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Gorgas Case 2018-09 |
The Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine 2018 spent its last week with a 4-day field trip to Iquitos, Peru on the banks of the Amazon River. Iquitos, with a population of approximately 450,000, is the largest city in the world that is reachable only by air or by river. The nearest road ends over 400 km away. The following patient was seen on the inpatient service of the Regional Hospital of Loreto. History: 30-yo-male, admitted with a 4-day history of fever, chills, myalgia, progressive dyspnea and jaundice. Initial symptoms were myalgia, predominately in the calves, chills, weakness and fever. Three days later the muscle pain was severe enough to prevent walking, fever persisted and dyspnea increased. Jaundice was noticed on admission. He denies any abdominal pain or diarrhea. PMH: 4 years ago, classic dengue with outpatient treatment. Surgery to arm 10 years earlier after trauma. Epidemiology: Born and lives in Iquitos, works as a welder. No history of routine vaccines or against yellow fever, or hepatitis B. No history of malaria, TB, known TB contact, intravenous drugs, or high-risk sexual activity. He lives near a river and consumes non-potable water from the river. He also swims in a pond near his house. There is no history of recent flooding. Physical Examination: T: 37.9°C, HR: 105bpm, RR: 32/min, BP: 100/60mmHg, Sat: 95% on Venturi Mask with 15L Oxygen. Acutely ill patient with marked jaundice in both skin and sclera (Image A). No Rash. No lymphadenopathy. Chest: Rales were present in both lungs; predominantly in the bases. Abdominal: Mild pain and tenderness with deep palpations and no hepatosplenomegaly. Cardiovascular: Normal heart sounds, no murmurs. Glasgow scale 15/15 on admission. Laboratory Examination and Imaging: Hct: 28%; Hb 11.6 g/dl; WBC 8,200 (84 neutrophils, 7 lymphs, 8 monos); 39,000 platelets INR: 1.17; creatinine 2.71 mg/dl (N=<1.2); urea: 80 mg/dl (N=<45); Glucose: 140 mg/dl; total protein 5.74 g/dl (N 6.6-8.3); albumin 3.51 g/dl (normal); Total bilirubin: 10.6 mg/dl (N=<1.2), 6.37 mg/dl direct. ALT 75 U/L (N=< 33); AST 107 U/L (N=<35); Alk phosphatase 614 mg/dl (N=<270); Chest x-ray: Extensive diffuse alveolar and interstitial infiltrates bilaterally. (Image B) UPCH Case Editors: Carlos Seas, Course Director / Karen Luhmann, Associate Coordinator
UAB Case Editor: David O. Freedman, Course Director Emeritus / German Henostroza, Course Director |
Diagnosis: Weil´s Syndrome (Severe Leptospirosis)
Discussion: Positive IgM for leptospirosis; the test used has a reported sensitivity of 84% and specificity of 91% for the diagnosis of acute leptospirosis [Cien Saude Colet 2017;22:4001]. Negative malaria smear. Negative HIV and Hepatitis B serology. Positive IgM for dengue with negative NS1 antigen, both taken the day of admission. The positive IgM for dengue with a negative NS1 antigen taken before seven days of illness makes the diagnosis of acute dengue less likely in this case. In addition, liver compromise with transaminitis in dengue is common, but the constellation of symptoms and signs, in particular the presence of muscle pain, the development of significant jaundice with relatively normal liver transaminases, acute renal failure and pulmonary involvement is most highly suggestive of leptospirosis. Serology by the Microagglutination technique (MAT) for leptospirosis, which is considered the gold standard for diagnosis was not available at the Hospital. Leptospirosis needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of any undifferentiated tropical fever. It has protean clinical manifestations and at differing stages of the illness may be impossible to distinguish clinically from yellow fever, dengue, rickettsial disease, typhoid, malaria, brucellosis, tuberculosis, or viral hepatitis. Typically, leptospirosis is described as having an initial septicemic phase, which may be mild, with fever, myalgia, headache, conjunctival suffusion (see Gorgas Case 2008-04 and Gorgas Case 2009-04), and abdominal wall pain. Our patient had the typical muscle tenderness in calves often described as distinguishing features of leptospirosis and marked jaundice, but did not present with conjunctival suffusion. The illness is often self-limited but in some cases, after an apparent recovery, may present a biphasic illness and progress to an immune stage manifest by fever, meningitis, and uveitis. The two distinct stages may be obscured and run together in severe disease (Weil's Disease) manifested by the classic defining triad of jaundice, hemorrhage, and renal failure. Weil´s disease has a mortality of 10%. The true incidence of pulmonary involvement is unclear, appears to have increased in recent years, and may be as high as 70%. Patients may present with symptoms ranging from cough, dyspnea and hemoptysis to ARDS [Respirology 2018;23:28 and Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Feb 1;40(3):343-51]. The present case shows a typical radiographic evolution that is thought to represent intra-alveolar and interstitial hemorrhage [Braz J Infect Dis. 2007 Feb;11(1):142-8]. Pulmonary involvement has emerged as the main cause of death due to leptospirosis in some countries. Jaundice and bilirubinemia out of proportion with hepatocellular damage is the usual finding in leptospirosis. This is manifest as significant jaundice in the face of an SGOT and SGPT that is no more than 3-4X normal with an alkaline phosphatase that may be as high as 10X normal. The mechanism of the cholestasis in leptospirosis is not entirely clear. In severe or prolonged disease, renal damage will occur and the sediment is usually active. Non-oliguric hypokalemic renal failure is characteristic. Progression to oliguric renal failure would be predictive of higher mortality. More recently, neutrophil and platelet counts have been identified as predictors of mortality [Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2017;111:531]. Isolation of Leptospira in culture is difficult and insensitive. Culture in special media in tubes held at 28-30°C for prolonged periods is necessary. Blood is only positive in the first week of illness after which urine becomes progressively more positive. Cultured leptospires are only visible and confirmed using dark-field microscopy. Diagnosis is most often serological and retrospective [MAT], IgM ELISA, or a commercially available rapid dipstick test. Leptospirosis is endemic in almost every country but more so in the tropics. The incidence of leptospirosis in the Americas is difficult to determine. A survey of 24 countries performed between 1996-2005 showed that Brazil (3165 annual cases) and Cuba (558 annual cases) had the highest burden of disease [Rev Panam Salud Publica 2012;32:169]. Peru reported approximately 100 cases annually during that study period. Traditionally an occupational disease and a disease of poverty in peri-urban slums, it has also emerged as a disease of adventure travelers (hikers, bikers, boaters, swimmers) that have contact with standing or moving water. Leptospires may penetrate conjunctiva, macerated skin, or possibly the oropharynx. Leptospirosis is maintained in the environment by long-term carriage and excretion of the organism from the urinary system of asymptomatic animal carriers. Rodents are most frequently implicated with swine, cattle, and dogs next most frequent, but the full spectrum of mammals forming the reservoir is unclear. Our patient told us that he has seen rodents inside his house and that he uses to swim in a pond near his house. Classification of leptospires is complex and obscure to most clinicians. While most human isolates are L. interrogans, further division into a number of species using DNA relatedness is hampered by a traditional naming system that uses serologically defined antigenic determinants (serovars and serogroups) that may be shared by two or more species. Clinical trials support the use of intravenous antibiotics for severe disease. Cefotaxime or ceftriaxone are equivalent to penicillin and much more convenient due to once daily dosing [Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36(12):1507-13.; Clin Infect Dis. 2004;39(10):1417-24.]. Milder disease may be treated with oral doxycycline. Efficacy appears best when treatment is begun within 4 days of illness onset. The patient deteriorated over the first day in the hospital after several episodes of hemoptysis progressing to marked respiratory distress for which he required intubation and mechanical ventilation in the ICU. Renal function normalized by day 5 after three sessions of hemodialysis. He was treated with IV ceftriaxone 1g/d for 10 days with full recovery but some residual jaundice at discharge. He will be followed by our colleagues at the Regional Hospital. |


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This outdoor activity takes a look at the impacts of humans introducing invasive species such as dandelions into local environments. The lesson involves creating and examining study plots. Students will organize and draw their own conclusions from the data they collect to determine the presence and prevalence of any invasives. Opportunities are provided to discuss benefits and problems as well as any actions that might be taken in an effort to manage invasive species.
The resource includes a detailed description of how to conduct the lesson, guiding questions, curriculum connections, materials needed, a "Teacher Background Information" box , step-by-step instructions for lesson delivery, and guidance on assessment and evaluation.
This outdoor activity can be incorporated with Science curriculum units that focus on the study of ecosystems (gr. 7) and biodiversity (gr. 6). The extension activities suggested encourage learning that is locally-focused and made relevant to the lives of the learners.
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

subset: commoncrawl


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MauiTime has published an issue featuring more than 100 3D photos. The 80-page issue–the annual Best of Maui readers poll, which highlights the island's top people, places and businesses in a number of categories–hit stands July 22.
"We believe we've created the world's largest 3D newspaper; we haven't found any other publication that's done it on this scale," said Publisher Tommy Russo. "In that sense it was a leap of faith, but I'm proud of our team for pulling it off."
Click here for a flip through book of the issue.
To achieve the 3D effect, MauiTime's sales and production departments utilized Fuji's Finepix Real 3D W1 3D camera, which allowed the production department to produce red-blue anaglyph images. Without Fuji's amazing 3D camera this successful publishing gimmick would not have been possible. "It was a lot of work, definitely much more than a normal issue," said Art Director Chris Skiles. "We were learning this process as we went."
Due to the unique, unprecedented nature of the undertaking and limitations with the island's only printing press, prior to distribution, 3D glasses were hand-inserted into all 18,000 copies of the paper to allow readers to view the 3D images.
"Usually the layout and images in the paper support the words, but for this issue it was really the other way around," said Editor Jacob Shafer. "Of course we hope people will read what we wrote, but we know the main focus will be on the visuals."
On the sales side, Russo said it was exciting to bring something different to his clients. "We've seen a few national magazines sell 3D to major brands," said Russo. "But we were selling 3D to local mom and pops–yogurt stands and Mexican restaurants."
Click here for a flip through book of the ads.
The 3D issue marks another step forward for MauiTime, which in the last year has launched a comprehensive redesign and earned local and national awards. Earlier this month, the paper earned second place at the 2010 AltWeekly Awards, for excellence in cover design.
"We're a small company with limited resources, but we strive to be an innovative content company for news and entertainment on Maui," said Russo. "We want to keep giving our readers things they've never seen before."


