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Ways to Stay Motivated at Maintaining Fitness
Making big lifestyle changes like exercising and dieting are really difficult to commit to. Many get discouraged and don't keep to the rigorous schedule, but hope isn't lost! There are lots of different ways to keep your motivation up. Studies have proven that dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight than those who kept no records, so here's a blueprint from Health Fitness Revolution to give you that push to keep you going!
Set a goal:
There's nothing more motivating than that first 5K looming in bold letters on the calendar. Register early and commit to an exercise program that will get you in shape by race day. You should set realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as you progress toward your goal, you'll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your work, home life, and health! The goal doesn't have to be an organized race. Maybe it's a mission to fit into that old pair of jeans buried in your closet or a new bikini on the beach. Whatever it is is, define it, write it down and revisit it daily.
Change your perspective:
Start thinking like an athlete! View every obstacle like a challenge to be overcome, including workouts at tough times. Take inspiration from everyone you meet—even people who can't be physically active, it reinforces why you're lucky. Whether you need to hang an "I'm lucky" sticky note on the mirror, or you can see the power of health in your children's eyes, committing to a fitness routine begins in your head.
Schedule a regular workout time:
Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try to build in an hour each day to be good to your body, and in turn, your mind.
Think variety:
By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun — even while we're working hard. So do both! There is no set formula- so make your own! Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement that's more like recreation and makes you forget you're working out — such as dancing, hula hooping, yoga or playing sports with family and friends.
Create a support system:
In order to stick to a fitness program, it helps to have motivation and encouragement from other people. Here's one way: find a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled workouts together. It's easy to hit the snooze button when it's just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track. Consider joining a social networking site or online community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts (like this one here! And download our APP here) — and support from other people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of online support are proven to lose three times more weight than people going it alone.


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The Business Case for Women's Economic Empowerment: What is the Way Forward?
The private sector is a main actor for women's economic empowerment in rural value chains: large traders, retailers or manufacturers often hold the keys to improving women's access to extension services, financial services, input provision, market information and technology. They also have the negotiating power to include gender equality in the agendas of producers' associations and cooperatives.
Important progress has been achieved during the past ten years, and the business case for women's economic empowerment has become increasingly clear as a growing number of companies have adopted the Calvert Principles, followed by the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. Gender analysis of specific value chains—like the cocoa one, often said to be a "male crop" in Ghana and India—have shown that women play an important role in its production, as part of farming families, as wage laborers or as farmers themselves, and that women are particularly engaged in those aspects of production critical for attaining quality.
Considering these elements, one would expect that companies are investing huge amounts of money and effort to improve their competitiveness by promoting women's empowerment in their supply chains, with large-scale impacts. This is partially true. Many large companies are investing in social projects that benefit women in their value chains, and trying to project the image of a gender-sensitive (or transformative) company.
On the other side, the reality and research from rural areas tells us that access to resources and training are still biased against women. In addition to this, according to Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign, of the ten largest food companies, half of them score poorly or very poorly in their commitment to fight gender discrimination.
The reasons for this idiosyncrasy are multifaceted, with roots lying both inside and outside the companies themselves. Below I'm sketching some of these challenges, based on CARE's experience with programs targeting women in rural value chains.
- While there is an overall understanding inside the private sector around the importance of gender equality in the supply chain from a social and brand perspective, its impact on key business drivers like agricultural productivity and quality of production still needs a tighter analysis for specific crops and contexts. Most companies would not object to adding gender equality as a crosscutting element of their extension work, financial services or other business development services. However, investing resources to specifically target women in a differentiated manner requires more buy-in.
- Gender inequality also builds upon power relations inside households and communities, and upon a gendered division of labor and benefits in the society whose root causes are only partially understood. These structural aspects take long-term efforts to be changed and require strategies targeting cultural norms and informal institutions. Several interventions targeting extension services or other business development services fail to address important systemic elements and their impacts end up being short-lived.
- Changing women's role in a society can carry real risks for women that need to be considered. For instance, increased women's mobility in some contexts increases the risks of gender-based violence. This risk might dissuade companies from hiring female extension officers, unless provisions are made to mitigate this risk (e.g. going out accompanied). The associated financial costs can be outweighed by the longer-term benefits, but more research is needed to define or quantify the gains. CARE is facing the specific challenge of advocating for more female extension officers in our coffee value chain program in Papua New Guinea.
- The capacity of many private sector companies to mainstream gender equality in their business and in their supply chain is still a work in progress and in need of external support, particularly at the community and vulnerable groups levels. Partnerships with civil society can play a key role in overcoming this challenge.
- Local governments in many countries are important providers of rural extension services and run their own rural development programs. Therefore any strategy to empower women in rural value chains needs to include these important stakeholders, which presents clear opportunities but also specific challenges for effective partnerships that must be considered.
The main questions, from a civil society perspective, are these: How can we support and engage with the private sector and other stakeholders in order to overcome these barriers? What are the risks and how can they be mitigated? What are the lessons learned and evidence that can be shared from the field to help us in this task?
We invite you to join us in thinking through these challenging questions at our session "The Role of the Private Sector in Women's Economic Empowerment" in the Women's Economic Empowerment track as part of the SEEP Network Annual Conference. The session will explore these issues from different angles: the civil society angle (through Oxfam and CARE), the private sector angle (through SAB Miller) and the think tank perspective (through ICRW).
Celebrating 30 years, the SEEP Network's 2015 Annual Conference (Sep. 30 - Oct. 1) has created a dynamic track on Women's Economic Empowerment designed to promote frank discussions on our key assumptions in how to best connect women's economic empowerment to social and political empowerment while helping to increase the adaptive capacity of women to sustain economic gains for themselves and their families.

