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In which a group of graying eternal amateurs discuss their passions, interests and obsessions, among them: movies, art, politics, evolutionary biology, taxes, writing, computers, these kids these days, and lousy educations.
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Peripheral Explanation
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Peripheral Artists (5): Mikhail Vrubel
Illegal Update
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Friday, March 10, 2006
Peripheral Explanation
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- This is part of a comment-reply to this recent post. I decided to elevate it to post status because the same issues keep popping up in Comments. I (foolishly?) hope I can avoid endlessly repeating myself in comment replies by giving my position more prominance. Here goes: One reason I'm doing this "Peripheral Artists" series and gave it that name is because I got what was probably a typical late-1950s American art history education. Huge chunks of late-19th and early 20th century painting were ingnored if they weren't held up to ridicule. In recent years I've been coming across some of that work and realize that it can be very good indeed. Had I only known! That's the problem. I didn't know because no one taught me. And I suspect that a lot of art history courses since my time haven't been a lot better regarding representational art. So I've launched this little educational project here at 2Blowhards highlighting artists I used to know nothing about, yet on discovery are worthy of appreciation and study. The word "peripheral" (as I keep trying to make clear) is sort of a pun. Artists mentioned are peripheral to the history of painting as I (and others) received it in college. And it happens that these same artists (so far) come from what might be seen as Europe's geographical periphery. This does not mean that I regard them as lesser artists: in nearly all cases, quite the opposite. The artists I've dealt with thus far are famous in their home countries for good reason. Some were well-known elsewhere in Europe when they were alive, before Modernism in its various guises made its march from Paranoid Victimhood to Paranoid Establishment. I don't regard this as some sort of "national character" issue: it's really more of a power politics thing within the art world. Still, the fame of the Russian artists I've been featuring undoubtedly was held back by the Cold War. Many Americans were leery of all things Russian and the Soviet Union kept itself pretty well sealed off from Westerners and foreigners of all kinds save Party members and prominant fellow-travelers. (Yes I know there were plenty of exceptions to that sweeping statement. But the gist is true: think Intourist.) Nor do I think it fair to fall back on a kneejerk notion of "American insularity" to explain our relative ingnorance of the likes of Gallen or Vrubel. In fine arts, Americans strike me as being quite the opposite of insular. In fact, for much of our history, we've had a self-image of being second (or worse) rate in all forms of culture. I don't have any statistics to back this up, but let me assert that, for almost any museum, shows featuring Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and Rembrandt will draw larger crowds than shows featuring home-grown Pollock, Motherwell or Warhol. As I said, the problem lies in the art world itself. Its history had become...
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March 10, 2006
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Thursday, March 9, 2006
More Immigration Links
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Illegal immigration may be making it onto mainstream radar screens. Gary Becker suspects that "illegal immigration will constitute perhaps the major American Dilemma during the coming decade." Richard Posner's opinion is that "It is not at all clear that illegal immigration is on balance a bad thing for the nation. The only real concern is that if it continues at its present rate (which Becker estimates at 500,000 a year) we will soon reach a point at which the net benefits turn negative." Robert Samuelson thinks we oughta build a fence. Best, and very happy to see the issue beginning to receive some of the attention and discussion it deserves, Michael...
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March 9, 2006
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Another Graphic
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- I've written before about the way graphic designers have appropriated parenthesis marks and brackets for themselves. Short version: Graphic designers have taken a typographical symbol (the parenthesis/bracket mark), and have turned it into a purely visual device. Once upon a time, the parenthesis and the bracket served the interests of those making use of words -- people for whom a page is primarily about making verbal sense, or about providing word-based entertainment. These days, parentheses and brackets often serve the interests and purposes of those who like visual jazziness -- people for whom the main thing about a page is that it should look snazzy. Design Observer's Michael Bierut explained the history of this development in a comment on my posting. You've seen a lot of play-with-brackets in recent years. Designers all over the place have been using parentheses and brackets not to indicate pauses or asides, but to provide visual kapow. Here's a typical example, from Fitness magazine. Click on the images in this posting for larger versions: Whatever it is those brackets are doing, it has nothing to do with serving a written-grammar/written-meaning kind of purpose. Whether or not you like the look, this appropriation of one field's symbol by another field is a classic case of what the Situationists called detournement. It's a matter of one group (visual people) taking a device that another group (writers) evolved for one purpose, and putting it to use for their own ends. The fad hasn't captured just the art directors of silly pop magazines, by the way. Here's part of a page from the sober (if glossy) publication Scientific American Mind: What in the world are parentheses doing around that pullquote? And why do they surround the rubric on the Further Reading box? (Scientific American Mind -- after some early trouble finding its bearings -- has become a very good magazine: substantial yet accessible, sophisticated yet clear. A 2Blowhards intellectual hero, V.S. Ramachandran, sits on the magazine's advisory board, and much of the publication seems to reflect his approach and his characteristically thoughtful tone.) In terms of designers making visual-impact use of brackets and pullquotes, we may in fact be entering a late phase. Things have gotten mighty baroque in recent months. Here, the art director of Fitness gets jiggy: But Scientific American Mind isn't to be outdone: Y'know: Why not flip brackets 90 degrees and stack them vertically? Why not use only one parenthesis mark? "Meaning" is so passe anyway. All of which prompts a question: Which typographical symbol are designers going to claim for themselves next? I have a feeling that the most likely candidate is quotation marks. (I sometimes picture designers as being like a pack of hyenas separating a gazelle out from its herd ...) Already we're seeing a lot of this kind of thing: OKOKOK, that's an ad. But part of what happens when digital tech sweeps through a media field is that the wall between editorial and advertising...
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March 9, 2006
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Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Peripheral Artists (5): Mikhail Vrubel
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- Far from Paris, far from the mainstream art history narrative of the 19th and 20th centuries are what I call Peripheral Artists who, I think, deserve recognition beyond their native lands. Last September I was in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery and found a large, purpose-built room containing striking romantic-expressionist paintings and panels/murals by Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910). Vrubel was born in Omsk, Siberia to an army legal officer and himself completed law training at St. Petersburg University in 1880. After that, he went over to the Imperial Academy of Arts where he studied under Pavel Tchistyakov. He was commissioned to paint murals and do icon-related work for the St. Cyril Church in Kiev and visited Venice to study early church art as part of the project. His mural designs for Kiev's St. Volodymir Cathedral suffered rejection, however. During his Kiev stay he became interested in Mikhail Lermentov's poem, Demon, for which he began working up illustrations. Vrubel returned to Moscow in 1890, completing "Seated Demon," one of his most famous works. Although it raised controversy, the painting led to a commission from Savva Mamontov to decorate buildings. He also designed ceramic objects and was involved in stage design. Vrubel met and married opera singer Nadezhda Zabela in 1896 and they had a child who died in 1903, an event that further destabilized his mind which had been tormented by childhood deaths of a brother and sister (he was briefly institutionalized in 1902). But he continued painting until 1906 when he was losing his eyesight. According to one source, he finally became so depressed that he stood before an open window so as to catch a cold that evolved into the pneumonia that killed him. Gallery Mikhail Vrubel. "Demon Seated in a Garden" 1890. "Swan Princess" 1900. "Seraphim" 1904 Commentary Vrubel allowed himself to be caught up in the romanticist and spiritual/religious thinking that were current in his times, possibly excessively so if his mental state is any indication. Thanks probably to his study of mosaics and Christian art in Venice his paintings sometimes had a mosaic-like quality where paint was applied in different-shaped blocks varying in size by a factor of about two �- the background work in the Seated Demon painting contains a good deal of this. Like many artists who moved in the direction of Expressionism he wasn�t afraid to sacrifice accurate representation for effect. Note that the eyes of the Swan Princess are anatomically too large. Thanks to the large scale in which he often worked coupled with dramatic composition and stylized surface treatment, Vrubel�s paintings strike me as compelling to view, yet slightly disturbing �- perhaps a true reflection of his mind�s condition. In sum, an artist hard to forget once his work has been seen. Later, Donald...
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March 8, 2006
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Illegal Update
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- The illegal-immigrant population of the U.S. is growing by at least 500,000 per year, according to a new study by the (liberal) Pew Hispanic Center. As recently as 2000, there were only 8.4 million illegals in the country. Today there are almost certainly more than 12 million -- accounting for roughly 1/3 of the foreign-born population in the States. Steve Sailer and some of his correspondents ponder the figures. Best, Michael...
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March 8, 2006
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Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Beloved Museum Shops
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- I confess. I confess I put the word "beloved" in the title to hook you -- a writerly deceit I'm not above using. Truth is, I don't find any museum shop "beloved," though I really do like some of them. Which ones? Lemme see ... generally the ones with the most book titles, books being my intellectual drug-of-choice. Some of you might use prints, reproductions, calendars or other items as the yardstick. Herewith is a top o' the head listing of museum shops I liked as of the time I last visited. They are not in order of preference. Louvre, Paris. This is on two floors and has lotsa stuff which seems appropriate for a museum that has lotsa stuff. Yes the books are pretty much in French, but that's okay with me because I like to be forced to keep up my French. The shop in the Muse� d'Orsay across the river is much smaller because it focuses on a limited period in art history. The last time I was there I wasn't studying Impressionism as seriously as I am now, so I might like it better than I did if I gave it another visit. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Not as large as the Louvre's shop, but plenty of books and other items. The Met also has a shop in Rockefeller Center as well as one at the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas and two in Thailand (32 stores in all, 13 overseas), but the satellites I've visited don't have large book selections. Getty Museum, Los Angeles. A good selection of books, especially (as might be expected) publications by the Getty research staff. But if your thing is art-related books and you're in the Los Angeles area, the place to go is the Hennessey + Ingalls bookstore on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, a block or so from the bluff overlooking the ocean. A nice little store with a tight focus is in the Mucha Museum in Prague, featuring (who else?) Alphonse Mucha, king of the Art Nouveau poster.. I like aviation, and the top shop for me is in the Air Force Museum by Dayton, Ohio. Second-best is in the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum on the Mall in Washington. Pretty-good is the shop in the Museum of Flight at Seattle's Boeing Field. My criterion for aviation books is the presence of specialized books not normally found in regular bookstores. But the store that tops my aviation heap isn't a museum shop: it's La Maison du Livre d'Aviation in Paris at 75 Boulevard Malesherbes in the 8th Arrondissement. As you might guess by the volume of posts on the subject, I'm also a car fan. But I can't remember any automobile museum shops that had a book selection that impressed me. This might be because my tastes are becoming highly specialized whereas the museum shops I've visited recently don't seem to have a lot more to offer than regular...
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March 7, 2006
