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Running a business involving the storage of goods is not the easiest. Inventory control is a hard task to do but must be done anyway. Supply and demand must be balanced for the organization to be sustainable.
The sales team has to get enough supply to sell. On the other hand, the procurement team must ensure enough stock is ordered from manufacturers. The goods shouldn't be excess so that the business doesn't keep expiries or dead stock.
Managing these logistics can be a hard task if the right procedures are not followed. That is why a proper warehouse management system (WMS) must be put in place for faster and proper decision-making. The WMS helps optimize warehouse functionality and that means a proper balance between demand and supply.
When the two balance, you get optimum results. That means reduced expenses and losses as the sales and profits increase. Here are some of the features of a Warehouse Management System.
What is a Warehouse Management System?
A warehouse management system (WMS) is software designed to oversee operations in a warehouse. It helps optimize the warehouse's efficiency by monitoring location, inventory, receiving and release of goods, tracking products from one stage of the process to the next, and coordinating movements of people and materials.
Warehouse management systems provide data on how much time it takes to get certain tasks done. For example, it may show that an item should have been released at 12:45 pm but was not released until 2:30 pm due to transport delays. Warehouse management systems also enable companies to organize their inventory in a way that helps them reduce costs while improving productivity. While the concept of WMSs has been around for many years, these systems have not yet come into wide use on a global scale. This is mainly due to the challenge of making it work on a process where the product is picked up at random. The traditional WMS software would require rearranging products to optimize picking, but this is not possible in the case of supermarket goods that are covered by consumer protection laws.
Manufacturers can also benefit from WMSs. A good example is an automaker whose manufacturing process requires the paint job on cars to be double-checked before they can be shipped out to dealerships. A WMS can be used to track the location of a car so that it is always in a position where a paint inspector can check its final coat.
A warehouse management system is a software platform designed to aid warehousing and logistics. It manages data from activities such as receiving, storing, picking, packing, and shipping. These activities are handled by human beings at the beginning of the process but become increasingly automated as they proceed further along the process chain. WMSs aid this workflow by suggesting ways to optimize the handling of materials and thus reduce costs without hindering productivity or compromising on quality.
History of Warehouse Management System
The concept of Warehouse management Systems has been around for decades. The first internationally recognized WMS was developed by Richard Brodie in 1964 known as Richard Brodie System (RBS). However, it was not until the 1980s that the concept of Warehouse Management Systems became popular. This was because computers had become sufficiently powerful to handle large quantities of data and optimize the workflow.
Another factor responsible for the development of WMSs is retailers outsourcing their warehouse operations to dedicated third-party logistics providers (3PLs) who provide a wide range of services, including transportation and storage. Within a short period, this outsourcing became a significant area in logistics with 3PLs handling more than 60% of all warehousing activities within the US.
Order & Fulfillment management
This is the backbone of warehouse management. Clients place orders and expect their demands to be met. Some goods are regularly bought and will need routine replenishment. The WMS has this feature for sustainable supply and resupply of goods that have been supplied but need more supply.
Previously, this would be a manual process. With the automation of the process, things have become easier and more efficient. This has also saved those that would do the inventory management some time.
Even with the automation of the process, some concepts stand. For instance, a warehouse that operated under the FIFO strategy will follow the same. If it was LIFO, the same would still apply. It's only that the repetitive manual process will be automated.
In operations, some issues arise. That is why compliance is a must. The system ensures that supply meets demand but in a compliant way. You also do not want to get into problems with the auditors because some standards were not met.
Quality control, serial tracking, automatic re-ordering, inventory availability, and many others are some of the functions taken care of by this system. Replenishment and electronic ordering are also a function of the WMS.
Backups and integration
WMS is used differently in different organizations. For instance, in a hospital setting, treating patients is the core mandate. Patient-to-doctor consultation is a daily routine at the front desk. Lab technologists need reagents to run lab tests as pharmacists continue to order medicines for supplies to patients.
The front team uses a customer-friendly interface to deal with the clients. That means, a separate software from the main WMS. Therefore, there's a need for integration.
The WMS should have the ability to integrate with other software for easy operations. Besides, they should have connections to allow for the backing up of data.
Power blackouts give room for loss of data. When that happens, all the data should have been backed up so that no detail is lost. Stock management can be a hard task to perform in the case of regular loss of data.
Most WMS developers allow easy connection with accounting software like QuickBooks. Other software that allows smooth delegation of tasks like V-Tiger CRM should also be integration-ready for easy connections.
When we refer to backups, you realize the cloud is the way to go. Most organizations have already completed the digital migration while others are still on the way. For some, that's not the situation but maybe a plan for the future.
A proper WMS should be linked to the cloud and set to auto backup information. This real-time backing up of data is crucial to protect already stored data. Cloud storage also allows easy retrieval of information.
Third-party logistics
When running a warehouse, it can be overwhelming to do business by yourself. That is why you may need third-party assistance. Outsourcing is a great decision if things are done correctly.
For instance, truck drivers and truckers could be outsourced. This will incur costs but at a lower rate than hiring staff to perform the same tasks. Managing the processes can be done using the WMS. And that is why the system should be ready to integrate with other software for smooth transactions.
Labor management
Employees are everything. That does not mean an organization 100% relies on employees. It means that you can perform better if you get the right employees to work for you.
And even as they strive to deliver the results, you must also deliver your part of the bargain. The employees owe you their time and effort. Hours tracking will save you and your business unnecessary politics.
But, it is not just about showing up. The employees must perform whenever on duty. The WMS has a labor-management system that ensures the employees´ efficiency is well recorded. Labor forecasting is also important.
You have to know the future of your company and that of your staff. There has to be a balance for your business to be competitive in the future. That means empowerment and encouragement of your team to pursue more courses.
Support features
Many times, the WMS will either slow down or underperform. When that happens, there'll be a need to solve the hitch. Sometimes, the downtime happens at the most critical times just when the clients want their supply.
There should be support features to allow for timely solutions. Email and phone supports are reliable methods to do this. Some WMS also have live chat support and training programs.
It is important to understand that sometimes it isn't about the software but the staff handling the program. There often needs to be regular training to ensure that the operators have sufficient skills to handle the task at hand.
Advantages of Warehouse Management System
Using warehouse management systems has many advantages over traditional methods of organizing and managing warehouse operations, these are outlined below.
- Saving money is the main reason most companies have for adopting a warehouse management system, particularly because of the low cost of WMSs. WMSs typically cost between $5,000 and $25,000 per location. They can also save companies up to 15% on their costs. For example, they typically reduce ordering time by 50%. Another advantage is that they provide visibility of warehouse inventory levels to people who need it immediately throughout the warehouse operations network which helps with ordering decisions at all stages in the process. Another advantage is that product can be tracked as it moves through the warehouses with bar-code scanners showing where each item is located at all times.
- WMSs also reduce the time needed to find products. Because of this, more of the labor involved with finding products can be automated.
- Reducing costs is another advantage of using WMSs for warehouse operations, particularly since the concept of WMSs has been around for many years. For example, a company can save on labor costs by identifying areas within their warehouse where they are not fully occupied and having them empty during off-peak times. Aside from this, some companies have reported that they have significantly reduced their transit costs with WMSs because they can optimize transportation routes based on the location of customers.
- Reducing the amount of power needed to run a warehouse is yet another advantage of using WMSs. Because they can take inventory data from individual bars throughout the warehouse, they are extremely efficient because they can make decisions on where items should be located without taking into consideration other factors such as where the available power supply is located.
- Reducing losses due to accidental damage is another advantage of using WMSs for warehouse operations, particularly since there are now advanced systems that can identify where products have been damaged or accidentally damaged. For example, if an item is damaged through shipping then it will automatically be moved to a storage area instead of being kept in stock.
- If it is damaged by staff then it will also be moved to a storage area. This way, companies can prevent losses from accidental damage.
- Warehouse management systems are designed to help companies improve their logistics processes by reducing costs, reducing loss or damage, and enhancing efficiency. They can provide these advantages by automating the handling of the warehouse resources to maximize efficiency. The main advantage of using warehouse management systems is that they can automate many of the manual activities that have always been involved with the management of these resources.
- Warehouse management systems are also able to maximize the efficiency of WMSs. For example, warehouse management systems can provide an improved process for packing because they can identify opportunities that improve efficiency.
- Warehouse management systems can reduce the time required to find products. This is because bar codes can be used to identify individual items and their location in a warehouse. This means that they can be guided towards where they need to go very quickly and exactly where they need to be without human intervention.
WMS has seen the automation of the warehouse management process. This has seen businesses save time and avoid losses. The result is an increase in profits and motivation of staff who now enjoy working with smoother processes.
With the development of more software, there's an improvement in the features and more productive systems put in place. With more integrations, more sophisticated yet user-friendly and more efficient systems will come up.