subset: commoncrawl


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How is that Fair Share Scam Working for You Mr President
Through all of the 2008 and 2012 campaign Mr. Obama continuously chanted about how the rich need to pay their "fair share." Back at the ranch the proof came in that not only did the rich pay their fair share, but that they paid your fair share as well, to the tune of 30% by the one percenters and 60% by the top 10% wealthiest in the nation. In fact the top 53% of US taxpayers pay 100% of the tax revenue. There is no 99%. it doesn't exist.
But wait, there's more!
Not only did an Obama report show how the rich pay all the taxes, but the report showed conclusively since Kennedy, that lowering tax rates increases federal revenue. That bears repeating. A Whitehouse report showed that lower taxes brings in more money to the government.
Before you jump to conclusions that Mr. Obama did not see the report, he did. He signed every page of the report, and read it, and went over it with Timmy Geithner.
The Coming Obama Created Economic Depression
No one likes to say it, but the 2008 economic situation was an actual depression. The federal reserve pumped so much money into the economy, that it created a top heavy situation that stopped the very large firms from crashing. That does not mean though, that the rest of the nation was not in a depression. We were and probably still are, if you can find honest numbers on unemployment and business closure.
But, fast forward to 2013. Obamacare and his raising of taxes, even for the 99%, is setting the stage for a knock out punch. A real depression is coming. Thousands of jobs, in a market that has already lost millions of jobs, are prepped to be lost. Some top firms have already pledged to lay off thousands this year.
Couple Obamacare with higher payroll taxes and small firms will be lost. The end result is that, while large firms will feel the pinch on their bottom line and get rid of thousands of jobs, they'll gobble up smaller firms that flounder. They'll find themselves in a position to be able to get into markets that they were never in before, and at a very cheap price, since small firms will be worth pennies on the dollar.
Conspiracies aside, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that, regardless of intent, Obamacare and his pro-higher-taxes stance will destroy this country.


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SilentDawn's review published on Letterboxd:
James Wan specializes in making Movies with a capital-M. There is no real rhyme or reason to his structuring or his sincerity - it's all painted in the broadest of strokes, as if the canvas is imploding, itching to share itself with the world. It's why he was such a great manipulator of horror, and now, a great orchestrator of visual fantasia. From lovecraftian scares and Notebook romance to Authurian legend and schlock-sci-fi oddities, each scene is disparate; a maximum onto itself. Therefore, when each moment resembles some kind of pinnacle for these awful superhero products, via the sheer dexterity and nimbleness of Wan's brand of fun, the film as a whole, theoretically, cannot be improved upon. Wan broke the formula.
Its brilliance lies in not caring about the big picture (I think Justice League was mentioned once?), but in the vitality of it being itself second to second. It lingers in sunsets, kisses, embraces, and hard masculine stares (usually accompanied by a 'duh duh DUN' on the Extra Extra Extra! soundtrack). The conversations are info-packed and plodding, always interrupted by explosions and mind-boggling spectacle. Aquaman is a symphony of self-awareness, yes, but not of irony or subversion. The celebration will happen whether you're on board or not (is "permission to come aboard?" the best intro line to a spandex hero? The answer is yes.), as it rushes from fragment to fragment like a young child eager to show off their cool new toys. The cast is tremendous, each embodying an Action Figure personality to reenact. Patrick Wilson (as...get this...King Orm) offers a performance of terrifying commitment and integrity. Ditto to Willem Dafoe, who floats across the screen like a moralistic angel, and Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman, who conjure dreams of ferocity and beauty. And of course, Jason Momoa is here and he's majestic. Almost to the point of being frightening. But that's the fun, right? Throw in Dolph Lundgren being stern and a side villain named Black Manta (who rocks a costume right out of an Ultraman episode) and you got yourself an all-star ensemble that would fit right into a 1999 Stephen Sommers movie. The only other universe timeline such a cast would fit into is in a 2018 James Wan superhero fantasy, so we're super lucky here, ya'll. This is big news, but instead of Wan attempting to "emulate a comic splash page" or whatever the fuck these for-hires in Atlanta, Georgia backlots want to dig up, Wan thinks through cinema. And not just cinema as a concept, and what it can provide, but what cinema history transcribes to memory in addition to sensibility. It's obvious that so many ideas in Aquaman are from nothing other than Wan's visual sense - that rollicking, swashbuckling, hellbent drive towards spiritual and familial reconciliation. The film is a joy that is undoubtedly rooted in the nostalgia of cartoons, soaps, anime and 80s action. But not just through those prisms, it crystalizes how Wan perceived them, and what his response meant to the work. Aquaman is one of those fake movies shown in glimpses on a TV in a movie that you're watching. In some films, you hardly notice them, but in others you think: "huh, that looks pretty good." The only difference is that it isn't merely pretty good, instead being a masterpiece of the bonkers and the delirious, so full to the brim with entertainment and heart and detail that it'll dizzy the sternest of the stern. Oh, and that it's also entirely real, and screening across the country, seemingly under the guise of a 'DC Cinematic Universe' entry. Huh. Guess I was too busy cackling and crying and gasping to notice.
I can't think of a Superhero movie I adore more.


