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When you think of the marijuana economy, the first types of businesses that you'd expect to link with the industry are the primary players—growers, producers, dispensaries, and even testing labs. But the marijuana industry opens doors to business opportunities far beyond the primary players.
As with every other industry, the marijuana industry needs a lot more than the actual manufacturers and retailers. It also needs a lot of players across the entire supply chain, and that's where some of the biggest business opportunities in this industry currently exist.
It's an opportunity that has not gone unnoticed. In fact, many companies have already seized the opportunity by extending their current businesses to service the primary marijuana players.
The Biggest Opportunities are in Picks and Shovels
A key finding in Cannabiz Media's report, Tracking the Connecticut Licensed Marijuana Economy: 2015 Edition, was that a significant opportunity in the Connecticut marijuana industry is investing in picks and shovels. It's not surprising that recent news reports have been highlighting the secondary players in the industry that have discovered their own opportunities to generate big profits from marijuana.
While the marijuana economy is expected to grow to $29 billion by 2019, the market for all of the products and services marijuana growers, producers, dispensaries, and testing labs need is expected to grow as high as three times that amount.
According to a December 2015 report by Merrill Lynch, Medical Cannabis has a High Potential: A Joint Biotech and Tools Primer, the market for equipment used to test cannabis for potency and quality (i.e., Life Sciences Tools) is expected to grow to between $50 million and $100 million by 2020. Add in all of the services and equipment that growers, sellers, and testers need—such as lighting, shelving, temperature and humidity controls, storage containers, trimming tools—and the size of the market grows exponentially!
Businesses are Already Profiting from the Marijuana Opportunity
The Cannabiz Media report says, "Companies in the agriculture space see cannabis as simply another crop that needs their products. They'll make money regardless as marijuana businesses need grow lights, fertilizer, greenhouses, and extraction machinery."
Cannabiz Media's research found that for many companies in the agriculture space, shifting into marijuana was a natural extension, but this is something businesses beyond agriculture are discovering and starting to pursue.
Waters Corporation was mentioned in the Cannabiz Media report as an example of a company that has successfully expanded into the marijuana industry. Waters Corporation financed its hardware to 75% of Connecticut's marijuana growers. Merrill Lynch also mentioned Waters Corporation in its report along with Aligent Technologies and Thermo Fisher Scientific. All three are multi-billion dollar companies that are providing equipment to producers and marijuana testing labs.
However, smaller businesses are jumping on the marijuana business opportunity, too. The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported this week that multiple Wisconsin-based small and mid-sized companies are finding ways to profit from the marijuana economy.
Roastar created a new brand, Vessel Verde, to sell its digitally printed, flexible pouches to hold marijuana edibles for retail sale. Cubic Designs entered the market when a marijuana distributor contacted the company to purchase its mezzanine platform structures to hold marijuana plants. And when marijuana growers began purchasing multiple Quest dehumidifiers from Therma-Stor, the company saw an opportunity and created a complete business plan to ramp up selling its Quest products to marijuana growers.
Overcoming the Barriers to Entry in the Marijuana Industry
There are many reasons why the marijuana industry is such an attractive opportunity for businesses outside of the primary testing, growing, and dispensing players. Current marijuana laws make it difficult for those primary players to make money.
There are laws preventing the primary players from getting traditional bank loans and credit. There are tax rules that don't allow marijuana companies to take ordinary business deductions. And of course, there are still societal concerns about marijuana in general.
Despite these challenges, the marijuana industry is here to stay. All that's left to find out is which companies will profit from it the most. The opportunity is wide open.
Susan Gunelius, Lead Analyst for Cannabiz Media and author of Marijuana Licensing Reference Guide: 2017 Edition, is also President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company offering, copywriting, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and strategic branding services. She spent the first half of her 25-year career directing marketing programs for AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more as well as small businesses around the world. She has been working with clients in the cannabis industry since 2015. Susan has written 11 marketing-related books, including the highly popular Content Marketing for Dummies, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, and she is a popular marketing and branding keynote speaker. She is also a Certified Career Coach and Founder and Editor in Chief of Women on Business, an award-winning blog for business women. Susan holds a B.S. in marketing and an M.B.A in management and strategy.


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Spacious Villa With Dishwasher and Deco Fireplace on Texel
- Free WiFi in lobby and free parking
- Great for families
- Collect stamps
More great choices
What's around Spacious Villa With Dishwasher and Deco Fireplace on Texel
- Dunes of Texel National Park - 5 min walk
- Wadden Sea - 19 min walk
- Vuurtorenweg Texel Beach - 33 min walk
- De Koog Beach - 7.5 mi / 12 km
- Ecomare - 8.2 mi / 13.2 km
- Dutch Navy Museum - 15.9 mi / 25.7 km
- Callantsoog Beach - 21.6 mi / 34.7 km
- Golfbaan Ooghduyne - 21.8 mi / 35.1 km
Getting around
- Den Helder Station - 50 min drive
- Den Helder Zuid Station - 55 min drive
The cottage
Key facts
- Free self parking
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Non-smoking
- Washer/dryer
- Pets allowed
- 4 bedrooms
- Bed sheets provided
- 2 bathrooms
- Shower
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Dishwasher
- Stovetop
- Highchair
Entertainment and recreation
- DVD player
- Access to outdoor pool
- Access to sauna
- Terrace
- Garden
Fees & policies
- Check-in time 3:00 PM-8:00 PM
- Check-out time is 10:00 AM
Towels are not included in the room rate. Towels are available for a surcharge or guests must bring their own.
Required at check-in
- Credit card, debit card, or cash deposit required for incidental charges
- Government-issued photo ID may be required
- Minimum check-in age is 18
Travelling with others
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Pets allowed *
- Restrictions apply *
- 1 per room
Mandatory fees
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 2.25 per person, per night
- High chair fee: EUR 3.9 per accommodation, per night
- Towels fee: EUR 6.6
Optional extras
Cribs/Infant beds are available for EUR 3.9 per night
Pets are allowed for an extra charge of EUR 5.6 pet, night
For details on pet restrictions, contact the property at the number on the booking confirmation.Please note that cultural norms and guest policies may differ by country and by property. The policies listed are provided by the property.
Also known as
- Spacious Villa With Dishwasher Deco Fireplace on Texel
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FAQs for Spacious Villa With Dishwasher and Deco Fireplace on Texel
Is parking offered at this cottage? Yes, there's free self parking. Is there a pool at this cottage? Yes, there's an outdoor pool. Are pets allowed at this cottage? Yes, pets are welcome, with a limit of 1 per room. There's a charge of EUR 5.6 pet, night. What are the check-in and check-out times at this cottage? You can check in from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Check-out time is 10:00 AM.
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Heating and Cooling Tips
The ENERGY STAR Program has information about heating and cooling efficiently during winter
Burning the right wood, the right way, and in the right appliance can make all the difference in improving your energy efficiency in the winter, while still being aware of the health effects wood smoke can have.
- Choosing Wood Burning Appliances
- Best Wood Burning Practices
- Burn Wise Energy Efficiency
- Wood Smoke and Your Health
Staying Safe in Winter Weather
Reduce risk during severe winter weather conditions
Sun safety is a concern in winter, too! Snow reflects the damaging rays of the sun, which can increase your chance of sunburn.
Holiday Tips
Tips for Reducing Waste During the Thanksgiving and Winter Holidays
Consider donating or recycling electronics that were replaced during the holiday season.


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The Summer of 82 Boy Gets The Job
If you've never been fired, good for you. But if like many of us you have, you know it usually isn't a great feeling. It's not as bad as some things in life, but it's better to hear "you're hired" than, "you're fired."
Speaking of "you're fired," it's been a catch-phrase of Trump since the premiere of his apprentice show days and up until now. But right now, he's about to say you're hired to the "Summer of 82 boy," Brett Kavanaugh. In fact, as I write this Kavanaugh has just been confirmed by the senate 50-48.
But what Kavanaugh proved to the Democrats last week while he refuted the charges of sexual misconduct in 82, was his ineptitude, and he also revealed that he isn't't exactly for impartial. He made accusations. "It's a calculated and orchestrated political hit," said Brett. "Revenge upon behalf of the Clintons. This is a circus, the consequences will extend long past my nomination. What goes around, comes around," And he went on to claim his reputation was ruined because of this.
