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Beamed core antimatter propulsion - more efficient, but don't hold your breath!
Antimatter propulsion is the Holy Grail of spaceflight. When matter and antimatter react, the energy produced is several billion times larger than the thermomechanical energy resulting from burning a kilogram of a hydrocarbon fuel. Now a high school student has developed a new magnetic exhaust nozzle that would double the velocity of an antimatter-powered rocket.
Despite the extraordinary difficulty of generating and storing significant amounts of antimatter, the potential it offers as a power source for interplanetary and interstellar voyages is nearly irresistible to spaceflight visionaries. Hearing this call to adventure, Roman Keane, a high school senior at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, and his mentor, Senior Research Fellow Wei-Ming Zhang of Kent State University, decided to optimize an existing model for an antimatter-powered rocket engine.
Matter reacting with antimatter is the ultimate source of energy which might be available to power space travel beyond the Solar System. The energy released by the reaction of a gram each of antimatter and matter is about equal to that of a forty kiloton atomic bomb. As a result, numerous conceptual studies have examined antimatter as a fuel for extrasolar spacecraft. A full design effort is somewhat pointless at this stage, as at present we don't know how to manufacture, store, or manipulate large quantities of antimatter - the current cost of that gram of antimatter is roughly estimated at about a trillion US dollars.
One element of the system that can be studied with existing technology is the design and operation of a magnetic nozzle for a beamed core antimatter rocket engine. By causing moving charged particles to be directed into a beam, the magnetic nozzle generates propulsive thrust from the annihilating antimatter.
The beamed core antimatter rocket depends on a little-known fact about antimatter - the only particle-antiparticle annihilation that immediately converts 100 percent of the particle mass into energy is the reaction of an electron with an positron. In contrast, when protons and antiprotons react, they produce a variety of charged and uncharged pions, which are elementary particles. More interesting phenomena occur when antiprotons annihilate against a compound nucleus, such as copper or lead. Many of the electrically charged reaction products retain their identity as charged particles long enough that they can be focused into a unidirectional beam by a magnetic nozzle.
Past studies of such magnetic nozzles determined that magnet coils providing a magnetic field well in excess of 100 Tesla in strength were required. Such strong magnetic fields can only be produced in extremely short pulses using today's technology, so this early solution was not practical. These studies also suggested that the exhaust velocity of a beamed core antimatter engine would top out at about a third of the speed of light, which is rather marginal for interstellar missions.
To accelerate to a speed equal to that of the engine's exhaust velocity (0.33 c) and then decelerate to a stop at your destination, 86 percent of the initial mass of the spacecraft would have to be fuel - half of that antimatter. One could in principle go faster, but reaching a speed of double the exhaust velocity (0.66 c) and then stopping at your destination would require that 98 percent of the spacecraft initial mass is fuel - a rather difficult build job, although use of multi-stage vehicles could improve the situation in the same way as is seen in chemical rockets.
Keane and Zhang decided to take another go at designing and optimizing a magnetic nozzle for a beamed core antimatter engine. The simulation of antimatter reactions and of the dynamics of charged particles moving in magnetic fields has advanced considerably since the time of the previous studies. This has been the result of three decades of increasingly more subtle simulations to analyze the data from high-energy particle collisions. Keane and Zhang used analysis software from CERN for their study.
They found that a magnetic nozzle about four meters long and 1.5 meters in diameter having a maximum magnetic field of 12 Tesla would represent an optimal configuration for the general design assumed in the study. Such a magnetic nozzle could be made using today's technology, although some rather special engineering would be needed to attain large values of thrust.
Most encouraging is that the effective exhaust velocity of the new nozzle design is about 69 percent of the speed of light. This means that a beamed core antimatter spacecraft with the new nozzle could make a one-way trip at a speed of about two-thirds of the speed of light carrying seven times the payload that could be hauled using the old nozzle.
Clearly, developing a spacecraft to ply the vast expanses between stars is a terribly difficult enterprise, and the methods to be used when our technology has advanced enough will probably not be like anything we can currently conceive. Despite that, it is often inspiring to take a small bite of a nearly impossible project, and discover that we indeed can solve a bit of it in the here and now. That this has been accomplished by a high school student increases one's faith in the future of technology.
Source: ArXiv.org


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The main goal of Ready Mixed Concrete Organization of Turkey is to promote and spread the use of ready mixed concrete in Turkey; to enhance the awareness of consumers and operators on the use of concrete; to make ready mixed concrete sector a respectable sector where production is carried out at international levels in terms of standards and quality.
As will be dealt with at length further on, Ready Mixed Concrete Organization of Turkey organizes regular symposiums in various cities of Turkey on the subject of structural behaviour in earthquakes and use of ready mixed concrete which are particularly important for our country and tries to inform and warn the public and authorities on the issue.
One of the principal activities which Ready Mixed Concrete Organization of Turkey carries out to help correct and legitimate utilisation of ready mixed concrete is educative courses and seminars; until now, many, from truck mixer operators to master builders at construction sites, from civil engineers to responsible managers at plants have participated in the courses and seminars of Ready Mixed Concrete Organization of Turkey and have received their certificates.
Main Sponsor of Pump and Truch Mixers Operator Courses
|Sponsor of Pump Operator Courses
Sponsor of Switchboard Operators Courses
Laboratory Technicians Courses Sponsor

subset: commoncrawl


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This week's show is brought to you by: Outdoor News Deer and Turkey Classic | Lake of the Woods Tourism | Haybale Heights Campground and Resort on Devils Lake | Mid Migration Outfitters
Rob Drieslein from Outdoor News talks about what to expect at the Outdoor News Deer and Turkey Classic March 9 – 11 at the MN State Fair Grounds. Tyler Scott talks about a youth turkey hunt that is looking for kids who want to participate, Doug Leier updates us from North Dakota and Joe Henry has a LOTW report.
Click to play:
Here is the form to fill out if you have a kid that would like to hunt turkeys:
7th ANNUAL YOUTH TURKEY HUNT 2018
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Your wedding day is one that you will remember for the rest of your life. It's also probably one of the most costly. If you are on a budget, I'm here to tell you that you can have a beautiful and memorable day regardless of how much you spend.
Our three year wedding anniversary is coming up on May 16th. Hard to believe but time really flies! I am a very organized person anyway, but I planned almost the entire wedding by myself and did a lot of DIY for the big day.
If you're a bride on a budget like me, I've put together a few tips that might be helpful for you when planning your wedding.
Pinterest is Your Best Friend
I don't know what we ever did without Pinterest. Wedding ideas are unlimited and right at your fingertips. Create a wedding board and start gathering ideas. It will help you decide on a theme, colors and if you're crafty, there are plenty of easy ideas for making your own flowers or centerpieces.
DIY As Much As You Can
As you know, I'm a librarian, so I wanted to incorporate literature into my wedding somehow. I got permission from our library director to use books that were donated for the book sale and crafted them into a pretty centerpiece for our table. I chose titles I'd read as well as some classics. I wrapped those centerpieces with ribbon and lace and made book page flowers to set on top.
I also borrowed candle holders from a co-worker and used battery operated tea lights for the candles. Our local creamery gives away old milk bottles, so I got one of those for each table and attached a peacock feather and some ribbon to it instead of flowers. (Our wedding had a peacock color scheme).
Sign Up for a Knot.com Account
Even if you don't create a wedding web site, The Knot is a great resource for finding vendors. Read all the reviews and go with your gut! You also have to remember that some people are never happy, so take all negative reviews with a grain of salt but if there seems to be a consistent problem with a vendor you're considering, steer clear.
The Knot is also wonderful for helping you manage your guest list. I stored all invites on the site and would mark off their responses as I received their RSVPs. This was so helpful when meeting with our reception venue as they had to have guest totals throughout the planning process. When it comes time to write thank you notes, you can refer back to that master list for addresses and it saves so much time.
Find an All-Inclusive Reception Site
This was the most expensive part of our wedding and ate up the small budget my dad gave me, so finding a site that had everything in one place was wonderful. Our reception site had just about everything from the food to the cake and it was so simple to just take care of it all in one place. We had the option of bringing in outside vendors but there were extra fees to do that, so using their chef and baker was a huge cost saving to us. The food was amazing too – don't be afraid to try out venues that have their own chef!
Etsy is Your Friend!
Support other DIY-ers and small businesses by shopping on Etsy for wedding supplies! I ordered my invitations and programs from a wonderful shop on Etsy. They were easy to work with and my invitations looked different from the standard invite.
I also ordered silk flowers from a shop on Etsy and they were exactly what I wanted but could not find in any of the craft stores around town.
DO NOT order anything from overseas. I made that mistake with my cake topper. Even thought I placed the order months in advance, it did not ship until a couple weeks before our wedding and arrived the day before. I was a stressed out mess over it and would never do that again.
Weddings Gowns Don't Have to Cost Thousands
You can look beautiful without a thousand dollar dress. I tried some of those on even though they were way out of my budget and found I loved the selection at David's Bridal more. You only wear your dress once – don't go bankrupt because of it.
DO Splurge on a Photographer
The one thing I would advise you to spend more on is your photographer. Your pictures are lasting memories of your special day and you don't want to cut corners here unless you have a friend or family member that takes professional quality photos. Even then, they'd probably rather enjoy seeing you walk down the aisle from a pew instead of from behind a camera lens.
Usually photographers will give you a small discount if you also use them for engagement photos and the ceremony. Our photographer was wonderful and sadly, she's no longer in business – by choice. I was hoping to work with her later on down the road but she decided to pursue other interests for the time being.
Really do your research in this area and pay attention to what's included in your photo package – you'll want them there for at least 8 hours and a second photographers is great to capture other things that are going on while your main photographer is getting the money shots.
I hope this has been helpful in some way! Happy wedding planning and best wishes for your future together 🙂