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Product information
Grivel's G12 Crampomatic is a classic 12-point crampon designed for general mountaineering, alpinism, mixed ice, rock climbing, and moderate waterfall routes. The four points that are perpendicular to the crampon rails prevent shearing in soft snow and improve security while descending (facing outward). It is fully adjustable by hand, without tools and one size fits all. The G12 is easily folded for transportation and comes with the Antibott included.
Crampomatic is a well known system which relies on a nylon speed lever in the rear and a stainless steel front bale to hold the boot. Quick to put on, these bindings are perfect for plastic mountaineering boots that have a rigid sole and substantial heel and toe welts. The stainless steel safety strap, which was invented by Grivel, is permanently mounted on the front bale and prevents total loss of the crampon should it be forced off the boot.
Product features
- Material: Chromolly steel
- 3D Stamp SI
- Points: 12
- Front points: 2
- Semi-rigid
- Asymmetric
- Antobott included
- Weight: 1,045g (with antibott)


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Weekly Meeting - IEEE 12/3 Social (Super Smash Brothers Tournament)
When: December 3 @ 11:45 AM
Where: 308 Snell Engineering
What: IEEE Social Event
Tournament Signup:
When: December 3 @ 11:45 AM
Where: 308 Snell Engineering
What: IEEE Social Event
Tournament Signup:
What: Side Channels Attack from MITRE Corporation
Where: 306 Egan Research Center
Date: Friday, Nov 14th, 2014
Time: 11:45am – 1:20pm
Eric Kedalgle, an engineer from MITRE Corporation will come and give us an overview of how side-channel attacks are performed, and why it's dangerous. He will also be giving demonstration on the technology used by MITRE to deal with side-channel attacks
It will be awesome, so come check it out!
What: Fall 2015 Elections and Prof. Murthy, Founding Director of Sherman Center
Where: 308 Snell Engineering Center
Date: November 5, 2014
Time: 11:45am – 1:25pm
Prof. Shashi Murthy will present an informative talk describing the transition of a technology developed in his lab into a start-up company that now employs four people.
This Wednesday (11/5), we have Fall 2015 officer's elections coming up. We have many 4 elected and 7 appointed positions.
Elected Positions
What: IBM: Static Application Security Testing
Where: 308 Snell Engineering Center
Date: Weds, Oct 22nd, 2014
Time: 11:45am – 1:20pm
This Wednesday, we have an exciting opportunity for you all!
Engineers from IBM will come to this week meeting to talk to us about what they do at IBM and introduce us to SAST(Static Application Security Testing), a a set of technologies designed to analyse application source code, byte code and binaries for coding and design conditions that are indicative of security vulnerabilities.
Come to the second workshop in the Beaglebone Black series!
When: Tuesday the 28th from 6-8pm
Where: 429 Dana!
RSVP at http://embeddedlinuxii.eventbrite.com/
See the flyer below for more information
What: AMD Soft Errors and Processors!
Where: 308 Snell Engineering Center
Date: Weds, Oct 22nd, 2014
Time: 11:45am – 1:20pm
This Wednesday, we have an exciting presentation from Guest Speaker Vilas Sridharan, who is a Northeastern alum as well as an engineer a AMD, Inc.
He will presenting about methods of modelling and analysis of sof errors, and how we apply these to designing high performance processors.
It will definitely be something worth waiting for, so come check it out.
Attached is the flyer, so check that out also!
UPDATE: For those who are interested, or missed the presentation, you can click to scroll through Chris's presentation in full!
What: How a team of dedicated strangers designed the first SIL ultrasonic flowmeter
Where: 308 Snell Engineering Center
Date: October 8, 2014
Time: 11:45am – 1:20pm
This Wednesday (10/8), Chris Brolin from General Electric (GE) will be coming to talk about his experience at GE and many projects and roles he has been involved with (engineering/management/supply chain/etc.). Chris is also NU Alumn.