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Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- The Wife and I are once again visiting California. We flew out from New York City Business Class. The last time we flew out we flew Business too. The time before as well. Ain't we fancy. In fact, we're scrounging, just-getting-by, middle-class people who have to watch the bottom line more closely than we'd like to. But we're typical of middle-class people in another way too. Over the years, we have managed to pile up hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles. What to do with them? As far as I can tell, every U.S. airline company is going to go out of business sometimes within the next 12 months; we wouldn't want to simply lose our miles. Yet whenever we have tried to use our miles to pay for tickets, we've been completely stymied. Oh, sure, we can use our miles to buy plane tickets to places we want to visit -- provided only that we let the plane company pick which one, that we're willing to commit to an intinerary three years ahead of time, that we don't mind flying on Thursday afternoon, and that we aren't put off by the idea of taking prop planes that make seven stops to get from Cleveland to Chicago. Our solution to this dilemma is to use our miles for upgrades. We book our usual flights, then tell the agent to use our miles to put us in Business. This isn't a perfect solution. We still need to book well ahead of time. And we've sometimes had to take a slightly earlier or later flight than we'd have preferred. But we're at least getting some utility out of our miles. Not the least of the pleasures of flying Business is the entertainment factor. I'm not talking about the in-flight movies, which are as bad in Business as what's shown to the losers back in Economy. Though, come to think of it, Business passengers are at least spared "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- reason enough to spring for an upgrade. For me, what's most entertaining about flying Business is the way language changes. Shell out a certain amount of money (or at least miles), and you enter a realm where sentences and phrases that might be simple and to-the-point become hushed, circumlocutious, and elaborately discreet. I have one well-off acquaintance who refers -- straight-facedly-- to rich people as "high net-worth individuals." That's the kind of language-thing that is forever going on in Business, which does its best to mimic the kind of snobby country club you'd be crazy to want to belong to -- the kind of place where you wouldn't be surprised to hear a drive in a car referred to as "a motoring experience," or a pen as a "writing instrument." Here's how the menu on our most recent flight described one of the breakfast dishes on offer: Cheese and Vegetable Omelette Seasonal Fruit Appetizer Cheese Omelette filled with Vegetables, enhanced by a fire-roasted Pepper...
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March 7, 2006
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Monday, March 6, 2006
Ugly Box(-like) Cars
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- Maybe there's such a thing as too much functionality ... in car styling, anyhow. I know, I know. If "form follows function" a designer would have to be a knucklehead if he tried to express function and not end up with a Platonic Ideal of beauty. Well, that's what I used to read in books about Industrial Design and Architecture when I was in high school and college. And then there was a saying back in those days to the effect that "a car stylist can do good Industrial Design, but an industrial designer is hopeless at car styling." How true. One of the projects the Industrial Design class worked on when I was an undergraduate (I had switched from ID to commercial art by that time) was to design a taxicab. After completion, some of the plans and renderings ended up on hallway display boards. What was revealed was a tall, stubby, ugly thing lacking any of the grace of even a London taxi. But boy, was it functional: space-efficient, short turning radius, chair-high seating and whatever else was in the design spec handed down by Frank Del Giudice (or maybe dreamed up by the students themselves). I can't show you that taxicab design, but vehicles in the same spirit are probably cruising a street near you right now. I wouldn't be surprised if ID-school grads didn't sneak into car styling studios under a flag of convenience to wreak aesthetic damage and play strange mind-games to induce good citizens to spend actual money for the results of their functionality-mongering. One such car (for lack of a better term -- my examples are more van-like station wagons) is the Honda Element. Honda Element. As you can see, the Element is, er, pretty vertical. And it's covered with lots of matte-finish panels that, if nothing else, minimize scratches and other damage from flying rocks and other cars: not a bad thing. The overall impression is that this vehicle isn't comfortable moving at any but the slowest speeds. But maybe that's the way they're actually driven. Another gift to NPR listeners from the land of the rising sun is the Scion xB from Toyota (Scion is a brand Toyota introduced to appeal to a younger clientele than aging buyers of Toyotas). Scion xB. The xB is cut from pretty much the same cloth as the Element. Only it's smaller and perhaps even less aerodynamic. Since aerodynamic efficiency is a factor in increasing fuel efficiency, does this bother enviro-friendly potential buyers? Unless you've been to Europe in recent years you have been spared from seeing what might be the ugliest of the lot -- the Fiat Multipla. Here are some examples. Gallery: Fiat Multipla Multipla 600. This came out in the late 50s. It had a rear-mounted engine and the front seat positioned well to the front. If there was any justice in this world Ralph Nader would have begun his anti-car jihad with this one instead...
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March 6, 2006
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Support Steve
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- I don't know of any writer working today who does a better job of opening up dicey but pressing topics in humane and informed ways than Steve Sailer. Year after year, Steve has been bravely playing the role of the guy who's the first to bring up and examine loaded subjects -- subjects that I have a strong hunch we'll be hearing much more about in coming years. It's a heroic performance he has been putting on. (Steve's latest column is a topnotch example of his hefty and daring work.) Needless to say, it's also an approach to a writing career that is probably pretty thankless in financial terms. Meanwhile, the cautious corporate journalists who take up the subjects Steve initially raised are doing very well for themselves indeed, thank you very much. Which makes it all the more important that those who value Steve's work show their appreciation. Steve is running one of his occasional fund-raising drives right now. If you enjoy and learn from Steve's writing, and especially if you're grateful that he's out there taking the big risks, please visit his website, click on the PayPal button, and send him a donation. Best, Michael...
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March 6, 2006
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Sunday, March 5, 2006
Products in Fiction
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- I'm not much into fiction, but osmosis or delusion tells me that some writers drop product names into their books. I'll assume formal "product placement" hasn't yet made the jump from Hollywood and TV to Fifth Avenue and environs. Rather, my guess is that writers are simply trying to establish a "sense of place" or perhaps a sense of time and place -- usually "today." This is okay by me so long as the novel becomes fishwrap within five years. But what if the writer wants his precious effort to be "immortal"? Seems to me that immortality and naming things don't easily go together. Consider this passage: He gave his open luggage one last scan. What else might be needed on the Continent? Oh yes. He made a pass through the room, tossed in a few boxes of Pear's, Lucifers and Navy Cuts, closed the luggage, shut off the lights and headed downstairs to hail a cab for Waterloo. Did you get all that? Exactly what was added to the luggage at the last moment? And just where was the character heading via the cab? Given the quality of 2Blowhards readership, I'll assume a perfect "4." Just in case, here's a translated version of the nano-drama I concocted: He gave his open luggage one last scan. What else might be needed on the Continent? Oh yes. He made a pass through the room, tossed in a few boxes of soap, matches and cigarettes, closed the luggage, shut off the lights and headed downstairs to hail a cab for the train station. As you probably guessed, the scene was in the London of nearly 100 years ago. "Lucifer" was not a product, but a term used in England at the time for what we would call a "kitchen match." Pear's was a popular scented hand soap. Navy Cut was part of Player's cigarette product line. I suspect most younger Americans, even if college-educated, do not know these details; their inclusion in the first passage would only mystify. Even "Waterloo" could pose a problem to a reader who had never been to London and perhaps even to casual tourists who enter and leave England only by air. True, it was the most likely station to start a journey to France, but this detail adds nothing important to the first narrative, The second version suffices because the reader can assume the unnamed character would be taking the most convenient route unless that wasn't the case, which would then be a plot element. Using product names is dangerous because, over the span of decades, product lines can be abandoned and companies can go out of business (so much for the notion of all-powerful corporations). This is true for brands that seem unassailable. For instance, a Gatsby-like story set in a ritzy 1920s exurb might mention a character owning or being driven up in a Packard automobile. How many younger readers know that, in the 20s, Packards were at...
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March 5, 2006
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Moviegoing Note
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Donald's recent posting about how he barely bothers with movies these days has got me thinking about my own movie-watching habits. I think it's natural for movie-watching rates to decline with passing years. Energy flags, for one thing. Plus, many people find that they lose some of their appetite for fiction experiences as time passes. My theory about this: To some extent, fiction is play -- it's both fun and rehearsal for life. The love of fiction is also, to some extent, a function of self-exploration. With age and experience, "fun" per se becomes less important, the rehearsal period comes to an end, and the self recedes in importance. Real life becomes more pressing, as well as more fascinating. Result: a lot of older people reading history and watching nature documentaries on the Discovery Channel. Still, even allowing for age-related changes, the advent of digi-tech is having a dramatic impact on my movie-watching life. Back in fizzy youthful celluloid years, FvB and I were college-buddy movienuts, in love with the medium, gobbling up its history as quickly as we could -- absorbing "the movies" the way a 3 year-old kid absorbs language. Most weeks we managed to see 5 to 7 movies; it wasn't unusual for us to take in two or even three movies in a day. (And this in pre-video days! We both owe a lot to college film societies.) During my young/mid-adult years, I was on screening lists, was buddies with film critics and journalists, and continued to make it to two or three movies a week. These days I'm in a different phase entirely. I love movies, but not in the old ravished-by-the-experience way. I'm curious and comfy where I was once passionate and headstrong. I'm off screening lists, and I'm barely in touch with the filmbuff world. The velocity of my moviewatching has declined a little. But the bigger difference is in where and how I watch. I barely go to movie theaters at all -- probably fewer than a half a dozen times a year. Instead, I rely on the DVR, on Netflix, and on finds from the bargain-DVD bins at Amazon, Blockbuster, and Virgin. (Once the price of a DVD I'm curious about sinks to lower than 10 bucks, I have a hard time resisting the purchase.) God bless big screens. If you're a devoted film-nut, a high-quality TV isn't a luxury, it's an investment. Donald's posting and the comments on it woke me up to a consequence of my new movie-watching habits. It's this: Because I no longer bother with seeing movies at theaters, I no longer follow movie coverage in the newspapers or in the magazines. Picking a movie to watch for me has become a matter of scanning suggestions, links, sales, and IFC schedules. I don't take my lead from what's being released. Instead, I follow my tastes, my interests, and my whims, and I pull the movies I might want to watch from...
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March 5, 2006
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text:
Kyriba Makes the Inc. 5000 List for the Sixth Time
Named Among America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies due to Skyrocketing Sales Growth
NEW YORK, August 18, 2017 –Kyriba Corp., the global leader in cloud-based treasury, cash and risk management solutions, today announced that Inc. magazine has placed the company on its 36th annual Inc. 5000 list, which honors the nation's fastest-growing companies. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow and many other well-known names first gained national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. Kyriba recently announced record sales growth as the demand for cloud-based treasury and finance solutions continues to grow among global CFOs and treasurers looking to navigate complexity and unlock bottom line value.
"The Inc. 5000 is the most persuasive evidence I know that the American Dream is still alive," said Inc. President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. "The founders and CEOs of the Inc. 5000 tell us they think determination, risk taking, and vision were the keys to their success, and I believe them."
"Kyriba offers the No. 1 cloud finance and treasury solution for global financial leaders," said Jean-Luc Robert, Chairman and CEO at Kyriba. "Our market-leading innovation around secure payments, risk reduction and other mission-critical financial capabilities is helping drive the rapid adoption of Kyriba in the US and globally. We are honored to be listed once again in the Inc. 5000."
Inc. 5000 Methodology
The 2017 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2013 to 2016. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2013. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2016. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2013 is $100,000; the minimum for 2016 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.
For more information about Kyriba's award winning, world-class solution, contact us at [email protected].
About Kyriba Corp.
Kyriba is the global leader in cloud-based treasury, cash and risk management solutions, delivering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) financial technology to corporate CFOs and Treasurers. More than 1,600 global organizations use Kyriba to enhance their global cash visibility, improve financial controls, and increase productivity across their cash and liquidity, payments, supply chain finance and risk management operations. Kyriba is headquartered in New York, with offices in San Diego, Paris, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Rio de Janeiro.
To learn how your organization can increase the strategic function of its financial professionals, contact us at [email protected]. To learn more about Kyriba PartnerSURGE or join our partner program, contact us at [email protected].
Engage with Kyriba
- Like Kyriba on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Kyriba
- Follow Kyriba on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/kyriba
- Follow Kyriba on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kyribacorp
- Read Kyriba's blog at www.kyriba.com/blog
Media Contact
Daniel Shaffer, [email protected], +1 (858)263-2218

