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Ben Van der Velde: Fablemaker
Note: This review is from 2019
Ben Van Der Velde spins many crowd work plates in Fablemaker, seeking a patchwork narrative in a one-man improv show entirely comprising audience interaction. In fact, he talks to almost every audience member.
He immediately identifies two front row 'sitting duck City boys', then doubles his luck, discovering almost everyone on the second row is a charity worker.
He hops excitedly from the City boys to charity workers to medical students to American tourists. While partially working with easy stereotypes, he does so quickly, skilfully establishing several pockets of reference around the room and setting up interplaying callbacks galore.
True to his Fablemaker title, Van Der Velde strings impressive webs from bare threads and has clearly found his forte. His throwaway jests at times reveal painfully astute observations. He's part stand-up, part-cold reader, guessing professions, childhood details and relationship statuses.
However, it can also be laboured: many interactions last too long or pry too deeply. And although he's likeable and funny, and any audience member with whom he's interacting seems comfortable, everyone else doesn't. They're also perhaps preoccupied more by preparing their own answers to his stock questions ('What's the most charitable thing you've done this year?') than engaging with the show.
The tension in the room grows as it becomes apparent he's going to talk to (almost) everyone. Fablemaker would be better suited to a larger room, as this would mean only the front two rows get what they expect, and to some extent deserve.
The reality tonight is that the front two rows comprise uneasy victims urged forward to mask a room at half capacity. Most of whom originally sat as far back as possible, presumably thinking 'I hope the comedian doesn't talk to me'.
Van Der Velde returns to his well-established (and well-remembered) key audience members with a rhythm that doesn't let up. Some of the funniest lines come from the audience themselves, though maybe that's inevitable in a show of entirely crowd work. And, in fairness, it's often the well-timed reactions of the comedian onstage that transform these moments into big laughs.
While the speed, rhythm and creativity of his responses are fantastic, and essential to good improv, it does make for some rather large and clunky misfires, not that these affect him.
His speed and desire in 'making a fable' unfortunately means some lines are blurted in a desperate search for continuity, and therefore don't land, or aren't appropriate.
There's an incredibly cheap sexual innuendo before he tells a lady whose daughter is doing dangerous charity work in Cambodia: 'Your daughter's probably dead by now.' It's (sort of) in context, and dark humour has its place, but this is too far, isn't funny, and doesn't sit with his natural, good-natured overtones.
He ultimately frames the show as the front row's greed vs. the second row's charity. His final ten minutes attempting to knot the show's many threads could hardly be called a majestic summary but is a solid effort given the materials he has to work with.
Fablemaker is part impressive, deft and skilful, and part questionable in its patchwork nature. Van Der Velde undoubtedly makes fables, some of which unfortunately miss the mark though others do land with laughter and meaning.
Published: 3 Aug 2019
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Past Shows
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President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pay a state visit to Turkmenistan. The invitation of the head of the Turkmen state was conveyed today during the meeting by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, who arrived in Kazakhstan to participate in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CICA, akorda.kz reports.
During the meeting, Tokayev and Meredov considered the prospects for strengthening the Kazakh-Turkmen political, trade and economic ties, as well as issues of regional security. In addition, the interlocutors discussed the preparations for the 6th Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev confirmed his readiness to pay a visit to Ashgabat in the near future, which, according to the President of Kazakhstan, will give "a qualitative impetus to the entire spectrum of Kazakh-Turkmen strategic partnership."

subset: commoncrawl


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…only monthly rent collectors are hit
For most Nigerian landlords who adopted the long term rent payment system, the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the real estate market is nothing but news.
This class of landlords has not been affected by the wave of the pandemic as their tenants renewed their rents before COVID-19 started affecting their wallet. But that is for early rent payers.
Although unlawful, most landlords in the major cities in Nigeria require tenants to make down payment of not less than one year. In some cases, tenants are expected to pay rents three years upfront .
"As at the ending of February, all my tenants had renewed their rent for the year 2020, so I have not been affected by the coronavirus impact except, of course, they are all now staying at home which means more pressure on the facilities in my property," Johnson Babajide, a landlord with three properties in the mainland axis of Lagos state, said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Tenancy Law 2011 states that it is illegal for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive rent in excess of six months for a monthly tenant, or one year from a yearly tenant. It is also unlawful for the sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of one year for a yearly tenant and six months for a monthly tenant.
"I recently moved to Yaba and the landlord didn't collect anything less than two years rent as he claimed that the property was a new one," Bisi Olalekan, a 25-year old accountant, told BusinessDay in Lagos, adding that she would have been required to pay for one year if it was an old building.
Checks by BusinessDay revealed that Nigeria has one of the most rigid rent payment systems in Africa as the majority of landlords require upfront payment on apartments. This is despite the fact that most tenants receive their income on a monthly basis.
The frequencies at which rent is paid and how much is required as an upfront payment are the two criteria in determining rent payment system in a country.
Using both indicators, Nigerian cities come at the bottom of the pyramid in Africa, accompanied by Cameroun, Ghana and Sierra Leone, as data available shows they are all in the same level.
This is, however, not the case in some African countries like Botswana, South Africa, Benin Republic, Togo and Rwanda, where rent payment frequency is on a monthly basis without an upfront or down payment.
On why landlords in Nigeria prefer upfront rent payment, Adeniyi Akinlusi, president of Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and CEO, Trustbond Mortgage, said some landlords collect upfront payment of two years because of the high-interest rate on the loans they borrowed from banks and as such are constantly in search for ways to recoup and pay up as soon as possible.
"The second reason maybe because they are not sure that the tenants will be consistent in their monthly payment," Akinlusi said, adding that the "fear of high default rate due to the lack of credit collection system," is a challenge.
With the highest population in Africa, Nigeria has a housing deficit of more than 17 million units, and according to the Association of Housing Corporation of Nigeria (AHCN), an umbrella organization for all federal and state housing agencies, more than 90 percent of new homes utilise funds from personal savings for incremental construction.
Available report shows that the average rent of Nigerians between 20-35 years of age is around $230 monthly and the average price of one-bedroom in megacities like; Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt is around $300 per month.
This means that a lot of people cannot afford to rent by themselves and the problem of upfront annual rent requirement has also created a product gap that can only be bridged by one that can split those payments into a monthly denomination.
A newly employed Eze Ikechukwu, a graduate trainee with one of the consulting firms in Lagos, has been squatting with his friend since last year when he relocated from Abakaliki in Ebonyi State to Lagos as his rent budget could not cover for a one-year payment.
Companies like Rent-Small-Small, one of Nigeria's first 'On-demand Home Rental Solution' with flexible payment and rent insurance, are however providing products that can bridge the gap created by Nigeria's rigid rent payment system.
But at a time like this when coronavirus has almost brought economic activities to a standstill in Nigeria, some landlords who collect rent on a monthly basis are expected to see high default rates as some Nigerians have been projected to either lose their jobs or have their salary slashed by their employers.
"If the pandemic stays on for the next 3 months, people will lose their jobs, some will have their salaries put on hold, and others will have to take a salary cut; all of these will increase default rate and it'll be devastating, especially for the traditional real estate players and landlords who are highly dependent on rental income," Tunde Balogun, CEO of Rent-Small-Small, said.
Source: Businessdayng


