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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan's services sector contracted for a sixth straight month in July, suggesting economic activity remained under pressure from the coronavirus crisis as the third quarter got under way.
The final Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up to a seasonally adjusted 45.4 in July, hardly an encouraging change from 45.0 in June and a preliminary 45.2 reading.
The survey highlights the continued struggle facing the world's third-largest economy as the pandemic cripples activity and hurts customer demand, though firms' business expectations turned positive for the first time in five months.
"While there were some positive signs in terms of domestic sales, large parts of the service sector remained impacted by fragile customer demand and the cancellation of projects due to the pandemic," said Tim Moore, director at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
"As a result, service providers commented on the need to reduce fixed overheads and an aversion to replacing departing staff."
The headline index stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the sixth month, the longest such run since an eight-month stretch through September 2011.
The survey also showed firms shed more jobs and new export business contracted further.
Japan fell into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years in the first quarter. Preliminary gross domestic product data due later this month is expected to show the country suffered its deepest postwar slump in April-June.
More than a fourth of surveyed businesses saw a drop in activity since June, IHS Markit said, with firms also grappling with lower tourism and cancelled events.
The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services, remained in decline as well, rising to a five-month high of 44.9 from June's final 40.8.
Source: Read Full Article


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Materials & Care
Are all natural fabrics "good" and all synthetics "bad"? Are the chemicals and expense of dry cleaning really necessary?
At Tove & Libra, we believe in educating, not underestimating, our customer. That's why we invest lots of thought and attention towards selecting our materials, as we believe this is a main differentiator between good fashion and fast fashion.
Here are some convenient resources to arm yourself with when shopping and caring for conscious fashion.
Our handy tips on how to easily keep your clothing looking and feeling their very best, long after you take them home.
Natural fibers are a natural fit for eco-conscious fashion - but there are some complicated aspects to be aware of.
While man-made fabrics often get a bad rap, our research reveals that there's more to this story than meets the eye.

subset: commoncrawl


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1040 Entertainment Will Take Nigerian Music Band to Another Level -CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of 1040 Entertainment, Oluwasegun Ikuesewo, has said he is determined to take Nigerian music band to a global stage.
Based in Turkey, Ikuesewo said he had been in the entertainment industry since 2014 but he officially registered his company in 2017.
He stated: "1040Ent was established in June 2017 and it's all about music and organizing entertainment shows. I've been in the entertainment business since 2014 and I'm am passionate about entertainment."
According to him, Olumide Adebisi, aka Code, is the only artiste signed to the entertainment company at the moment.
He added: "For me, I believe that what is worth doing is worth doing well. We have just an artiste now but we will sign more artistes soon. Code is a talented artiste; I've known his music since he did a collaboration with the late Dagrin.
"We are trying to put many things in place because you need to plan when in music business. I plan to take Nigerian music to another level through creativity and robust marketing strategies."