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Foreign Minister Darren Henfield had a less than stellar beginning in the House of Assembly as he proved himself to be a captive of begrudgeful public officials. It is always interesting how new Ministers despite advice from training in public administration always become captives of the people who were sitting advising the last man in the job. It happens every time and it has happened now with him. Imagine a Minister of Foreign Affairs apologizing because he has to travel overseas when the very nature of the job requires travel. That's what Mr. Henfield did to cheers in the Foreign Office. They loved it—all those who don't come to work, come to work late and who disappear for days at a time. They are back in charge now.
Indeed he just came back from Chairing the Organization of American States meeting (OAS) in Washington D.C. Wonder why he didn't do that by conference call. Then to attack all contract holders in the Ministry and condemn them as superfluous. Wow. This can't be a man who was helped all the way up the chain in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force by the PLP. We forget so quickly. Anyway, suffer it to be so. His remarks were made to the press about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was a pointed attack on Fred Mitchell and so well if the Minister and his officials think that will get them somewhere go right ahead.


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Japanese restaurant Hot Stone on Angel's Chapel Market is a lovely little neighbourhood joint, with great sushi and the eponymous hot stones for a bit of DIY cookery. Normally closed on Mondays, it's now open for a special omakase experience of 14 courses chosen by Executive Chef Padam Raj Rai. It's served at the counter, with three sittings night and just four seats for each (to allow for social distancing) so it's a real intimate dinner.
It's a 90-minute experience and all the dishes are prepared right in front of you, meaning you get to watch Chef Padam in action. As well as being a bit of a whizz with a knife, he's very entertaining, cracking jokes and rattling off where all the ingredients come from and the way he's prepared the dishes at quite the pace.
The first burst of dishes include squid with okra & nori, hand dived scallop with truffle ponzu sauce, seared butterfish with hamachi & green jalapeno sauce, and a mix of fatty and lean tuna sashimi. The fish is insanely fresh and everything is served on beautiful Japanese ceramics so it's all super pretty too. There's a brief meaty interlude as a piece of A5 wagyu beef gets cooked on the hot stone; as you'd expect from a such a premium cut of meat, it melts in your mouth.
That's followed by a selection of sushi, including seabass, salmon, fatty tuna and unagi nigiri, and a tuna & salmon handroll, all prepared expertly right then and there, and Chef Padam makes it look ridiculously easy. The fourteenth and final course is small square of matcha cheesecake with passion fruit, and it rounds off the whole thing perfectly.
Turning out 14 plates without a dud amongst them is no easy feat but it's exactly what Hot Stone have done with this omakase menu, so it's one not to miss if you're big into Japanese food.
9 Chapel Market, The Angel, London, N1 9EZ


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How to Keep Your Customers Happy as Your Business Grows
Growth is the primary goal for most businesses. It is this quest to expand that fuels innovation and sparks creativity. We seek out improved processes, procedures, and ideas to attract new business and customers. However, the retention of existing customers is just as important as the acquisition of new ones. If your business is losing old customers while gaining new ones, you're not growing at all. You're standing still. Here are some great reminders or ways your business can improve its customer service, support, and marketing to attract new customers while keeping your existing ones.
Keep Your Promises
To satisfy existing customers, you must keep your promises and fulfill obligations previously put in place. That could mean making improvements to your website, finishing a project by a select date, or merely touching base via email. The substance of the promise matters much less than the fact that it is kept. Your customers need to feel that they are still a priority to you and to your business. Find tools to help better communicate with customers and prospects.
Continue to Provide Top-Notch Support
When you brought in your customer, odds are you did so by providing them with stellar service and support. Emails were responded to promptly, phone calls returned, and concerns were addressed immediately. As you continue to acquire new customers and expand, maintaining this level of service and support is essential. Your existing customers have become accustomed to a certain kind of relationship and if that dynamic changes, they will take note of it. The goal of your business should be to keep all customers happy, not just the new ones.
Some tools to help support better customer service include live chat on your website, offering a number customers can call, email marketing to keep them in the loop, and simple outbound calls to connect with those customers stuck in your sales or service process.
Respond to feedback
Whether a new customer or an existing one, taking into account feedback is critical in growing your company. In listening to customer concerns, compliments, and general thoughts, you'll be able to better understand the varying needs of your base. Make sure your customers always feel heard because the comments received could help improve your company, enabling you to attract even more customers and business in the future. Responding to feedback will also have an impact on your business reviews, so stay on top of your inbox, messages, and phones.
Maintain That Personal Touch
While they may seem minor, things like personalized emails, holiday cards, or even coupons, do matter to your customers. It shows them that you care and are willing to go above and beyond for them. With minimal effort and time, you can maintain that personal touch with your customers, which will make them feel special and appreciated. Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays should all be viewed as opportunities to engage your customers. A simple email marketing campaign can ensure you never miss an opportunity to stay in touch with your clients.
Be Honest
In most cases, honesty is the best policy. By providing realistic deadlines and underpromising/overdelivering, you are laying the groundwork for a relationship built on a foundation of trust. Customers who trust the businesses they associate with are the ones who tend to stick around the longest. There is a direct correlation between honesty and customer loyalty. If you are honest with them, customers will be honest with you. This synchronicity will help you expand in ways you never thought possible. To help fill any gaps, you may want to step away from your current business, map all customer touchpoints, and then apply new methods of communicating with them throughout their customer journey.
Keeping your existing customers happy while seeking innovative ways to grow your business is a recipe for success and substantial growth. The team at Mobile Marketing has solved many of these challenges by providing a complete set of solutions to address how to manage your digital business. Contact us today and get a free digital assessment so that we can help you grow your business and best engage your customer base.


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Click Image for Gallery
Enhance security with plenty of built-in and optional security features, increase productivity with fast print speeds, and print from smartphones, tablets, or laptops with mobile printing options.5
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Leading Enterprise Class Engineering Document Control Suite Now Available As A Privately Hosted Solution
McLaren Software, leaders in engineering document control and project collaboration solutions, announces the availability of McLaren Enterprise – OnAir, its enterprise document and content management suite widely used in the construction industry.
McLaren Enterprise is a highly configurable enterprise scale engineering document control suite for Asset Owner Operators and EPC contractors designed to help ensure the safety, efficiency, and compliance of capital projects and asset operations.
First released in 2005, McLaren Enterprise is the leading enterprise scale engineering document control suite for owner operators and EPC contractors to support capital projects and asset operation and maintenance.
McLaren Enterprise – OnAir adds a privately hosted option to the existing deployment options of a turnkey On-Premise or as a certified solution for EMC- Documentum or IBM FileNet P8 ECM (Enterprise Content Management) platforms.
The availability of McLaren Enterprise – OnAir combines the functionality, configuration capability, security, and business integration options of an enterprise scale on-premise application with the flexibility of cloud computing.
McLaren Enterprise – OnAir is supported by the McLaren 'OnAir' cloud infrastructure comprising of three secure data centers located in the USA, UAE, and UK and the associated communications network. The McLaren OnAir cloud infrastructure has been proven over a decade to provide high availability, security, and performance to McLaren SaaS (Software as a Service) customers in all five continents.
"The availability of McLaren Enterprise – OnAir as a privately hosted option is a breakthrough in the enterprise engineering document control market," commented Paul Muir, CEO of McLaren Software. "Customers can now take advantage of the depth of functionality and scalability of an enterprise scale solution without the need to provide or maintain a supporting IT infrastructure."
McLaren Enterprise – OnAir will be available from Q4 2012
View the company website or original press release.


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I find this an extraordinarily effective, if emotionally heavy-handed visual status update on U.S. military activity in Afghanistan. It's found (without any story link or other context) in today's NYT Pictures of the Day slideshow.
Looking at the image, you could say the message is "we're getting killed out there." … You could only say that, however, after reading the caption (after the jump).
(image: Bob Strong/Reuters)
"American soldiers held on to boxes and shielded themselves from the prop wash as a helicopter landed at Observation Post Mace in eastern Afghanistan's remote Nuristan Province."