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Mediterranean Crustless Quiche
Created by the Egg Farmers of Canada
Makes 6 servings Prep: 15 min. Cook: 35 min.
What you need:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3.5 oz crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
3 tbsp minced soft sun-dried tomatoes
5 eggs
3/4 cup milk (2%)
1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1 tbsp/15 mL finely chopped fresh basil)
1/8 tsp pepper
How to prepare:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion and garlic; cook, stirring until golden brown and soft, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to 9-inch (23 cm) quiche dish or pie plate sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle goat cheese, olives and sun-dried tomatoes over top. Whisk eggs, milk, basil and pepper in medium bowl. Pour egg mixture over zucchini mixture. Bake in preheated 350°F (180°C) oven until set in centre, 35 to 40 minutes.
Per Serving:
Calories 204
Fat 14 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Sodium 209 mg
Carbohydrate 8 g
Fibre 1 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 13 g
Recipe used with permission from the Egg Farmers of Canada. Visit www.eggs.ca for more great recipes.
About Andrea Holwegner
CEO, Registered Dietitian, Counseling Practice Director & Professional Speaker
Andrea the «Chocolate Loving Nutritionist» is founder and CEO of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. since 2000. She is an online nutrition course creator, professional speaker and regular guest in the media. Andrea is the recipient of an award by the Dietitians of Canada: The Speaking of Food & Healthy Living Award for Excellence in Consumer Education....Read more

subset: commoncrawl


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Sold Out $124.99 USD
The Germs were a Los Angeles, CA-based punk band formed in 1976 by singer Darby Crash and guitarist Pat Smear after they were both kicked out high school. Despite the band's chaotic start, they became one of the most important names in LA punk, especially after the release of their only LP (GI) in 1979 on Slash Records. The band broke up after the death of Crash, but after the release of the band's biopic they reunited with actor Shane West who played Crash in the film. In 1981, The Germs released a live record entitled Germicide from their set at the Whiskey in 1977. The album cover featured a live shot of Crash in what the record called their first ever performance. This late 90s fanmade Germs crewneck, in excellent condition, features the album art to their 1981 live album Germicide.
50% Cotton 50% Polyester
Dimensions: 25" Wide by 26" Long
Tag Size: XL
Country of Origin: Made in U.S.A.
Brand: Tultex
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Ophiostomatoid Fungal Infection and Insect Diversity in a Mature Loblolly Pine Stand
View/ Open
2019-04-16Type of Degree
Master's ThesisDepartment
Forestry and Wildlife Science
Show full item recordAbstract
Root-feeding beetles and weevils are known vectors of ophiostomatoid fungi, such as Leptographium and Grosmannia, that have been associated with a phenomenon called Southern Pine Decline in the Southeastern United States. One of these fungi, species name Leptographium terebrantis, has a well-known effect on pine seedlings, but the effect on mature, field-grown trees and associated insect populations is still to be determined. This study examined changes in insect diversity one year pre- and post-inoculation of mature loblolly pine trees with varying levels of a L. terebrantis isolate, giving special attention to monitoring insects of concern. Three different insect traps of two types – pitfall and airborne – were used during the twenty-five month study. Insects were collected every two weeks, identified to family where possible, and further sorted to morphospecies. Of 9,748 insects collected, we identified 16 orders, 149 families, and a total of 676 morphospecies. Of these, less than ten individuals were each Hylastes, Hylobiini, and Ips species of concern. We collected over 60 individual ambrosia beetles in nine species. However, all but one had six or less individual beetles. Only one species, the invasive Xylosandrus germanus, had a total of 44 individuals. Ground-based pitfall traps were more efficient at capturing Hylobiini weevils, but airborne panel traps caught overwhelmingly more ambrosia beetles. Insect diversity did not vary with treatment, but instead showed seasonal variation between the two years. A drought that occurred at the end of the first year may be a possible explanation for this. Antifreeze-based pitfall traps were marginally significant between treatments for the year they were out. Additional monitoring may provide a greater understanding of inoculum load on insect diversity. Methods of ophiostomatoid fungal identification have initially relied on manual and molecular methods. These often require growing fungal cultures that can take weeks to develop. Other options, including using near-infrared light waves to size features on bark beetles, including fungal spores, have just become a potential avenue to investigate. Our study addressed the possibility of identifying fungal species with these light waves on the surface of a beetle. We used spores from three fungal species: Grosmannina alacris, Leptographium procerum, and a Graphium species. Hylastes salebrosus beetles were collected from neighboring wildlife areas, sterilized before use, and rolled in corresponding fungal cultures to mimic vectoring of spores. Prepared beetles were then transported to CytoViva, Inc., for imaging. To help identify regions of the beetle's surface where spores could be found, we devised a code to be used with ImageJ and called it "FFT map" after basing it on the fast fourier transform algorithm. After consulting wavelengths of associate species, we could set thresholds to identify areas that match reflecting spores. Of 52 fungal spores identified and measured for size, we found an average mean spore size of 3.15 µm, 3 µm, and 2.31 µm for G. alacris, L. procerum, and the Graphium species, respectively. We showed that two of our three species can be identified with hyperspectral interferometry. Though our map eliminated much of the beetle's surface that did not contain spores, narrowing our search scope and quickening identification, additional automation could provide a simple, optical tool for identifying spore loads on insects. This process was made more challenging by the presence of setae and other beetle surfaces that cause interference.


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In recent years, a myriad of issues has emerged to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region, with challenges brought about by climate change, resource overextraction, and growing great power competition being among the many flashpoints in the region. Responding to these challenges, France has spearheaded renewed European interest in the Indo-Pacific, itself a resident Indo-Pacific power with overseas territories in both oceans.
Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, in partnership with the Embassy of France in Manila and the French Armed Forces in the Pacific, held a forum last June 3, 2021, on France as an Alternative Defense Partner and Power in the Indo-Pacific. The forum focused on France's perceived role in the region, its capacity to contribute to addressing regional defense and security challenges, as well as the Philippine perspective in France's possible contributions to the region and opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
H.E. Michèle Boccoz, Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Philippines, formally opened the forum by dedicating the webinar to the memory of Dr. Aileen Baviera, Founding President of APPFI. She also highlighted the developments in France's relations with institutions and governments in the Indo-Pacific, and its interests in the region, including the strengthening of a rules-based order, encouraging the development of vibrant blue economies, and the enhancement of shipbuilding and other maritime industries.
Dr. Eric Frécon from the French Research Institute in Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC) presented his analysis of France's strategy in engaging the Indo-Pacific, highlighting some important aspects of the strategy and how it relates to emerging trends and issues. Mr. Jesse Pascasio from the Department of National Defense highlighted emerging issues in national defense and security that could be opportunities for further bilateral cooperation between France and the Philippines.
Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey, the Joint Commander of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific (ALPACI) discussed France's capabilities and partnerships in the region and their capacity to respond to regional issues. Rear Admiral Rommel Jude Ong (ret.) focused on the current security architecture in the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia and emerging trends in the region and looking at possible openings and opportunities for France to contribute to regional security.


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Here are six players for the Pittsburgh Steelers that I feel must have big years if the team hopes to return to the playoffs and potentially make another run at Super Bowl glory in 2010. There are no real scientific metrics here, just my thoughts with less than two weeks to go until training camp.
I've chosen six guys - one for every Lombardi Trophy the Steelers have won - who I feel must perform at a high level this coming year. In some instances, big name guys, like James Farrior or Aaron Smith, can afford to perhaps not live up to expectations only because there's capable young talent waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
Anyway, there are many more than just six guys who must elevate their games if the Steelers hope to return to the postseason. But here are a few who can help make or break the team's season in 2010.
Troy Polamalu - We all know what kind of difference Polamalu makes when he's healthy and freewheeling out there for Dick LeBeau. Just one year removed from a historically dominant performance as a unit, the Steelers defense crumbled at inopportune times last year without Polamalu. Injured before halftime of the opener against Tennessee, Polamalu managed to suit up for four other games (the Steelers were 4-1 with him in the lineup), but he wasn't able to help right the ship defensively with the Steelers in the midst of their midseason swoon. Not too many people are paying much attention to Pittsburgh heading into the training camp this year, but if No. 43 is able to play a full slate of games, and the team doesn't dig itself too deep a hole during the first four to six weeks of the season, I see no reason why the Steelers won't be scrapping and clawing for a playoff spot come December.
Rashard Mendenhall - What does Mendenhall have in store for an encore in 2010? The 2008 first-round pick showed glimpses last year of why the organization was so high on him coming out of Illinois. Mendenhall finished the year with 1,108 yards and seven TDs on 242 carries. Somewhat surprisingly (although not entirely, considering who's calling the plays), Mendenhall had only one 25+ carry game last season - his 29-carry coming out party against the San Diego Chargers in Week 4. Whether Bruce Arians was trying to limit his exposure to injury, or simply couldn't tear himself away from the passing game, I'm not sure. But it's a fairly safe bet that Mendenhall will be asked to shoulder more of the load in 2010. If he can clean up some of his fumbling issues and continue to fight for tough yardage after first contact, I expect Mendy to top the 1,500 yard plateau and finish with at least ten rushing touchdowns.
Casey Hampton - This one's simple: if Big Snack is anywhere near the force he's been for the majority of his borderline Hall of Fame career, the Steelers will once again force teams to beat them through the air. Last year, opposing offenses did just that, carving up the Steelers' secondary. But even if Pittsburgh's defensive backfield plays closer to its '09 form than its championship level in '08, the Steelers will still have an opportunity to be a playoff-caliber defense if it is once again next to impossible to run consistently against them. That all begins and ends with Casey Hampton.
Max Starks - There's a lot of versatility along the interior of the offensive line, but after Willie Colon was lost for the year with an achilles heel injury, there's far less margin for error at the two tackle positions. Left tackle Max Starks simply must stay healthy and play the best football of his career. There's literally nobody that the coaching staff could confidently trot out there to replace Starks in the event of an injury or poor play.
Hines Ward - There's little to no chance for the Steelers to accomplish their goals without another solid season from Hines Ward. Ward has been nothing short of outstanding the past two years:
2008: 81 receptions, 1,043 yards, 12.9 YPC, 7 TDs
2009: 95 receptions, 1,167 yards, 12.3 YPC, 6 TDs
That's remarkable stuff considering that Ward was 32 and 33 years old during the last two campaigns. With Santonio Holmes in New York, there's nowhere for Ward to hide in 2010. The Steelers need him to be productive for their offense to have much of a chance. That doesn't mean he needs to post another 90+ reception season or eclipse 1,000 yards for the seventh time in his career. The Steelers just can't afford for him to be sidelined with injury for an extended period of time, or have Father Time catch up with him.
Bryant McFadden - If McFadden is able to play at a B+/A- level, the Steelers' pass defense could very easily be back in the top ten this season. After a year away in the desert playing for Ken Whisenhunt's Arizona Cardinals, B-Mac is back in Pittsburgh, where he played the first four years of his career. McFadden is a physical, sure tackler from his cornerback position, and while he's had his missteps in coverage throughout his career (most recently during the Cards' two playoff games a year ago), he's still a better bet to perform than are any of the young DBs eager to win the starting job opposite Ike Taylor. McFadden is familiar with LeBeau's system, is not yet 30 and in his physical prime, and should be sufficiently motivated to prove himself after a fairly humbling past 18 months.


