text:
PASADENA, Calif. -- The Biola men's tennis team posted a 7-2 win over Caltech on Friday afternoon at the Braun Tennis Courts.
The No. 1 double duo of Devashish Joshi and Luka Mernik pulled out a tough 8-6 win for Caltech top open the match.
Leading 2-1 heading into singles play the Eagles took four the six match in straight set in posting the win.
Caltech got a marathon match win at the No. 6 singles spot as Ryan Batterman won 6-0, 5-7, (10-3)
Tennis Match Results
Biola vs Caltech
2/10/2012 at Pasadena, CA
(Braun Tennis Courts)
Biola 7, Caltech 2
1. Weston Leopold (BIOLA) def. Devashish Joshi (CALTECH) 6-4, 6-4
2. David Mossman (BIOLA) def. Luka Mernik (CALTECH) 6-2, 6-0
3. Brent Worthington (BIOLA) def. Anish Agarwal (CALTECH) 6-0, 2-6, 10-8
4. Isaiah Pekary (BIOLA) def. Jeff Shen (CALTECH) 6-0, 6-1
5. Anthony Sena (BIOLA) def. Amol Kamat (CALTECH) 6-1, 6-0
6. Ryan Batterman (CALTECH) def. Chris Evans (BIOLA) 6-0, 5-7, 10-3
1. Devashish Joshi/Luka Mernik (CALTECH) def. Thomas Coibion/David Mossman (BIOLA) 8-6
2. Anthony Sena/Isaiah Pekary (BIOLA) def. Anish Agarwal/Fred Zhao (CALTECH) 8-0
3. Colby Gilmore/Brent Worthington (BIOLA) def. Amol Kamat/John Chen (CALTECH) 8-2
Match Notes:
Official: N/A T-2:43 A-59


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I am not quite the typical "brain" of the term brain drain.
I was born and bred in KL. I had a pretty regular childhood, attending a Chinese primary school, and later a public secondary school in my neighbourhood.
I did pretty well in my SPM, and with this I obtained an ASEAN Scholarship from the Education Ministry of Singapore to attend two years of junior college there. This turned out to be my first of many steps venturing beyond the shores of Malaysia.
I was randomly placed in one of the top institutions in Singapore – Raffles Junior College. It was indeed quite humbling to be a small fish in this huge and competitive pond.
In retrospective, the exposure I gained was invaluable. I learned about perspectives, and the skills of a critical mind. I also learned that many truths that I took for granted in Malaysia were not necessarily as black and white as it was portrayed.
Most people assume that getting the ASEAN scholarship is like getting a free ticket on this golden highway to prosperity and success. I knew at the end of my two years that I did not wish to stay in Singapore. There is something rigid and regulated about the way their society functions that I do not seem to fit into. And my young, naïve, "patriotic" self back then refused to even consider permanent residency.
After junior college, I was feeling extremely burnt out. I made a decision to take a gap year.
I had grown up wanting to become a doctor. My grades were not premium enough to compete with my schoolmates for a spot in the National University of Singapore. Even if I managed to squeeze in, the competition for scholarships are even fiercer.
Ironically, I did not qualify for public universities in Malaysia as I "left" for Singapore. The best way for me to afford private medical school, to the tune of half a million Ringgit-Malaysia, was by securing a scholarship, an attempt in which I did not succeed. I could have persevered on with the blessings of my family, but I decided to give up on this dream, so my family would not be stuck with a huge financial burden.
So I spent a year embarking on a few adventures, including a Raleigh expedition to Sabah, and a solo backpacking trip to Nepal. In between, I started working in a local outdoor adventure company called Nomad Adventure.
My job description included leading trips in whitewater rafting, rock climbing and high ropes courses; organizing wilderness adventure races and urban events; facilitating groups ranging from school adventure programs to corporate team building. My office could be Sungai Kampar in Perak this weekend, or Georgetown, Penang the next weekend. The job was dynamic and exciting.
So I made the radical decision to delay university and stay on the job. As far as I was concerned, I was having a lot of fun and learning a lot of practical knowledge that I might not necessarily gain in university. Naturally, this decision was a cause of consternation on one extreme, and jealousy on the other.
Family, teachers and friends debated with me this choice of wasting away my academic potential to "play" at work. Then there were jealous friends stuck in uninspiring routines of university lectures and assignments. But this was a risky move that I have never regretted taking.
After two years of work, I concluded that this was what I wanted to do, and started looking for professional training to become an outdoor instructor. I completed an eight month internship in Outward Bound Australia, culminating in a professional certificate in outdoor recreation and education.
In the last three years, I have since worked as an outdoor educator in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the USA. I have now worked in two separate Outward Bound schools, leading and facilitating wilderness expeditions in remote corners of these countries.
Most recently I completed a summer camp stint in Michigan. I had the opportunity to lead a kayaking expedition in the remote waters of Lake Huron. This experience showed me that outdoor education cuts across countries and culture.
Since September 2012, I have been back in Malaysia. The reasons for my return are practical. For one, working visas are very difficult to obtain, especially in an unconventional profession like mine. Secondly, the harsh reality is that in order to fulfill immigration laws of these countries that offer opportunities in outdoor education, I need a degree. Malaysia ultimately still offers the cheapest tertiary education options.
I am currently in my first semester of an undergraduate Psychology program in a local private university.
Five years ago, I could not have imagined the kind of person that I have become today. It is very hard for me to predict where this journey will lead me, seeing as this is a rarely trodden path. I suppose what I am ultimately looking for is a place that matches my values and gives me the opportunity to fulfill my potential.