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This bulletin is an update to the Feb. 1, 2021 Medicaid Bulletin. The Advanced Medical Home (AMH) Glidepath Attestation functionality is now live in NCTracks. The AMH Glidepath Attestation can be found within the AMH Tier Attestation page in the NCTracks Provider Portal. Please refer to the AMH Tier Attestation Job Aid on the NCTracks website for specific directions on how to arrive at this page.
Effective April 1, 2021, as part of the transition to Medicaid Managed Care, NC Medicaid will offer time-limited payments to practices that have attested as an AMH Tier 3 if they can demonstrate successful readiness for AMH Tier 3 responsibilities (see Eligibility).
- The payments, called "AMH Tier 3 Glidepath Payments," will be $8.51 per member, per month (PMPM), paid by NC Medicaid in addition to eligible practices' existing Carolina Access II PMPM payments.
- AMH Tier 3 Glidepath Payments are intended to provide an incentive for managed care launch readiness as well as provide funding to offset some of practices' Tier 3 implementation costs.
- Payments will be available for the months of April, May and June, 2021, only.
An AMH Glidepath presentation is available on the Advanced Medical Home webpage under "Resources."
A. Eligibility
To receive AMH Tier 3 Glidepath payments, a practice must attest to meeting the following requirements:
- Successfully completed NCTracks attestation as an AMH Tier 3.
The process for AMH Tier 3 attestation is described in the CSRA AMH Tier Attestation guidance dated May 28, 2020. Practices are advised to check their AMH attestation status within the NCTracks Provider Portal. - Completed contracting at a Tier 3 level with at least two health plans.
The practice may contract with one or more additional health plans at a lower Tier level, as long as the practice has at least two signed contracts at the Tier 3 level. - Undergone successful data exchange with at least two health plans.
Practices must attest to meeting data exchange readiness milestones as part of their Tier 3 glidepath attestation. The AMH Tier 3 practice or its contracted Clinically Integrated Network (CIN)/other partner must have:- Completed necessary technology work required to ingest all required/mandatory AMH data interfaces per the published state technical specifications.
- Completed at least one full round of testing with at least two (2) of its contracted health plans for all required AMH interfaces. One full round of testing includes demonstration of the ability to systematically ingest test AMH files for all required/mandatory interfaces and submission of test results to health plans.
- Completed defect resolution from the full round of testing and be on target to complete additional testing as needed to operationalize required/mandatory AMH interfaces aligned with the Medicaid production schedule.
While AMH Tier 3 practices will be responsible for attesting to completion of data exchange requirements, CINs/other partners may complete these data exchange testing requirements on behalf of contracted practices if the AMH and CIN have an active association and if that CIN will be performing data exchange on behalf of the AMH practice after managed care launch.
AMHs (or CINs/other partners) and health plans must test the following required/mandatory data exchanges:
- Beneficiary Assignment Interface
- Pharmacy Lock-in Interface
- Medical Professional Claims Interface—includes separate header and line interfaces
- Medical Institutional Claims Interface—includes separate header and line interfaces
- Pharmacy Claims Interface—includes separate header and line interfaces
- Dental Claims Interfaces—includes separate header and line interfaces
Health plans have selected a small number of CINs/AMH Tier 3 practices as testing partners to support AMH data interfaces testing as part of Medicaid's end-to-end testing efforts to ensure all data exchange systems are working prior to managed care launch. Practices and their affiliated CINs/other partners who are participating in end-to-end testing are considered by NC Medicaid to have met the AMH Tier 3 Glidepath data exchange testing requirements as part of their participation in end-to-end testing. Those AMHs will still need to attest to meeting eligibility for Glidepath payments in NCTracks.
B. Attestation and Timing
Practices may complete attestation at any time before June 1, 2021 to receive glidepath payments. Practices will only be required to complete the AMH Tier 3 Glidepath attestation once. NC Medicaid will validate practices prior to initiating payment for each month. To receive AMH Tier 3 Glidepath payments for each month, practices must complete attestation before the deadlines listed below:
- For payment in April, May and June: complete attestation no later than March 30, 2021, at 5 p.m. ET
- For payment in May and June only: complete attestation no later than April 27, 2021, at 5 p.m. ET
- For payment in June only: complete attestation no later than May 26, 2021, at 5 p.m. ET
Once an AMH Tier 3 practice has attested to meeting these milestones in NCTracks, NC Medicaid will validate that the practice is enrolled with NC Medicaid and attested as an AMH Tier 3 before initiating AMH Tier 3 Glidepath payments. NC Medicaid will also collect reports from health plans to validate that each Tier 3 practice has contracted at the Tier 3 level and has completed the required data exchange testing.
E. Payment
Practices that complete attestation and are validated by NC Medicaid for the AMH Tier 3 Glidepath will receive $8.51 PMPM. This payment will be added onto existing Carolina Access Medical Home payments that the practice currently receives. Payments will be based on the Medicaid population currently enrolled with the practice, even if not all current Medicaid members will be assigned to the practice after managed care launch.
NCTracks Call Center, 800-688-6696


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Mission, Vision, Values
When people of faith from different backgrounds and traditions get to know one another, their community is stronger, experiences less prejudice and bigotry, and is more resilient. Interfaith Partnership seeks to combat bias, prejudice, and hate within the St. Louis community by convening people across religious divides to build powerful and trusted relationships.
Through interfaith understanding, engagement, and advocacy, we work to bridge divisions, find unity among differences, and build a more inclusive St. Louis where all can feel safe and supported practicing their beliefs.
Interlocking Bodies of Leadership
We are governed by a Board of Directors who serve as our legal and fiduciary authority. The Board of Directors consists of an Executive Committee, Standing Committee Chairs, a representative of the Cabinet, and up to 18 At-Large members. In nominating and democratically electing our Board of Directors, we strive to assure religious and/or cultural diversity. Who's on the Board of Directors?
The Cabinet provides a public voice for Interfaith Partnership on matters of religious, moral and ethical conscience. Membership of the Cabinet includes the highest ranking leader of a religious group, a person appointed by that group, or their representative. Who's on the Cabinet?


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In Turkey, Syrian refugees no longer welcomed as economy teeters
Economist notes that Turkish people do no longer welcome the Syrian refugees and see them a pressing socio-economic problem.
Media reports reveal that as Turkey's economy gets worse and affects Turkish people's purchasing power, the attitude toward the Syrian refugees has drastically changed, with an increase in hostile acts against them.
The Economist in its latest edition delved into the issue of Syrian refugees in Turkey. After the outbreak of the Syria uprising, millions of civilians took shelter in Turkey, escaping the brutality of the war at home.
Though the Turkish government deservedly gained the praise of the international community for its accommodation of more than 3,5 million Syrian refugees, it showed signs of financial overstretch and mounting public grumblings about its social and economic cost.
Economist notes that Turkish people do no longer welcome the Syrian refugees and see them a pressing socio-economic problem.
In one example, as the magazine reported, %66 percent of the residents, responding to a public survey, cited Syrians as the most serious and compelling concern to be dealt with ahead of the March 31 elections.
As the refugee problem became a driving political force and a divisive issue in many European countries, the situation of Syrians in Turkey has gained similar tropes and became a central theme of political discourse during the recent local municipal elections.
The issue especially has become a matter of political controversy in coastal areas where the Syrians concentrated. It shaped the campaign of opposition party candidates who saw no scruples in using the "refugee card."
As Economist report notes, Meral Aksener, the leader of the nationalist IYI (Good) Party, became the vanguard of a political campaign to send Syrians back home. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been the champion of embracing Syrians so far.
While the open border policy did spur a little public reaction in the first years, the looming economic crisis has left a profound impact on people's thinking regarding the refugees.
In a town in northern Turkey, a new mayor from the secular main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) acted immediately and cut off the municipal aid to Syrians living there, Economist reports.
As the tide of public mood swung wide openly against the Syrians, the AK Party officials needed to adjust their discourse. Binali Yildirim, the AK Party nominee for Istanbul and former Prime Minister, even pledged to send some Syrians back if they threatened public order.
The course of Turkish politics also is not promising. After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party lost major cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, the state of municipal and local aid to Syrian refugees would be in jeopardy. It was, after all, Erdogan's party which provided subsidies and aid to the Syrians living in AKP-governed cities.
Source: ipa


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Speed bump is one of the most irritating thing to hit you while you were driving.Speed bump are meant to slow cars down but it also can cause accident (talking from experience here). Other than slowing cars down, the speed bump will give stress to your suspension system and will slowly damage it. For cars with sportier / lowered or harder spring its such a pain in the ass to go through all this speed bump.
As we all know, Malaysia road condittion is not very good. There are potholes everywhere, especially n Subang Perdana ;).With the addition of the speed bump, especially the homemade one. Our car suspension system will be gone in no time. Something need to be done.
What could be done? Designers Jae-yun Kim & Jong-Su Lee say it's time to move on! No more of this silly giant bumps in the road when we could advance!
So what do they do?
They make a speed bump that's based on retractors that open if the impact with them is small enough. These speed bumps can be configured so that if a car is going below 30km/h, the speed bump flattens; over 30km/h, the force causes the retractor to stay closed, keeping the speed bump active.
This is a smart one, people will be encouraged to slow down to avoid such a bumpy ride.This will reduce the suspension wear and tear, and reduce exhaust emission by slowing down and accelerating again.
Another imaginary option of the speed bump would be the imaginary painted speed bump. :)


text: Bob is back, and this time he shares his easy to read, but challenging "thought-starters" to help spark your new found freedom in retirement and to think beyond your past career. Retirement: Your New Adventure! challenges you to move forward with creativity, joy, and great hope to seize the opportunity brought by retirement or other changes by looking to the many new adventures ahead.


