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The glorious period of the Caliphate Rashida lasting 30 years will go down in the history of mankind as the most successful experiment of democratic rule in the world, in which there was hardly any distinction between the ruler and the ruled. Notwithstanding his being the Head of the mightiest Empire of his time, Umar the Great refused to taste wheat unless it was available to every citizen of his vast dominions. This golden epoch of Islamic democracy was, however, shortlived and the evil forces which lay dormant under the exemplary rule of the Iron Caliph raised their head during the reign of Yazid. The noble descendants of the Prophet had to make supreme sacrifice without precedent in history in order to hold aloft the banner of truth and virtue in the world. Brutal political persecution of his opponents started by Yazid, was relentlessly continued by tyrant Hajjaj bin Yusaf. Even such venerable persons as Hasan Basri and Anas bin Malik could not escape the wrath of the Umayyad rulers and their lieutenants. The two and half year's rule of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who endeavored to revive the traditions of his maternal grandfather Farooq-e-Azam, was only a glimmer in the vast gloom of evil, which at last prevailed over it.
In such a dark atmosphere was born Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa who valiantly braved the persecution by the ruling class and never budged from the right path.
Abu Hanifa Al-Numan ibn Tabit, the greatest authority on Muhammadan canon law, was born in Kufa in 80 A.H. (699 A.C.), in the reign of Abdul Malik bin Merwan. He was a non-Arab of Persian extraction. His grandfather, Zauti, embraced Islam and presented Tabit, his son, to Hazrat Ali, who prayed for the glorification of his family which ultimately took shape in the form of Imam Abu Hanifa, The Imam saw the reign of ten Umayyad Caliphs including that of Umar bin Abdul Aziz who ruled when the Imam was eighteen years of age. He also saw two Abbaside Caliphs Saffah and Mansoor. The notorious tyrant Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the great persecutor of Muslims died when Imam Abu Hanifa was 15 years of age.
During his childhood, Hajjaj was the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq. The venerable Imams and religious leaders who wielded great influence with the Arabs were made the main targets of his persecutions. Primarily occupied with his commercial occupations during the Caliphate of Waleed, the Imam paid little attention to education. But during the reign of Sulaiman, when education the pupils assembled round him with pen and paper carefully took down the notes. Imam Abu Hanifa had learnt Hadiths from more than four thousand persons.
It redounds to the credit of Imam Abu Hanifa that he left behind the greatest number of pupils in the world of Islam, including Qazi Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, Hafiz Abdur Razzaq, Abdullah bin Al Mubarak, Abu Neem Fazal, and Abu Asim who acquired great fame in their days. Qazi Abu Yusuf rose to be the Grand Qazi of Abbaside Caliphate during the time of Haroon-ar-Rashid.
Imam Abu Hanifa was deeply impressed by the reformatory ideas of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who had, to a great extent, revived the pristine glory of Islam.
The principal occupation of Imam Abu Hanifa was business. He carried on a flourishing trade of textile goods. His success in commercial enterprises was largely due to his absolute honesty in business transactions. He was so much trusted by all that even non-Muslims deposited their wealth with him. He did not believe in excessive profits and never tolerated to earn money through illegal and questionable means.
Once he sent a few pieces of cotton goods to one Hafs bin Abdur Rahman with a word that some of the pieces were defective of which the customer should be apprised. Hafs forgot to do so and disposed of all the pieces. This deeply shocked the Imam who by way of atonement gave away the entire sum amounting 30 thousand dirhams in charity.
Once a woman brought to him a piece of Haz (costly cloth) for disposal. She demanded hundred dirhams as its price. She was wonderstruck with his honesty when he paid her five hundred dirhams for the piece.
The prices of commodities kept in his shop were fixed. Once in his absence, some of his pupils unknowingly sold certain articles at relatively higher prices. When he learned about it on return, he resented it very much, saying they had cheated the customer. Meanwhile, the customer who was an inhabitant of Medina had left Kufa. It is stated that the Imam himself undertook a journey to Medina and paid him the balance.
Contrary to the general tendencies prevalent among the wealthy class of people, Imam Abu Hanifa was exceedingly kind-hearted. It is stated on the authority of celebrated mystic saint Shafiq Balkhi that once while he was accompanying Imam Abu Hanifa they sighted a person who suddenly turned to another lane. Thereupon the Imam called him out why he was turning to the other side. The man stopped; he was in a flurry of spirits. On being accosted, he said that he could not face the Imam as he owned him ten thousand dirhams which he could not afford to pay back. Being deeply moved, the Imam, told the debtor that he need not bother to pay him back. Not only that, he apologised to the borrower for causing him so much distraction. Such was the humanitarianism of our Imams, which is unparalleled in the annals of the world.
The Imam was very popular among the masses who loved and respected him. This greatly irritated and upset the lieutenants of the Umayyad Government, who hired hooligans in order to tease and malign him. Once a mercenary hoodlum intruded in the social gathering of the Imam and began to criticise and abuse him. His pupils wanted to oust him forcibly, but he prevented them from doing so. When he started for home, the hooligan followed him and went on abusing him to the very doorsteps of his house. Halting at the gate, he addressed him, "Brother, I am entering my house; you will not be able to get in. Please abuse me to your heart's content before I step in."
The Imam was very much annoyed with a drunkard neighbour, who used to call names the whole night in a drunken state. His neighbours were fed up with his objectionable behaviour. One day, the police caught hold of him and put him behind the bars. In the evening, when the Imam got back home, he inquisitively asked as to why the drunkard had assumed silence. On learning that he was imprisoned for his misbehaviour, he at once called on the Governor who was taken aback at the unexpected visit of the Imam. The Imam apprised him of the whole matter and secured the release of the drunkard on his surety. On being free, the Imam said to the drunkard, "Brother, we do not want to lose you at any cost." The drunkard was so much struck with the angelic behaviour of the Imam that he abstained from wine forever and became one of the famous pupils of the Imam.
The powerful Umayyad and Abbaside rulers tried to win his favour, but he always kept away from them. He scrupulously avoided association with corrupt and tyrannical administrators. Mansur, the Abbaside Caliph, once offered him a high sum as a gift which he declined, saying that it was repugnant for him to share the money of Baitul Mal which was public property and should go to the needy.
Mansur offered him the high post of Grand Qazi of his vast Empire, bluntly replied, "Supposing a complaint is lodged against you in my court and you want it to be decided in your favour, otherwise I would be thrown into the river: then please rest assured that I would prefer to be drowned in the river rather than tamper with justice." This outspoken curt reply of the Imam silenced the Caliph for the time being.
Imam Abu Hanifa possessed exceptional qualities of head and heart. He could never be purchased or cowed down by the ruling power. Ibn Hubaira, the Umayyad Governor of Kufa, once requested him to pay him occasional visits for which he would be highly grateful to him. Since he abhorred corrupt rulers, he frankly replied, "Why should I meet you? If you favour me, I would be associating myself with your evil. If you persecute me you would add to my insults. I do not aspire for any position or wealth, Whatever God has given me am content with it."
There had been some dispute between the Abbaside Caliph Mansur and his wife Hurra Khatun. The Khatun wanted the matter to be referred to Imam Abu Hanifa. The Imam was summoned by the Caliph and his wife also sat behind the curtain; The Caliph asked the Imam, "How many wives at a time are allowed in Islam?" The Imam replied, "Four." Mansur cried out to his wife, "Did you listen what the Imam said? The Imam at once said, "But this is subject to one condition. A man is empowered to marry more than one provided he is capable of doing equal justice to all of his wives." The last part of Imam's reply went against the interests of the Caliph. On reaching home in the evening he found a man waiting for him with a bag of guineas and a letter of thanks from the wife of the Caliph. The Imam returned the money with the remarks that it was his duty to speak the truth without any fear or favor.
The Imam lost his father in his childhood, but his mother survived till his old age. He respected and served her devotedly.
Yazid bin Umar bin Hubaira, Governor of Kufa, during the Caliphate of Merwan II, persuaded the Imam to accept some respectable job in the Government which he refused. The Governor swore that he would have to do his bidding, but the Imam stuck to his words. Thereupon he was put behind the bars and was flogged every day under orders of the Governor. He was released after a few days and left Kufa for Hejaz where he stayed for 24 years until the Umayyad Caliphate was replaced by the Abbasids.
Hakam, son of Hisham, the Umayyad Caliph, once said, "Our Government offered two alternatives to Imam Abu Hanifa-either to accept the keys of our treasuries or to get his back flogged, but the Imam preferred the latter."
The Imam pinned rosy hopes on the Abbaside Caliphate. On the accession of Safah, the 1st Abbaside Caliph he had returned to his native town Kufa from Hejaz. But soon he was disillusioned for the Abbasids, turned out to be equally bad, if not worse for him. They stepped up his persecution. On transferring his Capital from Hashmiya to Baghdad, Mansur, the second Abbaside Caliph offered him the post of Grand Qazi. The Imam flatly declined it saying that he was not fit for it. The Caliph indignantly shouted, "You are a liar." The Imam retorted, "You have upheld my contention. A Liar is unfit for the post of a Qazi." The Caliph became non-plussed and swore that he would have to accept the post of the Grand Qazi. The Imam too swore that he would not. The whole Durbar wondered at the boldness of the Imam. Rabi, a courtier explained, "Abu Hanifa, you have taken the oath of allegiance to the Amirul Momineen." The Imam promptly replied, "But it is easier for the Caliph to compensate for his oath."
There upon the Imam was thrown into a dark prison in 146 A.H. There he was poisoned. Under the effect of poison, he prostrated in prayer and died. The news of his death soon spread throughout Baghdad. The whole citizenry came out to pay their last homage to their greatest Imam. More than fifty thousand people participated in his first funeral prayer. His funeral prayer was offered six times. According to the historian "Khatib, the funeral prayers of the Imam were offered for twenty days after his burial. Commenting on his death", Sheba bin Hajjaj said, "Night has settled over Kufa."
His grave for a long time was a place of pilgrimage for the Muslims. Sultan Alp Arslan Suljuki built a tomb over it as well as an attached school to it. Ibn Batuta, the celebrated explorer of Asia saw this school when he visited Baghdad and was highly impressed by its good management as well as its boarding facilities.
Imam Abu Hanifa has the distinction of being the greatest legist of Islam. Being the highest authority of Islamic canon law, his disciples and followers from a majority in the Islamic world. He has left behind him three works namely (1) Fiqh Akbar, (2) Al Alim Wal Mutaam, and (3) Musnad. Figh Akbar is a brief magazine, which is very popular.
He founded a body of intellectuals, of which he was the President, to counsel on the codification of Islamic doctrines and to transform the Islamic Shariat in the form of law. According to Khwarizmi, "The number of sections of Islamic law framed by him is more than 83 thousands of which 38 thousands are related to religious matters and 45 thousands dealt with worldly affairs."
Though the Imam has not left behind any collection of Hadith, he occupies a high place as a Muhaddis. Imam Malik is the author of 'Muwatta, a book of Hadith which is well-known in the Islamic world. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal was also a celebrated Muhaddis of his time.
The exponents of Hadith (Muhaddis) were divided in two groups-Those who collected the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) from various sources and those who critically examined the authenticity of those sources and interpreted them according to their knowledge. The second group was called the Mujtahid and Imam Abu Hanifa belonged to this group. The Imam was the greatest legist of Islam who gave a sounder basis to Fiqh. Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik have laid down similar conditions for appraising the authenticity of Hadith. It is said that Muwatta, the celebrated work of Imam Malik originally contained more than ten thousand Hadith, but the number of Hadith was reduced to seven hundred only on subsequent revision of the book by Imam Malik. Once Imam Shafii said, "Hazrat Abu Bakr had reported only seventeen Hadith from the Prophet, Hazrat Umar reported about fifty, Hazrat Usman and even Hazrat Ali who was so closely related to the Prophet had reported very few Hadith." The Hadith which are against commonsense should not be accepted. This was the criterion which Imam Jozi in the 6th century A.H., followed for distinguishing between authentic and non-authentic Hadith. During the time of Imam Abu Hanifa too much reliance on commonsense for distinguishing between the authentic and non-authentic Hadith was resented, but the Imam followed this principle to a great extent and during the later centuries his principles were universally accepted.
Imam Abu Hanifa has left behind scores of wise sayings some of which are as follows :
(1) No person has sustained greater loss than that whose learning could not restrain him from indulging in vices.
(2) A person who talks of religion and does not think that he will have to account for what he says, does not know the meaning of religion and his conscience.
(3) If the religious people are not the friends of God then God has no friends in this world.
(4) A person who attains knowledge for the benefit of the world, his knowledge does not take root in his heart.
5) To have learned discourses with a person who has no sense of knowledge is to annoy him unnecessarily.
The greatest contribution of Imam Abu Hanifa is to Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence. He is the most outstanding legist of Islam, whose Fiqh Hanafi is followed by the majority of Muslims of the world, including those of Turkey, Egypt, Turkistan, Afghanistan, and Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. He rejected most of the traditions as untrue and relied solely on the Quran. By 'analogical deductions' he endeavored to make the simple Quranic verses applicable to every variety of circumstances. Writing in "The Spirit of Islam", Ameer Ali, the celebrated historian says: "He was a speculative legist, and his two disciples, Abu Yusuf, who became Chief Qazi of Baghdad under Harun, and Muhammad Ash-Shaibani, fixed Abu Hanifa's conception on a regular basis."
The Imam occupies the same place in Fiqh which Aristotle occupies in Logic. Actually he formulated the Islamic jurisprudence in a scientific manner. Shah Wali Ullah of Delhi has written a fine article describing the history of Fiqh. According to him, the Companions of the Prophet of Islam never enquired from him about his action. Ibn Abbas says that the associates of the Prophet did not ask the explanation of more than 13 doctrines from the Prophet during his lifetime. The Prophet was scrupulously and faithfully followed by his Companions. After the death of the Prophet, the conquests of the Arabs spread over the three continents and new problems in religious matters cropped up, which had to be solved through the commonsense of the learned Muslims.
The Hanafi Fiqh being too liberal and practical soon gained much popularity among the masses. It also received the patronage of Abbaside, Seljuki, and other Muslim ruling dynasties. The pupils of the Imam, who held important posts of Qazi during the Abbaside Caliphate also immensely contributed to its propagation.
Besides the above, there are other inherent factors which made Hanafi Fiqh, so popular among Muslim masses as well as among the intelligentsia. The secret of its popularity lies in its being more rational, intelligible, liberal, and universally applicable.


