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PEORIA, Ariz. — Seattle Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez has told the team that he will not play this season because of a recurring illness.
The Mariners said Thursday that the 30-year-old Gutierrez won't be reporting to spring training after a relapse of the gastrointestinal problem that slowed him last season. Position players are due to report next Monday.
Gutierrez told the team that he didn't think it was fair to come to spring training if he couldn't fully compete for a spot on the major league club. He signed a one-year contract for $1 million plus incentives last December and figured to get a good shot at winning the No. 1 center fielder job in camp.
The Mariners put the 2010 Gold Glove winner on the restricted list and took him off the 40-man roster.
Gutierrez hit .248 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 145 at-bats last year. He played in only 41 games and twice went on the disabled list because of a strained right hamstring.
Gutierrez has had six stints on the DL over three seasons with Seattle.
"His health was not cooperating with him," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It's very disappointing."


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Italian police block white supremacist website, arrest 4, confiscate propaganda
ROME – Italian police have blocked access to a white supremacist website and arrested four people for allegedly inciting racial hatred and spreading anti-Semitism.
Authorities on Friday blocked Stormfront, a white supremacist website based in the United States, and shut down its Italian-language forum.
They also confiscated knives, batons and baseball bats as well neo-Nazi and Fascist propaganda, including pamphlets and banners emblazoned with swastikas, in searches of properties mostly in northeastern Italy.
Prosecutors in Rome launched the investigation after the group published blacklists of religious leaders, politicians, journalists and judges citing their support of immigrants. They also published lists of prominent Jewish citizens.
The four were arrested in the northern city of Milan and in Frosinone and Pescara in central Italy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wenger: No regrets over Higuain failure
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he has no regrets over his failure to sign Gonzalo Higuain last summer, as he prepares to face the striker in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
• Cross: Arsenal belief grows
Rafa Benitez's Napoli won the race to sign the Argentina international striker from Real Madrid, leaving Wenger frustrated but he turned his attention to another one of Real's stars, Mesut Ozil, instead, and he insists he is content with how things worked out.
"We were working on two or three targets and Higuain was one of them, confirmed Wenger. "It didn't come off in the end, but that doesn't take anything away from his quality. Napoli took advantage of that at the right moment.
"As we know, in the end Real Madrid sold two great players, one of them went to Napoli, one went to Arsenal so it's 1-1 on that front."
Wenger has warned his side that they will face a team full of talent, with the man on the touchline among their most potent weapons in the opinion of the Arsenal boss.
"Rafael Benitez is a great manager and he's done well everywhere," Wenger said. "He has a vast experience now, he's worked in Italy twice, he's worked in England, he's worked in Spain.
"All that together makes a manager more confident and more convinced of his opinions and you are not surprised how successful he has been throughout his career.
"Napoli's counter-attacking style is what struck me as well in the Emirates Cup a few weeks ago. When they win the ball they come out very quickly with Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne and Higuain -- they all come out like bombs every time they win the ball.
"This means that the transition from our team from offence to defence will have to be very quick on Tuesday. They had a surprising result for many people because Dortmund reached the final last year in a very emphatic way of playing football.
"For Napoli to beat Dortmund certainly is something special and that will lift their confidence. We have already played Napoli at the Emirates Cup in pre-season, and we know from this match that they are a good side with quality, but we know as well, when you want to qualify your home games are vital.
"We have started very well with the win in Marseille, but you know if you win the second game at home you have a good chance to qualify. I wouldn't say it's already a decisive game. but it's a game that will have a great weight on the end result of the qualifying teams. Let's deal well with that situation then we will be in a very positive mood to finish the job."
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Are we in a bull or bear market? The multi-manager view
Robin McDonald assesses the global market environment following a start to 2016 that has been characterised by extraordinary falls by the leaders of recent years and extraordinary outperformance by the laggards
Bull or bear?
We have written repeatedly in recent quarters of how we felt investor positioning had become dangerously lopsided and vulnerable to rotation.
Coming into this year, the atmosphere appeared as serene as the summer of 2007 for many of the market leaders.
At the same time, it felt like early 2009 for the laggards – principally commodities and financials – who were enduring fierce bear markets.
So far in 2016, however, we have seen some extraordinary falls by the leaders of recent years and extraordinary outperformance by the laggards.
By way of example, the Philadelphia Gold and Silver shares index (down 80% over the last five years) is up close to 50% year-to-date.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology index in comparison (up 330% over five years) is down close to 25% year-to-date – a colossal dispersion in a two-month period.
So in response to the question – 'are we in a bull or bear market?' – the answer appears to be both!
Indeed, if this rotation proves to be meaningful and not just the biggest short-squeeze in over 20 years, 2016 will likely feel like a bear market for the majority of active managers, as a bull market gets underway for the former laggards and the hitherto leaders suffer, at the very least, a sustained period of relative underperformance.
Is gold signalling a turn in the US dollar?
In our Q3 note we highlighted a number of consensus themes embedded within the market, and warned of their maturity. The list is repeated below:
- The US dollar is early in its structural bull market
- Commodities are in a structural bear market
- We are in an era of permanently subdued inflation (so bond yields will remain low)
- Developed markets trump emerging markets
- High quality trumps low quality
- Defensives trump cyclicals
- Low beta trumps high beta
- Growth trumps value
Unambiguously, all of these themes are now being challenged. By flipping the consensus on its head, let's speculate as to what might be going on…
- Is the US economy on a weaker trajectory than generally perceived? If so, the dollar would fall as investors begin to contemplate the Federal Reserve (Fed) turning dovish again. A weaker dollar would relieve pressure on the commodity complex and by extension emerging markets and financials. Stable to rising commodity prices would foster a less deflationary backdrop meaning the demand for high quality, defensive, low-beta strategies would recede, allowing value to mean revert against growth.
- Is Chinese growth stabilising? One could certainly argue the case given the historically high correlation between industrial commodities and Chinese economic prospects. If it is, this would undoubtedly lead investors to abandon the hard landing narrative that has helped keep commodities and bond yields down and the dollar up. Sure enough the laggards would crush the leaders in such an environment.
- Lastly, let's consider the case for a re-emergence of inflation. Core measures in the US are trending notably higher in spite of the strong dollar and year-on-year weakness in oil and other commodities. As mentioned in our 2016 outlook, we believe this speaks in part to the tightness of the domestic labour market. If inflation materialises as a risk which investors feel compelled to hedge, they will most likely do so through the purchase of 'hard' assets like commodities. Against this backdrop, low-yielding bonds and bond proxies within the equity market would be in real bother. Again, the dollar may weaken in this environment (particularly if the Fed argues that inflation should be allowed to play catch-up and temporarily overshoot).
We believe it's too early to fully adopt any of these scenarios as a base case. However we also believe that each one is a plausible outcome over the next 12-18 months.
Therefore the degree to which investors are crowded into assets that benefit from slow growth and deflation, consciously or not, represents the stand-out opportunity on a relative basis in our view.
How confident one can be of making absolute returns in this environment will depend on which scenario plays out.
Market rotations
Market rotations are often initially dismissed as temporary "short-squeezes". Invariably, however, every market rotation begins with a short squeeze, as leveraged investors particularly have to unwind their stale positions.
Only time will tell whether this one is transitory or marks a fundamental turn. We have plenty of scope to reinforce the latter if necessary by reducing what cash we hold in lieu of equities.
The move in gold is something we find particularly intriguing. Arguably it could be heralding any one of the three scenarios outlined above.
Importantly, when precious metals peaked in 2011 it marked the climax of the US dollar bear market. At its recent low, gold had retraced almost perfectly 50% of its bull market beginning in 1999.
It is currently emitting all the hallmarks of a trend change. The same is increasingly true of the dollar.
The risk-adjusted return of equities
Central banks have nurtured an environment this cycle whereby the returns generated by equities on a risk adjusted basis have been the strongest in over 50 years.
Until recently, we've basically enjoyed a very low volatility bull market by historical standards.
Unfortunately, the 3-year rolling information ratio for equities peaked last year and appears to be in the process of mean reverting from another historic extreme.
This doesn't guarantee negative returns, but argues for a sustained period of lower returns and higher volatility.
NIRP and central bank fatigue
There was a time when central banks obtained both instant and sustained gratification for their generosity to financial markets.
Nothing lasts forever, mind you, and increasingly those days appear to be over.
From the point at which global interest rates were essentially cut to zero, central banks have been utilising unorthodox policy tools to help stimulate higher nominal growth with limited success.
Quantitative Easing (QE) was the first iteration. We now have negative interest rates (NIRP). Our sense is that NIRP will be even less effective than QE, but nonetheless, here are a handful of intended "benefits":
- To encourage banks to lend more and at lower interest rates.
- To suppress the yield curve.
- To encourage consumers to bring forward yet more consumption from the future.
- To depreciate the currency in order to support exports and increase imported inflation.
On the opposite side of the ledger, here are some likely negative consequences:
NIRP punishes savers, and makes life difficult for pension funds and insurance companies who are already struggling to earn enough income to meet their obligations.
- It exacerbates income inequality and damages social cohesion.
- It causes misallocations of capital by inducing banks to make loans they otherwise wouldn't.
- It reduces bank profitability, which when loan losses next rise will amplify the threat to their solvency.
I think it's important to register that while the global economy continues to expand, albeit modestly, the benefits of unorthodox policies appear to outweigh the costs.
We will keep our fingers crossed for what happens when the business cycle turns down, as it inevitably will.
At that point the limitations of such policies will become more obvious and probably manifest themselves in another damaging crisis.
The difference next time round will be that we will start with populations already angry and divided.
The best opportunity we observe within the markets today is one of mean reversion from what are historically extreme prices, both high (bonds, the dollar) and low (value-style equities and higher-beta assets).
Assets that have benefited from a deflationary backdrop appear low-risk, but we consider them anything but.
To us, they are overpriced, crowded and vulnerable under various scenarios, some of which we've outlined above.
Our current strategy is to balance what are otherwise relatively depressed and out of favour assets with sufficient cash such that we participate more when prices rally than we do when they fall.
This is the very essence of what we try and deliver over time, and will hopefully prove a fruitful strategy in what we expect to be a volatile year.