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The three pictures that you can see here show three various plates from San Marino. Unfortunately I don't know anything about them yet, but the meaning of them: MA stands for "Macchina Agricola" (agricultural vehicle), MO for "Macchina Operatrice" (work vehicle) and it's quite obvious that the last one was used on a tractor (trattore). I'll try to find out more about these plates as soon as possible.
I want to thank Marco for the first picture. The other two pictures are taken from the ALPCA archives. If you have got better pictures or information about these plates, please write me.


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Light Up Flashing Red, White, and Blue Star Glasses - $7.99+$3 shipping
per item
Buy 2, get 1 FREE!
These Light Up "Star-Shaped Frame" Glasses are SUPER BRIGHT and BRILLIANT! A whopping TEN Red, White, and Blue LED Lights in each pair! cool even in daylight - AWESOME at night! THREE seperate flashing functions! Fast blink, Slow blink, and all on! Change with a push of a button! Ready to DAZZLE out of the package! and with extra batteries FREE, you've got almost nothing to lose! Great for ANY Patriotic event or parade! GREAT for parties, clubs, raves, ANY EVENT! Batteries are included, installed and replaceable.


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Nuclear fuel delivered in April for unit 2 of the Belarus NPP is ready for loading into the reactor after acceptance inspections were completed, Rosatom said on 3 May. of the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from the press service of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom.
The inspection of fuel assemblies and control rods was carried out by specialists of the state enterprise Belarusian NPP, representatives of the general contractor Atomstroyexport, and representatives of Russia's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP). Every stage of the inspection was overseen by personnel of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor). Pending loading into the reactor, the will be placed in a storage facility.
Belarus NPP will consist of two Russian supplied VVER-1200 power units. The plant was issued a permit for pilot industrial operation of unit 1 in December and it was connected to the grid earlier in March. It is expected that the unit 1 will be put into commercial operation in 2021 and unit 2 in 2022.
Image: Belarus nuclear power plant (Photo credit: Rosatom)


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What Sets One Wine So Far Apart From All Others?
Remember the heady days before the Great Recession? Irrational exuberance. Conspicuous consumption.
For some these were forewarnings of economic turmoil ahead. For others these became the mantra for sustained hedonism.
Then it all came crashing down around our feet. Some fared better than others, while a significant number experienced career, if not life-altering trauma.
Well, here we are, fully a decade on from those dark days. And the mindset of the pre-recession era is evidenced again in small pockets. Notwithstanding the shifts in personal wealth and economic growth, the polarization of wealth in our nation and the globe has become startlingly disparate. I read somewhere that the aggregate wealth of the 85 richest individuals in the world is greater than that of 50 percent of the global population.
Recently, I've seen pockets of this exuberant consumption(?) in the auction marketplace. A few months ago, Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi sold for $450 million, shattering all previous records for paintings. Then last week I read of another auction that I feel compelled to report to you. And it relates to wine. Therefore, I've decided to digress from the next installment of my Spanish wine series to bring this to your attention.
Sotheby's auction house, which has sold its fair share of rare and highly sought-after wines, auctioned a collection of French wines from the famed cellars of Robert Drouhin. One of the wines set a record in grand style, far surpassing its estimated sale value and far exceeding the previous world record.
One bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) was sold in a frenzied bidding war to an Asian investor for $558,000. That equates to $111,600 for one glass, assuming the bottle will ever be opened and served. It also is the cash price for a comfortable three-bedroom house in most housing markets in the United States.
By comparison, the previous record for a bottle of wine was $310,700 for a jeroboam (equivalent to six standard size bottles) of 1945 Mouton-Rothschild sold in 2007.
The auction value of a particular wine is derived from several factors. Its scarcity, desirability amongst competing collectors, unique attributes and storage history all contribute to the ultimate value and hammer price.
Let's focus on the three criteria that I believe contributed to this record-setting sale.
- The wine. DRC is the most famous vineyard/winery in the world. Nestled France's Burgundy region, it historically commands the top price for wine in every release and in every auction. It is farmed biodynamically on a small plot of land. Its small production (5,000 to 6,000 bottles on average) guarantees a high price. The current release, not readily available, sells for about $25,000 per bottle.
- The vintage. Of all its vintages, the 1945 DRC is the most prized. The staying power, aromatics and flavor profile are legendary. And only 600 bottles were produced. The vines were pulled and the vineyard replanted after harvest; the next DRC wasn't produced until the 1952 vintage.
- The provenance. Rare wines may change hands multiple times as they pass from one collector's cellar to the next. Thus, the consistency of its quality and aging profile may vary over its life. If storage in a credible owner's cellar cannot be verified for every year of its life, a rare wine's value may diminish. Not to mention that counterfeit wines proliferate in the marketplace.
The 1945 DRC came from the cellar of the 85-year-old Drouhin, one of the most reputable winemakers in Burgundy. His father, Maurice, was the distributor of DRC from 1928 to 1964. The 1945 DRC had been in the Drouhin cellar since release, a rare occurrence in the life of such a storied wine. This factor may have contributed most to the record-setting auction price.
As incredible as the bidding was for this bottle, just as amazing is that there was another bottle of the 1945 DRC sold minutes later. For $496,000, to a New York real estate developer. Exuberant consumption for certain.
Nick Antonaccio is a 40-year Pleasantville resident. For over 20 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. Nick is a member of the Wine Media Guild of wine writers. He also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick's credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at email@example.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.


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Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show, 13th November 2008, at Laundry Bar. This also happened to be the 3rd Anniversary of Moonshine, so more bright colorful lights were turned on!
This is Rendra Zanawi (featuring Alda the long-time-no-see-band-slut hehe.)
And this is Stephanie who played in 2 bands that night. Gotta love the translucent orange snare drum (and how it projects orange onto the carpet!)
Adil Johan saxing.
"I'll play my part, and you'll play yours."
But really, this was an awesome, awesome battle between the sax and guitar.
Then it was Reza Salleh.
I love it whenever I catch the rare triangular light on cheekbones.
Melina also played for Tempered Mental, who was heavier than ever! Jack was let loose and yet sounded very composed ripping away metal solos.
At gigs I always bring my Minolta 50mm F1.4; the other lens is often a quandary. That night I picked the Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX and I love how it scales and distorts. This is a crop from my Sony A900!
Jimmy, who is probably the only drummer who is not a band slut around. Jack and Melina each play in other bands.
Why so serious?
Yeah, this was a severely underexposed F1.4 ISO6400 image which I attempted to pull up. It's a severe crop, too.
And then the trumpets blared and the saxophones returned on stage – big ska band 40 Winks was on!
He's not Adlin Rosli, he claims.


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New York City Buildings Department Teaches Students How to Stay Safe While Riding the City's 62,000 Elevators and Escalators
We've written several times about the NYC Buildings Department's annual Construction Safety Week, including the citywide safety campaign to encourage construction workers to use proper fall protection. Another public education program run by the Buildings Department is National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week. The 8th annual program took place last month. Aimed at children, the program's safety slogan is "Ring, Relax, Wait," which reminds children to ring the elevator's safety bell in an emergency and wait patiently for help instead of trying to pry the doors open. Many accidents occur when elevator passengers attempt to jump out of the elevator cab just before the doors unexpectedly close or the elevator moves.
According to the Department's press release, as part of the program, the Department's Elevators Unit will teach more than 1,700 first, second and third graders across the City's five boroughs how to stay safe when using the City's 62,000 elevators and escalators. Children use these devices on a daily basis, and safety education is critical to ensuring public safety.
Since bringing National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week to the City, the Department has taught thousands of children how to safely ride New York's 60,000 elevators and 2,400 escalators. In recent years, the Department has expanded classes throughout the month of November in an effort to reach more children and prevent future accidents. Throughout the month, the Elevators Unit visited more than 10 schools throughout the City.
As part of the safety classes, students also watch a short video narrated by "Safety Kat", the program's mascot, on the importance of following safety precautions when using elevators and escalators. At the end of the class, each student is given a certificate of competition, a "Junior Inspector" badge, an educational coloring book and the Department's Elevator/Escalator safety flyer for children, which is printed in both English and Spanish. Students are encouraged to bring the materials home and share what they learned with their family members.
According to the DOB's website, tips discussed during the classes include:
- Step on and off of elevators/escalators carefully
- Make sure elevators are level with the floor before exiting
- Always face forward when riding on escalators
- Hold onto the escalator's handrails
- Never touch the sides below the escalator's handrails
- Keep items like loose clothing, ties, scarves and shoelaces clear of closing elevator doors and the spaces between escalator steps
- Avoid jumping in elevators so the devices do not stall or become uneven with the floor
- Do not use any part of your body to hold the elevator doors open
- Never lean on the elevator doors or attempt to pry them open
- If an elevator gets stuck, remain calm and wait for help
National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week is organized by the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF), a charitable organization formed in 1991 with the mission of using informational programs to educate the public on the safe and proper use of elevators, escalators and moving walks.
The personal injury lawyers at Levine & Slavit have decades of experience handling personal injury claims. For 50 years spanning 3 generations, we have obtained results for satisfied clients. Contact the personal injury lawyers at Levine & Slavit for their help. We have offices in Manhattan and Long Island, handling cases in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and surrounding areas. To learn more, watch our videos.