Will this be in Malaysia, or someplace else? And so my adventure continues.
Tham Pei Ting, 26, tends to end up on paths less traveled. For the past three years, she has gallivanted across various countries, calling the natural outdoors her home and office as an outdoor education specialist. She is currently attending university in Kuala Lumpur. Click here for a photoblog of her travels. You can reach Pei Ting at [email protected]

subset: commoncrawl


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Real Weddings: Lubena & Mustafa
Once upon a time, Lubena and Mustafa met through mutual friends in San Diego. Unfortunately, soon after they met Mustafa had to move to the Bay Area, but they still kept in touch. Fast forward three years, Lubena was in for a magical surprise. Mustafa drove down to visit Lubena again in San Diego, and while they were having a nice walk in Del Mar Beach, Lubena noticed a beautiful sitting area under a canopy. Little did she know, Mustafa had set the whole thing up just for her. They spent a romantic evening under that canopy which ended with a very important question to which Lubena answered 'yes'!
Before the wedding, Lubena felt a little stressed about all the details to keep track of for her various events. She almost couldn't believe she was planning her own wedding. She met So Cal Event Planners at another event and they proved extremely helpful and very friendly. There were many months of planning. Slowly but surely the big day was coming closer.
Lubena's favorite part of the whole process was getting ready on the morning of her wedding day. It was finally time for her to relax and allow herself to be pampered. Her hair and makeup team did a fantastic job! Just see the pictures below! Not to mention her gorgeous dress!
They planned a gorgeous wedding with lovely details including sparkly linens topped with elegant centerpieces and a breath-taking stage. A delicious white cake had disappeared by the end of the night. But the most important part of the wedding was celebrating this day with family and friends.
Mustafa and Lubena are truly a perfect match. She is a vision of beauty and his eyes light up at the sight of her. So Cal Event Planners would like to wish them both a lifetime of happiness and love. And so, their wedding day came to a close and they lived happily ever after.
Real Weddings: Farah & Osama
Farah told us:
"SCEP exceeded my expectations by staying in touch with my vendors and taking over the minute details from A to Z. Shumaila was very organized in her ideas and during the planning process which facilitated the execution of the big day to be absolutely perfect. Before the wedding, as any frantic OCD bride is, I was very nervous as I expected everything to be very particular during the wedding and SCEP enabled me to trust them in leaving the rest in their hands."


text:
Cyrus Farivar : Now let's switch gears a little bit. Rob and Jason, we were talking about office software and there seemed to be some disagreement as to whether or not something like Microsoft Office on a Mac is the same as on Windows. Is this same drop-off something that we should worry about outside of the realm of games? In other words, will Microsoft stop making Office for the Mac?
Rob Griffiths : Not for at least five years!
Jason Snell : No, no, never, never, never. When you're running Word, you're not running just Word. You are using one application among many on your system. I don't just run Word. I run Word and BBEdit and Eudora and switch among them. I want Word to behave like the rest of those apps. I am not a Word user or Excel user—I am a Mac user.
RG : Right. But you work differently than many in an office environment. In my prior job, users spent all day in Word, Excel, and e-mail.
JS : Even if I only used Word all day, I'd prefer to use the Mac. Because a "Word-only" user is still connecting to file servers. Or using the Finder, and adjusting system preferences. And there's no such thing as a Word-only user anyway.
RG : I agree, though—Office won't vanish.
Peter Cohen : That's where virtualization technology like Parallels Workstation, which was announced last week, becomes so appealing. Unlike Boot Camp, it doesn't affect your workflow.
JS : It's appealing for Windows-only apps. I just don't ever see it being a solution for a company like Microsoft to abandon the Mac. If Mac users wanted to use Windows, they would.
RG : My big concern in all of this can be summarized like this: I want OS X 10.5 to feature virtualized Windows. Because then the primary OS is OS X, not Windows.
PC : I want 10.5 to feature fast user-switching between Mac OS X and XP.
RG : That'd be interesting.
CF : How viable is something like Parallels?
JS : I think Parallels is extremely viable, unless Leopard includes built-in virtualization. John Gruber of Daring Fireball nailed it: potentially, Windows is the new Classic. It's an icky compatibility mode for nasty stuff that just won't run on the Mac.
CF : Huh. Now that's an interesting thought.
RG : Peter, What happens with peripherals in virtualization?
PC : That's a good question. I honestly don't know. I haven't played around with Parallels Workstation enough to know.
JS : I got it running here this morning. But I haven't plugged many peripherals into it.
CF : What'd you find?
JS : Basically, it's Virtual PC—except really fast.
PC : I know this much—it's definitely a beta. Getting it set up and working was more difficult than Boot Camp
JS : Yes, absolutely.
PC : And all the functionality isn't there, either—I don't have audio working, I can't get networking working.
JS : And what you really want is to have Boot Camp and a virtual machine share the same Windows installation. Networking, I got working. But no audio.
JS : Right now, Windows via Boot Camp is interacting with the Mac hardware. Parallels Windows is interacting with the Parallels "virtual machine" PC.
PC : And it's definitely not as fast—they advertise "near native" speeds, but I don't get that sense.
JS : As someone currently using Virtual PC on a PowerBook, I was blown away by the speed. But that's not saying much.
RG : One thing I will say: I think a Mini running XP via Boot Camp is the ideal solution for anyone thinking of "testing" the Mac. For $1,000, you get a Core Duo, load it with RAM, and you've got two amazingly good machines in one.