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Receive expert resources delivered directly to your email inbox on a regular basis. Our analysts, consultants, and data scientists sit at the intersection of healthcare data and stakeholder experience.
This exposure positions them to provide unique perspectives on clinical, disease, and market trends.
They regularly share their insight with the DRG community.


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EDITOR'S DESK—Commentary
President Barack Obama's push to make government more open -- and participatory -- gained notable momentum in recent days, fueling supporters and skeptics.
On May 21, Office of Management and Budget director Peter R. Orszag announced that the Federal Chief Information Officers Council had launched Data.gov. It is a start in giving the public access to economic, health, environmental and other government information via a single Web site and, more important, give visitors the ability to reuse — or "democratize" — the data in innovative ways.
That same day, the White House also announced the debut of its new Open Government Initiative Web site. The site is partly a showcase for the White House's transparency efforts, with an innovations gallery and a blog. But it also provides a platform for public participation, including a link to a companion site that lets the public contribute, and vote on, proposals for improving government transparency. The responses will be incorporated in final recommendations to the White House by June 19.
Meanwhile, the General Services Administration in recent days has reiterated its progress in signing governmentwide user agreements with a more than a dozen social media Web sites, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The agreements clear away legal hurdles that prevented agency employees from posting government information to distinct communities of interest on those sites.
The timing, not accidentally, revolves around a presidential executive order calling for recommendations to further open government.
But with the Senate's confirmation May 21 of Aneesh Chopra as federal CTO and associate director for the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, the administration has at least put in place some important tools to create a more open and technologically savvy government.
Whether those tools act as a wedge to open up government, or a hammer pounding in vain at institutional stone, remains to be seen.
What is clear is that the role of government Web sites is about to change dramatically, as they become part of a new and more dynamic communications ecosystem.
Agency leaders who fail to see that — and how their Web sites might function more productively -- are ignoring a fundamental duty and a powerful opportunity.
But even agency leaders who do see the possibilities need to do more.
One place to start: Align agency Web teams more directly into the CIO's office, rather than being relegated to a public affairs function. Better yet, bring those folks to the strategic planning table, where their ideas would not only help make the work of government more accessible to the public but, ideally, to fellow federal workers as well.
About the Author
Wyatt Kash served as chief editor of GCN (October 2004 to August 2010) and also of Defense Systems (January 2009 to August 2010). He currently serves as Content Director and Editor at Large of 1105 Media.
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Welcome to Rusty's Bar-B-Q
At Rusty's Bar-B-Q our meat is slow smoked over hickory on an open brick pit.
We are located at 7484 Parkway Drive in Leeds, Alabama on Highway 78 just two miles off I-20. We are just down the street from the Outlet Shops of Grand River, Bass Pro Shops, and Barber Motorsports Park.
We are open 7 days a week from 9:30 AM – 9:30 PM.
Join us for lunch or dinner or call in and order your lunch to go and be the envy of your office. Leave the work to us, let us cater your next party or gathering!
Thank you for visiting. You can stay up to date with what's happening at Rusty's by following us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
In the meantime you can reach us at (205) 699-4766. We are looking forward to hearing from you. You can also contact us at our e-mail address: email@example.com
See you soon!


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Store Manager – Lambton Mall (Urban Kids)Date Posted January 23, 2020
- Department Store Manager
- Location Sarnia, ON
- Job ID 73395
- In Store
- Sarnia, ON
If you have a passion for fashion, then Urban Kids is your career destination. We are currently looking for a Store Manager to join our amazing team at our Lambton Mall location.
Does this sound like you? :
- A minimum of 1 year experience as a part of a Store Management team
- Business focused with a proven ability to drive sales
- Passionate about delivering quality customer service
- A team player who can grow and develop people
We offer:
- Competitive compensation package including bonus and benefits
- Opportunity for development, growth and career advancement
- Amazing employee discount
YM Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals. We thank all applicants for their interest: However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If chosen to participate in the selection process, accommodations are available upon request. We will consult with the applicant to provide or arrange suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant's accessibility needs.


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Ideal for the disinfection of product contact surfaces, spraying on gloved hands
From £9.95
Integrity® Cleanroom has an established essentials product range that covers all of your critical environment supplies in one place. Products include disposable consumables such as gloves, masks, wipers and mopping supplies.
We have a growing range of cleanroom consumables, if you can't find what you are looking for, call us on +44 (0)1473 836 205.


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The 2009 Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership winner Dr. Sakena Yacoobi has won the 2013 Opus Prize for her work founding The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL).
The Opus Prize is given annually by the Opus Prize Foundation with its university partners, including Georgetown University, which bestowed the award this year.
The award recognizes unsung heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, solving today's most persistent social problems. Opus Prize recipients embody the Foundation's core values of entrepreneurship, transformational leadership, faith lived each day, service to others, and respect for the dignity of the human person. Most significantly, Opus Prize winners exemplify the adage, "Give a person a fish; you have fed him for a day. Teach a person to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime."
Along with the award comes a prize of one million US dollars which will be used to help ensure the continued success, development and reach of The Afghan Institute of Learning's programs.
AIL is an Afghan, women run, non-governmental organization (NGO) which was founded in 1995 by Yacoobi to help address the crisis of poor access to education and health services for Afghan people especially women and children.
Upon receiving the award, Dr. Yacoobi was greatly honored, acknowledging the worthiness of her fellow nominees. She expressed gratitude to those who nominated her for this prestigious award. "I am truly humbled and honored by this gift of recognition and support." said Yacoobi.
Learn more about the Kravis Prize
Learn more about the Opus Prize
At the Kravis Prize blog: Read more about Sakena Yacoobi and this year's Opus Prize


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Seven Days In Rio
...or "Tiffanys," as Kenny Cantor affectionately calls them. Not that it makes the idea any less offensive.
Kenny is a successful CPA in a Brooks Brothers suit on holiday in Rio de Janeiro. He isn't there for the food or the beaches or the nightlife- he's there to pay for pussy. The man is a veteran sex tourist on the prowl, and he's heard that the streets of Rio are paved with the stuff. Lucky for him, in Levy's version of the notorious South American city, the rumors turn out to be true.
Everywhere Kenny turns, glorious opportunity awaits. Scantily clad women patrol every corner, flashing their wares at the slightest hint of interest. It is a buyer's market- or, more ironically, a "soft" market- which Kenny most certainly isn't. Unfortunately, just when it looks like he is about to get down to business, a psychoanalytical convention rolls into town, and our horny hero is sucked into a regimen of pseudo-Lacanian therapy that cock blocks his leisure activities at every turn.
It's like an erotic version of Luis Bunuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, in which a group of upper middle class friends repeatedly sit down to dinner, but never get to eat. Only in Rio, the meal isn't of the culinary variety. A sumptuous banquet of Brazilian whores is laid out before Kenny, who seems to have a bad case of option paralysis, because he never actually consummates. He engages in foreplay, going as far as receiving the occasional BJ, but never achieves orgasm. It may sound frustrating for him, but is equally as frustrating for the reader. The result is a case of literary blue balls.
But it's all in the service of metaphor, and this one's a doozy. Levy likens psychoanalysis to- you guessed it- prostitution, from the obvious correlation of paying for release to the potential for rejection and heartache. To illustrate this point, Kenny becomes infatuated with a Japanese analyst named China Dentata, who has an aversion to wearing underwear (at least during office hours). China treats him in a lifetime's worth of 60 second micro-sessions over the course of three days. He desperately wants to have sex with her, but doesn't want to get "involved" when there are so many prostitutes to fuck.
Obviously, he has issues. Scary, sexy issues, which Levy mines for comedy gold. I'd make a glory hole joke to complete the geological analogy, but I'm afraid that in this context it might be misconstrued. Suffice to say, Rio is chock full of witty one-liners and ribald sexual description. I wouldn't call the novel pornographic, but Levy is matter-of-fact in his raunchiness, which is try-and-suppress-your-laughter-because-people-are-beginning-to-stare-at-you funny. For example, this passage in which Kenny describes why he became an accountant:
I love touching vaginas so much that I once toyed around with the notion of becoming a gynecologist. However, my mother's own excitement about the prospects of my being a doctor blunted my ambitions. Every time I thought about a woman in stirrups, I saw my mother's face. She was understandably disappointed when I dropped the idea. In her inimitable way she would ask, "You're going to make your own mother pay to have some stranger examine her?"
It may read crass, but there is a highbrow method to Levy's dirty-minded madness. Kenny seems to have just as many socio-political discussions as he does sexual encounters. When their mouths aren't otherwise occupied, even the prostitutes come off as erudite, quoting from Susan Sontag and Herbert Marcuse with a professorial verve. It's as if Levy were compensating for making them all whores.
But he isn't. This isn't some anti-female polemic and Levy shouldn't have to apologize for what is superficially offensive. The man is fearless in his exploration of human sexuality, and is operating on such a heightened plane of absurdity that I have a hard time believing anyone could take it seriously. For one thing, Kenny's account strikes me as very unreliable. He talks the talk of an experienced cocksmith, yet it almost feels like that's all he is- talk. Even when he is staring sex in the face, he is preoccupied with self diagnosing his neuroses, always thinking ahead to the next encounter. When he finally allows himself to climax, it is an anticlimax, to be sure, but it's the only logical conclusion to this story. Kenny isn't disappointed, and we shouldn't be either. For him, the trip goes down as a successful one, and he heads home anticipating the prospect of next year's vacation. The reader should be as happy as he is, because we've had just as much fun, if not more.