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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Guest Posting Today at Remodelaholic
I'm guest posting today over at Remodelaholic. You can see my post right here. Thank you Cassity for having me again!
Posted by alissa {33shadesofgreen} at 8:06 AM
Labels: Guest Posting
4 comments:
Ohhhh you know how much I love succulents!! Can't wait to see your post! :)ReplyDelete
gorgeous, gorgeous! love the candles and the moss. where do you get succulents that look that good? i love them!ReplyDelete
What a gorgeous table and a very sweet surprise :) I'm so glad to see that you are enjoying your table runner. So happy it found a good home.ReplyDelete
Lovely, Alissa. I love succulents... they're the one plant I can't kill:)ReplyDelete
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment - each & every one makes me happy.
I respond to your questions via email. If you leave a question in a comment, please make sure to leave your email address in your comment or that it is linked to your account. Otherwise I will not be able to respond!
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I love sharing my passion for tiny trash! I've been featured on podcasts and radio shows as well as magazines and newspapers. For all press inquiries, please email email@example.com.
Today Show, April 22, 2019
My routine was hurting the planet -- then a stranger went through my trash
Real Simple, September 2019
How low can you go? These zero-wasters have ditched the trash can almost entirely
The Washington Post, July 7, 2018
She cut her weekly trash down so much it fits in an unbelievably small jar


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Cyber security news site, Dark Reading, recently reported on the news that millions of stolen and fake email credentials from across 300 of the largest universities in the US were available to buy on the Dark Web.
The stolen and fake student, faculty and alumni access credentials are being offered to buyers for anywhere from $3.50 to $10 per email address. But why are email domains linked to education so attractive to hackers and cybercriminals and what can other education institutions do to avoid a similar situation?
Why the education sector?
This is not the first time an education institution has fallen victim to compromised credentials. Globally, IT teams responsible for network security in universities and schools are experiencing increasing pressure to secure sensitive data from internal and external threats. Hackers see email addresses linked to education institutions as particularly tempting for several reasons.
In the eyes of a cybercriminal, these credentials come from a well-respected domain, meaning they are less likely to raise suspicion when used online. They are also appealing due to the considerable amount of personal, financial and even medical information these types of organizations store, meaning this wealth of data can be used for further malicious and illegal activities. Just imagine the mischief a hacker could get up to with a stolen date of birth, address or medical records.
Students and university staff are also often eligible for numerous incentives, such as discounts on clothing, travel, etc. These stolen email addresses could provide hackers with access to perks they would not usually be entitled to.
Lastly, cybercriminals often take advantage of the fact that the academic environment is often more difficult to secure than other organizations or companies. The very nature of education promotes instant access to information and the exchange of ideas. So how can IT teams in charge of education institutions ensure they uphold and maintain these values whilst protecting the reams of sensitive data held in their systems?
An open yet secure network
For the most part, scholastic data security policies are reactive, in that they only implement protocols following a breach. To protect Universities, schools and colleges against potential threats, IT departments must take pre-emptive measures to stop hacks before they take place by implementing a system of network access control and identity management.
One way to manage this is through context-aware security, which determines whether to grant or deny access to a user based on information other than that person simply having the right password and login details.
This type of security system can use details such as where and when the login attempt is taking place or the device the person is using to determine whether to grant or deny access.
This would mean that any suspicious activity, whether it was a careless user, an innocent student prank or something more sinister, would be instantly spotted and responded to, before it became a bigger issue.
Password sharing
Sharing passwords is a common issue amongst students, who are prone to forget or lose their own login details. This same technology would prevent the serious security flaws caused by password sharing, by limiting students to only one possible session at a time. A malicious user would therefore be unable to gain access at the same time as a genuine one.
Another benefit of preventing concurrent logins is that legitimate users would be made accountable for any dishonest acts, whether this is sending a jokey email from a friend's account for fun or worse, performing an insider attack.
The right access for the right person
Just like faculty and students have different levels of access to certain parts of the campus, when it comes to network access, the level granted should be appropriate to each person's role and rank. By controlling user login rights in this way, educational organizations can take control of their network security.
This issue isn't just something we're seeing in the US. Globally, IT teams in charge of education institutions need to restrict concurrent log ins and prevent unauthorised users from accessing sensitive information. In the UK, we have worked with The University of Kent to ensure their data remains protected, yet accessible to those who need it.
By installing software solutions such as UserLock and FileAudit organizations are given the tools they need to efficiently and effortlessly monitor and protect sensitive data, enforce network access security and prevent serious data breaches. It's as easy as ABC.


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The fireworks in global financial markets have provided an ironic prelude to the festival of lights. May the New Year bring liquidity, reduced volatility, a shallow recession in the US and GDP growth of over 7% in India (can't really hope for more than that).
The world has changed dramatically since Diwali of 2007. An era of excessive leveraging, characterized most notably by the sub-prime crisis, came to an abrupt end this year with the collapse of some iconic names in the financial world (Lehman, Bear Stearns – we shall miss you). Stock markets have fallen by 30%-70% since January in most parts of the world and credit markets were frozen until very recently.
It took massive government interventions to keep banks solvent and to get them lending to one another again. The growth outlook for the world economy turned darkly negative. Esoteric financial terms such as collateralized debt obligations, carry trade and credit default swaps entered dinner table conversations as CNBC tried to make sense of it all for the lay public.
In an atmosphere of heightened risk, global investors pulled money out of emerging markets and rushed to the safety of the dollar. At the time of writing this article, net FII outflows from India this year had already crossed $12 bn (vs. net inflows of $17 bn in 2007) and the Sensex had dropped below 9,000. The same forces could push the Sensex lower, despite India's GDP growth rate being projected at over 6% by worst estimates (a sizzling rate of growth by historical standards and far higher than the developed world).
So where does this leave the PE/VC community in India? What are they thinking? Here's what I've been hearing:
I have yet to meet an investment professional who can honestly claim that he/she foresaw a financial crisis of this severity. Most investors were amazed at the speed at which markets tumbled after the weekend that saw Lehman go bust and Merill Lynch get sold. Even old hands that have been around from the mid '90s have seen nothing like it before. Over time, many best sellers and PhD theses will be written about this crash, but for now everyone is still trying to figure out how things got so out of control.
All funds that were active investors through 2007 and 2008 are badly hit. Almost half of PE investments in this period were made in listed companies and often at a premium to the prevailing stock price; these investments have fallen 40-80% in value in line with stock indices. No one has been spared – globally respected firms such as Blackstone and Warburg Pincus as well as home-grown leaders such as Chryscapital have suffered such mark-to-market losses on the listed investments they made in 2007 and 2008.
In private investments, the mark-to-market write-downs are less evident, but every investor recognizes that the likelihood of exit and the likely value realizable at exit have declined substantially over the past two months. Most funds are now busy working with their portfolio to mitigate the risks of an impending economic slowdown and their teams' morale is weighed down by the burden of having to repeatedly explain these losses in their internal portfolio reviews.
The fortunate few are those funds that completed fund raising relatively recently and therefore have kept their powder dry. These funds – Gaja Capital ($200mm fund raised in 2008), Lighthouse Funds ($125mm fund raised in 2008), etc are relatively untouched by the crisis, both financially and in terms of morale, and are best positioned to make the most of buying opportunities over the next year.
Most PE investors have already revised downwards their expectations of earnings growth for their portfolio companies. This holds true across sectors – real estate, infrastructure, IT & ITES, financial services; the only possible exception being consumer goods. They are transmitting their caution to the entrepreneurs they work with and are urging a focus on cost control, conservation of cash and capex cutbacks.
Those investors that still have an appetite for immediate fresh investments are bargaining hard on valuations and are taking longer to make up their mind on investments. Deal flow in cash generating businesses (the kind investors would love to back during a recession in tight money conditions) has all but dried up as entrepreneurs in such businesses prefer to wait out this period. Very few PE deals have closed in the past two months and very few are expected to close in the rest of the year.
Some PE investors have shifted their attention to secondary purchase opportunities in public markets and are planning to make large purchases over the next 2-3 quarters.
Within PE firms, big bonuses and pay check increases are now history (alas!) as these firms prepare to practice the same belt tightening that they are preaching to their portfolio companies. Hiring has been virtually frozen as firms adopt a "wait and watch" stance for the rest of the year.
2009 will separate the men from the boys. The financial crisis has not played itself out completely yet, so there may be more surprises in store. PE firms that can hold their nerve, retain the confidence of their investment committees and look beyond the immediate slowdown will likely reap big gains eventually. Watch this space.