text: Package Includes: Cosmo pushchair Carrycot Stratus i-Size Car Seat Stratus ISOFIX base Co-ordinating hood, apron, footmuff, carrycot and seat unit Changing bag and mat We all want a travel system that looks good, is up to the task of protecting precious cargo and doesn?t cost the earth. The Cosmo All in One i-Size Travel System with ISOFIX Base from Ickle Bubba ticks every box. Whether you're hitting the shops or strolling round the park, the Cosmo pushchair brings some sophisticated style without breaking the bank. Bubba and parent can enjoy luxury fabrics, a fleece-lined footmuff and a protective apron with privacy panel. What's more, you can choose between a modern matte black finish or gunmetal chassis colour to offset the leatherette handlebar and create an affordable pushchair of distinction. But it doesn?t stop there ? Cosmo is packed full of handy extras to bring you more value for money. From the extra-large shopping basket for all those essential purchases to the multi-position seat recline that lets little one relax in comfort. What?s more the quick-release treaded wheels provide robust support on everyday terrain and the lockable swivel front wheels and adjustable handle height provide even more control in busy spaces. The Stratus Car Seat and ISOFIX Base meet the i-Size international safety standard ECE-R129. i-Size ensures child car seats are easier to fit, provide improved protection from side impacts and keep children rear-facing for longer. It also complies with the ISOFIX international standard for car seat installation. This means you can be doubly sure that it will keep your little one secure on all their journeys. With side impact protection, pop-out impact panels and a supportive newborn liner, you can rest assured that baby will be safe going from A to B. Stroller Features: Quick-release treaded wheels Hood features UPF 50+ sun protection Co-ordinating hood, apron, footmuff and pram seat unit Extra-large accessible shopping basket Multi-positi

subset: commoncrawl


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Author: Piloo Bhattacharya
Publisher: Sagarika
Year: 2006-09-01
Language: English
Pages: N/A
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
From the heart of Indian Mythology comes yet another exciting and wondrous story Durga. Durga also known as Shakti or Amba is one of the most loved and revered goddesses in Hindu mythology.
The heavens have been conquered by the evil demon Mahishasur, who is protected by a boon, that no MAN will ever be able to slay him. Under the protection of this boon, Mahishasur tortures and plunders heaven ad earth alike and drives the gods out of heaven. The harassed gods approach Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to save them from the terrors of Mahishasur. Thus all the powers of the universe come together and create a FEMALE Shakti, a power that will slay Mahishasur and put and end to his sins.
This 2D animated VCD features enchanting songs and exciting action sequences. Learn about Indian culture, tradition and mythology through The Culture Company's Popular Series, Long Long Ago
Script – Sagarika Bam
Voices – Ram Menon & Sagarika Bam
Music – Piloo Bhattacharya
Song Sung by –Vaishali Samant & Swapnil Bandodkar
Animation – Dreams Station Animation Studio.
Studio-Gora Gupta, Globe Studio & Infinity Studio


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Geneva: Nestle SA plans to cut as many as 500 computer-service jobs in its home market of Switzerland as Chief Executive Officer Mark Schneider aims to boost profitability at the world's largest food company.
Nestle is shifting information-technology jobs to locations including a tech hub in Spain, the company said Tuesday. Its Nespresso coffee unit is also moving jobs to Spain and Portugal, and will offer positions to 80 employees affected by that reorganisation. The unit will open a site in Italy to work on developing boutiques.
Schneider is starting Nestle's biggest restructuring program in Switzerland, reducing staff there by 5 per cent after having faced pressure from investors such as Dan Loeb to cut costs. The strength of the Swiss franc in recent years has ramped up the company's expenses. Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger has accelerated Nestle's five-year restructuring plan and has predicted 700 million francs ($706 million) of reorganisation costs this year.
"Nestle remains fully committed to its home base," Peter Vogt, head of human resources, said in a statement. The company said it's investing 300 million euros ($346 million) in the country this year. "The relationship between Nestle and Switzerland is mutually beneficial."
The stock traded 0.4 per cent lower at 10.53am in Zurich, having dropped 7.3 per cent in the past year.
In recent weeks, Nespresso workers in Lausanne, Switzerland, have protested against a plan to add more weekend shifts and lengthen workweeks to 43 hours from 41 at its capsule factories.
Nestle said it plans to make the cuts over the coming 18 months. The company will offer employees training and help to switch to other positions and accept voluntary departures.
The company had 323,000 employees worldwide in 2017, ranking sixth among European employers. Nestle's Swiss staff has swelled to more than 10,000 last year from about 6,700 in 2003.


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Gabrielle Dress - White
The effortless chic silhouette of the Gabrielle gives an impression of fun and flirty femininity while the drop waist maintains sophistication.
This dress gives you the ultimate comfort while looking stylish in a crisp white.
Style Notes
Reversible - The key hole tie can be worn in the back or front
Designed as a dress, but also looks chic as a long top
Model 5'7"- wearing size small
Fit is true to size
100% Rayon
Hand wash cold
No Bleach
Hang Dry
Dry Clean
Handmade in Los Angeles


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November 5, 2021 at 1:41 pm · tkcDev · Comments Off on Flycatcher LLC
Flycatcher LLC
Flycatcher LLC is a Maine-based, full-service environmental consulting firm. Staffed by some of Maine's best scientists and planners, Flycatcher provides support to energy, development, municipal, and conservation clients. Services include strategic permitting support (local, state, federal); wetland, wildlife and soil science; project siting and planning; feasibility assessments; erosion and stormwater control planning and inspection; and turnkey project management. Flycatcher LLC specializes in helping complex and novel projects navigate environmental constraints and find opportunities. Currently supporting some of Maine's largest energy and mixed-used development projects, Flycatcher's staff also help small solar, residential and conservation projects find paths to success.