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4matsy wrote:Something for the SMBX Extended pack:
I edited together some new mushroom blocks. :3
Then I recolored them a lot. :D
I just implemented this:
To preview this, just run a test of this level in the PGE Engine as-is
I used alone NPC (based on 293 dummy NPC) which uses custom NPC-AI script which takes one of 91 frames randomly on initialization state. That a test, but in future I think to allow a choice of the color and the type via special values (combobox / spin-box for that, etc).


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July 17, 2000-Life In The Enclave
Right now we are living our life in a foreign enclave, the Copra Shed Marina, a small insular world of the european yachty community in this part of Fiji. Outside of our enclave there is unrest and turmoil. The police station in town is in the hands of rebel terrorists and the shops are closed with regular irregularity, but here at the Copra Shed we are safe, protected, and insulated. We drink at the Yacht Club bar, eat at the Cafe, have our laundry done by the girls in the back room, and do our email at the computer center. All these and more are behind the guarded wall facing the town and the street. Other than an occasional expedition to the local bank for money or to the supermarket for provisions we have little need to go offsite from the Copra Shed Marina. This is not to say that it is unsafe to go to town. Not in the least. Today Judy and I went for a long walk through town and into the neighborhoods and everywhere we were greeted by smiles and pleasant hello's. But when we passed the police station the villagers occuping it watched us closely. We knew we were five feet from a hostage situation. What keeps us safe then? Just the good will of the rebels, or maybe their fear of pulling the tiger's tail by molesting American tourists. Whatever, we are in the middle, or at least on the periphery, of a nation undergoing major turmoil.
Fijian Soldiers on Board
The conversations among the yachties and expatriates at the bar at the Copra Shed are mostly about the rumors of what is going on in town that day, which place had armed men threatening it, which bank was closing for good, which family was run off their land. We also voice our opinions about how stupid it all is and what should be done about it. Of course this is all a waste of time. This problem won't be solved by foreigners sitting in the bar at the Copra Shed. It will be solved, or at least concluded, if it ever is, by the people of Fiji, according to their rules and preferences. All we can really do is watch and wait, or leave. Maybe we should.
Junior Sailing In Fiji
But we don't leave. We keep to our wishfull thinking that it will all be better tomorrow, that all of this doesn't affect us, and that we can keep to our cruising plan which includes a couple of months in Fiji. Besides, it is stunningly beautifull here and we don't want to leave. Right now it is late afternoon. This is a mountainous region and as the sun's rays get lower the jungles on the mountainsides turn into more intense, deeper, shades of green. The rows of peaks in the distance are each more hazy than the one before, and nearby a lazy column of smoke from some burning vegitation wafts our way. A local named Curly and his partner stand motionless on their pontoon boat dingy as their 3.3 hp outboard powers them sedately up Nakama Creek towards their floating home upstream. We sit in WINGS' cockpit on our recliner deck chairs drinking rum and pinapple juice, watching the pastoral scene unfold. We think it will be alright. We hope it will. We stay.
Wings at the Copra Shed Marina, Savu Savu
What is behind the political problem in Fiji, and how serious is it? In the first place it is deadly serious, and we wonder if the worst is yet to come. The background, in a nutshell, is that the native Fijians are watching the wealth and power shift to Indian immigrants, people brought here 150 years ago by the British to work the sugar cane fields. The Fijians own the land and occupy most of the government, police, and military positions, and the Indians own the shops, have the professional jobs, and do most of the raw labor. Whenever the Indians have won elections and taken real political power, twice since independance in 1970, the Fijians use strong arm politics to wrest it back. First in 1987 and now in May of this year Fijian strongmen have taken over and kicked out Indian elected governments. This time it was triggered when the new Indian government uncovered a kickback scheme on a government Mahagony lumber deal. They stopped it and the Fijians who were set to make a bundle took matters in their own hands. They deposed the Indian led government, revoked the constitution, and are arguing amongst themselves about how they are going to set up a new government. The natives figure this is a perfect time to draw attention to every real or imagined grievance they have suffered in the last 100 years, usually at the hands of their own Fijian governments, and throughout the land they have taken to reoccupy traditional lands, set up roadblocks, taken over schools, burned shops and terrorized their Indian neighbors. The Police and Army have generally done little to stop this lawlessness which has enboldened the natives. The tourism and manufacturing economy is in ruin, the country is deep into deficit spending, and overseas governments are invoking sanctions against Fiji. It is hard to see how this coup will ever result in any improvement for the Fijians. More likely it will set back their country by 30 years, however, they at least have gotten the power back in the hands of their corrupt insiders, the powerful few can fill their pockets with timber bribes, and they can certainly break the backs of the Indians. Of course this latter move will probably ruin the sugar industry as well, but who cares as long as the upstart Indians aren't getting ahead of the Fijians.
Do we sound cynical? Of course we do. Originally we were saddened by the events in this country, now we are just disgusted and angry. Right now we are waiting for some parts to be shipped in and then we aren't sure what we'll do or where we'll go. One thing is for sure, life in the enclave, while seemingly safe and easy, is an awfull lot like keeping your head in the sand. In order to enjoy yourself you have to ignore what is going on outside.
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Savu Savu
Click Here for more Savu Savu Photos
Labels: Fiji


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Looking to meet leggy models, fedora-wearing men and walking, breathing street-style blog memes now that Fashion Week is over? Skip the clubs and head to the yogurt shop.
That's right. Since opening in late July, the new Chobani SoHo cafe is the place to see, be seen and eat lean. Pretty young things who like the white stuff have flocked there to gobble down fancifully topped, $4.25 bowls of Greek yogurt with the same gusto Hampton-ites guzzled the summer's last supply of rosé.
"They have coffee for $4. Why not yogurt?" says Jasmin Karalic, a 36-year-old sales assistant at SoHo's M Missoni boutique.
"It's a trend and it's a fad and New York is all about that," she explains.
Chobani SoHo on Prince Street isn't just riding the trend, it's setting the waves in motion. The shop is the first of its kind in the city — a stand-alone location serving up variations on good old-fashioned, nonfrozen breakfast-variety Greek yogurt. Customers can purchase artisanal creations from a curated menu of gourmet combos like Toasted Coconut and Pineapple (coconut flakes, fresh pineapple, agave syrup and hazelnuts) or Pistachio and Chocolate (Turkish pistachios, dark-chocolate chunks, clover honey, fresh orange segments and mint leaves).
All orders are made on-the-spot by in-house "yogurt masters," who work in a glass-walled chef's kitchen, allowing culture vultures to watch their trendy snacks being prepared (all treats start with a base of plain, unsweetened 2 percent Greek yogurt, though nonfat is available upon request). For those seeking simplicity, individual, pre-packaged flavored Chobani (the kind found at your local supermarket) are available.
"I think it's amazing that you can watch them make it," says Adam Lock, 29, a handsome art director at a nearby advertising agency.
Lock fits right in with the rest of the laid-back yet fashion-forward ad execs, start-up techies, shopgirls, artists and out-of-town label lovers circulating through the store.
London resident Katy Long, 28, a freelance writer with long limbs and pitch-perfect off-duty style, was recently in town visiting her sister.
By day two of her trip, she had already been to the Chobani on four occasions.
"One in the morning, one in the evening," says Long, clutching a Prada tote in one hand and a yogurt in another. "There's nothing like this at all in London."
What's more, it's a great place to take chicks. Single man Jonah Mandel, who works for the mobile payment company Square and owns a SoHo laundromat, says that women "appreciate [his] healthy eating."
Every other day, Mandel, 23, orders the Peanut Butter and Jelly concoction — and sometimes brings a date.
"Occasionally, I guess," he responded coyly when asked how often he brings girls to his spot. "Maybe for a morning snack."
Chobani SoHo, 150 Prince St., at West Broadway; 646-998-3800