PC : One thing I can say unequivocally — Parallels' effort immediately puts to bed Q, Qemu, Bochs, Wintel, etc. And Parallels also flushes Virtual PC down the toilet, at least in its present form. Clearly, virtualization is the way to go — not emulation.
JS : I could never get Q or WinTel to work right, although their developers are still plugging away. But I think they're all going to be eaten by Apple or Microsoft. Either Apple or Microsoft will come up with a virtualization system that will be the standard.
RG : Virtual PC next version, I suggest, will be fully virtual, like Parallels.
PC : Like it is on the PC side.
JS : So anyway, the ideal would be that you could choose: boot completely native via Boot Camp, or run it in a virtual machine… from the same partition, same copy of Windows, etc. We're not there yet. Leopard, maybe?
RG : Yeah, Leopard may have some surprises in store, based on Boot Camp.
JS : I suspect that if Leopard has virtual machine built in, Microsoft will never release a new Virtual PC.
RG : I agree with that as well.
JS : You've got to think that Apple and Microsoft are talking about all of this.
RG : One would hope.
PC : The version of Virtual PC that runs on Windows is already an Intel-based Virtual Machine, so it makes sense to carry that forward, presuming Microsoft would develop it. But yeah, Jason—if I were at Microsoft, I couldn't really see a reason why I'd want to continue developing Virtual PC.
JS : I did have one wacky thought. Look, Mac users don't know what copy of Windows to buy. It's weird and confusing, and virtualization is really needed. So, assuming Apple isn't virtualizing in Leopard: kill the Virtual PC name. Just call it "Microsoft Windows for Mac." Especially if you can boot directly into it or run it in a virtual machine.
PC : Or as Rob so pithily put in his iChat subject line today, "Mac OS X 10.6 Vista."
JS : And it comes with a legal Windows license!


text:
Submissions for the "We Are GB" project are due by Friday, March 29, 2019. The project aims to create an artistic representation of the collective cultures of UW-Green Bay for a tunnel in the Instructional Services (IS) building. UW-Green Bay students, faculty and staff are invited to submit a picture or two that represents their culture, along with a sentence or two explaining the picture related to the culture. All the submissions will be presented to an artist, who will then design the art piece. Your actual picture may or may not be used, but your submission will allow the artist to use your image, versions of it or words in the final piece. Submit your photos.
Inside UW-Green Bay News
The official site for UW-Green Bay News and Features
- You are here:
- UWGB Home
- News
- Newsroom
- Announcements
- 'We Are GB' artistic representation accepting photo submissions until Friday, March 29
- Marketing and University Communication, CL 820
UW-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
- (920) 465-5502
Department Info
- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311, USA
- UW-Green Bay Mission
- Connect with UWGB: facebook twitter flickr youtube
- General Contact:
(920) 465-2000 or firstname.lastname@example.com
- Report a website issue
- Privacy Policy
- Emergency Information: emergency.uwgb.edu


text:
Friday, April 10, 2009
Foundry Photojournalism Workshop: Another Scholarship!!
Eric Beecroft, co-founder of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, announced that the dispatches 2009 Foundry Scholarship in Memory of Alexandra Boulat will award one woman photographer from South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Tibet) a full scholarship to attend the workshop as well as $100 toward travel expenses.
Eligibility: Any woman photographer from South Asia (no dual nationals from outside South Asia) may apply, including those that have applied unsuccessfully to other scholarships for the workshop.
Deadline: May 7, 2009
Winners Announced May 21, 2009
Judges: The judges are dispatches' contributing photographers Antonin Kratochvil, Yuri Kozyrev, and Seamus Murphy.
How to Apply:
Please send a link to TWO photographic essays, each containing from 6 to 20 images, to fpw [at] rethink-dispatches [dot] com.
Write "Foundry Scholarship" in the subject line.
Also include one to two paragraphs in an attached Word doc or pdf summarising your photography background, career goals, any other workshops you've attended, and what you hope to get out of the Foundry workshop. Please also include the links to your galleries in the attachment.
NB: Please make sure that the images are captioned. Galleries that are fast-loading are appreciated.
Labels: Events, Photojournalism
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4:45 PM | Posted by Lucy | | Edit Post
The image above is of my new commercial use product- a PSD Bunny Template and 4 PNG Bunnies!
The image below is a freebie that I made for you! It is a PSD template with a bunny and crossbones. It is commercial use or personal use OK... Click the preview of it below to download and if you like this freebie, let me know :)
3 comments:
- CBH said...
Thank you so much for this post. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 1 post on Mar. 19, 2012. Thanks again.
- March 19, 2012 at 7:28 AM
thank you love christine in italy xx
- March 19, 2012 at 8:19 AM
- LeeLee said...
- March 30, 2012 at 8:43 PM
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text:
The San Diego Art Institute is under new leadership.
Timothy Field, the Balboa Park-based organization's executive director since 1997 and president and CEO since 2008, is gone.
Claire Slattery, the chair of the institute's board of directors, has been named interim executive director.
No explanation was forthcoming from the institute regarding the departure of Field, who was the board's vice chairman for two years before he became executive director.
Here's Slattery's statement in a brief news release sent out by the institute:
"The San Diego Art Institute plays an important role in exhibiting the work of local and regional artists. We strive to serve artists in all media with our exhibit space – the Museum of the Living Artist. We also have major outreach with workshops and involvement in the North Park community at the San Diego Art Department."
"We also collaborate on exhibits with The Art of Photography Show and member organizations in COVA (Combined Organizations for the Visual Arts)."
"We anticipate re-energizing our efforts with the selection of a new permanent director."