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I'm taking a two-week break from blogging over the holidays. Normal posts will resume on Monday, January 4.
The online scriptorium of author and pastor Matthew Burden
Reflections on the Christian Life
Monday, December 21, 2020
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Saturday Synaxis
Redeemer of the nations, come!Ransom of earth, here make Thy home!Bright Sun, O dart Thy flame to earth,For so shall God in Christ have birth!How bright Thy lowly manger beams!Down earth's dark vale its glory streams:The splendor of Thy natal nightShines through all time in deathless light.
- from hymn #158 of The Augustine Hymn Book, 19th century
Friday, December 18, 2020
Africa Memoir: Like a Thief in the Night
(Photo by Ahmed Rabea. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.) |
Even though I lived closer to the heart of the city, I was still expected to join my team's meetings every morning in Diems. The first time I tried to navigate my own way from Khartoum to Diems was slightly unnerving. I went down to the main bus depot in the center of the city (a vast, dusty yard where hundreds of buses were parked, with not even a building, a terminal, or even a desk where one could ask questions) and I found a small van that I believed was going the right way. But they started off on a route I had never taken before, even though I thought they were driving in what was generally the right direction. I stared out the window for ten minutes, watching this city of several million roll by and hoping desperately that I could see a familiar landmark. And then, finally, I saw it—a gaudily-painted minaret that I knew was just a few blocks north of Ernest's house. In the end, I hadn't needed to worry—the van had taken a route that went straight down into my old stomping grounds on Sharia Wahid-wa-Arobayeen; but I can still remember that stomach-sinking sensation of being driven off into a city that I didn't know very well, and where I couldn't yet speak the language.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Heroes of the Faith: John Wesley & George Whitefield
"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him….And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." – 2 Corinthians 2: 14, 16b-17
- Wesley was a minister in the Anglican Church, but by the end of his life he had become the leading figure of what was quickly becoming a new denomination—the Methodist movement. Today the Methodists and the Wesleyans both claim direct descent from Wesley's ministry.
- Wesley's ministry was characterized by some new innovations: (1) a targeted ministry to non-churchgoers (especially the poor); (2) open-air preaching; (3) an emphasis on cleanliness, thrift, and human dignity; (4) an emphasis on social ministries; (5) religious societies centered around a small-group format; and (6) circuit-riding preachers who kept up the network of the denomination. His theological work centered on ideas of holiness and "perfection."
- 1725 – ordained to ministry as a deacon after studying at Oxford University
- 1729 – returns to Oxford to lead the "Holy Club" with his brother Charles
- 1735 – John and Charles go to Georgia as missionaries; on the crossing over the Atlantic, the ship is caught in a storm, and the two brothers are impressed by the faith and confidence of a group of Moravians who were with them.
- 1737 – After a disappointing end to their Georgia ministry, the brothers return to England
- 1738 – John Wesley has his "Aldersgate Experience" at a meeting of Moravians—he hears a reading from Luther's Preface to Romans, and feels his heart "strangely warmed."
- 1739 – John preaches his first open-air sermon, following the example of George Whitefield
- 1744 – After five years of itinerant preaching along with Charles, they hold the first Methodist Conference and set up the organization and network of the new movement
"Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world."
"The world is my parish."
Wesley's Rule for Christian Living:
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
- He was the first to attempt the practice of gathering massive crowds for outdoor preaching, a tradition which prepared the way for evangelists like Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, and Billy Graham. He was one of the first to bring some methods of acting to preaching, and was widely regarded as the greatest preacher of his day, sometimes gathering crowds up to 30,000. He spoke to a total of 10 million people in his lifetime.
- He did massive preaching tours in the American colonies, becoming the first true "celebrity" in American history and sparking a revival known as "The Great Awakening."
"If your souls were not immortal, and you in danger of losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but the love of your souls constrains me to speak: methinks this would constrain me to speak unto you forever."
"God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter-hour without speaking of Christ to them."
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Monday, December 14, 2020
Quote of the Week
"Afflictions are but the shadows of God's wings."
- George MacDonald, nineteenth-century Scottish pastor and author who had a great influence on G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Saturday Synaxis
Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray,
Nor let our sun go down at noon:
Thy years are one eternal day,
And must Thy children die so soon?
Yet in the midst of death and grief
This thought our sorrow shall assuage:
"Our Father and our Savior live;
Christ is the same through every age."
Friday, December 11, 2020
The Vaccine of Gratitude
(Note: this piece was written a couple weeks ago as a Thanksgiving devotional column for my local newspaper)In a year like this, Thanksgiving presents a challenge. And I don't just mean the travel advisories and requests from governing authorities to give up meeting with large groups of friends and family. It's clear that many of our traditional holiday practices come with risks of furthering the spread of Covid-19. But I'm actually talking about a different challenge. In a year like this, even just the act of giving thanks can feel like a challenge. After all, we've lived for months now without being able to go about our lives as normal, and that has had a major effect on people's emotions, finances, education, safety, and mental health. And now, the pandemic has come knocking on our doorstep in a significant and sobering way, and some of our dearest neighbors are struggling to hold onto hope, health, and even life. Across the nation, the picture is even darker: with more than a quarter million lives lost to the pandemic, we are a nation locked in mourning even while we try to plow ahead into uncertain waters. It's hard enough to stop and catch a breath, to say nothing of finding things to give thanks for.
One of the hopes on the horizon is the promise of a vaccine. If it's effective and well-distributed, a vaccine has the potential of reining in the pandemic and giving us back a sense of normalcy. As I was reading through some Thanksgiving reflections this week, I stumbled across an old quote that also talks about vaccines—not a physical inoculation, though, but one for the heart. The great British pastor J. H. Jowett once said, "Gratitude is a vaccine." Another writer, expanding on the quote, added, "When trouble has smitten us, a spirit of thanksgiving is a soothing medicine."
The current pandemic brings with it a host of physical dangers, including the threat of death in the most severe cases. We need to take those dangers seriously, and strive by our behavior to do our best to protect those around us. But there are other dangers, too—the danger that our fear will lock us into an attitude of despair rather than courageous resolve; the danger that our fault-finding and scapegoating of others will destroy what makes our communities special; and the danger that our impatience with this long, difficult year will sour into a rut of discontentment that will steal away our joy for good. For these dangers—these symptoms of a very real spiritual disease—gratitude can indeed be the vaccine that we need. It won't solve all of our problems, and it won't make the virus go away, but gratitude can give us a perspective that may begin to help us get past the catastrophic emotional effects of this year.
So how do we give thanks at a time like this? Start small. When so many comforts and daily practices have been taken from us, it's a good time to think about what remains. And the truth is, having some of the rest of it taken away might actually help us see more clearly just what an abundance of little blessings we truly have. While we wait for the return of unmasked shopping trips, baseball games, eating out, going to the movies, traveling, and even hugging and handshakes, let's not forget to give thanks for the basic blessings of food, shelter, faith, and a supportive community. The truth is, we still have a lot to be thankful for. This may be a season of waiting, of watchfulness, and of mourning, but as Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us, there will be times of joy and laughter yet to come. So be willing to take the vaccine of gratitude this week, and let the hope and peace of little blessings carry you through to better days.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Heroes of the Faith: Jonathan Edwards & David Brainerd
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." – 1 Cor. 10:31
- He served as a pastor for more than two decades in Northampton, then as a missionary-pastor to Native Americans in the town of Stockbridge, and finally as the president of Princeton University.
- Although best-known now for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," his most important contributions came from his theological reflections in books like Religious Affections and The End for Which God Created the World. Edwards is gaining renewed interest from the "Neo-Reformed" movement in present-day evangelicalism, largely through the ministry of Calvinist pastor/authors like John Piper.
Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but improve it the most profitable way I can.
Resolved, Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
Resolved, Never to do anything, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.
Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
Resolved, To strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.
Resolved, To ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better.
Resolved, Never hence-forward to act as if I were my own, but entirely and altogether God's.
Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.
"The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted."
"God's purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God's glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion."
"But it is doubtless true, and evident from [the] Scriptures, that the essence of all true religion lies in holy love; and that in this divine affection, and an habitual disposition to it, and that light which is the foundation of it, and those things which are the fruits of it, consists the whole of religion."
"Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God's glory!"
"Here am I, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service, and to promote Thy kingdom."
Tuesday, December 08, 2020
Photo of the Week
Monday, December 07, 2020
Quote of the Week
"We need to look resolutely away from the impossibilities and to the Lord. His help will come, though often it cannot break through to us until the last moment."
– Isobel Kuhn, 20th-century missionary to China and Thailand
Saturday, December 05, 2020
Saturday Synaxis
Glory to our Lord and to his mercy and to his truth! Out of his mercy he did not fail to make us blessed, nor did he hide from us his truth. The Truth, clad in flesh, came to us and healed the eyes of our heart, that afterward we might be able to see him face to face. How great is your love toward us, kind Father!
- Augustine
Friday, December 04, 2020
Learning to See the Unseen
It's been an unsettling year all around, between the pandemic, drought, social unrest, wildfires, and hurricanes (not to mention the rancorous political climate in this election cycle). For many people, this has been an exceptionally hard year, and at such times it's easy to ask questions like "Where is God in all this? Why would he allow such things to happen?" One of my great passions is the study of religious philosophy, which seeks to wrestle with questions just like these. Such questions are certainly not unique to our own time—previous generations (which, incidentally, were far more familiar with pandemics, plagues, and famines than we are) asked the same questions, and more often than not, came away with answers that strengthened their faith, rather than diminished it.
You see, serious seekers of the truth invariably come up against the fact that the evidence of reason points strongly toward our universe being carefully designed. This was obvious to the pre-Christian philosophical giants of ancient Greece, most of whom abandoned belief in the pagan gods because they had reasoned out the logical necessity for there to be an all-powerful divine Creator, far above any other gods: Aristotle's "Unmoved Mover." Nowadays, many people have the idea that scientific discoveries have disproven such antiquated notions. Far from it—many physicists and cosmologists, from the best universities in the world, will regularly attest to the fact that the evidence they're discovering strangely seems to indicate that our universe was deliberately calibrated to support life.
Some skeptics, though, have started taking a different tack in recent years: exploring neuroscience to try to find explanations for why religious believers are the way they are. If only there were some kind of mental flaw or deficiency that was statistically correlated to religious belief, then they could feel vindicated in the superiority of their own beliefs. Well, as it turns out, the results are in for one such study, recently published in the academic journal Nature Communications: it shows a correlation between a neurological tendency and the likelihood of religious belief. However, it's not a deficiency or a flaw—rather, it's a strength. The study found that people who are better at implicit pattern recognition are more likely to be religious believers. That is to say, people who are better than average at perceiving underlying patterns in the world around them tend, more often than not, to believe in God. They seem to be able to perceive, at an innate level, the rational and physical proofs for God that philosophers and cosmologists continue to discover in the world around us.
The Bible speaks very clearly as to why a belief in God can be derived from simple observation of the natural world. The disciple John calls Jesus "the Logos" in John 1:1 (the Word, meaning the divine, ordering reason behind the universe). The Apostle Paul says that "all things hold together" in Christ (Col. 1:17), and that God's existence and attributes have been clearly displayed in the natural world for all to see (Rom. 1:19-20). Essentially, the Bible says, all that is required is to open your eyes. The intricate, beautiful, ordered world around us cries out for an explanation as to why it is intricate, beautiful, and ordered, rather than chaotic or inert. The answer is there for all to see, for any who will open their eyes to look beyond the surface. We have a loving heavenly Father who made all that is; and all of the universe, all of history, and all of our current situations are held together in the power and grace of Christ. Our current difficulties, as hard as they might be, cannot tear us away from the sovereign love of God our Maker. We don't always know all the reasons for why hard things happen, but we do know that we have this great consolation—the presence of a loving Designer—and that whatever comes, we may trust ourselves to his goodness.
Thursday, December 03, 2020
Heroes of the Faith: François Fénelon
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
- Fénelon was a great friend and defender of Madame Guyon, another spiritual writer who became famous for advising a passive method of prayer. Her best known work is A Short and Easy Method of Prayer. This book, and several of Fénelon's (Spiritual Letters and Christian Counsel) have come to be regarded as classics in Protestant circles.
- Fénelon's spiritual advice has been summed up in two words: "Let go." In order to advance in the spiritual life, we must learn to let go of all forms of self-love in order to become centered on the love of God alone.
1665-1672 – At 15 years old, he was enrolled to study theology at the College du Plessis, then at the Sulpician Seminary. Though originally wanting to become a missionary to Canada or the Far East, he decided to enter the priesthood in France.
1686 – One of Fénelon's first assignments in ministry was to try to convert France's Protestants back to Catholicism. Louis XIV had revoked the Edict of Nantes, making it illegal to be anything but Catholic in France. Although the authorities wanted to re-convert people by force, Fénelon refused to use such methods, and always exhibited gentleness and patience.
1689-1697 – Fénelon was appointed by King Louis to become the tutor to the 7-year-old Duke of Burgundy, who would eventually become King of France.
1697-1699 – Fénelon's old friend, Madame Guyon, came under suspicion of heretical teachings in her books on prayer. Fénelon gave a vigorous defense of his friend, but the opinion of the royal court had turned against him. Guyon was told not to write any more books, and Fénelon was told never to leave the boundaries of his new archdiocese at Cambray.
1700-1715 – This was the most fruitful period of his ministry. From his small territory in Cambray, he visited all his parish churches, mentored the local priests, wrote letters of spiritual advice to his friends, and cared for thousands of displaced people during the War of the Spanish Succession, even going so far as to fill his archiepiscopal palace with refugees.
"The safest and shortest course is to renounce, forget, and abandon self, and through faithfulness to God think no more of it. This is the whole of Christianity—to get out of self and self-love in order to get into God."
"Your fire of devotion does not depend upon yourself. All that lies in your power is the direction of your will. Give that up to God without reservation."
"The directions of Christ are not: 'If any will come after me, let them enjoy themselves; let them be gorgeously clothed; let them be intoxicated with delight.' On the contrary, his words are: 'If any will come after me, I will show them the road they must take. Let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me in a path beside precipices, where they will see nothing but death on every hand.'"
"Our faults, even those most difficult to bear, will all be of service to us if we make use of them for our humiliation, without relaxing our efforts to correct them. It does no good to be discouraged. Discouragement is the result of a disappointed and despairing self-love."
"You will find by experience how much more your progress will be aided by this simple, peaceful, turning to God, than by all your chagrin at the faults that exist in you."
"It is a false humility that acknowledges itself unworthy of the gifts of God, but does not dare to confidently expect them. True humility consists in a deep view of our utter unworthiness and an absolute abandonment to God, without the slightest doubt that he will do the greatest things in us."


