idea. But Jules and I sure keep finding it draining. We try. We go to some of the People's events. We hang in for the spokescouncil strategy session. We want to love it all, but we can barely sit through this stuff.
Democracy is heavy, too. I need a shopping cart to carry all the fact-sheets this Summit experience raises. Come to think of it, if I had one it might have been fun to decorate it.
The truth is that civil disobedience is the cure for what ails us. We want to stay with the legal march that's headed for the sticks, just to see everyone all together. Plus, we're with friends who don't have the protection they need to face the tear gas wafting through downtown.
But it's drudgery marching through the endless industrial zone the parade officials have chosen. We're not alone. Just halfway there, the march coming back toward us on its way to the perimeter is as large as the one still heading out.
Dear Ann Landers, I'm on the labour march with friends who don't have goggles. Is it OK to leave them and turn back before the end?
We can't take it any more. We're not here just to march in someone else's parade. We are non-violent to the core of our beings, but we need to energize the drama of our resistance with direct action.
And I think that's part of the secret of this movement's power. The shadow of danger inexplicably lends definition and meaning to all the pink tutus and teddy bears.
The fear that hangs in the air is part of the power of what's happening. It's wrong and stupid to commit aggressive acts of violence and mayhem. I look forward to the time when the movement figures out how to contain or isolate the idiots who are doing those things. But there is no cause for despair. Civil disobedience is an art that must be practised to be perfected. Let's just get better at it.
Most people facing the tear gas and the water cannons are there, like Jules and me, to draw a line of courage and mutual support in a passionate ceremony for citizens' rights. We got what we came for, and it will stay with us for a long time.


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As technology provides increasing connectivity and accessibility, increasingly businesses are moving away from manual, administratively-heavy management systems for cloud-based solutions to manage risk in their organisation.
To get the best out of these solutions, it's important to have an understanding of what you are looking to achieve and the potential challenges of a new system implementation. Your supplier should be supporting you through this to achieve a successful implementation.
What do you want to address?
5 Wishes
We ask clients; if money were no object what would they change tomorrow regarding the management of Health & Safety in the organisation. This helps us understand what your ideal solution looks like and so we can help you address these. Common goals include:
- Reporting and visibility of activity
- Accountability of tasks
- Claims defensibility
- Staff engagement
- Ease of administration
Understand the impact
The best systems in the world will have minimal benefit if they are not implemented correctly. The key here is to understand the current processes and documentation, and implement new systems at a pace the business can tolerate.
Who are the personalities involved?
What training and support will be needed?This is both for those who will run the system and those who will engage with it such as Supervisors. A critical part of the implementation process and it goes beyond initial orientation training and documentation (we use bespoke crib sheets) but the support through the initial weeks of the system. We consider this to be one of the most critical elements of the implementation.
Getting the System to reflect the Business
If one of your drivers for the system is to create alignment between health and safety and the business, having a system that replicates the businesses organisational structure including the appropriate segregation of data, will be an important factor to generate performance data that drives accountability and visibility throughout the organisation.
Management Information
Requirements will differ, but if you are looking to blend a safety and performance culture this can be important.Different systems will deliver varying levels of data, from simple task management information to compliance performance data (e.g. this month you comply with 95% of the control measures in your risk assessments) and even data generated by employees about their own working environment (we do this via e Learning). MI will support the development of Safety KPI's.
Mapping your existing documentation and controls
If you have a system that "works" then this is an important step to avoid any downtime which can lead to a loss of focus on safety management in the business.
It's important to understand how current documentation will map across to a new system, what the priorities are and also what support is available from the supplier to work with you on this. These can then be factored into your game plan.
Formulate a game plan
The key to this is bite-sized chunks. Any new systems a should be embedded in the business with minimal impact to business-as-usual operations. Once you have a good idea of what the implementation process will involve, it is time to make the implementation work for you. Collaborate with the software provider to develop a step-by-step plan for implementation. Make sure the systems providers understand your company's needs and what you hope to accomplish.
|BCarm example implementation plan
Who are BCarm?
We believe that risk management delivers more than just protection and compliance.
It can enhance operational effectiveness, create employee engagement and accountability, delivering improved business performance and competitive advantage.
Through a combination of cloud-based risk management systems, risk consultancy and engagement support we help businesses establish practical risk management in their business that can be operationalised alongside other business processes.