According to a bio on the San Diego Visual Arts Guild's website, Slattery was a board member of COVA before it merged in 2005 with the art institute.
"Claire has been interested in art her entire adult life, as both an admirer and collector," according to the bio. "She was a regular visitor to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art when she worked in that city in the 1970s and 1980s. Since moving to the San Diego area in 1986, she has assisted artists as a personal administrator and collector."


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photo by Lee Blackwell
It started innocuously enough. Lee and I pedaled a graded dirt road into the Black Hills east of Safford.
The original idea was to recreate a memorable bikepack we did on a rather iconic section of the Grand Enchantment Trail some years back. We hiked our bikes a lot back then, but the memory of that had faded, replaced by the strong sense of "we need to go back there" that lingered.
But re-creating a ride that we know already 'goes' isn't nearly as exciting as, well, something that we don't know. When I took a look at Maestro Brett's latest GET maps I quickly realized there was trail we had not been on. It looked steep, and remote, and full of water crossings, and probably hike-a-bike. Just a brief mention of the new section was all Lee needed — new country calls to him loudly.
the range does indeed look good
We wanted to hit the unknown stuff first, and in the downhill direction, so we pedaled the 'self-shuttle' portion of the ride first. In this case, it's the Black Hills Backcountry byway. We had time to stop and read all the informative signs along the way, this time.
And what's this? A gazebo with picnic table and a huge view of all the terrain we would be immersing ourselves in over the next several days! It was practically begging us to camp there, with the roof being a good full-moon sleep aid.
Then, just after night fell, the wind picked up. The mice started scurrying around. Lee's air mattress blew into his bike and sprung a leak. The wind only increased its fury through the night. The cold seeped in from the ground to Lee's core.
It wasn't the greatest night of bikepack sleep we've ever had.
To the Gila River, where Lee's puncture was obvious and repaired with a small piece of nylon cut out of the stuff sack.
Meanwhile, I looked for birds. And there were many dancing through the cottonwoods.
Already down some time and tired from the night, I suggested we alter our plan to grab a good night in the motel before launching off into the 'doing of the thing.' That also meant we could take a little side trip in search of… a hot spring!
An abandoned rail way turned singletrack, on a shortcut bearing? Yes, please!
photo by Lee Blackwell
Sand and steep rock made sure we didn't ride our bikes all the way, but a bike was a pretty good tool for rolling over hills and dropping back to the river in search of hot water.
Hot water was found. Too hot, largely. At 180 degrees, it's the hottest in AZ, but if you mix it with river water, you could maybe get it just right. Lee and a young couple did some digging, but I settled for a "half" soak — back half hot, front half cool. Not golden, but I'll take it.
We rolled into the funky mining town of Clifton with time to spare. First stop was Roy Tyler's Texas BBQ place. Before we were done there, we had bellies full of food, pie and ice cream. We had also met the mayor, half the city council, and collected a stack of business cards from various characters that call Clifton home. Lee's personable way does well at making friends quickly.
We took the evening to spin unloaded around town, exploring the cave jail, churches, giant loaders and other nutty aspects of a town steeped in history. It's too bad much of the the original town has been swept away in various floods of the San Francisco river.
Everyone was so friendly. "You guys look decidedly non-local." Yeah, bikepackers aren't exactly common around here. Neither are thru-hikers since even the GET skips these towns now.
The night at the motel was good. I awoke and was facing the only part of the ride I was not looking forward to: climbing 1000 feet, steeply, through the massive Morenci mine (largest copper mine in North America, dwarfing Kennecott, Silver City, Butte, etc), dodging mine traffic the entire way.
Out came the stack of business cards, and Lee's talents. A few minutes later, he had a ride secured through the mine from none other than city councilman, jokester, sole republican of Clifton and owner of the Texas BBQ joint.
Being 'pure' (i.e. pedaling every last mile) is overrated.
Leave it to Scott and Lee to find a way to integrate hike-a-bike into what should be a straightforward ride between the towns of Clifton and Morenci.
The "Greenlee County Healthy Lifestyles Trail" does still exist and provides a traffic-free way to climb between the towns. But it's changed a little bit since our 2008 GPX track.
The good Roy Tyler dropped us and our groceries just past the mine. We still had 1500 feet or so to climb on the deserted highway. We'll call it semi-pure.
It was semi-rad, for sure, as we climbed towards the White Mountains, mingling with the mexican blue jays and acorn woodpeckers along upper Chase Creek.
And then, at long last, we were on the GET proper, into the meat of it, with 3+ days of food, a willingness to hike and a voracious appetite for new country.
photo by Lee Blackwell
Our expectations were set appropriately low. Any section we rode was considered a bonus.
photo by Lee Blackwell
We could tell someone, at some point, cared about this trail. But the current conditions? Less than favorable for mountain bike travel, despite the fact that we were losing elevation rapidly, there wasn't a whole lot of riding going on.
Catclaw and other overgrowth is a real problem on a narrow trail bench. Beyond that, it's been my observation that last year's monsoon rains were ideal for growth of cheatgrass in the mid elevations of Arizona. Think Canelo Hills. Except the Canelos probably get 500x the traffic that the GET receives.
The winter's brief freeze and snow was not enough to push the grasses back. So even sections that might be followable/rideable were often obscured and left the poor little bikepackers back on their feet.
In short, it isn't hard to imagine that this trail could be more rideable under better conditions.
"This might be the hardest 3000 feet of elevation we've ever lost." It was sure a good thing we weren't going up (thanks to Master Brett's suggestion).
"What, you want to go all the way up there? You're crazy."