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International Journal of Communications, Network and System Sciences
Vol.10 No.05(2017), Article ID:76601,11 pages
Single-Channel Compressive Sensing for DOA Estimation via Sensing Model Optimization
Hongtao Li, Zeshi Yuan
Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
Received: April 11, 2017; Accepted: May 23, 2017; Published: May 26, 2017
The performance of multi-channel Compressive Sensing (CS)-based Direction-of-Arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm degrades when the gains between Radio Frequency (RF) channels are inconsistent, and when target angle information mismatches with system sensing model. To solve these problems, a novel single-channel CS-based DOA estimation algorithm via sensing model optimization is proposed. Firstly, a DOA sparse sensing model using single-channel array considering the sensing model mismatch is established. Secondly, a new single-channel CS-based DOA estimation algorithm is presented. The basic idea behind the proposed algorithm is to iteratively solve two CS optimizations with respect to target angle information vector and sensing model quantization error vector, respectively. In addition, it avoids the loss of DOA estimation performance caused by the inconsistent gain between RF channels. Finally, simulation results are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
Compressive Sensing, Direction-of-Arrival Estimation, Single-Channel, Mismatching Error
1. Introduction
Compressive Sensing (CS) theory, deduced from signal processing and information theories [1] [2] [3], has been widely applied in radar, image processing, wireless communication and many other engineering fields [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]. The CS theory indicates that the solution of a norm optimization problem can rebuild a sparse signal with comparatively high accuracy by adopting finite nonadaptive random projected measure value [9].
The strong scatter centers of target in interested area only occupy finite angle resolution cells and the target is sparse in space-domain, so that CS theory has been widely applied in Direction-of-Arrival (DOA) estimation [10]-[19]. A major advantage of CS-based algorithms over conventional super-resolution algorithms [10] is that the CS-based algorithm can offer higher resolution with reduced antenna elements and Radio Frequency (RF) channels. For example, [11] presents a CS-based DOA estimation method, which reduces the sampling number by making use of the sparsity of radar echo signals to perform compressive sampling in time-domain. [12] adopts an array element randomly distributed antenna to perform compressive sampling in space domain to reduce the number of RF channels of the system. However, these two algorithms treat the over-complete based matrices as the redundant dictionaries, obtained from the angle interval of uniform quantization interested area, which cannot ensure that the corresponding sensing matrix meets the Restricted Isometry Property (RIP) condition [13]. [14] uses random Gauss matrix to perform compressive sampling in space-domain and adopts Regularized Multi-vectors Focal Undetermined System Solver (RMFOCUSS) algorithm to achieve high-resolution DOA estimation. However, the algorithm has computational complexity increasing dramatically with the increasing of snapshots, while at the same time is unsuitable for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) situations. Furthermore, the authors in [15] investigate the CS-based DOA estimation in the presence of sensing model mismatching errors, proving that the performance of CS-based DOA estimation algorithm degrades dramatically in the presence of sensing model mismatching. [16] [17] [18] present a DOA estimation model under sensing model mismatching, and then use Bayesian method to realize DOA estimation. [19] proposes a joint Least-Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) algorithm to achieve DOA estimation in the presence of mismatching.
In addition, all the aforementioned algorithms utilize multi-channel data so that the estimation performance degrades seriously in the presence of inconsistent gain between RF channels of the array.
In this paper, we derive a single-channel CS-based DOA estimation algorithm via sensing mode optimization to solve the above mentioned problems. Firstly, a DOA estimation model is set up considering mismatch error between system sensing model and target angle information. Secondly, a single-channel array system, which can avoid gain inconsistency between RF channels, is introduced. Meanwhile, it can be proved that the sensing matrix of the single-channel array system meets the RIP condition. Finally, on the basis of Robust Smooth L0 (RSL0) algorithm [20] and LASSO algorithm [21], a new DOA estimation algorithm is presented to achieve high resolution DOA estimates.
The paper is organized as follows. Section II formulates the problem of interest. Section III develops the proposed algorithm. Section IV provides the simulation results that demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. Section V concludes the paper.
2. Signal Model
2.1. Space Signal Model
Consider K far-field narrow-band signals impinging upon a uniform linear array (ULA) of L elements. The receive signal can be represented as
where is steering vector of the kth signal, , d is the distance between two adjacent elements, is the wavelength of carrier wave, is array noise vector, and is waveform of the kth signal.
For CS processing, the angle field-of-view of the interested area is sampled uniformly at. Denoting as angle information vector, where, is defined as quantization angle, N is the length of vector, and is the angle resolution cell, then if target angle matches with one of the quantization angles, Equation (1) can be rewritten as
where is denoted as the target waveform information vector, and is the steering vector matrix of all sampled angles. In practical, targets in interested area only occupy finite angle resolution cells, so that, with denoting norm. Therefore, the receive signal vector is K sparse signal, is the sparsity based matrix, and K is the sparsity of target angle information vector.
2.2. DOA Estimation Model under Sensing Model Mismatching
Obviously, since N is finite, the target angle might not match exactly with one of the quantization angles. This phenomenon is called mismatching between sensing model and target angle information. According to CS theory, sensing model mismatching will lead to the angle information vector failing to represent target angle precisely, increasing the estimation error of target angles through conventional CS-based DOA estimation method.
Let be the quantization angle that is nearest to the target angle. Approximating the steering vector of the kth target by its first-order Taylor series expansion with respect to the variable, about, we have
where. Expressing in matrix form, we have
where, , is a vector representing the sensing model mismatching errors, and
is denoted as angular quantization error.
Considering the quantization error, Equation (2) can be modified as
3. Proposed Model and Algorithm
3.1. Compressive Sensing Model Based on RF Single-Channel Array
The introduced RF single-channel array is shown in Figure 1. Because the array has only one RF channel, it is characterized by low-power and small-size compared with those RF multi-channel arrays. Moreover, the RF single-channel array can effectively avoid gain inconsistency between RF channels along with the influence on subsequent signal processing caused by imbalance of amplitude and phase, and hence, it plays an important role in practical applications [22].
Unlike previously developed multi-channel CS-based algorithms, this paper will, for the first time, derive a single-channel CS based algorithm for DOA estimation. First, a phase shifter is connected to each array element and random sampling in space-domain is accomplished through randomly adjusting the phase of phase shifters. Second, an L-combiner is used to combine the signals from L paths through phase-shifter to one signal. Finally, the digital signal is obtained through single RF channel and A/D converter. The channel output signal can be expressed as
where denotes random weighting vector, which is generated by L sets of phase shifters. The value of is either +1 or −1 for.
Figure 1. Single-channel array system.
As the target is sparse in space, we assume that the target does not cross angle resolution cells within M snapshots. Then, the M snapshots measured value of the target can be denoted as
where is weighting coefficient matrix. Since the element of is randomly generated, the elements of, are independent identically distributed Bernoulli random variables. is an sensing matrix and is noise vector.
By observing (8), we can conclude that sampling of space-domain signals through single channel array can be regarded as performing random projection of measurement matrix on receive signal, thus converting the multiple measurement vectors (MMV) problem to a single measurement vector (SMV) problem [23]. In addition, the sensing matrix is the product of matrix, whose elements are Bernoulli distributed, and sparsity based matrix, which can be generated by discrete Fourier transform (DFT) matrix of space-domain signal. Therefore, meets the RIP condition with great probability, thus ensuring the effectiveness and robustness of using compressive sensing reconstruction algorithm to perform DOA estimation.
3.2. Derivation of the Proposed Algorithm
It is found from (8) that the influences of measurement noise and sensing model mismatching error on DOA estimation can be summed up to two parts: "additive" disturbance and "productive" disturbance. Conventional CS-based algorithms only have constraint on "additive" disturbance, but do not consider the influence of "productive" disturbance on the accuracy of target angle information reconstruction. Therefore, these algorithms are not robust in the presence of sensing model mismatching since they cannot effectively reduce the effect of quantization errors.
To overcome these problems, we present a novel CS-based DOA estimation algorithm using single-channel array. The insight of the proposed algorithm is to combine RSL0 algorithm and LASSO algorithm to achieve valid DOA estimates by performing alternative iterative optimization separately on target angle information vector and sensing model quantization error. The basic step of the proposed algorithm can be summarized as follows. The parameters to be optimized are separated into two sets: target angle information set and quantization error set. Each time, a CS cost function that depends only on one set is minimized. With the solution of this CS problem, the subsequent stages of the proposed algorithm consist of applying the same principle on another set of parameter. The algorithm iterates, changing from one set to the next, until the variation of the cost function or of the parameters is less than a predefined convergence criterion.
To initiate the algorithm, we set the sensing model quantization error. Then, according to CS theory, by solving the optimization problem expressed in (8) with norm optimization, we can obtain the estimate of target waveform information vector. Mathematically,
where constant is relevant to noise variance. This optimization problem can be perfectly solved by RSL0 algorithm.
Insert the estimate obtained from (9) into (8), we can get
where. Equation (11) can be transformed to
where, and.
From (5), we know that the sensing model quantization error vector should have the same sparsity as that of target waveform information vector. Therefore, Equation (12) can be treated as another CS optimization problem by considering the sensing model quantization error as sparse signal. This CS optimization problem can be donated as
which can be perfectly solved by LASSO algorithm.
Finally, inserting the estimate obtained from (13) into (9), we perform the repetition of the above two CS optimization until the difference of two target waveform information vectors' Frobenius norm is less than a certain predefined threshold, i.e.,
where denotes the estimate of the target waveform information vector obtained at the pth iteration, and is a predefined small value. The K largest values of give the estimates of the target angles.
3.3. Implementation of the Proposed Algorithm
Assuming that the number of signals is known or correctly estimated, the proposed algorithm can be summarized as follows.
1) Initialize with and.
2) Solve (9) to get the estimate.
3) Solve (13) to get the estimate, and then set.
4) Stop the iteration if expression (14) is satisfied. Otherwise go back to step 2).
4. Simulations
Performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing to the CS-based algorithm in [11] [12] [18] and RMFOCUSS algorithm in [14]. A ULA with elements, separated by is considered. The angle resolution cell is set as. Three independent narrowband signals are impinge upon the array from angles, and. The additive noise is assumed to be spatial white complex Gaussian, and the SNR is defined relative to each signal. The number of snapshots for each trial is set to be. The performance metrics used are the root mean squared error (RMSE), which for the unknown target is computed as
where is the number of independent Monte Carlo trials.
In the first simulation, we study the performance of the proposed algorithm in the presence of sensing model mismatching. Figure 2 shows the RMSE of the proposed algorithm and its three competitors as functions of SNR varying from −15 dB to 10 dB. From the figure, we see that the proposed algorithm has an estimation accuracy that is higher than those of the other algorithms. The superiority of the proposed algorithm over the other algorithms is due to the fact that the proposed algorithm performs sensing model optimization by taking the quantization errors into account.
Next, we consider the presence of gain inconsistency between RF channels. The gains of RF channels are assumed to be of Gaussian distribution with mean value and variance. The remaining parameters used are the same as those in plotting Figure 2. The RMSE of the algorithms versus SNR are shown in Figure 3. It is seen from the figure that the proposed algorithm does not suffer from gain inconsistency between RF channels due to the usage of single-channel array system, thus, providing better DOA estimation performance than the other multi-channel CS-based algorithms.
Figure 2. RMSE angle error performance versus SNR.
Figure 3. RMSE angle error performance versus SNR in the presence of inconsistent gain between RF channels.
Then, we study the performance on randomly generated DOAs. Suppose that the directions of the input three signals are uniformly generated within the intervals, the remaining parameters used are the same as those in plotting Figure 2. Figure 4 shows the RMSE of different DOA estimation algorithms versus different SNR. From the figure, we see that the performance of the proposed method increases with the decrease of the certain predefined threshold, and when the certain predefined threshold, the proposed method can achieve higher estimation accuracy compared with other off-grid CS-DOA methods.
In the last simulation, we consider the ability of the proposed method to represent the true signals with different angle resolution cells. The angle resolution cells are set as. Figure 5 shows the RMSE versus different angle resolution cells. It is seen from the figure that the performance of the proposed method increases with the decrease of the angle resolution cell.
5. Conclusion
We have proposed a novel CS-based DOA estimation algorithm via sensing model optimization using single-channel array to solve the problems of sensing model mismatching and channel gain inconsistency, from which most conventional multi-channel CS-based algorithms would suffer. The key idea of the proposed algorithm is to iteratively solve two CS optimizations with respect to target angle information vector and sensing model quantization error vector, respectively. Simulation results have also been presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
Figure 4. RMSE of the DOA estimates versus input SNR.
Figure 5. RMSE of the DOA estimates versus input SNR with different angle resolution cells.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 61401204), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant no. 1501104C), Technology Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant no. BY2015004-03), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant no. 30916011319).
Cite this paper
Li, H.T. and Yuan, Z.S. (2017) Single-Channel Compressive Sensing for DOA Estimation via Sensing Model Optimization. Int. J. Communications, Network and System Sciences, 10, 191-201. https://doi.org/10.4236/ijcns.2017.105B019
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- 13. Liu, Z., Wei, X. and Li, X. (2013) Aliasing-Free Moving Target Detection in Random Pulse Repetition Interval Radar Based on Compressed Sensing. IEEE Sensor Journal, 13, 2523-2534. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2013.2249762
- 14. Cotter, S.F., Rao, B.D. and Engan, K. (2005) Sparse Solution to Linear Inverse Problems with Multiple Measurement Vectors. IEEE Trans. Signal Process, 53, 2477-2488. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSP.2005.849172
- 15. Ali, C.G., Volkan, C. and James, H.M. (2012) Bearing Estimation via Spatial Sparsity Using Compressive Sensing. IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst., 48, 1358-1369. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAES.2012.6178067
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text:
- 1960s dress
- Green, teal, taupe colors
- Hourglass / mermaid silhouette
- Beautiful floral print
- Wrap style bodice
- Sleeveless cut
- Hip-huggin' fit
- Asymmetric velvet bow tie on the skirt
- Flutter hem
- Zips up the back
Excellent vintage condition: pinhead mark on the left side of the bow.
suggested letter size: S
bust (underarm): 35"-36"
waist: 26"-27"
hip: 37"
length: 43"
color: green, teal, taupe
material: cotton, velvet, metal zipper
label: Jackie Morgan
pinned on model? no
Note on fit: Adrianne is 5'10 33-25-36 with a modern dress size 2-4, letter size XS/S and a size 26 in jeans.
***All items are measured while the garment is laying flat. The bust, waist & hip measurements have already been doubled for your convenience.***
Have questions? Please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we would be happy to assist you with your purchase!