But apparently his reputation wasn't so ruined as he claimed, because he got the job. However, there's a large segment of the population who feel the FBI investigation was stymied and Kavanaugh got railroaded in.
So why do I call a man who was just confirmed as a Supreme Court judge, "the summer of 82 boy?" Well, let me begin by saying what Kamala Harris pointed out. The object of the hearings was not to prove whether the Senators had enough facts to determine whether or not a crime had been committed, but rather to determine if he was fit to serve on the highest court in the land.
At the hearing Kavanaugh wanted us to accept what he wrote on his summer of 82 Calendar as proof he wasn't there when Christine Blasey Ford claimed he was. The investigation was limited from the start and the White House placed a short time limit on the FBI and did not permit them to do a thorough job.
Of course Kavanaugh and his family see this as a victory for themselves, they probably don't care what Democrats think.
But I say an endorsement from Trump would be like Groucho Marx's cameo in a Bing Crosby film, with Kavanaugh as Bing and Trump as Groucho. Kavanaugh says, "Gee thanks a lot, Trump, for showing up. There's nothing in the world I wouldn't do for you." And Trump replies, "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you too… that makes two of us who do nothing for each other."


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News archive for October 2016
Made in the UK - Re-Shoring with Nichol McKay26 Oct
Re-Shoring with Nichol McKay Ltd.
Having trouble with your overseas suppliers? Delivery schedules not being met? Finding it difficult to make changes to orders once placed? Is the quality not up to your standards? Are you finding your costs rising from your overseas supplier including currency, transportation and the need to "hold" more inventory that you need?
If these are issue you are facing—try re-shoring your goods with a trusted UK supplier.
View older articles from September 2016
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Hannity Voted "Worst on Fox," Rants on Twitter
Bad news, everyone: Sean Hannity is annoyed. The Fox News host's pre-Christmas break isn't proving to be quite as peaceful and harmonious as it might, thanks to a year-end opinion survey of cable news hosts by Mediaite. The website recently asked "several dozen" hosts to weigh in on their favorite and least favorites anchors from the three major networks. And you can probably guess who won out over at Fox News headquarters — Sean Hannity was voted "Worst on Fox" for 2014, and he didn't take it very well, subsequently turning in some all-American, all-caps Twitter hollering over it.
It's got to sting to know that colleagues in your industry dislike you and/or your work so much, there's no denying that, so you could easily forgive him for feeling a little wrung out. But it's important to note that this wasn't some personal exercise against Hannity — Ronan Farrow and Al Sharpton were tied for the worst of MSNBC, while a host of CNN personalities tied for the inglorious honor, including Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon.
And while I readily admit tone is sometimes hard to assess on Twitter, Hannity seemed to take the slight pretty badly, and then decided to shoot the messengers. He tweeted both at Mediaite's Matt Wilstein, and editor-in-chief Andrew Kirell, expressing his considerable displeasure.
Hannity's testy comparison between Mediaite and the overtly left-wing watchdog Media Matters is a pretty absurd one, and it kind of punctuates the hurt feelings. Whatever the political persuasions of their individual writers, I'd consider Mediaite's voice pretty scrupulously centrist, and they've employed vocally conservative writers before — Joe Concha for example, who Hannity cited, as well as ex-editor Noah Rothman, now an associate editor for Hot Air.
Kirell chimed in to suggest Hannity chill with the Tweet-screaming, but the host wasn't even willing to admit he was upset about it, insisting he was only angry about the tragic NYPD shooting that occurred this weekend.
I realize entirely that it's irritating when someone on Twitter tells you to "take a time out." Especially when the juices are flowing, and you're running a little hot. Why back down, when the next angry thing you tweet will be the perfect knock-out punch? But the thing is, it's almost always good advice. Otherwise, you might look silly, like this.
Everyone needs a vacation sometimes, and it seems like Hannity's end-of-year break is at least coming at the right time. Here's to hoping for a happier, more congenial new year — after 2014, I think we could all use it.


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Grantham, NH84 Greensward Drive
Est. Mortgage: $/month
MLS Number 4806979
- Residential Single Family
- Village Eastman
- Construction Existing
- Bathroom 5
- Bedrooms 4
Stunning 10 room Post & Beam Timberpeg home with 3 en-suite bedrooms and a private en-suite bonus/in-law/family room, situated on 1.2 private acres, with perennial gardens, on the 12th fairway of Eastman's golf course. This home offers one floor living, an open concept lifestyle, beech flooring, a gourmet center island kitchen with a 5-burner gas cook top, double ovens, stainless appliances, granite counters and walk-in pantry. Gather in front of the dramatic 2 story wood burning fireplace in the Great Room or enjoy the warmth of the fireplace inset gas stove in the cozy den/office. The first-floor master suite offers a large walk-in closet and tiled bath with double vanities. Curl up and read a book in the sunroom connecting to the enclosed porch and deck. The second floor offers 2 guest suites. Mudroom and finished garage. The lower walkout level has opportunity for finished space. Three-bedroom septic system. Comfort in all seasons, enjoy central air and a whole house generator. Conveniently located to all of Eastman's. Amenities with golf and cross country skiing right out your door, Eastman Lake, beaches, boat launch, canoe/kayak racks, water front walking paths, community/recreation center, indoor pool, fitness and game rooms, beach snack bar and Clubhouse restaurant, tennis, pickle ball, biking and more. Near Hanover, Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, New London and skiing. Come and discover your new home and community. Under 2 hours to Boston.
Listed by Stephanie Wheeler of Four Seasons Sotheby's Int'l Realty
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Pictures and video are included at the end of each segment.
By: Mikayla
Since the diving incident yesterday, I've decided not to dive today. Everyone else will probably be doing three dives today, one dive at 6:00a.m., a dive at 10:30, and a night dive at 6:00p.m.
Dad did all three dives today, he also went fishing, and Tyla did the night dive. My day today involved suntanning with the ladies on the lido deck, listening to music, relaxing, reading, fishing for squid, and watching the sun go down. Mostly I just tried to forget about yesterday!
My dad came back with the guys from fishing and they caught a Dog Tooth Tuna. Sashimi for lunch tomorrow, yay!
My sister and dad came back from the night dive and said there were about 100 sharks and stingrays that they could touch. Ingolf who has had over 2000 dives, said that this was his best night dive he's ever had.
They dove with flashlights through a pass, which had some current, and awesome visibility. Resting on the bottom on their knees, they witnessed two nurse sharks mating. The male was biting on to the females fin, and they were rolling around each other.
Huge eagle rays were touching their faces and suits. They were able to pet and stroke the nurse sharks that were swimming against there bodies, some of them were bigger than my dad! Looking up at the surface with their flashlights, they could see more than 100 sharks circling above. These sharks come here for feeding, from the resort of the atoll, it sounded so incredible, and everyone was so excited when they got back to the boat!
Ingolf and Micheal took videos of this amazing dive and I was lucky to see this adventure. I'm so proud of my sister for doing this advanced night dive, way to go sis! She said her heart was pounding with excitement and she can't wait for tomorrows night dive. Everyone celebrated with wine and watched the video with awe. Can't wait to dive tomorrow.
By: Tyla
Our day started off by diving on a reef with the whole family. We dove to 60 feet for 61 minutes, and enjoyed a relaxing, no current, and colorful dive. It was the perfect first dive for Mikayla since the "incident".
When we arrived back, I relaxed and read my book until it was time to decide if I wanted to do another night dive, in the end I headed to the boat with my dad and we geared up and drove to our destination.
By the time we arrived, the sun was setting, perfect timing! Everyone jumped in the water, but this time there was a medium current so we had to descend to the bottom right away. When I reached the bottom with my dad, we started to swim with the current trying to find a spot to see some sharks.
When we found a decent spot, we grabbed onto some coral so the current wouldn't take us away. Luckily I was given a "reef hook" for this dive, so I simply took it out of my BCD, clipped it to a rock, and hung in the current without having to hang on, hands-free!
It was starting to look like yesterday's night dive was way better, we didn't see that many sharks or rays this time, and there were way more divers around us, flashing lights everywhere and in our faces.
We still got to touch and play with a few, but it looks like yesterday's dive was a dive of a lifetime. Just as we were about to go, I did see my first Black tip reef shark, that was awesome!
