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Lights and Psyren
by Carlo Santos,
Last week, as tech-savvy types (and the not-so-tech-savvy) reflected upon the passing of Steve Jobs, I found myself in a strange position. You see, I own a Sony Vaio laptop, an Acer netbook, a Sansa MP3 player, a Samsung tablet and cell phone ...
I have never owned an Apple product. But even so, my tech tools and toys are everyone else's attempts to keep up with them. So thank you, Steve, for leading the way.
Vol. 1
(by Yoshinobu Yamada, Kodansha Comics, $10.99)
"Danger and action abound after Akira Sengoku and his classmates crash-land on a deserted island while flying home from a class trip. The island doesn't exist on any maps, but that's not even the strangest part: the animals they find on the island are prehistoric beasts that are supposed to have been extinct for thousands of years! Now Akira and his friends are in danger as the island's residents start eyeing the humans for their next meal. Will they ever solve the mystery of the island and find their way home?"
Ah, nothing like taking a tropical island vacation ... and having to fight ferocious beasts for survival. Cage of Eden is at its best when showing off the bizarre world that Akira has landed in, with its untouched plains and forests contrasting against the horrific prehistoric creations that inhabit it. It's pretty exhilarating seeing our hero try to escape a massive diatryma (think 2-meter tall dodo), and even more of a thrill when a saber-toothed tiger enters the fray. Yoshinobu Yamada shows he's done his research with the detailed, anatomically correct creature designs, and adds plenty of flair with the heavily speedlined action scenes. And then there are all the story details that add up to a gruesome but intriguing mystery: how Akira is only able to find one classmate and a cabin attendant at first, how all the other passengers on the plane are inexplicably missing ... and the big one, how they ever plan to get off the island. More than just a fight for survival, it's about piecing together the evidence and figuring out how the characters got into this situation. And that's a pretty strong hook.
Honestly, this first volume could have used a lot more "fight for survival" material. Instead, it's so intent on filling in the details about Akira's classmates through exposition and back-story that all the cool action scenes account for maybe 15% of the book. The first twenty or so pages, which try to introduce all the kids aboard the plane, end up being filled with the silliest kind of high-school clichés before the crash even happens. The story picks up once Akira is out there fighting for his survival, but another bad plot decision awaits about halfway through: various details about what happened to the other students are explained through extensive videocamera footage. The result is a contrived flashback situation, where instead of simply viewing scenes that happened previously, we're viewing the main characters looking at a video screen showing scenes that happened previously. Yamada's shortcomings as an artist are also evident in the character designs, which boil down to a potpourri of the most common high-school types: the boy hero, the beauty, the geek, the punk, the pervert. Maybe some more time researching human characters, instead of prehistoric beasts, would have helped.
It would be nice to see this series focus more on the monster-battling survival aspect, but this first volume stumbles in a number of ways that make it a C right now.
Vol. 5
(by Mitsuru Adachi, Viz Media, $14.99)
"In the summer of his second year in high school, Ko and the Seishu baseball team must take on mighty Ryuou Gakuin and their genius slugger Keitaro Mishima. With everything on the line, will destiny find Seishu moving on to the next round? Later, new neighbors are setting up shop next to Kitamura Sports, and their daughter bears a striking resemblance to Wakaba..."
Just days ago we were treated to an incredible pitching duel between real-life baseball teams Philadelphia and St. Louis. How appropriate, then, that the first half of Cross Game Vol. 5 shows how it's done manga style. Adachi delivers another two hundred or so pages of flawless freeze-frame action, using economical lines and curves to portray the speed of a pitch and the impact of a ball coming off the bat. Even more importantly, he also portrays the drama between players: the wry looks that they give each other when a play goes their way, the steely determination in their eyes when a crucial matchup looms ... Seriously, if you think low-scoring games are boring—if you think baseball in general is boring—you just haven't experienced its true intensity as brought to life by this series. Then there's the slice-of-life side in the second half, where Adachi shows his knack for attractive, instantly likable characters when a literal girl-next-door shows up in Ko's life. But he never overdoes it with romantic subtext, and seeing the characters live their everyday lives while emotions ebb and flow around them is part of Cross Game's quiet charm.
If we could give awards for hokey plot points, "new girl shows up who looks exactly like long-dead sweetheart" would have plenty of medals pinned to it. The fact that a storyteller as renonwed as Adachi had to throw this development into the series is even more disappointing; the new character's arrival (and resulting storm of gossip) feels more like something out of a delusional high-schooler fanservice manga. And because it happens over summer, after Ko and friends have played in the tournament, that entire story arc lacks a strong sense of direction. No baseball to play? No school to attend? Let's go hang out with the pretty girl who creepily resembles my former childhood crush! But that's not the end of this volume's troubles; the baseball game itself falls victim to the repetitive nature of pitching duels. Suspenseful as a 1-0 or 1-1 score may be, it also means lots of players unimaginatively grounding out to second base, and after a while the action scenes start to look the same. Adachi may draw it (almost) better than anyone else, but even he must realize how repetitive the game can be at times.
Hey, a good ballgame is still a good ballgame! And the pacing moves fast enough that even things like dumb romantic clichés don't stick for too long. Call this one an enjoyable B.
Vol. 2
(by Eri Takenashi, Bandai, $10.99)
"The Goddess Nagi manifested on Earth from a statue carved from the wood of a sacred tree. Now Nagi's younger sister, Zange, arrives on the scene possessing the body of a young girl. On top of that, Jin can't seem to stop Nagi from doing things like starting an official fan club or causing a commotion in a local maid café...
This is the second volume of this whimsical, fantastical comic where nothing quite happens the way you think it will!"
Kannagi is still proudly subverting everything, with Volume 2 taking more sly, self-aware jabs at the entire moe/bishoujo/idol-worship culture. The sudden growth of the Nagi fan club, and the way she "gains a new power" by winning over new friends, pokes fun at society's celebrity obsession where pageviews and Likes count for more than personal accomplishments. Even better is when other characters get in on the fun and the comedic situations start to pile up: the schoolteachers catch on to Nagi's shenanigans and she has to sweet-talk them into letting her stick around; Jin and the art club's excursion to a maid café goes haywire when they realize who the waitresses are; and strong, silent buddy Daitetsu loses his grasp on logic when he tries to comprehend Jin's living arrangements with Nagi. There's also plenty of physical comedy to go with this lively sitcom fare, from outrageous drop-kicks to lightning strikes and magical-girl sorcery (which is perhaps less than magical). Takenashi's clean, crisp artwork is well-suited to the fast comedic pace, allowing the action (and cute characters) to move effortlessly from one scene to the next.
New characters may be joining the fray, but what of the main cast? Amusing as she is, Nagi's act as a flawed goddess who talks funny and is completely full of herself is starting to look pretty one-dimensional. Even if the series is meant to be a loving mockery of the magical-girlfriend subgenre, that's no excuse for it to keep leaning on the "Nagi yells at Jin" gag as a comedic crutch. And the occasional cracks about Nagi's flat chest are just as bad. In fact, if Kannagi really wanted to go against the grain of cheesy wish-fulfilment shounen romances, it would have true character development and believable relationships ... which clearly isn't happening here. The shallow scenarios throughout most of this volume also prove that the jokes aren't as clever as fans might imagine; Eri Takenashi only knows how to deliver unpredictable punchlines but still relies on predictable situations (café/restaurant, teacher's office, shopping trip, and so on) to pull it off. The bland background art and lack of detail also make it look like Takenashi's approach to the art is getting just as lazy as the humor.
Even though the series often falls victim to the trappings of its own genre, there's still this wonderful sense of fun and irreverence that make it worthy of a B.
Vol. 4
(by Seimu Yoshizaki, Viz Media, $12.99)
"A disaffected boy searces for something to put a spark in his tedious life ... and finds a manga that puts the fear of the devil in him.
A guy and a girl can't find anything they have in common—until they discover a multual love of a certain gender-bending martial arts manga.
After a schlubby nerd loses his cool at the handsome manga freaks at Kingyo, a classic horror manga teaches him that beauty is only skin deep.
Natsuki's search for her missing mother takes her to a manga museum that has special meaning for her parents.
Someone is setting fire to used bookstores, and Kingyo may be next—unless two mismatched manga fans can stop the arsonist!"
I've learned to stopped worrying about the fact that Kingyo always brings up obscure, unlicensed manga that might as well be made of unicorn hair. The real magic of this series is how it shows the power of manga as a life-changing touchstone, no matter what the title or who the reader is. Volume 4 brings the message across with an excellent variety of stories, featuring characters from the very old (rediscovering their childhoods) to the very young (elementary-school brats learning the classics for the very first time). The serial-arsonist story even brings an element of crime-procedural suspense to the series, proving that Seimu Yoshizaki does have other story ideas besides just geeks hanging out and chatting. Still, readers who stop and pay attention to those geeky conversations will get the most out of this series, picking up industry trivia and learning manga history the way the Japanese see it. Yoshizaki's character designs are also just as varied as the stories, with manga enthusiasts of different genders, ages, and lifestyles all represented here. Attention to detail and clean layouts also make each page a visual delight—even if people are just standing around talking.
Even though this is one of the better Kingyo volumes as far as story variety and holding the reader's interest, it's still painfully formulaic in the way it invokes the name of a particular manga, gives the plot summary, and then shows how it solves everyone's problems. Trying to impress a pretty girl? Find a manga you have in common! Trying to appeal to an elderly audience? Find manga from their childhoods! After a while it just becomes too unrealistic that every single life issue can magically be fixed by manga. In fact, the only departure from the norm is a chapter where store clerk Natsuki and her mom end up in a museum and learn of a famous editor rather than a specific title. Also, Yoshizaki gets so caught up in the educational aspect of the series that the storytelling suffers: characters keep blabbering on and on with no plot advancement, or flashbacks and scene transitions suddenly occur with little indication that they actually happened. And as for an overarching narrative, or character development among the shop's staff, you can forget about that—like always.
In its attempt to be both entertaining and educational, there are some obvious moments of struggle, but the stories are still interesting enough to earn a B-.
Vol. 1
(by Toshiaki Iwashiro, Viz Media, $9.99)
"Ageha Yoshina just got transported to a warped alternate dimension where you've got to fight your way back to our world—or die trying.
'Save me!' Those were Sakurako Amamiya's last words to her friend Ageha Yoshina before she mysteriously went missing. Now Ageha's on a quest to find her. He's convinced that the mythical Psyren Secret Society has something to do with the recent rash of disappearances. And now he seems to be caught up as a player in their very deadly game..."
They say that first volumes and origin stories have a way of being too predictable. But not in Psyren, which keeps readers on their toes by mixing and matching genre tropes until nobody can guess what kind of story they're getting themselves into. Urban legends, secret societies, unexplained disappearances—and that's just the first chapter, after which Ageha's adventure morphs into this alternate-dimension, monster-battling, possibly post-apocalyptic nightmare. Oh, and instead of scrubby cannon-fodder opponents to start things off easy, our hero is in mortal danger from the moment his quest begins! How's that for exciting? In short, Psyren's white-knuckled sense of peril keeps the momentum buzzing from chapter to chapter, and its habit of withholding information—but explaining just enough to help Ageha survive—adds a touch of mystery as well. Like any good Shonen Jump series, the action scenes also create a spark of energy at all the right moments: either Ageha is running at breakneck speed from serious threats, or he's using every weapon available to lash out at bizarre, unsettling monsters. The sharp lines and details, especially in the alternate dimension, also add some visual polish to this adventure.