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We Pored Over the Verma Report So You Don't Have to
By Aditi Malhotra, Saptarishi Dutta and Tripti Lahiri
This week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office published his letter to a committee set up under the leadership of former Chief Justice of India J.S. Verma to make recommendations on women's safety. In it, Mr. Singh promised "we will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of the Committee."
If they do, it will mean a massive overhaul of existing law. The 650-plus-page tome offers prescriptions for fighting a wide range of crimes against women. In many cases, the committee's recommendations go well beyond the provisions of proposed legislation, such as the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012 or the Sexual Harassment Bill 2010.
Here, with regard to 10 key crimes with a sexual or gender dimension, is how the Verma committee provisions differ from or resemble current law and proposed legislation.
1. Acid Attacks: The committee cited a 2008 report from the Law Commission of India, a body periodically set up to examine legal reform, that noted that assailants who use acid as a weapon especially target "young women for spurning suitors, for rejecting proposals of marriage, for denying dowry." It's a form of attack that often leaves the victim's face mutilated and is deeply psychologically scarring. (Chapter 5, from page 146)
The Verma committee recommends that acid attacks, and attempted acid attacks, be defined as a distinct criminal offence in the Indian Penal Code, in a new Section 326A, offering largely the same definition as that proposed in the criminal law amendment bill. It also recommends that the perpetrator be made to financially compensate the victim, at least enough to cover medical expenses. (Appendix 4, page 435)
And it suggests amending Section 100, which prevents prosecution for murder in instances of self-defense against specific crimes, to include preventing an acid attack.
Current law: This crime is usually prosecuted under the existing Section 326, "voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means," which includes "any corrosive substance." The punishment for this is up to 10 years in prison, or a fine, or both.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The proposed legislation, presently with the Rajya Sabha's home affairs committee, recommends adding two sections to Section 326, to address an acid attack that leaves the victim permanently or partially burned or maimed, as well as to address attempted attacks. The punishment is the same as what the Verma committee recommends, but the draft bill proposes compensation of up to one million rupees (about $19,000) to be paid by the attacker.
For an attempted acid attack, the bill recommends imprisonment of 5 to 7 years.
2. "Eve-teasing": Many women's groups complain about this term, which underplays the seriousness of the sort of harassment that women face on the street or on buses and in other public places.
In a section on the problem, the Verma committee quoted copiously from a 2012 Supreme Court judgment that noted "eve-teasing generally occurs in public places which, with a little effort, can be effectively curbed." The court called the results of not making the effort to do so "disastrous." (Chapter 5, page 142)
The committee recommends spelling out the behaviors that are normally considered eve-teasing in a completely overhauled Section 354 (the section presently used to prosecute sexual assaults that are not rape). "Using words, acts or gestures towards or in the presence of another person which create an unwelcome threat of a sexual nature or result in an unwelcome advance" would be punishable by a year in jail or a fine, or both. (Appendix 4, page 436)
For the most egregious form of eve-teasing – groping – the committee recommends up to five years in prison. (Appendix 4, page 436).
It also recommends repealing Section 509 (see below).
Current law: Presently, these cases can be registered under Section 509 of the penal code (using words or gestures to "insult the modesty" of a woman, punishable by one year in jail or a fine) or Section 294 (committing an obscene act or singing an obscene song or ballad in a public place, punishable with three months in prison or a fine).
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill doesn't alter the present "modesty" language of Section 509, but it increases the maximum punishment to three years, and clarifies that the fine should not be "less than one thousand rupees."
It also doesn't alter the language of Section 354, which prohibits the use of "assault or criminal force to a women with the intent to outrage her modesty."
Women's groups have described this language as archaic, for drawing upon problematic notions of "honor" and "chastity," as well as vague. The bill does increase the punishment for those convicted under this section from a maximum of two years to two to five years.
3. Gang rape: The Verma Committee recommends two new sections on gang rape as part of Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code. The language proposed is gender neutral, unlike the existing Section 375, which defines rape as a crime that can only be perpetrated on a woman.
In the first section the committee proposes, when "a person is raped by one or more in a group of persons...each of these persons shall be deemed to have committed the offence of gang rape, regardless of their gender," and the punishment will be 20 years to life imprisonment. (Page 444)
When a gang rape results in the victim's death or leaves the person in a coma, the minimum punishment will be life imprisonment.
Current law: Sections 375 and 376 of the penal code deal with rape and sentencing, respectively. A sub-section of Section 376 stipulates that the minimum punishment for a person convicted of gang rape should be 10 years – not seven -- as in many other cases of rape. Gang rape is defined as "where a woman is raped by one or more in a group of persons acting in furtherance of their common intention, each of the persons shall be deemed to have committed gang rape."
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill substitutes the words "sexual assault" throughout Sections 375 and 376, abandoning the word "rape" entirely. Sexual assault, according to the proposed definition, includes penetration "for a sexual purpose" of the vagina, anus, urethra or mouth of a person by a perpetrator who is using either his own body or an object in the attack. The definition of gang rape – although now called sexual assault – is much the same as the existing definition, as is the punishment.
4. Honor killings: "The nation suffers from the existence of chauvinistic institutions like 'khap panchayats,' which, unfortunately, are politically so powerful that they overrule, with impunity, the constitutionally mandated administration of equality in favour of women, by using extra constitutional, oppressive methods of punishment," said the committee.
Khap panchayats are community bodies, especially common in states such as Punjab and Haryana, that issue diktats on marriage and caste issues.
"One of the most prevalent practices employed by Khap Panchayats to enforce their decisions is that of 'Honor Killing,'" said the committee.
Still, the committee appeared to be in agreement with a recent Law Commission of India report that recommended legislation to prohibit individuals or community groups from ganging up to prevent lawful marriages but did not favor amending murder provisions.
The committee confined itself to remarking that it "expects the State to ensure that these institutions will not interfere with the choices made by men and women in respect of marriage." (Chapter 8, Page 233)
Current law: Presently such killings are prosecuted under provisions relating to murder.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill does not address the issue of honor killings but the Law Commission of India is in the process of drafting the The Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill, 2011.
5. Marital rape: Another recommendation by the Verma panel is to remove the exception for marital rape that presently exists.
It recommends inserting new language into an overhauled Section 375: "Consent will not be presumed in the event of an existing marital relationship between the complainant and the accused." (Appendix 4, page 440)
Current law: The opening paragraph of Section 375 of the penal code says that anyone who commits rape must be punished with a prison term of at least seven years unless "the woman raped is his own wife and is not under twelve years of age."
However, the law does say, under Section 376A, that a husband who rapes his wife while they are separated should be punished with two years jail time and a fine.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill increases the punishment under 376A to two to seven years jail time.
Other than that, sexual acts between a husband and wife will not constitute sexual assault, as long as the wife is not younger than 16.
6. Rape by the State: The committee noted that sexual violence against women in the conflict areas of the northeast, Kashmir, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh is a serious issue that has been "often neglected." (Chapter 5, page 149)
"We notice that impunity for systematic or isolated sexual violence in the process of Internal Security duties is being legitimized by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act," said the report. "It must be recognized that women in conflict areas are entitled to all the security and dignity that is afforded to citizens in any other part of our country."
The panel recommends amending the section of the AFSPA that requires prior government approval for prosecution for crimes committed in areas where the act is in effect, to create an exception in cases of rape or sexual assault. (Appendix 4, page 453)
The committee also recommends appointing special commissioners in conflict areas who have the power to "initiate action for redress and criminal prosecution in all cases of sexual violence against women by armed personnel."
The punishment for an act of rape committed by a member of the armed forces starts at 10 years and can go up to life.
Current law: The Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows Indian security forces to raid any premises without a warrant and arrest or shoot anybody they find suspicious, among other powers. A security officer doing so will only face prosecution with prior government sanction. The law is in effect in northeastern India and Kashmir.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The proposed bill is silent on rape in conflict areas.
7. Stalking: In recent years, there have been several widely publicized cases in which a young woman was killed by a stalker.
The Verma Committee recommends adding a provision under Section 354 that would demarcate stalking as an offence. Anyone who follows or contacts a person, "despite a clear indication of disinterest," even via means of electronic communication, is punishable for a minimum period of one year and up to three years. (Appendix 4, Page 437)
Current law: There is no provision in the Indian Penal Code for specifically prosecuting stalking.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill does not address stalking.
8. Publicly stripping a woman: This is a frequent form of assault with a caste dynamic – it is a crime frequently carried out by upper-caste men against lower-caste women in rural India.
The committee would add a provision to Section 354 stipulating that "whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked in any public place" will face jail time of three to seven years and a fine.
Current law: This is not defined as an offence presently, but can be prosecuted under the existing Section 354.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The draft legislation is silent on this.
9. Sexual harassment in the workplace: The report noted that there was no debate when draft legislation against sexual harassment was tabled and passed by the Lok Sabha in September, and was quite critical of the existing bill.
"We note that Section 10(1) of the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2012 stipulates that on receipt of complaint of sexual harassment, conciliation must be attempted between the complainant and respondent," said the committee. "This is in violation of the mandate prescribed by the Supreme Court." (Chapter 4, page 127)
"In matters of harassment and humiliation of women an attempt to compromise the same is indeed yet another way in which the dignity of women is undermined," it said.
The committee also recommended that any law that is enacted must cover "the armed forces and police, agricultural workers and women students and staff of all schools and educational institutions."
Current law: A Supreme Court judgment of 1995 in Vishakha v. The State of Rajasthan laid down binding directives on the issue.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012: This draft legislation, which defines behaviors that constitute sexual harassment and covers domestic workers, was passed by the lower house in September and is now with the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. It proposes that workplaces set up complaints committees, to be headed by a senior female employee, to examine sexual harassment incidents.
Failure to set up such a committee could lead to a fine up of up to 50,000 rupees (just under $1,000) for an employer. Complaints of sexual harassment must be reported within three months of the most recent incident.
The Verma committee suggested that an outside tribunal should examine such complaints instead.
10. Trafficking: The panel devoted over 50 pages to trafficking, calling it a "complex crime" that targets women and young girls for many reasons. Trafficking is often for prostitution but increasingly it's for the purposes of providing domestic labor in cities as well. (Chapter 6, Page 152)
The committee suggested a much more detailed definition of trafficking to replace the existing Section 370 ("buying and disposing of any person as a slave") of the Indian Penal Code, which would also criminalize employing a trafficked person, although the proposed provision doesn't deviate from existing sentencing. (Appendix 4, Page 438)
Current law: Section 370 is used to prosecute trafficking crimes and carries a minimum sentence of seven years. Buying or selling a minor for prostitution (Sections 372 and 373) carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012: The bill does not discuss trafficking.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.