We slowly swam to the surface as the boat came and picked us up. We went to 70 feet for 50 minutes
We arrived back and about ten minutes later, dinner was served! Yummy my favorite part of the day.
After I ate I headed straight to bed. What a fantastic day!
By: Mikayla
We are at Felidhe atoll enjoying the hot weather in the Maldives. For schoolwork my dad, my sister and I did blog entries for a couple of hours.
In the mid afternoon my mom, my sister and a couple of other people, and I went snorkeling for an hour. We saw Gilded Pipefish, Oriental Sweetlips, Sea Horse, Rockcods and many more.
My dad went on three dives today, my sister did one dive, my mom did a dive as well. Another cool thing they saw was the Golden wall which had yellow soft coral hanging from the walls. Tyla did her deepest dive at 95 feet, and she also went through some cool caves with dad. I didn't feel like diving that day but I said that I would dive the next day. They said that they saw so many cool things like Giant moray, Napoleon fish, a Turtle, and a big school of big eye travelle.
Since it was Naomi's birthday we planned a little beach/birthday party barbecue on a private sand island. We went on little boats to the beach that were filled with all the trays of food. During the day the workers built a whale shark table out of sand, about 20 feet long, which we would sit around for dinner. On this sculpture they also used black sand for the body, and white sand for the spots, which were evenly placed on the whole whale shark, this looked so real.
They dug little holes in the sand around the perimeter of the party, which had lit candles inside. Everyone was so surprised and in awe at how amazing it was.
For dinner we had rice, mama-noodles, spaghetti, salad, fish, chicken and for fruit orange, watermelon and pineapple. What a feast! Everyone was so tired and ready to head back to the yacht. We went to bed happy and stuffed.
By: Tyla
My dad was going to do an early morning sunrise dive leaving at 5:30am. It was 135 foot, blue water dive in the dark to see hopefully see Hammerhead sharks. Unfortunately, the sharks didn't cooperate but the rest of the dive turned out to be very cool anyways, especially as the sun came up and the light changed.
Today was sunny with no clouds, which made for a perfect second dive today. It was Mikayla's most comfortable dive and she achieved the perfect buoyancy. The visibility was okay, and I did see some giant clams, corals I've never seen before, and huge anemones. Our dive went to 60 feet for 50 minutes. It was nice to see my sister building back her confidence.
When we arrived back, the boats anchor was pulled up and we headed to our next destination.
By: Mikayla
The dive master likes to plan for three dives a day. The nice thing about this charter, is the dives are unlimited for everybody on the yacht. Our dive master name is Ebbe, but who's nicknamed Blue, dives every single day except one week in a year. Ebbe draws a plan on a white board, where the current is, where the most colorful fish and corals are, and the depth. Most morning dives start around 6:30 or 7:00, and these are usually our deep dives for the day. The second dive is at a lesser depth, and the third dive is about the same but with longer surface intervals to allow for Nitrogen to leave our bodies. When we come back from diving there's always "food", and everyone is always starving.
Peter the chef always bakes buns, bread, and chocolate filled croissants from scratch. All the food is so fresh, arranged in buffet style for 17 people every day, so he's up at four am. every morning.
Our second dive is usually around eleven, so for lunch Peter prepares something different everyday, and rings "THE BELL" when it's ready, everyone comes running.
Dad has gone on all the dives so far, and this morning's dive was drifting through a channel. He saw five black tip sharks, and a spotted ray.
The second dive was around Kuda Rah Thila, which is a mound of coral and rock attached to the seabed. My mom, dad, and I dove here for 45 minutes, to 26.5 meters. We swam around and around the Thila, observing all the tiny creatures living on the mound. The water was the clearest so far, so many schools of fish, and my mom saw her first shark in the Maldives.
Dad went on the third dive, and the rest of our family were dropped off at a white sand beach to shell collect, and look around. We were surprised to see how much garbage had floated to this beach. Everything from flip flops, to every type of plastic container. Later we were informed that only 20% of this rubbish was from the Maldives and the rest is from India. These countries don't have recycling programs that we do in North America, a lot of their garbage is thrown overboard, it's so sad to see in such a beautiful place. On a positive note, the water was really warm, and there was lots of shells, such as Abalone, Cowries, and cone shells.
In the evening, we grabbed pillows and blankets, and headed up to the top deck to look at the stars, and enjoy the cool evening breeze. Goodnight.
By: Tyla
We've been looking forward to this dive at Manta Point. Our dive was at 16 meters for 78 minutes, and our idea was that we would wait on the bottom for the mantas to come and feed. After about 20 minutes, the first one showed up/ They looked amazing, we watched them spin around doing loops while feeding on plankton and little fish. They were huge and had wing spans of about 15 feet, and had white bellies with huge filter mouths. Sometimes they would just sit still and float around, it was so cool! We were so close, that my dad touched one and the GoPro was within inches of them.
While we waited for more mantas to come, there were tiny eels that would come out and bite our fins, they thought they were tough, but they weren't. I also spotted a white tip reef shark and touched a turtle.
We didn't see any more Manta's, so we decided to head up and end the dive. While I was doing my safety stop, a manta swam bye 25 feet away. What a nice way to end a dive, with one more sighting!
Our next spot was a two hour boat ride, and we were going to snorkel with whale sharks. The good thing was, we saw a huge whale shark within five feet of us, and it was about 30 feet long, in 20 feet of water and we swam right beside him when we dove down.
The bad part was that there were about 50 other people there kicking and smashing into us to try and keep up with the whale shark. So it was fight for your territory, or get kicked, and head butted by frantic snorkelers. At least we got to see one.
We were invited bye Ingolf Winter and his family, to go for a special dinner at a the Resort Mirihi. Amy is the owner, and has staff of a 152 working there that live on the island. It has thirty eight bungalows, that can accommodate 78 people. Ingolf and his family have been going to this place for 10 years, and I must say, I know why. Everything is five star here. They used soft white sand as their floors in the restaurants and lounge areas, and everything flows perfectly with the natural surroundings.
They had arrange to have a table for 18 on the beach just for us, fully set with candles and tiki torches all around. Wow, the food was amazing, we had an unbelievable selection of food, including Wagyu beef tenderloin, Australian special reserve lamb chops, First Grade Ahi tuna steaks, gigantic local lobsters, with all the side dishes and trimmings you could imagine. The food was piled on huge platters and you just told them what you wanted grilled. The wine pairings apparently were delicious, but better yet was the triple display dessert platter for each person! This was such a wonderful night, I felt like Cinderella!
By: Mikayla
We have been at this atoll for two days, and yesterday's manta dive was so spectacular that we repeated the dive. Even though last night was the party at Mirihi resort, we had a pretty good turnout for divers. Mom and dad did the morning dive to 14.5 meters for 78 minutes. This time they saw five mantas that were feeding on the plankton right in front of them. Dad was able to touch one the wings, and filmed inside its mouth. They also saw two small sharks, and a huge Napoleon fish.
The yacht drove for two hours to the next destination which was the Panettone dive. Dad, Mom, and Tyla dove here to 27 meters for 50 minutes. This was moms strongest current dive, but they were able to tuck behind overhangs and caves to enjoy the five different colored soft corals hanging on all the rocks. Tyla spotted two Stone fish and warned everyone. My parents were impressed with how well she handles herself in the current, she's so calm and aware of everything around her.
Dad dove the third dive to the Pesdhoo Wreck at 29 meters and finished at the Mine Reef, so my mom and I decided to snorkel at the House Reef. We saw white tip reef sharks, enormous clams, and different kinds of corals. Good exercise for the day.
By: Tyla
Today the boat was arriving at our new destination for diving at Hafza Thila. We took the smaller dive boat, and headed to our new dive spot, once we arrived, we got our gear on, jumped in, and started descending. At about 10 feet Mikayla was having trouble with her regulator, it was filling up with water and she was having trouble breathing. So my dad and Mikayla had to abort the dive.
My mom and I continued the dive to 100 feet for 56 minutes, we saw about 18 small white tip reef sharks, and one large 5 footer. There were many over hangs with soft corals dangling from the top in bright colors. We had found out after the dive that my sisters regulator had a fold in the mouth piece, which caused water to pour in, it was a simple fix, but they missed the dive anyways.