Even if you mix and match genre tropes in an attempt to be unpredictable, using the most familiar ones makes things predictable anyway. Despite the surprises up its sleeve, Psyren still falls very much along the lines of "ordinary schoolboy discovers mysterious world/powers and must now battle deadly villains." All it does is add darker elements like secret societies and a kill-or-be-killed game scenario—a thin attempt to mask the obvious clichés. Even the character designs point to how generic the series really is, with its school-aged, spiky-haired boy hero and his lovely but aloof female companion taking the lead roles. Ironically, the secondary characters that come along on Ageha's first mission are more varied in design, but their personalities are so bland that these guys are obviously designed to either die in battle or provide temporary assistance before leaving. The plot itself also moves in a very linear fashion, as the main characters trek through a rocky, featureless world (looks like doesn't care too much about backgrounds) until they get from Point A to Point B, with some battles in between. Imaginative ideas, but unimaginative execution.
If action and adventure are your thing, it may be worth sticking with for a few more volumes, but judged against the best of the best it's more like a C.
Vol. 1
(by Eito Chida, original concept by P.A. Works, Square Enix, ¥571)
"When her mother runs off with her latest boyfriend, Ohana Matsumae is sent to live with her grandmother, whom she has never met nor spoken to. Her grandmother is not pleased to find Ohana on her doorstep, and sets her to work at her Taisho-era (1920s) hot springs inn. It's not a lifestyle that Ohana would have chosen, but she decides not to be discouraged and to make the most of her difficult circumstances."
Not surprisingly, one of the best-loved anime series of the year is also a manga—and it offers a surprisingly different take. Although faithful to the original, this adaptation is written from Ohana's point of view, offering a bubblier, more personal perspective compared to the anime's stately approach. Existing HanaIro fans and newcomers alike will enjoy the energetic pacing of the manga, which plays up the fish-out-of-water angle as Ohana's misplaced eagerness leads to comedic mishaps. However, these are also balanced out by more serious interactions where Ohana learns to conduct herself better in polite society. One particularly touching scenario sees Ohana having an encounter with a struggling author and adopting one of his quotes as a personal motif. The series also presents a visually stunning world, as seen through the inn's historic architecture and its natural surroundings. Artist Eito Chida capitalizes on the unique setting by sketching out a number of full-page spreads, and the last chapter—where the characters find themselves at the seashore—leaves a strong, picturesque impression as the first volume comes to a close. If you already miss the series now that it's over, here's a great way to relive it.
You know what else is a great way to relive Hanasaku Iroha? Just watch the anime again. Sadly, this adaptation is shallower than the original, and worse yet, makes some changes that start it off on the wrong foot. Chapter 1 keeps getting interrupted by flashbacks as Ohana tries to explain the circumstances that landed her at the inn in the first place—interruptions that could have been avoided if those events were simply placed at the beginning of the story. You know, like in the anime. Even after that hiccup, the series continues to be marred by Ohana's constant first-person narration, chirping along like a deranged stream-of-consciousness songbird. Not that there's anything wrong with a bubbly, can-do protagonist, but her personality is so overpowering that the other characters shrink away in comparison. (Not surprisingly, the only other solidly written character in the manga is Ohana's stern grandmother.) Ultimately, the over-reliance on comedy gags, the simple linework, and cutesy character designs add to the impression that this is merely HanaIro Lite—and that fans who want a truly rich, satisfying version will have to get it in another medium.
That's always the problem when something comes out as an adaptation, isn't it? Nonetheless, this is a charming slice-of-life series in a unique setting, and is perfectly enjoyable as long as you don't set expectations too high.
In a column that's all about manga, we love to do the Inception thing and talk about manga-related manga! That's why contributor Avery Lewis is back to look at one of the hottest titles in that field right now.
Is there another "manga about manga" you want to put in the spotlight? Then send in a review to the Reader's Choice section!
Vol. 7
(by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Viz Media, $9.99)
Since its first chapter, Bakuman has gone against all standards that characterize shonen manga, a direct contradiction to what the story actually reveals about the world of creating manga. Volume seven is no different in this respect. One of the slowest volumes in the series, it proves yet again that shouted words can be more exciting than gory violence.
Many important characters get sidestepped like landmines in lieu of the rest of the cast, which is not atypical for this series. Fukuda got maybe two pages total, if even that, while Miho was not even seen, unless one counts her text messages. This volume truly focuses on Mashiro, Akito, Miura, Ko, and, to a lesser extent, Nakai. These characters all have deep moments in this volume that truly allow their characters to shine. The Ashirogi pair argue heatedly against their editor, Miura, while Ko struggles with some advice given to her by her new editor as well as her own emotions. To add to the already overwhelming cast of characters, old faces reemerge and intersect with the current characters. As a final note on the cast in this volume, the characters appear to be better structured in this volume as opposed to the previous one.
It is still surprising that everybody seems to know everybody in this manga. It is like the cast is trapped within a cage that forbids them from interacting with anyone not relevant to the plot. Speaking of being unrealistic, Mashiro and Akito finally seem normal in this volume, at least for a chapter or so, anyway. They (sort of) enjoy free time, go to college, and gaze at girls, just like two healthy teenagers should be doing.
Volume seven suffers from the same problem as the past six volumes: walls of text. The daunting amount of speech bubbles found on every page looks intimidating and might frighten readers away. Though, once one gets past this external appearance, one finds that the enormous amount of dialogue, in some ways, helps the manga excel. More content is covered in Bakuman thanks to its large amount of text, allowing readers to get more substance for their eight dollars than other shonen titles.
Obata and Ohba have twice now proven to the world that all a story needs to be interesting is a solid plot. Excitement does not strictly pertain to action scenes; it can simply be three people sitting in a diner arguing over creative differences. Volume seven, with its superb artwork and even greater storyline, manages to instill a sense of excitement in a reader when exactly that is happening. All in all, this volume won't make anyone sweat with anticipation, but it certainly will grip at one's attention and hold it tight, just as any great story should.
Is there a hidden gem of manga you'd like to reveal to the world? Is there a piece of garbage that deserves to be bashed in public? Or is there a title that didn't get a fair grade here, and you want to set the record straight?
Now's YOUR chance to be the reviewer! Write a review of about 300-400 words (a little more or less is fine) and include:
- Your name
- Title of manga (and volume no., if applicable)
- Author/Artist
- Publisher
- Briefly describe the story, then explain why this manga is great, terrible, or in between. Be objective, but also be entertaining.
Then send it in to rtoreaders (at) gmail (dot) com (plain text format preferred). One review will be selected out of all the submissions and will be published in the next column. All types of manga and manga-inspired comickry are accepted, from past and present, from Japan and beyond—what matters is that it's the Reader's Choice! NOTE: Submissions may be edited for formatting and grammar.
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Personalised Number Plate InformationAll the information you need to buy or sell your registration number
84 SS Number Plate
84 SS Number Plate
Number plate results shown. If you want to go to our main website you can use our reg plate search facility.
Regplates have over 99% of all available number plates available to buy online 24 hours a day. We are members of MIRAD, APRT & CNG trade dealers associations.
All number plates are transferred in accordance with the DVLA.
Unfortunately 84 SS Number Plate From Regplates.com has now been sold, however, click below to search for similar numbers we do have available or call us on 01482 627 628
Search for available registrations similar to 84 SS
Our team of trained personalised number plate staff will professionally handle your transfer as swiftly as possible with all paperwork change over handled for you including the V5, tax disc and MOT certificate. We offer advice without technical 'jargon', and are always competitive on price.
If you are looking to sell a private plate, our personalised registration plates valuations department can give you an accurate market value on your registration number by post or by e-mail.
Personalised Cherished Number Plates
Since their humble beginning in 1903, cherished numbers have continued to increase in popularity often adding the finishing touch to our prized possessions and very often prove to be a valuable investment.
The First Number Plate Ever Issued
A1 assigned in 1903
The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry number plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.
You can find out where your personalised registration number plate was originally issued here.
Are you a cat lover with a few hundred quid to spare? How about a huge Dennis the Menace fan keen to show your appreciation via the medium of your motor?
Well you're in luck as the DVLA – the body in charge of car registrations in the UK – is holding 2017's first live auction of registration numbers this week and among the plates on offer are WH15 KER ( yours for a starting price of £700) and BE11 ANO (a mere £400).
The event – which starts on Wednesday – will see a total of 1,500 personalised registrations being auctioned to members of the public.
The registrations on offer have been chosen by DVLA to suit all tastes, styles and budgets and range from plates that reflect names such as EL17 OTT, HA15 RRY and PA14 ULA through to quirkier offerings such as OUR 848Y, OLD 800K and YOU 105E.
And fans of Harry Potter could find themselves spellbound by POT 110N which carries a reserve of £250.
The agency will be aiming to build on the success of its live auction programme in 2016, which raised £25.6 million through five sales – setting a new record for a second consecutive year. Last year, the total sales of personalised registrations by the DVLA surpassed £147m, taking the total amount raised since the sales began in September 1989 to £2.4 billion.
Sales by the agency suggest that interest in personalised plates has soared in recent years with a 150 per cent increase of registered bidders for its live sales since 2011. On average 9,500 customers com[pete for lots per auction.
Adam Griffiths, of DVLA Personalised Registrations, said: "It's been nearly three months since our last live sale, and I am really excited by our first sale of 2017 where some really great registrations are available to bid for. We have experienced two successive record-breaking years and, when you look through the catalogue at the registrations we have compiled for this sale, I am very hopeful that this success will continue."
He added: "Bidding in person is by far the most popular way to buy a registration and it is at the auction where you will find the real atmosphere – it's a great day out and we make the experience as enjoyable and friendly as possible. If you can't make it to the auction we offer free telephone, internet and absent bidding facilities".
Just some of the 1,500 personalised registrations included in the forthcoming sale include:
115 A (reserve – £2,500), ABY 641L (£250), AMB 2R (£350), ARO 88IE (£250), AUS 111E (£250), 350 B (£2,500), B111 NDS (£250), B111 NKY (£250), BA11 DGE (£400), BE11 ANO (£400), BOS 551E (£250), BUB 4 (£1,200), 105 C (£2,500), CA17 RLY (£400), 888 CM (£2,200), 8111 D (£2,500), 247 DR (£2,200), 845 E (£2,500), ENS 20 (£1,200), FAS 70 (£1,200), FEZ 488 (£300), 458 FUN (£1,200), 111 G (£2,500), GA13 BBY (£400), GET 81G (£300), GTR 2R (£350), 120 H (£2,500), HGV 81G (£300), HOT 911A (£250), IG 111 (£2,200), 1000 J (£2,500), JOS 55H (£300), KAR 4H (£350), LE66 OTT (£700), 811 LS (£2,500), 500 M (£2,500), MAX 80W (£300), NAZ 5 (£500), NER 111S (£250), 72 O (£2,500), (£400), POT 110N (£250), RO13 BYS (£700), SMY 17H (£300), 801 T (£2,500), 812 TH (£2,200), TW15 TER (£700), UV51 NGH (£700), VAZ 110 (£300), W42 DLE (£250), W166 LES (£250), WH15 KER (£700), 222 X (£2,500).
As a company we sponsor sporting events such as the 'White Gold Cup', and many local events for clubs, charities and schools.
We also sponsor the Generation FMX freestlye motocross team.
So let the experts take the stress out of buying or selling your registration mark. Why not browse this site, and if you need any further assistance, we are on hand from 9am until 7pm Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm Sunday.
Police patrolling the M6 north pulled over a pricey Lamborghini after it was spotted missing a NUMBERPLATE.
The pricey supercar - which can cost around £200,000 - was stopped in Staffordshire on Sunday.
It is not uncommon for number plates to be stolen from vehicles.
Criminals target cars that are similar to the car they are driving, in an attempt to avoid apprehension and identification when committing crimes.