text:
My Role Conceptualizing A New Experience
My role in this project was a hybrid of a project manager and user experience designer. I led the research and development team to conceptualize the donation receipt's user experience and conducted the user testing and analysis.
We contracted with a third-party agency for the donation receipt's design and development. I worked with the design and development teams by managing communications, conveying our customer's needs and testing prototypes.
From May 2015 February 2017, I led Goodwill of Greater Washington's efforts to enhance their used goods donation receipting process.
The Vision
The vision was to create an application to digitize the used goods donation receipting process. This would enable donor data to be collected while adding convenience to the donation receipting process.
Defining the Customer
Goodwill's used goods donors varied widely in terms of demographics and customer profiles. However, each donor shared the desire for a quick and efficient donation drop-off experience.
I identified a few technical and operational challenges that were vital to the app's success. These challenges ranged from IRS regulations for used goods donations to personnel reliability.
Experience Strategy
My goal was to enhance the donation receipting process for the user. I focused on replacing manual interactions and hard copy receipts with mobile technology to create a more efficient donation experience.
The Technology
By leveraging donor smartphones, we were able to utilize geofence technology to populate and validate donation receipts. This helped alleviate some of the pressures on the Donation Attendants.
Organization Goals
From the organization's perspective, the app feature was a new touch point to collect donor information. This data would help marketing to donors, which are the lifeblood for Goodwill's retail operations.
Testing & Evaluating
I experienced some complications with app errors recurring throughout development phases of the project. To mitigate recurring errors, I used a combination of detailed documentation and virtual conference calls to communicate with the development team.
The Vision Donor Convenience
At the time, other digital receipting technologies required special hardware like on-site printers, beacons and ticketing systems that tracked donor information. These alternative solutions were strapped with additional hardware and maintenance costs, and they also slowed down the donation process.
My vision was to utilize mobile technology to add convenience to the donation receipting process. This would create a value proposition of giving the donors a more convenient donation experience, while allowing Goodwill to collect donor information.
The data collected from the app would be used to create donor profiles and better understand donor needs. Over time, the digital receipt would become the primary receipting method and paper receipts would shift to a secondary method.
Defining The Customer Profiling Donor Characteristics
When I initially attempted to profile donors the most recent data available was over five years old, and came to me in the form of anecdotal information. I identified a need to collect more accurate and current demographic information.
My usual customer profiling process starts with analyzing customer demographic information. Seeing how this information was not available, I focused on identifying customer backstories to understand the customer's fundamental needs.
The information listed in the image above had a direct impact on the receipt's technology and interactions. After profiling donors, I discovered that the donors were mainly looking for convenience, and it was apparent that digitizing the receipt would add that convenience factor to the process.
Challenges Identifying Issues & Limitations
Before I started designing and mapping interactions, I analyzed the donation process for any technical and operational limitations.
I identified the following challenges and areas that could improve with the digital receipting process:
Proof of Transaction
In order to make the digital receipting process IRS compliant, the donor needed to show proof that the donation actually occurred. To meet this requirement, I developed a 3-digit PIN system that the donor would receive from the Donation Attendant to validate the receipt.
Simplifying Interactions
The Donation Attendants were the primary touchpoint for donations, but were not always the most reliable to record donor information due to predictable human error. To keep things simple and minimize the burden on Donation Attendants, I set the PIN was set to three digits. This only required the Donation Attendant to tell the PIN to the donor to verify their receipt.
Paper Receipts
Historically, for each donation, paper receipts were handed out, and the donor was expected to itemize the receipt after donating. It was not convenient for the donor to track down loose receipts at the end of each year to submit with their tax returns.
Collecting Data
Prior to the digital donation receipt, the only data collection method for used goods donors was a survey given at the time of donation. This process was not only inefficient, but it also slowed down the lines at the donation center.
Experience Strategy Intuitive & Convenient
When planning the experience strategy, I wanted to give the donor more control over the receipting process. This would help alleviate any additional tasks for the Donation Attendants. The combination of digitizing receipts and leveraging geofence technology also made the receipting process more efficient in the following ways:Donor Benefits
- Allows the donor to save and store all of their donation receipts.
- The donor can create and itemize a receipt while packing donations before visiting a donation center.
- Large donations can be itemized quickly through the app's interface.
- Receipts are automatically generated when a donor enters a donation center.Organization Benefits
- Digital receipts reduce the cost of producing paper receipts.
- Donor information and donation data can be tracked through the app.
- Expedited receipts lead to expedited donation lines.
The following flow diagrams map the user's journey for creating a validated receipt. These diagrams were crucial for me to communicate and convey my ideas with the design and development teams.
New Manual Receipt, Itemization & Validation
Automatic Receipt Generation
Email & Printing Flow
The Technology Geofence & Mobile Phones
When conceptualizing the digital donation receipt, I made two educated assumptions. The first was that donors actually wanted to keep and submit receipts at the end of the year. The other was that the majority of donors owned smartphones.
I explored a few mobile technologies that could create a viable digital receipting experience. In the end, we decided to leverage smartphones' location services because it reduced the additional onsite hardware and maintenance.
Technology Options
We ended up moving forward with the geofence technology because it leveraged the donor's mobile location services, and there were no additional hardware costs. This placed the receipting process in the hands of the donor, which reduced the Donation Attendant's involvement and kept the lines moving quickly.
Geofence Technology
Organization Goals Donor & Donation Data
The organization saw digitizing the donation receipt as a feasible method of gathering donor data. Aside from the app's usage analytics, I worked with the development team to build out the infrastructure to capture, store and report donor and donation information.
I also wanted the donation receipt to be an accurate and current source for used goods donor data because this would create a foundation of data for future used goods donation analysis.
Testing & Evaluation User Observation
Once we had a functioning product, I knew the user testing phase would reveal a lot about the app's usability. I ran a high frequency of tests to test the app even though the average frequency of donating was around once to twice a year.
Fortunately, users found the digital receipting interface intuitive and were able to create, validate and itemize donations with ease. Their overall impression was that it was a huge improvement over the traditional paper receipts.
The testing did reveal a few operational complications with the geofence and a user's device location settings:
Device Location Settings
When a new app is first launched, it asks the user for permission to use the device's location services. This permission message is required and pretty standard with iOS applications.
Upon first launching the app, the majority of users immediately selected "no" to the location services prompt. This caused the digital receipt to not properly validate donation receipts because the device was not allowed to communicate with the geofence area.
I surveyed the users and discovered this was primarily because of one of two things:
- Users did not read the pop-up and just selected "no" out of natural behavior to immediately close pop-ups.
- Users were concerned about their privacy and did not see the need for Goodwill to know their location.
I resolved this issue by adding an error message to appear when the app could not find the device's location services. The message instructed the user to update the device's location settings to give the app location permissions.
GPS Accuracy
We experienced an issue when a donor was in the geofence area, but a receipt was not being auto-populated or approved. After an extensive investigation involving hours of field testing and conversations with the developers, I noticed two things were happening to cause this issue:
- Some donation center locations had an issue with GPS drift. This was a characteristic of GPS technology and wasn't necessarily a technical issue with our app. The user's device would essentially say they were not within the geofence even though they physically were.
- The other issue that I discovered was that physical movement helped the user's device accurately communicate with the geofence technology. When users were not moving in the donation line, the geofence technology would not always respond until the phone detected some kind of movement.
To resolve these issues, I simply expanded the geofence area around the donation center. This compensated for mild GPS drifting and allowed the user to open the app before or after they have passed through the donation line.
Reflection My Takeaways
Overcoming Communication Barriers
While I have experience with managing teams of remote designers and developers, the lack of communication between the agency's project manager and development team was new to me. As a result, I requested weekly calls including the developers and the project manager along with submitting a detailed document illustrating issues to solve this communication problem.
This approach eliminated the multiple requests to fix recurring issues, and allowed the project to be completed on time.
Being a Professional Problem Solver
It's always rewarding to develop a new product using new technology. I mostly enjoyed finding solutions to the challenges involved with taking an old manual system and updating it with new technology.
In the end, this was a great product with a natural customer value proposition which provided the customer with a convenience in exchange for customer data.