The second and third dive were at Fishhead Thila, this would be a harder dive, so only dad would be doing these. This dive had a full flow current which made descending a bit difficult.
Dad dove down to 120 feet, and was able to swim out of the current and enjoy the rest of his dive.
We waited till the sun was setting and headed over to a smaller island to have a barbecue for Isabelle's
birthday. When we arrived, there was a path lit by candles that led to a dinning table that was nicely set. Not too far away were sand sculptures of a dolphin, manta ray, shark, and a whale shark. They were amazing.
Peter the chef had made a wonderful dinner yet again, including a birthday cake! The lighting was perfect and there was music playing so everyone had a little dance. When we arrived back the crew was playing music on the boat, and everyone had fun and danced some more.
MARCH 15th, SOME GOODBYE'S
By: Mikayla
Dad was the only person from our family diving today. There were only four divers because Berndt, Marion, Klaus, and Thorson were flying back to Germany. Dad filmed Ebbe stroking two morays under their chins, Dad also played with a turtle, who kept nudging the Go Pro with his head. There were no more dives for the day, so everyone was reading, relaxing, and suntanning.
Suddenly we heard a huge splash, and Tyla "the brave one" jumped off the third level of the yacht which was about 35 feet. Now the jumping competition began, the daring ones jumped from the very top, and landed with success. The second level jumpers were called "coco lows", which means chicken, or scaredy cats. They were the loudest and goofiest of all the people there. The first level jumpers couldn't and wouldn't even jump, they were mostly the crew. What a great way to spend an afternoon in the sun.
By: Tyla
We woke up to a day with big seas, thunder heads and strong winds. We took the dive boat to the outside reef called Maamignili, we spent three hours on the boat searching for whale sharks. We spotted two in that three hour period,with half of the people snorkeling and half diving. All the snorkels were able to see the whale shark, but my dad was the only one actually swim close and see it. He swam right beside it looking it right in the eye, and gliding right over top of it. He was all by himself with no other divers around and was there for 18 minutes taking some amazing footage, you can see it on his Facebook.
The dive boat went on the outside of the South Ari atoll to look for more whale sharks. Sadly they didn't find any, and met us at manta point. This was a good excursion to skip!
The yacht motored on the inside of the reef, to meet up with the dive boat and the dive boat tried numerous times to tie up to the yacht, but the waves were to big so it was unable to work. The small dinghie went to rescue the guests, and safely return them to the mother ship.
The manta point dive was canceled due to high seas. As we were searching for a safe anchorage, we also found a calm spot to dive. This was a family dive on the house reef of Bullha Lhohi. This was a dive to 22.5 meters for 56 minutes. The visibility was 50 feet and we saw, a purple and yellow nudibranks, cleaning shrimp, a large black Eel, white stringy coral, a spotted ray, and a long fin starfish, this dive had no problems and was very enjoyable.
By: Mikayla
Our family dive to Rangali Outside was a reef dive, which would be both challenging and interesting. The current was light but the ocean surge was strong. It was hard to control our buoyancy, and equalization within 20 feet of the surface. The up and down movements made our ears plugged and we felt a little bit dizzy. Our dive was to 25 meters for 51 minutes. We encountered two white tip sharks, two turtles, a leopard and a black moray.
We returned to the Mirihi resort to meet up with Gabby, Ingolf's wife, who just flew in from Germany. It was her birthday today so Ingolf invited us to a special buffet lunch at the resort. The variety of food was unbelievable, and mostly made to order, so not like any regular buffet.
A thunder storm approached us, and we all ran for cover, but it only lasted for a few minutes and it was over. The afternoon was relaxing on the boat with Ebbe finally jumping off the third level of the yacht.
Pretty quiet days as are most transit days. We did a lot of school work and blog entries. We traveled back to Male, stayed a night in town, and got ready for a flight to Sri Lanka the next day.
This is a great video of a special moment I had alone with a Whale Shark while scuba diving. Six of us jumped in but the fish sounded and went deep, I kept swimming in his general direction and then he appeared, heading straight up to the surface. You can see this at the beginning. I followed him down again, a very special moment in my life. We have much more video including an awesome 30 minute movie highlighting our entire dive dive trip. As soon as we get anything resembling decent internet speed, we will upload it.
Here is another quick video of a Manta encounter. You will notice Adriana near the end of the video enjoying an awesome fly-by!
By: Tyla
Today we were heading to Sri Lanka for three weeks, it would only be an hour flight, and we are renting a Villa on the beach for one week with Michael and Isabelle. We arrived in Sri Lanka, and ,wow, was it ever unique! Very different from the Maldives or the Philippines.
We had arranged for a taxi van to pick us up at the airport and drive us to the villa. We first drove through Colombo to pick up some supplies and snacks. This place was busy, with honking horns, tuk tuks zipping everywhere, and buses driving like maniacs. We then headed to the highway to take a long five hour car ride to the villa. I really enjoyed the drive, we saw tea trees, rubber trees, cinnamon trees, pillow stuffing trees, and banana trees.
When the five hours was coming to an end, we turned off onto a dirt road that lead to the villa. It had a pool with loungers, and coconut trees all around it, four air-conditioned rooms with en suites, three staff including a cook, gardener, and pool cleaner. There was a gate that lead to a yellow sand beach with waves coming from Antarctica. We spent the rest off the evening in the pool, relaxing, and having a great dinner.
By: Mikayla
We woke up and went down to have breakfast. While we were eating I saw something move in the grass, I looked closer and saw what it thought was a lizard, but it couldn't be because it was so huge. I didn't think it was real, until it moved. I screamed to everyone and they all dropped their forks and jumped up to see what I was pointing at. My dad yelled, "it's a Monitor Lizard!". Michael and my mom ran to get their cameras and we walked closer to get a good look. The water Monitor was about four feet long, it was huge! We got really close to it and were lucky to get some great photos.
We finished breakfast, and the Gardner came running to tell us that there were monkeys at the front gate. We all ran to see the cook dumping a bucket of fruit pieces out for the monkeys. One by one they came out of the trees, three had babies hanging off them, it was cute!
After that we went swimming in the pool. Through out the afternoon we lounged, read, and baked in the sun. We watched a man who works here clime up a palm tree and chopped down some fresh coconuts, which he prepared and served to us in the pool, it was so awesome!
By: Tyla
The mornings here are beautiful. With a cool marine mist, gentle breeze, and the sound of crashing waves, what a great way to start your day! We have been walking down to the beach to watch the sunrise, the mornings are usually brisk with the cool marine air, and it is neat to feel the change as the sun rises and the day starts to warm up.
My parents had noticed some locals bringing in a huge net from the ocean to collect fish, so they decided to help. They said it was hard work for what they had brought in, only tiny fish, and a few medium to smaller sized fish, but it was a great cultural experience with the local fisherman.
We had made a plan to take a taxi to the local market and get some groceries for the cook. When we arrived there, it was so busy! There was so many different fruits, and vegetables, and people everywhere. It wasn't even smelly at all, it actually had a very nice aroma in the air.
After buying a few thing we headed back to the villa to enjoy some coconuts and swimming in the pool.
By: Mikayla
Today was an exciting day for everyone because we were going on a safari. We ate breakfast, and Sanjay from Lanka Trackers arrived in his jeep to pick us up. The jeep was an old 4×4 that had a pop up roof and bench seats in the back.
The drive to Uda Walawe Park Reserve was two hours. About half way, we stopped and hopped out to see three thousand fruit bats hanging in the trees beside a river, it was amazing. Some of the vegetation Sanjay showed us was black pepper, banana plantations, rice fields, egg plant bushes, and dragon fruit trees.
We arrived to the elephant orphanage and proceeded behind a little fence. The elephants were fed with a giant milk bottle, and played around with each other. There was also an elephant that had a prosthetic leg, it was so sad to see, but better then the alternative I guess. There was a cute little elephant that kept running away from one of the workers, it was so funny. The older elephants wouldn't share the food with the small elephants, so they had to eat dried up leaves and twigs. One of the elephants knelt down on their knees to drink the milk because they were too tall.
We ate at a buffet and left to go on to the safari. First off we went to an elephant water hole, there were about 20 elephants in the water and there was a baby as well. They gave themselves mud baths and ran in the water to rinse off and play. They protected the baby by pushing it underwater so it wouldn't be seen by predators, and always kept the baby in the middle of the adults. It was amazing how they could hide her and keep her protected as a family.