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pella Shipyard Launches First "Raptor" Patrol Boat for Russian Navy
Russian Pella Shipyard has launched the first serial high speed patrol boat of project 03160 "Raptor" of 2014 Manufacturing programme built under the Contract with the Russian Navy.
The vessel, which will now undergo sea trials, has a length of 17 m, width of 4 m and a draught of 0.9 m.
The Shipyard plans to deliver 4 boats of this project to the State Customer, RF Navy, before the end of this year.
The boat is intended to perform the following operations at day-time and at night: the transportation of group of at least 20 persons providing the highest possible embarkation and debarkation; duties in assigned areas; intercept and arrest of small targets and rescue of people in areas of duty.
Press Release, June 20, 2014; Image: Pella Shipyard


text:
|February 26, 2021 08:54 AM
|Representative Kyle J. Mullins and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans
|All House members
|Assistance for Diaper Expenses (Former HB 1942)
One in every three parents find it difficult to provide diapers for their children. Nearly 5.2 million children under the age of three suffer from diaper need. Reliable access to clean, disposable diapers is vital for a child's health, and is often required for infants and toddlers to attend and participate in childcare programs.
For parents struggling to make ends meet, buying diapers can be a financial challenge. That is why we intend to introduce legislation that would give the Department of Human Services the ability to provide assistance to certain low-income individuals buying diapers for children 36 months of age and younger. Though this bill does not establish any requirements, it is a step forward in making sure that all the children in our state are clean, healthy, and dry. We hope you will join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.
Introduced as HB888


text:
Stenhousemuir Football Club's Warriors in the Community programme encompasses the majority of the activity that we do to promote and support sport, health and wellbeing in the community.
Due to the Coronoavirus and the pace at which events are unfolding, the Club has decided to pause all community programmes for the next seven days. This will run from Friday 13th until the 20th March 2020. This pause is to allow the football authorities, the Government, and relevant health professionals to issue further guidance to clubs on what activities can continue as society looks to slow the spread of the Coronavirus.
This means that between Friday 13th to the 20th March, the following programmes will not be running:-
Mini maroons, Young Maroons, Community Select Teams, Girls programme, Mental Health Programme, Football Fans in Training, Walking Football.
Please be aware that the situation may change at any time, and we will always be guided by the advice from the football authorities, the Government, and relevant health professionals. The health and wellbeing of our programme participants, and that of the wider community, is our top priority. We will continue to provide updates as we have them.


text:
Xbox has released a new UI update for their Xbox One and Series consoles today.
The November 2020 Xbox Console Update is beginning to roll out for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One family of devices.
Xbox Series X|S owners get more dynamic background options and an Auto HDR indicator in the guide.
"Optimized for X|S" badges make it easy to know which games are ready for Xbox Series X|S.
Xbox Game Pass members can browse and pre-load games with a new Coming Soon section."
There is more in-depth detail at November 2020 Xbox Console Update Begins Rolling Out on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One – Xbox Wire


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Two people are in custody Monday after a carjacker crashed a stolen vehicle on the Dan Ryan Expressway before stealing another and taking off in Bridgeport on the South Side.
Officers spotted the stolen silver Nissan and tried to pull it over at 2:22 a.m. in the 6300 block of South Yale Avenue in Englewood, according to Chicago police. The Nissan, which was taken in a carjacking in south suburban Calumet Park, took off north on I-94.
It crashed about 2:30 a.m. on the Dan Ryan near 35th Street, police said. The male driving the Nissan then forced the driver out of a nearby black Honda Civic and drove away north on the expressway.
Responding officers took two other males into custody at the scene, police said.
No injuries were reported as detectives continue to investigate.