If you ask someone who has had their plates stolen, they will soon tell you how costly, inconvenient and stressful it can be.
Police are asking community members to do all they can to secure their number plates and make them more difficult to remove. Police will continue to target and detect offenders, but they need your help.
If you notice your neighbour's registration plate is recently missing, tell them, and encourage them to report it to police immediately.
If your number plates are stolen you will firstly need to report the theft to your local police. You will need to contact Service Tasmania and pay to get new plates. You will also need to contact your insurance company.
You will have some explaining to do if you are pulled up by the police as it is also an offence to drive a car without plates affixed.
A stolen number plate is most likely being used on a car that is being driven by someone without a licence or is disqualified from driving, and is potentially an unsafe or dangerous driver. They are also actively avoiding police in order to commit a range of crimes including petrol stealing, car theft and burglaries.
Thefts are occurring during the day and night and are being stolen from cars parked in all areas including carparks, public streets and private driveways.
Park your car in a secure place, off the street, ideally with garaging and sensor lighting. Stay alert, report suspicious behaviour to police.
Kicking off on 6 February to coincide with 'Safer Internet Day', the campaign seeks to remind people that the only place to find DVLA services is on Gov.uk, and that any text or email asking for personal information is not from the DVLA and should be deleted without clicking.
Aimed at all motorists, the campaign's emphasis is on digital channels, as online is where phishing is most prevalent.
But the DVLA recognises that, given the broad age range of its audience, many motorists renew their car tax by phone. The organisation is therefore targeting traditional media too.
With social the medium of choice (via the DVLA's Twitter and Facebook channels), impactful imagery is being used to convey the message, built on a 'mask' visual depicting danger and crookery.
The campaign's central message is telling people what they should and should not expect when dealing with the DVLA online or on the phone. Activity encourages people to click through to a DVLA news story that gives details on staying safe online and on the phone. It provides links to sites including Get Safe Online and various government portals where they can report suspicious behaviour.
The timescale of the campaign is indefinite, with the DVLA planning to reinforce its messaging on a regular basis into the long term.
Measuring the campaign's impact will be a critical element in the push. The DVLA will track the number of views to its news story and is monitoring impressions and engagement on social media, its media coverage and calls and complaints made to its call centre.
Liz Rees, the DVLA's head of external comms, said: "We often receive messages from customers and colleagues about refund scams purporting to be from DVLA. More recently, people have been posting their documents online without realising that their personal details are clearly visible. It's important that motorists understand the risks of posting personal details online.
"We also want to remind them that we will not send any texts or emails asking for personal details and that the only place to find official DVLA services and information is Gov.uk."
The UK's most expensive number plate to date is the F1 registration number purchased by a British businessman for £440,625 in 2008, though that's just small change compared to the £7m spent by Abu Dhabi-based Saeed Khouri on the 1 number plate - officially the largest sum of money ever spent on a registration number.
The Licensing Agency, Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is all set to offer 250 licensing plates comprising 3, 4 and 5 digits in its forthcoming 51st online auction. Plates on offer bear the Codes (H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, and T). Registration of bidders starts on Sunday 21st January. The bidding will start at 08:00 am on 28th Jan 2018 and continue for five days.
"The wide participation of the public in online or open auctions and the positive competition to grab such numbers underscore the importance of holding these auctions in bringing happiness & satisfaction to number plate enthusiasts," Sultan Al Marzouqi, Director of Vehicles licensing, RTA Licensing Agency.
Al Marzouqi highlighted the importance of online auctions to a large segment of community members who prefer such particular auctions as they find the liberty of selecting their fancied numbers in a hassle-free environment. "These auctions also contribute to enhancing the online services of the RTA under its annual plan aimed at improving the quality and standard of processing public transactions," he commented.
"Participation in the auction requires the client to have an account opened through RTA's website (www.rta.ae) or use the 'New User' link to obtain a Username and Password. For a new registration, the user is required to have either a vehicle registered in Dubai or a driver license issued from Dubai. For participating in the auction, the bidder is required to issue a security cheque to the order of the RTA amounting to AED5,000 and deposit it to one of RTA's Customers Happiness Centers at Umm Al Ramool, Bur Dubai, Deira or Al Tawar Municipal Centre. In the case of payment by a credit card, the client must also deposit five thousand dirhams as security. Clients have also to pay 120 dirhams as participation fees through the website (www.rta.ae)" explained Al Marzouqi.
"The successful bidder has to clear the due amount within ten working days from the Auction Closing Date by cash or credit card through centres of service providers or RTA's Customer Happiness Centers. Cash payments are acceptable up to AED 50,000. For higher amounts, customers can make payment by a certified check or credit card, or pay online using a credit card too. Failure to clear due payments will result in entering the bidder in the list of defaulters," he added.
"A dedicated team at RTA's Call Center has been furnished with all information related to the auction, and stands ready to respond to any public inquiries relating to procedures of participation or payment through the toll-free number 8009090," concluded Al Marzouqi.
For the motorist who has everything, including a sense of humour! - Reg Plate Special Cherished number plate dealer Image Registrations are offering a unique opportunity for the savvy motorist to show they have the vehicle, the reg plate and a sense of humour! The East Yorkshire based company are marketing the ultimate reg plate to make a tongue in cheek statement.
car registration VUL 64R is offered for sale at £3395, a snip compared to the 'phantom' or 'hummer' it may well end up displayed on.
We think this registration plate will appeal to clients who have all the toys and appreciate the fun aspect of this unique reg number plate" said Bruno Morris at Image Registrations. He went on to say "the plate reads so well as it is almost a prefect spelling of vulgar!".
VUL 64R can be purchased now through Image Registrations, online at www.regplates.com or by telephone on 01482 627 628."
When you key in the vehicle number there is an immediate response which shows its make, model, age, colour, insurance status and owner. Databases know all that for every vehicle, instantly.
It's amazing how law-abiding everyone becomes when the whole lot is known, and joined up. Without exception. In a blink. And with very little time cost or inconvenience.
So why can't your PIN be like your number plate, holding an interconnected record of everything anyone has a right to know about you. No more forms and questionnaires and endless administrative complication and time cost-for a bank account, a mobile phone, a car log book, a licence, a permit, a title deed, service utilities, passport renewal or whatever.
Just key in your PIN and a password that gives your permission, and any supplier will have instant and complete access to the (selective) information the law entitles them to.
Computers do all the crunching and privacy categorising, and keep a permanent digital record to guarantee an audit trail that will keep everybody honest-including the administrators.
And if things can be joined up per person, they can also be joined up for all the people and provide a treasure chest of national statistics for planners and the general public.
As a non-contentious example, we could know the total number of vehicles, their class proportions, age - and anything else about them of use, interest or importance at the push of a button.
There are lots of reasons why we need to know more about our national fleet of vehicles with four wheels or more. But robust data is somewhere between scant, inconsistent and non-existent.
We have to resort to extrapolation, a bit like this: In the past decade, all Kenya's main motor companies have sold about 140,000 new vehicles of every shape and size from town runabouts to prime mover trucks.
That figure represents about 10 per cent (maybe) of today's total national road-going fleet of things with four wheels or more. The average age of that portion is about 5 years.
Over the same period, there have been about 860,000 used imports mostly aged about 8 years on arrival.
The average age of that contingent today is therefore around 13 years. Put both groups together and you have a million vehicles with an average age of about 12 years.
The rest of the fleet about 400,000 - was already here 10 years ago, having arrived in much the same new-used proportions. So that segment's average age was also around 12, and is therefore now around 22.
With some slightly trickier arithmetic, we can therefore estimate that the overall average age of all the vehicles in Kenya today is about 15 years. That's not a precise fact, but it is a strongly indicative probability.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Adult Cane Corso Mastiff available!!
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This inaugural demonstration camp was the "proof of concept", and the concept seems to work: a girls-only math camp, focusing on what they'll see come the new school year. For the next SuperGirl Math Camp coming up August 5-9 (also for fifth graders), we have nine girls signed up, one slot remaining.
I promised the girls that we would begin and end end each day with "Weird", an unusual application of fractions. On our first morning, we studied the proportions of Bart Simpson and other characters using marked-up rubber bands. You can see that Bart' head measures a little more than a third of his overall height.
We did two experiments applying ratios to cooking. One with orange juice: can the girls taste the difference between a 1:3 concentrate:water and a 2:5 ratio?Our second ratio experiment, trying different ratios of butter:sugar:flour for cookies. We also added various toppings. At first they referred to the cookies by their toppings ("the one with almonds and vanilla") but they came to realize that toppings were superficial, and that the structure of the cookie was determined by the butter:sugar:flour ratio. Missing, for example, is a photograph of the inedible greasy cookie blob because the ratio of butter to flour was way too high.
In the middle of each morning, we had two sessions of "Practice." Here, the girls took 45 minutes to make representations of halves, thirds, and fourths. They are using Cuisenaire Rods, an elegant math manipulative that I've used to teach everything from kindergarten math to algebra. In the course of their work, we cleared up several misunderstandings they had about the nature of fractions.
One of our two field trips was to the Hazel Wolf in the Brower Center, Berkeley, where there is an interesting exhibit on relationships and sociability — a relevant topic for fifth grade girls. In the photo are two maps of race by Census tract in Alameda County, the usual way you or I would probably represent it on the paper, and a very different way of visualizing it in the artwork. Both are true; both are very accurate. The girls stayed with this over a half hour to puzzle through the differences.
The two sketches on the right are of a landscape in the exhibit, showing the proportions of rock, sand, and sky. But in her first drawing, the student saw the proportions inaccurately — that happens to most of us when we encounter extreme proportions; our mind doesn't believe what our eyes see and we tend to see proportions as less extreme. The second is her corrected version. [And I made a mistake by not insisting that her second sketch be the same overall size.]
We are fortunate to have camp in a home rather than in an institution, and we used the moods of three contrasting rooms for our daily Weird, Practice, and Talking Time (plus a fourth, the kitchen for our experiments.) During Talking Time, I asked questions that they answered in their math diaries and then shared aloud: what are your past experiences with math? when (in any field) have you taught yourself something new? And we continued the theme of "relationships." Since we'll be meeting twice a month during the school year, we discussed how we can support each other and work together as a team.
During our Tuesday Math Walk, I posed a problem: "How much money does the City of Berkeley collect on this block in parking meter fees each day?" It took them 2 minutes, 51 seconds to solve, and I saw so many good morals from the process that I decided to go deeper into it. On Wednesday, after much discussion and several rehearsals, we shot a video reenactment of solving the parking meter problem. Then on Thursday, an unexpected payoff: overnight, one student spontaneously made up her own problem of a similar sort, "how many times does the gate in front of my house swing back and forth in a year?" She is starting to see her world differently! In the end, more important than giving the teacher the right answer is asking yourself interesting questions.