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I have been meaning to share this with you ladies for some time now, but honestly I didn't think the time was right! How can I tell you how much I like the 21 Day Wellness Revolution while I am not living it. I originally read The 21 Day Wellness Revolution a couple months ago and I enjoyed it so much until "the spirit of the season" came into my kitchen and derailed my wellness train.
So, Hello mid-January! Its time to get back on the wellness track and stop using "the holidays" as an excuse!
As a Mom of three I really appreciate how The 21 Day Wellness Revolution is so easy to read and follow along; Timmie has broken the course into weekly sections and daily sections. Along with the information she includes "homework" which is as simple as making a grocery list devoid of processed foods; sometimes that extra encouragement is all we need!
Wellness for your mind, body and soul!
To be honest when I think of wellness I think about eating well (good-for-you-food) and taking care of your body with exercise; I hadn't put much thought into meditation at all. However, Timmie shares the importance of meditation, as well as how-to-get-started and how to fit it in to your life! And I found once you get into the swing of it, it isn't daunting at all!
Wellness isn't about dieting!
When I use the word "diet" I immediately think about a "plan" that limits what I can and cannot eat and sure I lose weight with these "plans" but I am extremely unpleasant to be around! In my experience when I'm done with the diet, I'm done with keeping the weight off too!
"Allow yourself to indulge. Give yourself the gift of 20% food freedom! Food in and of
itself isn't evil. A diet and lifestyle that includes your favourite foods is the most
sustainable kind, and the most effective for solidifying behavioural change."
Sugar is the enemy!
I think most of us already knows this but Timmie gets into the details of why (refined) sugar is bad for us and what we can do to cut it out of our lives. I love the recipes she shares along the way too!
Thinking outside the box!
Timmie encourages us to think about non-traditional methods, such as herbs, of strengthen our bodies and minds. I appreciate her information and I would suggest that you read everything with an open mind! I don't want to give too much information away but I would suggest that you work through the entire course, The 21 Day Wellness Revolution, and let me know what you think!
About the Author
Timmie Wanechko is a nutrition and lifestyle coach, fitness and yoga instructor, health blogger, and freelance writer. As the founder of Sassy Wellness and the creator of the 21 Day Wellness Revolution, she lives her passion by helping women live their
happiest and healthiest lives through her writing, classes, workshops, and coaching. She lives in Edmonton, AB with her husband and two sons.
You can find more information and purchase The 21 Day Revolution HERE!


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As a large number of summer activities moved online due to COVID-19, the Stuart Weitzman School of Design partnered with the nonprofit organization The Fresh Air Fund to launch a first-of-its-kind virtual studio. Led by Penn Praxis Design fellows, Fresh Air Everywhere was an intensive seven-week program that provided high school students with an introduction to architecture and landscape architecture while fostering skills in communication and community engagement.
A spirit of giving back
The goal of the virtual studio was to provide an enriching summer experience for high schoolers who had lost out on summer activities, and to support Weitzman students and recent graduates who had lost out on summer internships. "We've always had a spirit of giving back, and we knew that it was going to be a difficult summer," says Lori Kanter Tritsch, a Penn alumna and member of the Board of Overseers for the Weitzman School, who helped connect Penn Praxis Director Ellen Neises with The Fresh Air Fund.
Earlier in the summer, The Fresh Air Fund, whose goal is to provide New York City children from low-income communities with opportunities to connect to the outdoors, was in the process of re-imagining its typical summer programming, and connecting with Penn provided a unique opportunity to empower students through design-based thinking. "Connecting kids to the outdoors is one reality, but we also provide opportunities to explore and meet new people," says Fresh Air Fund Executive Director Fatima Shama. Another goal of the program, says Shama, was to provide stipends for New York City high school students who rely on the Summer Youth Employment Program, which was canceled this summer due to the pandemic.
Neises brought together a team of Penn Praxis Design Fellows, students and recent graduates from the architecture, fine arts, and landscape architecture departments, who took on the development of a curriculum and preparing and shipping packages of drawing materials to the homes of 150 high schoolers, all in a matter of weeks. Then, during the seven-week program, "campers" met online in small groups from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every weekday, participating in a mix of online and offline activities with virtual lessons led by a Design Fellow as instructor, a Fresh Air mentor, and a Weitzman alum or faculty member.
Along with attending guest lectures and collaborating and critiquing the work of their peers, the program also helped connect students with resources and mentors from architecture and landscape architecture. The Point Community Development Corporation in the Bronx, The Beam Center in Brooklyn, and the Black Rock Forest Consortium in Cornwall, New York, helped students think about the context for their design work, provided comments on work in progress, and connected the young people to resources in New York to help them continue to explore career paths. Many faculty supported the Design Fellows by participating in reviews of the student work.
Creative, honest, and responsive designs
Each camper completed two design projects, the design of the nature center at The Fresh Air Fund's Sharpe Reservation and a "breathing room" for their own borough, a space that could be broadly interpreted from a place for social activity or exercise, a way to improve air quality, or installations that stimulate conversations on racism and the Black Lives Matter movement which campers presented virtually during the last week of the program. Proposed redesigns for the Sharpe Nature Center included a tree library, an adventure course, and a multistory treehouse, while many breathing room projects combined green, natural areas with space to create art and connect with others in the community.
Natalia Revelo La Rotta, a third-year master of architecture student and a co-founder of Inclusion in Design, saw the summer studio not only as an opportunity to work with students who were new to design but also as a way to incorporate more diversity into a design studio. Working with fellow program coordinators David Johnson and Xan Lillehei, Revelo La Rotta helped put together a curriculum that incorporated non-European perspectives and guest speakers of color. "A lot of the people we brought in to speak were people that would look like the students, and the references in the projects that we used to encourage their design thinking were also highlighting works of people of color across disciplines," says Revelo La Rotta.
Second-year master of architecture student and Design Fellow Reem Abi Samra says that one of the most challenging yet invigorating experiences as an instructor was emphasizing how and when students were engaging with the design process, such as when they talked about issues of space in their community and postulating a solution, however simple. "What you are doing right now is designing by just thinking of the problem and finding a solution," Abi Samra would tell her students. "Defining what design and architecture means, and teaching that thinking, was the most challenging and most fun experience."
Beyond being drawn to their creative and honest approach to design, Revelo La Rotta says that the students were also adept at taking in community feedback they received at the halfway point of their projects. "At first we were asking them to think for themselves. Then, through the breathing room project, we're asking them to think about their communities and how to make the designs more inclusive," she says. "These students were able to take this criticism, adapt to it and understand the core issues of why they are being asked this, and respond to it appropriately."
The power of design-based thinking
Shama hopes that Fresh Air Everywhere helped students learn more about career opportunities available in architecture, landscape architecture and in design more broadly. "This was an important summer for our kids to understand that they matter," says Shama. "I hope some of that is what young people get to take away, not to mention the new skills and vocabulary, but a sense of self and a sense of hope."
Like Shama, Neises was inspired by the success of this summer studio and hopes to continue exploring virtual opportunities in the future: "My dream is that we could do design/build projects in the future, where students are part of both designing and building something."
Fresh Air Everywhere was also an opportunity for Design Fellows to meet students from outside their own departments, a rare opportunity to see firsthand the diverse set of tools, worldviews, and approaches used in different types of design. "Even the instructors were such a diverse group of people," says Abi Samra about both the instructors' fields and cultural backgrounds. "It was nice to hear from each other, and it felt more interesting to have such a different group of instructors and students to be part of this program."
In addition to the opportunity to diversify both the curriculum and the lineup of speakers and guests, Revelo La Rotta adds that an important facet of the studio was to get the students to ask questions, something she hopes that they take from the program. "Something that I kept urging was to question the information given to them, even what we tell them. Even if they don't go into design, every profession suffers from racism, sexism, and classism Design thinking and questioning the status quo is a way of being able to advocate for themselves," says Revelo La Rotta.
Kanter Tritsch hopes that the summer experience provided students with both a great skill set as well as an increased awareness of new opportunities. "It's limitless," she says about the power of design-based thinking. "Designing for the next generation, being able to see how they made a difference for other campers, living and owning what they've built. It's invaluable."
Ellen Neises is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the executive director of Penn Praxis, the Weitzman School's center for applied research, outreach, and practice.
The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit organization that has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877.
The Fresh Air Everywhere Virtual Design Studio was made possible by a donation from Lori Kanter Tritsch, MArch'85, and her partner, William P. Lauder, W'83, executive chairman and chairman of the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Penn Trustee, and chairman of the Board of The Fresh Air Fund. This new gift, part of The Power of Penn Campaign, provided support to Penn Praxis Design Fellows as they led the virtual studio for Fresh Air youth in lieu of this year's traditional summer camp experience.


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5 Benefits Of Chain Wire Fencing For Children's Play Areas
Children need space to play outside, but schools, kindergartens and other kids' facilities must carefully consider the safety and security of these places. Aside from the play equipment you decide to use, you must also think about the type of fencing you install around the play area. Find out why chain wire fencing is one of the best options for a child's play area, and understand more about the benefits of this versatile material.
[Read More]
Rebuilding Your Fences After The Bushfire Is Gone
Most Australians know that each year part of their country will be ravaged by bushfire. Even the capital city of Canberra is not immune to the destruction this natural disaster can bring, with the city being described as '"one of the most fire-prone cities" in the nation'. Living out of town on a few acres does mean your exposure to bushfire danger is higher, and after one has ripped through your property you may be wondering where to start when it comes to the rebuilding process.
[Read More]
Five Tubular Fence Modifications to Keep Out Rabbits, Foxes, Deer and Other Animal Pests
You have a beautiful tubular fence around your garden, but unfortunately, although your fence is sturdy and versatile, it is not keeping out pests such as deer, foxes and rabbits. If you want these creatures off your grass, out of your garden, you can keep them out with a few simple modifications to your existing tubular fence. 1. Electrify it One of the simplest modifications you can add to a tubular fence to keep out unwanted animals is electrification.
[Read More]


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The Waterhen Lake First Nation is in the process of building about $1 million in new housing.
A total of seven multi and one-bedroom units are being constructed on the reserve.
Waterhen Councillor Blaine Fiddler says housing is an ongoing need.
"We have a high number of people that are looking for housing, we have a big wait list," he says.
Fiddler adds the new units offer a more modern architectural design.
"You will notice on most reserves the houses are square block style. We wanted something a little bit different with more architectural design. We sought out an architect and got some plans drawn up so we're not doing the same thing every year."
The multi-room dwellings are being built thanks to roughly $780,000 in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding.
The four multi-room dwellings are slated for families while the three single-bedroom units are targeted to go to single people and elders.
Fiddler says plans are also in the works to build another three single-bedroom units.
Construction is expected to be completed sometime this fall.
There are currently about 900 people living on the Waterhen Lake First Nation reserve.
(PHOTO: New housing construction on Waterhen Lake First Nation. Photo courtesy of Blaine Fiddler, WLFN Events/Announcements Facebook Page)