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Three cheers for Year 6! Hip, Hip….. Horay!
They have been absolute super stars in their Sports Day this morning, we couldn't have asked for anymore.
We saw some excellent examples of competitive spirit, especially in the sprint finals! This coupled with encouragement for others made the most perfect morning.
The event ended with a staff sprint final with Mr Male, Mr Murphy, Mr Scotland and Mrs Matavesi competing for a 1st place finish. Mr Scotland was victorious!!!
We wish them luck in their sporting journeys as they move onto secondary school.


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The LSV seminar takes place on Tuesday at 11:00 AM. The usual location is the conference room at Pavillon des Jardins (venue). If you wish to be informed by e-mail about upcoming seminars, please contact Stéphane Le Roux and Matthias Fuegger.
The seminar is open to public and does not require any form of registration.
We automatically verify implementations of cryptographic protocols programmed
in ML. We develop a prototype compiler from a subset of ML to CryptoVerif,
Blanchet's prover for computational cryptography. Thus, we obtain a first tool
chain that yields security guarantees for computational models tightly related
to executable code. We show the soundness of the underlying translation for
authentication and secrecy. To this end, we equip ML programs with a
probabilistic semantics, and relate it to the probabilistic polynomial-time
semantics of CryptoVerif. We also review experimental (symbolic and
computational) results recently obtained for a reference implementation of the
TLS protocol.
(This is joint work with Karthik Bhargavan, Ricardo Corin, and Cédric Fournet.)


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Find the perfect RV rental in Greensboro, NC. Simple, easy and fully insured.
Location info
Location info
Location info
Location info
The off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail system in the Uwharrie offers a variety of topography and scenery. All trails are designated for all off-highway vehicles and marked with orange diamonds. Stay on the designated trail system to help prevent soil erosion and creek sedimentation, which occur as a result of illegal trail use. FS roads cannot be used as trail connectors, but all vehicles operating on the road system must be "street legal" meaning that the vehicles are fully licensed, inspected and registered. Persons violating these regulations will be fined according to the law. NCDOT approved helmets and eye protection are required. The trail system is subject to a seasonal closure during the winter months (from Dec. 15 - April 1) …
Location info
If you want to combine the wonderful nature of North Carolina with its cities full of amazing attractions, camping at Greensboro KOA is a great idea. Add to that a range of amenities on offer, and you are in for an unforgettable adventure. Relax in the seasonal swimming pool or gather your friends and family in the pavilion – you can also bring your pet and have some fun at the dog park. If you need to stay connected, there is Wi-Fi access. Propane and firewood are available on-site, so you don't have to leave the campground.
No matter which way of camping you opt for, you will find a spot to settle in. If you arrive in an RV …
If you're looking for a quiet place to park your RV rental close to some of North Carolina's major cities, consider the Zooland Family Campground. This riverside RV park is ideal for family fun, and activities including miniature golf, river fishing, and outdoor games such as basketball can be found on site. There are also swimming pools, so you can relax and cool down after a long day of exploring. Pets are also welcome, so you don't have to worry about leaving furry family members behind. If you forget anything, you can drop by the nearby grocery store, and all campers can access Wi-Fi.
RV camping at Zooland Family Campground is made simple by the resources made available to guests. …
In the heart of the Uwharrie Mountains, Holly Bluff Family Campground is ideally located to get away from it all in an Asheboro rental RV, with plenty of attractions and amenities just a short drive away. This family-friendly campground in the Central Piedmont region of North Carolina is situated just minutes from the city of Greensboro, is around 40 minutes' drive away, so you'll have no shortage of fun activities to enjoy. The immediate surrounding area is renowned for its parks, trails, and scenic natural beauty.
The RV sites at Holly Bluff Family Campground are generally spacious and shady, and most have …
Campers searching for a lakeside campground in central North Carolina should consider Oak Hollow Campground. Just outside the city of High Point along the edge of Oak Hollow Lake, this RV park is ideal for outdoor lovers. The lake is a superb spot for several watersports, including fishing, boating, swimming, and more. If you'd prefer to stay close to your campervan, there's lots to do around camp, with an on-site golf course and a swimming pool. Pets are allowed at this campground, and there is WiFi access at most campsites.
The campsites at Oak Hollow Campground offer full hookups that support 30/50 amp electrics. Sites have enough room for slide-out campers, and each site provides back-in access. Each campsite comes …
Close to Interstate 85 between Charlotte, High Rock Lake is a massive recreation area. When you rent an RV near High Rock Lake Marina and Campground, you'll have access to this lakeside paradise in central North Carolina. An easy-to-find location just off the highway and a bunch of nearby cities and natural landmarks make High Rock Lake Marina and Campground a fantastic option when you rent an RV near Lexington, NC.
High Rock Lake Marina and Campground campsites can accommodate both tent and RV camping. Those without camping gear or a recreational vehicle can rent one of the cabins near High Rock Lake. All sites at High Rock Lake have full hookups, and some campsites offer pull-through …


text: How I Got Here, episode 15 - Steve Kaufer of TripAdvisorInterview / OnlineBy Kevin May | December 5, 2019Share Steve Kaufer, CEO and co-founderHow I Got Here is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation.TripAdvisor pioneered travel reviews on the internet. CEO Steve Kaufer gives the inside story - the ups and the downs - to David Litwak of Mozio and PhocusWire's Kevin May. The phrase "humble beginnings" is often used to describe the backstory of famous brands in the world of business before they hit the jackpot.But TripAdvisor, with some of its formative years spent in rooms above a pizza parlor, is one such company in the modern travel business that deserves the phrase to illustrate just how far it's come.It is now a publicly listed company, of course, with offices around the world and user figures in the hundreds of millions each month.Yet few people will know or remember how close the company was to going out of business, or how the roles between co-founders Steve Kaufer and Langley Steinert were divided, amongst many other stories.In a special edition of How I Got Here, Kaufer joined us in the PhocusWire Studio at The Phocuswright Conference in November this year to give us the history and a lot more for one of the industry's most well-known brands.HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.A full transcript and additional analysis in 5+ languages is available on Mozio.com/move.Here is the video version via PhocusWire's YouTube channel:How I Got Here, episode 15 - Steve Kaufer of TripAdvisor How I Got HereThis is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARCHIVE TripadvisorHotelMetasearchTravel InspirationTravel PlanningHow I Got HerePhocuswright Conference 2019


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Need a pet sitter?
I'll play with your cats, walk with your dogs, run with your donkeys and snuggle your goats.
Finance executive for 25+ years, now an athlete dedicated to my training and in bed most nights by 9!
Will only accept appointments once I have met your pet and we know we both get along. Would prefer to stay at your house to offer minimal disruption to your pet.
Happy to follow any routine you have to keep your furry family feeling safe, secure and loved.
If you are in need of my services or know anyone who might be, please don't hesitate to reach out and we can chat about what you need.