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Own a double functioning home and kitchenware with this Wine Bottle Cutting Board as it not only offers a sturdy place to cut but also presents a visual that is worthy of decoration. Use it in creating a charcuterie and then let it stand in a corner, any kitchen will look more rustic when it's there. If you are conventional, let it hang along with your other utensils and this wine bottle-shaped wooden board will still create a difference in your kitchen experience.
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- This gathering has passed.
Sanctuary: The Space for Spaceholders
September 11, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm CDT
Are you looking to finally belong to a community? Look no further.
FeelReal is on a mission to create safe spaces that tackle real world challenges.
Safe spaces allow us to really connect. And we all deserve to be connected.
Connection leads to greater awareness, authenticity and activation.
Social and systematic problems are solved with REAL connection.
This is where Sanctuary comes in. Every Friday we get together to be seen, held and understood.
FeelReal curates a meaningful community where you can go to recharge.
As fellow Spaceholders, we know what it's like to want deep connection with like-minded people, be distracted by overwhelm and need time to peacefully ground yourself.
Here's what you can expect:
- Welcome/introductions
- Grounding
- Deep dive into a topic (spaceholder's choice)
- Group discussion
- Breakout groups
- Closing
If you're interested in hosting Sanctuary in the future, please email Gabby at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Please RSVP above. You'll receive a ticket via email with the link needed to access this gathering.
About the Gathering
We've all heard about the importance of our "why"- our higher purpose, our core intention. When connected to your core intention in a visceral way, what you thought you "ought" to do (but couldn't quite grasp) becomes something you can touch, feel, and experience viscerally, not just in your head. Join Mark has he leads us through a taste of the Core Intention experience. This gathering will help you connect to your essence and gifts.
About the Spaceholder
He has helped clients build healthy, vibrant, competitive organizations while developing and implementing breakthrough business strategies. Mark can translate industry change into company strategy and front-line tactical operations. He continually aims for strong, positive business results and professional growth along with improved work/life satisfaction.
Particularly memorable projects included Working With Passion, aimed at helping people and companies uncover energetic self-expression in the work environment. He also led a study on Business Consideration for the Cardiac Cath Lab that predicted 1994's health care reform 4 years before it happened, and led to industry-wide collaborations between providers and industry suppliers that saved lives and money.


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Rutgers graduate Tiquan Underwood has reportedly been released by the New England Patriots.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that a source told him Underwood has been let go by the Patriots for the second time in three months.
Underwood's previous release came in the most heartless of ways, on the day before the Super Bowl. The Patriots used his vacated roster spot to sign defensive end Alex Silvestro, who did not play a single down in the Super Bowl. They then re-signed Underwood two days later.
Underwood appeared in three games for the Patriots in 2011, catching three passes for 30 yards. Despite his limited role he became a bit of a fan favorite, at least partially due to his high-top fade haircut.
The 25-year old Underwood appears to be the first casualty of a stacked New England receiving corps. With the additions of Brandon Lloyd and Anthony Gonzalez, somebody had to be on the way out.
For more Rutgers football news, visit our team page or our blog On The Banks.


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Médecine Douce
Médecine Douce is a chic Parisian jewellery brand created in 2000 by Marie Montaud. Médecine Douce offers unique, delicate jewellery that is crafted with the utmost attention in the brand's workshop in Paris. Their refined rings, bracelets and necklaces are made from gold-plated brass and embellished with beautiful gemstones. Take a peek at their latest collection on Smallable.
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Intravenously Ozone Therapy was developed and first used in Germany in the 1950's. It is the most common medical ozone treatment today and is used by thousands of physicians worldwide. Ozone has powerful anti- bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal properties, as well as the ability to neutralize toxins, boost the immune system and increase delivery of oxygen to all tissues.
Ozone is indicated to treat many conditions, such as chronic fatigue, circulatory disorders, macular degeneration, chronic bladder conditions, heart disease, wound healing, and immune/autoimmune disorders. Ozone therapy is extremely effective in fighting acute infections like colds, flu, and upper respiratory infections as well as chronic conditions such as Hepatitis, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes viruses, and Lyme disease. Also, it is a great support for disease prevention and can aid in increasing athletic performance as well as decreasing post-athletic recovery time.
In addition to killing viruses, destroying bacteria and eliminating fungus, ozone therapy supports many of the body's basic functions. One examples of this would be activating red blood cell metabolism which leads to increased delivery of oxygen to the body and, because it helps to dilate constricted blood vessels, allows better blood flow. Ozone also increases the efficiency to the body's own antioxidant system, helping to eliminate excess free radicals which are known to be the cause of many degenerative diseases.
Perhaps the most powerful effect of ozone, however, is its ability to boost the immune system. By stimulating the production of white blood cells and the release of the immune systems messengers, called cytokines, ozone helps the body to fight multiple infections and inhibit tumor growth.
During an ozone IV therapy infusion the patient sits in a comfortable recliner where an R.N withdraws blood that is mixed with precisely measured amounts of ozone and then reinfused back into the body. When mixed together, the blood will turn bright red due to the increase in oxygen caused by the ozone. The total procedure takes about 30-40 minutes.
Ozone IV therapy is extremely beneficial when given in a therapeutic dose. This is why it is important to seek out a medical professional who is trained in using ozone therapy. Pure medical grade ozone, when it is used according to the established medical guidelines, has a safety record that is unparalleled.


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AMBAR is a rooftop bar located on the 8th floor of Four Points by Sheraton, on Sukhumvit Soi 15. On weekend their Resident DJs play Hip Hop and House music from 9pm onwards and once a month they host a popular pool party. At night the pool area is highlighted by the LED lighted rectangular. There is rattan lounge seating and comfortable day beds and table seating available. The food menu offers a selection snacks, Western and Asian dishes.Book Now on Agoda
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- AddressFour Points by Sheraton, Sukhumvit 15, 10110 Bangkok
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Hooters Thanksgiving featuring Playboy Thailand at amBar BangkokDecember 19, 2016
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Schafe Pool Party at amBar BangkokJune 18, 2016
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Get Wet Go Wild Pool Party 1st Anniversary at AmBarJune 3, 2014
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September 3, 2021
Olivia and Nathan got married in Pontiac, Michigan at the coolest and most historic venue. Everything about the venue was grungy, artistic, and old. Kaitlin and I learned a lot about the venue and some weird experiences that workers have had there – we were totally digging this [lol]. I really took advantage of the space and I probably made the coolest portraits I've been able to with a venue in a long time.
Olivia and Nathan had just chill personalities and lived every minute of their day to the fullest, including loving on their baby boy. Their bridal party was game for any crazy idea I had, and their family was the sweetest to interact with. This day for me was just one for the books to be able to think outside the box, include some sweet portraits, and create unique images to represent their cool love for one another. 12/10 would do this day again.
Layfayette Grande – Location & Catering
Azazie – Girls Dresses
Serenity Salon – Makeup/Hair [Olivia did her own hair too]
Milanos- Desserts
Olives Bloombox – Florals


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In the world of Clean Flow dampers, Sammet is the global technology leader and forward-driving force. Working closely together as a team, our people are talented, committed and friendly. Aiming to reach the highest possible customer satisfaction, building on passion, trust, freedom and responsibility. Sammet Way means doing it all together.
We are welcoming new enthusiastic people to join us! As an employer, Sammet offers an inspiring, motivating and safe workplace that supports both professional and personal growth. Do you think you would fit in? Let us know and send us your application below!
Are you the one? – We are rapidly expanding our global agent network.


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Ford Motor's use of reclaimed nylon in cylinder head covers in its Escape, Fusion, Mustang, and F-150 vehicles saved 4.1 million lb of carpet from landfills in 2010. The automaker utilizes Wellman Engineering Resins' EcoLon material, a nylon comprised 100% of recycled carpet, in what it says is the first automotive product of its kind manufactured from post-consumer recycled plastic. The cylinder head covers are injection molded by Dana Holding Corp. for Ford's 3.0-liter Duratec engine (the Mustang cover is for a 5.0-liter engine).
In addition to their recycled content, Dana notes that the cylinder head covers green credentials are bolstered by the fact that they boost fuel economy due to weight savings of almost 20% when compared to aluminum die-cast cylinder-head covers. The head covers are part of a module-based sealing system Dana supplies to Ford, which also includes the engine cover, gaskets, fasteners, baffle/air-oil separator, and isolators. Dana developed, tested, and is manufacturing the cylinder head covers at its Composite Sealing Center in Paris, TN.
Wellman's EcoLon is offered in nylon 6 and 66, with more than 200 million lb sold since its introduction. Wellman has supplied its EcoLon resins for use in a variety of industries and applications, since 1996. The material has OEM approval within automotive from General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and Volkswagen. Use in shrouds and fans goes back to the material's 1996 introduction. Wellman's proprietary manufacturing process is covered by two U.S. Patents, with the material's production is handled from Johnsonville, SC.