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As the year comes to a close, a battle for market shares and customers has erupted among native starch suppliers. The recent increase in wheat starch supply and a stagnating demand from paper mills are having an impact on how negotiations for 2020 deliveries are panning out.
Prices for deliveries of native wheat and corn starch are on the downward trend as of the second quarter 2019. And the negative price trend is expected is continue in the new year, at least for native wheat starch.
According to EUWID sources, wheat starch buyers have been successful in demanding renewed price cuts in negotiations for 2020. An increased supply due to new market capacity has given rise to supply shifts and triggered price-based allocation battles among wheat starch producers.
What is more, demand from the paper and packaging industry, which is considered one of the major sales markets for starch products, has fallen behind expectations in 2019. Currently, the packaging paper industry is going through a weak phase albeit at a high level. The industry has failed to reach the targeted growth rates for 2019, EUWID sources remarked.
This article is an excerpt from EUWID's market and price coverage on market for raw materials and consumables in Western Europe.
Find the EUWID Price Watch Native Starch Western Europe for the fourth quarter 2019 in EUWID Pulp and Paper issue no 51/2019 available to our e-paper and print subscribers as of 18 December.
Want to find out more? Check our subscriptions or test EUWID free of charge.


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rqt not updating text
Hello, we wrote our own rqt plugin which extends the rosbag functionality to our needs. We are using an *.ui design in rqt to give the user the ability to easily interact with the rosbag functionality. One of the elements in the design is a (title) text showing the current folder size, giving the user the visual feedback how big the recording is and that it is still ongoing (size is growing over time).
For that we want to regularly check the size of the folder in a separate thread and update the text in rqt (GUI) accordingly. Our approach works very well, but only if we are calling the ROS_INFO, ROS_ERROR, ... functionality in every cycle of the thread worker. However we would like to get rid of the console output of course.
What we tried already, instead of the ROS outputs:
- using std:: outputs (printf, cout, ...) -> no updating size in rqt
- calling parent_->update() after setTitle() -> no updating size in rqt
- calling parent_->repaint() after setTitle() -> rqt crashes
- adding ros::Duration() or usleep() in each cycle -> no updating size in rqt
We are really unsure how to debug this problem, since its working fine only if we are calling the ROS output functions in each cycle of the thread worker.
Our implementation is like this:
Starting the thread:
title_update_thread_ = std::thread(&RosbagDirectory::updateTitleWorker, this);
Thread worker:
void RosbagDirectory::updateTitleWorker(void)
ros::Rate r(10);
if (status_display_ != nullptr)
ROS_INFO("title updated"); // <<<<< IF REMOVED, SIZE IN RQT DESIGN IS NOT UPDATING
Updating the title:
void PluginStatusDisplay::updateTitle(void)
// get file size
size_t size=0;
for(boost::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator it(path_); it!=boost::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator(); ++it)
std::string foldersize = " Folder Size: " + std::to_string((int)size);
// update title
const std::string title = foldersize;
It would be awesome if you could give us a hint where to search for the problem and how we could debug this bug.
Kindest Regards
Fabian Hanke


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How to make bird feeder. 5 easy steps
You're bundled up warm from head to toe, ready to greet the season's snow … but, what about the birds? This pretty time is also the season during which backyard birds need your help the most. Birds need help the most in this period and especially school-age children can do it best. "ArAves" NGO prepared a few simple steps, which can help young people to help to the birds around them.
Step 1: Prepare the Bottle
Empty a 2-liter bottle and wash it thoroughly. Remove the label but don't throw away the cap.
Step 2: Cut Holes
With a utility knife or scissors, cut two square holes 5-7 cm from the bottom on each side, large enough for a bird to reach the seeds that will eventually be inside.
Step 3: Create a Perch
Using a screwdriver, awl or hole-punch, create a small hole underneath each of the larger holes you just made. Insert a small wooden dowel in each hole to create a perch for birds to sit upon when snacking.
Step 4: Fill the Bottle
Use a funnel to pour bird seed or sunflower seeds into the top of the bottle. Fill up the bottle to the level of the bottom edge of the feeding holes. Screw on the cap.
Step 5: String it Up
Tie a length of string below the lip of the bottle below the cap. Make sure it's secure.


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Exams Preparation: How I Discovered Meditation Calms Down Stress
Exams preparation is not only about hard studying, but it is also about working with anxiety. How did I get to this conclusion? By finding myself unexpectedly right in the middle of a frustrating confusion.
As I bite into my favourite matcha brownie in Shoreditch, I suddenly get an overwhelming feeling of stress and panic. Should I be revising? Do sweets lower my ability to concentrate? Will I pass my exams?
I remember an Oxford psychology teacher telling me that the months before my exams are the most important, as they can shape or break my future.
That thought had been circling in my mind for a long time. And the event of not getting into a prestigious university led me to become really nervous and frustrated with myself. On the other hand, I kept convincing myself that it's me whom dictates my future, not the university I go to.
My Exams Preparation Through Meditation
I guess it's fair to say that I was confused with my thoughts and couldn't quite figure them out. I decided it was time to consult my mom, who always seems composed and able to priorities her thoughts. She suggested I try meditation.
I quickly did my research on it and surprisingly found out that it isn't what I thought it was. If you're like me and assumed that meditation is for adults who like to do yoga and eat really healthy all day, then you're wrong!
What I found was that meditation helps with focusing, remaining peaceful, and maintaining focus, which are all really important things when studying for or sitting an exam.
In short; no more stress or restlessness during exam preparation or during the actual exams. All sounded good to me, so I asked Google: How do I meditate?
This is what I did and might also work for your:
- Find a quiet place, where there are no distractions.
- Choose a comfortable position to sit in (I personally like using my meditation cushion, as it helps me keep my back straight).
- Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing.
Whatever thoughts might come to your mind, let them go by drawing attention back to your breathing.
I try to do this for at least 10 minutes a day or every other day, but nevertheless, like everything, the more practice the better the results.
Yes, the first time I tried meditating it wasn't as spiritually enriching as I imagined.
But now I can definitely say that I am less stressed about exams and those 10 minutes a day are something I look forward to. And, since this is such a fulfilling practice, I'm thinking to extend it as a ritual related not only to my exams preparation but also to any other stressful moments I might have.
Spark Your Bloom Today And Everyday!


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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Captures Its First Images of Mars, Reveals Intriguing Details
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, known for capturing some incredible images of the universe, has presented us with new pictures of our neighbouring planet, Mars. The telescope captured its first images and spectra of Mars on September 5. The James Webb Space Telescope, an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), was launched in December 2021. Last month, the telescope gave us a detailed view of the Jupiter, showcasing auroras and rings surrounding the planet.
In an official blog today, NASA shared the news showcasing the Webb Telescope's first images of the red planet. According to NASA's tweet on the telescope's official Twitter handle, one of the close-up images gives details about the Huygens Crater, dark volcanic Syrtis Major and Hellas Basin.
Webb's first images of Mars are captured by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). These images show a region of the planet's eastern hemisphere at two different wavelengths or colours of infrared light.
According to NASA, the Mars team will use this imaging and spectroscopic data to explore regional differences across the planet in the future. They will also look out for traces of different gases in the planet's atmosphere.
Last month, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured some intriguing photos of Jupiter, featuring some magnificent auroras on the planet. These images were also clicked using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) of the observatory.


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How to improve your decision-making process? Part I
Making decisions is not an easy job, irrespective of the context where we have to make decisions. A woman's decision to buy a certain pair of shoes may take as long as it takes a manager to decide upon a major organizational problem. The difference, however, lies in the data behind the decision. To choose the perfect pair of shoes you don't need any data; it's a matter of what you like more. In the other scenario, it's a must to base the decision on data. Otherwise, you may follow a wrong direction.
A survey conducted in 2012 by the Economist Intelligence Unit on 607 worldwide executives revealed the increasing need for data in the organizational decision-making processes, and the transition from decisions made based on intuition, background and past experience, to decisions made based on data:
- 50% of interviewed executives argued that management decisions which are based only on intuition or experience are seen as "suspect";
- 66% of them considered that decisions are increasingly based on "hard analytic information";
- 9/10 interviewed executives sustained that the decisions they've made in the last 3 years would have been better if they'd had all the relevant data available;
Of course, data does not make decisions on its own…people make decisions. However, it is important to make the relevant decisions!
According to the same survey, on average, survey respondents sustain that big data has improved their organizations' performance by 26% in the past 3 years, and they believe that it will improve performance by 41% in the next 3 years.
The idea that data leads to better decisions is also sustained by other studies. Another example is an academic survey conducted in 2008 on 179 large publicly traded firms from U.S., which revealed that companies oriented towards data-driven decisions (DDD) have increased productivity with 6%.
If data is so important, how do we collect it? From where do we gather the data we need, in order to base our decisions? As it can be seen from the graphic below, the first data source is the data from business activities, followed by office documentation and social media. For the consumer goods and retail companies, the most important data source is the point-of-sale data, followed by social media.
Now, here comes another issue. How do we integrate all this data? Because too much data can also be a problem. 40% of the interviewed executives who participated in the Economist Intelligence Unit survey complained that they have too much unstructured data, being difficult to analyze it and use it to base decisions. Moreover, 85% of the interviewed executives sustained that the problem is not that much the large volume of data, but the ability to analyze it and act on it in real time.
For this, it is crucial to develop a system where data could be integrated. CRM and ERP are such examples of systems that enhance data integration and facilitate its analysis. Afterwards, we need the right tools to analyze it. Today's BI tools are mainly good at aggregating and analyzing structured data.
Professor Alex Pentland, Director of the Humann Dynamics Laboratory at MIT, stated that: Data is turning the process of decision-making inside out. Instead of starting with a question or hypothesis, people "data mine" to see what patterns they can find. If the patterns reveal a business opportunity or a threat, then a decision is made about how to act on the information.
So, it's a fact. We need data to make decisions. What's next? Find our what is the current maturity level of your performance management system by using our GPA Unit's performance management audit service, and read about the 7 step decision-making process and the particularities of making decisions in specific scenarios in part II of this article.
- The KPI Institute (2015), Certified Performance Improvement Professional training course
- Economist Intelligence Unit (2012), The deciding factor: Big Data and decision-making
- Brynjolfsson, E. , Hitt, L.M. and Kim, H. H. (2011), Strength in Numbers: How Does Data-Driven Decision making Affect Firm Performance
Image source:
Tags: Decision making, Strategy