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Hello everyone! We know you love 3D pen and hot glue crafts, and we are about to share a new portion of awesome DIYs with you guys 🙂 If you have a hole in your shoe, don't worry! Get a glue gun that will help you quickly fix it. We will also teach you to make shoes entirely from glue! When it's sunny outside, go out wearing this cute hat you can easily make with a 3D pen! See the tutorial in the video. If you are a parent who loves crafting, here is a terrific way to entertain your kid. With the help of a 3D pen, regular marker caps can be transformed into funny animals and other characters. Create the cutest finger puppets for your kids to play with 😉 What's your favorite tool, a glue gun or a 3D pen? Stay tuned to see lots of colorful DIY ideas to brighten up your mood 🙂
01:13 — 3D pen hat
01:44 — Awesome hot glue boots
03:04 — DIY cute finger puppets for your kids
04:23 — DIY jewelry stand
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information on this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgment, care and precautions if one plans to replicate.
The following video might feature activity performed by our actors within controlled environment- please use judgment, care, and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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Music by Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/


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Choosing Faith Over Fear
By: Glenda Lofton, Ph.D.
Dec 15, 2020
When I retired in 1999 after 33 years of employment, Tommy thought I had retired too young so he decided, in keeping with the Lofton tradition, "to put me to work" by writing an article for the company newsletter...and I have loved doing it! Often I have written about past and current events in our country's history that have had an impact on our nation, such as The Great Depression back in 1933 when Roosevelt stated, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Americans responded with faith and optimism that not only brought them out of the Depression, but gave them the courage and fortitude to triumph in World War II. While many prayed that we would never be put to the test again, the events of September 11, 2001 and other events since then, including the worldwide spread of the coronavirus, have reminded us not to take our blessings for granted.
In Decision Magazine, April 2020, Franklin Graham notes that the virus has created "widespread panic and alarm like he has seldom seen before - if ever! None of us," he adds, "know when this pandemic will end, but we can choose to live in faith, not fear - faith in a God who cares for us, loves us, is in control of every detail, and who will never leave us or forsake us." Quoting the Apostle Paul, Franklin concludes with "nothing (including a virus) can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35, 38-39).
As I read Franklin's comments, I was reminded of a scripture that has meant a lot to me during these troubled times: "If My people who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).
Prayer for our nation has a strong foundation. The first day of prayer was declared by the Continental Congress in 1775 based on a motion by Benjamin Franklin: "I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberations be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business..." Years later our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, would say, "America was founded by people who believed that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it's alright to keep asking if we're on His side." In 1988 he signed a bill marking the first Thursday of May a National Day of Prayer.
Throughout history, the faith of the American people has been captured beautifully in our music. One etched in my memory is God Bless America composed by Irving Berlin and first sung by Kate Smith in 1938. Irving Berlin, who immigrated to America as a small boy with his family, gave credit for the title to his mother who often stated, "God Bless America" for giving us a home when we fled from Russia. The song captured the heart of the American people prior to, during, and after World War II, and earned Berlin the Army's Medal of Merit from President Truman, the Congressional Gold Medal from President Eisenhower, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Gerald Ford. The lyrics have been inserted into the Congressional Record and are still relevant for our world today:
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America, Land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
To this song, I would like to add one more line..."And heal our land - physically and spiritually! Amen!"
About Lofton: Founded in 1979, Lofton Services offers clients the best of all worlds. We provide the responsive, personal service and flexibility of a small local firm while having the technology, resources, and infrastructure to deliver the benefits of the biggest players in our industry. Lofton Staffing can deliver the right people, with the right skills, right when you need them. Contact us today.


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Like Something Out of a Movie!
Michelle and Erica are best friends that have the kind of friendship that everyone wishes they had, but only few actually achieve. It's basically the type of BFF level that is always portrayed in movies. The ending of one movie specifically comes to mind when thinking of these two - Bride Wars. And I'm not talking about all the crazy antics the two protagonists get into, I'm talking about in the end, when every issue has been resolved and the two BFFs meet for brunch and they both exchange the incredibly exciting news that they're pregnant...
I always thought "yeah right!" This kind of stuff doesn't happen in real life! Well, I guess that's not entirely true, because it happened to Michelle and Erica! These two besties due dates were a mere few months apart. How cool is that!? Their kids were literally born with their own built in bestie for life! There kids will literally be able to say they've known each other since birth, and I can't think of anything cooler than that.
The weekend of this session was basically a BFF baby moon and they had a few goals in mind. The first being to have fun, duh! And the second was to end the trip with a BFF pregnancy session at the Opal Sands Resort where they had been staying.


text: Dan Ogborn is a true expert in the field of muscle building. I've worked with Dan on multiple research-based projects and have found him to be one of the most knowledgeable, insightful guys around with respect to the science and practice of exercise. He's one of the few people I actively seek out for collaboration.


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From this morning's New York Times
The United States has previously admitted, sometimes under pressure from federal inspectors, that some of its reconstruction projects have been abandoned, delayed or poorly constructed. But this is the first time inspectors have found that projects officially declared a success — in some cases, as little as six months before the latest inspections — were no longer working properly.
The inspections ranged geographically from northern to southern Iraq and covered projects as varied as a maternity hospital, barracks for an Iraqi special forces unit and a power station for Baghdad International Airport.
At the airport, crucially important for the functioning of the country, inspectors found that while $11.8 million had been spent on new electrical generators, $8.6 million worth were no longer functioning.
At the maternity hospital, a rehabilitation project in the northern city of Erbil, an expensive incinerator for medical waste was padlocked — Iraqis at the hospital could not find the key when inspectors asked to see the equipment — and partly as a result, medical waste including syringes, used bandages and empty drug vials were clogging the sewage system and probably contaminating the water system.
The newly built water purification system was not functioning either.
Officials at the oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, said they had made an effort to sample different regions and various types of projects, but that they were constrained from taking a true random sample in part because many projects were in areas too unsafe to visit. So, they said, the initial set of eight projects — which cost a total of about $150 million — cannot be seen as a true statistical measure of the thousands of projects in the roughly $30 billion American rebuilding program…


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B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service
London to Singapore June 1959
London to Singapore June 1959
Here we list mail flown by B.O.A.C. to/from India. We are sure there are some errors and missing information in this listing,
so please send feedback and images to us by using this link.
so please send feedback and images to us by using this link.
1. Seen by me 2. Not recorded, but may exist 3. Recorded by Vijay Seth in his Indian Airmails (1947-2003), not seen by me 4. Internal stage. BOAC was not ordinarily permitted to fly mail on this stage 5. Private design cover 6. Recorded in Swiss Airmail Handbook 2000 (Schweizerisches Luftpost-Handbuch) |
July 1959 Indian newspaper advertisement by B.O.A.C. announcing their Comet 4 airliner service via India to Colombo/Singapore and Hong Kong/Tokyo. (112x247mm)