There were different terrains in the reserve like jungle, and low brush. We drove through a river and lost a window. There were about 10 crocodiles in the river including one that was over ten feet long! There were soft shell turtles, a variety of birds like a kingfisher, a parakeet and many more, as well as water buffalo, land monitors, monkeys, mongoose, peacocks, including one that opened their tail for us.
During the safari it got very hot and there was no wind, everyone was sweating and drinking water every minute.
While we were driving there was a herd of elephants and a baby, they all ran to one side of the road but the baby was left on the opposite side. It started crying and running to find its mother it was quite the show like a little kid having a temper tantrum. When he finally met up with his mom, he cried even louder like he was giving her hell.
The total of elephants we saw were 81, that was more than any other safari that day, and three times as many as most.
What a day of education, and enjoyment, something I will never forget.
By: Mikayala
We woke up, ate breakfast, and jumped in the pool. We suntanned and relaxed, except my dad and Michael, who mostly drank cocktails and started to get silly.
By mid afternoon, Michael and dad were feeling no pain, and were now jumping the monster waves in the ocean, and stumbling on the beach laughing like kids. Well, let's just say that the show got pretty interesting with the two of them as we moved into the evening hours. We were all pretty happy when Dad, the star of the show, finally stayed in bed.
Early the next morning, Michael and Isabelle had to leave. My dad and Michael were pretty quiet for some reason. But everyone had big hugs and kisses as we sent them on their way. We will miss them.
Today was an early morning, getting up at 5:30 to catch a van to the temple/monastery of Mulkirigala, a Buddhist site in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. The drive was two and a half hours, and it was pretty busy for this early in the morning. Kids were already going to school, with matching uniforms and nicely done hair, old men with sarongs taking their early morning walk, while dogs sat on the side of the road, not scared one bit by the cars speeding by.
We arrived at the Rock monastery which is a series of rock temples carved out of a huge rock mountain which rises 200 meters out of the Palm Forest. There were four terraces, each had temples with statues of Sleeping Buddha, Dead Buddha, and other gods.
We climbed over 500 stairs to reach the top and were sweating, gulping down water, and dragging ourselves up the stairs, but it was worth it. At the top, our guide snuck us over the rail and through the bushes. When we came out, we were on a massive rock outcrop with a sheer drop over 800 feet straight down. The view was stunning. The way down was much easier and had a nice cool breeze. I had enjoyed this very much, as it was very educational.
The drive back was relaxing and everyone had a nice nap. The rest of the day was spent by the pool.
By: Mikayla
We stayed one week in Lanka Beach Villa and are now moving on to Unawatuna, a two and a half hour drive up the South-West coast of Sir Lanka.
The driving was crazy, people honking, roads winding, lots and lots of tuk tuks, buses, motorbikes, vans, trucks, and scooters. We were surprised that we haven't seen any accidents. On the roadside there were fisherman selling their catch of bonito, tuna, red snapper and other smaller fish. There was also houses along the road with people drying fish on the roof.
There were beautiful beaches through Mirissa and Welligama. There were fisherman sitting on stilts stuck in the sand, fishing with long poles. My mom wanted to take a picture so we got out and this guy came running out of the bushes and asked for money for the pictures. We refused, and as we were driving away, we noticed the whole thing was staged, there wasn't even line on the poles. What a shame.
We arrived in Unawatuna, and checked into the Paradise Garden. We had a family room for four nights, at $50 a night with breakfast included. What an awesome deal we are back on our budget again as we spoiled ourselves at the villa. After we settled in we went to the beach for lunch and had English style fish and chips, and burgers, a nice change after three weeks of local foods. While we were eating it started to rain and my dad told us that there would be thunderstorms and rain for the next five days.
When we got back to Paradise gardens, we settled in. After a while it started pouring rain so we went outside and my mom ran in the rain and she said for us to join her, but my sister and I said no! Then my dad grabbed Tyla and I, but Tyla squirmed away. My dad pulled me into the rain and the three of us danced around and laughed. I have never seen it rain this hard!
By: Tyla
I have to say, I'm enjoying this town very much. There is plenty of things to do, it's not that touristy, but in a few years it will be. We had eaten at "Kokos on the beach" yesterday, and decided to go again, as we wanted to try different foods. Everyone ordered burgers, and yet again it was delicious. There was a good portion of food, but it was a little pricey.
After eating we enjoyed a peaceful walk on the beach, looking for a nice place to enjoy the sun and have a refreshing dip in the water. While swimming, I had noticed huge thunderheads and rain coming our way. We had decided to stay, even as rain pounded on the water. The winds were strong, and the seas were high, so we decided it's time to go. By the time we had arrived back, the winds had picked up, while huge lighting bolts and loud thunder claps erupted throughout the sky. Wasn't expecting this kind of weather! We would wake up every day to sunny skies, but by 3pm, the clouds started rolling in.
We relaxed watching the rain die down, and went on a short but enjoyable walk to search for a different and fancier place to eat. We found a restaurant called Flower garden, it looked nice, and was very well presented. We took a seat and ordered drinks and dinner. Wow, this is probably the nicest dinner we've had in Sri Lanka, another great tip from TripAdvisor. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly. I definitely recommend this if your ever traveling through Unawatuna.
By: Mikayla
We were excited to get up early today because we were going to Galle Fort, a historical town in Sri Lanka. We had to get two tuk tuks because the designs were different then the ones in the Philippines. We bartered with two drivers and negotiated a price of $7 for both for the 15 minute trip to the Fort.
On the way to Galle Fort we stopped at a place called Amovita botanical garden which was a rip off tourist trap scam that we were lured to by the drivers. We got to taste and smell different plants and trees like cinnamon, lemongrass, mint, sandalwood, and a hair removal cream that was put on my dads leg, and left a nice six inch bald patch for everyone to see. He was so mad. In the end the guide brought us to a hidden store that had creams, lotions, and potions, all very expensive. We took one look at each other and said this was a scam and headed for the door giving the owner a $2 tip for his time.
We were back on the road again driving to Galle Fort. This area is known as the best kept colonial town in Sir Lanka. The streets are lined with old churches and Dutch colonial villages and it really gave you a feel of what it was like during the early days.
Some buildings in the fort have been renovated into hotels, private villas, and restaurants. The main gate to the fort has an old arch that says 1697 and has the coat of arms which shows two lions holding a crest, with a rooster on it. We've never seen anything this old before. There are huge rock walls covered in moss and grass growing everywhere around the colonial town. The walls had many points where cannons would have been placed and it was neat to see how the fort was designed to defend itself.
We went to a restaurant called a Minute by Tuk Tuk, and the view was incredible. We had appetizers and COLD drinks. When we finished eating we called Dinesh, our Tuk Tuk driver, and asked for him to pick us up. When we arrived at Paradise gardens everyone took showers, cooled off and relaxed.
When it was dinner time we went to Pink Elephant restaurant, it's quite the cool place, more of a backpacker restaurant, and the food was delicious. What a hot historic day.
MARCH 30TH, 2015- Peace Pagoda and Jungle Beach
By: Tyla
The day started of with birds chirping and a beautiful sunrise. We had previously packed a backpack for the day trip to the 'Japanese Peace Pagoda' and 'Jungle Beach'. We had walked at 10:00am to the small street out front, enjoying the morning breeze while waiting for our local tuk tuk driver. We arrived at our destination and hiked up a small hill reaching the gleaming white Peace Pagoda, which was made by Japanese Buddhists in 2004. I must say the view was beautiful looking out over the crisp blue sea and bright cloudless sky. We had walked around the the Pagoda, looking at gold statues of Buddha, and then carried on to look for our path to the beach.
Not too far away was a long dirt road that lead to Jungle Beach. It was an enjoyable walk through the jungle listening to the sound of waves crashing, while birds sang there daily songs. The beach was soft white sand, while the water a crisp dark blue. Right on the tiny beach was a restaurant with beach lounge chairs, a perfect place to spend an afternoon ! The water was refreshing and so were the drinks!