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Step-by-step guide to launching digital marketing
Now that we've covered the definition of digital marketing, it's time to focus on launching digital marketing at your organization.
Today, we'll explore the first two steps for building and implementing a digital marketing plan that delivers results:
- Performing a digital marketing audit
- Sequencing your best opportunities
Let's get strategic!
Performing a digital marketing audit
The term "audit" has gained a negative connotation in today's business environment, perhaps rightfully so. Having your financials audited by federal or state authorities can be a painful, time-intensive process, even for those who play by the rules.
When it comes to digital marketing, however, an audit shouldn't make you feel stressed. On the contrary, performing a digital marketing audit can be an enjoyable process that provides you with more clarity and accelerates the effectiveness of your marketing operations.
What is a digital marketing audit?
Similar to financial audits, marketing audits involve the careful collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. Unlike financial audits that look at receipts and tax return filings, marketing audits measure the impact of your existing digital footprint by examining a variety of data sets, such as:
- Website traffic analytics (users, pageviews, referring sources)
- On-page engagement (bounce rate, time spent, events, goal completions)
- Social media trends (follower growth, engagement)
- Email marketing statistics (opens, clicks, list growth, campaign performance)
- Inbound links (quality, quantity)
- Search engine rankings (keyword position, site visibility, domain and page authority, competitors)
- Paid advertising (cost per click, cost per conversion)
- CRM reports (customer lists, prospect lists, lead volume by source, conversion rate, and more)
If you're totally new to digital marketing, you may not have much data to audit. That being said, most companies at least have a website and social media profiles. Start by making a list of your digital assets (such as your website) and develop a plan for collecting as much data as possible for each asset.
What tools do you need to perform a digital marketing audit?
Unlike offline forms of advertising, such as billboards or direct mail campaigns, digital marketing initiatives are intrinsically data-driven. Of course, this statement assumes that you have the correct tools in place to collect the data.
Notice it's "tools" and not "tool." In my experience, there's no "one-size-fits-all" digital marketing audit tool. To perform an adequate audit of your website, for example, you should use data from several sources:
- Website analytics platforms, particularly the Google Analytics service
- Webmaster tools, such as the Bing Webmaster Tools service
- Site spidering tools, especially the Screaming Frog SEO Spider tool and crawler
- Advanced SEO software, such as Moz SEO software
Auditing your social media or pay-per-click advertising will likely require additional tools. The good news is that digital marketing is a hot industry, so there's no shortage of affordable online services. With a little research, you're bound to find a plethora of solutions that meet your needs and budget. Keep in mind that spending some time and money on these tools will save you resources in the long run and help you reach your target customers.
What does the data say?
Data provides little value to your business unless it helps you to accelerate growth. To maximize the usefulness of your digital marketing data, use SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.
What is working? What's not working? What are competitors doing that you could do better? What is the risk of maintaining the status quo? Use your SWOT analysis to identify data-driven answers to these important questions.
Sequencing your best opportunities
For the productivity-minded person, this step can feel tremendously monotonous. After all, your marketing audit uncovered dozens of great ideas that could deliver substantial impact. Why not just get to work and worry about the details later? Why waste time "sequencing" your next steps?
Here's why sequencing is so important
The truth is that your organization, regardless of headcount, has a fixed capacity. Simultaneously tackling a website upgrade, tripling content production, and completely overhauling your social media presence could spread resources too thin. When resources are spread thin, nothing gets done the way it should — and your digital marketing suffers.
With a leaner approach, you acknowledge your organization's finite resources and then sequence your top priorities accordingly. Leveraging a kanban board, such as the one available with Insightly's kanban view, can help you do exactly that.
Structuring your kanban board for success
Let's assume that the following actions are your most important digital marketing opportunities:
- Upgrade website template
- Increase search engine marketing
- Launch monthly newsletter
- Ramp up content marketing
- Begin using marketing automation
- Do more guest blogging
- Create whitepapers for lead generation
Let's also assume that your marketing department does not have enough bandwidth to do everything at once, so you'll be using Insightly to sequence your team's work. In this situation, I would recommend creating a dedicated Insightly project pipeline that contains four stages:
- Backlog
- Up Next
- In Progress
- Done
Each digital marketing opportunity should have a matching project card in Insightly. Collaborate to identify the cards (aka projects) that offer the greatest impact with the least amount of effort. These projects should be sequenced and worked on first.
Anything that is not "in progress" should be moved to "up next" or placed in the backlog. Remember, if everything is in progress, very little is actually getting done. Focus on doing a few things well instead of trying to do it all at once.
Next up: when the work really begins!
So far we've looked at using data to identify and understand your digital marketing opportunities. Everything is neatly organized on your Insightly kanban board, which means it's time for the work to really begin.
Stay tuned for our next article that provides detailed steps for building your digital marketing team, timelines, budgets, and implementation plan.


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I have a few different VPNs I need to connect to. I'm using windows 8 and standard ptpp VPN. Every VPN I have created though results in the same error:
Error 720: A connection to the remote computer could not be established You might need to change the network settings for this connection
The VPN works in Windows 7 and XP. I'm not sure if this has something to do with my new laptop or if its something with Windows 8 itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated and if there is any extra info I can provide please let me know.
I've tried with virus scanner turned off and windows firewall turned off as well and I still receive the same error message.


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Vine Vengeance 5000
A downloadable game for Windows
Made in a weekend for Slavic Game Jam 2019.
You'll need a buddy, two (XBox?) controllers, and probably a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Featuring lovely music by Narek Papoyan.
Additional sounds by touk.itch.io and blimp66, dr-skitz, edsward, greenvwbeetle, jukiddink, mlteenie, natty23, sharesynth, zut50 via freesound.org
Flower and star icons by Delapouite via game-icons.net
VineVengeance5000-jam.zip 30 MB
Leave a comment
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How are O&G, Architecture and Real Estate industries leading the charge in 3D Services?
Your clients are faced with information overload, and your brand isn't standing out from the crowd. You're on a deadline, and a tight budget. Your staff is overworked, and your clients are beginning to notice. As you know, competition for attention has never been more fierce. So what can you do to position yourself as an industry leader without straining your team or losing your clients?
If you want to be heard, you must communicate in a way that's clear, or there's little hope for your company's success. How can you deliver your concept in the most engaging, interactive, visually appealing, and cost-effective way? It's time to start thinking in three dimensions.
3D renderings, 3D animations, and 3D illustrations are no longer the way of the future. Instead, they're the modern method to cut through the clutter and get your message across. Companies are shifting from 2D to 3D design, and there's no end in sight for this movement. 3D visualizations bring ideas to life beyond the capabilities of flat images or diagrams. The implications and advantages of our cutting-edge 3D technology are far-reaching across multiple industries and applications.
For example, you can use them to:
- Quickly communicate complex ideas
- Train your team members in a medium they will remember and retain
- Interact with designs before building prototypes
- Create a killer and versatile marketing campaign
On top of that, outsourcing options for 3D renderings are increasingly affordable. After all, outsourcing this work is cheaper than having an in-house design team and guarantees your work is produced by industry professionals who can give your project the attention it deserves. Beat your competitors to the punch and boost your brand's visibility — regardless of the size of your business.
Why 3D?
- Accurately visualize end results. You, your customers, investors, and leads can see, experience, and interact with your design before you build it.
- Improve efficiency. The accuracy of 3D graphics allow for faster product design, and adjustments can be made quickly and easily. Plus, it's thousands of times more efficient to send clients 3D renderings than spend valuable time in meetings. Get your point across fast.
- Cut costs. Improve your design before you even invest in building and revising your product prototype. 3D visualizations reduce the number of changes you'll have to make after construction has begun.
- Increase retention. Studies have shown that students who watched videos with 3D animations rather than 2D animations had up to 100% better memory retention of the subject matter.
- Reduce errors. The accuracy of 3D renderings allows you to troubleshoot design flaws before they become costly mistakes.
- Communicate clearly. 3D allows you to show, not tell. Sharing renderings allows your entire team to get on the same page.
- Look better. Traditional photography has its limitations, but 3D renderings guarantee your product is always seen in the best light. Skip retouching, make changes easily, implement your ideal surroundings, and never worry about proper lighting.
- Impress clients. Less back-and-forth, clear expectations, convenience, and cutting-edge technology lead to happy customers.
3D renderings can benefit businesses in nearly every industry, but in this post we will hone in on the oil and gas, architectural, and real estate industries.
These are a few of the industries that benefit from 3D graphics:
- Education
- Filmmaking
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Advertising
- Gaming
- Medical and healthcare
- Interior design
Solutions for the Oil and Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry can benefit from 3D visualization services in nearly every department. For example, oil and gas companies can reap the benefits of 3D renderings by using them on everything from explaining complex concepts to clients and investors to training workers. They can also be used to boost marketing strategies, model rig and equipment designs, and animate processes in training videos for staff.
Here is a closer look at some 3D applications in the O&G field.
Visualizing Prototypes
Rigs, drills, and other equipment used in the oil and gas industry are expensive, and often dangerous. Flat images can only go so far in offering a clear picture of these assets. Therefore, 3D prototyping is the best way to properly communicate the details of your design. This allows you to work out the kinks and visually interact with your product before you even spend a cent constructing it.
Animating Concepts
Professional design studios can create 3D animations to succinctly demonstrate complex concepts. A 3D animated explainer video goes miles farther in effectively educating about your topic. This makes your animation visually pleasing, informative, and clear. This is ideal for everything from training and recruitment videos to OTC trade show presentations and investor pitches.
3D Services for Architecture and Real Estate
3D architectural rendering and virtual tour services improve efficiency and accuracy by letting you see you work before it's done. This is a huge time and money saver when it comes to architecture, construction, and real estate. The photorealistic detail of 3D renderings even let you add textures to your interior and exterior designs. This reduces back-and-forth with clients and the number of revisions, as well as saves time by replacing meetings with file-sharing.
3D Architectural Renderings
Troubleshoot structural or design errors before they happen with 3D visualizations. Architects and engineers can save valuable time and money by interacting with their designs before construction even begins. 3D visualizations allow you to step up your blueprint and involve clients early on before the changes are much more difficult and costly to make. See the results of your product before laying the foundation, and impress your clients.
Virtual Tours
As a real estate agent, think about how much time you waste pitching to clients who have no intention of being clients at all. Imagine how much time you would save if you didn't have to conduct onsite tours of listings. Instead, you could guide a tour by simply sending out a link that lets viewers explore the inside of a property on the market. This way, you get to vet serious candidates while weeding out the window shoppers. Plus, most Houston real estate agents don't offer virtual tour services. Set yourself above the rest by offering this unique feature.
Ramp Up Your Efforts
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Regardless of your industry, TuiSpace's 3D services give you the chance to turn your vision into a reality. Our experienced artists lift your ideas off the page with our state-of-the-art toolset. Join us at the forefront of 3D design and development with guaranteed affordable pricing, quick turnaround, and industry experience. We like a challenge, so don't shy away from contacting us for your most ambitious projects. Click here to request a quote.