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Becoming a Signatory
Who can become a Signatory of the Sea Cargo Charter?
All charterers are eligible to join the Sea Cargo Charter: those with interest in the cargo on board; those who simply charter out the vessels they charter in; disponent owners; all charterers in a charterparty chain; companies involved in pools.
The Sea Cargo Charter must be applied by Signatories in bulk ship chartering activities that are:
- on time and voyage charters, including contracts of affreightment and parceling, with a mechanism to allocate emissions from ballast voyages,
- for voyages carried out by dry bulk carriers, chemical tankers, oil (crude and product) tankers, and liquefied gas carriers,
- and where a vessel or vessels are engaged in international trade (excluding inland waterway trade).
Since 1 January 2022, vessels under 5000 gross tonnage are also included.
In recognition of the diversity of a charterer's role, the reporting to the Sea Cargo Charter is divided into four segments:
- SEGMENT 1 – Charterparties where the Signatory is the only time charterer and there is no charterparty chain or, if there is a charterparty chain, the Signatory is the final time charterer. (mandatory, if applicable)
- SEGMENT 2 – Charterparties where the Signatory is the Voyage Charterer. (mandatory, if applicable)
- SEGMENT 3 – Charterparties where the Signatory is an intermediate time charterer in a charterparty chain, or the bareboat charterer. (optional)
- SEGMENT 4 – Owned vessels: if, in addition to being a charterer on certain transactions, Signatories or companies within the same group also own vessels, they can also choose to include voyage of their owned vessels in their reporting. (optional)
The first calendar year of reporting, Signatories reports on its chartering activities for the previous year (year of becoming a Signatory), starting from the next fiscal quarter date after the date of becoming a Signatory. Fiscal quarters starting dates are set as follows: Q1 – January 1st, Q2 – April 1st, Q3 – July 1st, Q4 – October 1st.
The scope will be reviewed and may be expanded by Signatories on a timeline that is at their discretion.
How to become a Signatory?
Companies wishing to become a Signatory of the Sea Cargo Charter must submit the Standard Declaration, the Signatory Application, and the Membership Agreement to the Secretariat of the Sea Cargo Charter Association. Once accepted into the Association, the Signatory will have five months to complete and submit the Signatory Self-Assessment to the Secretariat. All relevant documents are available from the Secretariat.


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CIG Pannonia units fined HUF 19 mln
The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) fined the life and general insurance units of CIG Pannonia a combined HUF 19 million on charges of regulatory shortfalls, according to a public statement issued by the central bank yesterday.
According to the MNB, the units of CIG Pannonia breached regulations on business management, registration, IT systems and consumer protection.
The general insurance unit of CIG Pannonia has been fined HUF 10 mln, while the life insurance unit of the company received a fine of HUF 9 mln, Hungarian news agency MTI reported, adding that the central bank instructed the two units to comply with the relevant regulations.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.


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The 1.8" display has 128x160 color pixels. The TFT driver (ST7735S) can display full 18-bit color.
The breakout has the TFT display soldered on and included an SD Card slot built in.
This display works great with the Adafruit ST7735 library that can be installed directly from the Arduino IDE.


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In our fast-paced culture filled with innovation and electronic communication, it's clear why we miss out on so much human communication and leave behind small gestures that can make people feel valued and loved. We've let go of the feeling and the feeling of comfort and speed and have barely left a thoughtful note for someone we care about because messaging is so much faster. Small gestures make people feel adored. Showing compassion when someone is having a hard time is a very good solution. Whether you're doing this for your partner, best friend, or a complete stranger, it's always fun to make someone else feel special.
The decision to do something good for someone is always the right activity. Being nice sets off a chain reaction of good vibes that goes out into the world like an awesome game. The words may change, but the message remains clear. If you want to truly change yourself and the world for the better, start by making someone feel unique and special.
If you don't know what gestures to give your loved ones to make them feel good, these little gestures can help.
Ferrero Rocher And Cake
Make your friends and family happy in Rohini, Delhi by sending them this bouquet of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and a yummy cake as a token of your affection and love. It will definitely make your friend happy and create a happy moment that you can cherish and cherish. So why wait? Send by using cake delivery in Rohini, Delhi.
Heart Pillow
Add a personal touch to your romantic gift when you step on this heart pillow, which is an excellent and beautiful gift choice for the season of love and affection. This is a pillow that looks like a red heart and you can choose to have a romantic image engraved right on it. Choose the most romantic picture and capture it when you give your loved one this romantic pillow.
Write Them A Card or Note
One thing that makes us too special and precious is when people write little notes for us- especially when we are having a bad day. Apart from showing that you can tell that someone is going through something, it shows that you care about making someone happy and happy.
Realizing that someone took the time and effort to write you a letter – even though they could be texting or emailing – really comes from the heart. Handwritten letters are great. Such actions seem to build inspiration, reduce stress, and increase your general thinking and wealth.
Combo Of Flowers, Teddy Bear, And Mug
If you want to make your friends special every day, send them this amazing gift combination. It has a bouquet of red roses, Cadburys chocolates, a charming teddy bear, and a personalized mug. If you love someone and are going to propose to her, then you can go for these gifts along with one-sided love Shayari.
Surprise Them With Something They Talk About
You can really brighten their day by giving them their favorite items or even something as small as another pack of socks.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Lifestyle category


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Airbus took MSN002, A350-900 test bed aircraft, to the US Air Force's McKinley Climatic Laboratory to give it a bit of a chill. Eglin Air Force Base, which hosts the lab, is located in the sunny state of Florida, but is able to provide low temperature testing. The A350 XWB was subjected to "multiple climatic and humidity settings," including temperatures from 113 deg F (45 C) down to -40 deg F (-40 C).
During engine tests, to keep the aircraft in place, it had to be chained down. But it was important to make sure the engines could start up and operate at different temperatures.
Many of the A350 systems were checked during the tests including the in-flight entertainment, air conditioning, galleys, and water & waste systems. Luckily for us, Airbus did a great job documenting the process via photos and video.
Due to the size of the aircraft, crew at the facility had to start preparations six months before MSN002's arrival.
This is just part of the testing required for the Airbus A350 to be validated and prepared for delivery later this year.
Here are additional photos and a video of the climate testing process:
Can anyone tell me why all previous hot/cold tests seem to have been done 'on location' and not in a facility like this? Perhaps a 74 or A380 is too big, but most others would fit.
More good news for the A350, Qatar Airways" third A350 (MSN009) has entered final assembly…


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Recently in Web Development Nov 2013
By Rey Bango
We used to have an awesome series called "Recently in Web Development" which listed out cool happenings around the web development industry. It touched on interesting frameworks, tools, articles and tutorials, helping to organize information in a quick and easy-to-read format.
Based on feedback, we've decided to bring it back and hope that it helps you, our faithful readers, stay on top of the news and announcements of this fast-changing industry.
So without further ado…
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News and Releases about Web Development
Let's get caught up with relevant news and releases from around the web development community.
Rails 4.0.1 Is Out
The Rails framework continues chugging away with its newest update to version four. The big update in this version is a change to the way Active Record handles order calls and the subsequent prepending of an SQL ORDER BY
clause. It was primarily done for backward compatibility but worth checking out to ensure your apps behave as expected.
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Google Octane v2.0
Google updated their Octane JavaScript benchmark to include some new tests to simulate complex data structures and memory-intensive applications by measuring (interestingly enough) how fast Microsoft's TypeScript compiler can compile itself. There are also a number of fixes to existing tests to help improve the reliability of measurements. If you're a JS developer, it's definitely worth checking this out.
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AWS SDK for JavaScript
Looks like Amazon wants to get into the "no backend" world for client-side developers. We've seen services like Firebase offer managed back-end services like this making it easier for client-side developers with no backend experience to get up and running quickly. Seems Amazon likes this too since they launched a developer preview AWS SDK for JavaScript.
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Missed the Chrome Developer Summit?
If you missed the Chrome Developer Summit, be sure to at least grab the speaker decks which are chock full of great information on performance, Chrome packaged apps, and the Chrome Developer Tools.
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And While You're At It…
Check out Addy Osmani's deck, "Rendering Performance Case Studies", which he used for a talk at VelocityConf. It should go nicely with the decks from the Chrome Summit.
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The Node.js Knockout Contest Announces Its Winners
Node Knockout is a yearly event which always produces some impressive results. This year's winners are no-less impressive with everything from multi-player games to embeddable JavaScript to mine bitcoins.
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Firefox 29 Alpha
This is the nightly version of Firefox which will have the new Australis UI, the first big interface update to Firefox in years.
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New and Notable
Here's a glance at some new resources that might pique your interest. We'll run the gamut from frameworks to books trying to call out new things that look pretty cool and might make your development easier.
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RedditKit.rb is a reddit API wrapper, written in Ruby. RedditKit.rb is structured closely to the wonderful Octokit.rb and Twitter gems. If you're familiar with either of those, you'll feel right at home here.
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This component will auto-complete or auto-suggest completed search queries for you as you type. There is very basic keyboard navigation using the up and down keys to scroll up and down the results and enter adds the selection, while hitting escape hides the autocomplete menu.
This is a work in progress.
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Book: Node.js In Action
Node.js in Action is an example-driven tutorial that starts at square one and guides you through all the features, techniques, and concepts you'll need to build production-quality Node applications.
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INIT Front-End Framework
INIT aims to provide you with a decent workflow and structure within your sophisticated web project. INIT is based upon HTML5 Boilerplate and adds more structure for SCSS files, JavaScripts, includes build tasks and a whole lot more.
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grunt-ec2 abstracts away aws-cli allowing you to easily launch, terminate, and deploy to AWS EC2 instances.
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jQuery Evergreen
jQuery Evergreen works with modern browsers. It has the same familiar API as jQuery, and is lean and mean with the following, optional modules: selector, class, DOM, event, attr and html.
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Suggested Reading and Off-Topic
Tutorials are cool but sometimes we just want to read the esoteric and unique. That's what this section is for. Somewhat technical but not necessarily tutorial-based content.
Converting Print Books Into eBooks Using Radically Smart Templates
If you've ever been curious about the technical process of bringing books to a readable form on the web, then this post by Brad Neuberg of Inkling is a must-read.
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4 Golden Rules for Asking Questions on Forums
It may seem obvious to many but knowing how to post for help properly will go a long way to getting you the answer you need.
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How Ready Are the 5 Top US Online Retailers for Black Friday?
The team at Zoompf tested out Amazon, Walmart, Target, eBay and Best Buy to see if they're ready for Black Friday. Check out what they found in their survey.
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Civic Information API: Now Connecting US Users With Their Representatives
Google released their new Civic Information API "that lets developers connect constituents to their federal, state, county and municipal elected officials—right down to the city council district".
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EtchMark Under the Hood: Building a Website That Handles Touch, Mouse, and Pen – and Device Shakes
If you haven't yet seen Microsoft's EtchMark Etch-A-Sketch drawing toy demo, go check it out because it's pretty cool. Then read up on how they built it.
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So Much More…
There's so much going on in the industry and hopefully this will be enough to satisfy your information appetite for now. We'll continue to search out cool, interesting and unique tidbits and bubble them up to you. We'll be back soon with more great information to share.
Source: Nettuts+