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Item No.: AGSMS2.7594
Ame Disposable Isolation Gown SMS – Level 2
Made with Protective Tri-Layer SMS Fabric
Item: Disposable Isolation Gown. AAMI PB70:2012, level 2
Material: SMS
Material weight: 40g/m2
Size: regular, 120 x140 cm
Color: Blue
Application: Fluid risk level: high
Best used for: c-section, total hip/knee, knee arthroscopy
The gowns above are recommendations only. The longer a procedure, the more protection that may be needed.
Packaging: 1 pc/bag
- Breathable, high-performance, spunbonded surgical gown protects users while keeping them cool
- SMS inner liner and meets AAMI Level 3 liquid barrier standard
- Provides liquid barrier to zones A, B and C
- May not provide protection to zone D
- Used in MODERATE risk situations
- Provides a barrier to larger amounts of fluid penetration through splatter and more fluid exposure through soaking than Level 2
- Two tests are conducted to test barrier protection performance:
+ Water impacting the surface of the gown material
+ Pressurizing the material
Arterial blood draw, Inserting an IV, Emergency Room, Trauma
Directions for use: Always wear with the coated side on the outside and the seam pointing downwards. Keep away from open flames and heat sources.
Proper use Daily changing interval or for 8 hours maximum (Dependent on the utilized chemicals / CMR-drugs or biologicalmaterial; in case of visible contamination immediately! Single-use items!
Care instructions: Do not wash, do not iron, do not tumble dry and do not dry clean.
Storage and transport conditions
- + Dark (protect from direct UV light and sunlight)
- + Cool (+5 to +40°C); dry; no contact with pointed and/or sharp objects
Before use: Check for any damage! Do not use damaged gowns!
Disposal: Waste requiring supervision. Waste, whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in view of the prevention of infection.
Shelf life: 3 years from the date of manufacture
Flammable material. Keep away from fire!
Certificate: ISO 13485
FDA registration number: 3013502150
FDA Registration Number of The Factory Owner/Operator is 10074992


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July 8, 2019
Whatcom County Public Works has scheduled Birch Bay Lynden Road for striping on Wednesday, July 9th 2019 between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. It is requested that the public use alternate routes when possible as long delays can be expected.
This work is weather dependent and is subject to change.
Please contact the Maintenance and Operations division at 360-778-6400 if you have any questions regarding this work.


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The world of non-commercial film and A-V |
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Part of the Dutch entry for UNICA 2002 this film by Emile de Gruijter, André van der Hout, Aria Mulder and Vladimir Murtin received an IAC International Medallion, Best Story Trophy, A Special Award for Direction, The Wallace Heaton Cup for Photography and £100 from Fuji at the Movie 2001 Festival.
Dave Watterson talked to Vladimir Murtin: British audiences know your work with Reg Lancaster and Jan Schoonen, when as Triad Films you made movies such as Tandem and Olympia. This film is by four people, collectively known as Quadriga. Why do you prefer to work in a group?
Vladimir Murtin: I find that to make story films - if you want to do them well - you shouldn't begin alone.
As for this group: in 1999 we asked certain people whom we knew to be seriously interested in movie making to meet at a cafe. We created a new group which discusses the creative aspects of film making rather than equipment as clubs usually do. Sometimes we watch a film and do analysis. Sometimes we share script ideas and the members will make suggestions on how to improve it - in fact, so far, that has been our most frequent activity. We email or send stories to each other in advance of a meeting.
DW: The original screenplay for De Verdenking is credited to André van der Hout. Did that go through such a process?
VM: Yes, it was a script which he had done a couple of years ago. I liked it very much. I liked the cyclical idea of the eye at the beginning and coming back to the other eye at the end.
DW: And there are many other cycles within the film too ...
VM: I liked the fact that it completely lacked dialogue. I like films where you express yourself in pictures.
DW: So that was an aesthetic decision not a practical one because Dutch would not be widely understood abroad?
VM: No, not really. I have become used to the idea of making films which express themselves in pictures. When we worked with Reg Lancaster our films were released in UK and Holland at the same time. We tried films with some English dialogue - that was criticised in Holland. Why did we speak English when it was clearly taking place in Holland? That was silly. You can read Shakespeare in German and not ask why is it in German!
DW: So you progressed the story to a shooting script.
VM: We made some fundamental changes. The idea is that this young chap is collecting photographs of angry people, raging people. Some are made by himself and others he has collected. That was a basic change. The woman with the child got a more important role in the finished version. In fact his rejection by her leads to his death because she sends him away...
DW: Was it inspired at all by Rear Window?
VM: No but that is an interesting theory. The first film the boy watches on television is a spoof Psycho made by us specifically for this but otherwise we did not think of Hitchcock.
DW: There is a strong film noir influence.
VM: Yes, yes ... I thought it should have a very threatening mood on the part of the older man (played by Ed Swaan), but the author thought he was more innocent than that. So in the end his deed is something he cannot help .. he wonders himself why he has done it. These hands did it but I don't know why ...
DW: The initial reaction to that character is that he is threatening, then you think, no, only circumstances make him seem so, but finally he is trapped into being the villain.
VM: Some in our group thought it was exaggerated, that we should not make it a murder at the end. But I thought it should be. After all people get killed for even less, in more innocent circumstances. It's a question of rage.
DW: It's interesting that the boy's collection of rage images came late to the mix since it now reads as the heart of the story.
VM: Well we have adjusted the script in many ways. Originally it was written that in his cellar-box he was growing dope. I thought that was a little controversial - and also rather difficult to make. He would have to do it somewhere else because it needs light.
DW: Putting a photographic darkroom and a workshop in the cellar storage area made that corridor more mysterious. I was not sure why you introduced the diversion of the boy's teenage friends.
VM: That was more or less a technicality because we needed to show the umbrella being owned by the young chap. We established that in the teasing scene.
DW: Why refer to Double Indemnity which the young man watches on tv?
VM: Interesting. I don't know why. Originally the idea was to have the old man appearing behind the steering wheel of the black car in the boy's fantasy and that leads into his next fantasy ... but we never shot that scene so he suddenly appears behind those curtains with the knife... I think it was André's idea to have Double Indemnity.
The mother and daughter (Marina and Michaja Nicolai) are really related. We shot 13 hours of film of the child, just playing as we waited until she would do the right things we needed. We just let the camera run. Some of us were a bit desperate - wondering will we ever get what we want? Even after it was done we still doubted if we had got it.
DW: A lot of people did not understand the dream sequences.
VM: That worries me. It is the influence of André. He is more concerned with wild ideas and not really caring if he has communicated in detail .. if it really comes over. I care. My main worry was the misunderstanding ...
At a certain stage of editing there was a time when the group did not quite get the point of those nasty things like the cut-off leg and so on ... they did not accept it as his fantasy or dream. So we introduced a more conventional introduction to the dream. That is why the middle part, where there are two of his dreams, perhaps gets a bit lost.
Problems on the Shoot
One aspect is the sheer physical toil that we had to go through - even if it may not be obvious. The location seems just one room, another room, a balcony and a cellar-box. We had to obtain all the furniture shown and furnish an empty a flat in two ways: one for the old man and one for the young one.
In the cellar we had to remove a partition because the boxes were otherwise too small for the old man's area. We had to remove all kinds of stuff then put it back ... We had to put our lighting in for the corridor and refit it after each day's work because people live there and they want to use the boxes. We had to find the motorcycle, an old one which might look like a collector's item, and buy it - and later sell it again. Those things do not show.
DW: How the residents of the apartments react?
VM: Quite well. We were extremely lucky in one sense. The neighbour to the flat we were using was a professional drummer and our young actor had never touched any drums so he didn't know how to do it. This chap came over and gave him a little lesson. Otherwise they were just a bit curious. There was one bigoted woman who objected to our shooting on Sunday. Her shouting destroyed a couple of shots.
We were on tenterhooks with casting. We had one young chap in line but he called the whole thing off about two weeks before shooting. We had a very precise schedule for all the people involved and so on. We had trouble finding a suitable actor. Yet this turned out to be another piece of luck for we found our lead player, Christian Waard, who is excellent.
We had one location which had the right angle for the shot over to the young woman's flat. But when we went there one day they had installed a temporary lift outside the building in that corner where we wanted to shoot. We had to look for a different flat.
We were looking for some actors in a young actors school. They said they would cooperate but they needed to send a chaperone from their staff but they could not do it this year because they had had a fire and were burnt out.
It is not an easy film, not for relaxation. It requires an atmosphere in which you can concentrate and listen to the sound, some of which is almost not there ...