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Abu Dhabi's IHC to Invest USD 2 Billion in Adani Group's 3 firms
The boards of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) and Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) on Friday met and approved the transactions.
Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate International Holding Company will invest USD 2 billion as primary capital in three Adani Group firms – Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises, Adani Group said.
The boards of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) and Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) on Friday met and approved the transactions.
"The investment is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and shall comply with SEBI regulations," Adani Group said in a statement.
International Holding Company (IHC) will make the investment through the preferential allotment route.
"We are delighted to commence this inter-generational relationship with IHC. We are deeply committed to the shared vision and values of investment in sustainable infrastructure, green energy and energy transition. This is a landmark transaction and marks a start of a wider relationship between The Adani Group and IHC and attracting further investment from UAE into India," said Sagar Adani, Executive Director, AGEL.
The three Adani companies – AGEL, ATL and AEL – are market leaders in their business sectors and span the Adani Group's green portfolio.
Every one of these three businesses has the core aspect of ESG woven into its operations. This investment is a testament to the IHC's and the Adani Portfolio's shared vision and commitment to invest in sustainable companies that are leading the charge in energy transition, the Adani Group statement noted.
IHC proposes to invest Rs 3,850 crore in AGEL, Rs 3,850 crore in ATL and Rs 7,700 crore in AEL, in compliance with SEBI regulations. The transaction is expected to be completed in a month after all necessary approvals are obtained. The capital will be utilized for pursuing the growth of the respective businesses, further strengthening the balance sheet and for general corporate purposes.
"This will be a long-term investment in India as the country is driving much innovation globally, including the green energy sector. The opportunity to earn a compelling return on investment in green energy has never been greater. We are confident that Adani companies will play a significant role in unleashing India's total green energy potential, reflecting positively on our shareholders' commitment," said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO and Managing Director of International Holdings Company.


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A new analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows the United States has the most affordable food supply in the world. Megan Nelson, AFBF economic analyst, researched global food prices and found Americans enjoy the most affordable overall price for food at home. (Farm Bureau)
© McLean County Farm Bureau 2019 All rights reserved


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Deep-sea bacteria caught releasing carbon into atmosphere
A certain type of sea-dwelling bacteria is responsible for excess carbon emissions, according to a team of University of Minnesota researchers.
These deep-sea bacteria dissolve rocks containing carbon, releasing carbon dioxide into the ocean (a vast carbon sink) and atmosphere. The discovery of this previously unknown carbon source will permit more accurate estimates for the volumes of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere.
"If CO2 is being released into the ocean, it's also being released into the atmosphere, because they're constantly interchanging gases between them," said PhD candidate Dalton Leprich, first author of the ISME Journal study. "While it's not as big of an impact as what humans are doing to the environment, it is a flux of CO2 into the atmosphere that we didn't know about. These numbers should help us home in on that global carbon budget."
Leprich's team started by studying sulphur-oxidising bacteria, which use sulphur as their energy source. The bacteria are found in methane seeps – areas of the ocean floor where methane seepage occurs – which develop unique reef-like topographies due to reactions between methane and seawater. Methane seeps contain limestone formations containing huge amounts of carbon; sulphur-oxidising microbes colonise the surfaces of these formations.
The researchers noticed patterns of corrosion and holes in limestone samples collected from the Del Mar East Methane Seep Field. They used bioreactors which simulate seep conditions to investigate the rates of dissolution associated with the sulphur-oxidising bacteria; their results showed that these bacteria are capable of dissolving limestone, even under well-buffered marine conditions. In the process, they release carbon trapped in the rocks.
In the process of oxidising sulphur, the bacteria cause an acidic reaction which dissolves the rocks, releasing the trapped carbon.
"You can think of this like getting cavities on your teeth. Your tooth is a mineral. There are bacteria that live on your teeth and your dentist will typically tell you that sugars are bad for your teeth," Leprich explained. "Microbes are taking those sugars and fermenting them, and that fermentation process is creating acid, and that will dissolve away at your teeth. It's a similar process to what's happening with these rocks."
The researchers plan to test this effect on different mineral types.
In addition to identifying a previously unknown source of carbon, contributing towards more accurate estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, the University of Minnesota team's findings could help researchers use distinct dissolution features caused by bacteria, such as holes and crevices, to search for evidence of life on other astronomical bodies.
"These findings are but one of the many examples of the important and understudied role that microbes play in mediating the cycling of elements on our planet," said Professor Jake Bailey, an expert in microbial ecologist at the university's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.


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There are few things more politically sensitive in the world of international politics than the subject of nuclear weapons. So it is with some surprise that the world responds to the development of India's Agni V rocket in such a different way given the climate of only a few decades ago when similar tests were met with heavy sanctions and fear. India has come a long way in a nuclear world.
The rocket, which was part of an ongoing development by the DRDO is an upgraded version of the Agni III and contained no warhead on it. In 2007 defense official M Natrajan revealed that the country would be developing a new missile with a range of over 3,100 miles. The revelation was further evidence that India, a country where 41.5% of the population earns less than $1.25 (US) intended to become one of the biggest players in the nuclear scene.
The response was mild to say the least compared to the international outcry in response to "Operation Smiling Buddha" in 1974. Smiling Buddha was the code name for the first nuclear test on Indian soil, and brought the nation into a very exclusive club of nuclear armed nations. The test resulted in both fanfare for the fledgling nation and a number of sanctions levied against it for many years. But as India has demonstrated, things change – and so do countries. Even the aforementioned 41.5% poverty rate of the average citizen is expected to be halved in the coming years. According to a study conducted in 2011, (MDG) India will strike its poverty rate in half down to 22% by 2015.
The missile is an upgrade from the Agni IV missile, which is capable of reaching all but the furthest tip of China. China has spoken very little on the subject, but suggests the actual range far exceeds the reported 5,000 kilometers and could in fact likely reach as far as 8,000 kilometers away. Politicians additionally urged cooperation between the two nations in the light of the recent development while simultaneously downplaying the threat it may pose to Chinese interests.
Not only was the most recent rocket an important event globally as it slightly changed the nuclear stage, but also because North Korea recently attempted its own rocket launch – which ultimately failed. North Korea, which has been threatening its sister country with war for years, attempted to launch the missile earlier this month amid great concern internationally. Meanwhile, a report by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested that China may have assisted North Korea in development of the rocket. Despite this, China publicly criticized the test by its isolated ally.
The primary barometer of the international likelihood for nuclear war is the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and their iconic "Doomsday Clock." The Scientists have yet to update the clock, despite the recent developments. Is this because it changes little on the international front, or because the change is not yet evident? Whether this will have a strong effect on international nuclear politics or not is yet to be seen.


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A good day so far
Lo and behold, I seem to have a bit of energy today (for the first time in several weeks). I've gotten supper in the crockpot already, as well as the dishwasher emptied and loaded again, and a load of laundry in the washer. There's still tons of housework to be done, but I'm feeling somewhat productive nonetheless.
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Welcome to The Catholic Working Mother
Click here to order The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life , released May 28, 2019 by Our Sunday Visitor Press. My blog, The Catholic ...
Emerging from my blogging hiatus to address a particularly tiresome article from the "holier-than-thou" Church brigade. This tim...
I hate to break my blog fast with bad news, but it's 2:30 in the morning and I ate too much Halloween candy before bed. That's not ...
Click here to order The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life , released May 28, 2019 by Our Sunday Visitor Press. My blog, The Catholic ...


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Phone Skills For Veterinary Practices
Did you know that most veterinary client service representatives fail to engage callers who inquire about fees? And only 25% ask to schedule an appointment. Due to a lack of training, your practice could have thousands in missed revenues every month. This program will immediately pay for itself as a result of your team's ability to attract more new clients and provide outstanding service to every caller.
This training program is beneficial for both new and experienced employees who communicate with pet owners on the phone. Now you can provide veterinary specific training for your entire team at a fraction of what it costs to send employees to conferences. Click on the link below to find out how to provide training so your team can comfortably and consistently attract and retain more clients one call at a time.
Dr. Donnelly's video training programs include:
- A comprehensive set of nine online instructional videos and over 20 downloadable tools and training guides so managers have everything they need to implement, refresh and repeat an effective training program for a year.
- Mystery shopping calls to your practice for designated employees and comprehensive reports with recommendations presented in a conference call with Dr. Donnelly to discuss team results & implementation of your training program.
- Plus, coaching calls with Dr. Donnelly!
To help your practice succeed, we have reviewed and created this list of industry resources.
Veterinary Associations
American Veterinary Medical Association
Veterinary Hospital Manager's Association, Inc
If you need assistance finding a consultant outside our area of expertise, we would be pleased to provide recommendations to trusted advisors.
Check out Dr. Amanda Donnelly's Talk the Talk column on client communications for training tips and ideas.