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Plot: an angel falls from the sky into a sort of forest kingdom. He has lost his wings, and while trekking around to find them meets an insectile princess in a deep-green costume of spikes and ridges. They fall in love, but the princess is kidnapped by slender women with green hair who winch her into the ceiling and celebrate with a quadruples trapeze routine. Later, the princess emerges from a cocoon and is reborn as a high-level contortionist and handbalancer; she is reunited with her angel; they acquire headdresses and long gowns and are married at length.
It's fairly standard Cirque du Soleil, romantic and vague, with the characters talking in a burbling made-up language that sounds like a racially insensitive impression of an indeterminate nationality. The audience's ability to follow the narrative is probably further impaired by the decision to combine several plot-critical moments with the introduction of an entrancingly beautiful helium balloon—a sort of mini-zephyr with planes of intersecting light sweeping across its skin, projected from under its skin, which is walked on a tether around the stage, high above it, so the whole audience can look happily up while below the princess and angel go through the motions.
All the good stuff is up. Starting from within a forest of pole-trees, a seemingly freehanging scaffold staircase wends up to the ceiling where a central opening like a cathedral oculus is bathed in green light. It's from this aperture that our angel falls in the dramatically lit and genuinely captivating intro. His aerial hammock routine, too, was probably my favourite of the night—because it was great seeing the vocabularies of aerial loop, silks, and straps brought together in one routine; because there was so much height, combined with some neat counterbalance; because it was just about the only piece where the performer didn't wear a skin-tight bodysuit; and because Mark Halasi is just a very good aerialist, having lightness and fragility to offset the endlessly rehearsed confidence and strength.
With the plot sketched in the background, Varekai proceeds more or less like a typical Cirque du Soleil show, presenting the usual formula of acts which, on this occasion, includes some wildly swinging aerial hoop (making good use of the Royal Albert Hall's massive circular space); a fairly bizarre piece combining partner acrobatics and foot juggling which is hard and esoteric enough to make you laugh and shake your head (if you're not already laughing at the costumes: gold Lycra with cowboy-esque red flaming tongues at the arms); and a dance on crutches by Dergin Tokmak, whose sinuous upper body seems to move forward and back in a wave.
Also in the line-up are tiny Chinese boys in puffed-out graduated blue costumes coloured like blendable pencil demonstrations – they (the children) spin bolas that are weighted by what look like representations of scales, and they (the children) are profoundly unchildlike and deeply uncanny. In a head-to-head, act-against-act I suppose I would pick Quidam's robotic head-tilting Diablo girls, but the two sequences are quite similar in that both make choices of choreography and direction that mechanise the performers and, as mentioned, give them a generally unsettling aura of aged creepiness—the bola boys in fact are brought onstage after two characters, looking for the princess, open a trapdoor and call into the depths, the children clambering up like an ancient evil never meant to awake.
For the Albert Hall run Varekai's clown duties were fulfilled by a man and woman playing the classic roles of bad magician and unglamorous assistant. It wasn't quite my cup of tea; I preferred a later section, featuring the bad magician, Steven Bishop, again, but this time in the role of a slimy cabaret singer whose heartfelt lip-synch of Ne Me Quitte Pas is interrupted by a spotlight that repeatedly cuts out and reappears, first just a step to the side but progressively further and further away, sending him running stage left to right, up the pole-trees, and finally careening through an open trapdoor.
There was nothing in Varekai quite to match the closing sequence of Quidam—though it has its own spectacular group finale using Russian Swings—but I think that Varekai probably hangs together a little better, overall, and has to its credit a suffusing atmosphere of benevolent weirdness that provides a little room to excuse the narrative fragmentation and design inconsistencies. Don't expect rigorous dramaturgy, deep thinking, or anything groundbreaking for the present day, and you can sit back and enjoy the show.


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A Quick Guide to Find Your Creative Style
There are many ways as a content creator you can differentiate yourself from your competition and other creators.
Out of all the ways, I believe the most powerful and effective way to differentiate yourself is developing your own creative style.
I recently took a moment to stop and take a look back at how my style has changed, morphed and evolved over the years since I started as a freelance photographer and content creator.
One thing was for certain, my creative style definitely changed and grew over time.
And that growth and changes lead me to eventually find my own creative style, taste, a flavour that is now known to me and my brand.
So how do you find your own creative style? Here are a few tactics to help you find and dive into your style with a little more ease:
Listen to Yourself
This is to me the best way to uncover your creative style.
Listen to the voices inside your head and follow them to what you're naturally drawn to.
This could be your favourite music, artists, creators, movies, colours and textures. It could be certain tools, supplies and techniques.
All of these elements will form part of your creative style in some way.
From my own personal experiences, I often try to break free from my normal style and try new colours for example, but I end up being sucked back to what I love doing and what I find extremely satisfying.
Don't ignore where you're inner self is trying to tell you to go. If you listen to the outside world too much you'll get lost and never find your way.
Trust Your Instincts
Your instincts are never wrong.
So make it a regular routine to just pull out a blank sheet of paper or your camera, or whatever tools you use to create and just start creating.
No rules, no plans, just your own creative thoughts and ideas and a canvas.
Don't be Visually Inspired
We are all guilty to it.
Scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube watching videos and looking at photos looking to be inspired.
Stop scrolling through Instagram, stop watching endless YouTube tutorials, stop taking workshops, stop all of it.
Not forever, just for a little while.
When you're constantly seeing other people's work, elements of their work will creep into yours without you even knowing.
You won't have the chance as a content creator to develop your own creative style.
Clear your mind of all the online noise, grab the stuff that makes your heart happy, take a step back and allow your creative vision to emerge.
Look Back Into the Past
The past can unveil a lot.
Look back on things that you used to do. Things that you did, things that you created, things that you explored that you stopped or forgot all about.
See if anything like that sparks anything in your creative mind.
This is by far the easiest way to reignite your old creative passions and reinvent them into something new and exciting that can be used as part of your creative style.
In The End
I hope the tips I've shared have inspired or have helped you see that developing a creative style doesn't need to be such an uncertain process, nor does it need to be all-consuming.
Finding your creative style will happen naturally over time, and it will continue to always evolve.
But once you start finding it, you'll never look back and you'll start to cement yourself.
So just sit back and enjoy your creative play!
If you enjoyed this article and want to read more stories and tips on freelancing and content creation then click here.


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Labor Day weekend is just around the corner, and after the odd weather (a snowy spring, an oppressive heatwave, and torrential rain) we've got to take the pleasant days while we can. For now, the long weekend shows mostly sunny, mid-70s days—no better weather in the city.
Whether you're planning to spend that time in the dog in the park or want to road trip out of the city, find it all here. Rent a river kayak, head to Ping Tom Memorial Park, explore a new bike trail in a forest preserve, or park yourself at one the lakefront beaches all day.
Every year you can count on a grand finale fireworks show from Navy Pier. There will also be the annual, free Chicago Jazz Festival in Grant Park. Plenty of other events and special shows are listed on Choose Chicago, the city's tourism site, if you run out of parks, beaches, or trails to explore on Labor Day weekend.