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The Orioles pulled a big surprise move as they stared at the deadline of 2021 contracts to be awarded to their referee-qualified and pre-referee players. Oh while the world waits to see who will or will not, Athlete Ken Rosenthal said The team traded shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Angels. Orioles announced the trade soon. They got minor leagues Jean Pinto and Garrett Stallings from the Angels.
In the most anticipated conclusion, Orioles chose not to award the 2021 contract to second paceman Hancer Alberto. He is now a free agent. The Orioles 40-man list now sits at 38, which allows them to choose a Rule 5 draft – or two! – Next week.
I was eager to see what Iglesias could do with the full season's workload at shortstop. In the compressed 2020 season he started only 22 games. Over 39 games in total, Iglesias batted.373 / .400 / .556. Maybe it gave him some value. The Orioles do not want to worry about injury risk. The previous hand-wringing about whether they would be too cheap to pick up his 2021 option may still be a factor. They have definitely given up on that salary now.
Iglesias has found it very difficult for me to trade all three of the infield moves O has made in the last two weeks. The appointment of Renato Nunes to the post is easy to justify because he holds a position with numerous other interesting players in the mix. Perhaps it is better to say that he did not hold a post.
Alberto has not been tendered and can be seen working with O in Gold Clover in conjunction with Yolmer Sanchez to improve infield security. It may be, but it's hard to imagine that they could do better at the crossroads than Iglesias.
As for the players returning from the Orioles Angels: Pinto is a Venezuelan pitcher who will turn 20 next month. He has yet to play outside the Dominican Summer League, where he hit 19 batters in 12 innings at the age of 18 in 2019. This fact may be of interest to Mike Elias.
Pinto signed late, last May, when he was already 18, joining the Angels organization. Amateur international players are eligible to sign when they are 16 years old. Signing in May means he's lurking at the tail end of the 2018-19 signing period, rather than being a common opportunity to sign up as the season begins on July 2 in the non-infectious season.
Angels fifth round pick until Stallings 2019 draft. They chose him from the University of Tennessee, which was a starting pitcher. Stallings has not yet made his professional debut.
The Angels have been doing this lately, and did not introduce college pitchers favorably until next spring. The same thing happened at the Angels 2019 sixth rounder Zack Peak, which the Orioles bought with three more in the Dylan Bundy trade. Therefore, his statistics as a junior at SEC are only available. Stallings hit 106 batters and only 16 runs off 102.2 innings in his final amateur season. According to the MLP Pipeline, he was rated # 21 in the Angels organization.
In a normal year, the tender deadline is usually a formality for everyone except a few players, but there is an expectation for a regular number of non-tenders due to epidemic-related revenue interruptions affecting team budgets.
Orioles would have moved from Alberto regardless, but the circumstances, especially in conjunction with Iglesias trading, felt like saving money. They were happier with no tender than some other teams. For example, the Reds and Angels cut five players each before this deadline.
The team entered this area of the offseason with eight referee-qualified players. They reduced it to seven by appointing Renato Nunes two weeks ago. G.M. Mike Elias pointed out that Nunes would not be tendered anyway. The Os reached deals in the 2021 deal with Pedro Severino on Tuesday and infielder Yolmer Sanchez on Wednesday.
It went to O's final time with decisions to pick up Alberto, Shawn Armstrong, Trey Mancini, Anthony Sandander and Walaiga.
The question of whether Armstrong, Mancini and Santander will be awarded the tender by 2021 never appeared. The most expensive of these players, According to MLB trade rumors predictions, Mancini is going to get a salary of 8 4.8 million again in 2020 due to not being able to play due to cancer diagnosis and recovery. This is not a big price tag for the player who posted .899 OPS in 2019.
7 Santander planned for 1.7 million and Armstrong, estimated at 000 800,000, still small expenses. Both were great in the compressed 2020 season. Armstrong took 1.80 ERA and 0.800 WHIP in 15 innings. Santander batting in 37 games he played.261 / .315 / .575. If these three players continue on the same path, it could be a different story for a year from now.
Alberto, with a projected price tag of 6 2.6 million, was in thin ice after the 2020 campaign, where he hit .283 / .306 / .393 in 54 games. It's a good batting average, but without the gait or power to support it, it has left him below 91 OPS + on average.
When Orioles requested discounts from Sanchez White socks, Which is a big sign, they are trying to change their Light Pad second baseman to a lighter bat second baseman with a better glove. Sanchez was the 2019 Golden Glove winner. On Wednesday he reached an agreement with Orioles for $ 1 million, which confirmed his place in the near-term film.
This makes Alberto look out of place. If there is mutual interest, the Orioles can then re-sign Alberto. I would be surprised to know that Orioles is trying to get Alberto back for less money. I would say the team wants to improve safety to help young field staff, but trading Iglesias does not seem to be considered a goal.
To me, Alberto doesn't seem to be a candidate for anything other than a small league deal to be insured at Triple-A. That's pretty bad because he's been on the team for the last two seasons and it seems like a fun player. Nunes did the same. I would be happy if a fun list is listed with better players than their main league level counterparts.
Valaika brings some static versatility and potential power in the role of a right-handed bench pad. He started playing for the Orioles in 2020 at five different levels. None of them can be said to be the best, but he batted .277 / .315 / .472 in 52 games, which is the least interesting, especially with only one 1.1 million planned. He and Orioles settled on a 2021 deal within minutes of the non-tender deadline.
The blogger is 28 years old, so you probably know who he is, but you never know who Steve Pierce will be. If it doesn't get to a point where he's blocking an opportunity, giving him a chance won't hurt. Since Iglesias has been traded, this statement does not apply if the Orioles think that the web is a viable option for the regular start-up shortcut. I think I saw it in 2020 to know that I don't want to see it again.
Although Orioles has tendered these 2021 deals, there is no guarantee that all of these players will be in the opening day film. Last season, they traded the bundle within days of awarding the 2021 deal. Here we are almost a year later, Orioles has traded another senior to Angels. They traded Jonathan Villar in an explosion that lasted until the deadline last year.
Next year the Orioles are going to look different than we thought a day ago, which will make them look less fun in the beginning. The future may turn bright. For now, be nice.