Time wasn't running high. Progress had been minimal all afternoon. But I had a hunch, given some vague hints on Brett's maps, that this was the area, and that it was not to be missed.
What we found amazed us.
Magic springs coming from the cracks.
Hawks screeching and strafing us, repeatedly.
Magic trees and caves.
It is not hard to imagine and feel the vision quests that might have occured here.
Or the spirit animals that, at times, inhabit it.
We continued the quest of our own (whether or not it qualifies as visionary or a fool's errand, I don't know) further down the GET, as the 'trail' was simply in the jumbled streambed.
At dusk cottonwoods began to appear in the drainage as we picked our way down. Then, a spring! Clear water. We called it a night, enjoying the luxury of a wet desert camp, meaning extra coffee, emergen-C and even some whiskey that I surprised Lee by carrying.
The morning's route continued down the drainage, occasionally rideable, and always highly interesting.
Painted Bluff slickrock! Ah the tasty little nuggests only available to the adventurous bikepacker.
Perhaps such nuggets will be enough to sustain us as we fight our way down to Eagle Creek? Occasionally bits of unrideable trail took us out of the drainage, presumably around pour-offs or other obstacles, but it was always slow going.
After nearly 24 hours, we had only covered 13 miles, while losing several thousand feet. But we had reached Eagle Creek, and it was running higher than expected.
The next 9 or so miles were following the creek, downstream, with an estimated 50+ fords. For the first couple miles there was rumored to be a 'pack' trail, but given the lack of use we'd seen anywhere so far, we were skeptical.
There was, at times, some paths to follow, as we repeatedly played the game of 'do we ford here' or continue fighting the brush on our current side, hoping to save two fords?
It's a fun game to play, really. You just can't have any expectation of making much progress.
After reaching a ranch house the topos indicated a jeep track to follow for the rest of Eagle Creek. Poking around left us skeptical. Brett had suggested we perhaps exit Eagle Creek on the other side of the jeep track, climbing thousands of feet away, but avoiding further slow travel and many fords.
We opted to stay in the cool shade and with the cool water. It was simply too beautiful and too rare a thing to leave, even though we new it was going to be slow. The jeep track was semi-followable and ill used, but it did improve vastly as the afternoon wore on.
We started getting the confidence to ride a few fords, perhaps as water level fell a little, drainage widened, and definitely as the water temperature warmed. It was fun to go flying into the creek with speed, losing it just as you hit the channel, and dumping your shoes straight in.
We don't often get to ride with water in AZ. And, oh, what a setting.
We were followed by multiple black hawks as we made our way through the tight bends and oxbows of the rhyolite cliffed creek. Black hawk is a new bird for me!
photo by Lee Blackwell
Energy levels were not high as we paused to take a break where the route climbs away from Eagle Creek. Time estimates of what remained were not promising. Did we have enough food to actually push this thing through? Our second day on the GET was running out of daylight and we'd only covered 23 GET miles total!
There was a bailout, back to Morenci and Clifton, at this point. But Lee delivered my favorite quote of the trip, "yeah, but then we don't get to see our country!" For Lee, seeing the country is always the highest priority, riding or hike-a-biking, tired or energetic.
We pedaled past the eastern terminus of the Safford Morenci trail. The sign marking the terminus was almost shiny, it felt so new, in direct opposition to the state of the trail, or the history of the trail.
It's an old pack trail, through supremely rugged terrain, that once linked the farms (Safford) to the mines (Clifton/Morenci). Remnants of the original trail can still be seen, especially in places where it has to cling to cliff walls in order to make passage.
The BLM has revived the route and signed it, with some (imaginary?) fanfare some years ago. That fanfare seems to have conincided with the last time we rode it, when conditions were quite agreeable to the adventurous cyclist. We were about to learn just how things have deteriorated since.
While briefly a steep and rubbly 4×4 road, it was semi-rideable. As it turned to singletrack, the effect of the bovine inhabitants of Smith Canyon became apparent. There were stones and baby heads everywhere.
We pushed bikes into the failing night, scanning the terrain for any flat and stone-less ground that might afford some rest. It took a while before we found a couple of tiny cubbies big enough for bikepackers to lay their weary heads.
photo by Lee Blackwell
It was a cold morning at nearly 6000 feet, but our position was favorable for early morning sun. I think a few cows had also figured out this early morning sun perch. They came in the middle of the night, snorting at us in disapproval of us taking their sleeping spots!
We crested Bellmeyer saddle to grand veiws and much elatement. We had crossed the Turtle Mountains and were on a downward pitch to the next riparian wonderland — Bonita Creek.
photo by Lee Blackwell
I remembered climbing a fair bit of this singletrack, terrain pulling me upward like a magnet, last time. Cheatgrass and catclaw once again had other ideas on too many sections that I would have loved to coast down.
But what did remain was brilliant, and freeing, and lovely, and so much easier than dragging bikes up through baby heads. The singletrack ended quickly, and for the first time in 3 days, we had open 2-tracks to coast on.
It might have been the first time that our bikes did us much good. In a rational, logical way. But what is logical about crossing this terrain in the first place? After all, a smooth and swift highway can take us where we're going orders of magnitude faster.
photo by Lee Blackwell
We dropped into Midnight Canyon, as the excitement level peaked, and our bikes continued to be highly 'useful.' Where by useful I mean incredibly fun.
Choke rock! No regrets at the possession of two wheeled bicycles were offered as we coasted and pedaled our way down the magnificence of the slot.
photo by Lee Blackwell
It is not every day you encounter a rideable slot canyon to ride through, to wonder at.
photo by Lee Blackwell
And to not want to leave behind. Partly we stopped for shade, partly we stopped because of the beautiful spot, and the zone tailed hawks (another new bird!) flying overhead.