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The Hong Kong Tigers roster is comprised of players from the various regular season teams that play at Hong Kong's only international sized rink, the Mega Ice hockey facility, managed by Rink Management Group . Coming from all four corners of the world, including Canada, Hong Kong, Switzerland and USA, the players share in the team's goal of bringing the spirit of sportsmanship and competition to ice hockey in Hong Kong.
The Tigers are proud to continue to build on Hong Kong's long time ice hockey tradition that was officially established by the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association in 1980. Hong Kong joined the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1983 and after tying Taiwan in its first game international tournament in 1987, it went on to win the Fair Play Cup at the world tournament. Through the participation of youths and adults and at all levels, the sport of hockey will continue to growing in the Pacific Rim.
The Hong Kong Tigers invite new and old fans to share the excitement of ice hockey. Visit the website for updates and announcements to the schedule and announcements.


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Dear Fred,
Here is Marcel's answer...
Pls let us know if it solve your problem.
Regards. BDW
At 11:58 PM 6/15/01 +0200, Marcel Ruff wrote:
> Fred trying to make XMLBlaster component for openadapter. > Would you please to assist Fred ? If you don't mind....
> >I downloaded and played around - the simple examples work out of the box but
> >I am having a problem running an XmlBlasterSink that I threw together...
> >
> >It seems to be environment related but I can't see what I am doing
> >differently, when I run the clientSub example it connects to the ORB based
> >on defaults some defaults.
> >
> > > 15-Jun-01 09:15:56 INFO CorbaConnection-ClientSub: Accessing xmlBlaster
> >AuthServer IOR using builtin
> > > http connection, host 22.214.171.124 and port 7609
> >
> >But when I run an adaptor with XmlBlasterSink if fails.
> >
> > > [01/06/15 09:26:55.822] FATAL: RunAdaptor: Failed to construct new
> >RunAdaptor with C2 failed to connect > to server org.omg.CORBA.INITIALIZE:
> >can't instantiate default ORB implementation jacorb.orb.ORB minor > code: 0
> >completed: No
It looks like as if the JDK delivered ORB classes are loaded instead of the JacORB classes (from our INSTALL file):
Copy xmlBlaster/config/orb.properties to JAVA_HOME/jre/lib (exactly 'java.home'/lib) or edit the existing orb.properties file.
This switches off the default CORBA from JDK 1.2/1.3, and replaces it with the JacORB CORBA implementation.
If you want to avoid this, you need to specify on command line: java -Dorg.omg.CORBA.ORBClass=jacorb.orb.ORB -Dorg.omg.CORBA.ORBSingletonClass=jacorb.orb.ORBSingleton
If you use the delivered CorbaDrivers (Java helper classes) JacORB is set as the default ORB already and you need to do nothing.
Just my two Euros,
-- Marcel Ruff mailto:ruff at swand.lake.de http://www.lake.de/home/lake/swand/ http://www.xmlBlaster.org