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Prince Andrew is "deliberately evading authorities" who are seeking to interview him about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the lawyer for dozens of the late pedophile's alleged victims said in an interview.
Brad Edwards, who represents 55 women who claim they were abused by Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan federal lockup last year, said he believes the Duke of York has information that will help his clients, Sky News reported.
Edwards told the British news outlet that he has personally invited the royal "at least three times" to provide information but that Andrew "flat out refuses."
On Thursday, the financier's alleged procuress Ghislaine Maxwell was busted on charges that include alleged sex crimes in her London townhouse — where Andrew has separately been accused by an Epstein "sex slave" of sleeping with her when she was 17.
"The Duke of York has offered his assistance to the Department of Justice investigation on a number of occasions this year," a source close to the prince's legal team told Sky News.
The source said: "In addition, the working group have proactively contacted the DoJ twice in the last month and have received no response.
"That is why we remain utterly bewildered by the DoJ's approach. However, a request from a commercial law firm is not and never will be the same as an official judicial process," the source added.
Edwards said his clients are angry at the claims that Andrew has been cooperative with authorities and that the royal is "bewildered" by reports he hasn't been.
"His bewilderment is subsidiary to my bewilderment because he's been personally invited to provide all the information he knows for more than a decade," Edwards told Sky News.
"I know personally, for over a decade we have been asking him to come and provide all of the information that he has. I think I've personally invited at least three times to tell us what he knows and he just flat out refuses," he continued.
"There's clients who are familiar with the fact that he was around and, you know, they're familiar with the evidence. They know that he was on the flight logs. They know that he was in Ghislaine's apartment with Virginia Roberts," he said, referring to Epstein's alleged "sex slave" Virginia Roberts Giufffre.
"They know that there are hard questions that he should be answering, especially if there's any bit of a defense for his own actions then. These are things that he should be, you know, kind of owning up to. The fact that he is not is very frustrating to the victims," the lawyer added.
"There's no doubt that he's deliberately evading authorities. I mean, how much more clear — when have you ever heard a US Attorney's Ofice at a press conference say: we're inviting you to come over," he said.
"And he's still — he's not on a plane right now coming over. You know, there's no doubt that they want to talk to him."


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Certified Tutor
I have over thirty two years teaching experience in a classroom and a clinical environment to include: Secondary English grade 8 gifted through grade 12; gifted enrichment grades 5, 6, and 8; debate, drama, journalism including the school newspaper and the yearbook; compensatory reading and writing, World History, 7th grade; Special Education remediation for the adult population adjudicated into state care; multi-handicapped, severe/profound mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed; Sponsorship of the Literary magazine 1997-2002; sponsorship of the International Thespian Society Troupe 0306, 1996-2002, Sponsorship of the Gibbs High School Academic Team earning a third place ranking in the county in 2004, sponsorship of the Student Newspaper, The Gibbsonian, 2004-2005, Sponsorship of the Largo High School Academic team 2006-2010, sponsorship of the Largo High School Literary magazine, the Kaleidoscope, 2007 to 2016, the Packer Press School Newspaper 2010 to 2016.
I feel strongly that all can learn but what makes the learning a challenge is when the questions are not answered. Guidance from the tutor or teacher will assist the learner in discovering the content when the questions arise.
Undergraduate Degree: University of the Cumberlands - Bachelors, History and English
Graduate Degree: Nova Southeastern University - Masters, Administration and Supervision
hiking, walking
Adult Literacy
American Literature
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition
College English
High School English
High School Level American Literature
High School Writing
Middle School Reading
Middle School Reading Comprehension
Middle School Writing
Social Sciences
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that every child has the right to learn and receive a quality education. Every student who enters the classroom should feel safe, comfortable, and be engaged in the learning process.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself, and then review the lesson or assignment. I would ask the student what areas are most problematic for him/her.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Students can become independent learners when they teach the assignment or task to me. I can help them with that by shared reading and discussions about what has been read. In addition, self-editing will help with essays.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I will help the student stay motivated by sharing with the student his or her success to the point of needing assistance. Then, I would have the student look at the end result - what will happen upon conclusion of the assignment. The outcome of the task will cause success.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I will reteach the skill or concept a student may have difficulty with by focusing on the vocabulary first. Learning the language of the assignment will help the student understand the assignment.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Vocabulary and reading for context clues is a major component in developing reading comprehension. Thus, building vocabulary strength will help with reading comprehension.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Reviewing the assignment, and then looking over the questions prior to beginning the reading. Using highlighters or post-it notes to point out key terms, and then managing a self-edit before completion. These steps are things I will share with the student as we begin a session.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
One of the ways I help students get excited/engaged is by showing the student what the final outcome might look like. Having the student discuss the assignment as we review the work may also help the student engage in the task.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
The techniques I use to ensure that my students understand the material is to have the students repeat the directions to me, and then repeat key points of the material through discussion.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Confidence is best built, in my opinion, by showing the student his/her strengths. When a weakness is determined, showing the student how to correct the error will also help the student gain confidence.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Determining a student's needs will be based on the assignment the student is struggling with and what the requests are from either the parents, teachers, or student.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Adapting to the student's needs can only be done, in my opinion, once tutoring has started. Through observation, I will be able to determine if the student is a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner. If my student is a kinesthetic learner, using a computer will help with the tactile component of learning. Auditory may need to have more discussion and or shared reading. A visual learner will be more successful with independent reading and then a review.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
In addition to a computer or tablet, I will use a dictionary, post-it notes, highlighters, and notebook paper. Dependent upon the assignment, I may also have sample writing assignments that show good quality writing as well as poor quality writing. These types of materials will be used when working with students needing tutoring in composition.


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Installing ubuntu-system-panel (USP) On Ubuntu 8.10
Version 1.0
Author: Falko Timme
ubuntu-system-panel is a simple launcher for the GNOME desktop, providing easy access to Places, Applications and common configuration items for your computer. This guide shows how to install and configure it on an Ubuntu 8.10 desktop.
I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!
1 Installing ubuntu-system-panel
Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal):
Install Subversion...
sudo apt-get install subversion
... and download the ubuntu-system-panel sources:
mkdir -p ~/Downloads/SVN
cd ~/Downloads/SVN
svn checkout http://ubuntu-system-panel.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ ubuntu-system-panel
Afterwards you can install ubuntu-system-panel as follows:
cd ubuntu-system-panel
./usp_update install fresh
If you are on an x86_64 system (only then), you also need to run the following command:
sudo cp /usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/usp/plugins/_keybind64.so _keybinder.so
Finally run
killall gnome-panel
This will make the panels disappear for a few moments - nothing to worry about.
ubuntu-system-panel is now installed and ready to be used.
Here are some additional commands that you might need:
To update ubuntu-system-panel:
cd ~/Downloads/SVN/ubuntu-system-panel
./usp_update update
To uninstall ubuntu-system-panel:
cd ~/Downloads/SVN/ubuntu-system-panel
./usp_update uninstall
To completely remove it from your system (including the ubuntu-system-panel settings):
cd ~/Downloads/SVN/ubuntu-system-panel
./usp_update uninstall complete
2 Using ubuntu-system-panel
Right-click on an empty area on your panel and select Add to Panel...:
Select Ubuntu System Panel from the Add to Panel window and click on Close:
Afterwards you find a new item on your panel called System. Click on it, and you'll see the Ubuntu System Panel in its full beauty:
If you decide to use the Ubuntu System Panel instead of the normal Applications - Places - System menu, you can remove the normal menu by right-clicking on it and selecting Remove From Panel:
To move the Ubuntu System Panel to the top left spot on the panel, we must unlock the remaining icons that are left of it (right-click and uncheck Lock To Panel)...
... and move it (right-click > Move) to the top left spot...
... then lock it (right-click > Lock To Panel):
Here's how it looks:
2.1 Adding Places
You might have noticed that the Places section is missing in the Ubuntu System Panel. To add it, right-click on System and select Preferences:
On the Main tab, there's a window called Plugins. Click on the Add button...
... and fill in places as the plugin name:
You should now see the places plugin at the end of the plugins list. You can now move it up or down using the Move Up/Move Down buttons.
I found out that if the places plugin is in certain positions, the Ubuntu System Panel won't work anymore. If you experience the same problem, just go to Preferences again and change the position of the places plugin. I've put it in the fourth position (below newpane, uspuser, and system_management, and it's working for me):
Click on Apply and Close to leave the Preferences window.
This is how the Ubuntu System Panel looks with the Places section:
3 Links
- ubuntu-system-panel: http://code.google.com/p/ubuntu-system-panel/
- Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/