And partly it was because we knew the 'fun' was over. Bonita creek was here, and the infamous Johnny Creek loomed ahead — in the uphill direction.
photo by Lee Blackwell
First we had to get there. Riparian areas are a unique and wonderful thing in the Arizona Desert. But keeping a trail or route anywhere near them is near impossible. Little blue 'Brett' flags kept us on track, got us to the ford spot, and away with muddy feet.
photo by Lee Blackwell
Those feet struggled to wrangle bicycles up and out of the lower reaches of Johnny Creek, on centuries old trail, chopped precipitously out of sheer rock. It's a sight to behold, and just on the edge of what's possible to push up with full water bags on our backs.
Into the slot of Johnny we go. Even for thru-hikers, the pace through here is not quick. But it's delightful travel, in a way, picking your lines and marveling at the geology throughout. Some water obviously runs fast through here!
If not for the concave curve of the slot, midday shade would have been hard to come by. It was slim, even still, but Lee is a certified master of napping. Somehow he perched himself on a tiny ledge, completely in the shade.
"Perfect, when my water bag is done filtering, it'll fill up and fall off on my face. That'll mean nap time is over."
The nap was declared good, though only a '2-sided' nap. For the best recovery results, Lee recommends a 3-sided nap (lying on back, and both sides).
It was enough that we resumed charging up the slot, finding occasional pieces of new trail that would guide us out of the drainage for the stone dams and other obstacles that might prove difficult for horses (or bikepackers!). They sure didn't overdo the bench construction or pruning on the new sections though.
Johnny done. Time to push bikes up steep roads, somewhat of a relief?
But we had forgotten about "Johnny Two", the next canyon of singletrack. Some of it was good, and some was choked with brush and finally had us wanting to cry "Uncle." Enough raising and lowering of loaded bikes over boulders. Enough slamming of pedals into legs. Enough cat claw skin loss.
But the end was reached, again with fancy sign. As we laid in the dirt elated at completing our second traversal of the Safford Morenci trail, Lee was heard to mutter something extremely rare. "I don't know, Scott, that was bordering on ridiculous." [the amount of hike-a-bike and difficult conditions]
Bordering on ridiculous, but not actually ridiculous.
The evening light, the quiet spaces, the open roads, the fact that we'd seen zero humans in the last three days, the sheer joy of coasting and wind on the face [thanks bikes!], the satisfaction of completing our visionary (to us) quest.
photo by Lee Blackwell
Well, that was all pretty damn nice. We coasted for miles and miles, down into the Gila Valley and towards Safford, where the ride (or hike?) was over.
Thanks for a great adventure, Lee. I'm looking forward to the next bike/hike adventure, whether on the GET or not. I love that we are still able to get along so well and see such country. It's truly a rare and special thing.


text:
What: "Shrinking State Data Centers: A Playbook for Enterprise Data Center Consolidation" from the National Association of State CIOs
Why: With states at different stages of data center consolidation, sharing information on potential roadblocks can smooth the transition for governments who are still in the planning stages.
Findings: In addition to cost savings, state governments are seeing more benefits to consolidating data centers across the executive branch, including improved disaster recovery and the stronger IT security resulting from the centralization of infrastructure mandates and upgrades.
While the upside of consolidation is immense, problems can develop during the transition process. Higher than anticipated costs, failure to address specific business needs and issues with federal and state regulations can delay the consolidation process.
To create a smooth transition, NASCIO has identified 10 ways data center managers can ease consolidation headaches:
Read the full report here.
About the Author
Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for GCN, covering cloud, cybersecurity and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.
Before joining GCN, Friedman was a reporter for Gambling Compliance, where she covered state issues related to casinos, lotteries and fantasy sports. She has also written for Communications Daily and Washington Internet Daily on state telecom and cloud computing. Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.
Friedman can be contacted at email@example.com or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.
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text:
|German Patrol No1 approach the house where the stashed weapons were found. Tail End Charlie watches the patrol's rear.
Well things went rapidly downhill for the Germans as they attempted to take the man prisoner. The situation exploded and the Germans called in support. As luck would have it ( a fog of war card) a sand storm had blown up grounding the US Black Hawk and supporting troops so the Germans were on their own......and things were looking pretty grim. It turned out that the Taliban had been infiltrating weapons and men into the village and these now turned out in force to confront the luckless Germans.
|Patrol No2 moves through the deceptively quiet streets.
My son Nick has been hanging around Nick senior too long and rather than beat a hasty withdrawal he decided to take on the Taliban. All of them. With just one five man and one six man patrol he figured that, as far as he was concerned they were Bundeswehr ( he likes the name), he could beat any local insurgency. At first he withdrew from the house where the problems started, but a group of insurgents emerged to follow them down the street. Returning fire, the Germans suffered one man lightly wounded but destroyed the small 3 man cell that had followed them.
|The hardcore Taliban take position on the roof of a house and start blasting.