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With 43 years of running the local markets, Terry Olson announced last week that she would close the two produce shops by November 23rd. After years of running the markets with her husband until his retirement a few years ago, Terry knew that it was time to close up shop and focus on the next adventure that she wants to pursue with her life, Running.
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This Thursday, September 30th, Chef Anne Kearney and her crew will present a special menu pairing food with Alsace wines, best known in France for charming whites. Dinner will be served from 5pm – 9pm and is $70 per person. Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling the restaurant at 610-1061. The menu is listed below:
Albert Mann Crémant d'Alsace-Pinot Blanc
Toasty goat cheese crouton with apple** chutney
House cured ham with pear** relish
Palette à la Diable- Braised pork shoulder
Albert Mann Vin d'Alsace- Riesling 2008
Flammekueche- tartlet on a thin crispy crust with caramelized onions, Alsatian Munster cheese, bacon and mushrooms, all drizzled with a bit of heavy cream right before it goes into a hot oven to bake up golden delicious.
René Mure Gewurztraminer 2008
Pan-seared, spiced salmon atop house made kraut** with caraway, apples** and Brabant potatoes**, served with a spiced whole grain mustard sauce.
Marcel Deiss-Pinot Gris 2005
Griddled pheasant** sausage served with agri dolce, quick braised kale** and wild rice spaetzle
Marcel Deiss Muscat d'Alsace 2005
Apricot**& almond tartlet with toasted almond-caramel ice cream


text: Looking for a special gift to give to a young reader? My latest novel, LULA BELL ON GEEKDOM, FREAKDOM & THE CHALLENGES OF BAD HAIR promises laughter, tears, laughter THROUGH tears, and ultimately a heart full-to-bursting with joy! Plus, if you buy a copy of LULA BELL…(or SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT), I'll happily send you a… Continue Reading


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2013 was a great year for water management posts on ValleyCrestTakesOn.com. A total of 53 posts about water management generated over 55,000 page views resulting from almost 35,000 visits. While most of the visits were from the United Sates, the reach was truly international.
Top 5 Countries
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- India
- Australia
As might be expected, the people most interested in water management and water conservation were from areas of the country experiencing severe drought thus showing once again that the "Global Water Crisis" is the sum of very local issues.
Top 5 US Cities
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- Phoenix
- Dallas
- Denver/Austin (tied)
Top 5 Referrals
- LinkedIn* referrals contributed to twice the total of all other referrals and four times the #2 referral.
- Facebook* referrals edged out the #3 referral by just a few hundred
- Twitter*
- The Water Matters Weekly
* Hootsuite was the #4 referral, but utilizes accounts from and posts to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn accounts.
The top 5 posts about water management were all written in 2013. The numbers after each of the top 5 posts represent the shares from 2013. A share tells us someone viewed the post and valued it enough to recommended the post to friends or colleagues in a social network.
Top 5 Posts from 2013
#5 5 Excellent Perspectives: How to Irrigate a Slope 679
A question posed on LinkedIn's American Society of Landscape Architects group inspires great comments on how to irrigate a slope.
#4 5 Reasons Why Drought Tolerant, Native Plants Die 472
You jumped on the conserve water, only use drought tolerant, native plants, sustainability bandwagon. Then the plants die and you want to know WHY?!
#3 Four Signs You Are Overwatering Your Plants 101
Learn four easy ways to determine if you are underwatering your plants and landscape.
#2 5 Awesome Drought Tolerant Plant Resources 1700
A great mix of resources provides all you need to know about drought tolerant plants and native plants.
#1 The Hidden Risks of Softened Water 7,710
A water softener may seem like common sense if you have hard water, but softened water can cause several sneaky problems you might not realize.
If you liked learning the top 5 posts about water management from 2013 please leave a comment, share it with a friend, check out my previous posts , follow me on Twitter @h2oMatters and
P.S. Interesting tidbit – Google Chrome was used a few hundred more times in 2013 to access ValleyCrestTakesOn.com than Internet Explorer.


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Einen Muff für den Kinderwagen nähen – das ist die einfachste Sache der Welt! Ich nähe diesen Kinderwagenmuff aus beschichtetem Stoff mit Teddyfutter – so trotzt du beim Spaziergang auch dem schlimmsten Schietwetter.
Wedding Favors Gift Bag Ideas
Once brides have determined on their wedding ceremony desire present to their guests, the next choice might be how to display the gift on their wedding table. Brides can also have determined they wish the venue hosts to region the offers on the tables as a decoration earlier than the visitors are seated for their meals.
Brides may also determine to hand out the gives themselves after the meal has ended.
Personalized wedding ceremony want goodie bags is a perfect preference if you wish a easy but stylish gift given to your visitors. The paper baggage may be decided on in a variety of colors. You can write or insert a broadcast thank you message to your guests at the front of the paper bag. After deciding on your design whole the fashion with a ribbon that you connect and secure on the top of the bag.
Have you considered bride and groom desire luggage to fill with Jordan almonds. There is a internet positioned at the back of the luggage filled with candy or almonds or maybe chocolates. Attached at the the front of the tulle net is both a brides dress in white shade or a grooms tuxedo in black. A top notch carried out idea.


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From Japan. After graduating from Waseda University, he moved to New York to work for an online marketing company for several years. He then returned to Japan and established Yaraku. Winner of many business contests.
From Sweden. After working in web development in Gothenburg for eight years, he decided to move to Japan and joined Yaraku. As the head of the development team, he deals with a variety of operations.
From Japan. After graduating from Waseda University, he worked seven years at an accounting firm in Tokyo. Has worked with over 100 companies. He has been working in financial accounting and various back-office operations in Yaraku since the company's creation.
From Singapore. Studied multilingual technologies at Nanyang Technological University. After graduation, he got his professor's recommendation to join Yaraku. His hobby is online gaming. He deals with back-end development as well as language data processing.
From Ukraine. Graduated from Donbass College of Engineering, majoring in computer science. After working as a freelance software developer for several years, he joined Yaraku. He deals with web development as well as front-end development.
From Japan. After learning developmental psychology at a graduate school, she worked as a school counselor. She joined Yaraku to learn and create new value as our member.
From Japan. After graduating from university in England, she worked for a global IT firm as a back-end support engineer, and she joined Yaraku as account support.
From South Africa. Graduated from Stellenbosch University majoring in Computer Science. After working freelance for local South African companies creating specialized software, he joined Yaraku as he was interested in languages.
From Japan. Professor in Foreign Language Studies at Kansai University. Ph.D. in Translation Studies. He has returned to Yaraku as a chief evangelist to work on the social implementation of translation technology.
From India. Master of Computer Science at North Carolina University. Aiaioo Labs CEO. After working in major software companies in the US, he started a business as AI researcher. And he joined Yaraku as he was interested in languages. Cohan can speak 11 languages.
From Japan. Stayed in Australia for seven years from high school. Since returning to Japan, she has been involved in a wide range of business operations, including brand marketing and overseas negotiations, mainly for foreign companies. The global atmosphere of Yaraku attracted her to join the company.


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Posts Tagged 'divorce'
Divorce: Collaborative Divorce vs Court Venue
There are two commonly used forums for divorce: collaborative law, and civil law. Collaborative law allows each party to hire a lawyer and meet peacefully with the other party to make decisions about joint assets, while the other turns all decision making over to the court. A simple comparison of the two models should make…Read More
Divorce: The Affect on a Child
Children can be seriously affected by divorce. It is up to parents to protect their children from the effects of their separation, as much as they possibly can. Understanding how divorce affects children, and what can be done to protect them, should be at the center of every divorce proceeding where children are involved. Effects…Read More
Faith-Based Therapy: Does it Really Make a Difference?
Faith-Based Therapy Patients often ask me about the benefits that faith-based therapy offers over traditional therapy. Ultimately, the answer comes comes down to the individual, and how much faith factors into their daily lives. As therapists, we see many people seek our services because of some external circumstance, i.e., behavior of themselves or someone they…Read More


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Visit Builders Surplus for a top-notch variety of bath vanities and vanity tops. In addition to quality construction, you'll find popular styles and rich finishes. Click on any of the bath categories shown for more vanity choices or visit any of our store locations.
Bathroom Remodel
So, when you're remodeling, don't pay more for home improvement. Skip those big box stores and shop local. Come in and talk with the knowledgeable and friendly team at Builders Surplus. We'll be happy to help you select from traditional, Shaker, transitional and contemporary bathroom vanity designs. And our in-house designers can assist you with your bath remodel or help create a custom vanity by Marsh Cabinets.
Most of all, you'll be satisfied with the quality, great value, and exceptional savings found here. So don't forget to complete your bathroom project with interior doors and the best selection of moulding. And take a look at our waterproof luxury vinyl flooring. It's a great choice for a bathroom!