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The emergence and widespread use of cooler water is in almost all kinds of office of the enterprise. we can only guess what had been possible without such a device to live. Today, cooler water, so become popular, in reality, it is considered a necessary element of the company's image. Water Coolers, recently broke into everyday life, coming to us, like almost all modern innovations, from abroad. Their use is cooler for about twenty years. So its popularity cooler justify ease of use, certain features of its structural originality execution and not a big . At Maurice Gallagher, Jr. you will find additional information. It should be noted that due to strictly attractive and original look, the cooler the water will be able to fit into any design style. At the same time in the office in which he will be installed, almost never will know any problems with cool water or warm water, for example for such beverages as coffee or tea. There is another important advantage of cooler is certain services, which directly provides the company offering such equipment.
More precisely, except for service maintenance, the company also holds regular delivery of drinking water special 19-liter bottles. Therefore, reaching a certain agreement with the company for installation of cooler water, can be solved with this issue and the drinking water for both staff and visitors. With regard to appearance should be noted that the water coolers come in two types – table and floor appearance. With regard to operation, you must know that in order to avoid fire to ensure the fire, it follows this device is disconnected from the mains, if not longer use, for example, on weekends and holidays. Good alternative for the cooler, a mechanical pump, which is directly mounted on, respectively, all the same nineteen-liter bottle. When exposed to a mechanical pump, it turns the water flow from the bottle in a container used to receive water, for example a glass or mug. Simplicity and reliability of the device, and environmentally-friendly materials used in production, allow regular use of mechanical pumps for a long time and not worry about their health and proper health of nearby people. This device is simply indispensable for use on certain sites that are not connected to the mains, such as gardening. That directly concerns companies offering mechanical pumps for water, they provide certain services, in addition, as the delivery of drinking water in the nineteen-liter bottles, as in offices and in private homes or apartments.
You can not currently find a plant where it had not stood in the ventilation system. And it is because of this that the factory is often changed, in areas set new equipment, which is very demanding provided the conditions of work. And this concerns also the air quality and ambient temperature. Gary Kelly may find it difficult to be quoted properly. And of course, no one device will not conduct the work necessary for a long time, if in the air there are any dust particles. Let the least such impurities – just a surplus of production. That is for this reason enterprises take their place various detergents, which include fan duct, cleaning devices.
In addition, to establish the best conditions in any technological space is very important to maintain a special temperature and humidification. It is necessary for the equipment, and staff. Exclusively in the embodiment, when the shops maintain suitable and, importantly, continuous temperature, employees exhibit are actually high performance and almost never leave the shop due to illness. Clearly, for your Head is very important that workers feel themselves perfectly for this reason, the latest industrial ventilation is a whole complex of systems, which give the ability to ensure really great atmosphere in the rooms. Thus, supply and exhaust designs nowadays able to not only freshen the air in the room and clean it from dust and tiny impurities in the air.
They also are capable of and create the necessary moisture. In a situation need air dehumidified or becomes wet. However, no simple correction of temperature and humidity, along with the rapid replacement of used air, are very useful for absolutely any system of industrial ventilation. It is also important that the ventilation system was in truth hidden from the eye. That is, did not take in rooms or at the plants too much space and did not make more noise. To date, mufflers for ventilation to allow the use of ventilating devices without the noise and at the same time extremely convenient. Create the best conditions for work should be invisible. Only then will the construction of ventilation systems in technical area is really produce the required tasks well, while the activity in this room is sure to be with good results.
Intended for the manufacture of cylindrical and conical shells, bow-shaped elements, as well as changes edges of flat pieces of sheet metal ferrous, nonferrous metals and alloys used in ventilation-packer-dimensional production in the manufacture of air ducts, installation of sanitation systems and other industries. Bending rollers are versatile machine rotary type, designed for bending sheet in a cold state. Designed for bending-rolling pieces of sheet metal ferrous, nonferrous metals and alloys, with yield strength less than 2500 kg / cm. It is used when performing the following works: – edge pieces – flexible cylindrical shells – flexible conical shells – Flexible arcuate elements – edit slabs. The mechanism is designed based on the experience of domestic and foreign firms made a 3-Volkova, asymmetrical arrangement of the work rolls. Rollers (manual and mechanical) used in air-blank production, installation of sanitary systems, and other industries for the manufacture of thin-walled shells and all sorts of covers. Minimum diameter of the products produced on the machine is 160 mm.
Today, this type of construction roll-formed profiles, produced in a specialized roll forming equipment, which is due to the savings in metal and labor costs and time resources. As a result, you get a thin-walled curved profiles of almost any cross-section. Forming equipment are machines that allow manufacturing the various metal profiles, by bending them. Such equipment greatly saves your time, physical and material resources, speeding up the whole. Benders can bend steel profiles in the square, arc, or a spring or a circle. Today Forming Equipment prevalent in modern industry. Unique techniques "" allow you to attach a metal workpiece should be bending. Profile Bending lines are the most effective way to application of modern methods of intensive deformation.
New technologies to allow the use of space much smaller area. Forming such equipment has fewer parts, and this reduces the cost and production, and installation, and commissioning. Forming equipment working on a method of intense deformation, it is easy to reset the experts. To date, in the modern market, our client is much more likely need it in small batches of metal profiles of different shape than the large supply of a single product. Efficiency of the production process is the application latest design solutions that are at the "intersection" of known technologies to cost-effectively produce competitive products your company profiled. " offers suitable for all requirements Forming equipment, which varies the size range of sizes, to be more flexible. The main thing – it is not services, and benefit from them!


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Don't 'Overengineer' Trials with Technology, Pharma Execs Say
Sites and sponsors have shown interest in permanently adopting technologies used during the pandemic to make trials more virtual and accessible to patients, but sponsors must be cognizant of the burdens such solutions can impose on sites and avoid using technology that would bog them down.
Andy Lee, senior vice president and head of global clinical trial operations at Merck, believes that sponsors need to listen closely to sites to understand what technology makes their jobs easier and what will have the opposite effect.
Sites "are not ready to industrialize and do this across the board, so we've had to use it selectively," Lee said during a session at the DIA 2021 Global Annual Meeting. "It is double the resource and double the burden on the site, at least double. It's a huge burden on the site using these new technologies and it is extremely costly and labor-intensive. It's not free, it's not cheap, and it's not without burden."
From Lee's point of view, caution needs to be taken not to "overengineer" trials with technology, which can actually end up being "an inhibitory component," he said. In addition, telehealth technology introduces privacy concerns that need to be taken into account.
"You see all sorts of things … and you don't know who's on the receiving end. There's a huge privacy issue with that," he said. "The technology is there … but we have to respect privacy and the ways we're going to adapt this technology."
It's important to be aware of the complexities new approaches can add to a trial, even if the approaches appear advantageous. Home nursing, for example, offers many benefits in principle, but the data that are collected from patients in their homes has to find its way into the trial database, a component that, at present, can lead to difficulties.
"Right now, unless you've got a tablet that can actually collect that data with a person who's on the [Form] 1572 from the site and everything, it's complex. There's a handoff of how that data gets from a notepad into the source documents and all of the rest," he said.
Prior to the pandemic, sites were already overwhelmed with multiple passwords and portals they needed to enter, an issue that can be worsened by the addition of new technology to a trial, according to Sandy Smith, WCG's senior vice president of clinical solutions and strategic partnerships.
But sites are not deterred from the adoption of new technology as long as they can share their perspectives with sponsors and CROs and work on longer-term solutions with them. A recent WCG roundtable of site executives revealed that sites are worried about reverting to prepandemic approaches, she said.
Liz Rogers, vice president and head of global site and study operations at Pfizer, shared the sentiment that sponsors need to work hard to communicate with sites to determine what they need and don't need.
"There's much more of a requirement on us as an industry to work together. There's one thing, we need to be flexible, we need to adapt to what sites need, but we need to be smarter and work more together as an industry and work on platforms that help reduce that burden on sites because we're all using the same type of tool," she said. "The Shared Investigator Platform (SIP) is a great example of that type of platform, where we come together as key companies in the industry and we work together on a solution that we can work with sites on."
Linda Sullivan, executive director of WCG's Metrics Champion Consortium, said the issue comprises not just telehealth technology, but artificial intelligence (AI) and automated solutions and technology in general. In her mind, more conversation on the topic is essential so that sites' voices are heard in the midst of a "bombarding" of technology.
"More communication is needed between sites and sponsors. It's not a secret that sites are very frustrated with all of the different technology they have to be using in trials. It's a big problem," she said. "Outside of [AI and automation] … we're bombarding sites with multiple technologies to have to use."
Both sites and sponsors can take action to strengthen communication, said Brandon Graham, director of digital and decentralized solutions at PPD. For example, sponsors should be identifying key stakeholders at the site level to be present in discussions on the use of automation technology in trials, while sites should not be shy about describing the challenges they go through, he advised.
Even older, well-established technology can be overwhelming to sites, according to Saeeduddin Ahmed, a psychiatry, neuroscience, medical affairs and drug development consultant, who believes adding technology to trials will continue to be a much-discussed topic as time goes on.
"I was at a site not too long ago before the pandemic started, and they showed me just how many devices they have from different companies to measure EKGs," he said. "It was half a room of different EKG devices because they have different ones from different sponsors. This is going to be an ongoing conversation in the upcoming years."
Sondra Pepe, associate vice president of product management at ArisGlobal, noted that sponsors and CROs, in the current landscape, are not very informed about what technology sites are already using, which can lead to duplicate solutions. "Understand what your sites are already using. There's no such thing as overcommunication," she said.
Upcoming Events


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We have a tiny guest that has taken up residence in our main bathroom. It's a small brown spider that has built a tiny web in a corner by our shower. Some people would be horrified and would do her harm immediately, but not me. I have an odd sort of affection for spiders, and consider one showing up good luck to us as long as we show it hospitality!
I have been a fairly serious gardener for the last ten years or so, and I learned early on to love the beautiful, intricate webs the garden spiders spun. Early dew on late summer/early autumn mornings made the webs sparkle like diamonds, and it's hard for me to imagine how anyone could not admire a creature capable of building such a thing! Some of the spiders themselves were beautiful, too. I've seen spiders with all manner of colored stripes, dots, and markings. And daddy longlegs are just downright cute, in my opinion!
Of course I know that some spiders can be dangerous, or even deadly. Actually, all spiders are dangerous and deadly! That is what makes them such a friend to gardeners, since they can really knock back some insect populations that would otherwise feast on our precious gardens. That's some earth friendly pest control for sure!
One of the things I love about my husband is his respect and care for animals, even the kinda scary ones like our little guest. Just this morning after his shower he came to inform me the little spider was actually in the shower today, probably getting a drink. He was careful to not let her get sprayed with water, since he didn't want to drown her. He did suggest that I help her to "move along" today since it's warmer and rainy outside. He has respect for spiders, but isn't totally comfortable with one living in our shower! So I will help her to pack her bags and go. Maybe she can live on the outside of the front door, where there will be a bit of shelter for her to build a new web. And possibly send our home blessings in return for the care shown her.