Drawn by the automatic fire, more insurgents 'piled on'. The German discipline and training, however, very quickly became apparent with two cells quickly downed but the hardcore Taliban began to pour into town from the nearby hills and scrub. Both German patrols leapfrogged, firing and moving to the edge of the town they forced the Taliban back into the ruins and rugged terrain. The Germans then moved out into the open but suddenly came under fire from a HMG and insurgent cells from the rooftops from inside the town. The Germans realised that they were heavily outnumbered and despite the fact that they had inflicted 15 casualties - they had only, at this stage, two heavily wounded - from Patrol 1- they began a fighting retreat. Patrol No 2 had one last bit of bad luck as the ran into an incoming Taliban cell. In the very close range fire fight, 1 German was killed and two more were seriously wounded. The Taliban were wiped out. The Germans finally got away!
|The Germans move thru the village square and are hit by HMG fire -in the distance.
|The Taliban, drawn by the fire, come in from the nearby hills
|Patrol No 1 followed the fleeing insurgents into the hills and scrub behind the village- only to find it swarming with Taliban fighters
|Patrol 1 take up firing positions at the end of the street
|Patrol 2 moving to take the incoming Taliban from the hills
|Patrol 2 Deploys and hit the enemy hard.
|More Taliban cells join the fight
|More Taliban emerge from the ruins at the far edge of the table. Nick said in exasperation- 'How many are there? Where the hell are they all coming from?'
|Patrol 2 and a Taliban cell walk into each other- a blistering fire fight ensued.
The Germans survived (with 1 dead and two heavily wounded).
The Taliban didn't.


text: IBAT College Dublin, in conjunction with our learning partners, offers a wide range of full-time and part-time programmes from short skills-based programmes to full-time honours degree and postgraduate courses. Many of the courses offered in IBAT College Dublin are on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The NFQ provides a structure to compare and contrast the level and standard of different qualifications in Ireland. Quality & Qualifications Ireland (Formerly HETAC) is the qualifications awarding body for third level educational and training institutions outside the university sector in Ireland. QQI awards qualifications at all levels of higher education and training up to PhD level. IBAT College Dublin has a number of accredited QQI courses.


text:
NYT Discovers That Wars Cost Money
Really, who knew?
In what appears to be the opening round of a rearguard action against what leftists used to call "the good war" (only because they felt they needed to pretend they had pro-war bona fides to make their anti-Iraq War arguments look stronger to the general populace), the New York Times's Christopher Drew reported last Saturday for the Sunday print edition that sending more troops to Afghanistan as General Stanley A. McChrystal has requested might cost tens of billions of dollars.
High Costs Weigh on Troop Debate for Afghan War
While President Obama's decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment, senior administration officials say.
The latest internal government estimates place the cost of adding 40,000 American troops and sharply expanding the Afghan security forces, as favored by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American and allied commander in Afghanistan, at $40 billion to $54 billion a year, the officials said.
Even if fewer troops are sent, or their mission is modified, the rough formula used by the White House, of about $1 million per soldier a year, appears almost constant.
So even if Mr. Obama opts for a lower troop commitment, Afghanistan's new costs could wash out the projected $26 billion expected to be saved in 2010 from withdrawing troops from Iraq. And the overall military budget could rise to as much as $734 billion, or 10 percent more than the peak of $667 billion under the Bush administration.
Such an escalation in military spending would be a politically volatile issue for Mr. Obama at a time when the government budget deficit is soaring, the economy is weak and he is trying to pass a costly health care plan.
…. At a stop at a military base in Alaska on Thursday, Mr. Obama told a gathering of soldiers that he would not risk more lives "unless it is necessary to America's vital interests." He added during his visit to Tokyo on Friday that he wanted to avoid taking any step that could be seen as an "open-ended commitment."
The administration said Friday that it planned to cut up to 5 percent at domestic agencies in fiscal 2011 as part of an effort to reduce the federal budget deficit, which rose to $1.4 trillion with the economic stimulus and financial bailouts.
All of a sudden the administration has found a place where spending money is a problem. They're quibbling over a net spending increase of $14-$28 billion (between $40 billion and 54 billion minus $26 billion), a net amount that would be about 0.4%-0.7% of the government's annual spending rate of $3.5 trillion per year.
Oh, it's not a problem when hundreds of billions go into a "stimulus" program that hasn't stimulated anything except howls of outrage over misdirected funds, exaggerated results, and reports of billions going to non-existent congressional districts. It's not a problem when discussing having the government take over health care. It's not a problem when funneling funds into two failing car manufacturers, one of which just reported a "managerial net loss" of $1.2 billion in its first period under government control despite having walked away from almost $30 billion in debt and getting at least $50 billion in government aid, the vast majority of which was taken into income by its bankrupt predecessor.
And of course the administration has coupled this with telegraphed plans for significant cuts elsewhere that no one believes will ever happen, and the mere mention of which will bring out howls of protest from bureaucrats and leftist constituencies who will make sure they never happen.
This should be seen as yet another stage in the seemingly endless Afghanistan dither that has been on since summer. The president seems to want to find something, no matter how specious and contrived, to justify not giving McChrystal what he wants. That the Times is providing boot-licking assistance should surprise no one.
Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.


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Supply issues are well known in Canada's medical cannabis program. While there are no overall product shortages across the system, the nature of the program that effectively limits a customer's ability to 'shop around' combined with limited product availability in terms of specific products has left many patients frustrated.
While few producers ever run out of cannabis entirely, patients who seek specific strains or products, like high CBD dried flowers or oils, or other specific or rare or hard-to-grow strains for specific ailments, often have to go without or turn to the unregulated market for the same or similar products.
This is because while there are hundreds, possibly even thousands of strains and cannabis products available in this unregulated market, there are markedly less within Health Canada's regulated medical cannabis. According to Health Canada, as of July 24, there were 220 dried cannabis products and 57 oil products available, in addition to other products like capsules, a spray, "clone products" and more. And while this is still a lot more options than many Canadians may be used to or familiar with, when trying to both compete with a black market as well as satisfy a need for a steady, cost effective and stable supply of medical cannabis, this discrepancy can mean the difference between an effective legal program and one that continues to struggle with it's unregulated competitor.