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I've been playing with photos a lot lately... not getting the exact results I want, but slowly getting there... it's really fun. Idealy, you wont really be able to tell when I do it. I've already passed it off a few times without anyone knowing. he he.ReplyDelete
it's fun :) I like how you incorporate photos, it's so subtle and integrated when you use them. You're right - I can hardly tell when you've got them in your work. sneaky.ReplyDelete
I'm not really a huge fan of this kind of work, it just covered over some of my bad painting, so whatever. But it was fun to see the work morph into something new. I have been shifting away from photo reference, although it doesn't seem like it on this blog so much, but my other work is reflecting something kind of different. Lately I've been practicing, in casual time, on getting faces painted well with oils, and it's tough work, the photos have been helpful there.
Yeah, it's a fine line to walk... and either, it's obviously a photo using some drawn/painted elements, or drawn painted, with some less than noticable photo elements in it or I'm not interested. There is a lot of great stuff in advertising that uses these techniques. It's interesting. I see a lot of illustrator work that's just a vector painting over a photo, and that to me is really boring. You know? Like, what did you even do? I also see some stuff that would be more interesting if everyone else wasn't doing it.ReplyDelete
Some days I get so sick of designers regurgitating each others ideas... and some days I'm just blown away by what they can do when they're actually creative. Like I said, it's a fine line. And now I'm just babbling.
Wow! This takes on an almost "hyperreal" quality, if that makes any sense. I finally got Photoshop myself and am so overwhelmed with the options, I have no idea where to begin. maybe I'll get a help manual. In the meantime, this is excellent!ReplyDelete
thanks Steve! Yeah, there really is a ton to learn, and I'd suggest that a good starting place is to learn how to use those lasso tools that select areas. Also an understanding of the layers (found under "window" tab at the top, if they are not already open). There are tons of websites out there for tutorials on how to learn, and also the adobe website is really helpful, you can get there by clicking the help tab at the top. I'd also be glad to answer any questions if you ever get stuck. Congrats with getting PSD! I can't wait to see what you do with it ;)ReplyDelete
Yeah, Sail, I agree with you on a lot of points about not much going on creatively with lots of art, but I'm also blown away by how much original stuff is also happening. The vector work is super boring in my opinion too, unless someone is trying something new. Even getting photo-real in Illustrator (which is difficult to master) has been played out already.
There is a nag in my mind sometimes that tells me to get perfect about stuff, and it kills my creativity sometimes. It's like all those teachers or people who once said, "that's good" simply because they could recognize that you are drawing something photo-realistic. But that's not what really makes a piece "good" by any means.
YEah, I don't mean to sound like there isn't amazing people out there doing brilliant stuff, because there certainly are. But, I look at a lot of desgin blogs too, and so much of it is these people who think that 30 different images all smashed together in the middle of the page, and every color known to man overlayed on eachother with unreadable text somehow equals a good design... WTF?!?!?!!! It was cool the first time I saw it, but the 1,000 time, by the 1,000 person, I was over it. And yet it continues.ReplyDelete
I don't claim to be the most original or talented person alive, but man, some of the people I see on Artskills.net just irritate me. And some blow me away. I guess they can't all be winners.
I really liked this guy I found the other day... be sure to read his comic on his page.
Steve, you've just taken your first step into a larger world! Congrats.
hey that guy's stuff is good! That comic cracked me up. Although, I thought that she would have been part of the game somehow...thanks for that link!ReplyDelete
Glad you liked it. I thought it was very cute and charming. But yeah, his work is awesome... I wish he was doing a comic or something.ReplyDelete
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1849 Condos 210
SLOPESIDE LOCATION! This retro 3BR/3BA corner-unit home is on the 2nd floor the Lodge at 1849 Condos - JUST STEPS TO MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN! (Please note that this is a "vintage" ski condo that has an economy rating and is priced for accordingly.) A spacious 1,550-square-foot layout, this home is perfect for your large group, and the views of the surrounding mountains from the sunroom are spectacular. Your family and friends will LOVE the easy access to skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking at Mammoth Mountain, 3 spas/pool/sauna, and free bus, PLUS the elevated guest benefits of an 1849 Mountain Rental. Take the free (seasonal) Village Gondola to the Village at Mammoth for your morning coffee or lunch. Or relax in your spacious home and brew your own coffee and cook meals with your friends and family. This fully furnished, ELEVATOR-ACCESSIBLE condo features a full kitchen, dining room, and living room, offering plenty of room to relax, renew, and reconnect.
For your entertainment, there is a 55" TV with HD cable and DVD player in the living room, a 39" TV with cable in the queen bedroom with private bath, a 32" TV with cable in the 2nd queen bedroom with private bath, and a 39" TV with cable in the king bedroom. You'll also enjoy 1 FREE underground parking, 2 FREE outside parking spots*, FREE WiFi, FREE firewood (seasonal), and ONSITE ski and snowboard rentals! Stay close, play close in unit 210!
*Please note: cars parked outside must be temporarily moved during snowstorms for snow removal.
This home is managed by 1849 Mountain Rentals, representing only the closest condo rentals to the slopes at Mammoth Mountain, lifts, and the Village Gondola. There has never been a more ideal time to stay close to play close.
+Slopeside homes are just steps away from Mammoth Mountain. No public transportation is needed.
+Warm up and enjoy yummy lunches off-mountain in your fully-equipped kitchen
+Happy hour just got cozier with your own fireplace and complimentary firewood
+Discounted ski and snowboard rentals delivered directly to your room
+Private access to level-2 electric car charging stations
What Sets 1849 Mountain Rentals Apart?
Its slopeside location and customer service! Since 1984, 1849 Mountain Rentals has built its legacy on offering convenience and customer service. Every unit comes fully furnished, providing a turnkey vacation for your friends and family. Fresh linens and towels, paper towels and toilet paper, and dish soap are provided as well. Toiletries are available at the front desk, upon request.
Guest benefits include:
+Onsite rental office in 1849 Condos
+Complimentary WiFi, firewood, and parking
+Onsite housekeeping, maintenance, and linens
+Enhanced cable TV
Welcome home to the convenience, customer service, and lifestyle only available at 1849 Mountain Rentals. Stay close, play close at 1849 Mountain Rentals!
*Non-smoking and does not allow pets*
**Business Tax #00720**


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Banks of the River Weser
Norma Holthusen
While using all the modern facilities like motorcars, aeroplanes, televisons and mobile phones, have you ever thought about the water, being the preferred source of transport and communication? There is no important town without a river.
Along the river Weser you can promenade, drink and dine whenever you like and spend your money at the flea market or quay market. You can study the historical ships or travel with a modern one.
Walk along with me and have a look at all the attractions.
Chamber of Crafts
Market Square