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Hey Mr Tangerine Man!
Here is some lovely Feedback!
Unfortunately one of our lovely staff members dad Derek required an urgent and life saving operation and an ICU admission interstate.
This little Gogster was assigned the job of making his recovery a little bit easier and now they are home and are quite the bonded pair.
This was a screenshot of a video in which Derek is saying thank you for your kindness. All the best for your recovery Derek
Thank you to Team GOG! Xx
Rainbows Rule!
What a wonderful way to make a difference to people's lives you GOG's folk make😊 You brought care and special gifts for a long term patient who was so happy to receive them. His amazing socks were much admired wherever we went in the hospital😃.
So a huge thank you to you all and the special Kathleen! 😍🤩🙏💥
GOG Drops off it's First Pink BOM!
Thank you GOGs for this amazing 'Block of the Month' (BOM) blanket that you all contributed to, making it very special.
We are keeping it aside for when that special person comes along.
Remembrance Day
Dear GOGS,
This week Poppy came along and helped us to acknowledge Remembrance Day. We know all the Gogsters are special but we decided to keep Poppy aside for a veteran or a defense worker. In the meantime Poppy will hang out with Tanya in the social work office waiting for that special person.
Rainbow Bear
This gorgeous little rainbow bear was adopted by a little girl doing it tough
Thank you GOGs! X
Inaugural Block of the Month Blanket
Thank you to all of the makers from the bottom of my heart. The 36 tiles and the stitcher make me think of stories they were thinking when crocheting, "will I put this colour with that", "what design is my tile" and what all these people might be doing in their day. It's just such a great distraction to an otherwise horrible experience. When you go into surgery you leave your clothes in a bag. You're stripped bare, put your faith into the surgeons and hope Lady Luck is on your side. It takes the edge off a very raw and blunt experience where you have to claw back from base of basics.
Thanks Mary and the team, you are sensational!!! Oh, and I did not know that I could rock pink so well!! Chris
Printed with permission.
Dogs and GOGS
Two of my favorite projects Dogs and GOGs 😊 it is so wonderful to offer this sort of support to our patients and families thank you everyone who make is possible, we couldn't do it without your acts of kindness 😘 – Carly
Gogster Goodness
We just keep learning why patients love these gogsters and pillows.
Yesterday a patient was telling me how much she missed her cat sitting on her bed. How she missed that pressure feeling on her legs and reaching down to feel soft fur that would give a feeling of comfort and protection. I thought she would be a great candidate for the cat pillow, that unfortunately I don't have a photo of, but attached is a picture of Joel who loves giving the Gogsters out.
Guess what it was a complete hit! It reminds us how important our pets are to our sense of wellbeing. She referred to the pillow of giving her some solace until she gets home. The tactile design, the colour and the big contented cat face was a winner!
GOG Love
I have been meaning to post a message here…😍🥰😍
Last week I had the pleasure of caring for a wonderful person who was incredibly unwell. I felt so privileged to care for him, and to fold and place the chosen blanket and crocheted toy on him each time I turned him and provided pressure area care/skin care. Each time I did it, I placed the beautiful, thoughtful knitted goods aside, did his personal cares and took giant pride as I placed them back on him; knowing that his children would hold the items after he passed away, and how important these items will be in the future. I hope the beautifully crafted goods provide solace to his children for many years to come. Thank you Gogsters; for providing a beautiful, caring hug to everyone, myself included 😘 – Bec


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1 year ago
Saw you on Me Ra Koh's blog, thought I would come by for a visit. Lovely pic.'s, can't wait to see more.
So awesome Julie! You should be so very proud of yourself! Can't wait to see the new posts.
your abou you is really really great!
Congrats again! I like how you just had this cool thing happen to you but you still have to do your mommy duties!
Love you Julie! You are an inspiration!
JULIE you are my new inspiration! I am now home from the fair and am going directly to my gear to try what you showed me yesterday. Judging from your photos on the website, you should be an overpriced snoooooty photograher but the simple truth is that you are the complete opposite! Blessings, Brenda from Arlington


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Amazon Injects Record $306 Million into India Unit
Amazon Seller Services has received about $1.3 billion so far in 2017-18 from its U.S. parent.
With the recent infusion of Rs 1,950 crore ($306 million), Amazon has pushed its record capital into India this financial year. Amazon Seller Services has received Rs 8,150 crore (about $1.3 billion) so far in 2017-18 from its U.S. parent, according to filings submitted with the Registrar of Companies. This is the fourth time Amazon has pumped in capital infusion since domestic rival Flipkart raised Rs 25,380 crore (about $4 billion) around the middle of last year.
Amazon India's online marketplace is spending $120 million every month — $75 million on ecommerce and $45 million on its Prime subscription service. This is much higher than its average monthly cash burn rate of $80-100 million in 2016, the Economic Times reported citing experts.
"Amazon's (cash) burn is increasing due to push in three categories — smartphones, fashion and grocery," Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research, was quoted as saying by the publication. "As its burn increases, it will see more infusions. In fact, 2018 will see both Flipkart and Amazon spending a lot on offline strategies."
Amazon pumped in Rs 2,900 crore in Amazon Seller Services in November last year, which made it the single biggest capital infusion into its India marketplace. So far, Amazon has put in $3 billion of the $5 billion that was committed by founder Jeff Bezos for investing in India. Amazon India's subsidiaries — Amazon Wholesale, Amazon Pay, Amazon Transport and Amazon Data Services — have received a combined Rs 2,868 crore since 2016. These funds are being used to enhance infrastructure, consumer and seller experience.
"We remain committed to our India business with a long term perspective to make ecommerce a habit for Indian customers and to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem," an Amazon India spokesperson said, PTI reported.
In contrast, Flipkart's total investment in its marketplace, Flipkart Internet Services, is at Rs 8,349 crore so far. While the domestic e-commerce giant has not made any recent infusions into its marketplace, it is trying to catch up with Amazon logistically as the latter has aggressively increased its infrastructure by expanding the number of its delivery centers to 41 across 13 cities in India.
In 2018, grocery is one category where the competition is expected to get heated, with Amazon India's establishment of Amazon Pantry and its delivery service Amazon Now. Flipkart, on the other hand, is set to expand its grocery service to six cities, while Alibaba and Paytm Mall are looking to invest in BigBasket, India's largest online grocer.
Industry watchers feel that Amazon has an edge over its competitors. "Amazon's strategy is probably to starve their competitors to death, and so they'll keep a steady state of marginal profitability, or unprofitability, that they know they can sustain for the next 10-20 years with the belief that at some point there'll be massive capitulation," Chamath Palihapitiya, the co-founder of venture fund Social Capital, told the Times of India.