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UK Urged to Look to Japan Over Solar and Other Renewable Sources
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) is urging the UK's pumbing and heating engineering industry to keep an eye on Japanese developments in solar and other renewable energy sources.
The advice comes after Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, confirmed at the recent G8 summit in France, that solar and other renewable energy sources would be more important to the future of Japan's energy needs. Dubbed the Sunrise Program, it is aimed at adding renewable energy to the country's core energy sources.
The program aims to cut the cost of solar power generation to one-third of the current level by 2020 and one-sixth by 2030. Japan also hopes to install solar panels on virtually all rooftops. In addition, the plan envisions the construction of large-scale offshore wind farms and the full-scale introduction of next-generation biomass fuels in the 2020s.
Commenting on Japan's statement at the G8 summit, Danny Davis, CIPHE's principal technical officer said:
"Whatever happens in Japan is likely to affect the UK industry. We'll be keeping an eye on its initiatives and any technological improvements with a view to making them work for us too.
"There are huge improvements that could be made in the way we gather, store and use renewable energy. Japan is known for being a technologically progressive country and with its involvement I'd expect to see a lot of development taking place which should give a boost to the industry," he added.
Renewable energies will become increasingly important to the UK's plumbing and heating engineering industry, and initiatives such as The Green Deal will form part of the Government's plan to encourage homeowners to embrace alternative energy sources. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has also been developed by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) to provide financial assistance to encourage homeowners, businesses and communities to switch to renewable heating technology.