By: Mikayla
Today we had a drive to Hikkaduwa which was two hours away. We packed our things, had breakfast, and went to see if our van had arrived… but it hadn't. Twenty minute later the driver showed up but had brought a really small car, and my dad said our luggage wasn't going to fit in it. He kept insisting that it was going to work, but finally realized that the luggage didn't fit. He then got two tuk tuks and said" we will take you in them," and dad said no way! Are you kidding me. There we were standing on the side of the road with our luggage in the sweltering heat and dad finally took control. We asked the owner of Paradise gardens if he could hire us a van. So he phoned a driver and said he will be here in 10 minutes. After waiting half an hour a man came up to us and asked if we were the people who needed a van? We found out that the driver was waiting for us the whole time! Is this gonna be one of those days?
Finally at 11:30 we were on the road to Hikkaduwa.
When we arrived at New Paradise Jungle Resort and Spa we were all a little disappointed at how it looked. We settled in to the room that we didn't even pick, but luckily it had air conditioning and a fan. Mine and Tyla's room didn't have a fan, it was hot, stinky and muggy, and it had a broken, chewed up window. The bathroom was disgusting, there was another broken window, the toilet was leaking, the sink was dirty, and the shower was broken. We had to make the best of it!
For lunch we went to J.L.H. Restaurant. The food was delicious and it was right on the beach. The thunder heads rolled in as usual, the rain pounding the ground, and everyone running for cover.
We were going to stay four nights at the "so called resort" but we changed it to to one. My sister and I were going to sleep in my mom and dads room because our room was too hot and muggy. The staff took apart our wooden beds and replaced them in my parents room.
Back at the motel hell, we worked on the blogs, read and relaxed. We went to the same restaurant for dinner an
BY: Tyla
Well, I have to say, everyone was overjoyed to leave the last place, we all grabbed our bags and bolted to the van. The drive was nice and I loved staring out the window, looking at the bright blue sky, the different sights, and as always, the cars speeding by. We arrived at the Comfort at 15 Hotel right on the water, and were served fresh orange juice, and cold cloths to wipe our faces.
The rooms were huge, really nice, and overlooked the water. They had bar fridges, big bathrooms, huge beds, AC, and room to jump around. At around lunchtime my mom and I took a short walk to the street to take a Tuk Tuk to KFC, yay! Fast food!
Our three days here was largely spent catching up on our schoolwork and writing the blog. We feel real bad for being so behind, but it is really hard to do everything during the day, and then write about it every night. We are doing our best and will try to get them out more frequently.
Next Blog…..We ditch our dive gear and suitcases, don our small day packs, and hit the old rail system for a tour through the highlands of Sri Lanka. We are so excited!


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From the tree to the table, San Patrignano signs the Christmas of Unicoop
Trays and Christmas trees in oak, obtained from the recycling of oak barrels used for the aging of wine. Decors in hand-sewn fabric assembling fabrics and materials received from warehouse wastage. The objects created by the Design Lab of San Patrignano return to Unicoop Florence to enter the houses of the members and to give Christmas the charm of the Italian craftsmanship. Not to mention the convenience and social value of these objects from community training laboratories where the 1300 male and female residents, every day struggle for a free future from a lifetime of dependencies.
On each object is kept the story of a resident, their dreams, their hopes. Like in Tommy's case that before he started his recovery path he felt like if he were waste, an outcast. As an object consumed and has run out of function. Then, once arrived in San Patrignano, someone brought him in the carpentry sector and told him to look at the old wood, once wine barrels, that receiving an unusual treatment. The carpenters are so dedicated and committed to imparting a new form and utility to those barrels. At that exact moment Tommy made his choice. To become a carpenter. For a simple reason. Smoothing and transforming the material that has escaped from being burnt, is a relief and confirmation. The relief and the confirmation that there is always a new possibility. Elegant and sinuous, the Christmas tree is constructed by assembling 27 slats in a geometry game that makes it light and proportioned as a sculpture. The same precious wood also makes trays, ideal for small tastings or for decorating the table. The precious 45-degree construction is hand-made, with simple tools of high cabinetry. The idea of using the recycled materials comes from Barrique's successful experience. The third life of wood, an experiment that has combined creativity and high craftsmanship as a sign of sustainability. High quality gifts from fashion companies are finally transformed into decorations that can be used to embellish the Christmas trees or as a placeholder or as a small original gift. The models are designed by the girls in the textile lab that this year have been inspired by the world of nature with reference to shapes and symbols that have more to do with Christmas.


text:
The SQL Server DBA's Guide to Docker Containers
Agile Deployment without Infrastructure Lock-in
Authors: Sarmiento, EdwinFree Preview
- Provides guidance on Docker specifically tailored for SQL Server Administrators
- Covers Docker-based deployments on both Windows Server and Linux platforms
- Helps you build the right technical skills for modernizing database deployments
Buy this book
- eBook $29.99
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Get introduced to the world of Docker containers from a SQL Server DBA's perspective. This book explains container technology and how it can improve the deployment of your SQL Server databases without infrastructure lock-in. You will be equipped with the right technical skills to guide stakeholders in your business as they adopt and adapt to new technologies to improve time-to-market and competitiveness. You will learn how to build a lab environment at home on which to build skills that transfer directly into your day job.
This book teaches you how to install and configure Docker on both Windows Server and Linux operating systems. You will learn the most common Docker commands that you need to know as a DBA to deploy and manage SQL Server on containers. Support for SQL Server on Linux is new, and this book has your back with guidance on creating Docker images specifically for deployment to a Linux platform. Included is coverage of key Linux commands needed to manage SQL Server on that operating system. By the end of the book you will have learned how to create your own custom SQL Server container images with configuration settings that are specific to your organization, that are capable of being deployed to both Windows Server and Linux.
What You Will Learn
- Create Docker containers for agile deployment of SQL Server
- Run multiple SQL Server instances on a single Linux machine
- Deploy custom images specific to your organization's needs
- Know the benefits and architecture of container technology
- Install and configure Docker on Windows Server and Linux
- Manage and persist SQL Server data in Docker containers
Who This Book Is For
Intermediate to senior SQL Server DBAs who are familiar with SQL Server on Windows and want to build their existing skills to deploy and manage SQL Server on Linux and through Docker containers. Readers should have a grasp of relational database concepts and be comfortable with the Transact-SQL language.
- About the authors
Edwin M. Sarmiento is Managing Director of 15C, a consulting company that specializes in designing, implementing, and managing high-availability infrastructures. Proud of his heritage as a Filipino, Edwin now lives in Ottawa, Canada and specializes in high availability, disaster recovery, and system infrastructure. He is a former Microsoft Data Platform MVP of 12 years standing and is a Microsoft Certified Master for SQL Server. He is very passionate about technology, and has interests in music, neuroscience, social psychology, professional and organizational development, leadership, and management matters when not working with databases. Edwin strives continually to live up to his primary mission statement: To help people and organizations grow and develop their full potential.
- Table of contents (11 chapters)
Introduction to Containers
Pages 1-8
Install and Configure Docker on Windows Server
Pages 9-18
Install and Configure Docker on Linux
Pages 19-38
The Docker Ecosystem
Pages 39-68
Docker Images and Containers
Pages 69-98
Table of contents (11 chapters)
Buy this book
- eBook $29.99
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- Digitally watermarked, DRM-free
- Included format: EPUB, PDF
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- Immediate ebook access, if available*, with your print order
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
- Book Title
- The SQL Server DBA's Guide to Docker Containers
- Book Subtitle
- Agile Deployment without Infrastructure Lock-in
- Authors
- Edwin Sarmiento
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Apress
- Copyright Holder
- Edwin M Sarmiento
- eBook ISBN
- 978-1-4842-5826-2
- 10.1007/978-1-4842-5826-2
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-1-4842-5825-5
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- Number of Illustrations
- 195 b/w illustrations
- Topics
*immediately available upon purchase as print book shipments may be delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis. ebook access is temporary and does not include ownership of the ebook. Only valid for books with an ebook version. Springer Reference Works and instructor copies are not included.


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Adobe buys Magento for US$1.68b to target e-commerce
[SAN FRANCISCO] Adobe Systems Inc. agreed to buy e-commerce company Magento for US$1.68 billion, in a bid to capture a bigger slice of the digital-commerce industry from Salesforce.com Inc. and Oracle Corp.