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1 pack (375g) Puff Pastry1 cup Zaatar mix (Thyme, Sumac & Sesame seeds)
½ cup Olive Oil (enough to make a spreadable consistency)
Preheat oven gaz mark 6. Roll the pastry, on lightly dusted flour surface, into a rectangle. I use the ready rolled pastry; unroll the pastry flat.
Mix the zaatar with the oil. Spread the mix in a thin even layer over the pastry.
Roll up ends from the short side of the pastry to meet in the middle.Cover with cling film or foil & refrigerate for 30min.
Cut the roll into 1cm thick slice. Place into a greaseproof lined baking sheet leaving space between each palmier.
Bake for 12-15 min until they are crisps and golden.


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Press Release
From the Desk of:
Pete Ziehler
National Association of Professional River Anglers CEO and Founder
Rivers? What do they mean to me? This is such a complex question as the river means a myriad of things to me. However, three things stand out as the most striking reasons why when I hear the word "river" my mind immediately drifts off like a leave down a stream.
First, the river means peace. My profession is teaching special needs children. Its not an 8 to 5 job. In fact, I have three awesome children that are under the special needs blanket at home. The river and my hobby of fishing brings me a recharge from the stresses of the day. It re-energizes me and is and adventure every time on the water. Second, I played competitive sports from age three to twenty-two. I am to fat, slow and old to compete again. I miss competition. My craft of river fishing has led to personal bests both recreationally and part of NAPRA, a pro river circuit I have been a member of since 2006. The quest to catch a nice fish is always a challenge and a privilege. Just being on the water is a win! Lastly, the river has given me tons of new friends, colleagues, and opportunities both socially and professionally. Without the river I can't recharge, compete, and bond as it at times is my only release.
As someone whom has fished at least 15 rivers and streams in Ohio the desire to keep them pristine is a tough job. I am honored to help in the past in river cleanups, water education for youths, and forums of how to keep our rivers sustainable. Like being a teacher, the river is my second classroom for both me personally and Ohio as a whole. It's a gift that must be treasured for years to come. So next time you drive by a stream, especially the LMR you may see a chubby little guy in the river. Give him a nod and don't miss out to join me on the water. It's a treasure worth sharing!
Leave a Reply.
Pete Ziehler, NAPRA CEO
June 2020


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Hudson K
Knoxville, TN
Alternative, Rock, Pop
Florence and the Machine, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Amanda Palmer
Hudson K - Eccentric anti-pop piano rock - #CyberPR
- Fade share/download
- Prayer for Love share/download
- I Gave It All share/download
- Champion share/download
- Track From Album share/download
- Online share/download
- Podsafe share/download
"Hudson K is the real deal, a band with influences galore but a sound that is their own, a rare quality in this day of the doppelgangers haunting the charts and airwaves."
Jim Sells Enigma Magazine
"Talk about an album that will get inside your head. Christina Horn may not be the first woman to pound on a piano while forcefully delivering confrontational lyrics in a hauntingly beautiful voice, but she definitely does it her own way."
"Shine" is the sound of a woman kicking that door open, proclaiming with sensual bravado and brash attitude that it's time to let loose and live life to the fullest.."
Steve Wildsmith The Maryville Daily Times
"That's nothing but beautiful!"
Dave Carter host of 89.9 WETS-FM Saturday morning music show
About Hudson K
Hudson K is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Christina Horn. Combining influences that span decades, Christina's work dwells in the abstract, emerging in timeless forms. Drawing her inspiration from other such artists as Tori Amos and Tom Waits, Hudson K has crafted their own unique sound of avant-garde and pop fusion. Incredibly photogenic and fashion-minded, Horn is a glamorous figure for the alternative music realm; a seeming star-in-waiting, successor to that mystical/sexual rock-heroine crown.
The New York-born Horn pulls from her music school education and her experience producing scores when it comes to writing songs. She also cites Bat for Lashes and Andrew Bird as influences, while echoes of Bjork and PJ Harvey are heard throughout Hudson K's transforming indie rock sound.
Classically trained on piano, Horn has been able to escape the trappings of concert piano, to cut out her own niche in psychedelic experimentalism. "I hope that, as time goes on, I'm able to peel away more and more layers of myself to the point where I've made something, and become something, that is no longer comparable to my past."
Before she began composing and performing her own quirky, intricate pop songs, Christina proved her musical prowess as part of Erick Baker's regular band, as pianist and background vocalist. During this time she began to compose the songs that would make up her first solo record. Synthesizing a blend of Regina Spektor, My Brightest Diamond, Portishead, and Neko Case, Horn then adopted the name Hudson K for her solo career. When unveiled, in May, 2010, the set was called Shine; its title is emblematic of the entire artistic process, and the self-delusion that comes with performing.
Shine's songs are literary, evocative, and complicated; their dramatic ebb and flow is wildly varied, but a smooth and cohesive ride through and through. All told, you could listen to this one for years and never get sick of it; like your favorite book or movie, you'll always find something new whenever you come back.
Hudson K's music is bold and vivid. Her live shows are made up of thunderous marching band drums, desert guitar, ballet school piano, harpsichord, sub-bass snarls, hand-claps and naive beats. There are also interludes of exquisite heartbreak; the piano ballad 'Champion' has on more than one occasion left audience members in tears. Her debut album Shine is a very special record, a cohesive collection of songs so haunting and mesmerizing it makes a striking impression on all who hear it.