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Rockaway Beach Barrier Beautification Project
The Rockaway Painting Project Continues
Description:For Intern Day of Service, NYC interns volunteered to help paint the barriers. These interns are working on John Garcia's design.
Location: Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, Queens
Date: July 17, 2013
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Summer is here and it's time to hit the beach! Beaches are finally open for summer 2011!


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This campaign closed on Dec 31, 2019 and $770 is being sent to the field.
This campaign closed on Dec 31, 2019 and the money is being sent to the field. Still want to donate? You can give directly to charity: water.Donate To charity: waterSee What Happens Next
|Joel & Dominica Ehrlich
|Dave & Retyan Jardine
|Anthony Ramsey
|Amy Tindall
Private donors cover our operating cost so that 100% of all public donations can go directly to water project costs.
Many of us have no idea what it's like to be thirsty. We have plenty of water to drink -- even the water in our toilets is clean!
But many people around the world don't have that luxury. Every day, about 1,400 children die from diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to communities around the world.
I started this fundraising campaign to help charity: water build these types of projects around the world, and I'm looking for anyone who can help me.
Please donate to my campaign -- anything you can give is a huge help.
100% of the money will be used to build clean water projects, and when they're complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the exact community we helped.
Happy Birthday Nikki!
Happy 30th birthday!! Love u!! Auntie 😍🎂💋
In honor of Nikki's heart, for such a wonderful cause. Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday.
Happy Birthday Nik! I hope its a great one!
Here's to the first anniversary of your 29th birthday ;) Happy Birthday, Nik!
Happy 30th
Cheers to 30!
Love you.
Inspired by my daughter to support such a worthy cause!
Private donors cover our operating cost so that 100% of all public donations can go directly to water project costs.
100% of the money raised by this campaign is being used to bring clean water to help those in need. In 21 months we'll be able to show you exactly where the money went and who it helped.Learn More About Dollars To Projects


text:
Farewell Lyrics
Time truly slips away, from a minute to a thousand days
We'll never say if we only knew, every moment was something new.
This is Farwell and not goodbye, we'll meet again in time
Until then whatever your heart desires is what I hope you'll find
And when you're done, giving the world hell
The round's on us for all the stories you'll tell
Until then, our hearts go with you.
Though we're parting and you go alone, what the future holds but no one knows
May the memories keep you warm, our hearts go out with you.
Although I may not understand now
What prompting you to leave
One day I'm sure I'll seeThis is your life, this is your path!
This is your journey and this is your fight!
And I know you'll give it all you got
This fight is nothing to the wars we've fought
Now raise a glass to the journey and the path you tread
To the peace you seek and the journeys end.


text:
The injuries piled up. The bumps, bruises and concussions took their toll on the Kansas City Chiefs. But the biggest pain came from the gut-punch following a 28-point lead dissolving in 25 minutes.
NFL Replay
will re-air the Indianapolis Colts' 45-44 win over the Kansas City Chiefs from Wild Card Weekend on Monday, Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. ET and again at midnight ET.
» NFL Network schedule
Andy Reid's pain was palpable as he gave the media their allotted time following the 45-44 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
"I think the guys played well," Reid said. "We didn't do well enough though. We got to take care of the thing at the end there, you got to score points."
Sometimes silence says it all.
"Sometimes the game speaks for itself, so you don't have to say a whole lot," Reid said.
The Chiefs suffered their eighth straight playoff loss. Their last postseason win came nearly 20 years ago -- Jan. 16, 1994, when Joe Montana guided the Chiefs past the Houston Oilers.
Since that time, pain has trumped pleasure in Kansas City. Yearly expectations did nothing but raise the guillotine, allowing the blade to fall further.
It was an ominous start for the Chiefs, who lost one-third of their offense when Jamaal Charles went out with a concussion just six plays into the game.
It seemed like losing Charles might not matter -- nor a plethora of other injuries that piled up -- as the Chiefs whipped the Colts thoroughly in the first half, building a 31-10 lead at intermission.
Alex Smith played his best game of the season. He killed the Colts with his feet and with his arm. Smith completed 30 of 46 passes for 378 yards and four touchdown tosses. There was no checkdown in his game today.
Still, there was a sack-fumble in his own end that aided the Colts' comeback and a fatal intentional grounding on the final drive of the game.
When the Colts scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:21 remaining, Smith had a chance to lead his team on an epic field-goal march to put his stamp on history.
On fourth-and-11 from his own 43, Smith hit Dwayne Bowe on the sideline. The wide receiver's foot touched down inches out of bounds.
Those inches caused another year of pain in K.C.
We preview all four Wild Card Weekend games in the latest "Around The League Podcast."


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It's like Santa's workshop for cars. That's the factory where Morgan Motors hand builds its line of throwback British roadsters, including the company's new, S&S V-twin-powered three-wheeler. We'd have sworn Morgan was building cuckoo clocks in there.
This week on Live and Let Drive, Alex Roy visits the Morgan factory in the saucy town of Malvern, Worcestershire, UK to drive a three-wheeler (he's also ordered his own). It's the least expensive way into the classically-oriented line of Morgan cars, which includes the 4/4, Plus 4, Plus 8 and Aero Supersports.
Morgan's is as far from a modern, robot-filled factory as you can get without a time machine set to 1909. That's the year H.F.S. Morgan designed his first car, which happened to be a single-seat three-wheeled Runabout.
It might even be the only car assembly plant in which someone has "carpenter" on his business card.


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Give your eLearning career an edge. Adobe Captivate Specialist is a blended learning certificate program, comprising 130+ online videos followed by a day-long, hands-on workshop. Designed for eLearning professionals who have basic to advance level proficiency in instructional design and eLearning course-creation workflows. Badge & certificate from Adobe upon successful completion of assessment.
How it works
Step 1: Register and get enrolled into the program and get access* to 100+ online training videos on Adobe Captivate (Total viewing duration – 7.5 hours. Total duration with practice steps – 25-30 hours). As part of registration you also have to pick a future date and city from Adobe Captivate Specialist Calendar where you plan to attend the full-day hands-on workshop followed by an assessment on the same day.
Step 2: Complete the online training before you attend the full-day workshop.
Step 3: Attend the live workshop on your chosen date. On passing the assessment, you will receive your Adobe Captivate Specialist certificate and badge.
What you will learn
Learn how to use Adobe Captivate (2019 release) to quickly build eLearning courses using audio, video, animations, images, and quiz questions. Then take your eLearning courses to the next level by using multi-state objects, effects, advanced actions, and variables.
Get hands-on training on how to create:
- Scenario-based learning
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- Responsive eLearning courses
- Video demonstrations and interactive videos
- Virtual reality training and 360 learning experiences
- Software simulations
- Click- and drag-based interactions
- Assessment and knowledge check questions
Full-day workshop will be from 7 am - 6 pm. The agenda will cover the following topics in detail:
- Introduction to Adobe Captivate (2019 release)
- Touring the Adobe Captivate interface
- Building storyboards using Adobe Captivate Draft
- Creating static and responsive courses in Adobe Captivate
- Using themes and eLearning assets
- Inserting interactive and non-interactive objects
- Building custom animations and interactions
- Using advanced actions and variables
- Recording and editing simulations and video demos
- Using Adobe Captivate with other applications, such as Adobe Creative Cloud
- Adding assessments and quizzes
- Enabling Learning Management System (LMS) compliance and accessibility
- Previewing and publishing the courses to an LMS
All participants are required to bring their own laptop computers with Adobe Captivate (2019 release) pre-installed (if you do not already have the release you can download a free trial within 30-days of the program). The demo files and assets will be emailed to you within a week of your registration. Please bring power adaptors for your computers, access to power for charging will be provided.
Pricing & Payment
The standard price for registration is USD 799. Adobe Captivate Specialist Certificate Programs that are co-located with Adobe Summit/Conference are offered at a discounted price of USD 499. Payment is required for enrolling into the program.
If payment is not received, your entry will not be permitted. This program is non-refundable, under no circumstances will refunds be issued. The price covers the registration fee, access to online content, food and beverages for the day, and the certificate and badge if the assessment is successfully passed.
For group registrations of greater than 10 seats, please write to email@example.com
*Online training videos will be made available a month before the workshop.