text:
13' Backyard Water Slide Tropical - WS4208
Regular price $2,520.00 Sale price
Product Specifications
|Min. Height Requirement
|Unit Height:
|13 ft
|No. of Blowers:
|Unit Length:
|22 ft
|Blower Size:
|1 hp
|Unit Width:
|10 ft
|24 Months
|Unit Weight:
|200 lbs
This Water Slide is perfect for any backyard party. It can be set up and transported quickly and easily. Happy Jump's Water Slides feature a drain at the bottom of the unit to help remove any excess water.
For the pool feature on this water slide, you have the option of purchasing a landing pad for an additional fee. Our unique Inflated Landing Pads help protect the rider when there isn't enough water in the pool or if the slide is used dry with pit balls or foam blocks. Call us for pricing and further details.


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SDCC July 22-25, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and let's get this party started already! We'll have free swag, we'll have breaking Whedonverse news of all kinds and we'll have a nearly live camera feed, so don't. be. shy. This is going to kick some serious ass!
Thanks SDCC!
Also want to mention that today is our 5th Annual Buffyfest party (that started this whole blog) and we're very excited to have the whole team together on the East Coast, once again. Happy Buffyfest Day to everyone!
Friday, July 2, 2010
San Diego: Get Ready For Buffyfest
5 comments:
- Steph said...
That's amazing guys! As someone who can't be at SDCC I can't wait for all the reports and everything!
Have a fabulous time!!!
- July 2, 2010 at 11:28 AM
- Tara said...
Thanks, Steph! We're super stoked!
And don't worry we totally gotcha covered. :)
- July 2, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Happy buffyfest day! I'm hoping to do my own buffyfest party in a week or two!
- July 2, 2010 at 4:32 PM
- Kaaren said...
Congrats on the passes!! Enjoy the moments!
- July 2, 2010 at 5:59 PM
- heroine_tv said...
Hurrah! So happy that you guys will be covering all the Whedon-y goodness at the con. And Happy Buffyfest Day!
- July 4, 2010 at 3:12 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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MY - Tax Associate, Transfer Pricing
- Recruiter
- Deloitte Malaysia
- Location
- Kuala Lumpur, MY/ Johor Bahru, MY/ Kuching, MY
- Salary
- Competitive salary + great benefits
- Posted
- 15 May 2023
- Closes
- 15 Jun 2023
- Ref
- 53423
- Approved employers
- Approved employer
- Job role
- Accountant, Audit, Compliance/risk, Financial planning & analysis, Tax
- Contract type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Experience level
- Qualified accountant
What impact will you make?
At Deloitte, we offer a unique and exceptional career experience to inspire and empower talents like you to make an impact that matters for our clients, people and society. Whatever your aspirations, Deloitte offers you unrivalled opportunities to realise your full potential. We are always looking for people with the relentless energy to push themselves further, and to find new avenues and unique ways to reach our shared goals.
So what are you waiting for? Join the winning team now.
Work you'll do
- Perform transfer pricing compliance, audit defense and planning exercise for MNE clients.
- Liaise with clients on a day-to-day basis to understand their expectations and requirements, and provide deliverables timeline.
- Keep oneself updated on the latest developments in transfer pricing in Malaysia.
- Perform other tasks as and when assigned.
Your role as a leader
At Deloitte, we believe in the importance of empowering our people to be leaders at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our purpose and shared values, challenging themselves everyday to identify issues that are most important to our clients, our people and the communities, and to make an impact that matters. In addition to living our purpose, Associates across our Firm are expected to:
- Understand objectives for stakeholders, clients and Deloitte whilst aligning own performance to objectives and sets personal priorities.
- Develop themselves by actively seeking opportunities for growth, shares knowledge and experiences with others, and acts as a strong brand ambassador.
- Seek opportunities to challenge themselves, collaborate with others to deliver and takes accountability for results.
- Build relationships and communicates effectively in order to positively influence peers and stakeholders.
- Possess minimum a Bachelors Degree with strong academic credentials (CGPA 3.5 above) in related disciplines such as Accounting/ Economics/ Taxation or any professional accounting qualifications.
- For Senior Associate positions, you would be required to have minimum of 2 years transfer pricing work experience.
- Strong proficiency in both written and spoken English and Bahasa Malaysia.
- Possess good organizational skills and able to prioritize work to meet tight deadlines.
- Leadership and people management skills; able to work both independently and as part of a team.
Due to volume of applications, we regret only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the "Apply" button below.
Candidates must be resident in Malaysia, or have the right to work in Malaysia.


text:
3D visible lifting cream - 1.7oz
For all skin types.
- This anti-aging cream offers the skin an instant "lifted" appearance.
- Protects the face and neck areas against external stress factors for a more youthful-looking skin.
- Leaves the skin looking firmer and lifted.
There are no reviews yet.


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Friday, January 22, 2010 6:00 PM ET | By Angela Rosa
(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "All My Children" Episode Recap – Friday, January 22, 2010.
Adam surprises his family with the unconventional changes he's made to his will.
After enduring a few interruptions, Tad and Liza finally find themselves alone together and make love.
Ryan admits to Erica that Greenlee has been on his mind lately. Erica confides to Opal that she wants to keep her relationship with Ryan out of the public eye in order to protect what they have.
David insists to Greenlee that she'll be better off without him in her life.
On the Next All My Children…
- Adam throws Annie for a loop.
- Someone's up to no good at Tad's house.
- Jesse grows suspicious of Damon.
"All My Children" airs Weekdays on ABC. Weeknights on SOAPnet. Check local listings.


text:
TAMPA – Add not-so-instant replay to Goose Gossage's list of how MLB has gone wrong.
"No manager can run on the field anymore and kick dirt on the umpire,'' the Hall of Famer told The Post on Tuesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field. "That was exciting. That was part of the game. That woke everybody up and everybody loved it.
"Now you sit there for five minutes and wait for a f—ing replay. And half the time, you can't even tell.
"Who's died in the last 100 years because of a bad call? They say, 'Well, they lost a World Series and the kid lost his perfect game.' I said, 'Who died?' Leave the human element in the game. You cannot take the human element out of baseball because it is the fabric of the game."
Gossage remains upset with the state of baseball in 2016 because he cares so much about the game.
"They can say all they want to about 'old school' and the game has passed me by,'' Gossage said. "Let me tell you something: The game has not passed me by."
Gossage ripped the Bat Flip Generation and the "nerds'' running baseball last week to ESPN and has doubled and tripled down on his comments. After the initial firestorm, he was called into a meeting with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi. But he wants to make it clear that he is only speaking out because of his love for the game that did so much for him.
"I've had a lot of people call me and support me,'' he said. "I have not heard one negative thing on my phone.
"It's a shame, it breaks my heart to see the direction this game is going. What, do we want a bunch of Cam Newtons running around?
"So, if no one keeps it in check, which there is no one keeping it in check, first of all, no one wants to bite the hand that fed them or the hand that feeds them today. The only liaison we had was Joe Torre. It's like Washington DC. Everybody starts out with good intentions. You can't beat them, join 'em.''
Gossage, 64, who is here as a guest instructor, is not joining.
"Never,'' he said. "I was taught a way to act, and that hasn't changed in 100 years. And all of a sudden in the last 15 you can do anything you want to do.''
Gossage knows he is fighting a losing battle, especially when it comes to the analytics portion of the game.
"This is the revenge of the nerds, and they are going to get the last laugh — I know that,'' Gossage said. "These guys played rotisserie baseball at Harvard or wherever they played it and they were successful, so they think that's all there is to it. That's just a little f—ing part of the game.
"Let me tell you, you can't control this game no matter how hard you try. We gave up a long time ago of trying to figure this s–t out. It has a mind of its own, it has a character of its own. And they are taking that character out of the game.
"It breaks my heart,'' he added. "I see the lack of fundamentals. Kids are not being taught how to play the game. It's all about offense. It all just breaks my heart.''