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Sam's new schtick
Amid a late morning buzz of students both studying and snoozing, Uncle Sam made his first appearance. Beneath the bright red, white and blue costume was E.J. Ford, and his long, brown sideburns.
Uncle Sam with sideburns?
For Ford and his classmates, though, that was the point.
Anthropology students from Jonathan Gayles' Media and Culture class set up shop Wednesday in the lounge of the Phyllis P. Marshall Center. The presentation was somewhat of a mock protest. Gayles' students wanted to turn the tables on the controversy surrounding professional sports teams' use of Native American symbols for their mascots.
And it was America's most recognizable uncle who was the target of their digs.
Ford recognized he didn't exactly fit the Uncle Sam profile — the cut jaw, the furrowed brow, the white hair and beard — but for his purposes, it was close enough.
"I think I do make a good Uncle Sam; I am a tall white guy," Ford said. " But if they think I look a fool, then they should think the same about the Native American symbols on the sidelines."
Behind Ford was a series of black placards that contained various images and messages related to the subject of appropriation, which the group defined as the act of taking possession of something and making use of it without authority.
There were illustrations of Uncle Sam made to look like the Cleveland Indian of Major League Baseball or like the Florida State University Seminole. They passed around a brochure proclaiming Uncle Sam to be the new mascot for USF, a mascot that would "patrol the sidelines providing his own version of 'home field security.'"
"What we want to do by using the image of Uncle Sam is to get people uncomfortable with that image and get other people to understand why other people would be uncomfortable with images that depict (Native Americans)," Gayles said, adding the goal of the project was to render students "upset, motivated and challenged."
Ford said he and other students were required to infiltrate the message boards of certain sports teams on the Internet and encourage discussion about the right to use Native American symbolism in sports. One response read:
"When 80,000 fans rise up in unison to sing Hail to the Redskins, it is unlikely ANY of them even think of those native to this country. It is absolutely certain the usage, even if the thought crosses the mind of a few, is a positive usage."
A recurring theme, Ford said, was fans that claim the use of Native American symbols in sports honors Native Americans. But that's not true, he says. Team names like the San Diego Padres or the Boston Celtics were representative symbols of those areas at a certain time, whereas Native Americans probably had no say in the decision to use a tribal name or representative head for a particular sports team.
"It's not like the Washington Redskins were created by (Native Americans) who used to live in D.C. area," Ford said.
While the graduate students explained their collaborative project to interested passersby, a track list of about 10 songs played in the background. The songs contained bad covers of popular songs, such as Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy?"
The creator of the mix was Noah Porter, who said he chose the songs to underscore the point of the class project: The horrible covers represented poor representation of the popular songs, just like the Native American mascots are poor representations of Native American people.
As the exhibit opened, USF professor Fraser Ottanelli stopped by to see it and to chat with anthropology professor Kevin Yelvington.
"This is real history," Yelvington joked with the history professor, "not the stuff you guys teach up there."


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Treatment of greenwaste
In the Netherlands and Belgium, Indaver processes organic residual streams such as greenwaste into high-quality compost, among other things. With compost of good quality, we return natural nutrients to the soil, and close this loop.
We sort the green waste to assign it to the right purpose: composting or biomass. We make the material we can compost smaller, then store it in rows. We turn the material regularly to add oxygen and activate bacteria. After about 6 weeks, the raw compost is ready. We clean it of bits of plastic and stones. Then we sift it into fine compost and coarse compost.
Quality is the result of joint effort
Good compost requires pure collected green waste
Unfortunately, the contamination of green waste has been increasing in recent years. Indaver makes every effort to remove contamination from the chain. We continuously upgrade our processes and facilities to improve the quality of the compost. The increase in contamination nevertheless poses problems for our operations and makes treatment very laborious.
You have a big impact on the quality of the compost. The purer your collected green waste is, the higher the quality of our final product. We need to put quality at the heart of every step of the chain to continue making good compost together.
Our products
All Indaver sites have been certified under the Keurcompost scheme for many years. Our businesses are audited annually, and the quality of our products is monitored continuously. The Keurcompost quality label guarantees a high-quality product, free of weed seeds, pathogens and matter alien to soil. Indaver produces compost of varied quality, tailored to multiple specialised uses.
Agricultural compost
Agricultural compost is a compost with a fairly coarse texture and a consistent composition. The coarse compost improves soil structure, which enhances infiltration. Agricultural compost is also ideal as a soil improver. It provides stable organic matter, stimulates soil life and boosts disease resistance in plants. Indaver's agricultural compost can be spread all year round.
Garden compost
Garden compost is a finer type of compost specially created for gardens and flower beds. This finer compost provides plants with airy soil that has a good structure and good moisture retention. Garden compost also supplies plants with sufficient organic nutrition. This is needed to create as well as maintain healthy soil life.
Wood Chips
Our wood chips are intended as a fuel for generating green electricity in biomass stations. When used as ground cover, the wood chips protect the soil from drying out due to sun and wind. The soil stays moist in dry periods, and excess moisture is kept out in wet periods.
Wood chips A (log chips)
A-grade wood chips are pure "hardwood or softwood" chips that contain no contamination. Mixing or contamination with needles or leaves is not allowed. The size of the chips is between 25 mm and 50 mm.
Wood chips B (branchwood and smallwood)
B-grade wood chips are wood chips that are larger than 25 mm and derived from branchwood and smallwood. These wood chips may contain a limited amount of needles or leaves.


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Second appearance, first final. Paris Saint-Germain Handball are the second French team in Men's EHF Champions League history to make it to a final, after Montpellier went all the way in 2003. PSG won the first semi-final 27:26 at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017 in Cologne after a true thriller against Telekom Veszprém on Saturday in the jam-packed LANXESS arena.
Telekom Veszprém (HUN) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) 26:27 (11:11)
"This was a big fight against a very strong team, we gave more than we had. We found the right solutions in defence, this was the reason for the win," said PSG goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, who can win his fifth individual Men's EHF Champions League title on Sunday.
But it was really a high hurdle for PSG to overcome, as Veszprém were still in with a chance of making their third straight final until seven seconds before the end. Paris had been ahead most of the time, but could not cast off their opponents.
There was a clear majority of Veszprém fans in the LANXESS arena, thousands dressed in red and the whole City of Cologne seemed to be in the hands of the Hungarians. The several hundred Paris fans formed the French flag in their section waving club flags before the magnificent opening show started.
After Croatian right back Luka Stepancic scored the first goal of the 2017 edition, PSG were mostly in a narrow lead until Thierry Omeyer - in top form - in the Paris goal helped the French champions up to a three-goal advantage 7:4 (13th minute) for the first time.
In this period, Veszprém were extremely weak in attack, but still had built-up a rock-solid defence. But not all PSG stars were shining straight from the start as the reigning IHF World Handball Player of the Year Nikola Karabatic or fellow stalwart Daniel Narcisse were below par in the first half.
Other teams would have had problems to replace such a top duo, but PSG did not, thanks to their wide and classy squad.
Veszprém ended their downswing soon enough. Some magnificent passes and goals of Mate Lekai, and an improvement from goalkeeper Roland Mikler levelled the match, leaving a half-time result of 11:11 which was deserved. It was the second lowest number of goals in the history of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, only the 10:9 in the 2014 semi-final Barcelona vs Veszprém was lower.
The second half started roller-coaster-like with both teams exchanging strikes, but then Veszprém took the lead at 15:14. Three unanswered goals conceded in the next two minutes saw PSG take the lead again (17:15) and then moments later it was three (19:16) before the side from Hungary caught up thanks to the left-handed stars Gasper Marguc and Laszlo Nagy and then Blaz Blagotinsek equalised with just over 10 minutes to go (22:22).
Paris missed several chances for an earlier decision - Mikkel Hansen failed with a penalty shot against Mikler. But when – with a one-man advantage due to a suspension against Andreas Nilsson – Nikola Karabatic scored his first (and only) goal two minutes before the end, the score was 27:25 – and the winners' way was paved.
But it was seven seconds before the final buzzer when a missed pass ended all Veszprém hopes finally.
Uwe Gensheimer added seven goals to his season's VELUX EHF Champions League record tally, leading the top scorer ranking with 113 goals currently. Mikkel Hansen hammered in for his team regularly, netting in four of his seven goals in the first half.
Speaking after the game, Uwe Gensheimer was clear with who he thought the difference was in the match. "Both teams fought with everything they had and were equal," he said. "Today Thierry Omeyer was fantastic and he helped us enormously to win this semi-final. It was an intense game with the lucky ending for us but the whole team worked so hard for this." "Of course it's a huge success for myself but we think as a team and the team did everything to win today - now I hope we can also win in the final and hopefully we can present ourselves tomorrow."


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After about three weeks of wresting with what to call this pregame article and one somewhat off color joke in regard to the point of messing about with roster questions that occasionally aren't very meaningful, we bring you Roster(de)bating, the column dedicated to figuring out the rotations and substitutions that are going to be in play for Xavier for each game. Without any further ado, here's what needs tackled when Georgetown comes to the Cintas.
1. Is it necessary to start Sumner yet?
When fully healthy, Edmond Sumner is this team's starting point guard. Ed played 25 minutes against Marquette on Saturday in his first game action in two weeks and looked mostly good, if a bit like he was showing the lack of game action. The one thing that occasionally catches up to Ed is turnover rate, and the one thing that could bring Xavier down against Georgetown would be throwing away so many possessions that the Hoyas can stay close. Would it be worth staying with the steady hand of Myles Davis at the point to start just one more game?
2. Should Coach Mack just let Jalen go?
Jalen Reynolds fouls a lot, that's not a debate. What he hasn't done since March 12th of last year is actually foul out of a game. In the game where Xavier may have needed him most this year, against Butler after Edmond got hurt, Jalen played 28 minutes, put up a line of 13/8/1, missed only one shot and, most pertinently, only accrued one of Xavier's 21 fouls. There's an argument to be made that maybe Jalen just needs to be told he's off the leash and let go. Reynolds is both very talented and very frustrating so far this year. Maybe the simple knowledge that he was going to be allowed to play until prohibited by the rules from doing so would free him up a bit.
3. What on earth is JP Macura?
Quick, who is Xavier's most accurate shooter in the paint? If you are able to use context clues at all, you know the answer to that is JP Macura. JP is also Xavier's player least likely to turn the ball over and the team's most efficient offensive player and very nearly one of the 100 most effective in the nation. This is all coming from a guy who was recruited because of an incredible ability to shoot the ball from deep. What is JP shooting from behind the arc this year? 29%. At some point JP will need to knock down a three, but right now he is Coach Mack's best option as a slashing forward.