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Read The 50 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time: Live-Action
Read The 25 Greatest TV Themes of All Time Part 2: Spoken-Word
Bring on the cartoons! In honor of the late, great Casey Kasem, who voiced many a classic cartoon character, including both Shaggy from Scooby-Doo and Robin on Super Friends, this is going to be a Top 40. So, what constitutes the greatest animated TV theme song? Sometimes it's a shockingly great instrumental. Sometimes it's something that elegantly explains the premise for the show and sets up the action. And sometimes it's just wacky.
Let's grab a bowl of cereal, plunk down in front of the tube, and count down the best from Saturday mornings and after school.
40 (tie). Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995-1996) and Cowboy Bebop (1997-1998)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is part of the mighty Gundam franchise; the giant robot pioneer hit screens in 1979 and is still going strong. Gundam Wing is one of the series that stepped outside of the main Gundam continuity to tell its own story of rebellion and the cost of war. The J-pop theme "Just Communication" by pop duo Two-Mix is by turns propulsive and introspective, which are the two dominant moods of the series. Two-Mix also did the main song "White Reflection" for the wrap-up film, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz.
Cowboy Bebop is frequently held up as one of the great anime series. A kicky space noir, the show serves up deft characterization, swift action, and a knockout punch of a conclusion. The jazzy theme is called "Tank!" and it invokes the two-fisted P.I. tales that the show emulates.
39. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)
If you'll allow a personal digression, Neon Genesis Evangelion is this writer's favorite anime, period. A cryptic rumination on religion, depression, grief, and the possible futility of love that plays out against the seemingly hopeless series of battles of giant robots and their teen pilots against increasingly monstrous creatures that might in fact be angels, EVA (as its fans call it) is so incredibly popular that its creator has been doing a new rebooted edition for the past several years. The original theme, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" starts off like soft rock, then gets increasingly frenetic.
38. Family Guy (1999-are you kidding? It's still going?)
Somewhere in his insane heart, Seth MacFarlane is just a song and dance man. That's evident in the opening to his most famous creation, Family Guy. Starting off as both a parody and tribute to All in the Family with Lois and Peter at the piano, it evolves into a Broadway-style showstopper. Well done, Captain Mercer.
37. The Smurfs (1981-1989)
Apologies in advance: just by mentioning The Smurfs theme, it's already stuck in your head. Obviously a measure of greatness.
36. Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1990)
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore have had several animated series since Ross Bagdasarian brought them to life in 1958. And while the current Nick series ALVINNN!!! And the Chipmunks has been running since 2015, the longest-running and most popular was the '80s iteration. The of-the-moment pop sound acknowledges in the lyrics that it had "been a while" since they've been on TV, but the bright and fun intro demonstrates that they are back to stay.
35. The Simpsons (December, 1989-the end of time, apparently)
Danny Elfman broke big in music as the founder and leader of Oingo Boingo, then transitioned to a long and successful career as a composer for such films as Batman, Beetlejuice, Spider-Man, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. But the theme that's probably heard the most is his main title for The Simpsons. At 679 episodes and counting, it's one of the most-played themes in prime-time TV history, let alone animation.
34. Popeye (1933-present)
"I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" was composed in 1933 by Sammy Lerner for the first Max Fleischer Popeye theatrical cartoon. The song has been used in some fashion for every iteration of the character since, including the jump to original TV productions in 1960. And no, he does not say that he lives in a garbage can.
33. Darkwing Duck (1991-1995)
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!" Darkwing Duck was an extremely popular series from Disney that debuted in the wake of the "Batmania" that followed the 1989 Batman film. A parody of The Shadow, Batman, and other classic heroes, Darkwing Duck routinely fights a rogues' gallery of bizarre enemies while trying to raise his adopted daughter. The jazzy score fits squarely in the animated-noir-hero subgenre, and is sprinkled with the titular mallard's catchphrases, like "Let's get dangerous."
32. Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2010-2013)
If you're looking for the best adaptation of the Avengers outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's right here. Produced during the run-up to and just after the first film, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes mines the rich legacy of comic book stories in a way that's even more faithful to the books in many places than the movies. Chicago band Bad City performs the rocking opening theme, "Fight as One," which articulates the notion of pulling together for a battle; it even includes a shout of "Avengers Assemble!"
31. Heathcliff (1984-1985)
Another character that's had plenty of shows, the comic strip cat got the added bonus of frequently being voiced by vocal genius Mel Blanc. The series has some great animation and a fun theme song by legendary composers and producers Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. The vocals to the poppy throwback are by Noam Kaniel, who you'll see hanging out with some mighty mutants later on.
30. The Tick (1994-1996)
Doug Katsaros wrote the whacked-out jazz-inspired theme for super-hero parody The Tick. Featuring the slightly dim, but nigh-invulnerable do-gooder of the comics, the show follows the adventures of the Tick, his moth-costumed accountant sidekick Arthur, and their various super-hero allies as they battle incredibly strange threats, including one gangster that has a chair for a head.
29. Spongebob Squarepants (1999-present)
Let's just put it this way. "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"
You know you just answered out loud.
28. Teen Titans (2003-2006)
DC Comics debuted the Teen Titans in the 1960s as a team composed of the sidekicks of prominent Justice Leaguers and led by Robin, the Boy Wonder. The comic relaunched in the early 1980s under writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez; Wolfman and Perez combined classic characters with new creations and the book became a massive success. The animated series features Robin, Beast Boy, and three Wolfman-Perez creations: Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven. The J-pop theme comes from Puffy AmiYumi, and it was so popular that the band got their own show in the States for a while.
27. Inspector Gadget (1983-1986)
Inspector Gadget sits squarely in the center of old-school gumshoe and science-fiction. The lead is a detective (voiced by none other than Don Adams of Get Smart) that is also a cyborg, capable of sprouting springing legs and helicopter rotors from his head when the need arises. The Saban-Levy theme song juggles inspiration from Henry Mancini and Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and is known for its repetition of the lead's name and the refrain of "Go, Gadget, Go!"
26. Speed Racer (1967-present in various incarnations)
Here's a huge asterisk. Yes, this is an anime import. However, the theme was completely redone and rewritten with English lyrics, resulting in one of the most well-known songs from an animated production. The 1967 take saw Peter Fernandez (one of the American producers and voice-actors) put together a new arrangement of Nobuyoshi Koshibe's original with new lyrics; the song is performed by Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass.
25.Hong Kong Phooey (1974-1976)
Hong Kong Phooey is a Hanna-Barbera series capitalizing on the martial arts fad of the early '70s, making its debut in the same month that Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting" was on the charts. The lead character is voiced by Scatman Crothers, who also sings the theme. Hanna and Barbera wrote the song themselves with their longtime musical director Hoyt Curtin.
24. George of the Jungle (1967)
Though short-lived on its original run, this show from Jay Ward and Bill Scott (creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle) consists of three segments, two of which make this list. In the cartoon pantheon, George is probably most famous for his theme, which contains everything you need to know about the show.
23. Super Chicken (1967)
The other two segments on George of the Jungle are racing cartoon Tom Slick and this classic super-hero send-up. Henry Cabot Henhouse III drinks his super-sauce and becomes . . . Super Chicken! The show's most beloved quote, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it," does indeed make it into the lyrics.
22. Mighty Mouse (1955-1967)
Originally called "Super Mouse" in his 1942 debut, the heroic rodent was renamed and redesigned with his familiar red and yellow costume in 1944. Though several theatrical shorts were made, the character didn't really get mass popularity until it shifted to TV. The theme by Marshall Barer is perhaps most recognizable for the line, "Here I come to save the day!" It was also put to memorable use in an early Saturday Night Live bit by Andy Kaufman.
21. Underdog (1964-1973)
One of the longest-lasting Superman parodies, Underdog features the canine superhero battling villains like mad scientist Simon Bar Sinister and often rescuing his reporter love interest Polly Purebred.
20. Duck Tales (1987-1990; 2017-present)
The much-loved Duck Tales puts Donald Duck's Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie together for a wide-ranging series of adventures. Inspired by the classic comic books by Carl Barks, the show regularly introduces villains and supporting characters from the comics and, via Scrooge's pilot Launchpad McQuack, sets up the unofficial spin-off Darkwing Duck. The show was rebooted in 2017, but kept the original theme song, albeit in a new version.
19. Pinky and The Brain (1996-1998)
This spin-off of Animaniacs features the popular titular lab mice. Brain is an evil genius, and Pinky his significantly less-intelligent assistant. A number of lines from the show became pop culture catchphrases, but the most famous is the regular exchange, "What are we going to do tonight, Brain?" "The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"
18. X-Men (1992-1997)
Bonus: Japanese theme songs
Originally seen as sort of middle children from the initial burst of creativity that was Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's vision of the Marvel Universe, the X-Men were rebooted into an international team in 1975 and rose to become Marvel's most popular book. 1980's "The Dark Phoenix Saga" and its aftermath firmly implanted Uncanny X-Men as the best-selling regular comic of that decade. When a new spin-off (simply titled X-Men) was launched in 1991, the first issue sold over eight million copies. The animated series launched in its aftermath and became an immediate hit, paving the way for the film franchise. The propulsive theme song is a genre classic, combining elements of spy and science-fiction themes of the past. As a bonus, we're including the two opening sequences that were made for the Japanese release of the show; they rock in their own right.
17. The Bugs Bunny Show; The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour and iterations (1960-1983)
In 1960, the Looney Tunes stable came to TV with an anthology format that pulled from theatrical shorts stretching back to 1948. Over the years, the show would switch formats, titles, timeslots, and networks, but the opening theme "This Is It!" would remain a constant until it was abandoned in 1984. The song combines a sort of Vaudeville sensibility while presenting the main cast; the opening also includes a snippet of another theme that lies ahead in the countdown.
16. The Jetsons (1962-1963)
In terms of lyrics, you can't get simpler than Hoyt Curtin's The Jetsons theme. The song simply introduces George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, and Jane, his wife. Originally shown in prime-time on ABC, it was the first series broadcast in color (stablemates The Flintstones were made in color, but only shown in black and white for the first two seasons).
15. Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1992)
The first of several series co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Steven Spielberg's Amblin' Entertainment, Tiny Toon Adventures opened the door for Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, among others. The approach is that the original Looney Tunes characters are teaching a whole new class of young cartoon characters at Acme Looniversity in Acme Acres. Most of the big name characters have young analogues like Babs and Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck, Hampton (a pig like Porky), Dizzy Devil, Montana Max (a young, rich Yosemite Sam type) and so on. The exposition-heavy theme comes from famed composer Bruce Broughton, who's won 9 Emmys and scored countless TV shows and films.
14. Super Friends (1973-1986)
Though there are spoken-word narration bits that vary from season to season, the main Super Friends theme stuck around (with minor changes here and there) for 13 years. It was another stellar piece from our old friend, Hoyt Curtin. In the late 1990s, the theme was remixed by Michael Kohler for a Cartoon Network promo called "That Time is Now!"
13. Freakazoid (1995-1997)
Cut from the same cloth as the theme to The Tick, the boppy and jazzy Freakazoid theme is filled with explanations of the show's premise paired with oddball non sequiturs. That pairs perfectly with the frequently-distracted, internet-powered hero.
12. Pink Panther (1963-present)
Why is this a classic? Because you heard it in your head the second you read the name. The creation of the Pink Panther has a strange genesis. The Pink Panther was originally a diamond in the Inspector Clouseau series of films, so named because the diamond contained the image of a panther if held up to the light. Beginning with the second film (The Pink Panther), the credits were animated, with the diamond panther becoming the familiar character. The animated panther then spun-off into theatrical shorts and various animated series on TV. In every iteration, it's kept the Henry Mancini tune from the movies.
11. Road Runner
As part of the The Bugs Bunny Show and later its own separate program, the Road Runner comes equipped with a quirky, bouncy, slight countrified tune that details the eternal struggle between Wile E. Coyote (Overconfidentii vulgaris) and the Road Runner (Disappearialis quickius). The Chuck Jones shorts are remembered for the Coyote's reliance on ACME devices and the continual beating he takes in trying to catch his prey.
10. Josie and the Pussycats (1970-1971)
Everybody's favorite feline-inspired band sprung from the pages of Archie comics to the screen in 1970. The adaptation was actually driven by the fact that The Archie Show cartoon of the late 1960s delivered a hit single in the form of "Sugar Sugar," and the producers wanted to see if they could pull it off again with other Archie Comics characters. Though no Top Ten hits resulted, a couple of important things came from the show, aside from its excellent theme song. One is that Valerie, voiced by Patrice Holloway, was the first black female character in Saturday morning cartoons. The other is that it was the first significant Hollywood job for the speaking and singing voice of Melody, Cherie Moore; you'd know her better as Cheryl Ladd of Charlie's Angels.
9. Jem (aka Jem & The Holograms, 1985-1988)
In the 1980s, Hasbro caught lightning in a bottle twice in a three-partner collaboration with Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions. The partnership resulted in huge hit comics, toys, and TV shows with G.I. Joe and The Transformers. Turning their attention to the girls' market, Hasbro launched a doll line with a tie-in show that featured a female band that was led by an enigmatic figure with a secret identity. That was Jem, whose singing parts were performed by Britta Phillips of the acclaimed dream pop band Luna. Though the toys weren't a huge hit, the show was, and was the # 3 show among kids in 1987. Overall, 151 different songs were created during the tenure of the show.
8. Animaniacs (1993-1998)
Part of the WB/Spielberg deal, Animaniacs was the anthology show that introduced Pinky and the Brain as regulars. The main segments featured Yakko and Wakko, "the Warner Brothers and the Warner sister, Dot." The three leads would wreak giddy havoc over a number of pop culture institutions, memorably destroying a Barney lookalike and sneaking an incredibly inappropriate Prince joke past the censors. Some of the songs from the show are still used in classrooms, like "Nations of the World" (23 million views on YouTube) and "Wakko's 50 State Capitols." The Emmy-winning main theme explains the plot, and has a number of variations with sight gags for the penultimate line; as they rhyme with "totally insaney," different versions have the characters singing everything from "here's the show's namey" to "Citizen Kaney" to "Dana Delaney."
7. ThunderCats (1985-1989)
Rankin/Bass may be most known for their awesome array of holiday specials, but they're also the production team behind one of the best cartoons of the 1980s, ThunderCats. The series was developed and co-written by comic book artist Leonard Starr and writer Stephen Perry. They gave the show a rich fantasy and science-fiction background and packed the series with action. Throughout the decade, Rankin/Bass developed two other shows with similar approaches, Silverhawks and TigerSharks. When ThunderCats was rebooted in 2011, the show explicitly tied new versions of the other two sets of characters into a shared continuity.
6. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983-1986)
Hasbro developed the original 12-inch G.I. Joe action figures in the 1960s. America's Fighting Man had a dip in popularity after Vietnam and shrunk to the 8-inch scale for a bit. In 1982, the figure was reborn as a whole team in the Stars Wars 3-3/4" scale; the unique personalities (and Cobra villains) were created by comic writer Larry Hama in a cooperative deal with Marvel that saw Hasbro finance animated commercials for the new comics. It was only a matter of time before the new toys and comics became a TV series, and it arrived with the instantly recognizable theme that incorporates the line's subtitle: A Real American Hero.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)
In comics in the early 1980s, the two biggest crazes were mutants (see, X-Men) and ninjas (by way of Frank Miller's run on Daredevil). Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird parodied the concepts with their black and white indie comic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a cult hit was born. The cartoon lightens up the darker comic quite a bit; the lighter tone is set by the theme, which was composed by D.C. Brown and Chuck Lorre (who would go on to create Two and Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, among others).
4. The Flintstones (1960-1966)
The Flintstones holds the distinction of being the first animated series to be broadcast in prime time. The Hanna-Barbera sitcom draws inspiration from The Honeymooners, but combines domestic comedy with an immersive world filled with Stone Age and dinosaur puns. You won't be surprised that Hoyt Curtin wrote the theme; you might be surprised to discover that the first two seasons had a totally different theme and that "Meet the Flintstones" didn't become the theme until Season 3. The original theme was called "Rise and Shine," but it's been replaced in rebroadcast for decades with the more familiar "Meet the Flintstones," which is, of course, the entry here. By the way, the line after "Let's ride/with the family down the street" is "Through the/courtesy of Fred's two feet."
3. The Transformers (1984-1987)
Following up their massive success with G.I. Joe, Hasbro, Sunbow, and Marvel again collaborated on a new Hasbro acquisition. Hasbro had bought the rights to a number of disconnected toy lines, all of which had the common denominator of being robots that transformed into cars, planes, and more. Marvel writer Bob Budiansky took the Larry Hama role and fleshed out names and backstories for the characters, based on Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter's idea to break the bots into Autobots (good guys) and Decepticons (bad guys). Every piece of the franchise was a huge hit. The Ford Kinder-Anne Bryant theme combines the two marketing taglines for the toys "More than meets the eye" and "Robots in disguise" into lyrics. Since that time, the Transformers have appeared in a number of TV series, films, and constantly reinvented toy lines; the theme has also been repurposed and covered a number of times, including Lion's version for the animated Transformers: The Movie and Cheap Trick's take for the live-action Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
2. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-today in various incarnations)
Last year, the Post covered the long history of Scooby and the gang. While there have been a few different themes with different iterations of the show, the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" theme is the most well-known and the one that keeps coming back. A classic premise-setting tune, the song gives you the basic gist of the plots that revolves around Mystery Incorporated. The theme was composed by David Mook and Ben Raleigh. When the popular direct-to-video Scooby movies began in the late 1990s, a number of high-profile musical acts recorded versions for different films, including The B-52s, Third Eye Blind, and MxPx.
1. Spider-Man (1967-1970)
Commonly referred to as the "Ralph Bakshi Spider-Man cartoon," even though the storied animator didn't take over as Executive Producer and Animation Director until Season 2, Spider-Man took off based on its use of villains and plots from the comics and its devotion to the trippy visual stylings of Spider-Man co-creator and original artist Steve Ditko. Spider-Man's other dad, Stan Lee, was a consultant on the show, as was John Romita Sr., who was drawing the comics by that time. The much-loved theme song was written by lyricist Paul Francis Webster (who was nominated for 16 Best Song Oscars, winning three) and composer Bob Harris. The song is so pervasive in pop culture that people that have never even seen the 1960s cartoon know it. Iterations and samples of it are still used in the Spider-Man franchise today. An orchestral version of it even replaces the Marvel Studios fanfare in the openings of both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home.
Featured image: Shutterstock
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Tom Berenger
American film and television actor Tom Berenger during a promotional shoot for the film 'Butch and Sundance: The Early Days' in 1979.
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By RJ Currie - a tongue-in-cheek look at sports and the world.
Heading into this weekend's Dallas game, the Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFL is most sacks given up. The Cowboys lead the league in giving up.
Our local guru, John Clayton, recently said Dallas will win the NFC East with a 6-10 record, Philly 2nd at 5-10-1. But that was before Washington scorched Dallas. In spite of the division sub-ordinariness, it'll be interesting to see who will be the best of the worst. (Fortunately for the Hawks, this is a year they play all 4 NFC East teams.)
Gotta kiss the schedule-makers for that one.