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Well, we do graduate jobs differently
At Pareto, we don't just find you a job in sales—we match you to your perfect role and support you in building your graduate career. We work with a number of clients including big names such as Virgin, Oracle, Finastra, Access Group and Adobe, fast tracking graduates into sales and tech positions. What sets us apart from other graduate recruitment agencies is that we also offer training; if you're placed in a graduate sales job by us you'll receive 128 hours of training and support. This means you'll be off to a flying start, with all the training and support you need to make a big impact in your new career.
Why Pareto for graduate sales jobs?
As a leading graduate recruitment agency, we have links with some amazing companies. We place around 2000 graduates into sales and tech roles each year. Our Graduate Management Team go beyond your CV to find out exactly what role suits you. Our one-to-one coaching and mentoring will ensure you're confident and prepared, from application to placement. Typical graduate sales jobs include Account Manager, Sales Executive and Business Development Executive.Search jobs
A proven graduate recruitment process
Many of our graduates have risen through the ranks to become business leaders of the future—and it all started with our graduate recruitment process. After a comprehensive telephone interview, we invite those who are successful to one of our unique graduate assessment days. We run up to four assessment days a week around the UK and in the US, assessing core competencies and raw potential to find out how you can fit into graduate jobs in the worlds of sales or tech.Discover Our Process
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Pareto isn't simply a successful graduate sales recruitment agency, we also specialise in providing market-leading training. As a graduate being placed through us, you benefit from the tools you need to hit the ground running in your graduate career. We provide training, support and accreditation opportunities from the foundations of your career to executive level.Find out more
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While you might enjoy being left alone to work, the chances of miscommunication soar when you cannot routinely interact face to face. When you operate in the same building as your higher-ups, you can tap informal communication channels, such as leaving key documents on someone's chair or overhearing whether a meeting is about to end so that you can nab your boss on the way out.
But that doesn't mean you're doomed if you're posted far away. Here's how to stay in the loop:
Establish routines. Get your boss into the habit of expecting certain things from you. Examples: Call at a certain time every day to review the day's numbers, or e-mail lunch time status reports that summarize your team's daily production rate. By training your bosses to expect your incoming calls or memos, you never stray far from their minds.
Hold conference calls. Suggest getting three or four people on the phone at once for a quick "telemeeting." This way, you reduce the likelihood that your message will get distorted when relayed from one of your bosses to another. And by holding a conversation with key decision makers at once, you ensure that everyone will know what everyone else thinks at the same time.
Confirm every commitment in writing. When you promise to get something done, make it official. Don't just tell your boss over the phone that it'll be taken care of. Send a follow-up fax or email confirming the facts that you agreed to verbally.
Visit regularly. Find a reason to spend at least a few hours of "face time" in the office every month or two. Plan your office visit carefully to maximize the number of people you see during your limited time.