text:
Hamabet Nigeria Review
Hamabet is a relatively new entrant to the Nigerian sports betting scene. Despite this, it is fast becoming a well-recognized betting site by most Nigerians. It is a great online platform for betting on sporting events and offers some good odds. It has shown its competitiveness in the Nigeria marketing strongly competing with other older established book-making companies offering a wide range of markets, welcome bonuses and easy depositing and withdrawal funds by its customers.
Hamabet at a glance
User experience - 8/10
Odds - 5/10
Odds - 5/10
Bonuses - 4/10
( reviews)
Hamabet is a relatively newentrant to the Nigerian sports betting scene. Despite this, it is fast becoming a well-recognized betting site by most Nigerians. It is a great online platform for betting on sporting events and offers some good odds.
- Have a WhatsApp contact dedicated to customer service
- 100% welcome bonus on first deposit
- bet ticket tracking
- 200+ markets on soccer and other markets
- The bookie lacks a mobile app for android and IOS users
- The website can be slow sometimes due to many users at one time
- There are not as many virtual games as would be expected for a bookmaker of its calibre
In-depth Review
The Nigerian based brand, Hamabet was started more recently on March 27th 2017, and their headquarters is in 41 Baale Street Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. Its popularity has grown over the years and in the near future may grow to be the best betting sites in the Africa continent as a book-making business. Hamabet offers live betting, long-term bets, jackpots and virtual reality games (Casino, betgames.tv, instant win).
Betting Experience
The mode of payment is quite diverse due to partnership with other banks to offer best payment solutions they include GTB, Fidelity, First bank, Opay among many others to be discussed in these article. We also have options for E-wallet or digital wallet users, popular ones being Skrill and Neteller.
Although the company is still young I can assure u that payment below N 1,000,000 is done within 24hours, the Hamabet is financially stable and is strong on its reputation to provide satisfaction to its loyal customers. Hamabet page design is good and super easy to use for new users, the website (www.hamabet.com) offers different sporting events and the popular or hot matches are given priority at the top.
You are able to choose using filters on a variety of betting types like home/away win, handicaps, double chance, next goal, under/over, odd/even these is important to all betting professional gamblers. These features give us a better chance of winning by reducing variables. You can also track our bets by simply inserting the ticket number and code the pressing the search button, whether it's an active bet or settled.
You will notice that you can also book a bet. I have written some of the steps to be able to book bets. The homepage has a different selections ranging from the live to the jackpot options which I shall discuss in detail. The homepage contains the contacts, FAQS, Terms& conditions, PROMO, affiliate program among many other features.
Hamabet Features
Betting markets
Hamabet offers popular live and long-term bets with over 100 markets ranging from football to tennis with different leagues worldwide. The odds offered are relatively fair and consistent with other major betting sites. I can say the markets is not limited to specific events only.
Great odds
Though the bookie offers odds that can be said to be competitive, we can say that the odds could be even better despite the fact that you need more than 5 matches in bet slip to get the 5% bonus, so the odds to me are fair and consistent.
It's available for both live betting and long-term or pre-matches, the cashout rates are low depending on the time left before matches end.
Hamabet offers two jackpot options that is;
- Chop & collect – in these type of jackpot we have to pick the 10 matches being offered and if we get all 10 correct we have a win N 1,000,000 also good prizes for correct predictions of 8 to 9. We can use the lucky dip option or the favorites to win if not sure of the teams to pick the system automatically chooses matches for us. These is more popular as compared to other jackpots with difficult games to predict I think 10 is a good number.
- Hamabet super jackpot – we are given 6 matches and we have to predict goal outcomes at the end of each game it's very difficult to get all matches correct but if you are lucky N 500,000 is all yours.
Note; matches will be settled on the final result after 90minutes of play, including injury time. Extra time and penalty shoot-outs are excluded, I suggest you check out the full list on terms on condition before placing the bet.
Bonuses and promotions
Hamabet offers a welcome bonus of N 25,000 to its new players after they have registered and deposited a minimum of N 50. The steps to get Hamabet welcome bonus:
- Register with Hamabet
- Verify your account
- Deposit N 50 in your account
Fill the necessary personal details that is your name, email, date of birth, mobile number and submit. Check the email and click on verify that you are a member of Hamabet. After the deposit claim the welcome bonus and enjoy betting on the site.
Live stream
You are able to better predict the live matches as the game continues since hamabet provides all statistics, possession, fouls, counter attacks and substitutions in real time. Multiple live games gives multiple chances of a bigger win.
Bet types
- Home win/Away win
- Handicap
- Double chance
- Next goal
- Under /Over
- Odd/Even
Games and markets
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Tennis
- Cricket
- Rugby
- Ice hockey
- Handball
- Futsal
- Volleyball
- Boxing
Payment options
Hamabet has a minimum deposit of N 50, can make deposits in any bank and request to transfer to HAMABET via Interswitch Quickteller. We have numerous banking options for both deposits and withdrawals they include;
- First bank
- Fidelity
- GT Bank
- Zenith bank
- Opay
- Paystack
- Have a WhatsApp contact dedicated to customer service
- 100% welcome bonus on first deposit
- bet ticket tracking
- 200+ markets on soccer and other markets
- The bookie lacks a mobile app for android and IOS users
- The website can be slow sometimes due to many users at one time
- There are not as many virtual games as would be expected for a bookmaker of its calibre
Hamabet has the potential to join the world market since it's a new book-making company it may take a while to develop a safe and secure app for is users.
We like the website with its black background with the white and green colors makes it easy to pick games and also the match tracking software is excellent for the live streaming. The payment options are at times slow depending on the type of bank and mode of payment the development of an app may make this much easier. Hamabet scores significantly on customer services and support due to use technology WhatsApp and is an excellent betting site.


text:
Ways to use this layout :
- option 1: just edit this page, then delete this block
- option 2: copy and paste each section to the new page
- option 3:
- save this whole page as a template by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Update button
- click on "Save as Template" and name it accordingly.
- create a new page, then click on Edit with Elementor
- in Elementor editing mode, click on the folder icon to add a new section, then go to the My Templates tab in the popup window, and insert the template you previously saved.
- delete this block


text: The cone of silence did not work. He took the cone, threw it on the ground and used it to climb to new levels of hysteria. Kaety crashed in the boy's room while they were next door at Grammy's and I took the baby out for a long walk in the stroller hoping he'd fall asleep. We travelled far but slept little. We did talk to lots of interesting people along the way. Yikes.


text:
Software: QuickBooks accounting software
Frequently, I had to explain to user, why sometime there is a GST different of ONE cent in QuickBooks invoice comparing to when they were to use Speadsheet calculating their GST amount of the invoice transaction
I found a FAQ on IRAS web site that explained exactly why you having this ONE cent different and how are you going to deal with that.
Note: QuickBooks Asia is using line item method to compute GST amount.
FAQ from IRAS web site stated:
… The total GST payable on all goods and services shown on a tax invoice may be rounded off to the nearest whole cent (i.e. two decimal places). With the discontinuation of the issuing of 1 cent coins, some businesses may round their bills to the nearest 5 cents to facilitate cash payment by their customers. Whether a bill should be rounded up or rounded down to the nearest 5 cents is a business decision.
When a tax invoice contains several line items of standard-rated supplies, the total GST amount on your invoice may be computed based on:
The total GST amount computed may differ due to the method used. Both methods of computing the total GST amount are acceptable so long as you apply the chosen method consistently. …
Read more from IRAS web site: http://iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page04.aspx?id=826