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|Super Noah!
|Whoa, Mom! If I hold my bucket out,
people will put food in it! Holy cow!
|Come on bones! Move faster! Must. Get. More. Candy!
|Be Afraid. Be very afraid.
|She insists on making the creepy clown face in every single picture.
|Dreaming about Lois Lane.
|It's all fun and games until someone falls over and busts a lip.
|A little blood can't stop this one. He's on a mission!
|One day I'm going to figure out how to get
three children to all look at the camera.
Happy Halloween!!!!!
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incl. 19 % VAT plus shipping costs
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- Info.:
- Wheelspacer
- top quality
- width/axle 40 mm
- Mazda 626 (GC)
- NLB 59,6 M12x1,5
- with centificate
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Product information "Spacers System A 40 mm Mazda 626 (GC)"
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text:
I run uvnc on my home pc (Win7 64bit) and access it via pcs/laptops and phones/tablets from everywhere.
I only run into 1 problem on a regular basis. I regularly disconnect/reconnect my secondary display (HDMI) as it is the living room TV.
This sometimes causes the mouse to be pinned to the leftmost desktop. If I move the mouse to the right desktop (primary display) it is pulled back to the left screen. Pointer cannot be seen on actual monitor and no input is recognized (mouse or keyboard).
This problem disappears with a quick restart of winvnc.exe.
Currently I am using a scheduled task to taskkill winvnc when the system registers a uvnc disconnect. This means that all I have to do to fix the problem is to disconnect, wait 10 seconds and reconnect.
Would it be possible to add an option to the 'When last user disconnects' section to restart 'winvnc.exe'.


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or make 4 interest-free payments of $1.75 AUD fortnightly with More infoRegular price $7.00
An instant download print for Batman fans who aspire to be little superheroes. A great monochrome kids decor piece with a pop of yellow will look great in any nursery or big kids bedroom.
Use code 30%OFF at checkout to receive 30% off 3 or more printable designs.
Click here are some tips on what is & how to print printable art.
PRINTABLE ART Q & A's
What will I receive?
Your wall art order is an INSTANT DOWNLOAD that contains all art files.
You will receive a download with a link that will send you to all art files.
Files will also be supplied in PDF files.
5x7" JPEG file 300dpi resolution with crop marks to trim from
8x10" JPEG file 300dpi resolution with crop marks to trim from
A4 JPEG file 300dpi resolution
A3 JPEG file 300dpi resolution. Please note this size can be increased to A0 if required.
Why type of paper do you suggest to print on?
My choice of paper is definitely a heavyweight white paper or card stock. You can find these at Officeworks, eBay, or speciality paper and art stores.
How should I cut prints to size?
To trim edges of smaller prints I suggest using a guillotine, or sharp craft knife, ruler & suitable cutting mat.
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No, they won't. Your download links will be on your invoice. However, I would save your files ASAP to your preferred device. If you have lost them at all just let me know & I can resend them to you. Please note I do not keep all customised files.
Can I share my files with my friends?
Please don't share your purchased files. All files are for personal use only.
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All prints are standard sizes & you will easily find frames at Ikea, Target, Kmart, Big W, & independent framing stores.
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To call Kinston�s boys basketball team lucky would be inaccurate. But with all the 7s that keep popping up, perhaps it has become the Vikings� lucky number.
To call Kinston�s boys basketball team lucky would be inaccurate. But with all the 7s that keep popping up, perhaps it has become the Vikings� lucky number.
The NCHSAA on Saturday released the official schedule for this week�s regional basketball tournaments and both Kinston�s boys and girls will play their regional semifinal games at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, respectively, at the Crown Arena in Fayetteville.
Kinston�s boys, winners of seven consecutive conference regular season and tournament titles and in the Eastern Regionals for the seventh straight year, will face seventh-seeded Bunn on the seventh day of the month.
�That�s awesome,� Vikings coach Perry Tyndall told The Free Press in a text message Saturday after being told of all the 7s his team has encountered.
�And crazy.�
The top-seeded Vikings (25-2), on a win streak of 16 games that dates back to Jan. 4, will face a team in Bunn (23-6) that knocked off Farmville Central, 55-45, Friday to advance and has won 10 in a row. The winner games either No. 1 Jacksonville Northside (25-3) or No. 3 Fairmont (24-5) in the 2A Eastern Regional championship at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Crown Arena � the same venue Kinston played in last season.
Kinston�s third-seeded girls (24-4) are the highest seed left in the 2A Eastern Regional and will face No. 4 Bunn (23-6) for the second time this season. The Vikings participated in the Wildcats� post-Christmas tournament and were defeated by the host school 55-49 on Dec. 27.
Two of the three teams that defeated Kinston in the Bunn Christmas Classic are in the regionals, including 3A Chapel Hill.
Kinston has won 15 straight while Bunn is on a 20-game win streak. The winner will face either No. 5 Siler City Jordan-Matthews (26-4) or No. 11 Graham (19-10) in the regional championship at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The 2A state championships will be held on March 16 at UNC�s Dean E. Smith Center.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.


text:
Uw bagage
Aan te geven waardebagage
When the value of your baggage exceeds standard liability limits, you can declare the value and extend EVA Air's liability. You will be charged US$0.50 for each additional US$100.00 declared. EVA Air cannot accept liability for any declared value that is higher than US$2,500 per passenger. In addition, EVA Air retains the right to refuse your declaration of value if any discrepancy is evident.
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Here's some good cycling news. After spinning its wheels over a frivolous lawsuit, the city of San Francisco finally got an OK to move ahead with its bike plan, which calls for more bike lanes and bike amenities.
One Rob Anderson, who calls himself a blogger, filed suit, claiming the city needed to file an environmental impact report before it could implement the bike plan. SFGate has the full report.
Translation: he didn't want to see more car parking taken out for the sake of bike lanes. Obviously, Rob doesn't ride a bike.
It's a small matter, but in recent weeks the intersection at Saratoga Avenue and Lawrence Expressway in San Jose was widened about two feet. It was always a bit dodgy riding here because the road narrowed. Not only did the city (and county no doubt) take out some of the encroaching island, they added a bike symbol showing where cyclists should stop to trigger the light. Well done.