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In late February, The Jerusalem Post spoke to prominent Kurdish leader Zubeyir Aydar in the Brussels offices of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK).
Aydar's official title is vice-president of the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (KCK) (Group of Communities in Kurdistan.
He is one of the top figures in the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), second only to movement leader Cemil Bayik, and is the head of the movement's European operations.
The PKK has been engaged in an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. It was once widely condemned as a terrorist organization, and remains on the EU and US list of terror groups – though this designation has little connection to the group's current activities.
Today, the PKK rules over one of the two de facto Kurdish autonomous enclaves currently in existence – that of northeast Syria, or "Rojava." It has emerged as one of two very different pan-Kurdish movements competing for the overall leadership of Kurdish nationalism. The other is Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which rules northern Iraq.
The Middle East order, established after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, has been rocked to its foundations in recent years. One of the results of this is that nations and groups which lost out in the period of ferment that followed the Ottoman collapse now have the distinct sense that history may be about to afford them a second chance.
Most prominent among such peoples are the Kurds. This ancient, non-Semitic Middle Eastern nation of around 40 million people is spread between four Middle Eastern states – Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Aydar is soft-spoken and precise – a lawyer, not a military man. Born in the town of Siirt, in the Kurdish heartland in southeast Turkey, he fled the country in 1994, and has made his base in Brussels ever since. Our conversation was the first this senior PKK official had conducted with an Israeli publication.
It took place in the KNK offices in the Belgian capital, which are located behind discreet wooden doors in an elegant if slightly shopworn old Brussels house. The Kurdish official's messages were clear and unambiguous.
First and foremost, he noted the reality of emergent Kurdish self-government: "In the Middle East, a Kurdistan is rising," Aydar said. "It doesn't yet have official borders. But it is there, a reality. There is Kurdish authority running all the way from the Iranian border to close to the Mediterranean."
Quizzed on the subject of his movement's strategy with regard to the ongoing war in Syria, Aydar made clear that the Kurds see "no end in sight" to the bloodletting in that country – and no allies on either side of the line in the Syrian civil war: "Kurds will not accept the return of the Ba'ath regime; an Islamist regime would also be disastrous for the Kurds. So our strategy is to keep our areas safe – and to stay out of this fight."
In the longer term, "if possible, we'd like to build a democratic Syria – which would either be a federal state, or be divided into autonomous regions."
"It's possible Syria may collapse," he continued.
"If it does, the Kurds won't put it back together. They will rule their own areas. The map of the Middle East may change. Its not written by God; no one asked us when they drew the map. In any case, the Kurds must be ready for all possible developments."
One of the central accusations made by Syrian oppositionists regarding the Kurdish enclave in northern Syria is that it maintains a clandestine alliance with the Assad regime and with Iran.
Certainly, as this reporter can attest, there is a regime presence in some parts of the enclave – specifically, in the cities of Qamishli and Hassakeh. Aydar, however, indignantly rejects these allegations.
"Iran called for the Kurds to align with the Assad regime. The Kurds rejected this… The purpose of the Iranian regime is to preserve Assad and fight the Sunnis, so they can leave Rojava be for a time. But if the regime achieves victory, Iran would support Assad in destroying Rojava."
On the vexed question of Kurdish disunity, Aydar expressed a formulaic support for the convening of a congress bringing together the PKK, KDP and all Kurdish political forces. He did not sound particularly optimistic, however, and probably with good reason.
Relations between the PKK/Democratic Union Party (PYD)-dominated administration in Rojava and the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq are not good.
The KRG sharply restricts the passage of aid to Rojava via the Fishkabor border crossing.
This leads to resentment.
But more broadly, both KDP and PKK see themselves as the natural leaders of the Kurdish nation. Each has enjoyed considerable success, and each are formidable movements in their own way. Competition and friction between them are probably inevitable.
"Barzani sells oil to Turkey," said Aydar, "but the conditions in which Kurds live in Turkey and Syria and Iran apparently don't bother him."
Aydar also made some fascinating and far-reaching comments about Israel and its place in the region. His tone was one common among Kurds, yet probably without parallel elsewhere in the region.
"There is an Islamic approach toward Israel in the Middle East," he said. "Before that, there was a leftist point of view. But both of these were based on Arab nationalism. This view was saying that Israel has no place in the Middle East, and Jews have no rights in the Middle East.
"The other nations in the Middle East – Arabs, Turks, Iranians, Kurds – have to accept the existence of Israel in the Mideast. They have to recognize that these people are from the region, and are indigenous people of the region. And whatever rights Arabs have, Israel also has. This nation has the right to live on its own soil."
Aydar went on to call for "breaking the walls between Kurds and Israelis, and getting to know each other. If we can continue our friendship, both sides will benefit from it. The region needs the Israeli experience.
So it's important that we develop and further relations – not just as two peoples, but also at the highest levels.' The conversation also touched on the troubled "peace process" between the PKK and the government of Turkey. Aydar was one of the Kurdish officials involved with the talks from the start. These talks have rapidly run aground over the details of such issues as Kurdish language rights, and the degree of autonomy to be afforded Kurdish areas. "Expectations have come to an end," Aydar said. "We don't say the process has stopped, but there are core problems that we currently can't surmount."
Local elections are set to take place in Turkey on March 30. The PKK-associated Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is expected to do well. There are rumors that following election gains, the BDP may declare a Kurdish autonomous zone in southeast Turkey. The gains in Rojava, the stalled peace process and the current travails of the Erdogan government all make such a move more likely.
Aydar would not be drawn out on this possibility. But the very fact that it is being discussed is testimony to the strides taken in the recent period by Kurdish nationalism in general, and by the group of parties and movements associated with the PKK in particular.
"The reality of Kurdistan is emerging in the Middle East – Kurdish sovereignty is on its way," Aydar reiterated at the end of our conversation. That this statement sounds more realistic today than at any time in recent memory is a testament to the deep and historic changes underway in the region.
Jonathan Spyer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.


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The plastic ratio is given by
The Dutch architect Dom Hans van der Laan gave the number this name in 1928. He used "plastic" as an allusion to a 3D construction of the number, analogous to the 2D construction of the golden ratio.
Here's a plastic rectangle, a rectangle whose sides have the proportions of the plastic ratio.
@Gregoresate commented on Twitter that this ratio is aesthetically "disharmonious" and "bereft of meaning." He could have said it looks plastic.
van der Laan claimed the plastic number was how humans mentally sorted proportions, but looking at how he applied it to architecture it's striking how disharmonious it appears. There's arrangement but no spiritual alignment between scales. Nesting bereft of meaning, no whole. https://t.co/y6H36nBwdr pic.twitter.com/oS5or5pYki
— Gregoresate (@Gregoresate) May 27, 2021
I doubt there was any negative connotation to the word plastic in 1928. The primary meaning at probably had to do with deformability, not with synthetic materials. To the extent that the word was associated with new materials, it would have had a positive connotation at the time. It's interesting that the use of the plastic ratio has been criticized for being plastic in the contemporary sense of being inauthentic.


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What happened to the horse racing results and entries?
You may be looking all over the paper this morning for the entries for Wednesday's races at Del Mar. Unfortunately, you won't find them in the paper. You can only get them if you subscribe (it's free) to our email horse racing newsletter. Why? Sports editor Angel Rodriguez answered a few questions from horse racing newsletter writer John Cherwa to explain.
Cherwa: The Times has tried to eliminate the entries and results on a couple of occasions and always brought them back. Why try this experiment yet again when it has failed in the past?
Rodriguez: It is true we have had stops and starts on the entries and results in the past. I think we finally have our online operation to the point where we feel more confident sending our readers to our digital products. The horse racing newsletter was developed after the last time the decision was made to drop entries and results. It is now up to speed with a large number of subscribers and much more complete information.
Cherwa: So, if the horse racing public starts inundating you with complaints, will you reconsider?
Rodriguez: We obviously take reader feedback seriously, but we want to provide our readers with the best possible journalism on all our platforms — print, digital and social. Space in our print product is at a premium and as we've added more reporters in the last year, we have to make decisions on what we feel is the best use of that space. Now that we have entries and results in the newsletter, we can use that space in print for more stories. And hopefully Mel Brooks doesn't storm our El Segundo offices.
Cherwa: Is it just horse racing that is being picked on or are you eliminating other sports? And what sports are you keeping statistical matter on and why?
Rodriguez: As some of our readers have surely noticed by now, we have also eliminated the majority of what we call agate — the scoreboards and standings that would appear in most newspapers. It doesn't make sense to us to continue filling the paper with this type of information, especially when we have any number of stories we can use in the print section that are of interest to more readers.
Cherwa: Is this a ruse to send everyone to the newsletter where suddenly you will start charging for it?
Rodriguez: We have no plans on charging for the newsletter. I don't want to go all George H.W. Bush with his "read my lips, no new taxes" line, but there has been zero discussion on charging people for the newsletter.
Cherwa: Will this mean that horse racing story coverage in the print edition will also be on its way out?
Rodriguez: This would be a really horrible way to let you know we don't need you anymore, wouldn't it? We have seen this year how important horse racing is to our audience. I know the focus on horse deaths is probably not something fans of the sport or the industry want to see, but it is important that the L.A. Times has been leading the way on this coverage. We will not back away from covering all aspects of horse racing.
You can subscribe to our horse racing newsletter by going to latimes.com/horseracing. It's free, and the entries and results plus daily coverage from Del Mar will be emailed directly to your inbox.
Ask Orel Hershiser
Dodger legend Orel Hershiser has agreed to answer a few reader questions. You can email me your question for Orel at firstname.lastname@example.com and he will answer selected ones in a future Morning Briefing. This is a rare chance to connect with one of the best Dodgers of all time. My advice: Try to come up with a unique question. You don't want to be the 112th person to ask, "What was it like to break the scoreless inning streak?" Start sending in your questions now.
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• #1
Not strictly related to espruino, hope its ok :)
I want to attach this to a cog/something to turn it into a pulley (see my other post from months ago about a chicken door). Thing is there's loads of cheap cog kits on amazon, but they are all for circular shafts, not a flat ended one like this.
Is there an online shop where I can get bits for the physical attachment of things like this?
Any help/pointers appreciated, Lloyd.
1 Attachment
• #2
If your pulley or gear or... has a - at least one - screw to fasten on the axle and has the same diameter, you are just fine. Mount it with the screw perpendicular to the flat surface on the axle.
If the pulley or gear or... is just pressed over the axle, use some two-component raisin glue and glue it onto the axle - hot glue may not good enough. Better is when you file a notch in the center bore of it, place that notch over the flattened area of the axle and wedge / slide / press a nail or thick solid wire - called key - in and add some hod glue that oozes out on both ends to prevent slipping out of the key.
Since this all very low speed, it does not matter when it is not 100% centered...
• #3
What is the diameter of the shaft? Size of the gear/cog/pulley?
S&H might make cost prohibited, but Grainger for shaft keys.
The more I think about it, what about the local hardware store. Surely they might have keys or raw stock for pulley systems, garage door, garden tractor. Or, automotive, fan wheels, defroster etc. Bicycle shop. Blacksmith, forge, welder for welding rod, a machinist. Someone that repairs lawn mowers.
If low revs as @allObjects suggests, what about making your own key out of an aluminum can, by making several folds out of a strip? Although aluminum, it should work without slipping. Grind down a screw or nail.
• #4
As @allObjects says, for mounting a circular hole to something with a flat, some kind of screw in the side, perpendicular to the shaft works really well.
I have a set of 'taps' and in the past I have just drilled and tapped a 3mm thread, then just screwed a 3mm bolt or grub screw into the side of the pulley.
• #5
McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com) might have something that will do the trick?
They're the digikey of mechanical stuff.
• #6
Thanks all, sorry didn't get email notifications so didn't pick up.
Unfortunately there isnt' a local hardware store (I am fairly rural), and the electronics shop in the nearest city shut down a few years ago. Will take a look at mcmaster.com, or take a stab on some amazon cog sets :)