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Last year (2016) I managed to get through a horror film a day for the entirety of October and it was really good fun. So here I am doing it again. 31 days, 31 films and hopefully mostly ones that I haven't seen before ranging from the very early to the more recent and some international flavours too!
This year I'm joining in with Marcus from TheMarkoguy and his aptly titled Month of Spooks, so please check out his site and see what he's watching as well.
You should be able to see the films that I watched last year by clicking on the slider above. This years films, and their reviews, will mysteriously appear below as and when they are watched and written.


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25 Funny Illustrations To Help You Figure Out If You're An Adult
Adults. Always with their shenanigans, am I right? But what if there's a twist… what if… you're one of them!?
If you're not sure, Chicago-based art director Cristina Vanko can help you to figure it out. She's just finished an illustration series called "100 Days of Adulting" where she drew a hundred humorous comics that show what adulthood is all about.
She starts each comic with "You know you're an adult when…" How would you finish that sentence?
More info: instagram | demilked (h/t: designtaxi)
Incoming search terms:
- Funny Adult figure out the pics (1)


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Online gambling and casinos are exceptionally prevalent for an assortment of reasons, including the simplicity of playing, and the capacity to play these games from the solace of your own home. For some individuals, an excursion to Vegas is impossible because of money related reasons, or they simply would prefer not to manage the hordes of individuals once they arrive. Despite why you play casino games, or bet online, you ought to know the lawful guidelines that administer the destinations, and what you can and can't play or win.
As per the specialists, there are a couple of things that you ought to remember before making your first wager or playing your first casino amusement. These tips include:
1) Make beyond any doubt you read the disclaimers page (in some cases recorded as terms and conditions) before signing on. In the event that there is something that you don't comprehend, ensure there is an approach to get a careful determination before continuing.
2) If there are significant issues with the welcome or point of arrival, for example, glaring spelling or linguistic blunders, or sentences that don't bode well, then hope to discover the destinations nation of starting point. There are sure nations that you ought to abstain from gambling with for legitimate reasons. In the event that you can't discover the originator and where they are from, maintain a strategic distance from that site.
3) Understand all tenets, including the amount you can win every day and what happens to your rewards on the off chance that you surpass this sum.
4) Consider utilizing an alternate email to sign onto a casino or gambling account as opposed to connecting your general or ordinary one.
5) Keep the greater part of your passwords, screen names and other log in data for any casino or gambling site in a secured site so that there won't be any issue with unapproved clients.
At long last, ensure that the gambling or online casino games that you are needing to play are lawful in your general vicinity there are such a variety of lawful escape clauses and issues to battle with, it might be beside difficult to be totally inside the law on this specific issue, however you can ensure that you take each sensible precautionary measure to be lawful. Ensure that you are managing a secured site before giving out your charge card furthermore ensure that there are different strategies for paying and accepting installment. (i.e. Paypal, or other secure pay locales)


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Best Practice of the Month
Coming Soon!
Welcome to the #1 website for locating certified providers for your DOT physical!
You don't need to be reminded how important it is to stay current with your DOT certification. Your livelihood depends on it! Now, DriverPhysicals.com makes it easier than ever for you to find a Certified DOT Medical Examiner in your area to perform your DOT Physical. All CDL holders must get their DOT Physical from a certified medical provider.
Find A Location
Click on the map at the top of this page to find a convenient location for your DOT Physical, or click on any of the states listed at the bottom of this page! You'll be able to find all the information you need to locate a qualified medical examiner, including detailed maps, their office hours, prices and all of the services they provide.
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Most examiners will have the all the forms you will need for your certification, however if you would like to save some time by printing the DOT Physical forms before your appointment, please visit our "Useful Links" section and click on the forms you want to print.
We can save you money too!
Many of our certified DOT medical examiners offer a discount when you pre-pay for your examination on our website. Please visit their individual locations on the map above to see which examiners provide a discount!


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German Bliss is further building its reputation on the web having recently launched its online Woods parts division. Providing a wide variety of Woods replacement parts for various earth-moving equipment and mowers, German Bliss offers one of the most comprehensive selection of Woods equipment parts online.
Whether you are in dire need of Woods mower parts for your CWB, Woods Mow'n Machine, Turf Batwing, or rotary cutter, the online parts store of German Bliss has recently unveiled a new full (and continuously growing) division for Woods parts online.
Shop Woods Parts With Confidence
This new division for Woods parts offer at German Bliss gives a wide range options to suit precise needs and specifications. In fact, a clear PDF parts manuals is usually displayed with the part itself on the company's website. In term of bulk purchases and popular models, German Bliss is the one-stop online destination for reliable Woods equipment parts.
The company offers a broad variety of Woods OEM parts together with parts diagrams to make sure you make the right choice when you are making purchases. They strive to be one of the undisputed parts professional for earth-moving equipment, mowers, and other machines.
Supporting a Leading Name in Land Clearing Equipment
Woods equipment is among the most premium names in earthmoving and land clearing machines. Woods Batwing rotary cutter has been made for operations even on the excesses of the actual world use. Whether cutting grass or mowing pastures, Woods has the best rotary cutters that match a wide range of requirements.
Woods provides a good range of the rotary cutters as well as parts to fit the financial capability. The top Woods Batwing cutters consist of Woods MD315Q-5 SN 5000 and Up Cutter, Woods HD315Q-5 Batwing Cutter, HD210R-5 Rotary Cutter, among others.
Extensive Selection Of Woods Mower Parts
With regards to Woods mower parts for rotary cutters and finish mowers, German Bliss also offers replacement parts for 18 models of (CWB) Commercial Walker Behind mowers. It features a pistol grip and twin loop as in the case of the gear models and hydrostatic mowers, plus pistol grip controls are given. For the best cut in all seasons and conditions each of the model of CWB mower consist of a 7-gauge fabricated deck for optimized function.
German Bliss is very proud to be one of the most reliable dealers of Woods equipment parts on the web. The high demand for top notch replacements, especially for premium equipment and even mowers such as Woods, is high; but, the supply for highly specific and specialized Woods parts is limited.
Shop Woods mower parts as well as Woods replacement parts for various other equipment by visiting GermanBliss.com.


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Nokia surprised the Windows Phone community today with an announcement that the Nokia Lumia "Black" update rollout was now underway. On top of that, Nokia revealed a new feature that is now available – called App Folders.
With App Folders, you can create folders with apps inside them, similar to the functionality found on Android and iOS. This can be rather convenient for those who wish to better organize their Start screen. You don't even need the "Black" firmware update in order to use this app. In fact, we have received word that those on the "Amber" update can install this app just fine.
This app is exclusive to Nokia Windows Phone 8 devices. "Tidy up your Start screen and make things easier to find with App Folder. You can gather similar apps together or keep your most used settings in one place – it's up to you. Simply create and name a folder, add the apps and settings you want, and then pin it to your Start screen. You can create as many app folders as you need and edit them as you go," the app description reads.
Hit the download link below to snag the app. Remember, you are required to have a Nokia Lumia device in order to snag this app.Nokia, Windows Phone


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Today most of Spain's area is located in southwestern Europe with the mainland of the country that is south of France and the Pyrenees Mountains and east of Portugal.
However it also has territory in Morocco, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, islands off the coast of Morocco as well as the Canary Islands in the Atlantic and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. All of this land area makes Spain the second largest country in Europe behind France.
Most of the topography of Spain consists of flat plains that are surrounded by rugged, undeveloped hills. The northern part of the country however is dominated by the Pyrenees Mountains. The highest point in Spain is located in the Canary Islands with Pico de Teide at 12,198 feet (3,718 m).
The climate of Spain is temperate with hot summers and cold winters inland and cloudy, cool summers and cool winters along the coast. Madrid, located inland in the center of Spain has a average January low temperature of 37˚F (3˚C) and a July average high of 88˚F (31˚C).
More: http://geography.about.com/od/spainmaps/a/spain-geography.htm
Learn more about Spain during your internship! Our hotels are waiting for YOU - Apply now


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Pti Worldwide is a business we are proud of. Whether it's delivering training, speaking at a conference, attending a meeting, coaching or consulting, every team member every day turns their passion and purpose into tangible, quantifiable and measurable outcomes. In doing so, we change the way businesses and individuals think, feel and act.
Our passion & purpose in action:


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Ask us about our Paw Plans! Pet Wellness Packages with monthly payment options!~
*Cannot be combined with any other offer. Must mention discount during the time of scheduling. See hospital manager for details. Limited time offer.
Offer #: 1262-5504-1460495561
Scenic Hills Animal Hospital
1939 Burns Ave Saint Paul, MN 55119 (651) 964-6403


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Golden Isles
Military Officers Association of America
Welcome to the Golden Isles Chapter
2019 Scholarship
May 5. 2019 Scholarship Meeting Slideshow
Events 2019
17 February
05 May Scholarship Dinner
15 September Luncheon
27 October Luncheon
01 December Christmas Gala Dinner
The Golden Isles Chapter of MOAA was chartered in 1964. Our
membership lives in the Golden Isles area of Brunswick, St. Simons Island,
Jekyll Island, Sea Island and surroundings counties.
We meet at the Sea Palms Resort on St. Simons Island, GA. Our dress code is coat and tie for the gentlemen
and appropriate attire for the Ladies.
We have a social hour and a served dinner followed by a
formal program. We have been able to attract prominent national, as well as
local speakers for our programs.
Each year the chapter provides a scholarship to a student
from each of the three Glynn County High Schools. All students in good standing
are eligible to apply for these scholarships.
Membership is open to active duty, retired, National Guard,
reserve, former commissioned officers and warrant officers of the Army, Marine
Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Auxiliary memberships are also available for
surviving spouses of deceased officers.
TAPS at Twilight - St. Simons Rotary
Memorial Day Annual Event
Veterans Walk
Coastal Georgia
Honor Flight
May 4, 2019
Flight Video
MOAA is a powerful
Voice ... speaking for a strong national defense. MOAA is the nation's largest
and most influential association of military officers.
We are independent, nonprofit, and politically nonpartisan.