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From Ext4 - Linux Kernel Newbies:
- Ext4 is the evolution of the most used Linux filesystem, Ext3. In many ways, Ext4 is a deeper improvement over Ext3 than Ext3 was over Ext2. Ext3 was mostly about adding journaling to Ext2, but Ext4 modifies important data structures of the filesystem such as the ones destined to store the file data. The result is a filesystem with an improved design, better performance, reliability, and features.
- 1 Create a new ext4 filesystem
- 2 Migrating from ext2/ext3 to ext4
- 3 Improving performance
- 4 Tips and tricks
- 5 See also
Create a new ext4 filesystem
To format a partition do:
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/partition
- See mke2fs(8) for more options; edit
/etc/mke2fs.confto view/configure default options.
- If supported, you may want to enable metadata checksums.
Bytes-per-inode ratio
From mke2fs(8):
- mke2fs creates an inode for every bytes-per-inode bytes of space on the disk. The larger the bytes-per-inode ratio, the fewer inodes will be created.
Creating a new file, directory, symlink etc. requires at least one free inode. If the inode count is too low, no file can be created on the filesystem even though there is still space left on it.
Because it is not possible to change either the bytes-per-inode ratio or the inode count after the filesystem is created,
mkfs.ext4 uses by default a rather low ratio of one inode every 16384 bytes (16 KiB) to avoid this situation.
However, for partitions with size in the hundreds or thousands of GB and average file size in the megabyte range, this usually results in a much too large inode number because the number of files created never reaches the number of inodes.
This results in a waste of disk space, because all those unused inodes each take up 256 bytes on the filesystem (this is also set in
/etc/mke2fs.conf but should not be changed). 256 * several millions = quite a few gigabytes wasted in unused inodes.
This situation can be evaluated by comparing the
{I}Use% figures provided by
df and
df -i:
$ df -h /home
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/mapper/lvm-home 115G 56G 59G 49% /home
$ df -hi /home
Filesystem Inodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on /dev/mapper/lvm-home 1.8M 1.1K 1.8M 1% /home
To specify a different bytes-per-inode ratio, you can use the
-T usage-type option which hints at the expected usage of the filesystem using types defined in
/etc/mke2fs.conf. Among those types are the bigger
largefile and
largefile4 which offer more relevant ratios of one inode every 1 MiB and 4 MiB respectively. It can be used as such:
# mkfs.ext4 -T largefile /dev/device
The bytes-per-inode ratio can also be set directly via the
-i option: e.g. use
-i 2097152 for a 2 MiB ratio and
-i 6291456 for a 6 MiB ratio.
news (one inode for every 4096 bytes) or
small (same plus smaller inode and block sizes).
Reserved blocks
By default, 5% of the filesystem blocks will be reserved for the super-user, to avoid fragmentation and "allow root-owned daemons to continue to function correctly after non-privileged processes are prevented from writing to the filesystem" (from mke2fs(8)).
For modern high-capacity disks, this is higher than necessary if the partition is used as a long-term archive or not crucial to system operations (like
/home). See this email for the opinion of ext4 developer Ted Ts'o on reserved blocks.
It is generally safe to reduce the percentage of reserved blocks to free up disk space when the partition is either:
- Very large (for example > 50G)
- Used as long-term archive, i.e., where files will not be deleted and created very often
-m option of ext4-related utilities allows to specify the percentage of reserved blocks.
To totally prevent reserving blocks upon filesystem creation, use:
# mkfs.ext4 -m 0 /dev/device
To reduce it to 1% afterwards, use:
# tune2fs -m 1 /dev/device
You can use findmnt(8) to find the device name:
$ findmnt /the/mount/point
Migrating from ext2/ext3 to ext4
Mounting ext2/ext3 partitions as ext4 without converting
A compromise between fully converting to ext4 and simply remaining with ext2/ext3 is to mount the partitions as ext4.
- Compatibility (the filesystem can continue to be mounted as ext3) – This allows users to still read the filesystem from other operating systems without ext4 support (e.g. Windows with ext2/ext3 drivers)
- Improved performance (though not as much as a fully-converted ext4 partition).[1] [2]
- Fewer features of ext4 are used (only those that do not change the disk format such as multiblock allocation and delayed allocation)
- Edit
/etc/fstaband change the 'type' from ext2/ext3 to ext4 for any partitions you would like to mount as ext4.
- Re-mount the affected partitions.
Converting ext2/ext3 partitions to ext4
To experience the benefits of ext4, an irreversible conversion process must be completed.
- Partitions that contain mostly static files, such as a
/bootpartition, may not benefit from the new features. Also, adding a journal (which is implied by moving a ext2 partition to ext3/4) always incurs performance overhead.
- Irreversible (ext4 partitions cannot be 'downgraded' to ext2/ext3. It is, however, backwards compatible until extent and other unique options are enabled)
These instructions were adapted from Kernel documentation and an BBS thread.
- If you convert the system's root filesystem, ensure that the 'fallback' initramfs is available at reboot. Alternatively, add
ext4according to Mkinitcpio#MODULES and regenerate the initramfs before starting.
- If you decide to convert a separate
/bootpartition, ensure the bootloader supports booting from ext4.
In the following steps
/dev/sdxX denotes the path to the partition to be converted, such as
- Back up all data on any ext3 partitions that are to be converted to ext4. A useful package, especially for root partitions, is clonezilla.
- Edit
/etc/fstaband change the 'type' from ext3 to ext4 for any partitions that are to be converted to ext4.
- Boot the live medium (if necessary). The conversion process with e2fsprogs must be done when the drive is not mounted. If converting a root partition, the simplest way to achieve this is to boot from some other live medium.
- Ensure the partition is not mounted
- If you want to convert a ext2 partition, the first conversion step is to add a journal by running
tune2fs -j /dev/sdxXas root; making it a ext3 partition.
- Run
tune2fs -O extent,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/sdxXas root. This command converts the ext3 filesystem to ext4 (irreversibly).
- Run
fsck -f /dev/sdxXas root.
- This step is necessary, otherwise the filesystem will be unreadable. This fsck run is needed to return the filesystem to a consistent state. It will find checksum errors in the group descriptors - this is expected. The
-foption asks fsck to force checking even if the file system seems clean. The
-poption may be used on top to "automatically repair" (otherwise, the user will be asked for input for each error).
- This step is necessary, otherwise the filesystem will be unreadable. This fsck run is needed to return the filesystem to a consistent state. It will find checksum errors in the group descriptors - this is expected. The
- Recommended: mount the partition and run
e4defrag -c -v /dev/sdxXas root.
- Even though the filesystem is now converted to ext4, all files that have been written before the conversion do not yet take advantage of the extent option of ext4, which will improve large file performance and reduce fragmentation and filesystem check time. In order to fully take advantage of ext4, all files would have to be rewritten on disk. Use e4defrag to take care of this problem.
- Reboot
Improving performance
E4rat is a preload application designed for the ext4 filesystem. It monitors files opened during boot, optimizes their placement on the partition to improve access time, and preloads them at the very beginning of the boot process. E4rat does not offer improvements with SSDs, whose access time is negligible compared to hard disks.
Disabling access time update
The ext4 file system records information about when a file was last accessed and there is a cost associated with recording it. With the
noatime option, the access timestamps on the filesystem are not updated.
/dev/sda5 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
Doing so breaks applications that rely on access time, see fstab#atime options for possible solutions.
Increasing commit interval
The sync interval for data and metadata can be increased by providing a higher time delay to the
commit option.
The default 5 sec means that if the power is lost, one will lose as much as the latest 5 seconds of work.
It forces a full sync of all data/journal to physical media every 5 seconds. The filesystem will not be damaged though, thanks to the journaling.
The following fstab illustrates the use of
/dev/sda5 / ext4 defaults,noatime,commit=60 0 1
Turning barriers off
Ext4 enables write barriers by default. It ensures that file system metadata is correctly written and ordered on disk, even when write caches lose power. This goes with a performance cost especially for applications that use fsync heavily or create and delete many small files. For disks that have a write cache that is battery-backed in one way or another, disabling barriers may safely improve performance.
To turn barriers off, add the option
barrier=0 to the desired filesystem. For example:
/dev/sda5 / ext4 noatime,barrier=0 0 1
Disabling journaling
Disabling the journal with ext4 can be done with the following command on an unmounted disk:
# tune2fs -O "^has_journal" /dev/sdXN
Use external journal to optimize performance
For those with concerns about both data integrity and performance, the journaling can be significantly sped up with the
journal_async_commit mount option. Note that it does not work with the balanced default of
data=ordered, so this is only recommended when the filesystem is already cautiously using
You can then format a dedicated device to journal to with
mke2fs -O journal_dev /dev/journal_device. Use
tune2fs -J device=/dev/journal_device /dev/ext4_fs to assign the journal to an existing device, or replace
tune2fs with
mkfs.ext4 if you are making a new filesystem.
Tips and tricks
Using file-based encryption
/) directory and will produce an error on kernel 4.13 and later [5] [6].
ext4 supports file-based encryption. In a directory tree marked for encryption, file contents, filenames, and symbolic link targets are all encrypted. Encryption keys are stored in the kernel keyring. See also Quarkslab's blog entry with a write-up of the feature, an overview of the implementation state, and practical test results with kernel 4.1.
The encryption relies on the kernel option
CONFIG_EXT4_ENCRYPTION, which is enabled by default, as well as the e4crypt command from the e2fsprogs package.
A precondition is that the filesystem is using a supported block size for encryption:
# tune2fs -l /dev/device | grep 'Block size'
Block size: 4096
# getconf PAGE_SIZE
If these values are not the same, then your filesystem will not support encryption, so do not proceed further.
Enable on existing filesystem
To enable the encryption feature flag on the filesystem:
# tune2fs -O encrypt /dev/device
debugfs -w -R "feature -encrypt" /dev/device. Run fsck before and after to ensure the integrity of the file system.
First make a directory to encrypt:
$ mkdir vault
- Encryption can only be applied to an empty directory. New files and subdirectories within an encrypted directory inherit its encryption policy. Encrypting already existing files is not yet supported.
- Applications may fail that need access to an encrypted directory (i.e. on boot) if locked.
Generate and add a new key to the user's keyring. This step must be repeated every time you flush the user's keyring (i.e. logout or reboot):
$ e4crypt add_key
Enter passphrase (echo disabled): Added key with descriptor [f88747555a6115f5]
-k. Useful alternatives may include user-keyring and user-session-keyring, e.g. to use user-keyring:
$ e4crypt add_key -k @u
e4crypt add_key will actually add multiple keys, one per filesystem. Although any key can be used on any filesystem, it would be wise to only use, on a given filesystem, keys using that filesystem's salt. Otherwise, you risk being unable to decrypt files on filesystem A if filesystem B is unmounted. Alternatively, you can use the
-S option to
e4crypt add_key to specify a salt yourself.
Make sure the descriptor key is in the user's session keyring:
$ keyctl show
Session Keyring 1021618178 --alswrv 1000 1000 keyring: _ses 176349519 --alsw-v 1000 1000 \_ logon: ext4:f88747555a6115f5
Assign the descriptor key to the encryption policy on the directory:
$ e4crypt set_policy f88747555a6115f5 vault
The vault directory should now be accessible and readable for the current user as long as the key is in the user's keyring.
If one tries to access vault without adding the key first into the user's keyring, filenames and their contents will be seen as encrypted gibberish.
To (re)gain access to the directory, simple add the key to the user's keyring:
$ e4crypt add_key
Enter passphrase (echo disabled): given passphrase Added key with descriptor [f88747555a6115f5]
mv) unencrypted files into an encrypted directory will
- fail, if both directories are on the same filesystem mount point. This happens because mv will only update the directory index to point to the new directory, but not the file's data inodes (which contain the crypto reference).
- succeed, if both directories are on different filesystem mount points (new data inodes are created).
In both cases it is better to copy (
cp) files instead, because that leaves the option to securely delete the unencrypted original with shred or a similar tool.
Enabling metadata checksums
When a filesystem has been created with e2fsprogs 1.44 or later, metadata checksums should already be enabled by default. Existing filesystems may be converted to enable metadata checksum support.
If the CPU supports SSE 4.2, make sure the
crc32c_intel kernel module is loaded in order to enable the hardware accelerated CRC32C algorithm [7]. If not, load the
crc32c_generic module instead.
To read more about metadata checksums, see the ext4 wiki.
dump2fs to check the features that are enabled on the filesystem:
# dumpe2fs /dev/path/to/disk
New filesystem
To enable support for ext4 metadata checksums on creating a new file system:
# mkfs.ext4 -O metadata_csum /dev/path/to/disk
Convert existing filesystem
First the partition needs to be checked and optimized using
# e2fsck -Df /dev/path/to/disk
Convert the filesystem to 64bit:
# resize2fs -b /dev/path/to/disk
Finally enable checksums support:
# tune2fs -O metadata_csum /dev/path/to/disk
See also
- Official Ext4 wiki
- Ext4 Disk Layout described in its wiki
- Ext4 Encryption LWN article
- Kernel commits for ext4 encryption [8] [9]
- e2fsprogs Changelog
- Ext4 Metadata Checksums