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Congress remains adjourned until mid-November when it will return to face a crowded legislative agenda. The House will return on Monday, November 14 with the Senate returning the following day.
I. Election 2016: Republicans Distance Themselves from Donald Trump
Donald Trump had a bad week last week. First the story came out that Trump may not have paid taxes following a staggering $916 billion loss in 1995. On Friday, October 7, a video surfaced of Trump discussing women in extremely lewd and insulting language, leading prominent Republicans to either distance themselves from Trump or call on him to step down. Trump's remarks were the latest in a string of ill-advised comments about immigrants, Hispanics, African-Americans, the disabled, and Muslims and proved too much for many members of Congress.
According to RealClearPolitics.com the National Republican Senatorial Committee advised candidates to disavow and repudiate Trump's comments, and left it was up to individual candidates to decide whether they want to rescind their endorsements. While Trump did better in Sunday's debate than expected, he did little to convince voters outside his support base, who will not desert him no matter what he says or does. Never has the GOP been so fractured less than a month from the election. (Note: A longer analytical piece by Arab Center Washington DC on the damage Trump has done to the GOP is forthcoming.)
House Leadership Nervous: On Monday October 10, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), urged his fellow Republicans not to defend Trump and to focus on their House races. Ryan did not go so far as to drop his endorsement of Trump but is under pressure to do so. Clearly, Ryan is worried about the down-ballot effect of Trump at the top of the ticket and the possibility of losing seats in the House. It is unlikely that the Democrats will take back control of the House, but Ryan is taking no chances.
The ever-predictable and mercurial Trump now has Speaker Ryan in his sights, excoriating the Speaker as a "weak and ineffective" leader, causing further divisions within the Republican Party a month before the election. Ryan's call incensed Trump and his supporters in Congress who have criticized Ryan for not being loyal to Trump. Trump issued a string of tweets – his favorite mode of communication – saying he will attack Ryan and any Republican leaders with the same enthusiasm with which he is attacking Clinton.
Many observers believe Trump's support is spiraling down. National polls show him trailing Clinton by double-digits. Ryan and other congressional leaders, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) are panicked that Trump could cost the GOP its majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats need a net pick-up of 30 seats to regain control of the House and despite the panic among some members, it is unlikely Democrats will regain control of the House. Democrats, however, have a good chance of reclaiming the Senate.
Former Members of Congress Oppose Trump: Last Thursday, well before the release of the tape and the dismal Clinton-Trump debate, more than 30 former Republican members of Congress issued a scathing open letter announcing their opposition to Donald Trump and urging fellow Republicans to deny him the White House. The group cited Trump's long list of insults and "lies," and said his "disgraceful candidacy is indefensible." The letter goes on to state:
"As Republican members of Congress, we took pride in representing a political party that stood for honest and principled public leadership in which the American people could place their trust," they wrote in an open letter.
"Sadly, our party's nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress."
"In nominating Donald Trump, the Republican Party has asked the people of the United States to entrust their future to a man who insults women, mocks the handicapped, urges that dissent be met with violence, seeks to impose religious tests for entry into the United States, and applies a de facto ethnicity test to judges," they wrote.
"He offends our allies and praises dictators. His statements are peppered with lies. He belittles our heroes and insults the parents of men who have died serving our country. Every day brings a fresh revelation that highlights the unacceptable danger in electing him to lead our nation."
The group includes former committee chairmen, lawmakers from swing states with decades of experience on Capitol Hill, one of the first openly gay members of Congress, and one member who led investigations on Capitol Hill into scandals involving the Clintons. The effort was spearheaded by former Representatives Mickey Edwards (R-Oklahoma) and Tom Coleman (R-Missouri.). The full list of signatories follows:
Steve Bartlett (Texas)
Bob Bauman (Maryland)
Sherwood Boehlert (New York)
Jack Buechner (Missouri)
Tom Campbell (California)
Bill Clinger (Pennsylvania)
Tom Coleman (Missouri)
Geoff Davis (Kentucky)
Mickey Edwards (Oklahoma)
Harris Fawell (Illinois)
Ed Foreman (Texas and New Mexico)
Amo Houghton, Jr. (New York)
Gordon Humphrey (New Hampshire)
Bob Inglis (South Carolina)
Jim Kolbe (Arizona)
Steve Kuykendall (California)
Jim Leach (Iowa)
Pete McCloskey (California)
Connie Morella (Maryland)
Mike Parker (Mississippi)
Tom Petri (Wisconsin)
John Porter (Illinois)
Claudine Schneider (Rhode Island
John "Joe" Schwarz (Michigan)
Chris Shays (Connecticut)
Peter Smith (Vermont)
Edward Weber (Ohio)
II. Senate Election Update
Senate Within reach of the Democrats: Pollsters have been predicting that Democrats would gain four to six seats in the Senate, taking back control. With the most recent implosion of the Trump campaign, the GOP is extremely nervous that Democrats will regain the Senate. Republican Senators facing tough re-election campaigns rushed to distance themselves from Trump. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday October 10 shows that voters now favor Democrats over Republicans for Congress by 7 percentage points — the Democrats' biggest lead in that metric since the October 2013 government shutdown that most voters blamed on the Republicans. The new poll was taken after the Trump tape became public, but before Sunday night's debate between Trump and Clinton. Priorities USA, a pro-Clinton super PAC is reportedly preparing to expand beyond the presidential race and run television ads focused on a number of competitive races in North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Republican incumbents have very narrow leads in these states, which could swing either way. Republicans have ceded the Republican-held seats in Illinois and Wisconsin, to the Democrats.
Five states – Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania remain "toss up" states. All five states are a virtual tie between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Respected pollster Charlie Cook has placed Florida in the toss-up column, but Rubio is ahead by only two points. However, Rubio along with Senators Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) are still supporting Trump which could hurt them. Democrats are waving a white flag in Ohio, previously listed as a toss-up state, and seem divided about their prospects in Florida, two Republican-held seats that they were confident they could win.
III. At the Think Tanks
On October 5, to help raise awareness and formulate international best practices to combat sexual violence under ISIS, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the McCain Institute for International Leadership hosted an event titled ISIS and Sex Slavery. The event featured panelists Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Mark Lagon, Distinguished Senior Scholar and Centennial Fellow at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and Sarhang Hamasaeed, Senior Program Officer for Middle East Programs at USIP. The discussion was moderated by Elise Labott, Global Affairs Correspondent for CNN. The panelists were keen to discuss measures the international community could take to combat sexual violence in the region, all noting that the issue ought to be firmly integrated into all security and counterterror conversations about the Islamic State.
Sexual violence has long been an aspect of conflict, economic instability, and poverty. Perpetuated by non-state actors as well as governments, the use of women's bodies as tools to achieve political ends is too often a systemic part of warfare, yet is rarely included in security conversations or as a post-conflict priority. In recent years, Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has institutionalized sexual violence and sex slavery as a part of their political apparatus, where UN Special Representative on sexual violence and conflict Zainab Bangura says women and girls "get peddled like barrels of petrol."
Sex slavery is part of the political economy of the Islamic State, with the sale and rape of women and girls justified through their interpretation of religious doctrine. The Yazidi minority is particularly at risk, with over 5,000 women and girls abducted in 2014 alone. Since the Yazidis do not practice Islam, ISIS doctrine states that the Quran gives fighters the right to buy, sell, and rape them. One of the only caveats for the rape of enslaved women and children is that they must be free of child, so ISIS has institutionalized the use of birth control and abortions. The "detailed bureaucracy of sex slavery" also includes an open slave bazaar in Raqqa, virtual marketplaces online, an infrastructure of warehouses were women and girls are held, and viewing rooms where they are inspected and priced. The use of religious doctrine to justify sex crimes is, as Hamasaeed stated, an effective cover, and one that has been used throughout history to justify violence against women.
Bangura noted that the United Nations has achieved recent success in integrating sexual violence into broader UN security agendas. Over the past few years, several UN Security Council resolutions have been passed to officially recognize sexual violence as a tactic of war, such as Resolution 2242 (2015), which integrates "women, peace, and security concerns across all country-specific situations on its agenda." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended this resolution, stressing that "at a time when armed extremist groups place the subordination of women at the top of their agenda, we must place women's leadership and the protection of women's rights at the top of ours."
The UN has also been working closely with the Republic of Iraq, signing a Joint Communique to address conflict-related sexual violence in the country on September 23rd. The agreement outlines a series of steps the Iraqi government will take in collaborating with the UN, such as providing victim compensation, ensuring medical services and livelihood training for women survivors, and instituting robust evidence collecting and prosecutions to encourage women survivors to come forward.
In formulating this Communique, Bangura stressed the importance of ensuring medical support, psychosocial support, and livelihood support for women survivors. Often, reintegration for women and girls who leave or manage to escape is difficult, as their communities will not accept them – marking them as co-conspirators rather than as victims. This is not unique to the Islamic State, but affected the Tamil women of Sri Lanka during the civil war, and currently affects Nigerian women and girls under Boko Haram.
As all of the panelists noted, a multifaceted approach to combating sexual violence across the world must be employed while also working to combat sex slavery in ISIS-held territories. A USIP report released in 2015 underlines the importance of such a comprehensive approach, noting that sexual violence by violent extremist groups also resembles the use of sexual violence by state military forces and armed groups across the world, all of which have used violence against women as a political tool to incite fear and control populations. Bangura is well-aware of this, stressing that economic, political, and judicial responses with assistance from the international community must all be employed to help mitigate the global pervasiveness of sexual violence in conflict.


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Here we're just talking about the general scheme of things and how you spend your spare time. Maybe you like hanging out with friends. But if you haven't looked into what you can do in your community or at school to get involved and make a difference, then maybe you should. Here at The Youthhood, everyone is involved at school and in the community in some way.
Getting involved has a lot of different benefits, like:
Okay, let's review. It will help you with employment. It can help you develop skills and talents. It can give you a way to help others. You can make new friends, meet your neighbors, and a lot more. Basically, volunteering and community service can help you to feel really good. And hey, who doesn't want to feel good?
You're in Demo Mode
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Last updated on December 5, 2018
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Teresa Mendoza (played by Alice Braga), the Queen of the South herself, will be making her long-awaited return next month. A brand new teaser trailer released on Twitter confirmed the show's imminent return to the USA Network, with the next instalment also expected to roll out on Netflix afterwards.
A first-look teaser trailer for Queen of the South season five has confirmed the show's return to the USA Network in April.
Fans have been waiting almost two years for the series to drop its fifth instalment, after production was postponed by the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020.
The first footage of season five promises the next episodes will bring Teresa closer to her destiny as the biggest drug lord of the American South.
Teresa appears to be wearing the striking white suit of her darker alter-ego throughout most of the new trailer, suggesting her past, present and future are finally starting to come together.
READ MORE: Molly Burnett husband: Is the Queen of the South star married?
Season five will also feature Teresa's loyal sicario Pote (Hemky Madera), as well as finally bringing James Valdez (Peter Gadiot) back into the fold.
As the gripping action unfolds over just 15 seconds of new footage, James warns she'll have to disappear as Teresa promises she's 'done playing games'.
A tagline for season five reads: "The Queen is finally back to claim her throne."
The USA Network have confirmed the new season will start in April, though they haven't specified on which day the premiere will broadcast.
James Valdez, Teresa's former handler and partner, seemed to have exited the series at the end of season three when his loyalty was put to the test.
Thankfully, he made his stunning comeback at the end of the last instalment, warning of a new threat pursuing himself and Teresa to New Orleans.
Footage from the new trailer seems to confirm season five will pick up right where the finale left off, with James still recovering from the injuries he had the last time we saw him.
His shocking arrival in the finale's last moments may have teased the return of Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcón), although some viewers think Teresa could be facing an entirely new threat.
So far, Russian-American actor Pasha Lychnikoff is the only new member of the cast confirmed for season five as an underground oligarch and war criminal named Kostya.
Meanwhile, Teresa is still out for revenge against the power-hungry Judge Lafayette (David Andrews), who murdered her godson Tony Parra (Julian Silva) last season.
With new episodes of Queen of the South incoming in potentially just over a month, fans can also expect a full length trailer to hit the web sometime soon.
Queen of the South season 5 will be released in April on the USA Network.
Published at Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:01:28 +0000
Queen of the South season 5: Release date confirmed as Teresa returns in all-new trailer