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Now don't think before you ink, LeakInk does the job with trendy temporary tattoos
Thursday July 17, 2014,
2 min Read
Inking permanent tattoo earlier was not easy as artists were not available across major Indian cities. But over the past decade or so, we have seen an unprecedented response from youngsters for inking permanent tattoos, and as a result today we find tattoo studios even in tier II cities.
However, when it comes to temporary tattoos there are very few options especially in tier II and III cities. "I tried to get temporary tattoo for a special occasion but much to my surprise I didn't find a single authentic store providing this," says Pratik Raj who runs an NGO in Ranchi.
Now folks like Pratik needn't fret as Punjab-based iExpose India Private Limited offers a wide variety of temporary tattoos via its etail store, LeakInk.
"LeakInk believes tattoo means whatever you want it to mean, especially if you are inspired by dynamic fashion, quirky and creative styles," says Devinder Goyal.
The beauty of temporary tattoos is that you can get it removed when you have had your fill. LeakInk provides 'must-have' temporary tattoo label for those who love unique, edgy and extensive designs in the form of temporary tattoos.
Founded by Devinder Goyal and Shubham Gupta, LeakInk is a bootstrapped venture and has an in-house design team which focuses on changing styles, trends, and customer's needs. "We try really hard to bring new and amazing designs to suit any mood or occasion."
Prior to LeakInk, the duo ventured into e-commerce through ApunKaDeal.com. It was launched as a daily deal concept in July 2013, and was operational until March 2014. After shutting down ApunKaDeal, the duo was looking for other ideas, and one fine day they thought of launching a temporary tattoo label in the market.
Unlike other entrepreneurs they did not have to do much to convince their parents to let them pursue their dreams. Their challenge was, in fact, how to expand and scale the business from a small city with very limited resources. Earlier, they were handling everything from Khanna, Punjab, and later from Chandigarh, but were not satisfied with the resources so they decided to shift the business to Delhi.
At present, the company is processing a few transactions a day. "We are planning to use social media aggressively to make people understand what LeakInk is all about," adds Shubham. The company also intends to foray in the offline market via partnership and franchise stores.
Website: LeakInk


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Blockchain Technology – Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities
Muhammad Fateh Khan Sial, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
IEEE Blockchain Technical Briefs, June 2019
Discuss this topic on IEEE Collabratec
Blockchain is a digital database that is distributed across a large network. It is a sequence of interconnected blocks comprising of list of transaction records [14]. Blockchain is considered to be a public ledger in which all transactions are stored in the form of blocks. The chain expands as each new block is appended to it. Transactions cannot be altered once they are made part of blockchain. The size of database keeps on increasing as new blocks are appended to the older ones. A transaction can take place in a decentralized fashion, thus, saving cost and improving efficiency. Every time an update is made to the database on a network node, it is automatically updated across the entire network. Total number of transactions stored in a block depends on the size of each transaction and the block. Every transaction must be approved by the network nodes, each of whom verifies its validity. This block is validated using consensus algorithms where majority of network nodes approve the transaction [14].
Blockchain utilizes technologies like, distributed consensus mechanism, digital signature and cryptographic hash. The key strengths of this technology are that the records are reliable, persistent, auditable, anonymous and decentralized. Blockchain has diverse applications like crypto-currencies, online payments, digital assets, remittance, smart contracts, internet of things, security and financial services etc.
A Block consists of a header and the body. The block header comprises of a block version, timestamp and address of the previous block etc. The block body consists of actual transaction details and the transaction counter [5]. Each block in the blockchain network points to the previous block, called 'parent' block, using a hash function. The very first block having no parent is referred to as 'genesis' block [14]. Children of the ancestor blocks are called 'uncle' blocks.
Blockchain transaction process is initiated as soon as a "transaction" is requested by a network node. The request and user status are authenticated by the network using cryptographic algorithms. The verified transaction is appended with other authenticated transactions stored in a block. Once a block reaches a certain number of approved transactions, a new block is generated. After validation, the block is appended to the older blocks making it a permanent part of blockchain [2][10][11]. All the network nodes are updated with the changes every few minutes.
Some of the characteristics of blockchain networks are illustrated in Figure 1. It is impossible for hackers to hack these network nodes as cryptographic techniques have been deployed to secure it [1]. Each transaction is authenticated and validated using digital signature based on cryptographic algorithms [14]. The blockchain network is decentralized in nature which makes it more transparent and reliable for the storage and transfer of important data, currency, financial transaction or any valuable record [2][3]. Each transaction is validated using a timestamp which makes it possible to trace and verify previous records by accessing any network node. It helps in improving transparency of data stored on the network [14]. Each user interacts with the network with a generated address. A certain amount of user privacy is preserved as there is no central entity that stores user's private information. It is possible to perform anonymous transactions on the blockchain network. It only requires the network address of the receiver to perform the transactions [11].
A transaction can be performed between any two peers directly without interference of any central entity. It results in reduced operation and development cost of servers. Any falsification in data can be detected easily as each broadcasted block will be validated by other network nodes. The record cannot be altered without the consensus of group members, which makes blockchain transactions more reliable and persistent. The network nodes verify transactions collectively. Any financial transaction made on the network is confirmed and secured using cryptographic algorithms. Once a transaction has been verified by the network, it is placed in a block in a way that newer blocks are placed under previous blocks of financial transactions.
Being a shared database, details of the financial transaction are visible to all nodes. So, the network is transparent and requires trust of the users. Financial transactions can be made without the need of third-party interference. There is no central point of failure, so the network keeps on running even if any of the nodes leaves the network, making all the data accessible to users all the times. Records in a blockchain are immutable and will be saved for unlimited time [1][2][3][11].
Figure 1. Blockchain characteristics [2]
Types of Blockchain:
A blockchain network has three types: public, private and consortium [2][4].
- Public Blockchain: These networks allow anyone to join the network and execute transactions visible to every network user. There is no trust relationship among the network users before joining the network. Transaction can be verified by any node. All nodes participate in the transaction consensus process. Bitcoin and Ethereum belong to the class of public blockchain [11].
- Private Blockchain: These networks are permission based. These are also referred to as "permissioned ledgers" and are constructed using Hyperledger Fabric which is hosted by Linux Foundation. The digital records can be encrypted and are visible only to authorized users, thus privacy requirements of the data are fulfilled [3][4][5]. The main difference between private and public networks is user verification and authentication mechanism [3]. In public blockchain networks, there is no trust relationship among the network nodes. Before any transaction can be performed, there is computing overhead involved in user validation which increases the time for each transaction. Contrarily, in private blockchain networks, permission based trust is involved before any transaction is made. It significantly reduces the computation overhead for running the authentication and validation algorithms. Consequently, thousands of transactions can be performed per seconds on private blockchain networks as compared to a few transactions per second in public networks. The blockchain network can be owned by a single network provider or multiple consumers. The owner of the network determines whether it is public or private in nature [3][4].
- Consortium Blockchain: In consortium networks, block authentication is performed by a set of specific nodes. It is categorized as semi private and permissioned blockchain. It is a partially centralized system controlled by a few selector nodes, contrary to public blockchain (decentralized) and private blockchain (centralized). Network nodes having authority can configure the data in blockchain to be public or private. R3CEV and Hyperledger are examples of Consortium Blockchain networks [11].
There are a few challenges associated with the blockchain networks [2][9]. There is huge storage requirement as the validation process involves the whole blockchain. Only a few transactions can be performed per second due to fixed block size which in turn causes increased transaction delays and high transaction fee. If the block size is increased, it will cause additional delay in block propagation. Moreover, it is possible to generate fake blocks by the network nodes or generate transactions that are reverse confirmed. Rapid generation of blocks is possible by increased power consumption, resulting in legitimate blocks not being able to get their share of blockchain network resources. An important challenge of blockchain networks is the energy consumption. These transactions consume huge amount of energy. It is estimated that each Bitcoin transaction consumes 80,000 times more energy as compared to a credit card transaction.
This technology not only benefits crypto-currencies but also many different industries that need to store and manipulate huge amounts of data. Blockchain technology has the potential to support the field of financial, public and social services like land record management, asset management, educational services, energy conservation, citizen registration systems, patient management, taxations system, security and privacy enhancement of mobile devices and associated services [14]. Here are some of the industries that employ blockchain technology to improve their operations: banking, cybersecurity, academia, marketing and advertising, supply-chain management, ecommerce, voting, supply-chain networks, finance, asset management, healthcare, real estate, Internet of Things, government record keeping and health industries etc. [2][5]. An overview of blockchain areas of applications and associated services is listed in Table 1.
In general, blockchain technology is applicable for the following conditions [12],
- Digitization of assets to provide data driven business models.
- Digitization of processes and transactions among business partners.
- Provision of immutable records of transactions and assets.
- Provision of decentralized, permanent and secure data storage.
|Financial records/models
|Public and private equities, bonds, commodities, spending and trading records, mortgage and loan records, microfinance, crowd-funding, voting rights and micro-charity
|Public records
|Birth, death and marriage certificates, passport, vehicle registration, voter registration, criminal records, permits for business, buildings and guns, business ownership records, regulatory records, court records
|Private records
|Contracts, signatures, wills, trusts and escrows
|Semi-public records
|Medical records, accounting records, HR records, degrees, certificates, business transaction records
|Physical Asset keys
|Home, hotel, car, locker, safety deposit etc.
|Coupons, vouchers, movie tickets, patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses for software, videogames, movies and books
|Data records like sports score, weather records, spam control, sim cards, weapon unlock codes
Table 1: Blockchain applications and services [13]
Future directions:
Leading platforms that are driving innovation in this area are Hyperledger, R3 and Ethereum [3]. These open source communities are at the foundation of the Blockchain platform technology "pyramid". Multiple horizontal and vertical platforms are being developed by IT vendors like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP etc. These companies are developing horizontal Blockchain platform based on the three open source technologies, mentioned above, at the base of the pyramid. Subsequently, this middleware serves as the middle layer of the pyramid. Customized solutions for different Blockchain verticals are being developed by different consulting companies like KPMG, Accenture and Cognizant etc. These system integrators and consulting companies constitute the top of the pyramid [3].
The field of Blockchain technology is at the nascent stage. It is anticipated that the enterprises will extend their existing IT systems with Blockchain based systems to test its functionality and upgrade internal business processes and models subsequently. However, it will take time for the industry to appreciate the real benefits of this technology and the value it could bring to an organization, before the core IT functions are completely transferred to this technology.
[1] Mazonka, Oleg. Blockchain: Simple Explanation. Journal of Reference, 29 December 2016.
[2] D. Puthal, N. Malik, S. P. Mohanty, E. Kougianos, and G. Das. Everything you Wanted to Know about the Blockchain: Its Promise, Components, Processes, and Problems. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 4, July 2018, pp. 06-14.
[3] Kaladhar Voruganti. Networking-for-nerds-blockchain-technologies [online]
Available: https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2018/01/15/networking-for-nerds-blockchain-technologies/
[4] V. Buterin. On public and private blockchains 2015 [online]
Available: https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/08/07/on-public-and-private-blockchains/.
[5] Z. Zheng, S. Xie, H. Dai, X. Chen, and H. Wang. An Overview of Blockchain Technology: Architecture, Consensus, and Future Trends. Proceedings of the IEEE International Congress on Big Data, pp. 557-564, 2017.
[6] R. Grinberg. Bitcoin: An Innovative Alternative Digital Currency. Hastings Science & Technology Law Journal, Vol. 4, pp. 159-208, 2012.
[7] S. Barber, X. Boyen, E. Shi, and E. Uzun. Bitter to better -- How to make bitcoin a better currency. Proceedings of the International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, pp. 399-414, 2012.
[8] S. Nakamoto. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. [Online]
Available: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf. Last visited 15 August 2018.
[9] N. Popper. There is Nothing Virtual About Bitcoin's Energy Appetite. The New York Times, 21st Jan 2018. [online]
Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/21/technology/bitcoin-mining-energy-consumption.html
Last Accessed on 15 August 2018.
[10] X. Li, P. Jiang, T. Chen, X. Luo, and Q. Wen. A Survey on the Security of Blockchain Systems. Future Generation Computer Systems, 2017, doi = https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2017.08.020.
[11] Iuon-Chang Lin, Tzu-Chun Liao. A Survey of Blockchain Security Issues and Challenges. International Journal of Network Security, Vol.19, No. 5, pp. 653-659, Sept. 2017.
[12] Thomas Mueller. Three simple steps to find the ultimate answer to the question: " When do I need Blockchain for my business?". [Online]
Available: https://medium.com/evan-network/three-simple-steps-to-find-the-ultimate-answer-to-the-question-when-do-i-need-blockchain-for-my-cd794ae10c40
[13] Melanie Swan. Blockchain-Blueprint for a new economy. O'Reilly, First edition, Feb. 2015.
[14] Zibin Zheng, Shaoan Xie, Hong-Ning Dai, Xiangping Chen, Huaimin Wang. Blockchain challenges and opportunities: A survey. International Journal of Web and Grid Services, pp. 352- 375, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2018.
Muhammad Fateh Khan SIal is currently serving as Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan. He has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (2008) from the National University of Sciences and Technology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He completed a Master's degree in Communication Engineering in 2010 from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He is a member of the Pakistan Engineering Council and a Professional member of IEEE. His research interests include 5th Generation networks, Signal Processing and Blockchain Technologies.
Zheng Yan is currently a full professor at the Xidian University, China and a visiting professor and Finnish academy research fellow at the Aalto University, Finland. She received the Doctor of Science in Technology from the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. She authored and co-authored about 200 peer-reviewed articles, 8 conference proceedings and solely authored two books. She is an inventor of 60+ granted patents and PCT patents, all of them were adopted or purchased by industry. Some of her granted patents are applied in international standards. She has given 20 keynotes and invited talks in international conferences and universities. Her research interests are in trust, security and privacy; data mining; mobile applications and services; social networking and cloud computing. Prof. Yan serves as an organizational and technical committee member for more than 80 international conferences and workshops. She is an associate editor of IEEE IoT Journal, Information Fusion, Information Sciences, IEEE Access, JNCA, Soft Computing, IEEE Blockchain Technical Briefs, Security and Communication Networks, etc. and a special issue leading guest editor of ACM TOMM, Future Generation Computer Systems, Computers & Security, IJCS, MONET, IEEE Systems Journal, etc. She is a founder steering committee co-chair of IEEE Blockchain conference. She is organizing and has organized 10+ conferences, such as IEEE Blockchain 2018, NSS/ICA3PP/IEEE CIT2017, IEEE TrustCom/BigDataSE/ISPA-2015, IEEE CIT2014, etc. Her recent awards include a number of Outstanding Leadership Awards for the IEEE conference organization; the 2017 IEEE ComSoc TCBD Best Journal Paper Award; Outstanding Associate Editor of 2017 for IEEE Access; EU Eureka Excellence Award (2017); Best Individual of Shaanxi Province from Abroad (2014), "100 Expert Plan" winner of Shaanxi Province, China (2011); Sisu Award of Nokia Research Center (2010); EU ITEA Bronze Achievement Award (2008). She is a senior member of IEEE.
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Ropin' Dreams gives a big thank you to all of the Volunteers, Friends, and Families for making our Christian Youth Night and 2019 PRCA Rodeo a success! We could not do it without the support of each and every one of you. We would also like to take a moment to recognize and thank our generous sponsors and supporters:
|City of Jourdanton
|City of Pleasanton
|Ag Pro
|Law Office of Jaime Trevino
|Bar K Cattle Company
|Legend Tack & Silver
|Boot Barn
|Leon Coffee
|Brohill Realty
|Lynwood Building Materials
|CT Party Rentals LLC
|Mesquite Tree
|Cactus Ropes
|Methodist Healthcare of San Antonio
|Chaparral Veterinary Center
|MG Building Supply
|Chili Bandera Restaurant
|Chuck & Kris Fretwell
|Peggy's Circle V
|Dan & Leslie Kinsel
|Rancho Notso Grande
|DC Industries
|Retama Equine
|Donnell Ranch
|Robertson Oilfield Consulting
|Ellis Cattle Ranch
|San Antonio Rose Palace
|Field 5 Services
|Sharon Miller
|Fike Construction
|Soup Bone Cattle Company
|Forage Specialties
|State Farm
|Garage Force
|Strawberry Pines
|Gilbert Marquez (Worship Music)
|Teed Off at Cancer
|Goosehead Insurance
|Trey Johnson Ministries
|H&B Packing
|Tuttle Motors
|Jay Lindsey
|TXO Services
|Jimmy Lindsey
|Laser Printers