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Today's punching bag article is "List of ministers of the environment". This is potentially interesting information, perhaps, but it is presented in such a mindwrenchingly bad way that it should probably just be deleted.
The main problem is the use of multiple unaligned tables. Each country's listings are in independent tables, which means the columns do not line up from section to section. This largely defeats the purpose of having columns.
In addition, significant amounts of information are being conveyed using shaded pastel colors. (This is actually how this article came to my attention: it abuses the {{yes2}} and {{no2}} templates to get the coloring. Formerly it used the {{but-yes}} and {{but-no}} templates, but that was recently changed when those templates were deleted.) This is unfriendly to color-blind readers; the red and green colors used for those boxes are visually indistinguishable to someone with protanopy.
There is an argument that concluding that some of these people qualify as "ministers of the environment" constitutes original research. At the very least, the sources that support identifying any particular position as a "minister of the environment" need to be more clearly associated with the individual claims.
Ideally, all of the information on this list would be moved into relevant articles as metadata and the list generated automatically from the metadata. This is a persistent problem with Wikipedia lists.


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Emery cheated this year and went with a template. That is just wrong. The template assumes you were good all year and clearly there is much to question about such a generality.
Here's Emery's letter, you can see what she really wants. I hope Santa makes it happen!
Eugene took this picture above of Emery and Penny. What a great pic of the two of them. We decorated the tree and made the house festive today.