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Yampa Valley airport increases staffing to accommodate flight growth year-round
The Yampa Valley Regional Airport's busy season — which has been at a record level of busy this year — is winding down.
Many of the flights bringing tourists from places like Boston, Los Angeles, and Houston have come and gone, while others from Minneapolis, Atlanta and Chicago are tapering off next week.
On April 11, the day after Steamboat Ski Resort closes the slopes, the airport will enter its offseason, where it only has flights to and from Denver.
But, as air travel was still finding its way amid the COVID-19 pandemic last summer, destinations like Steamboat with easy access to the outdoors were popular. United Airlines — the longtime year-round carrier in Hayden — upped its flights, and Southwest Airlines added the Yampa Valley to its summer line up.
Both are back this this year.
Kevin Booth, the airport's director, says the increased bustling at the airport year round — 2021 saw the most passengers ever and this year will likely end up beating it — will require some significant staffing changes.
"It will help us both in the offseason and during the busy season as well," Booth said.
On Tuesday, March 29, Routt County Commissioners approved a series of staffing changes, adding some full-time positions and adjusting some jobs to be year-round positions, rather than seasonal.
"We're having a remarkable year attracting all these passengers to our community. I think we need to take care of these people while they are here," commissioner Tim Corrigan said.
In 2020, the airport saw a total of about 91,000 passengers. Last year, that grew to 153,000. Projections for this year show further growth, with 2022 expected to total more than 191,000 passengers.
The changes add two key positions. The airport will hire another full-time firefighter, a move that has Booth hoping to fill three part-time roles that he has been struggling to fill for months. Staff will also add an assistant security coordinator, doubling security's capacity.
"I would say, (the Transportation Security Administration) has upped their game on what they're requiring," Booth said. "As we get busier, those continue to increase."
Another change includes turning two part-time cook positions in the airport's restaurant into full-time roles. In 2022, the restaurant is budgeted to make just under $1.2 million in sales. It made more than half that in January and February alone.
Lastly, Booth said he wanted to change four seasonal passenger services positions into jobs that are part-time all year long. Booth said in the past, pretty much everyone at the airport, including janitors and administrative staff have pitched in to fill this role.
"Our passenger services have done yeoman's work in the evenings," Booth said. "They are our first line of defense if something happens."
Commissioners were supportive of Booth's asks, especially because the Airport is profitable for the county. He also outlined expected increases in security and landing fees at the airport to pay for these additional expenses. For example, landing fees alone are expected to increase by about $400,000 this year, totaling about $1.5 million in 2022.
Routt County manager Jay Harrington said he anticipated reviewing this staffing again next spring to make sure it was still appropriate.
"We've grown up into a real airport, have we not?" Corrigan asked rhetorically.
To reach Dylan Anderson, call 970-871-4247 or email email@example.com.
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Anthem Javelin Snap Back Hat
There is no shortage of monsters looking to tear you apart in the world of Anthem. You gotta look your best when heading into battle.
- Officially licensed by Anthem; designed and created by J!NX
- Black snapback cap featuring Anthem logo embroidered on front of cap; contrasting red under brim; red inside tape
- 85% acrylic, 15% wool construction
- Standard adult size, circumference measures approximately 22 inches (56 cm)
- Adjustable snap closure in back
Anthem Javelin Snap Back Hat
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Karl-Heinz Grasser
5 November 2020
Karl-Heinz Grasser was sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement, receiving bribes and falsification of evidence in a deal to sell thousands of publicly owned apartments. He became the youngest finance minister in the country's history in 2000. He held this position from February 2000 to January 2007. At that time he was praised by many for consolidating Austria's budget.
For some time, he became some kind of a jet set person after marrying Fiona Swarovski, the heir of the Swarovski, one of the world's largest crystal manufacturers in Austria.
The court in Vienna heard that Grasser was involved in kickbacks of more than €9 million. At that time the government decoded to privatize housing company Buwog and the 60,000 apartments it owned. The court said Grasser and two middlemen passed on information about a bid in return for a kick-back of 1% of the contract bid price. Three yeas later the apartments were sold for €961 million. The bidder was able to bid for a sum slightly more than the highest bid and he got the contract. The bidder then paid €9.6 million, to ex-Freedom Party of Austria General Secretary Walter Meischberger and lobbyist Peter Hochegger. Both men were also handed prison sentences. This money was then divided into three bank accounts in Lichtenstein, the court found.
Another matter that came up to the view of the judge was a deposit of 500,000 euros, which Grasser, as finance minister at the time, paid cash into a bank. He said that this money was received in Switzerland from his mother-in-law and then he brought it to Austria. Later, the money moved into the Liechtenstein account to which part of the Buwog commission was paid. The public prosecutor viewed this deposit as part of the commission.
While sentencing, the judge that he abused his political function, violated property interests and failed to fulfil his obligations as finance minister. He added, "Those who conduct their business honestly do not need any accounts in Liechtenstein."
At the hearing Grasser said that today he lives secluded on a farm near Kitzbühel with no job, no house and no car.
d24.news reported.


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Grass Valley, CA, September 18, 2017 – The Nest is celebrating its 5th birthday serving Nevada County families with our Annual Family Picnic: Nest Fest, on October 7th at Western Gateway Park, in Penn Valley. The Nest Fest is a free event and welcomes the community to Join The Nest for a fun day at the park in support of this amazing non-‐profit.
The Nest Fest will feature our Nest Professionals sharing their talents, a live dessert auction, and a raffle for baskets from local businesses including Briarpatch Co-‐op, Make Local Habit, Yuba Blue, and Caroline's Coffee. The first 50 families will also receive a free goodie bag!
Kaliko's Hawaiian Kitchen will be serving up kid-‐friendly bites for lunch and a portion of each sale will benefit The Nest.
For more information, visit the Nest Fest event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/158206244757002/
About The Nest
Our mission is to continue educating local families with the most current information about birth and parenting. We are committed to making prenatal preparation, breastfeeding education and postpartum support enjoyable and widely accessible. Over 300 families benefit from The Nest each year. In the coming year we plan to broaden our programs that support families suffering from the effects of postpartum depression which has been identified by the Nevada County Public Health Department as one of the priorities for helping Nevada County mothers.
Local parents can establish community and gain resources in our free & low cost groups for parents including a prenatal support group, 2 postnatal support groups, a walking/fitness group in addition to other fit classes focusing on new moms.
Those interested in supporting the The Nest may visit http://www.thenestnevadacity.com/ to learn how to help.


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Before joining ECES, Sebastiano was a Schuman Trainee at the Democracy and Elections Actions Unit (DEAC) of the European Parliament. During this time, he constantly supported the Head of Unit in the organization of the Democracy and Election Coordination Group in Strasbourg and the Parliamentary Association Committees of Ghana, Peru and Moldova. In particular, he undertook extensive research on the EU's priority countries, drafting policy papers on the Comprehensive Democracy Support Approach. He also collaborated on debriefing and follow-up activities of EU Election Observation Missions in Jordan, Ghana, Georgia and Moldova with the EEAS and HR/VP's Cabinet. During this experience Sebastiano gained a deeper understanding of the EP's capacity building activities, in particular he supported study visits from several delegations and collaborated on DEAC's initiative with Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada).
Sebastiano is actively monitoring the EP's committees AFET, DEVE and DROI and liaises with other institutional stakeholders from the EU Commission, EEAS and EU delegations.
Having written several publications for the European Institute of Asian Studies (EIAS), spent one year in China at the Shanghai Normal University, and five months at the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, Sebastiano also has a deep understanding on EU-Asia relations. Winning the "Barbara de Anna" Award allowed him to conduct research for the final dissertation on Central Asia, at the Oxford Institute for Energy and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds a BA in International Studies and an MA in International Relations and European Studies at the University of Florence-School of Political Science "Cesare Alfieri".


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A person was arrested by a team of Cyber Crime Unit IW, led by K. Abhijeet Singh and Bishnupur Police Team under the supervision of Senior SP IW.
The team arrested him on a complaint raised by a girl, resident of Bamon Kampu Mayai Leikai, made to the OC of Irilbung PS.
The complaint was filed on 10th April 2017, where it mentioned that an unknown person purported as Rakesh of Nambol has sent her an obscene message and WhatsApp video call to her mobile no. on 7th April 2017.
Later, the OC of Iribung PS forwarded the matter to the Cyber Crime Unit IW for further inquiry.
Accordingly, an inquiry has been conducted by the Cyber Crime Unit IW. During the course of inquiry, it is learnt that the crime was conducted by one person namely Ningthoujam Lokhendro Singh, aged 24 years, s/o N. Tomba Singh, a resident of Bishnupur Yengkhom Leikai Ward no 11, Bishnupur District.
Lokhendro disclosed that he found the mobile no. of the complainant from her Facebook account. He shown his private part by calling on WhatsApp Video Call and he also sent other vulgar messages to the complainant.
He was arrested from his residence by a team of Cyber Crime Unit IW and seized one mobile handset, 2(two) SIM cards of Aircel which were used in commission of the crime.
The case was handed over to Irilbung Police Station for further investigation.


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January February March April May June July August September October November December
Incredible Events
January 15, 2015 - A big thank you to Incredible Events for producing last Saturday's Central Oregon Wedding & Event Show at the Bend River...Read the Full Post »
Wedding Shows
January 06, 2015 - Tom and I enjoyed last Sunday's wedding event in Redmond sponsored by Comfort Suites and In The Garden Floral. Thank you...Read the Full Post »
Happy New Year
January 01, 2015 - Welcome 2015! After relaxing today watching the Rose Bowl (go Oregon), Studio Jay will be on the move. We'll be kicking...Read the Full Post »