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No hearings to Zoom, no calls to make, so time to clean the house, replenish the pantry, read and think more deeply…. Before we look at what's next for Retake, we announce two Retake Zooms: a Debrief Huddle and a State Auditor Democratic Candidate forum with Joe Maestas and Zack Quintero. And though the session is over, there is one more action to take: contact the Governor to ask her to sign key bills that passed.
The session took it out of us, and so it took Roxanne a while to get her last Alert out in which she described how each of the bills we supported did: the good, the bad and the ugly. (Find that Alert at this link.) And it has taken me even longer to formulate thoughts on what happened and why, and the implications of that assessment on future action.
Over the past month, Roxanne and I also recorded three radio/video discussions of the legislative process, one conducted at the mid-point of the session, the second conducted with a week to go, and then a final discussion recorded an hour after the session ended. In addition, I conducted an extended discussion with Sen. Liz Stefanics this week that focused more on the legislative process than specific bills. Click here to view any or all of those recordings.
Legislative Reflection Huddle, Mar. 9, 6–7:30 pm
What Worked, What Didn't, What We Learned, What's Next?
We will assess how the legislature works and how it doesn't, and reflect on the success of our advocacy work. If you measure success by how well we engaged, educated, and supported advocates across the state, we get decent marks. But if you measure success by the progressive legislation that was passed, then there is significant room for improvement. Let's talk about it.
What can we do to change the system in which we work, and what can we do to change how we operate so that we can achieve more legislative success? That's our two-part topic and we are adding 30 minutes to our usual 60-minute Huddle. So bring snacks and libations and let's share ideas. We'll post more thoughts on the topic in this and future blogs.
Please join us in conversation You must register to participate. Click here to register.
Candidate Forum: Thurs., March 17, 6:30-8pm: Joe Maestas and Zack Quintero, Democratic candidates for State Auditor
The Auditor has a critical role in holding government accountable. I had only a very vague understanding of the role of the State Auditor until I had a phone conversation with Zack Quintero about his goals in running for auditor and then a separate conversation with the current Auditor and candidate for Attorney General, Brian Colon. (When you are a Democratic Party State Central Committee member, candidates call to ask for your support.)
From these conversations I learned that the auditor has the authority to hold any state, county or city government accountable for failing to fulfill their purpose or for corrupting their function. So this is an important position, and with two great candidates we will be faced with a difficult decision in the June Primary, so plan to tune in on March 17 from 6;30-8pm for what should be a compelling discussion.
You must register to attend. Click here to register.
What Just Happened? What Didn't?
I could spend hours cobbling together a synopsis of what got done and what didn't, but The Paper beat me to it. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll just share a link. Click here for an excellent, concise synopsis from The Paper of what got done and what failed in the 2022 Session.
As for the bills we supported, Roxanne wrote an Alert that broke down the fate of the bills we supported, which you can find at this link. Before you examine the dispiriting results, please recognize that one of Retake's criteria for selecting bills is to choose bills that will need a big push to get passed. So, while we support teacher raises and opportunity scholarships, our view was that they would pass without us, so they didn't make our list, while we knew that HB 132, the small loan rate cap bill, would need all hands on deck, which it did. So, many of our bills were big-idea bills or bills that were not high on leadership's agenda. Especially in a short session, those bills face obstacles at every turn. The most forbidding of those obstacles is time, with other leadership-supported bills competing for limited slots on committee agendas.
The Whys Behind What Didn't Get Done
The short 30-day session left many good bills behind.
Just two bills we supported were killed by a committee vote (Green Amendment and Public Bank) and no bills were defeated by a House or Senate floor vote. All but one bill we supported passed its first committee hearing. Unlike in past sessions, there was no single committee where bill after bill died for lack of a hearing.
Most all of the bills we supported sat for 3 or more weeks in committees that often never heard the bill, or if they did, the "do pass" was so slow in coming, the die was cast and the bill had no time to get through the remaining hearings and floor votes. Two bills we supported sat in their first committee the entire session without ever being heard (HM 20 Public Power Memorial and SB 44 Solar Market Income Tax Changes).
Our take away is that the failure of most all of these bills was not fervent opposition from a lobby or industry or a committee chair who held up bill after bill. Instead, it was the nature of the short session — if a bill doesn't get off to a quick start, time becomes its biggest enemy, and even the briefest delay in a committee can spell doom for even a reasonably popular bill. For example, none of the tax credits for electric vehicles, solar market development or storage were voted down, but all suffered lengthy delays in being heard in one or another committee. That can't happen in a short session because if one of those bills gets to the House or Senate floor for a vote with just a week to go, the Speaker or Sen. Floor Leader, seeing the clock ticking and knowing every vote will consume 3 hours of GOP filibuster, is reluctant to call bills for a vote if they still have to pass through 2-3 committees in the other chamber with only days remaining in the session. And so, while most all of the e-vehicle, solar development and storage bills passed two committees, only one achieved a floor vote.
The combination of an ambitious legislative agenda, with many non-budget items being considered, a 30-day time limit, and a filibuster-crazed GOP, forced committee chairs when considering which bills to schedule, not just to weigh if a bill had merit but if it had time. And those calculations begin in the second and third week.
What to do?
End the filibuster. Hard stop. A minority party deserves a voice and an opportunity to express a different perspective, but drawing out every bill debate for three hours just to run out the clock is simply not democratic. Republican Sen. Bill Sharer should not have been permitted to speak for over two hours, lecturing the Senate on a jingoistic version of NM history, and then when he ran out of steam on that, drawing out an absurd baseball analogy for another 45 minutes, while an important piece of legislation designed to foster broader involvement in democracy (voters' rights) sat ready to be heard. That bill died as Sen. Sharer ran out the clock on the session.
In my very first committee hearing six years ago, I sat and listened to Republican Reps. taking turns in House Judiciary, asking and then repeating the same questions over and over and over again. When the hearing ended, I asked Rep. Daymon Ely what was going on and why it was allowed. He explained that the GOP was outnumbered, and stalling was the only strategy they had. He went on to explain that during the Martinez administration, that same strategy was all House Dems had to stall a death penalty bill and other noxious policies from becoming law.
I accepted that then, but no longer. If your ideas as a political party don't prevail at the ballot box, stalling those ideas in the Roundhouse should not be used to suppress the will of the voters and the prevailing party. That practice can only diminish respect for democracy and the legislative process. We need to use valuable legislative time to get the business of NM done, not sit idly while some blowhard talks out the clock. Hard stop.
The Legislature Must Hold Longer Sessions
It isn't just that time becomes more important than substance when weighing which bills are heard and have the opportunity to advance, but substantive discussion and reasonable public comment are also sacrificed in the interest of time. We discussed this in my radio interview with Sen. Liz Stefanics in which she bemoaned how there was far too little time for committee members to discuss and debate bills, and that public comment was so limited toward the end of a session that advocates for bills asked bill supporters to limit their comments to 30 seconds or, better yet, to offer no comment in support of the bill. How exactly does that build constituent engagement and enthusiasm for the legislative process? Democracy is strongest when it is a participatory sport, not theater where the constituents sit silently and watch legislators make decisions unfettered by the inconvenience of constituents with views of their own.
If Sessions Are Longer, Legislators Must be Paid and Have Paid Staff
You can't address the time constraints by scheduling Saturday and Sunday hearings and, much worse, floor hearings that extend 8+ hours. In the last week of the Session, the House met until 11:30pm, 1am, 4am and then all night, finally adjourning at 9:30am. Aside from asking bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived legislators to craft cogent questions and answers about bills and then to vote, you are effectively excluding constituents from these discussions, as very few will stick with hearings that extend until dawn. So sessions need to be longer, even if we eliminate the filibuster.
But if you extend sessions, you can't expect legislators to live on per diem allowances. They need to be treated as the professionals they are and paid accordingly. This would also facilitate more working class people to run and serve, bringing an important, but almost entirely absent, perspective on legislative deliberations: the real world and the people who live in it.
If you extend sessions to allow more bills to be heard and to conduct deeper discussions of bills, then legislators need their own staff who can research bills and their pro and cons. No matter how much you pay legislators, they still have limited time and bandwidth to review every bill and to learn so many wide ranging issues. This past session, I had one legislator tell me that in the first weeks of the session he would read every word of every bill and by the last week he'd look at the bill title and bill sponsor and little more. That is not good legislative practice, but it is inevitable when lack of time and lack of staff converge. And often the result is that paid lobbyists become a legislator's only source of information on an issue.
Our legislature makes very important decisions that have powerful impacts upon New Mexicans, their futures, and the future of our land, air, and water. We need to give this the importance it warrants and dedicate the time and resources for making deliberate, well-grounded decisions.
Big Ideas Take Time and Cultivation: Ignore at Your Own Peril
The NM state legislature is not a body that rapidly embraces big ideas, and models imported from outside NM are viewed suspiciously. Every big idea failed. Count 'em:
- Hydrogen Hub
- Green Amendment
- Public Bank
- Public Power
The hydrogen hub failed, despite considerable political leverage, because there was just too much evidence that it was a bad idea.
Lesson #1: Do your homework and be sure that you have a good idea with a base of support. I am still mystified as to how the Governor, with access to so many experts, could not have recognized what Retake and Renewable Taos found in hours: hydrogen production and carbon capture & sequestration hasn't worked anywhere, can't work, and is transparently an idea initiated by and for the fossil fuel industry. For a raft of reasons, not the least of which is political, that information should have led to the Governor saying, "Not a great idea. Next?" Apparently, the Gov. had no such moment of pause and reconsideration. That didn't happen, but thankfully our collective opposition did.
Yet, ever persistent, apparently, the Governor can move forward with this false promise, as she tweeted yesterday about coming to an agreement with the Governors of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming to join forces in competing for billions in Federal fossil fuel dollars.
The other three bills on the list are also good, bold ideas. So what can we do to advance those ideas and other bold ideas more easily and quickly?
Lesson # 2: Tons of emails and calls during a session are not enough to move big ideas forward. Big ideas need cultivation and dialog for legislators to become comfortable with that idea. No legislator wants a campaign legacy of supporting or voting for a bill that crashed and burned during implementation, costing the state tens or even hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. So there is instinctive caution. How can we overcome that caution?
I was struck by a comment made by Rep. Javier Martinez in a hearing on the state public bank. To paraphrase: "I didn't know much about public banking, but I had a small number of constituents who did and who reached out to me. They shared information about public banking and we had a series of conversations where I could ask questions and they could offer answers. In the end, I became a supporter of public banking because of them."
Given Retake's tracking 20+ bills in different disciplines, we don't have the capacity to engage, train, and activate teams of constituents who collectively contact 20 or 30 key legislators to secure their understanding of a big-idea bill and cultivate their support. But ally organizations that are advocating for a single bill may well want to consider this strategy as this is the kind of deep legislative engagement that can move the needle on big-idea bills. Groups like Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity might want to consider this approach for public banking. Ditto Green Amendment and Public Power advocacy groups. Personal proactive contacts between constituents who know their legislator can make a big difference. Then during the session, when they receive huge numbers of calls and emails on that bill, they will know that those constituents with whom they met are not alone. In our next Huddle on March 9 (registration link near the top of this post), we will discuss the critical need to start our advocacy much earlier, months before a session begins.
Track and Support Fewer Bills
Each year we try to limit the number of bills we support, more for our personal survival than anything else. This year we said we'd track 10 bills, maybe 15. In the end it became 20 with another 20 we "supported" but did not actively advocate for.
But this session, of the 20 bills we supported 15 needed early advocacy to get out of the gate and through the first committee. Instead, we were consumed with derailing the Hydrogen Hub and seeking amendments to the Clean Future Act, worthwhile but enormously consuming efforts. With fewer bills, we could have devoted time to the Hub while still alerting you to bills that were stalled in their first committee.
Retake Going Forward
In our huddle on March 9, we want to discuss all of this. Roxanne and I are thinking we should devote more time to deep research into issues and policies that could become bills, and to share that research months before the Session with legislators in interim hearings and small meetings and with you in the blog and in Zooms. We will discuss this in our coming Zoom. See the top of this post for details and a link to register.
Call to Action
We have bills we supported that passed and are on the Governor's desk. The memorials that passed do not require the Governor's signature. But we need to write to her and call her office, asking simply that she sign these bills:
- HB 37 Community Energy Efficiency Development Block Grant
- HB 132 Interest Rates for Certain Loans (Small Loan Rate Cap of 36%)
Please also ask the Governor to not veto any of the $790K in junior bill funding that is dedicated to sustaining the Health Security Study & Design process.
Click here to leave a message for the governor.
To call the Governor's office: (505) 476-2200.
Let's finish the job.
In solidarity and hope,
Paul & Roxanne
Categories: Local-State Government & Legislation