The Photoshop software provider is making its third-biggest acquisition to create an end-to-end system for designing digital ads, building e-commerce websites and other online customer experiences and completing transactions, the company said Monday in a statement.
Campbell, California-based Magento offers software to build and run web stores, handle online purchases, shipping and returns. It also helps merchants sell products through social media ads and competes with Shopify Inc. Magento technology supports more than iUS$155 billion in gross merchandise volume, and customers include Canon Inc. and Rosetta Stone Inc. EBay Inc. sold Magento in 2015 and it has been backed by private equity firm Permira Holdings LLP since then.
Adobe has sought to diversify from the digital media products that made it one of the world's largest software companies. The deal is slightly smaller than Adobe's 2009 purchase of Omniture, which made the company a player in digital advertising. The Magento purchase would see the company battle cloud-based commerce services Salesforce, Oracle and SAP SE. This part of Adobe's business, known as its Experience Cloud, generates less revenue and grows more slowly than its creative software offerings like Photoshop.
Adobe also announced an us$8 billion share buyback program through fiscal year 2021. The programme is expected to be funded from its future cash flow from operations and won't have a material impact on the company's earnings this fiscal year. It expands on the company's current US$2.5 billion repurchase plan scheduled through fiscal year 2019, Adobe said in a statement. The company's shares rose about 1 per cent in extended trading after closing at US$238.10 in New York.
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Permira made five times its initial stake of about US$200 million, said a person familiar with the matter. The investment was made out of its Permira V fund, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The deal for Magento is expected to close in the third quarter of Adobe's fiscal year, pending regulatory approval. Adobe will gain access to Magento's mid-market and large corporate customers, and gain a foothold in physical store and online transactions.
Magento Chief Executive Officer Mark Lavelle said the sale would accelerate his company's commerce progress and reflected a shared vision between the two firms, which were partners before the transaction.
Magento rival Shopify fell as much as 5.5 per cent in extended trading following the announcement.
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Treadmaster Commercial Drain is a removable top drain that features an Aluminum top. This product also features a double wall base and a snap in top. When installing this drain the tops are staggered past the joints making the joints very rigid. Because the Aluminum tops are removable, this drain is easy to clean and the tops can be replaced if ever damaged. Treadmaster Commercial is used on many commercial swimming pools,fitness centers and other pedestrian traffic areas.
One box of Treadmaster Commercial Drains includes:
A full range of fittings are available.


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Concorde Battery RG427
Concorde Battery RG427
Recombinant Gas - The RG Series are low resistance, valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries. Fire resistant powder coated aluminum cover and container riveted together, built in vent tubes and temperature sensor mounting plate.
- The RG-427 Aircraft Battery:
- Superior starting power
- Reliable essential power in the event of a generator failure
- Low impedance design
- Maintenance free Battery
- Constructed with non removable vent valves - no addition of electrolyte or water required
- Aerobatic: Non spillable at any altitude or attitude
- Factory tested to assure airworthiness
- Shipped fully charged and ready to install
- Manufactured with absorbed glass mat separators (AGM)
- Aircraft batteries rated for engine starting may be used for emergency power
- HAZMAT EXEMPT via land, sea and air


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Vega is presently scheduled to launch at 0900 UT on Thursday, Feb 9, with eight student built amateur radio satellites.
The launcher will first deploy the main payload, the LARES the Laser relativity Spacecraft and will then make an additional firing of the final Attitude & Vernier Upper Module (AVUM) stage before deploying the secondary payloads. the planned timing for these deployments are as follows:
T0+ 4245.30secs first PPOD, with (in order of ejection) XatCobeo, e-st@r, and Goliat
T0+ 4255.30secs second PPOD, with (in order of ejection) Robusta, MaSat-1 and PW-Sat
T0+ 4265.30secs third PPOD, with UniCubeSat only
These Cubesats will not deploy their antennas until >1800 seconds after they leave their PODS
T0+ 4275.30secs AlmaSat-1 – it is not known how soon this spacecraft will start transmitting after deployment
Pre-launch TLEs have not yet been made available but all the teams will certainly appreciate reception reports on the day. All observers are being encouraged to join the CubeSat IRC chat channel to pass on their news and comments in realtime. Using the irc.freenode.net server please join the #cubesat channel. It is recommended that you change you nickname to "name_callsign".
For frequencies of the eight student amateur radio satellites to be deployed by Vega see http://www.uk.amsat.org/4180
Vega Elliptical Orbit Video http://www.uk.amsat.org/4119


text: I literally had stars in my eyes watching "Poppy" the VW Bus drive up to my holiday mini sessions! I had been wanting to rent one for so long, and I am so happy I found VW Booth Bus! They were beyond amazing to work with, and all of my families enjoyed their session with the bus!


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The only thing that can ever make anything complicated is the way we think about it, approach it, dream it. We make meaning of everything, and in doing so, we create the world around us. It looks like it is the other way around, but indeed, we are authors of our own lives, and no one can take that power away from us.
It is all a matter of choice.
Simple parenting is a choice.
Like any writer, we borrow from convention, trying on other people's stories to see how they feel on our own skin, but we bring each pen stroke to life all by ourselves in our own authentic way. By choosing to live it.
One need look no further than the practice of parenting across cultures to see how invented our family life is. If you are Balinese, Brazilian, or British, the chances are you have grown up around certain notions of childhood and family, which differ to those held elsewhere in the world.
If you were a member of the Beng, living on the Ivory Coast of Africa, then you would likely believe your child to be a reincarnation of an ancestor. Your baby would have been drawn direct from Wrugbe, the Beng land of the dead, into a new life. You would wash your newborn with special black soap, reserved only for use on babies and dead bodies, the two groups inherently connected in your mind. You would need to persuade your little one into this new life of theirs and prevent them from returning to Wrugbe, which, after all, would be a more natural environment for them.You might prioritise buying them a cowry shell bracelet to protect them from illness and bad spirits.
For more about the Beng, and childrearing practices in different societies, see 'A World Of Babies' by DeLoache and Gottlieb, Cambridge Uni Press.
Common beliefs about parenting from our own stomping grounds cover the accepted practices for responsible care-giving and child-rearing. Some examples that come to mind are:
- Parenting is the hardest and most rewarding activity you will ever do,
- Struggle is bad for you and therefore should be eliminated from parenting,
- Children's upbringings need to be carefully managed according to what scientific evidence indicates,
- Parent and child relationships are very complicated,
- We must prevent our children from becoming vulnerable to the world,
- We must protect the world from our children and their chaos,
- Having a child means you should stop doing a lot of other stuff, like sleeping, working, going out in the evening, and travelling,
- Experts are better qualified than us in the field of childrearing, and therefore are the best people to decide how our child needs to be raised,
- The best way to promote rest is that children should go to bed early, at which point their parents have free time as a couple or as individuals,
- Parenting is not relaxing. EVER.
Do you find yourself nodding along at all? Do you recognise these notions? In my personal and subjective experience, they are often presented as the real truth about bringing up children.
Hang on though, because THIS IS ALL MADE UP CULTURE STUFF.
We can do better than the cultural equivalent of Dan Brown.
We are not the victims of circumstance. We are the authors of our lives.
Even when you feel like Lord of the Flies has nothing on one of your average family outings, and you wonder if you are The Heart of Darkness to everyone else's Swiss Family Robinson…..
No, no, no.
I cannot speak for you, but this is what looks real to me right now:
- Parenting is a social construct which suggests an active role on the part of mum and dad when engaging in a relationship with their offspring. It neither MUST be hard nor rewarding.
- Struggle is a natural part of growth, and indicates that either a) growth is about to happen or b) consciousness is low and self-care is needed. Struggle need not be synonymous with chronic stress and anxiety. It only becomes so when people fall victim to the idea that no form of discomfort is OK in life, and/or people are not able to access appropriate support, and/or high levels of stress and anxiety become accepted as normal in that culture.
- Scientific evidence provides a patchy, yet valuable, resource of information for parents to make use of in their decision making, should they wish it, including the level of involvement parents should expect to have in their child's development. However, any given piece of research informs practice best where it has been well-evaluated with a particular context in mind.
- Parent and child relationships are extremely simple. There is a mother or father and a child who interact with one another. Complications arise through the layers of thought that they create about one another. In this, adults are at a disadvantage due to their well-developed egos, inner autobiographers, and long, long memories. Not to mention, whatever beliefs and personal stories they have picked up from their own childhood.