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Why Carrier Billing Fits the Bill (and Premium SMS Doesn't)
6 May 2021
Premium SMS became popular in the 2000s as a way to pay for digital content using offline media. Simply put, Premium SMS charges the end user an additional fee on top of their mobile plan to send or receive a text message.
There has been a steady decline of Premium SMS as the migration to Carrier Billing intensifies. PSMS was worth $5.1 billion in 2018 and is estimated to be worth only $3.98 billion in 2023. It is expected to experience dramatic falls in revenues and will account for just 14% of the VAS market.
So why are so many moving on from Premium SMS and becoming Carrier Billing converts? Limitations and problems such as scams, user refunds, taxes and delayed SMS messages have seen Premium SMS left behind, and here's exactly why Carrier Billing is winning over PSMS for mobile operators.
- Premium SMS has got some bad press when it comes to scams and bad practices
- Malware that tricks people into downloading apps or subscribing to services by sending messages unbeknown to the user is a real risk that goes hand in hand with PSMS
- Demand for regulatory compliance has now meant more mobile operators are looking elsewhere when it comes to billing and purchase strategy
- Carrier Billing offers mobile operators a low risk solution when it comes to fraud in comparison to their role as PSMS providers. Add third party fraud prevention to the mix and the result is minimal complaints and significantly reduced refunds
Customer Experience
- Unlike Premium SMS, Carrier Billing allows customers to make purchases quickly and seamlessly without the hassle of sending a message to a shortcode
- Frictionless transactions and streamlined checkouts with Carrier Billing mean higher conversion rates for purchases and more paying customers
- Carrier Billing offers users transparency via their bill and supports the self-service model preferred by today's customers. Spending limits are easily set to avoid bill shock and keep customers happy
- There are also opportunities for mobile operators to better leverage data about their customers through Carrier Billing reporting and analytics, so they can deliver more personalised content experiences
- Premium SMS is dependent on successful SMS delivery reports used to make a yes/no decision on whether content can be downloaded
- The problem with this is that users have to be reachable via SMS message, and lack of network availability etc. can result in delayed SMS messages and delayed delivery reports
- If the window for the delivery report times out an OK will not be given to access content, but the user may still be charged
- Delivery reports for PSMS can also be unreliable and not in real time, meaning an OK may be given regardless of the user having insufficient funds
- With Carrier Billing a yes/no response is delivered quickly through the billing interface, eliminating problems with over and undercharging, and keeping refund requests to a minimum with enhanced user experience
- With PSMS shortcodes are tied to a rigid price and management of multiple shortcodes for varying price points can be a complex and time consuming task
- Higher price points and limits are available with Carrier Billing, as is flexible charging for one-off, subscription and in-app payments, not to mention partial charging for those with insufficient funds
- Carrier Billing subscription revenue can also be automatically billed daily, weekly or monthly, allowing you to collect revenue seamlessly and effortlessly
Carrier Billing is expected to account for 1 in 5 digital sales by 2024. It's no wonder mobile operators are making the transition to Carrier Billing, offering more choice to customers, maximising revenue potential and advancing in their market, all through secure and frictionless payments.
SLA Digital can help you power new mobile revenue streams with our low-risk carrier billing solutions. Talk to us today to find out how.


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One of Dave's greatest artistic achievements asides his recently snagged Mercury Prize is the organic nature of his role as Modie on the Drake-produced Top Boy. He's shown us different sides of his eccentric persona and the way he naturally settled into his character as a drug dealer is just another indication of how talented he is. A couple of months ago, he shared his first single, Professor X, from the show's titular OST album. This week, he shares the futuristic video for the self-produced track.
Along with long-time collaborator and video director, Nathan Tettey, Dave relives his systemic narrative in several virtual reality scenes in which he poses as the referenced Professor X. Atop more flashy backdrops, Dave dispenses bar after bar in his usual cadence alluding to his top-dog status as not just Modie but a grime artist on the rise with the strength and relevance of an old-timer.


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5 Trends Emerging In Contact Center Industry
Driving brand-differentiating customer satisfaction in this increasingly growing competitive business environment can become a highly troublesome task without proper technologies in place. However, undoubtedly, companies can increase their brand loyalty and customer servicing skills with effective implementation of technologies.
Managing communication ebbs and flows may give away sleepless nights to contact center owners and hampers business productivity. Well, an ultimate escape from such troubles – cloud adoption is emerging as a business staple. Companies are increasingly embracing cloud solutions to empower businesses with agility and offer instant response to customer concern from any location. Here are the top 5 trends that are emerging in contact center industry.
1. Smart Self-Service Platform
The rise in the number of self-service channels has lowered the number of live calls significantly. Ranging from troubleshooting issues to resolving general customer concerns, self-service apps are increasingly used by customers as one of the most preferred channels for resolving queries. Feedbacks and concerns associated with any kind of product and services simplify the task of providing feedback. It streamlines the customer-agent interaction as they also, provide the ability to route the calls to the mobile extension.
2. Administering Video Chat
Companies are increasingly using video chat as an effort to enhance customer service experience. It is predicted that over 100 of the 500 largest global businesses will be introducing video-based chat by 2018 for conducting customer-facing interactions. Well, the reasons behind the growth of these video-based channels are quite obvious as they help to create a more engaging experience and offer a more affordable, convenient way to agents to serve customers.
3. Growing Use of Marketing Automation Tools
An ideal way to improve customer service experience is to create and deliver highly personalized, useful content dynamically that leads to lower down customer churn rate as customers get the desired information in time. Marketing automation tools offer powerful and easy lead management capabilities that enables companies to execute complex campaigns effortlessly and manage time efficiently.
With these tools in place, data-driven strategies can be put in place to streamline customer data management and filter the leads that can help to improve revenue numbers.
4. Smarter Customizable Dashboards
In the increasingly growing competitive business environment, the speed at which information is generated and the information itself are equally important. Dynamic dashboards help to set most of the business operations on auto-pilot and provide real-time visibility into business key performance indicators (KPIs) such as statistical data, traffic patterns, agents' average call handling time.
This way businesses can save a lot of time otherwise wasted while digging through the data. It helps to maximize the potential of data and gives businesses ability to meet customer demands effectively.
5. Agents' Accessibility to Desired Resources – Anytime, Anywhere
Cloud-based platform compiles all the shared up-to-date data and agents get access to centralized information through customizable contact center wallboard. Any software/application can be accessed using centralized web-based portal. Individual calls automatically get displayed over the centralized application such as Salesforce and gives access to reports that comprises performance metrics. Having access to performance metrics helps to develop complete impact of various channels used for customer service and make the necessary changes accordingly.
6. Integrating APIs in CRM Platforms
With API integration developers and agents can access multiple CRM platforms via single, unified interface. Customer.guru is one API that helps to schedule new surveys and products and services can be optimized using responses received from these surveys. There are APIs that offer net promoter score (NPS) platform integration with existing applications and provide customer service scores in real-time. Support kit API offers customer engaging platform designed with messaging features that help to engage with the customers easily.
Wrapping It Up
All-in-all lagging behind technological advancements can put a big negative impact on customer service department and may lower the revenue making the capacity of businesses. So, staying-in-pace with technological advancements gives businesses a boost to enhance their services and create multiple channels to resolve customer service issues easily.


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Theresa May tried to calm fears about Brexit chaos with her latest speech, but it didn't exactly go to plan
Theresa May's big Brexit speech in Florence conformed to most expectations – except, perhaps, her own. Following weeks of stalled negotiations and squabbles within her cabinet, the entire Brexit process has been called into question. Speaking on 22 September, to a room in which most important EU delegates and officials were absent, May will have wanted to calm fears about about Brexit chaos. But she was far from convincing.
Colleagues or conspirators?
In the front row listening to May sat Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond. These three men effectively represent the two sides of a Conservative Party split down the middle over Europe.
Davis has often promoted 'hard Brexit' and spoken against the possibility of a transitional arrangement, as has Johnson. Hammond, on the other hand, has advocated a softer approach, retaining access to the single market for a fixed period.
May, of course, finds herself with the impossible job of trying to keep both these sides happy. If she does not, her party falls apart. Those hoping for clarity will therefore be disappointed. In Florence she waffled and avoided details.
May spoke of "our shared challenges and opportunities" with the EU. And went on to list them as refugees, terrorism, the internet and North Korea.
She wrote off suggestions that have been put forward, such as retaining European Economic Area (EEA) membership or a free trade deal, saying:
None of those are best for the UK or the European Union
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In a further attempt to placate the right wing of her party, she even confirmed her continued belief in the mantra "no deal is better than a bad deal", when asked a question by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.
At that point, listeners may have thought the UK will walk away from negotiations if necessary. But in order to appease the Hammond faction, May also proposed a transitional arrangement, which she described as "an implementation period of around two years". Such an arrangement would likely come at a cost of tens of billions.
Mirroring her party, these two positions appear somewhat contradictory.
In keeping with much of her premiership so far, May's weak speech contained little in the way of detail. Instead it attempted to cover the gaping chasm in her cabinet. The Prime Minister thus said everything but mostly nothing, and will not have convinced doubters that Brexit can be a success.
Essentially, she will buy two extra years of negotiating time from the EU and hope that something comes up.
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Can Speech Recognition Help Kids Learn to Read?
Recording: Can Speech Recognition Help Kids Learn to Read?, Mar 10, 2022
Child-specific speech recognition systems are paving the way for a range of voice-enabled reading tools for use in the classroom and at home. These tools hold the potential to provide every early learner—regardless of income and life circumstances—with the support they need to develop critical early literacy skills. This panel explores the evolution of speech recognition for children, as well as the potential applications and risks of this technology for educators and learners alike.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.


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U.A.S. Newsletter, no. 45 (November 7, 1957), Edited by Ross T. Christensen, Alfred L. Bush and Dee F. Green. Vol. 45. Provo, UT: University Archaeological Society, Brigham Young University, 1957.