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Find out what's going on with the Marco Team.
Recent developments in some hearing aid technology provides the ability to have firmware upgrades. This allows the client to upgrade the features of their hearing aids as the manufacturers make improvements and introduce new technology.
One of our favorite hearing aids – the Widex Moment, allows for those firmware upgrades.
Below are the steps to update your Moment Hearing aid from your smartphone.
Update on a Smartphone
Comments Off on Firmware Updates
Of the many causes of permanent hearing loss, the one that is most preventable is noise and music exposure. Although music and noise appear to be quite different; one being a good thing and the other, less good, both have a similar (but not identical) effect on our hearing.
Although recent research has unveiled several parameters that can affect one's hearing status, there are two main factors that contribute to noise or music related hearing loss- the sound level (also known as the intensity) and how long on
On October 19, 2016, The Team at Marco were honored with the Sydney Area Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Business Customer Service Award. This award is presented to a business or organization that exemplifies overall excellence in customer service. At Marco, we want to make sure each client leaves our office doing better, and happy with their experience. We are so proud to have received this award. Thank you to the Sydney Area Chamber of Commerce.
Odilia was also nominated for the Irving Schwartz Business Person of the Year Award. This award is presented to an individual who upholds the dedication for hard work, customer service and loyalty to both staff and customers as demonstrated by the late Irving Schwartz.
Congratulations to all of
Good news: the CHHA (Canadian Hard of Hearing Association) is holding their National Conference in Halifax this year. It will be at the Westin Hotel from May 21-23. For information on the Conference, visit CHHA
An audio (induction) loop is a wire loop (or thin loop pad) attached to an amplifier. It creates a magnetic field that broadcasts sound, in pure, undistorted form, directly to people who are within the loop and have a hearing aid containing a telecoil. Aliant Pioneer Volunteers donate their time to install "audio loops" to work with existing public address "PA" systems. These loops improve the sound quality for people who wear hearing aids. Aliant Pioneer Volunteer loops can be found in churches, meeting rooms, theatres and classrooms across Atlantic Canada. Hearing Aids are designed to work best in small spaces and at small distances. The FM audio loop can compensate for the noise and distance factors making it much easier for hearing aid users to hear in difficult environments.
Looped Public Buildings – 2014
Bras d'or
St. James
Christmas Island
St. Barra
Glace Bay
Knox Church
Masonic Lodge
Newsom United Church
Savoy Theatre
Warden United
Knox Presbyterian Church
Masonic Lodge
St. Michael's Roman Catholic
St. Columba Church
South Haven
Ephraim Scott Memorial Presbyterian
Little Narrows
Little Narrows Presbyterian Church
Grand River
Grand River Presbyterian Church
St. Josephs Church
Marion Bridge
Bethel United Church
St. Columbia Presbyterian
Port Hawkesbury
St. Marks Church
Stewart United
New Waterford
St. Leonard
Sydney, Sydney River & Westmount
Bethel Presbyterian
CBU Theatres
Chants Funeral Chapel
Holy Rosary Parish
Justice Centre Courtroom


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When I had the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Clarkson about Sharp Objects she said something that has stuck with me ever since, "The body never lies." Watching "Ripe" I couldn't get this quote out of my mind. It holds true for everyone in Wind Gap from Gayla with her quiet, knowing gazes sweeping through Adora's home to Camille whose woundedness glimmers in her every gesture especially when she's trying to hide.
Camille has grown adept at encasing herself in armor. That dark clothing she has to be sweating like hell in. The bitter sarcasm and wry grin she uses to pivot when anything cuts too close to the bone. Amy Adams strikingly juxtaposes Camille's survival instinct, one that leads her to hide, against her longing to be cared for, for once in her life. This dichotomy is especially apparent in her scenes with Richard.
Sharp Objects has long been building to some sort of romantic and sexual moment between Camille and Richard. But what we get in "Ripe" lacks the bristling, heated flirtation I would like. Camille gives Richard a gruesome tour of Wind Gap crime scenes in the forest, each with its own twisted history rooted in this geography. There's a moment after Camille shows the final location — that creepy shed with the hardcore porn lining its walls alongside twisting vines — that the air crackles between Camille and Richard. You know, the kind of moment where a kiss seems not only imminent but unavoidable. Camille closes the gap between them. But when Richard reaches toward her for a passionate kiss she recoils, unzips her pants, and guides his hand to below her waist. She reaches orgasm as a flutter of violent, mournful images puncture her mind. It's startling how much intimacy this scene lacks. It's only later, in the heat of the night just outside Adora's home and watchful gaze, that Camille kisses Richard passionately. "Now we kiss?" he asks with a smile.
Camille is fracturing in "Ripe." The weight of being back home pressing too much upon her. I loved the scene leading up to Richard and Camille's dispassionate sexual encounter. They suggest not only the history of the town but Camille's own history. The first crime scene she shows Richard is by the river. She tells the story of two teenage girls, who were madly in love with each other, found with their wrists slashed. The lack of a knife leads the question of whether this is murder or suicide hanging in the air. Camille went to school with the surviving daughter of one of them, Faith. Faith kept trying to prove she wasn't a lesbian like her mother and ended up getting labeled a "slut" for it. As Camille says, "She paid for the sins of a mother she never met." Of course, every woman in this town had a label and Camille is still wrestling with hers.
The second crime scene is nicknamed "the end zone," crassly alluding to how football players would use and abuse cheerleaders there, one of whom was Camille. Richard catches on quick to the meaning of this place to Camille. The verdant surrounding and calming chirp of insects cannot hide the horror of this place and how Camille reacts to it. He suggests the rape that happened here happened to Camille. "If I say yes you'll think less of me or feel sorry," she responds which is an answer in itself. The last location is the strange shed that lurks in Camille's memory where apparently Ann and Natalie, Wind Gap's infamous victims once played together.
"Ripe" offers more beguiling scenes of noxious emotional violence, beautifully astute scenes that carefully evoke Camille's memories, and aurally lush moments. But the episode left me wanting more. We're now halfway through the series, and as much as I'm loving it, a part of me wish it would be a bit more propulsive, a bit more revealing of its characters. It's more tone poem than procedural which is part of its strength but can sometimes be infuriating. Yet, the episode still works at giving brief windows into the emotional lives of the town and its characters. Camille attending brunch with Jackie and other older women that Adora bailed on (that cut isn't that bad!) reveals the town's psyche: the homophobia lurking under the accusation that John is too emotional for a man and thus killed his sister, the obsession with gossip, the lurid curiosity bubbling up because of the murders.
Through Vickery we get an understanding of how the town's old guard views Camille as an outsider. It's interesting how he refers to her as "that Preaker girl" seemingly distancing her from Adora whom he obviously has history with. "One of them is dangerous, the other is in danger," Vickery suggests to Adora about her daughters. He doesn't say where either of them falls, but it's clear he views Camille as the dangerous one, sowing chaos wherever she goes even though it seems far more true of Amma's hellion nature. Even if I wanted a bit more meat from this episode — which is more my eagerness to be fully immersed in these characters rather than a failing of the show — there are many bracing scenes involving Adora that showcase her slippery nature and how deep her animosity toward Camille runs.
Let's talk about Adora's marriage for a moment. The scenes between Alan and Adora are typically brief although they seem curdled with an unspoken history. Here, some of this history is finally given a voice. After bitterly watching Adora carry on a delightful conversation with Vickery, Alan finally cracks a bit. He's angry at how Camille views the loss of Marian as something only she has had to bear. He's livid that she shows "more compassion for local civil servants" than for him, which nearly reflects the gnarled class politics of this town and the icy quality to their marriage. They go back and forth. Adora blaming this on Camille's ability to sow discord. Alan finding the way she blames Camille ridiculous. The episode ends with a strange moment of him entering her bedroom with a sense of menace to his gait that I'm not sure how to reckon with.
Even more troubling is the scene Adora shares with Camille, the source of the episode's title. A tipsy Adora waits on the couch as Camille enters the shadowy home. Adora quickly launches into accounting her own series of hurts. How she expected Camille to save her, how she hoped that Camille would somehow get Adora's own mother to finally love her. That's a lot of responsibility on a child. She belittles Camille for cutting her hair with fabric shears as a point of rebellion. Something Camille swears she didn't do, she's getting her confused with someone else. But Adora keeps going drawing closer and closer to Camille who soon grows teary, her armor breaking down. It doesn't matter what Camille says or what the truth is. Adora has created a narrative and it's one that consumes the whole town. Jean-Marc Vallée shoots the scene with a heated intimacy relying on close-ups to capture the moment which reveals the essence of these two women. Camille wounds herself because of her vulnerability and trauma while Adora wounds others for the same reasons. Adora steps close to Camille for the final insult and the scene is so evocatively shot I swear I could smell it. Cloying heat, a touch of floral perfume, the undercurrent of liquor. "Now you've come back and all I can think is … you smell ripe," Adora viciously remarks. What exactly is Camille ripe for? What is she on the precipice of that Adora reviles so deeply?
"Ripe" ends with a revelation. Camille finds John at a bar and he's surprisingly forthcoming — about the loss of his sister and the dynamics of his family. His mother is falling apart, which is seen earlier when he finds her half conscious on the couch and wine bottles hidden in the trash. But the most intriguing details are about his sister, Natalie. How the family left Philly because she stabbed a peer in the eye with a pencil. How Amma was closely intertwined with her and Ann, constantly stopping their arguments. This gives these crimes a new shade and makes Camille worried about her sister's fate. She rushes from the bar searching the darkened streets for Amma — her mind reeling with horrific outcomes. Perhaps, she wonders, Amma could be the next victim. And there is a flash of this possibility. Amma's toothless corpse illuminated by a beam of light. In reality Amma is skating through the streets with her friends, silhouetted by headlights. But this sequence touches on something I've been thinking about for a while: I'm not sure we've seen the real Amma yet. She's only seen in flashes like cruelly twisting a lollipop in Camille's hair. And that's the girl I want Camille to find.
Wind Gap Gossip:
• When Ashley gives a disinterested John a blowjob and he brushes off her advances I didn't know whether to laugh uncomfortably or fast forward. This show can be so uncomfortable!
• Amma playing Tupac and bonding with Adora with a little dance was an interesting moment.
• Ashley finds blood under John's bed and cleans it up for him. Is this a red herring? Why is she so loyal?
• Does Vickery even want to solve this case?