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Imagine my shock when I started combing Google News for something – anything – worth […]
Tag: Kill the billable hour
How to Charge the Client: Killing the Billable Hour with VeraSage's Ron Baker
I've long wanted to track down VeraSage's Ron Baker and pick his brilliant brain; at last, JDA had the opportunity to steal a few minutes with the man credited for killing the billable hour.
In his 15-some years crusading against the ridiculous measurement of "time" as a performance gauge, Ron has made quite a few steps in the right direction. Seven to ten percent of 90,000 firms have moved away from time sheets and toward "value pricing", with 1,000 or so firms eliminating the billable hour completely. While he admits it'll be a cold day in hell when the Big 4 follow suit, he's encouraged by the momentum.
"There is a change and it is coming from customers," he says, "[unfortunately] the billable hour has survived many recessions." The rigid "that's how it's always been" structure of public accounting, specifically, doesn't seem to be taking the idea well. "They'd rather be precisely wrong than approximately right," he says of major accounting firms trapped in the billable hour vice.
Encouraging value pricing in pay structures is a slow process, he says, equating the movement to that of Germ Theory in the 1800s. It was hundreds of years from the time "contact contagion" was theorized to the time it was generally accepted in medicine and eliminating the antiquated pricing structure of employee incentive won't go down without a fight either.
Billed as "a think tank dedicated to promulgating and teaching Value Pricing, Customer Economics, and Human Capital Development to professionals and businesses around the world," VeriSage seeks not to revolutionize business but improve it.
"You don't let your surgeons pierce ears," says Baker, meaning value pricing implies a company's best soldiers will be dispatched to serve their respective battalions. In simpler terms, employees are paid results, not for how long they're sitting in a chair. And in an uncertain economic environment, aren't results what matter above all else? I'm not sure it could be much simpler.
Baker knows he's got his work cut out for him but yours truly is 100% behind the idea. As a person who can tear up in one hour what five people can't even accomplish in two, I get it. Boy do I get it.
Lucky for those who choose to accept what Ron is selling, he's also a brilliant business mind. Knowing that Michelle Golden may have potentially criticized his website, he chose instead to hire her as a consultant. Genius! (Disclaimer: JDA loves Michelle Golden and isn't just saying that because she doesn't want to get torn up on her website – her "Accounting Blog list" is the most comprehensive I've ever seen.) She sits on their Board so she gets it. Excellent!
Want more JDA? Check out all of her posts for Going Concern here.


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This will be the last of the RaceTab tutorial articles prior to the New Mexico Multi-Sport clinic next week. I encourage all coaches interested in learning more about using RaceTab to manage their cross country meet to attend the clinic session I'll be doing on July 31. It's best, but not necessary, if you're able to come to the clinic with a laptop and the RaceTab program loaded. Please note that this article does make an assumption that you are fairly at ease when working with computers. If that doesn't describe you, you'll probably want to actually see this done first-hand at the clinic rather than trying to understand everything by simply navigating this tutorial.
In this session, we'll learn how to upload teams and athletes into RaceTab without using online registration. The process is very simple with online registration, but we realize some people will want to use the program without online registration and this is designed to show you how to get your teams and athletes entered in the program manually. The process is still pretty simple.
The first thing you'll want to do is to collect rosters of all athletes potentially participating in your meet from each of the various schools attending. Additionally, you want that information in the same format from each coach since you will be merging these files into one single file to import into RaceTab. Experience tells me the best way to do this is to send a simple Excel spreadsheet to each coach with the columns already labeled (as shown below).
Using the Excel spreadsheet occasionally becomes an issue if a coach on your invite list is using Open Office as this program can read Excel files, but Excel does not read Open Office files. Request (adamantly, if necessary) that any such coaches find a copy of Excel to use to make their entries (it's not that difficult to find a copy of Excel to use).
Once all entry files have been returned to you, you will copy-and-paste all entries into a single file without the Event, First Name, Last Name, etc. column headers in the top row. Simply copy the entries, without the headers, from the files coaches have sent you into another file. If your meet has separate varsity and JV races, it is enough to simply import all entries as either HS Boys 5000 Meter Run or HS Girls 5000 Meter Run. RaceTab does not require that athletes be entered in exactly the race they will run, only that they be entered into this program (This little fact will save you lots of time on race day when five coaches come to you telling you that so-and-so wasn't able to make it to the meet and we need to replace him/her in the varsity race with thus-and-such.).
Once you have completed copying the entries into your Excel file, save the Excel file as a .csv (comma delimited) file. This save option is under File/Save As/Save as Type. When dooing this in Excel 2010, you will get two prompts. Click OK on the first prompt and No on the second prompt. The next dialog box that appears allows you to save your entries as a regular Excel file (which is a good idea, go ahead and do it). When you save your .csv file, be sure to note the directory and filename you saved it under. You will need these to access the file when we load entries into RaceTab.
Next, with your meet open in RaceTab, go to the Teams tab.
At this tab, you will want to click on Entries/Import from Delimited File to bring your entries into the meet manager program. This will bring up the Import from Delimited File utility.
Click on the + Add File command on the right-hand portion of the utility and locate your file. Once you have selected your file, click on Open and your entry file will appear in the blank area at the bottom of the dialog. Change your text delimiter from Tab to Comma (or you can simply add Comma to your selection without removing Tab) and your entry file should neatly separate in columns as shown below:
Note that the preselected column headings in RaceTab do not necessarily conform to the actual content of the columns. You will want to highlight each column of your entries file individually and click on the Selected Column dropdown to assign the correct headers to each column. Once you have done that for all columns, simply click on OK in the lower right corner of the Import from Delimited File dialog and your entries have been entered into RaceTab. That would be all of the athletes and all of the teams for your meet. If you get a late-arriving entry file, you can simply repeat this process with that file to add that team and its entries to the meet.
If you would like an Excel template for entries (this template is also ready to use for any coach to make entries into your meet), or a filled-out template of dummy entries to try on your own, simply e-mail me at the address shown in the bottom left corner of any page of this site. I would be happy to send you a copy of those files.
At the clinic, I will also show you how to set up your meet using online registration so that you can decide for yourself if you want to make that extra investment. The point here, however, is to give you a choice and let you make your own decision.