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Repsol, IKM Acona and Vår Energi awarded a total of nine prizes and NOK 275,000 to bachelor and master students at UiS.
Master students Luis Saavedra Jerez and Racha Moubarak walked away with two prizes each, and 75,000 and 50,000 kroner in prize money, respectively. The award ceremony arranged by the Department of Energy and Petroleum Engineering and the Department of Energy Resources took place before and after the master ceremony in Tjodhallen on 16 June.
The awards will motivate students to innovate, and are the industry's way of showing that they value those students who go a little further to achieve good results. The award ceremony also gives students the opportunity to meet some of the companies that may become their future employers.
And the winners are …
Repsol's prizes (NOK 25,000 each) to the four best master's students in various categories in petroleum technology and geology (selection based on grades):
- Marte Aksland
- Racha Moubarak
- Yasas Bandara
- Luis Saavedra Jerez
IKM Acona's prize for best master's thesis (25,000 kroner) was awarded Racha Moubarak.
Vår Energis awards (25,000 to two bachelor students and 50,000 to two master's students) to:
- Vegard Bror Trodal (bachelor student)
- Silje Gåsland (bachelor student)
- Mohammed Ali (master's student)
- Luis Saavedra Jerez (master's student)
Text: Kjersti Riiber


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Covid-19: UK coronavirus deaths pass 70,000
More than 70,000 people in the UK have now died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test,
official figures show.
A further 570 deaths in the UK were reported on Christmas Day, taking the total by that measure to 70,195.
According to Johns Hopkins University, only the US, Brazil, India, Mexico and Italy have recorded more deaths from coronavirus.
The number of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England and Scotland increased by 32,725 on Friday.
It came as the number of tests conducted over the last seven days rose by more than 25% compared to the previous week.
The government explained that the amount of data available will vary over the Christmas holiday period, with any unreported deaths and cases recorded on the following days.
"As a result, any changes to published data should be interpreted with caution during this period, as they may be a result of changes to reporting schedules," it said.
- New coronavirus variant: What do we know?
- Schools 'may need to close to control new variant'
- Six million people to enter tier 4 on Boxing Day
According to Office for National Statistics data there have been than 81,361 excess deaths, those over and above what would usually be expected for the time of year, up to 11 December.
Levels of infection are continuing to rise in England, the ONS has said, with figures for the week to 18 December estimating nearly 650,000 people have the virus, up from 570,000 the week before.
- LOCKDOWN LOOK-UP: The rules in your area
- TESTING: How do I get a virus test?
- SYMPTOMS: What are they and how to guard against them?
- LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?
The rising number of deaths came as the UK marked a different Christmas with people under the toughest restrictions in England prevented from meeting other households indoors, while elsewhere planned relaxations of restrictions were cut to just one day on 25 December.
In England, six million more people are due to enter the highest level of restrictions on Boxing Day while other areas will move up into higher tiers after Downing Street warned the old system was not enough to control a new variant of the virus.
And from Monday, all airline passengers arriving in the US from the UK will be required to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure, amid concerns over the new variant.
So far, the UK has approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, with more than 500,000 people having been given the first dose, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine had now submitted full data to the medicines regulator for approval.
- HIS DARK MATERIALS: Fantasy drama for all the family
- FEEDING BRITAIN'S CHILDREN: Behind the scenes of Marcus Rashford's campaign for free school meals
Published at Fri, 25 Dec 2020 18:14:13 +0000


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PORT REDWING, FLA. — Ardent Mills has opened a new flour mill in the metropolitan Tampa area of Florida. The mill, with 17,500 cwts of daily milling capacity, replaces one the company has sold within the city of Tampa.
Built at a cost of over $100 million, the mill is in Port Redwing adjacent to the community of Gibsonton. Situated on a CSX rail line and at a port, the mill will be able to receive wheat by rail and ocean vessel. Outbound flour will be shipped by truck, generally within a 2-hour radius from the mill.
The facility is set on a 10-acre property and features interconnected buildings, including a grain elevator, cleaning house and mill; a warehouse, mill mix bins; office and storage.
With two milling units, the Port Redwing mill produces all-purpose, whole-wheat, high-gluten, cake and bread flours. The building has space to accommodate the later addition of a third milling unit.
Equipped by Buhler, Inc., Plymouth, Minn., Ardent Mills said the mill features several technological advances, including:
- Real-time data analysis and automation including near-infrared grain analysis and automatic, high-speed packaging lines.
- Rapid line intervention and issue management, which allows for the production line to be stopped, assessed and, if needed, corrected with minimal downtime.
Other vendors for the project included Younglove Construction, SCA Construction, Ebmeier Engineering and Interstates. In addition to Buhler equipment, the mill features two high-speed Behn+Bates carousel packaging systems, made by Haver & Boecker, Oelde, Germany.
Grain storage capacity constructed alongside the mill totals 4.1 million bus, making it one of the largest grain elevators of any US mill. The company said extra storage capacity is critically needed when "managing sudden supply chain shifts or in case of a natural disaster."
"For five decades, Ardent Mills has enjoyed the privilege of being a part of the Tampa community and it's been amazing to see the city grow and change," said Dan Dye, chief executive officer of Ardent Mills. "We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and this robust community through our brand new, state-of-the-art Port Redwing Mill. This mill is a testament to our commitment to transform how the world is nourished and drive innovation across plant-based ingredients."
Plans to sell the old Tampa mill, which had 14,500 cwts of production capacity, were announced in 2018.


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No, not the rioting and looting, which was way beyond stupid. No, what is criminally stupid is the sentencing now being imposed on those convicted of rioting. Custodial sentences for people convicted of the most trivial of offences is ludicrous. It's destroying lives, costs us all a fortune and doesn't rebuild the communities that were trashed. How is this supposed to help? People are not stupid, they can compare and contrast with the derisory way politicians who filch from the public purse are treated. We're not talking about having sympathy for those who committed acts of violence or arson, but putting people in prison for posting messages on Facebook or picking stuff up that had been looted is madness. Not only will many of these sentences be reduced on appeal (at yet more expense to the taxpayer), it will clog up the so-called justice system even more.By all means punish those convicted, but do it sensibly so that it can make a real difference, not make things worse.
The more time goes on the more I wonder about the intelligence of the political class. It's not just suicidal policies on windfarms and climate change, it's everywhere. The harder I try to see signs of intelligence at work, the less I find of it. Where are all the smart people in government? It's a scary thought that the answer is that there are none.
With the riots fading from the front pages our state broadcaster has returned to its favourite topic: attacking its commercial rival News International. It's a story that the BBC puts ahead of the slow motion collapse of the Euro, the riots, or failed environmental policies, wars on two fronts and many other more important issues. And, as the Autonomous Mind blog keeps reminding us (here and here, for example), it is also ignoring the hacking activities of its print arm the Guardian.