text:
Drawdown is the first comprehensive plan, ever, to reverse global warming. It is a groundbreaking research project and the book by the same title is a worldwide bestseller. Drawdown serves as part of the scientific underpinning of our work, so as an intervention we initiated a Dutch translation and open collaboration network. The intervention so far resulted in the establishment of a pan-European Drawdown Europe Research Association. See drawdowneurope.org.
Drawdown in Dutch
Climate Cleanup foundation together with Maurits Groen publishers initiated the Dutch translation and partner network, aiming to bring Drawdown from plan to action – especially focusing on the methods that actually draw down carbon from the oceans and the atmosphere.
A broad network of strong partners embraced the Dutch Drawdown translation and the network. Please join the Drawdown NL LinkedIn group or contact us to become part of the coalition or for any other questions or ideas for collaboration.
The website of Drawdown global can be found at drawdown.org, Drawdown Europe at drawdowneurope.org. The Dutch translation can be ordered here.


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Who we are
We are a high level web development company that specialise in
Laravel and Magento.
We use the revolutionary Aero Ecommerce platform (built on Laravel) and Magento to build fast ecommerce sites that answer the exact needs of our clients.
We also use Laravel to build unique bespoke software systems for a variety of types of business throughout the UK.
What we do
We build, maintain, customise and develop web based systems such as Magento, Wordpress, Joomla, etc.
We also build systems from scratch using Laravel to exactly match a certain specification or requirement.
We integrate these systems together to form networks of connected systems and automate processes.
Experienced in large and small projects.
Who we do it for
We build systems for all types of businesses that use the internet. From schools and local government to catalogue companies, transport companies, holiday companies, etc. etc. There is no limit.
Acorn Media UK
We have had a very long and successful working relationship with Acorn Media UK which started in early 2004 by updating a Microsoft Access based Ordering System to a web based PHP & MySQL Order Life Cycle Management System completely developed in-house at Ecomus, since then we have continued to develop this system and have built it into a vast system that now manages every part of Acorn's business.