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Key Insights
On Friday 29th May a Leadership Think tank was held for Secretaries General, Presidents and other senior leaders of the IFRC network. The think tank was established to help National Society leaders learn from others who are undergoing major COVID responses and to explore how we need to transform as an organisation to navigate this and future crises.—
Presentations were delivered by:
Mr. Ren Hao, Director General of the International Liaison Department of the Red Cross Society of China
Mr. Flavio Ronzi, Secretary General Italian Red Cross
Mr. Antoni Bruel Carreras, Coordinator General, Spanish Red Cross
Ms. Gail McGovern, President and CEO American Red Cross
There were also discussions and questions during the session from leaders participating. 115 people attended from approximately 50 National Societies and IFRC bodies.
Here are 6 key insights that emerged from the think tank:
Agility and Speed is key
The presenters acknowledged that while we had forecast a global pandemic as a potential threat we would have to manage, we were not prepared for this event. All four NSs who presented reflected on the importance of moving with speed and of the need to be agile in such a response – from operational day to day services, to revamping governance systems.
Services needed to be rapidly adapted to meet both new and emerging needs as well as adapting to the operating environment. The NSs based their approaches on emerging science, but as the science was also rapidly developing and changing this meant that the NSs needed to continually pivot to reflect the new advice emerging from experts.
"American Red Cross for instance began taking convalescent plasma (from patients who had overcome coronavirus) as an experimental approach, to support their Federal authorities and had already shipped 6,000 units of the Plasma. New approaches to collecting blood and plasma had to be rapidly designed and implemented in light of social distancing requirements. They also had to respond to 'traditional' crises such as tornadoes in vastly different ways, for instance where usually they would have opened shelters, social distancing concerns meant they had to switch to put families into hotels, as people preferred to sleep in cars rather than go into shelters. American Red Cross needed to rapidly develop new systems and partnerships for this effort.
"The new situation challenged old ways of thinking and forced us to innovate in order to save lives"
Flavio Ronzi SG Italian Red Cross
The crisis has presented an opportunity for innovation – it has enabled a rethinking of "business as usual". All four NSs showed a great deal of innovation during this first part of the pandemic, transforming often well-established practices in a very short period of time, or rapidly scaling up their services, for example;
There was a large-scale reorganising of systems by providing social services that complemented health services for those at home. Counselling and PSS services became increasingly important.
- Many services had to be moved quickly to a virtual delivery format forcing a redesign but also a rapid upskilling in digital tools and management.
- Scale had to be increased immediately, Spanish Red Cross for instance received 190,000 requests for support in the early days.
- Understanding the inter-related components of vulnerabilities, the NSs undertook successful integrated fundraising approaches, combining various services beyond COVID19 response, such as health, rescue, education, social and environmental concerns.
- Italian Red Cross shifted the management of their Governance elections at both regional and national level for the first time to an online process which required a significant and rapid change to systems and processes
The four leaders emphasised the importance of being able to take informed but quick decisions and to move to implementation quickly. They also highlighted the need to be able to immediately change direction given the changes in context.
Strong local actors are essential, (including our ability to mobilise volunteers), but so is a strong global distributed network
When international borders were closed and movement restricted, much of the response was driven at a local level, underscoring again the importance of strong local actors and the need at the systems level for enhanced focus and investment on this.
All presenters saw a huge surge in local solidarity and to varying extents they were able to capitalise on this and mobilise it to support the community.
Volunteering models were reimagined, redesigned and importantly, significantly scaled up. Large numbers of new volunteers joined, including 25,000 new volunteers in Spain and 40,000 in Italy. Induction and management systems were moved online, offering a combination of videos, virtual trainings and virtual sign up processes. The entire system shifted at a pace that may not have been considered possible only a few months ago.
Mechanisms to ensure the safety and wellbeing of volunteers had to be adapted, including provision of PPE and safety protocols. Red Cross Society of China implemented a fund for the families of those volunteers who had died. There remain many complications in ensuring the safety of volunteers.
Local volunteers also played key roles in identifying innovations and new approaches to addressing community vulnerabilities. Service design and delivery was often rapidly being conceived of or adapted at an 'on-the-ground' level. This 'decentralisation' was significantly enhanced by more horizontal communication among volunteers within NSs and quicker decision making on the ground. In some cases, the NS was able to shift volunteers between regions within their country to provide surge support in areas badly affected.
Spanish Red Cross drove a significant local effort, aligning HR management to local action, supporting local coordination with other actors and implementing support structures that attempted to ensure their 1,400 local offices remained open and functional.
But while the response was local, the Pandemic was global, also reinforcing the need to function effectively as a global distributed network that can coordinate efficiently to ensure a consistently strong response in all countries. Information sharing between all levels of National Societies has been paramount including;"This is not a vertical crisis, it is affecting everyone"
Antonio Bruel, General Coordinator Spanish RC
- Sharing of expertise and personnel, The Red Cross Society of China sent teams to Iran, Iraq and Italy.
- Sharing new or innovative ideas between National Society staff and volunteers
- Global platforms that contain information on NS activities in one easy to access place.
The presenters saw a need for
- a strong role for the IFRC in these responses to help ensure better coordination and economy of scale in the response and to play a role that is inclusive and focused on its member NSs. Global thinking and convening were seen as essential to be ready to respond as a collaborative operation.
- Overall there was a strong recognition of the power of solidarity within our network and, of global support and cooperation.
"Now I feel it in my heart: the RCRC is very powerful, when we work together, we are very powerful"
Gail McGovern, CEO/President American RC
Trust and Community engagement emerges once again as central
In a crisis marked by the need for reliable and trustworthy public health advice complicated by a large amount of misinformation in social media messaging, the need to trust public health institutions has possibly never been more important. This reinforces the criticality of trust being built and maintained by National Societies during 'normal' times as well as during crises.
Presenters reported high levels of trust emerging for their National Societies during this Pandemic. This manifested in multiple ways;
- Substantial financial support for NS activities – appeals were often oversubscribed, National Societies raised beyond their targets.
- A significant increase in support from the Private Sector, both in terms of resources and in-kind contributions
- A significant increase in volunteer applications
- Generally strong public profiling of the role of the RCRC and volunteers
Spanish Red Cross went to lengths to provide a transparent public platform that provided real time information on their operations, finances and other efforts. They found that ensuring transparency of operations to the population in real time, built confidence and demonstrated their leadership, as well improving public engagement.
Likewise, the Red Cross Society of China saw very high support from the population boosted by an increase of accountability mechanisms using social media and mainstream media and by the standardisation of fundraising approaches and the increased speed in the use of public donations.
The NS presenters also reflected on a high level of trust in one another, with leaders of all 4 NSs highlighting how the power of our global distributed network was evident in this response and a much stronger sense of belonging, of collective impact and the pride that this instilled.
The Auxiliary role has become even more important
The presenters noted an enhanced partnership with government and greater information sharing which they saw as critical for an effective response.
In all cases, the auxiliary role to national and local authorities had to be reinvented and adapted, in the face of growing requests: NSs have taken on new responsibilities, for example Italian Red Cross has extended their support to prehospital triage and other areas new to them, to recruiting and making available health personnel for hospital and home based care and, sourcing and providing additional ambulances.
The NS auxiliary role appears to have been significantly strengthened through the response and there is real potential to leverage this for a sustained and improved role going forward.
Digital transformation has rapidly accelerated and is here to stay
The presenters saw that the crisis hastened the investment and adoption of a digitally transformative approach. Some highlights included;
- The e-Governance and e-Elections of the Italian RC
- E-learning courses for American, Italian and Spanish RC.
- Digital volunteerism and, recruitment and induction of large numbers of new volunteers
- Team and management meetings, and coordination of work went almost entirely digital
- The skills and capacities of staff and volunteers to work digital rapidly increased
Less presence in offices and more flexible smartworking was identified as cost effective, increasing vicinity to communities if mixed properly with traditional forms of community engagement, and able to contribute to a reduced carbon footprint.
The presenters felt that these were transformations that would now likely continue beyond the crisis and are now part of the 'new normal'
We need to be forward looking and to learn from this
While the future is evolving, NSs are using foresight to work with different scenarios, risks and contingencies. There is an acknowledgement of the need to transform this knowledge into a body of action that can determine how we influence our future
The crisis has equally provided the opportunity for NSs to break new ground and to adapt (in some cases to make quite radical changes). There continues to be risks, such as channelling all the energy from old and new volunteers, while at the same time there is a clear opportunity in the improved positioning of the RCRC.
"The new situation is unknown, but we have learned to read better the trends and anticipate some of them"
Flavio Ronzi, SG Italian RC
As the second phase of this Pandemic emerges for these National Societies some key considerations were being raised;
- Strategically rethinking our model of financing beyond traditional sources, building on the momentum generated with a diversified set of private sector partners gained throughout the COVID19 emergency
- Maintaining data privacy while significantly increasing virtual management and service delivery.
- leveraging the positive local expressions of community solidarity and trust in the organisation to extend our community engagement
- Challenges emerging in a range of social issues, including social cohesion, employment and livelihoods and addressing the inequality in society exacerbated by the Pandemic
- A change in the culture of society, (reflected also in the NS) that will have to be navigated in the coming months
- The need to ensure attention to the mental health needs of our volunteers and staff, particularly those on the front line who have worked tirelessly for months under extremely stressful conditions.
- The need to scale up our capacities to face a possible new wave