- Like it or not, we inhabit a vulnerable physical place in the natural order of things, and we are not bullet proof, disease proof, shatter proof, or shock proof. There is only so much we can do about this. However, we are also resilient, with many innate gifts and abilities. The best way to access these inner resources is to try them out in a variety of contexts and manners of our choosing. Though children need to be kept from running into speeding traffic or launching themselves lemming style over balconies, they also need to experience failure, loss, mistakes, and difficulty.
- Children may be noisy, vigorous, curious, honest, and insatiable, which goes against social convention at times. It seems fair to expect that people should try to respect one another, as far as they are able, whether they are teeny weeny or big and grown up. However, we are built for social flexibility and negotiation which helps us figure out lots and lots of ways to interact. Therefore, we are quite capable of flexing those cultural muscles if caught off guard by an enterprising youngling. The best teacher of respectful behaviour is demonstrating by example, rather than getting all bent out of shape for fear of breaching decorum.
- Having a small person in tow does indicate that lifestyle will not be the same as without one. However, there are many, many forms that the lifestyle can take. Though change is an inevitable fact of life, there is no foregone conclusion that specific limits apply to families in terms of whether, when, and where people work, sleep, play, travel. Many parents do feel exhausted and limited, but it is more to do with being in modern Western society, plus having children, rather than a natural consequence of parenthood. Rigid beliefs about how family life should look which do not take into account everyone else's view in that family can also lead to self-imposed limitations.
- Every person on this earth is unique, with their own physical form and their own version of reality. This means that understanding how to raise your child relies more on ability to understand your child than anything else. There can be no one size fits all techniques or tricks, and no formula which comes close to simply listening with great care and respect to a) your child and b) your common sense.
- In our packaged and managed, time-obsessed society, it is natural to want to package and manage chunks of time. However, experience is often much, much too messy for this. When attempting to manage how a group of people spend all their time, there are bound to be clashes, disagreements of expectation, misunderstandings, and differing needs. Also, people's needs for solitude, company, leisure, play, or work, are not uniform, and do not conform to a set timetable. Too often people are not encouraged to respond to their actual needs, but rather to a clock or schedule. Though rhythm and routine are shown to have a calming effect on our physiology, whatever convention dictates in terms of when and how life happens can be totally off the mark. That is before you even introduce the question of what is practical, which can further influence who does what, how, and when.
- Parenting does not need to be hectic all the time, and there is such a thing as downtime with children, as well as without them. Everyone needs a bit of R and R during the day, especially small, growing, beings. What prevents parents from relaxing, much of the time, are minds which are too switched on and overstimulated to be present during these moments, or to recognise that quietude is an option. Most of all, looms a never-ending list of tasks that must be done before relaxation is permissible, which is the real rest-killer. Finding little, quiet windows is trickier when caring for multiple children, or a single child who is especially lively for whatever reason, but even so, half the battle is slowing down to a mellow mental pace, as and when an opportunity for respite occurs (however brief it may be).
The bedrock of our society is CHOICE, and yet all too often we forget that we have the power to write our own lives like never before. Instead we say, 'Ah yes, we were once young, carefree souls, but now we have kids so'………
…..and then we tail off in despondent resignation.
(Because, having spawned, and brought tiny humans into the world our own desires, our own needs, our own happiness is somehow shelved)
And we look back on nostalgic visions of childhood where the celebrations and wonderments, the big and small experiences, were always NOW and there was a magical sense of CONNECTION. A time when there were no details to worry about, and no forms to fill in, and no need to feel weighed down. We were so free.
Then we say 'but that is what CHILDHOOD is like, and that reminds me, we have to provide this incredible, rich, textured experience to our own little ones, and gosh, what hard work it is'.
But we also have to make sure they do well in school. They have to learn to do calculus, or speak Mandarin, or score goals, or play the oboe. And we have to make sure they have a successful career and that they get to be happy because they can get all the material goods they could ever require, plus spiritual fulfilment, emotional health, and whole-brain heartfulness.
At some point we might start looking for a set of magic techniques to take care of all this.
Then we see that we need to do all these things for ourselves too, in order to be enough, and to be happy, and that now we have to do it ON TOP OF parenting. If we don't then we are setting a terrible example, and our children are doomed.
You see now, what a complicated burden parenting is.
However, this reasoning ignores the glaring fact that IT IS ALL 100% FABRICATED.
The only thing that parenting needs to be is a connection between you and your child that is grounded in the present moment. A connection through which you attempt to understand them and to do what is best to help them grow. It is that simple. All good decisions and feelings and experiences will flow, natural as rainfall, from that connection.
There are so many choices. Bold choices, timid choices, creative choices, wise, foolish, and wacky choices.
The rest is just generic, made up, dime-a-dozen culture stuff.
What are you making up today? Is it necessary? Is it beautiful?
Treat your obligations like furnishing your dream house. Does it make sense to you? Does to bring you pleasure?
Then choose, choose, choose. And remember that you chose, so that you can unchoose it should you so wish.
What do you choose, you Mamajestic lovelies? Tell me what matters most to you.
What would you choose over and again?
What could you unchoose to make your parenting more simple?
Come share your thoughts in the Mamajestic Facebook Group.
With lots and lots of squishy love,
PS You can read more about parenting and connection at the Three Principles For Families Centre Site


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strong and barely controllable emotion. Passion is an emotion.
You can have passion in anything. You can be passionate about reaching any goal. Speakers who preach on living your Life Purpose have great intentions, but are not lifting people up. In reality, I have seen more people indirectly be torn down by their bragging of self accomplishments and achievements. Well, I don't know if you're believing this bull, but last time I check normal people can't see the future to know their Life's purpose. Your Life's purpose is going to be fulfilled whether you know it or not, so don't stress yourself or be depressed by comparing yourself to anyone else who has found theirs.
One day you will get fired up about something and will be in a passionate pursuit of it. As far as goals are concerned, you can decide that in a matter of minutes. Once you decide, getting passionate about it will be your choice. Looking into your own World and decide to be the best you. No one else and nothing else matters. If anyone has a problem, with what I said tell them to speak to me. I am Pree Dammond.
So What's Pree Dammond's latest Passion.
Answer: Body Wraps Atlanta by PreeWraps, a Health, Wealth, and Wellness company.
Visit: http://facebook.com/PreeWraps or go direct to the site to learn more about the opportunity http://PreeWraps.com


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The new year kicks off with a bang, as Robert Zemeckis returns with Welcome to Marwen, a unique and creative piece of cinema that celebrates the individual. We had the immense pleasure of sitting down with the director himself – of course renowned for the likes of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump – while also chatting to the film's two leading stars, Steve Carell and Leslie Mann.
The two cast members touch on what it was like to work with Zemeckis, and all three share their thoughts on working on a film that celebrates our quirks and differences, and doesn't judge. Carell also talks about the joy in acting and understanding the world around him, while they all tell us about their own personal collections of toys they've never quite been able to throw away. Naturally, Zemeckis has quite the collection. The director finishes by talking about the creative inclination of the project and whether even at his standing in the industry, whether he still needs to convince studios to take a risk on his style of filmmaking.
Watch our interviews for the film right here:
When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one. In a bold, wondrous and timely film, Welcome to Marwen shows that when your only weapon is your imagination…you'll find courage in the most unexpected place.
Welcome to Marwen is released on January 1st


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Due to the current global situation our working life has changed, despite the stresses we hope everyone can all use this time for personal enrichment. That being said we will be continuing to do what we can for you, we have several frontline customers for whom we are required to stay open with some changes.
Since 1982, RJ Signs & Graphics have been producing high quality signage and vehicle graphics for a range of businesses across the whole of the UK.
Based in Cheshire, we are leading sign makers, specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of a range of signs across the North West from Manchester, Liverpool and the UK, for local companies and national corporations.
We offer a full service from design to installation, and can accommodate from the smallest signs to the largest fleet & rebrands.
From traditional designs and materials or cutting edge contemporary visions, we can accomodate all of your requirements. .
Our professional graphics service for all applications works to your specification and budget create a style to align with your company.
With our combined experience of an ever changing and developing market, we have the ability to work to the most challenging brief.