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Our XRP price forecast for 2020 is the last addition to our annual global market forecasts. Although we mostly try to forecast a specific price target we will not do so in this XRP price forecast for 2020. We will determine directionally where XRP is going in 2020. For 2021 and beyond we remain firm to our first price target of 4 USD which are former all-time highs, followed by ultimately 20 USD. Impossible? Nothing is impossible. BTC went through a 100-fold increase in 2015-2017. Why would XRP as the most promising cryptocurrency in terms of adoption not be able to rise 20-fold, followed by another 5-fold rise? As said in our 7 Must-Read Cryptocurrency Predictions For 2020 we believe the grand (secular) crypto bull market will continue, and it will be a pre-requisite for XRP to thrive.
[Corona Crash Update posted on April 27th 2020. Please scroll down to find the most up-to-date XRP price chart which we created on April 26th, 2020. This long term chart suggests that the Corona crash did not create damage the long term trend.]
Let's start with the most important premise of XRP: adoption. That's what sets it apart from practically any other cryptocurrency out there. We'll then move to the XRP chart.
XRP Bullish Price Forecast Based On Adoption
XRP in transactions starts becoming really significant. The demand for XRP is growing fast now.
Right before 2020 kicked in the world learned about Ripple's $200M fund raising success. This fresh new capital will be used to accelerate the XRP adoption process.
In an interview with Fortune, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Ripple currently has more than 300 customers. He expects Ripple's customer base to grow 30-40% in 2020, and says transaction volume on the company's network will increase more than 600%. The $200 million investment, which was also backed by SBI and Route 66 Ventures, may help Ripple refute skeptics who say its technology is a solution in search of a problem and question why banks should adopt it.
Moreover, from the same interview with Ripple's CEO it appears that Ripple is really committed to growing the XRP ecosystem:
As for the new funding round, Garlinghouse cited a high level of investor interest in Ripple, saying the company did not need the money, though the funds will provide "balance sheet flexibility." A Ripple spokesperson said its plans for next year include hiring up to 150 new employees and adding overseas offices.
One of the most important signs of adoption is the partnership between Ripple and Moneygram, one of the largest money transfer services worldwide. Even CNN featured this, and there is a direct link to the TV interview through this tweet.
It is clear how fast the volumes are growing that XRP is transferring from one currency into another currency (one source and another source).
XRP Price Forecast For 2020 Directionally Bullish
From a price perspective the breakdown of XRP was an important event of 2019.
We believe that XRP is setting a giant rounding pattern. A major rounding bottom or 'saucer base' in more technical terms. Eventually this will resolve to the upside, and we believe that XRP will set a major bottom in the first half of 2020 before starting its steady rise.
In our cryptocurrency investing premium service we explained in great detail how this formation tends to have a bullish outcome, provided it respects this formation of course. We saw an analogy with the 5 decade long silver price chart. The comparison is striking, not only because the setup is almost identical but also because of the 10x faster factor (the time silver spent to consolidate before bottoming is almost identical as 1/10th of the time XRP doing the same).
Corona Crash Update on April 27th, 2020
Ed. note: This paragraph and below chart is an up-to-date version of the long term XRP price chart. We wrote this update on April 27th, 2020, one month after the depth of the Corona crash.
Surprise surprise, the long term XRP trend is still intact. Even more surprising, it now turned bullish, with another breakout of the 2.5 year falling trend.
Hard to believe but true: XRP is still on track to meet our long term price targets.
The long term XRP chart shows this powerful long term reversal pattern. It is the type of pattern that in one or two years from now everyone will say "I wish I bought XRP below .20 USD, it was so obvious it was a long term reversal."
The long term reversal pattern of XRP broke out in January and February of 2020. However the Corona crash stopped this breakout, similar to all other uptrends in the crypto market.
As we move to May of 2020 we see a new attempt of XRP to break out. The long term XRP reversal is absolutely gorgeous. The fact that everyone is silent about XRP makes us very excited.
It is clear that XRP is eager to move higher. Once above .20 USD XRP will be in great shape again. The real magic will start once above .25 / .26 USD.
Why Our XRP Price Forecast Beyond 2020 Remains Bullish
Adoption is what we believe will be the game changer. Forecasting when exactly increased demand for XRP as a results of adoption will kick in is an impossible task.
That's why XRP holds should be in this game for the long run.
But then how exactly do these adoption effects works, and why do we remain so bullish amid an XRP breakdown at the start of 2020?
Shout out to Chris Smith on Medium.com who published this picture which is exactly what we were looking for: network effects! Mind the difference between the 'right path' (black lines) vs. the pitfall (green lines).
The point about network effects is that they build up slowly, but accelerate very fast in a very short period of time.
The data points we see on how fast XRP is adopted for instance in the USD to Mexican Peso corridor is a proof of this, according to us.
What plays a critical role here is that Ripple probably is not short on capital. This sets Ripple apart from almost any other startup. Their growth path suggests they will not make the mistake of being on the green path on the chart above, most likely they will remain on the black line. Note: the black line is the right path to achieve network effects.
Network Effects As A Catalyst For Our XRP Price Forecast
The network effect is one major underlying force at work but we see 3 more fundamental catalysts underpinning our long term XRP price forecast beyond 2020.
- "Convergence": Ripple announced plans recently that their different technology solutions will converge over time into one stack. They also said the XRP token will play a functional role in there. This news went under the radar because it came out when the crypto markets was declining. However, it is this 1% of relevant news as per InvestingHaven's 1/99 rules.
- Institutional money will flow primarily into Ripple's XRP token. If you were an institution with millions of dollars to invest which cryptocurrency would you choose with a 'low risk high reward' perspective? In the first place: Ripple is the ONLY crypto company with so many respected clients. Would you put money into Bitcoin cash (what added value does it deliver)? Or in EOS (with typical Chinese nontransparency)? Tether (what are they doing) or Litecoin (its founder selling all its holdings last year)? The serious money will flow into Ripple's XRP first, is our forecast, then Bitcoin and Ethereum and Stellar Lumens.
Long Standing XRP Price Forecast Of 20 USD Still Valid (even after the epic Corona crash)
Our longstanding price target of 20 USD is still valid. XRP will not trade at 20 USD in 2020 obviously, that's a bit too ambitious, but it will set the stage in 2020 for an accelerated rise later down the road.
The first step is for XRP to respect this giant rounding formation. As long as XRP continues to move in this pattern and as long as the long term crypto bull market (driven by BTC) will continue it will lead bring XRP sooner or later back to all time highs.
That will set the stage for a break to new highs which will bring the long standing 20 USD price target front stage. That will be the time when XRP will have such a massive adoption that huge demand for XRP will drive its price. That's not for 2020 but we should see the signs of our forecast in 2020 though.
Ed. note: The next paragraph was added on April 27th, 2020, one month after the depth of the Corona crash.
Yes we continue to firmly believe in a strongly bullish outcome for XRP. The Corona crash did slow down the recovery of XRP, but it did not invalidate it. How can we know for sure? The chart below is a close up, and an up to date version, of the chart shown above. It's the long term xrp chart which shows the breakout of XRP above the falling 2.5 year trend, after XRP peaked in December of 2017. We believe that the Corona crash lows will be the lows of a giant reversal, with a lower high that will be set later this year (around 0.20-0.21) which will mark the end of the bear market and the start of a giant rally in 2021.
The Biggest Contrarian Call For 2020 And Beyond
XRP is THE most promising cryptocurrency in terms of ADOPTION. Ripple's announcement raising $200M to accelerate XRP adoption in their XRP ecosystem is the ultimate proof of this.
Yet, the price of XRP got stuck in 2019, and fell even below support. It implies 2019 was not the year of prices following adoption, but prices following crypto investing emotions.
XRP will go lower until weak crypto investor hands have sold, after which smart crypto investors take over control. That's why there are 2 outcomes in 2020 which we believe will follow each other sequentially:
- Crypto investors with a speculative mindset are in this game for another 100x rise of XRP, similar to what it did in 2017. However, they are sensitive to fear mongering messages, especially those bots on Twitter and crypto articles by Bitcoin maximalists. This created a fear effect, and many XRP holders got disappointed. That's what happened right before the start of 2020. This effect may go on for a while, until all weak hands have sold and BTC gets bullish again.
- We anticipate large institutional investors to have critical mass first, after which increased demand for XRP's adoption will kick in. This is a process that may take a while to complete, so there might be additional downside first. This process should start in 2020.
It is clear from this situation that XRP is now THE #1 contrarian play, not only in crypto's investing world but in any market in 2020 globally.
We remain firm on our XRP #1 position, and it's a matter of time, but our timeline for our longstanding price target is visibly delayed. It is what it is, but no reason whatsoever to change our mind nor our positions.
XRP Forecast Log: Weekly updated throughout 2020
This is a weekly log to keep track on our XRP price forecast for 2020. We update this log on weekly basis with short bullet points to highlight whether the XRP price in 2020 is developing according to our XRP price projection.
- First week of January: we see encouraging signs on the BTC chart as well as the XRP chart. The odds favor a reversal to take place which should help XRP tremendously.
- Second week of January: a great start of the week for the price of XRP. It is rising along with BTC. We couldn't imagine it better than this, great start of the year 2020.
- In the first week of February we finally saw the long awaited breakout from XRP. This looks like a minor event but we are on record saying that this is a confirmation of our 3 USD price target. Yes our longstanding price forecast is underway.
Stay tuned, and keep following our work to get updates on XRP and the crypto market. We strongly recommend to sign up to our premium crypto investing service (detailed actionable real-time insights).