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Recently stowaways are causing major problems for shippers keeping this in mind the head of Skuld, New York, came up with a guidance on staying safe from stowaways which were published on their website. Safety4Sea updated that report with a more detailed insight and we are presenting that to get a clear view of the stowaways problem.
In this article, Charles Anderson, Senior Vice President, Head of Skuld New York, provides a brief guide to US Ballast Water Regulations, the Vessel General Permit and the 2018 Commercial Vessel Incidental Discharge Act.
Why is it crucial?
Ballast water is of crucial importance to the safe operation of ships by reducing hull stress, maintaining stability and improving propulsion and maneuverability. However, ships' ballast water may also contain alien marine organisms that establish themselves in the host environment, threatening the survival of many native species and creating a public health hazard in surrounding communities. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO),"the spread of invasive species is now recognized as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and the economic well-being of the planet".
Global recognition of the problem was slow to develop, but eventually led to the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC), which entered into force in 2017. Currently there are 81 BWMC signatory countries comprising over 80% of the world's tonnage. The United States is not a party to the Convention, but rather – as is often the case – developed and implemented its own legislation to control the introduction and spread of invasive species in US waters. The two regulatory schemes are not uniform; the current US regime is generally considered to be more stringent and prescriptive than its IMO counterpart. A detailed comparison of the two regimes is beyond the scope of this article, but major differences include testing and verification protocols to prove ballast water management system efficiency, the methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the systems, and the schedule for compliance.
Development of the US legislative framework
The US legislative framework for controlling invasive species is not new. The 1972 Clean Water Act and its subsequent amendments ("CWA") declared "a national goal that the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters be eliminated by 1985". The CWA prohibited the discharge of any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters of the United States without a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. A "point source" was defined as "any discernable, confined and discrete conveyance, including…[a] vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged". A pollutant is defined as, inter alia, "biological material", which includes invasive species.
Even though the NPDES was instituted in the 1970s, a lack of attention from Congress and the environmental community about the risk of live organisms from ballast water discharges kept the CWA from being used to regulate the practice. Moreover, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifically exempted from the NPDES any "discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel". This broad exemption included the discharge of ballast water. Based on this administrative exemption, the EPA declined to take on the regulation of ballast water, leaving it to the US Coast Guard to assume this role under the authority of the National Invasive Species Act (NISA), as amended by the Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA). However, in 2005 a US federal court found that Congress' clear intent was "to require permits in any situation of pollution from point source" and ordered the EPA to drop the exemption. As a result of the court's decision, responsibility for regulating ballast water is currently shared by the EPA and Coast Guard. In compliance with the court order, the EPA issued its first Vessel General Permit (VGP) in 2008 and subsequent versions have included water quality standards for ballast water.
The regulations apply to non-recreational vessels, US and foreign, that are equipped with ballast tanks and operate in US waters, subject to limited exceptions. Foreign vessels in innocent passage through the territorial sea of the US are not subject to the regulations.
What shippers need to do to prevent stowaways?
The regulations require vessels to comply one of the following ballast water management standards:
- Install and operate a ballast water management system (BWMS) approved by the Coast Guard and installed in accordance with the regulations;
- Only use water from a US public water system;
- Perform a complete ballast water exchange outside the 200-mile US EEZ;
- Do not discharge ballast water into US waters;
- Discharge to a facility onshore or another vessel.
Vessels may be allowed to discharge ballast water which does not meet the regulatory requirements due to safety or stability concerns in areas other than the Great Lakes and certain other designated waters. If an approved BWMS is installed, the vessel may be allowed to employ one of the other BWM methods specified in the regulations. In such event the vessel must discharge only the amount of ballast water operationally necessary to ensure the safety and stability of the vessel, and make records available to the Coast Guard on request.
Under the current US regime, individual US states are entitled to develop and implement their own ballast water management regulations. California, New York and Michigan, for example, have enacted ballast water legislation that imposes more stringent standards than federal law. This has led to a complex and confusing regulatory system with overlapping and inconsistent rules and regulations, and is arguably the most serious shortcoming in the current US regime.
Proposals to eliminate the duplicative rules
The US maritime community has called for legislative proposals to eliminate the duplicative rules and provide a more predictable regulatory environment for ballast water and other vessel incidental discharges. In response, on 4 December 2018, President Trump signed into law the Commercial Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), which repeals the 2013 VGA and amends the US Clean Water Act to establish uniform national standards for the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a commercial vessel in US navigable waters, including ballast water.
Under VIDA the EPA is charged with primary responsibility for establishing performance standards relating to the discharge of pollutants from vessels, and the Coast Guard is given responsibility for prescribing, administering and enforcing regulations in respect of vessel management practices, design, construction, testing, approval, installation and use of marine pollution control devices that are consistent with the EPA standards. The EPA regulations must be promulgated no later than 4 December 2020 and the Coast Guard must start enforcing the regulations within two years from the date they are published by the EPA, or no later than 4 December 2022. Although the legislation originally proposed in the US Senate would have eliminated the dual EPA/Coast Guard authority and made the Coast Guard the sole regulatory agency for ballast water management, pressure from environmental groups resulted in the retention of the dual regulatory system. This has raised concern among some industry groups that the EPA – an agency whose mandate is primarily concerned with land-based pollution and which has little experience with the maritime industry – may set unrealistically high compliance standards.
VIDA Regulations
The existing 2013 VGP will remain in full force and effect beyond its expiration date until the EPA and the Coast finalize the VIDA regulations. The VGP currently permits five types of "general effluents" and 27 "specific discharge categories". The new regulations must be at least as stringent as the current VGP in respect of corrective actions, inspections, monitoring, reporting, recordkeeping and vessel class-specific requirements. VIDA requires discharge standards based on the best practicable control technology available, the best conventional pollutant control technology, or the best technology that is economically achievable, depending on the type of pollutant being regulated. It is expected that wash water from Inert Gas System scrubbers on tank vessels will be added to the discharge categories under VIDA.
On a positive note, VIDA generally pre-empts states from setting or enforcing state-specific ballast water management regulations which are different from those established by the EPA and Coast Guard; however, states may petition the EPA and Coast Guard to establish emergency orders for invasive species and water quality concerns, and states in certain regions, such as the Great Lakes, may develop enhanced performance standards subject to EPA and Coast Guard approval. VIDA also provides certain exemptions from ballast water exchanges for vessels operating between ports in Pacific Coast states or between those states and the Pacific coasts of Canada and Mexico.
Considerable effort will be needed to ensure interagency cooperation and a balanced approach to the new regulations by industry and environmental groups and the affected US states. It remains to be seen whether VIDA will accomplish its goal of achieving a uniform and realistic national standard for ballast water and incidental vessel discharges that are part of normal vessel operations.
That's how you can stay safe from stowaways and follow international regulations.
Write to us at firstname.lastname@example.com if you find this useful and suggest some more problem areas that bother you.
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Source: Safety4Sea


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Cosford 2019 Flightsim Show
I see that the 2019 Cosford Flightsim Show will be over two days this year. That's great news! Needless to say, I will be there on both days.....and I think I will be part of the FS Reborn team.
Anyone else intending to visit the Cosford 2019 flightsim show? I know it is a silly question, but I wanted to get some comments in this thread :slightly_smiling_face: If so, what are you hoping to see and do? Maybe get a closer look at some JustFlight products that are currently in development?
I must admit to being baffled by the lack of comments in this thread. The Cosford flightsim show is one of the highlights of my year, and it should be even better this year now that it has "upgraded" to a two day format. For the record, I will be part of the FSReborn team this year (the first time that I will not be at the front of the queue waiting for the doors to open), so I hope that lots more JustFlight forum members turn up over the weekend of October 5-6 than have turned up in this thread!
If you have never been to the show before, don't miss the opportunity this year to meet and chat with other flightsim enthusiasts from around the world :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:
@Christopher-Low We'll miss you at the front of that show Chris, for sure. :) Good luck on the FSR stand. Raul is a top bloke!
I think most the show chat gets done elsewhere, on the Social Media channels for the show etc.
Look forward to seeing you next week.
The two day event format (and the fact that I am part of the FSReborn team) should enable me to have more of a chat with you guys this time. I agree that Raul is a top bloke. I met him at last year's show, and (if I am being perfectly honest) he reignited my enthusiasm for the event. I am hoping that this year's show will be the best yet!
PS. Don't let me forget to take a photo of the queue on Saturday morning. This is the first year that I have ever had a mobile phone, and I want to take advantage of it :slightly_smiling_face:
I had a fantastic time at the FS Reborn stand. I was demonstrating AI Lights Reborn Professional Edition to show visitors, and I loved every minute of it! I really enjoyed the two day format, and it was great to be able to talk to lots of other flightsim enthusiasts. Now that I have had a taste of the exhibitor experience, there is no going back!
Are you guys releasing a video of this year's event? I have seen a couple of videos on YouTube, but footage of the FS Reborn stand is minimal!
@Christopher-Low There's not too much footage currently. There might be a video forthcoming but no promises.


text: This work documents the activities of the Transkaukazja project which took place in 2013 in Germany and was organized by Kultur Aktiv. Building on the experiences from 2011 we tried to set the focus on gender issues and borderline experiences. Both issues are very evident in Caucasus but also in Germany and Europe. Thanks to going to the river Neisse at the border between Poland and Germany and working in nature we were able to tap rural areas and to convey some interesting and rare impressions to that region. By presenting electronic music we took a chance to provide a worthwile insight into a young scene far beyond Caucasian folklore traditions: TK2013_Katalog_DE_web