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Consulting Associate Interview Questions
Consulting associate interview questions shared by candidates
Top Interview Questions
Associate Consultant at Bain & Company was asked...
Estimate how many windows are in New York34 Answers
Divide and conquer. I may not know the answer to the question, but I can determine the answer because I can approximate two supportnig questions: * How many people are in New York (City or State, btw) * How many windows, on average, does each person have (home, car, work, shopping center, ....) I'll say 10M in NYC and 10 windows per person so my answer is 100M windows in NYC.
10 windows per person?!?! I want to see what apartment you're living in!!
he said 10 windows per person total (including car, home etc). 10 makes good sense. However, i do believe you'll have to go deeper than that. i.e- calculate that, add businesses, shopping centres, cabs and passing cars etc.
Show More Responses
I would have said , "if you hire me, I'll get my team on that right away."
Not everyone in the city has a vehicle, so 10 per person can't be the basis of calculation.
Define "New York".
Should the answer include opportunities and operating systems?
There is an N, e, w, a Y....nope, no windows
Since Bain is a consulting firm, this question seems to be used as a way to probe applicant's approach to engagement problems. First ask questions to clarify the goal. Is New York the city, the state, or another municipality that happens to also be called New York, such as New York, Texas. Are we talking about windows on a building, or will it also include car windows, store shelf windows, or maybe even MS Windows licenses. After the information is clarified, it's time to analyze. Estimating the population and estimate an average number of windows per person is one approach, but it may seem too general. Another approach can be divide and conquer. Estimate the number of residential houses, estimate the number of offices, and number of vehicles, etc, and multiply by an average number for each type of structure. Round the number to the nearest million or tenth of million to make it easy to remember for the client.
I don't do windows, sorry
I gather that this very important question has some significant meaning to you, and I feel you should hire me to get to work on the answer right away. I'm going to need some support staff for this, and a travel expenses budget, and a small but dedicatd team of window counters. Gosh, see how when you ask me a question of genuine importance, I get all fired up?
"call Microsoft"
Show More Responses
Four, the answer is four.
Seriously?! No.
Simple, all of them.
If you are going to estimate correctly, you need to come up with a range. A single point estimate is pretty much guaranteed to be wrong. No matter which approach you take (average building floors by average number of windows, people * number of windows, etc), at best you get a midpoint of a range. The question is how wide does the range need to be? At this point, with little information, you need a pretty wide estimate (in the million window + range).
Exactly why I was thinking of Corning as a great Private Equity deal! Let me explain...and let's take this one step further...let's start with the Eastern Seabord, and the number of windows that are really hurricane proof..now let's look at the advantages of Gorilla Glass, it's uses, and strategic opportunities...let's go bigger than New York!
as many as the glasses..
new y " O " rk. only one window.
I personally don't have the answer but I will find out and get back to you. When do you need to have a response?
windows 8
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do i include window's on every1's computers monitor or laptop for this?? if so then 10 windows per person at instant will be less caz the question is not clear at all,
only one microsoft windows
more than door............
1 window compulsory = no. of houses in NY
There are 271,925,321 windows. If there are more windows then it would have been made after the survey and if it is less, then it would have broken down.
Are you talking about glass pained windows? Do double pained windows count as two or only one. Should I include MS Windows? What about the number of windows the average person has open at any one time? Which version of MS Windows? Are we talking both server and desktop versions of Windows? I know the answers to all of these questions, but I need to know which ones you want included in the answer. Then (if you have some paper) write some numbers down, do some calculations and give them an answer of some big number that is based on the calculations you made. (This is a question where they are trying to see if you can think outside the box and come up with some sort of reasonable estimate. There is no right answer that can be acheived or verified.)
There are no windows for new york because it is a city not a house to provide windows
@Bill: you forget '2' the after the '4'
People 50m=dwelling x 5 windows =250million
What size is your window dimensions ? Large commercial could equal 4 residential size windows. Do you consider single pane or double glass as still one window ? What about glass block windows, do they count ? Like Carl Segan used to say, billions and billions...
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When I think about this question I would want to simplify the categories into Residence windows and Business windows (other types exist but this should cover a large majority of standard construction windows). Starting with residency, I'll assume ~15M New York population, with roughly 80% in apartments and 20% in homes. Of the apartments I'd go with an average occupancy of 2, and home of 3. Then thinking about how many windows are in typical rooms in each residency (bedroom, dining, kitchen etc.) I came up with 14 windows in homes and 5 in apartments. Multiplying the numbers correctly I came up with 30M apartment windows and 14M home windows. Then for business windows, I decided that an appropriate number would be 80% of population is working, 20% with their own office which has one window. The other people are in shared work spaces, which I will assume on average have half as many windows as people. When multiplying these correctly I got 7.2M business windows. Total I ended up at 51.2 M windows.
How many passengers leave JFK airport on a given day.19 Answers
Not sure: approx. 100,000?
1.5 million
no matter if they are flying in or out, they all leave
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My answer would have been the same: "Pretty much all of them!" :)
planes leave, people board.
ALL OF EM ! (and to elaborate - The no. of ppl flying in + the no. of ppl flying out --all leave basically some on foot and other on air
All leave except for Tom Hanks, he stays stuck in "The Terminal"....... (You have to include some humor when you answer :)
how is this a brain teaser?
This question tests how you think critically. In this example, you could start with estimating that JFK has about 100 gates, and that a plane leaves from a gate every 3 hours, totaling 800 flights per day. Guessing that the average plane holds 200 passengers, you arrive at 160,000 per day departing. The interviewer is not as interested that you get the right, or even close, answer, but rather the thought process you go through to figure it out. For those that are interested, the real number is about 131,000 per day based on statistics from 2007.
the question was "How many passengers leave JFK airport on a given day.?" my answer is the (number of people arrives that day )+( the employees work there (except for the security guards)) after all no-one stays on the airport forever
The answer is the thought process, as above. Personally, I'd have started with the number of flights: flight frequency per runway * runways * open hours. Assume half are leaving, then guess the number of passengers per plane. I might also point out that the number of assumptions multiplied together in that calc is such that you're unlikely to be within an order of magnitude of the right answer...
Tim Besse stole my answer! And I thought I was the only one who thought of that. Seriously though, if I was asked this question in an interview I would answer "probably about half" figuring that half the flights are departing and half are arrivals, similar to what another poster stated. Depending on the position you are interviewing for they may be impressed by you going through a long critical calculation, I don't know. In my line of work, character is more important that pure intelligence.
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all of them
100% 1. Those passengers that arrive on an airplane either leave by another plane or leave the airport by other means. 2. Those passengers that arrive by other means take a plane and leave or they are not passengers. 3. That is, if you exclude those that are still there at midnight. You can assume this number is constant from night to night.
Well, there are passengers in cars that come and go, those onboard planes that do the same and some perhaps catching a lift on a bicycle or maybe even piggyback. If there are those that try to actually ride on JFK, he's dead, so - good luck.
I would have to agree with those that say all of them. However I must point out an addition to the facts. We are all assuming something when answering these types of problems and as such the answers are as much subjective as they maybe factual. To the rest here, READ the question. Passengers are ON the planes if not then they are NOT passengers! ALL passengers leave eventually however what is a 'day' not specified as 24hrs- because a 24hr period COULD span 2 'days'. ALSO it is possible that a plane could be held hostage on the tarmac for more than 24hrs - these passengers would not leave on the same 'day' so our total may be slightly less than 100% on any given day. Ultimately though, I agree that it is the interviewer's 'hidden' question that counts. With these types of questions the answers are not so mathematically obvious. But rather, the questioner is looking deeper into your logic, character, personality etc. Are you a thinker, do you think out-side the box, do you get frustrated, are you a smart-ass, etc. That's been my experience
not all them. because som arrive at one day and leave the next day. My answer will be "A LOT!"
the answer does not require a number but how will you find out. It depends on the day of the year and also on how many people are actually on the plane and if all of them are going to JFK or are catching connecting flights.
Senior Software Engineer at Google was asked...
Implement a base 3 adder which takes two strings as input and returns a string6 Answers
// sum : null terminated pre-allocated large enough string char *addBase3(const char *a, const char *b, char *sum) { char oldsum[20] = ""; // stacking characters would be much better than this const int alen = strlen(a); const int blen = strlen(b); int retainer = 0; int apos, aval; int bpos, bval; int partsum; int pos; for(pos = 1; pos = 3) { retainer = 1; partsum = 3 - partsum; } else { retainer = 0; } strcpy(oldsum, sum); sprintf(sum, "%d%s", partsum, oldsum); } if (retainer) { strcpy(oldsum, sum); sprintf(sum, "%d%s", retainer, oldsum); } return sum; }
if allowed, converting base 3 to base 2, then adding and converting back is better
// sum : null terminated pre-allocated large enough string char *addBase3(const char *a, const char *b, char *sum) { char oldsum[20] = ""; // stacking characters would be much better than this const int alen = strlen(a); const int blen = strlen(b); int retainer = 0; int apos, aval; int bpos, bval; int partsum; int pos; for(pos = 1; pos = 3) { retainer = 1; partsum = 3 - partsum; } else { retainer = 0; } strcpy(oldsum, sum); sprintf(sum, "%d%s", partsum, oldsum); } if (retainer) { strcpy(oldsum, sum); sprintf(sum, "%d%s", retainer, oldsum); } return sum; }
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public class Test1 { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(new Test1().add("21", "22")); //prints 120 } int toInt(String str) throws NumberFormatException { int result = 0; for (int index = 0; index 2) { throw new NumberFormatException(); } result = result * 3 + i; } return result; } String toStr(int i) throws NumberFormatException { StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer(); while (i > 0) { sb.insert(0, i % 3); i /= 3; } return sb.length() == 0 ? "0" : sb.toString(); } String add(String str1, String str2) throws NumberFormatException { return toStr(toInt(str1) + toInt(str2)); } }
base3DigitAdd(char lhs, char rhs, char &extra, char &carry,char &sum) { int s = (lhs - '0') + (rhs - '0') + (extra - '0'); carry = (s/3) + '0'; sum = (s%3) + '0'; } base3Add(const string &lhs, const string &rhs, string &result) { string::const_iterator il = lhs.end(); string::const_iterator ir = rhs.end(); result.clear(); char carry = '0'; char digit = '0'; while((il != lhs.begin()) || (ir != rhs.begin()) { char l = (il != lhs.begin) ? (*(il - 1)) : '0'; char r = (ir != rhs.begin) ? (*(ir - 1)) : '0'; base3DigitAdd(l, r, carry, carry, digit); result.push_front(digit); if (il != lhs.begin()) { --il; } if (ir != rhs.begin()) { --ir; } } if (carry != '0') { result.push_front(carry); } }
string base3Add(const string & in1, const string & in2) { int i1 = atoi(in1.c_str()); int i2 = atoi(in2.c_str()); int carry = 0; char buff[2]; string result; while(i1 != 0 || i2 != 0 || carry != 0) { int i1p = i1 % 10; int i2p = i2 % 10; int total = i1p + i2p + carry; itoa(total % 3, buff, 10); result.push_back(buff[0]); carry = total / 3; i1 /= 10; i2 /= 10; } reverse(result.begin(), result.end()); return result; }
A snail moves up a 5m long tree as follows: 1) he goes up 3m in the morning and 2) he goes down 2m at night. How long will it take him to reach the top of the 5m tree?5 Answers
3 days. Not 5 days. Draw it out if you don't believe me.
What was the technical interview about? Do they ask you questions about programming? I have the MANH interview soon and am not sure how to prepare for the technical interview! Thanks!
@ Homer Simpson, The technical interview was simply them asking me to explain a "technical" process on the whiteboard. There was no programming, though I used a programming example in answering this question. The overall interview process requires little preparation, with the exception of the panel interview since I'm assuming you got the question before hand. Again they want to see the following: 1) Logical thought flow 2) Ability to present/explain on a white-board 3) Can assimulate concepts (including programming) quickly
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Thanks Boss for the quick reply! I just came back and I think it went well. How much time did they take to reply back to you?
What is the exact angle formed by the hands on a clock when the time reads 9:30?15 Answers
270 degrees
Common response, but it's incorrect. What about the hour hand? It's not pointing directly at the 9 anymore...
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105 degrees
60 degrees, or 300 degrees whichever way you want to look at it.
|0.5(60H-11M)| = 105 degrees
1/4 of 180 which is 45 ta-daaah
oops, I mean 1/4 of 360 :) 90
105 degrees: if the hour hand is right at 9, and the minute had was right at 30 then it would be 90 degrees. but since we're 30 minutes into the hr, the hour hand will be (theoretically) half waybetween 9 and 10pm. so you need to calculate that additional variation. If have the arms 3 hrs apart makes a perfect 90 degrees, then each hr would equal 30 degrees -> thus a half hr would result in a 15 degrees. 90+15= 105 degrees
Dear God. There are people giving answers that aren't even close. Hopefully they're not employed in the tech industry.
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You can look at it in 2 ways. First answer is the short angle which is 90+15= 105 degrees. Second answer is the long angle which is 270-15=255 degrees. The 15 degrees comes from the fact that the 9 o clock hand is not exactly on 9 anymore but between 9 and 10. from 9 to 12 = 90 degrees, so from 9 to 10 is 90/3=30 degrees, so from 9 to 9:30 = 30/2 = 15 degrees.
I'm so surprised to see so many ridiculous answers for such an easy question...
You have an unlimited number of marbles colored 3 ways (green, red, blue) how many marbles do you need to select in order to be certain you have one of each color3 Answers
four, logic your way through it.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure to be sure, you need an infinite number of pulls
Worded like that, you would need an infinite amount of pulls to be "certain."
How many people can you fit into texas?5 Answers
All the people in the world will fit in Texas.
Added to the previous comment: if with the population density of NYC.
Depends on how much cubic feet of space each person requires; then requires analysis of total people in world/usa, and total space they require. Then compare with total space in Texas.
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If they are just occupying the space and there is no need to live there, the entire population of the world could theoretically be in Texas at the same time.
Presuming you aren't given the size of texas... Population of New York City: 8 million. Population of the world? 7 billion. Could you fit 1000 New York Cities in to Texas? Probably not. You can check it with numbers, 300sq mi for NYC, 250k sq mi for Texas. You could then go a step further and say that if we were only concerned with how many people can we cram in there, then we could probably increase the density of NYC by an order of magnitude at least, in which case yes, we could probably fit the whole world in there. An assumption that you can fit NYC in a 100 times (a reasonable if not low estimate), and that you could probably fit 80 million people in to New York city if they all squeeze together, you would get a total fit of about 8 billion people could fit in Texas.
Explain the difference between TCP and UDP4 Answers
UDP is for like Skype and TCP is for like Youtube.....thats all I know but it has to do with the way packets are received and acknowledged
TCP is a reliable protocol that utilizes windowing and acknowledgement packets to ensure all traffic is transmitted and received UDP is an unreliable protocol that does not utilize windowing and acknowledgements, and is good to use when you can't re-transmit a packet (EG a voice or video packet)
That's really as difficult as it gets?
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UDP packet processing is faster compared to TCP packet processing. This is because once TCP packets are delivered to the destination, an acknowledgement is expected at the transmission end. If no acknowledgement is received, re-transmission of packets occurs at the transmission end. This is opposite to UDP operation, in which no acknowledgement is necessary.
Brainteaser: If I were to give you a cube that was 10x10x10 units in volume, how many individual 1x1x1 units would not appear on the outside of the cube?2 Answers
(n^3) - ((n-2)^3)
Or you could just say 8x8x8.
How much would you charge to wash the windows in downtown?2 Answers
$25 per window
Say maybe the average building downtown has 100 windows. Suppose further that there are 200 buildings downtown. Then you have about 20,000 windows to wash. Perhaps it takes 2 minutes to wash each window. Then you will need 20,000/2 = 10,000 minutes to wash all the windows downtown. This translates to roughly 170 hours, which working a 40 hour week will take you just over 4 weeks (4.25 weeks). There's 52 weeks in a year, so you have worked 4/52 = 1/13 of the year. Now we need to make our numbers good to work with. Say you want 39,000 per year salary. Then you would charge 39,000/13 = 3,000 to wash all the windows in downtown. I'm pretty sure this is how they would like you to answer these questions.
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text:
We are all stakeholders in the fatigue management process, and we all own it!
The employer can do much to shift the paradigm and create a culture of safety, wellness, and caring. Clear and compelling visions start us along a path of generating a future we deserve to have. In the healthcare setting, everyone assumes responsibility for patient safety and good outcomes.
Any employee is responsible for practicing healthy behaviors that reduce the risk for working while fatigued or sleepy, result in arriving to work alert and well rested, and promote a safe commute to and from work. This is true regardless of the industry in which one works! This responsibility might require that you reject a work assignment that compromises the availability of sufficient time for sleep and recovery from work – for example, when your shift ends at midnight, and you are expected to return to work, fully rested, by 7:00 a.m. We all have different recovery times. Our bodies and minds are unique, and this concept often involves scheduled shifts and mandatory or voluntary overtime. It is everyone's responsibility to address one's own, as well as co-worker, fatigue. Employees must be responsible and know their limits.
The system predicts the outcome, and the system must ensure positive outcomes for staff, clients, the public, and patients.
|Attach a sense of urgency
|Partner with staff to ensure consistency of policy and procedures
|Create a collaborative work environment
|Educate and empower staff
|Identify the areas and practices that may result in staff fatigue
|Prioritize fatigue countermeasures and monitor effectiveness
|Evaluate staffing and scheduling practices
|Offer opportunity for feedback and ideas for improvement
|Engage staff in recruitment and retention activities and promote innovative strategies
|Follow the system
"I'm a workaholic, so I ignore the signs of fatigue and just keep going and going, and then conk out when I get home.
It can be pretty stressful." Keke Palmer
Who owns fatigue…we all do!