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Breaking Up With Social Media. . .Making Up With Social Media
It's all about the algorithm.
Pretend for a minute that you don't use social media. Okay, maybe think about someone you know who doesn't use social media. Have you ever wondered how they manage it? Have you asked them?
My guess is that they will say they don't miss it.
I have many deaf friends. Many of them have been deaf from birth. If you ask them if they "miss" being hearing, they will look at you like you are asking a completely nonsense question. They understand what it means to be hearing. They understand the concept of music. But, most of them don't "miss" what they didn't know.
Do you miss not being able to speak Mongolian? (Assuming you don't speak Mongolian.) Probably not. It's not something that you probably ever think about.
People who don't use social media are kind of like that. They don't miss what they don't know. It doesn't come up that often.
I like social media, but only selectively. If you look at the signature block at the end of this post, you'll notice I have accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But, if you try to engage me on Twitter, you'll probably wait a long time for a response. I don't do much on Twitter. The same used to be true for LinkedIn. I'd check it every few weeks, at most. The notifications would pile up and I'd quickly glance over them and dismiss them all.
I wasn't engaged.
Facebook was a different story. I like politics. And there were several groups, some about politics, some about comedy, some about Star Trek that I was fairly active in. I would log in multiple times per day. I'd remind myself to go through the notifications in reverse order so I didn't miss any. I would spend. . .let's just say WAY too much time. But, I enjoyed it. And it was engaging.
A couple of weeks ago something changed. I kind of "broke up" with Facebook and started dating LinkedIn. If you've read my posts from the past week, you know I lost my job. Facebook isn't going to help me get a job. LinkedIn will.
At first, it was hard. I had several active threads going at any one time on Facebook. But, as I consciously spent less time on Facebook, a funny thing happened. My list of notifications shrunk. What might have taken an hour a few weeks ago, now took 30 seconds. I open Facebook, scan the half dozen notifications and then maybe browse the newsfeed for a few minutes and log off.
What happened?
The algorithm happened. When I was actively engaged, the Facebook algorithm fed me more of whatever I was consuming. And as I engaged with more people, Facebook showed me more people. It's a feedback loop. When I stopped engaging, the algorithm had less to offer me. And by not making comments, I had less threads to make comments on.
LinkedIn was just the opposite. I now stay logged into LinkedIn through the day. I send in-app messages to people. I comment on articles. My notifications are now filled with relevant stories, or threads based on what I've been looking at and commenting on.
The more I did on LinkedIn, the more LinkedIn's algorithm gave me to do. I would imagine Twitter would be the same way. Because I'm not active on Twitter I don't get pulled into active discussions on Twitter.
So, if you want to breakup with social media, be it Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. simply step away. The algorithm will react and the less involved you get the less involved you will get.
And if you want to get in touch with me, you'll likely catch me best on LinkedIn. (At least until we break-up.)
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2021 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved


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Bulk Buy Hosting is a hosting provider with a very specialized purpose: to host Private Blog Networks (PBN's). This is one of the few hosts with this specific purpose, with one other being SeekAHost which I also reviewed (that article also gives a short rundown on what a PBN is). Since early 2020, I've been extensively using Bulk Buy Hosting for my own PBN, and have gotten very familiar with how it works. What follows is my Bulk Buy Hosting review based on everything I've experienced with it so far.
How does Bulk Buy Hosting work?
Bulk Buy Hosting has hosting accounts with all kinds of popular hosts including (according to their website) A Small Orange, HostGator and Arvixe, and any websites you add with them will be hosted with one of the many big hosting companies they have accounts with. With this service, therefore, you do not need to sign up to dozens of different hosting companies yourself (with PBN's it's always recommended to use different hosting companies for your different sites, as otherwise Google will know all your sites are from the same place and discount the value of links from them). Instead, you just add domains to your dashboard at Bulk Buy Hosting, and it will automatically create a cpanel account for your domain at one of its many hosting services that it subscribes to. Once a cpanel account is automatically setup, Bulk Buy Hosting will then list the nameservers to point the domain to.
Bulk Buy Hosting has a beautiful and impressive interface. Not only does it allow you to add and setup domains automatically (SeekAHost, by comparison, requires you to submit a support ticket and then they'll manually set it up for you), but it also tells you some metrics about each domain including DA (Domain Authority), TF (Trust Flow) and CF (Citation Flow).
Here's a screenshot from my member area at Bulk Buy Hosting:
(You'll have to forgive me for blanking out everything, as I prefer not to reveal the sites I'm hosting with Bulk Buy Hosting. You can see that there are columns for domain, DA/TF/CF metrics, nameservers, date added and more.)
From your members area here, you can click the cpanel button for any domain to be taken to the cpanel account for that domain, where you can do whatever you need for it. That is extremely convenient, as you don't need to keep a spreadsheet or go digging for your login details for each site. Also, you can see that almost all domains here have different nameservers, and are clearly hosted at different hosting companies that Bulk Buy Hosting subscribes to (you may notice just a couple of websites have the same nameservers).
When you add domains to your Bulk Buy Hosting account through this interface, it only takes a couple of minutes for the cpanel account to be created and the nameservers for the domain to be listed – it works perfectly.
What I like about Bulk Buy Hosting
As detailed above, Bulk Buy Hosting has a fantastic interface, and it's far easier to use than SeekAHost's member's area. I have never once had any issue with it, and it was obviously built by a competent developer. It's a great experience to be able to add new domains and have it done in a couple of minutes. Second, the hosts that Bulk Buy Hosting uses are big, very well established and reliable hosting companies, and the hosting is therefore very stable – I have not yet had an outage on any of my PBN sites I have on Bulk Buy Hosting.
Because Bulk Buy Hosting is so well built, I've never had to contact their support about anything, but I expect they provide very good support given how they go out of their way to make everything as clear as possible. When you first sign up, for example, you get a welcome email with a very clear guide on how to use the service:
I found that Bulk Buy Hosting does exactly what it advertises. If you're looking for a reliable and well-built PBN hoster, you can't go wrong with them, and I'll continue to host a reasonable portion of my PBN domains with them.
The 1 drawback of Bulk Buy Hosting
The price. Comparing it to SeekAHost again, Bulk Buy Hosting costs between $2.70/month/domain and $1.83/month/domain, which is far higher than SeekAHost which costs between $1.20/month/domain and $0.85/month/domain. To be clear, it's not that Bulk Buy Hosting is expensive, per se, rather just that SeekAHost is exceptionally cheap. Bulk Buy Hosting's prices are similar to the few other PBN hosters such as PBN.HOSTING and Easy Blog Networks.
Overall, it's fair to say Bulk Buy Hosting is a little better than SeekAHost given its interface is much better. Other than than, both are great services that do what they promise. So can we recommend Bulk Buy Hosting given it costs roughly double what SeekAHost does? In my opinion, yes. As I see it, it's best to host with both of them just to minimize the risk a little if one of them goes out of business for some reason, or if there's some other issue with either one of these services. If you're sensitive about price you can just host a smaller percentage of your PBN domains on Bulk Buy Hosting, and still host the majority of your domains with SeekAHost.
Other services offered by Bulk Buy Hosting (buy PBN domains and order PBN builds)
I found it interesting that beyond just offering PBN hosting services, Bulk Buy Hosting also has services where they buy PBN domains for you, or setup PBN domains with unique content. Here's a page from their website going over their PBN packages. These are expensive ($750 for 5 sites for their 'basic' package, or $2900 for 5 sites for their 'premium' package), and I haven't tried it myself. I would expect that they do a good job with this and know what they're doing, and there is quite a lot that goes into what makes a good PBN domain – if you're a newbie your efforts may be in vain, whereas an expert who knows exactly what type of domains to buy and what content to put on them can get very good results. I would presume that Bulk Buy Hosting understands PBN's very well, especially because they've put out a lot of good content on how to run a PBN. If you subscribe to Bulk Buy Hosting, for example, you can get on the newsletter where you'll get tips and advice from the founder of Bulk Buy Hosting on how you should run a PBN, and it's clear they know what they're doing. Here's an example of the emails I've got from Bulk Buy Hosting (click to enlarge):
These are packed with good advice. But again, I have not personally used the non-hosting services offered by Bulk Buy Hosting, so can't say for 100% sure that you'll get your money's worth.
If you have ordered any of these services we would very much like to hear your experience so we can add it here (just comment below).
The bottom line
Bulk Buy Hosting is a great service, albeit pricier than its competitor SeekAHost. We're giving them 4 stars out of 5 (just one star taking off for the price). We recommend hosting at least some of your PBN domains with them.
Sign up to Bulk Buy Hosting
If this review has been helpful for you and you'd like to try Bulk Buy Hosting, you may do so through our link here. We may receive some compensation from Bulk Buy Hosting if you sign up through that link, so it's of course very much appreciated if you sign up through our link. Otherwise, you can go directly to bulkbuyhosting.com – it's up to you. The price and everything else will be the same for you whether you go through our link or not.
Please comment if you have anything to add!
Have you signed up to Bulk Buy Hosting and has it worked for you? Please comment below.