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Recently AWS launched the AWS Managed services as part of the their offering. This has made customers excited and has created confusion for managed services providers. It is very clear that AWS wants to deliver all the services in the same way as they are consume other AWS cloud services. This service may be limited to few areas in the current stage but looking at the history and innovation at AWS, I will not be surprised if it becomes a viable option for managed services providers who are just delivering basic services.
For the customers who are currently supporting their AWS environment by themselves or want to insource IT Support, AWS Managed Services is going to help them to achieve the outcome. Whether this is good or bad news for Managed Services provider it will depend upon how they approach this. With this release there will be significant changes to previous MSPs Responsibility in IAAS and PAAS as shown below in picture:
For MSPs to remain relevant in the long run, they need to take some bold steps and move out of their comfort zone. This may involve building new capabilities or realign their long term strategy with various cloud providers. Whichever approach MSPs take, it has to be quick and bring real business values to enterprise. Simple cost savings and having lower TCO is not something which enterprise are expecting. MSPs need to become partner in enterprise strategy to go to market instead of being just a supplier. Below are some of the steps which MSPs can take:
1) Focus on niche and strategic consulting.
IT MSPs should start helping customers with industry verticals knowledge and provide strategic consulting to achieve particular outcome instead of current approach of being reactive to business requirements.
2) Build Complementary capabilities for customer developers
Things like AWS CodeBuild is further going to reduce work required for developers to prepare and run the environment. Developers will become more independent and agile. MSPs should try to complement organization with providing services like managing security of the environment and data.
3) Take benefits of AWS capabilities to automate and reduce manual efforts while providing IT Managed Services
MSPs should take benefit of the new capabilities launched by AWS to reduce their manual effort and move up in the value chain. Instead of fighting the change, they should embrace it. MSPs existing tools should scale to support new capabilities if they have to act as single point of contact for customer for in-life support.
4) Become competent on Application and Digital Management
This trend of bundling managed service with products is not limited to AWS only. Other hyperscale cloud provider are expected to follow soon on this. IT MSPs need to start moving up the stack and start managing applications and business services. If MSPs are not able to catch up with Digital business and application services, they are expected to lag behind.
5) Recognize and Embrace the IT Managed Services Changing Scenario
Gone are the days where customers used to outsource whole IT environment to MSPs. If MSPs cannot recognize the new Revenue stream, it is expected that Year-on-Year they will start to get irrelevant.
In conclusion, we are in the Digital Era where every industry have to find to a new better way to deliver their services. Amazon created the public cloud industry by delivering easy to use self-service compute services and now they are trying to do the same for Managed Services. This can be very disruptive for existing players and if they do not innovate they will become irrelevant.