text:
(Reuters) - Sprint Corp (S.N) shares jumped as much as 6 percent on Tuesday on news the carrier is in talks with Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) about a wireless partnership, a move that added a new dimension to speculation about possible telecom sector tie-ups.
Sprint, controlled by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), will put merger talks with T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) on hold as it enters a two-month period of exclusive negotiations over the possible deal with Charter and Comcast, sources told Reuters late on Monday.
The news stoked speculation about the future of the T-Mobile-Sprint tie-up, and also about other potential merger partners for T-Mobile. Analysts have said that the telecoms and cable sectors are primed for a wave of deal activity, and executives have openly talked about potential mergers.
If the talks with Charter and Comcast fail, Sprint's negotiating position could weaken if it were to restart merger talks with T-Mobile, JPMorgan analysts said.
And if Sprint and T-Mobile merger talks fall apart, that could strengthen the case for a tie-up between T-Mobile and Dish Network Corp (DISH.O), Jefferies analysts said in a note.
T-Mobile's shares fell 3.3 percent on Tuesday to $61.06, while Dish shares were up 0.3 percent at $64.02. Sprint shares were last up 2.7 percent at $8.22.
Analysts have speculated that Dish, a satellite TV provider that has been buying up wireless spectrum, could be an attractive acquisition target for both Verizon and T-Mobile.
Sprint's talks to provide the backbone for a wireless network for Comcast and Charter serve as a "three-way hedge" for the companies, said Craig Moffett, analyst at MoffettNathanson.
"From a game theory perspective, this is a fascinating move," Moffett wrote in an email.
The two cable companies are hedging for a possible tie-up between Sprint and T-Mobile that could reduce their negotiating leverage, and the wireless deal also allows Sprint to hedge against the risk that a merger with T-Mobile never happens, Moffett said.
A wireless deal with Comcast and Charter would also give Sprint more bargaining leverage if it does secure a tie-up with T-Mobile, he added.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the negotiations between the companies on Monday, said Charter and Comcast were in preliminary talks to take an equity stake in Sprint as part of an agreement.
A minority equity investment was being discussed but that may not be part of any deal, sources told Reuters.
Charter and Comcast could also look at jointly acquiring Sprint, but that is unlikely, the sources said.
Comcast and Charter announced a wireless partnership in May in a bid to offset customer attrition as younger viewers shun high-priced subscriptions in favor of cheaper online options.
Both cable companies already have network-resale or mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreements with Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N).
Comcast also already has an MVNO agreement with Sprint that stems from the cable company's 2008 investment in Clearwire Corp.
A source familiar with the matter said Comcast would seek better terms for that agreement given the highly competitive nature of the wireless business and technological changes in the past nine years.
MVNOs do not own networks, and instead rent capacity from established operators to sell on to their customers, usually at low prices due to their small overheads, with cheap distribution through the internet or convenience stores.
The cable companies' agreement with Verizon restricts them to offer wireless within their own service areas, while a deal with Sprint could allow them to offer the service nationally.
Verizon shares were down 1.6 percent on Tuesday at $44.97.
Reporting by Narottam Medhora and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anna Driver and Meredith Mazzilli


text:
There's a big hoo-hah at the moment, as usual media-fuelled, over the suspension of an NHS nurse because she offered to pray for someone's recovery.
The person at the centre of this religious storm is community nurse Caroline Petrie, 45, who asked a patient in her 70s if she would like a good word put in on her behalf to the big medic in the sky.
The patient complained to her health trust and nurse Petrie is now awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary meeting.
Petrie seems to think, by her involvement of the Christian Legal Centre, that it's an infringement of her right to religious freedom to be suspended for doing something so charitable as praying to an elderly sick woman.
WRONG. This has got nothing to do with religious freedom. It's about good, and by good I mean professional, not moral, medical practice. Simple as that. Nothing more to be said. Period.
This nurse has clearly overstepped her mark (plus Matthew, Luke and John) by, in effect, offering the patient an extra, non-prescribed form of treatment for her ailments. Forget the 'Christian' tag for a moment and consider what sort of reaction there would have been if Petrie had offered snake oil or some other untested remedy instead.
'I believe eating buttered earwigs helped cure my ills and thought it might have been of some benefit to the old dear,' she might have told the Sun reporter afterwards, before he slowly backed away and found another fuzzier no-brainer story to exploit instead.
Petrie really believes God's will can have an effect on a patient's health EVEN THOUGH there's not one bit of medical proof attesting to this, apart from the placebo effect. If that was the aim then surely a sugar pill would have left a better taste in the patient's mouth?
If God is 'cure' to Petrie than how does she understand medicine and disease? Is cancer Satan's work, and what about AIDS? There are some Christians who argue it's a plague from God, who in his early days seems to have had a dislike of gay people for some odd reason. Maybe they didn't fancy him.
If you abandon, even slightly, the scientific basis of pathology and treatment then you find yourself with huge paradoxes inherent in religion such as how can a loving God stand by and allow people to be consumed by plagues? In fact Petrie go check your Bible (next to Gray's Anatomy on your bookshelf) and discover just how many nasty diseases the deity you're praying to has sent down upon the peoples of the Earth.
So that's why she's suspended: Because it's not accepted medical practice, well not since the Middle Ages, to pray for a cure. It's not because she's a Christian, though I think her being Christian is important to the news stories with their western-orientated culture bias. I don't think 'Struck Off for Offering to Slaughter Chicken' (about a voodoo-practicing district nurse) would go down quite as well.
And finally, if we're talking about religious freedom then how about the right to be free of religion? The complainant in this case didn't like proselytising, however mild, and neither do I. If I go to a garage I expect a car to be fixed and if I go to a restaurant I hope to be offered delicious food. With neither do I want an added mumbo-jumbo service, gratis or otherwise. You want to hear people talking about a Christian God? Go To Church. That's what it's there for.
And if a vicar offers to give you keyhole surgery after praying for your salvation, politely refuse and contact the nearest authorities.
Click Heaven Help Us to read the BBC news story.


text:
In today's cost-conscious healthcare environment, small businesses have several tools they can use to manage the cost of providing employees with a healthcare plan. One of the most effective is a Health Reimbursement Arrangement, or HRA.
Not only do HRAs enable employers to use tax-deductible funding to help employees pay for healthcare expenses, they also encourage employees to use their medical benefits in a more judicious manner by making them more aware of the true cost of medical services. With a finite amount of healthcare dollars available, employees have to consider their spending in order to maximize this benefit.
Along with the HRA is the QSEHRA, or Qualified Small Employer HRA. In December 2016, the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act lifted restrictions on certain small employers to offer HRAs. Now the time is better than ever for small businesses to consider adopting these types of accounts.
How QSEHRAs Work
At the beginning of the year, the employer sets aside money in a special account for each employee. Employees then draw upon the money (tax-free) throughout the year to pay for documented medical expenses – including healthcare premiums. By law, only the employer may deposit money into the account; the maximum annual contribution is $4,950 for employees with individual coverage, and $10,000 for those with family coverage.
Multiple Benefits to Employers
To offer a QSEHRA, the business must employ fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees, and cannot provide a group health plan for any of its workers. For employers who qualify, QSEHRAs offer a cost-effective tool for controlling healthcare plan costs while providing a valuable employee benefit. Employer benefits include:
- QSEHRAs can reduce premiums for high deductible medical plans
- All reimbursed funds are exempt from payroll and Social Security taxes
- Employers have full control over plan setup, including eligible medical expenses, and funding and reimbursement options
- QSEHRAs encourage employees to use their benefit funds conservatively, potentially reducing the company's future medical trend and claims experience
- These accounts offer an attractive recruiting and employee retention tool
- Due to QSEHRA requirements, employers are exempt from offering COBRA coverage and complying with some ERISA rules
Benefits to Employees
Employees have a lot to gain from participating in a QSEHRA. In addition to traditional medical expenses like copays and deductibles, QSEHRA funds can be used to pay for allowable Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 213 expenses such as chiropractic care, laser eye surgery, fertility drugs, and other qualified benefits.
Best of all, as with a traditional HRA, a QSEHRA costs the employee nothing; the account is fully funded by the employer, who may not deduct any money from an employee's salary. And if the employer includes it in the plan, employees can roll over any unused funds at the end of each year.
A Win-Win for All
A QSEHRA makes it easier for small employers and their employees to manage healthcare costs. If you have less than 50 FTE employees and don't offer a group health plan, you owe it to yourself and your employees to look into this tax-advantaged tool.