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Note: I copied this post from my classmate @kareemnegm who passed away this year. So please, pray to him. God's mercy for you, Kareem❤💚🤍💔💔


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Essential reading on the MIT Media Lab
The revelation in the last week or so that convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein had financial connections with MIT's Media Lab has led to the lab director, Joi Ito, to resign. The Media Lab is certainly not the only connection between Epstein and academia: his links with, and funding of, various top scientists have been known for a while, and are quite extensive.
I should note in passing that the one person who comes out of the Media Lab/Epstein scandal with his honour left completely intact is Ethan Zuckerman.
The focus on Epstein's funding of science links more broadly to a critique of philanthropy that can be seen in the protests by artists like Nan Goldin that led to various art museums including the Met in New York and London's National Portrait Gallery refusing donations from the Sackler Foundation, because of the links between the Sackler family to Purdue Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of OxyContin, one of the drugs responsible for kicking off America's opioid crisis. The recent book by Anand Giridharadas also fits into this trend of re-evaluating the values of philanthropy culture.
The critical light cast on the Media Lab by the Epstein revelations has been an excellent time to read up on it more generally…
- Evgeny Morozov's piece for The Guardian is, well, precisely what you'd expect from Morozov.
- Lori Emerson published an interesting history of the Media Lab showing the emergence of the Media Lab from the military-industrial complex funding of science during the Cold War.
- Will Boisvert's fantastic piece for The Baffler, "Future Shock" is a superb takedown of the Media Lab's bizarre techno-futurist worldview, and the glorious contrast between the high-minded idealism of some of the ideas expressed by MediaLabsters, and the utterly disposable and forgettable plastic crap generated in pursuit of those ideas.
- Adi Robertson published a piece for The Verge discussing the many failures of Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child project
Now the shine on institutions like the Media Lab has been stripped away, it'll be interesting to see if more critical appraisal of its work, its ideology and its practies starts coming to the fore.


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It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). Around 27% of girls are married before their 18th birthday. The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married. Shabnam was forced to marry at the age of 13. She tells of how her husband attempted to poison her and poisoned her son. Shabnam finally asked for a divorce and with the help of the Centre for Social Research is now free.
In consultation with local community groups, in 2007 the Natural History Museum commissioned new research into its collections that link slavery and the natural world. The research uncovered experiences of enslaved people and the use of plants in their everyday life, as food, medicines and poisons. It also examined the complex relationships between enslaved people and naturalists exploring newly-colonised lands. The museum ran a series of public events, co-hosted by Race on the Agenda, which aimed to bring the historical, scientific and public viewpoints together. It created online educational resources on themes such as Commercial Plants, Everyday Life, Diet and Nutrition, and Resistance. The museum also developed cross-curricular ideas for school lessons in Science using the context of slavery, looking at foods across different cultures, for example.


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Everyone wants to become a stronger leader. Although you aren't perfect, trying to be perfect will set yourself up for success. The following article has the information you need.
Your team's vision should be communicated. Use your values to drive your team's experience. Communicate the whole picture while helping others see their part in big ideas. It is smart and helps to build relationships and give people direction.
Any good leader has to focus on times to come. It's important to see what's coming and plan for it. Obviously, it's impossible to totally predict the future, but this skill needs to be worked on. Keep asking yourself where you'd like to be in a year or so, and make plans for that.
Keep your morals in mind. Be sure to will be comfortable with the decisions you make. If a decision is going to make you feel badly, don't do it. While others may sink to lower levels than you, you don't have to follow their lead.
Never do anything that could be considered unethical, illegal or underhanded. Good ethics contribute to the success of a business. When people know that you're working with their interests in mind, they will start to view your company in a more positive light. By developing a set of moral responsibilities for your company's employees, you can help ensure that the rules are followed.
Make sure you let your team know that you appreciate them greatly. A small thank you note goes a long way to making someone feel good. Even such a small mention of satisfaction can brighten moods tremendously and requires very little effort.
Tenacity is an important leadership quality. If the project goes downhill, you will be the team's guide as far as reaction goes. You should focus on a positive outcome rather than any obstacles that may be in the way. Your persistence will give the group all they need to become motivated.
Following advice when it is correct is a skill that leaders have. You can be confident that the tips here are going to help you. Keep on learning if you want to be the best leader possible.