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Femme Fatale
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos stars as a jewel thief and con-woman whose past comes full circle with fate from just the slightest turn of events.
Starring Antonio Banderas, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Peter Coyote... View more >
Genre - Suspense/Thriller
Directed by Brian De Palma
Opened in Theaters - Friday, November 8th, 2002
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Maritime Vessels Directory
- Type
- Flag
- Singapore (2)
- Port
- Companies
- Year
- 2008 (2)
Liquefied Gas Carrier (LPG) | Flag: Singapore | Port: SINGAPORE
Container Ship | Flag: Singapore | Port: SINGAPORE
Maritime News
C&C Building Towboat Trio for Hines Furlong
Hines Furlong Line currently has a trio of identical 6,000-horsepower towboats on order at C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, La.The timing is right to order the high-power newbuilds, said Kent Furlong, president and founder of Hines Furlong Line (HFL), citing the long-term implications of Subchapter M and the industry's aging higher horsepower line haul fleet as key drivers behind the decision. "Many of the high-horsepower vessels in the HFL fleet are among the oldest," he said. "And many of the 6,000-horsepower vessels on the market are decades old, and not many have been ordered in the last 30 years.
Livestock Carrier Queen Hind Refloated
Operations to raise a livestock carrier that capsized in the Black sea off Romania in November came to a close on Tuesday night, said local marine services firm Gruup Servici Petoliere (GSP).The Palau-registered Queen Hind flipped onto its side shortly after leaving Romania's Midia port en route to Saudi Arabia at the end of November 2019. Its entire crew, most of them Syrians, were rescued. Only 180 of the estimated 14,000 sheep on board survived.The Queen Hind is now docked and normal operations have resumed in Midia Harbor following a "tireless human and technical effort" to refloat the vessel, said Gabriel Comănescu, GSP president and CEO.
Fourth Diamond Princess Passenger Dies from Coronavirus
A fourth passenger from the cruise ship Diamond Princess moored in Japan has died from the coronavirus, NHK public television said on Tuesday. The passenger was in their 80s, NHK said.Japan has come under fire for its handling of the situation on the cruise ship, which is operated by Carnival Corp (CCL.N) and where hundreds became infected. The number of patients is rising around Japan, with the government set to announce a set of measures to combat it later on Tuesday.Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Muralikumar
MarTID 2020: Time is Running Out
The third annual global Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID) survey is open through February 29, 2020.Make sure your voice is heard. Take the MarTID 2020 survey today:Vessel operator survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDOperatorMETI survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDMETISeafarer survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDSeafarerMarTID is a non-commercial, joint initiative of the World Maritime University, Marine Learning Systems and New Wave Media, launched in 2018 with the completion of the inaugural survey and publication of the 2018 Training Practices Report, which can be found, along with the 2019 report, at www.MarTID.org.
Marine News' 2020 ATB Report
There's a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50,000- to 150,000-barrel-capacity ATBs now widespread, the units have also gained share as substitutes for towed barges.


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A Certified facsimile or actual-size print. We offer a true quality nobody has; and for a price nobody is offering you for a comparable quality. This print was photographed using the latest technology, with a color-checker colour matched to the original illustration and then reproduced at the original plate size. A Museum Quality Limited Edition print, actual-size, signed, numbered and blind stamped. Indistinguishable form the original when glazed and framed.
Title: Musophaga Leucotis, White-cheeked Turaco
Prints Publication : De Toeracos
Authors: Hermann Schlegel ( 1804-1884) and Abraham Hendrik Verster van Wulverhorst ( 1796-1882)
Prints Artist: Hermann Schlegel
Paper size: Elephant folio (size 57 x 72 cm)
Edition: The edition will be limited to 50 prints, numbered 1/50 to 50/50, signed and stamped with a blind embossing.
Certificate of Authenticity: On demand


text:
Bad drivers are the bane of every motorist's life but now a new study claims poor drivers always fall into one of seven categories - so do you recognise them?
Car leasing giant LeaseCar.uk analysed the data of thousands of drivers and found that those who get careless behind the wheel almost always fall into just seven types.
There are thrill seekers such as Boy Racers, young males who can't resist breaking speed limits as soon as they get their licence, and Amber Gamblers, who won't stop at traffic lights unless they've been red for at least three seconds.
But there are also the slow and hesitant motorists such as the Sunday Drivers, usually old people on their way to church, or the Just Passed, who may have a licence but are still nervous out there on the roads.
Then there's the Mum in a Hurry, who parks on the pavement while doing the nursery drop off, and the Know It All, who thinks he owns the road.
Finally there are the Short Fuses, perhaps the most dangerous type of motorist of all to encounter, these are the drivers who fly into a road rage if you dare overtake them.
Tim Alcock, of Leasecar.uk, said: "Everyone knows a few drivers who fit one of these categories, in fact it's likely you'll know someone who fits a few.
"It could be that in reality they have a very calm and relaxed personality, but once they get behind the wheel they develop a Short Fuse and the road rage kicks in or perhaps they become a risk taking Amber Gambler.
"If you feel someone you know falls into one of these categories it might be worth having a gentle word in their ear to make the UK's roads a safer place."
Here are the seven different types of driver, according to Leasecar.uk:
Boy Racer
The young male driver who you're likely to catch speeding down residential roads and committing multiple speeding offences in a souped-up high-powered car. They're always revving their engines to try and sound like a sports car, even if they're only driving a hatchback.
Sunday Driver
Sunday is the one day of the week that these drivers spend out on the roads, often driving an old banger. Usually they're off to church or to see their grandkids, and travel well below the actual speed limit. It can be hugely frustrating to be stuck behind one.
Mum in a Hurry
Busy mums are always zipping about between school, football practice or dance lessons. Their car is most likely a complete tip, with sweet wrappers, muddy boots or baby changing equipment strewn across the vehicle. Parking can be tricky so they'll think nothing of mounting a kerb or leaving the engine running on double yellows while the collect their offspring.
Amber Gambler
When these chancers see the lights change from green to amber their first thought isn't to slow to a halt, but instead hit the accelerator and prey that they miss the red light. Mostly they get it spot on, but if two Amber Gamblers meet at a junction it can be hugely dangerous.
Just Passed
These motorists never put a foot wrong, and would be too scared to even think about driving over the speed limit. Don't get stuck behind them on a busy roundabout, as you could be waiting a while before they decide to move.
Know it all
Know it all's can recite the entire highway code from memory, and take great pleasure in pointing out mistakes and having a go at other drivers for making them.
Short Fuse
These are the dangerous drivers who can be a real menace to other road users, mostly but not always male, they regard overtaking as a personal slight and if you dare cut them up even by accident they are likely to force you off the road for a confrontation.