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Hey All,
On Saturday, Colby Brown and myself hosted a Photowalk through the coastal region of Perth called Fremantle, it's a beautiful part of the city with many historical buildings and monuments. Over 160 people turned up to take part in the photowalk, it made for a great mix of people from the very young to the older members. We started at Kings Square with some giveaways and prizes from our awesome sponsors and then headed off on our walk through Fremantle, over to the Maritime Museum and then finishing up the day with sunset at Bathers Beach.
Many prizes were given away and there are quite a few more to come this week, I'll be going through the photos from the Facebook page, Google+ Page as well as the Instagram and Twitter posts with the hashtags #Perth2013 and #SeeAustralia. Once I've picked a few winners, I'll be announcing them here as well as on the event pages. So keep your entries coming, the photos must be from the photowalk though.
I had a great time connecting with other photographers, I'm going to be looking into organising another photowalk later in the year, a few locations have been suggested, the hills are a possibility. Sign up to my email list to be kept in the loop about the photowalks!
Here are some of my photos from the photowalk:
Hope you all enjoyed yourselves, the feedback I've had so far has been great. Looking forward to doing another one again!
Paul Pichugin


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We finished Level 6 this spring, but he's such a great speller now that I debated whether or not we should do All About Spelling Level 7. The last few levels have been easy for him, so I thought that All About Spelling had worked itself out of a job. But, then I took a closer look at Level 7, and I knew I wanted him to finish strong.
I am an affiliate for All About Learning Press.
How I set up All About Spelling 7
- Progress Chart and anchor stickers
- Word Banks for Level 7
- Syllable Division Rules
- Spelling Strategies
- Practice Sheets for Steps 12 through 14
- Homophones List
- Word Trees for Latin Roots
- Word Cards
- Certificate of Achievement
- Warming Up with a review of Phonogram Cards 1-72
- letter tiles augh, gu, and mb
- Sound Cards 1-90
- Key Cards 1-25
- Syllable Division Rules and Syllable Types
- Suffix Rules
- Spelling Strategies
- Dictation
- Review
- New Teaching/Spelling Strategy Practice
- Spell on Paper
- Homophones Pairs
- Dictation
- Writing Station
- Additional Words
Since levels are not grade levels, Level 7 will take you through high school level spelling and includes 9th-12th grade level words as well as strategies to spell any word.
How did this benefit my homeschool?
Word analysis and spelling rules and strategies teach students HOW to spell. These tools can be used with ANY word. My students are equipped to be efficient and excellent spellers.
Vocabulary is naturally being learned through spelling. That's a win-win!
Malachi is a confident speller. His confidence grew every year by leaps and bounds. He doesn't think he needs spelling anymore, but we are in the homestretch, so we are going to finish strong!
What's next?
After we finish Level 7, we will be on the look out for new and unfamiliar words in print all around us. Having been equipped with all the right tips and tools, like Word Analysis and Spelling Strategies, we will slay those hard to spell words. Read What Happens after All About Spelling to learn more.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely! I recommend a lot of programs, but I only highly recommend a select few that have truly changed my homeschool for the better. All About Spelling is one of those programs that has made a significant impact on our homeschool.
I've mentioned before that All About Learning programs can be teacher intensive, but the later volumes take less time and are easier to teach. I promise! We can do one lesson in one 10 minute sitting, so I don't take a whole week to do a lesson. I do the lesson, read the word bank, review the word cards, and take a spelling test. I sometimes throw in those extra words I mentioned above during the test to make sure he understood the spelling pattern taught. It's super easy!
Tip: I haven't used the tiles for several levels. My son does not need them anymore. I teach right from the manual, covering up the answers as I go. This makes All About Spelling super easy to do. Of course, if my son needed the hands on aspect of the tiles, they are there! The tiles are a critical component of the program, but as your child gets older, he or she may not need them anymore.
With only 24 lessons in the manual, we can take our time and spread it out over 24 weeks with plenty of room for breaks when other subjects are more pressing, but it took us 3 months to do level 6. The amount of time spent in review gets shorter and shorter the closer you get to the end. All that hard work in Levels 1-3 starts to pay off after Level 4! So if you have finished Level 3 or 4 and are wondering if you should move on, I vote yes!
We will start a new journey with All About Spelling this year when my youngest starts Level 1. He's actually been begging me to start! Now that he has finished All About Reading Level 1, he's feeling pretty smart. My 5th grader will do Level 5 this year, and she's feeling more confident than she ever has.
Is there anything I don't like about teaching with All About Spelling?
All About Spelling can feel "teacher intensive." In the beginning it was more work than I wanted to do, and our lessons lasted longer than liked, so I didn't pull it out daily. I usually only did 2 reading lessons and 1 spelling lesson a week. When I felt like "couch schooling," I used a moveable alphabet app and the Phonogram Sounds App on my phone, and found other creative ways to make it work without using the tiles because I believe it is a valuable and worthwhile program. But, that's the only thing I can think of that's not to like - I can't just hand my child a workbook. But, that's just another reason why I feel like a real teacher with this program - I'm actually teaching! Over time, it has become our easiest subject, so I'm glad I stuck it out.
Rest assured, it gets easier as you go!
All in all, All About Spelling has really made a difference for me and my children.
I am a better teacher with this program. I am applying the rule, tips, and strategies in our everyday life. I love how smart I am!
My children are better spellers. I still have to remind them of concepts, but less and less, and I'm so happy to be in the homestretch with the last level in All About Spelling.
Connect with All About Learning Press on:
Facebook: @allaboutlearningpress
Instagram: allaboutlearning
Pinterest: @learningpress


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Do you have team members who are hungry for growth but unsure how to achieve it?
You need a coach to develop each individual's capabilities, and evolve the organization to support and nurture them.
Does your team struggle to deliver? Is the quality of your product suffering?
You need an objective third party to investigate and diagnose the root causes, then work with you to address them.
Are you looking for guidance on your technical direction?
You need a subject matter expert to review your technical architecture and roadmap, to ensure it will satisfy your product requirements.
I offer multiple pricing and billing models, depending on the engagement.
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I'd love to hear from you! Please fill in the details below, and we can discuss more.


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Our Commitment to
Socially and Environmentally Responsible Trade
Frequently Asked Questions
Q – What are fair flowers?
A – Fair flowers refers to social and environmental responsibility. Socially it means workers are paid a fair living wage which gives them the opportunity to cover basic needs for their family. Also, international health and safety laws are enforced. Environmentally it ensures that efforts are being made to conserve natural resources. Fair flowers offer consumers an ethical, more aware choice in the world market and walks hand in hand with the Fair Trade initiative.
Q - Are your flowers more expensive now because they are meeting such high standards?
A – No, at McKean's we work very hard in coordination with our wholesalers to seek out the best product in a cost effective way.
Q – Does this mean less selection of flowers? What about the quality?
A – No. We source our flowers from Canada, Ecuador, Colombia and Europe. McKean's ensures the same great selection you've come to expect. We feel that the quality of our product continually improves, so now you can feel even better about your floral purchases!
Q – What does fair living and working standards mean for these workers?
A – In a nutshell this means that the workers are provided with things that we often take for granted like.
- A safe working environment that meets international labor standards.
- A wage that enables a fair standard of living for workers and their families.
- The prohibition of child labor.
- Support with training and education of employees.
Q – What are considered responsible growing practices?
A – This refers to environmentally sensitive production, which includes reduction of pesticides, recycling, composting and the responsible elimination of waste. These practices ensure that soil is preserved and re-used and that the water supply is kept clean for use by surrounding communities.
Q – Does it really make a difference?
A – By purchasing flowers exclusively from fair farms, this forces farms with less than ethical values to re-assess their practices in order to stay in business. We feel that everyone can play part in making this world a better place to live. It is a pro-active approach that we are proud to offer and sincerely hope our customers embrace this initiative.
Q – How do I know which flowers are fair flowers?
A – We only buy flowers from farms that are certified as fair trade, belong to a reputable fair trade organization or meet specific criteria set forth by McKean's.
Q – Where can I get more information?
A – www.sierraeco.com
We'd love to hear what you think!


text: Hey folks! The sun is shining, people are smiling and folks are thinking about what they'll do this summer. Well, if you want to get your hands on some delicious & ridiculously fresh vegetables and whiling away the summer at Marpole's neighbourhood farm, it's time to sign up for our harvest box program. The first harvest box will be in our member's kitchens May 29th. Sign up now. Space is running out.


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Five Pillars of Islam
Shahada - Declaration Faith
"There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." This declaration of faith is called the Shahadah, a simple formula that all the faithful pronounce. The significance of this declaration is the belief that the only purpose of life is to serve and obey God, and this is achieved through the teachings and practices of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.
Salah - Prayer
Salah is the name for the obligatory prayers that are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. There is no hierarchical authority in Islam and there are no priests. Prayers are led by a learned person who knows the Qur'an and is generally chosen by the congregation.
Zakat - Charit
An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word zakah means both "purification" and "growth." Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need and for the society in general. Like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
Sawm - Fasting
Every year in the month of Ramada-n, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown--abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations with their spouses.
Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are menstruating, pregnant or nursing, are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year if they are healthy and able. Children begin to fast (and to observe prayers) from puberty, although many start earlier.
Hajj - Piligrimage
The pilgrimage to Makkah (the hajj) is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to do so. Nevertheless, over two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another.
The annual hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so that hajj and Ramada-n fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter). Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments that strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God.