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Residents on Cape Cod are petitioning to shut down the Sagamore and Bourne bridges amid the coronavirus outbreak to keep out-of-towners away to prevent an overflow of their hospitals, according to a Boston Herald report.
The petition to close the bridges has nearly 6,000 signatures. The petition states the bridge closures would help stop the spread of coronavirus. "Only year-round residence (sp), medical personnel. Trucks that deliver essential supplies."
Some residents worry that if vacation homeowners stay, the local hospitals will see an influx of COVID-19 patients, which would result in overwhelming the healthcare system in the area. The petition says that the two hospitals on the Cape have "limited staff."
In recent weeks, Nantucket, the Cape, and vacation areas in other New England states have reported an influx in out-of-state residents seeking to ride out the coronavirus outbreak.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that the latest models show that the coronavirus surge is expected to hit Massachusetts in the next two to three weeks, sometime between April 7 and April 17.
There are currently 6,620 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, including 89 deaths. Nearly 43,000 residents have been tested so far, according to health officials.


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For several years, Elizabeth Schrader was a singer-songwriter who had an interest in Mary Magdalene, the Jewish woman who traveled with Jesus and was a witness to both his crucifixion and resurrection. But after years of study at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, she's on her way to becoming an expert of biblical history and along the way, has made some big discoveries about Mary Magdalene — some of which could reshape our understanding of her prominence in the Early Church.
It started when Schrader read what's known as Papyrus 66, the oldest copy we have of the Gospel of John. In reading it, she discovered two instances of Mary's name being crossed out. Once, it was replaced by "Martha." The other time, it was replaced by "the sisters."
That led to her research of over a hundred ancient gospel manuscripts in which she found what she calls "dozens of manuscripts with problems around Martha." It led her to believe that Martha was probably not included in the original version of John's Gospel. Schrader believes that Martha was in Luke's Gospel, but was moved into John's in an attempt to minimize Mary Magdalene's role by Early Church leaders jealous of her prominence in Jesus' life.
"Once you take Martha from the Gospel of Luke, and you stick her in the Gospel of John, then Lazarus's sister Mary isn't Mary Magdalene anymore. Now's she a different Mary. She's Martha's sister Mary from a different gospel from a different author," Schrader explains.
Mary Magdalene's real history has long been a subject of debate in the Church. Some arguments have been fanciful (The DaVinci Code) and others a bit more plodding (2018's Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara), but one needn't buy into Vatican conspiracy theories about Mary Magdalene being Jesus' secret wife to take Schrader's findings seriously.
Our modern translations of the Bible have only rarely been adjusted in light of new findings, but it has happened. As recently as 2007, Dallas Theological Seminary professor Daniel Wallace argued that the famous story in John's Gospel of the woman caught in adultery (inspiring Jesus' famous "let he without sin cast the first stone) was probably added to John's Gospel by a different writer much later.


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The sun had set before they chose a place for the esteemed visitors to dine and lodge. A knot twisted in Avi's stomach when one of Sundar's most distinguished men, Nimit Patel, took the honor. Avi let his eyes follow Nimit as he returned to his seat from making the arrangements. He sat down next to his daughter, Amoli Patel. She wore a yellow dress. Now that Avi had spotted her location, he did his best to keep his eyes from wandering toward her, though, they often did throughout the night.
After Yacob and Eliah had eaten a generous meal, the Patels uncorked the wine. All of Sundar, it seemed, had come for the occasion, and not only because of the wine. The travelers had everyone sit down in the village square.
"What'd I miss," said Uncle Rachit as he found a seat next to Avi. He had come late, but wouldn't miss the historic event.
"Not much. They're just getting started," Avi said. A fire had been lit, and its orange glow painted the onlookers' faces as they listened to the stories of Eliah and his brother Yacob. Eliah did most of the talking since Yacob could not speak Tameshi well.
The stories transfixed the crowd as they listened by firelight. Eliah was among "the old ones" and had been one of the first children of the Kingdom. He had firsthand stories stretching back to the coronation of the Emperor and the inauguration of His empire. He spoke in a lofty vocabulary that hinted at an ancient sophistication.
Eliah could command laughter, intrigue, and surprise as if he were a marionette of emotion. His words were powerful in every way. The stories of Eliah and Yacob made Avi long to travel the Kingdom. He wanted stories like that. He imagined the songs that he would sing of his own adventures. He could feel the melodies trickling from each word that Eliah spoke. At various moments, a pause would break the spell, and Avi would remember how much he was afraid to travel. Still, the words were working their strange magic on him.
It must have been hours, judging by the amount of wood consumed by the fire. Eliah told of the world before the war and what the King had done to mediate peace. He talked of the distant nations to which he and his brother had carried royal messages. Much of these stories Avi had heard before from books, but it was magical to hear them from the mouth of ones who had seen the events firsthand.
"There was a time when the beasts were not tame," Eliah was saying. "Before the Emperor's return, dread-filled the animals when they came in contact with mankind. It wasn't until the King returned and taught man to—" Eliah paused mid-sentence as if someone had interrupted him. Avi had heard nothing, yet Eliah glanced at his brother, who sat behind him. They shared a knowing stare for a second. Something between them remained unspoken. Avi watched their quiet communication, wondering what they knew. The audience waited as Eliah stepped back from the front of the crowd. Yacob rose from his seat. Eliah gestured toward his brother. Yacob was shorter than Eliah, but his shoulders were broader, and his beard a full hand longer. Yacob was serious, even grave in his appearance.
"My brother wishes to speak," Eliah said. From the gravity of the man, it seemed that while Eliah was the spokesperson, Yacob was the leader. Yacob talked in a throaty vocabulary. Eliah translated.
"We have many more villages to visit before our journey's end. Sundar has been very hospitable. We must, however, retire for the night; we have not yet adjusted to Tameshi time," Eliah translated. The gathered crowd laughed politely. He turned but paused. He glanced at his brother, and once again, they held eye contact as if something remained unsaid. Eliah spun back to the crowd. Yacob's face carried with it the look of solemnity. His features were sharp, possibly even sad. His voice sounded anguished as he continued. Eliah translated.
"I pray that you remain faithful to the Emperor, my dear friends." There was a long pause, heavy with undecipherable meaning. For hours Eliah had been sharing stories of the Kingdom, but now there was some unspoken deepness. Eliah finished with a simple, "Thank you."
Some people had already returned home for the night, but those who remained stood and dusted themselves off. Avi watched Amoli Patel as she allowed her Father, Nimit, to help her up. The evening's festivities had ended. He thought of the dark note on which the gathering had concluded. As the crowd was dispersing, a shout rang out.
"Would you like to have a goodnight song before you go to bed?" The baritone bellow reverberated throughout the crowd. It was Rachit. Avi hoped it was not loud enough to resound over the milling audience. He was afraid of what Rachit might put him up to. "We have one of Tamesh's finest composers right here in Sundar," Rachit added.
Avi squirmed. He ducked his head, trying to figure out how he might escape before Rachit undid his closely guarded secret. Avi glanced dangerously at Amoli Patel, who was smiling in Rachit's direction.
Avi's throat felt like he had swallowed a citric-apple whole. He could not. He would not. He feared his pounding heart would give him away. Avi turned to glare at Rachit. His Uncle just grinned with delight and mouthed the words, "Here's your chance."
Rachit's offer got the two capital men's attention. Eliah first glanced at Rachit and quickly turned to his brother. They both smiled, which was a welcome reprieve from the heaviness on which the gathering had ended. Maybe they are too tired for a song, Avi hoped.
"We would love that," Eliah said. With the words, Avi could feel the lump in his throat grow to a pumpkin. Heat was pouring from the top of his head. His mind was spinning now. Rachit nodded to Avi as if to say, stand and sing. Avi froze with terror. The moment was a torturous eon, as Avi stared back at his betrayer.
"What song should I sing for You, Honorable Sirs?" came a voice from the back of the crowd. Both Avi and Rachit looked toward the words. It was Jenil, the village's beloved old sing-poet. He was standing, proudly moving through the thick throng toward the front. At once, Avi felt a wave of relief. Jenil would do the singing, and Avi could keep his invaluable anonymity. The turning in Avi's stomach slowed, and his heart decreased its incessant tempo. Avi could see that Uncle Rachit was disappointed.
"Sing, I long to see the King in his Hallowed land," Rachit called out over the crowd. He persisted. It was one of Avi's compositions, and Jenil had led the town choir in its performance only the night before. The villagers agreed vigorously. Their enthusiasm warmed Avi's beating heart, but the request was still too close for comfort.
He watched as the seasoned sing-poet took up his place at the front of the audience and turned toward the two honored visitors. He cleared his throat, inclined his head slightly in respect, and sang.