text: Smart wifi bulbs Home / Light Bulbs / Smart wifi bulbs TCP Smart LED WiFi Lightbulb 9W ES Warm White & Colour Changing (806 lumens) 290432 TCP Smart LED WiFi Lightbulb 9W ES Warm White & Colour Changing (806 lumens) 290432 £17.99 Information Specifications Reviews This Smart LED light bulb by TCP uses your WiFi to control it through a down loadable app or by using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Easy to setup it can be used in its normal warm white colour or you can tell your smart device to change it to a desired colour. There are endless possibilities with smart controlled light bulbs. They can be grouped together to create a room which you can then tell your smart device to control (such as: 'Alexa, turn the living room lights off' or asking Google assistant to 'dim the bedroom lights by 50%') This particular smart bulb is in the classic shape and has an ES, E27 (Edison screw cap) fitting. It uses 9W of power and emits 806 lumen's of light which makes it comparable to a traditional 60W. Warm white as standard it can be changed to a variety of colours. It can also be controlled via the down loadable app from anywhere in the world which is great for security. These types of smart light bulbs are a great introduction to turning your house in to a smart home.(Alexa & Google home hub not included but not required if using the app. No additional bridge device required). Product Code: 290432 MPN: 290432 Wattage: 9W DIMENSIONS: 105mm x 60mm Lumens: 806 lumens Voltage: 240V Is unit dimmable: dimmable Bulb end cap: ES E27 LED, Halogen, CFL or Incandescent?: LED Opal or Clear?: Opal glass Similar to?: Similar to a traditional 60W Not yet reviewed Write an online review and share your thoughts with other shoppers! Be the first to review this product


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Hinemoana Baker live at Aratoi
August 24, 2019
From Paekakariki to Berlin and back for one show only at Aratoi in Masterton is internationally acclaimed poet, singer, entertainer Hinemoana Baker.
'utterly spellbinding' (Oamaru Mail)
'a major talent' (NZ Herald)
Aratoi hosts say "An acclaimed performer, Hinemoana Baker joins us for one night only - her only show in New Zealand in 2019.
When: Sat 7 Sep 2019, 7:00pm9:00pm
General Admission: $28.62 ($25.00 + $3.62 fees)
Hinemoana Baker - Live @ Aratoi
Doors open 6.30.
Aratoi thanks Grafia Productions and Masterton District Council for their support.
Other stories in this section:
KC News: the Internet Newspaper for the Kapiti Coast


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Hey there fellow Opponauts!
After 7 years, today I left my first career position that I had joined fresh out of college and instead will be traveling for the indeterminable future. This idea (and several other permutations) have been in the works for a while but starting this month I'll be bouncing all over the USA in my Legacy GT with mountain bike in tow. I probably won't be posting all that much since Kinja is more pain than pleasure these days.
I'll be snowbirding it for the most part, heading south to Florida and then west to California until things start to warm up again. That's the current plan at least. If anyone has recommendations on roads to drive, things to see, trails to ride, food to eat, beer to drink...I'm all ears!
If nothing else, stay Oppo my friends.


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Spangled with bangles and charms in exotic fashion, these Zella sandals from Thalia Sodi add a stunning accent to almost any look with a little lift from a subtle demi-wedge heel.
Metallic hardware ornaments the straps of Bar III's Vadya sandals for an excellent take on a casual footwear staple.
The Style & Co Cathiee Dress Shoes feature a Synthetic upper with a Peep-Toe. The Man-Made outsole lends lasting traction and wear.
Flat sandals
These bar III Sandals comes in Coral with Synthetic upper and 0.50 inch heel.
Round toe ballet flat with laser cut out detail
floppy bow detail slip on sneaker
Womens Cropped Pants
…lively new look - this daisy wreath features open ends and comes with a braided hemp tie to adjust to whatever circumference you need. Perfect for women and girls, the Daisy Adjustable Wreath is great for weddings, Easter or whenever you feel like brightening up your look with springtime blooms!…