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About us
Founded in 2018, Metsä Spring is Metsä Group's innovation company. We have a dual role:
- We work to develop new business opportunities related to wood-based value chains, which involves both investing worldwide in promising startups as well as implementing our own selected pilot/demo projects; and
- All endeavours that Metsä Spring participates in must have the potential to strengthen the Metsä Group business ecosystem in the long run. Metsä Spring is a strategic investor and igniter of innovation in the field of the wood-based circular bioeconomy.
Our vision is a thriving forest-based ecosystem that delivers the full value of sustainably grown Nordic wood.
What we are looking for
Metsä Spring is looking for investment opportunities that:
- Find new purposes and higher value for Nordic wood, create more long-lasting products, and replace fossil-based materials in everyday products.
- Can improve the business ecosystem around Metsä Group.
Cases of interest to us range from business ideas built on the manufacturing of a physical product (with a link to Northern wood) to business ideas based on novel digital tools.
We believe that broad collaboration is essential for true innovation – join us on our quest to build innovative and sustainable solutions of tomorrow.
Financing stage
With regard to startup investments, Metsä Spring is looking to help companies pass the so-called "valley of death".
In practice, this typically refers to young companies that already have a first product on the market and whose team has grown to around 5-10 members.
With business ideas based on manufacturing a physical product, the most suitable companies are those about to enter the pilot/demo phase and who are looking for financing to cover investment in a pilot/demo plant.
Our ticket size ranges from approximately €0.5 million to €5 million.
In some selected cases, we can also consider companies that are at a late seed stage.
Metsä Spring can act as a lead investor, and are happy to co-invest with other VCs that are looking for an experienced, expert partner. We include transparent processes and terms that everyone can agree on.
In addition to financing, Metsä Spring also provides access to Metsä Group's global network and expertise.
Decisions related to startup investments and starting own R&D&I projects are made by the Board of Directors of Metsä Spring.
Get in touch
If you're a wood-based startup looking for financing and support or you'd like to form a collaboration with us, we want to hear from you!
Reach us at email@example.com


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Long term effects of emotional abuse:
a distrust in your perceptions
a tendency to be fearful or on guard
self-consciousness or fear of how you are coming across
an inability to be spontaneous
a distrust of people and future relationships
anger that bursts out unexpectedly
sensitivity to anyone trying to control you
This list appeared in my Tumblr feed. The link to its poster went no-where….
So thanks to the gods of the web.
A Bullet-point list. As hard and tough as they get. A definition in seven acts. A prescription….
I've titled this post Gift.
I don't see these as ends. They are starting points.
There's a school in our traumas.
If we can find the gift in our pain.
Wherever we start from it is possible to go on. – So long as it IS possible. That is, so long as there is room to move. So long as we are alive.
The well-adjusted have farther to go. Facing the depths of our predicament without a clue.
However we find the place where we begin to see that all is not as it appears….
Then, find a way to not be trapped by reactions to our reactions. Paranoia, Nihilism, Death-worship; like psychological auto-immune reactions….
A list.
a distrust in your perceptions
As we all should. Perception – that is, what we uncritically accept as perception, is far from it. It takes work to discover what is perception and not projection and distortion. Then, there are the holes and errors in actual perception itself to be navigated.
a tendency to be fearful or on guard
Fear is endemic. It colors everything that happens.
self-consciousness or fear of how you are coming across
We are misunderstood. We are also misunderstanding most everything, including our selves.
an inability to be spontaneous
Who knows what it would be like to be spontaneous without effort? We are mired in stereo-typical reactions to the mess that we take for perception – see first bullet….
a distrust of people and future relationships
The made-world has been built on distrust. People are damaged. People are corrupt. The future is a fantasy. Relationship…. Now, there's something to work for.
anger that bursts out unexpectedly
What does anger mean? How do we get to this question if we always see our anger as justified? Without experiencing the violence in our own anger we have no insight into anger at all.
sensitivity to anyone trying to control you
Sensitivity to control. Can we take this far enough? Far enough to distrust control in any guise?
These are among my gifts. Accepting them brings me to the edge of Joy.


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Having the proper vehicle or the properly equipped vehicle for four-down towing is not all you need. First, you need to be sure that the GVCWR of your motorhome (the weight of your motorhome and the weight of your toad) does not exceed the maximum value specified by the RV manufacturer. Recently, I have noticed that many of the newer motorhomes that have a GVWR of 22,000 lbs. still have a GCWR of only 26,000 lbs.—meaning that your toad cannot weigh more than 4,000 lbs. (severely limiting your choice of a toad)—unless you reduce the weight of what you are carrying in the motorhome.
Next, you need to be sure that the hitch capacity of your motorhome is sufficient to pull the weight of your toad. Most older motorhomes have a hitch capacity of 3,500 lbs., whereas most newer motorhomes have a hitch capacity of 5,000 lbs. (For example, my Dodge Dakota pickup weighs about 4,500 pounds, and cannot safely be towed by a motorhome that only has a 3,500 lb. hitch capacity.)
One very important item in your selection process is the base plate that you select for your vehicle. A base plate is a bunch of welded steel, engineered specifically for your particular vehicle, and is bolted to the frame of your vehicle. The tow bar attaches to the base plate to tow your vehicle.
Like almost everything else, there are different styles of base plates. Some base plates are always visible, some having a steel bar in front of the bumper. Other base plates have arms that plug into the base plate (with small receiver-like attachments), and then the cross bar attaches to the arms. With this style of base plate, it is almost , but not quite, invisible—the small receivers on the base plate being hidden in or under the grill of the vehicle. There are a couple of prominent vendors of base plates and tow bars—but you must be aware that the parts are not interchangeable. If you purchase one vendors base plate, then you need to get that same vendors tow bar.
The next item on the checklist is to be sure that the tow bar you select can also pull the required load. Most tow bars are rated at 5,000 lbs.—but be sure you know before you buy
There are three types of tow bars generally used for towing a toad:
Remember, if you have a vehicle that weighs more than 3,500 lbs., you need a 5,000 lb. hitch ball (one with a 1-inch diameter shank—and not a ¾ shank, which is good for only 3,500 lbs.)
Unless you choose a foldable tow bar that stays on your motorhome, there are some additional items that you need. For either the fixed tow bar or the foldable tow bar that remains on the toad, you will also need to outfit the motorhome with the proper sized draw bar and hitch ball. The draw bar is a square length of metal that slides into the receiver on the motorhome and is secured with a hitch pin and a clasp or a locking hitch pin. Again, be sure that the draw bar you select is also rated for the load of the toad—a draw bar rated for 3,500 lbs. will have only a ¾ hole in it, whereas the 5,000 lb. rated draw bar will have a 1-inch hole in it for the ball.
But, before you buy that draw bar, you need to have done a little homework. You need to know the height of your motorhomes receiver from the ground, and you also need to know the height of your tow bar where it pivots on the tow bar mounts on the toad (usually somewhere near the center of the bumper).
Some draw bars are straight (with the hitch ball at almost the same height as the receiver in the motorhome), and some draw bars have either a drop or a rise (placing the ball at a height that is either lower or higher than the receiver on the motorhome)—depending on whether you place the ball on the top or the bottom of the draw bar.
You need to select a draw bar that will have the tow bar almost flat (level) between the toad and the motorhome. Most draw bars have a small decal on them, telling you how much rise or drop is provided by that particular bar. You will have to settle for a little bit off in either direction, but be sure that the tow bar sits either level or slightly uphill—do not get a draw bar that will have the tow bar sloping down from the toad to the motorhome. The "slightly uphill" arrangement puts less strain on the tow bar and also lets gravity help a wee bit if the ball should ever come loose or the tow bar comes loose from the ball.
Return to Main page or click Continue to go to the Wiring Your Toad section
Back to Main Page |
Continue to Next |


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GitHub User: anonyo
Comments by
entering dummy card number 4111111111111111 and cvv 123 solved the following issue for me:
Stripe error while creating customer: You passed an empty string for 'card'. We
assume empty values are an attempt to unset a parameter; however 'card' cannot b
e unset. You should remove 'card' from your request or supply a non-empty value


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Vancouver is home to a lot of restaurants and bars, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Vancouverites aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's food players to share their recommendations for a feature dubbed Dining Confidential. Know a chef who wants to share some top dining spots? The tipline is open.
[Photo via Mamie Taylor's]
Chambar, West, Boneta; a trio of some of Vancouver's finest dining spots - the connection? Simon Kaulback, a veteran of them all. Simon recently opened Mamie Taylor's in Chinatown with good friend and fellow Ottawan, Ron Oliver. Simon shares his love of ordering the omakase in Kitsilano.
Tell us about your go-to sushi restaurant.
Hands down, my best Japanese restaurant is Dan on West Broadway and Macdonald. You walk in this place and you feel like you stepped into Osaka. It's dark and kind of dingy, everything's exposed and low-lit and there are boxes of stuff everywhere, but if you look around it's full of expats or other Japanese restaurant staff.
What do you order?
Their omakase is hands down one of the best meals I've ever had and that's not just in Vancouver that's in general. I've never not ordered that. Just leave it up to Ken, the owner, to decide what you eat.
Is there any one dish that stands out?
Their pressed mackerel is to die for - But I haven't eaten there in a little while because I just opened a restaurant and I can't afford to eat anywhere!
· Dan Restaurant [Facebook Site]
· Mamie Taylor's [Official Site]