Another side of this issue is how new licensed producers get access to the kinds of strains patients are demanding. As new producers come online to satisfy growing demand, with dozens more expected in the coming months, the question of how they get starting materials—plants and seeds—to grow the cannabis they seek to sell to Canadians can be a challenge.
While producers approved prior to April 1, 2014 were allowed to import genetics through domestic home growers approved by the government, since that cut-off date, producers have been forced to either find a way to import genetics from overseas or have had to purchase them from those producers who got through that first cutoff date.
The first option, importing starting material like seeds or clones from outside of Canada, is limited to a handful of countries with legal cannabis programs, and only a few LPs have so far successfully navigated that approach, going through Health Canada, Canadian Border services, the Canadian Food and Inspection agency, as well as these departments' equivalents in the host country.
Last Fall, Health Canada said they were compiling a list of companies that LPs can potentially source genetics from, but this list currently only includes three companies (one in Spain, one in Germany and one in Columbia), one of which is owned by another LP. However, Health Canada says they have issued permits to LPs for four separate foreign companies in 2017.
"In addition to the 3 foreign companies that have been identified to date, Health Canada continues to work to identify and verify the legal standing of additional companies that may be able to provide cannabis starting materials (e.g., seeds, clones) for import to Canada," Health Canada senior media relations advisor Tammy Jarbeau told Lift earlier this year.
"In addition," Jarbeau continued, "in instances where a licensed producer is made aware of other potential legal foreign sources of cannabis starting material, Health Canada officials will liaise with the competent authority in the country of origin to confirm the legal standing of the company, and whether they are willing and able to export cannabis starting materials to Canada. Moreover, since the beginning of 2017, Health Canada has issued permits to licensed producers for the import of cannabis starting materials from four separate foreign companies."
"...if the ACMPR has a vested interested in the government of Canada's objectives in disrupting the black market, go to any top dispensary in Vancouver and you'll see some really incredible genetics, some really cool, rare sativas, some stuff that's hard to grow, some stuff that people have really put a lot of time and energy into, and if we don't represent product that is at least of that quality, it's going to be tough for us to compete." - Dan Sutton, Founder of Tantalus Labs in British Columbia
Some new producers say the second option, sourcing from other Canadian licensed producers, offers new LPs more options and less paperwork than importing, but can still be a challenge for LPs seeking a unique variety. While many producers have extended seed and clone selections in their facilities, which of these they are willing to sell to competitors, and at what price, can be challenging. Some producers offer other LPs clones for sale with added 'cutting fees' for any clones made from the plants sold, while others offer a flat rate.
What this means for new producers and, expanding out, the Canadian cannabis market in general is a market that may continue to find challenges in competing with a black market with significant product diversity and variety, says at least one producer.
Dan Sutton, CEO of Tantalus Labs, a recently-licensed medical cannabis producer in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, says his company recently went through the process of obtaining seeds from Europe (Dan was unable to share the specific country), after not being happy with the options available domestically, both in terms of variety and price. The process, as he explains, was not easy.
"Just to give new LPs or people who are interested in understanding of the complication around acquiring genetics, especially germplasm seed stock, it was a 16 month process," says Sutton. "We had to interact with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canadian Border Services Agency, Health Canada, a [lot] of lawyers, maybe four different layers of lawyers, the government in country of origin, and actually orchestrate a whole bunch of new stuff that Health Canada didn't know about, that we didn't know about, that nobody knew about until we figured it out. And I hope that that becomes a more publicly available channel."
"I would say it's probably the most important foundation to a thriving cannabis brand and at the same time one of the most difficult problems to solve… It was one of the most out-of-the-box problems we've ever solved, and that's saying something because building this place was insane, and getting a Health Canada ACMPR license was tough. If you think getting an ACMPR license is difficult and interpretive, and you're having to interpret different laws, and then the inspectors come and tell you things you never heard before, the acquisition of genetics in its current state is a problem that needs to be solved and a path that needs to be cleared by regulators."
Sutton's hard work paid off. In July they received shipment of thousands of seeds that he says represent thousands of possible strain options. He says he's excited to share their process with others because while he understands the value of protecting his own company's market share, he also sees the need for the entire industry to mature and expand and be able to compete with the black market to offer medical cannabis consumers the variety they need and are asking for.
"If we have any hope," continues Sutton, "...if the ACMPR has a vested interested in the government of Canada's objectives in disrupting the black market, go to any top dispensary in Vancouver and you'll see some really incredible genetics, some really cool, rare sativas, some stuff that's hard to grow, some stuff that people have really put a lot of time and energy into, and if we don't represent product that is at least of that quality, it's going to be tough for us to compete."
Another BC grower, United Greeneries, based in Duncan BC, had to turn to importing seeds as well after not finding the quality of starting materials here in Canada that they were looking for, Andreas Gedeon told Lift last year. Gedeon is the Managing Director and CEO of MMJ PhytoTech. United Greeneries is the Canadian subsidiary of MMJ-PhytoTech, based in Australia. Last December, the company announced an import permit for seeds from a partner company.
"We have been purposely not engaging in commencing growing at our Duncan facility (cultivation license was received June 28, 2016) with other LP's plant material to avoid contamination of our grow areas with one of the many plant health issues out there. Most of them get transmitted from infested mother plants to the cuttings and quickly spread in the growing area. In the absence of sufficient licensed pest control products and fungicides for cannabis, initially growing from seeds in our newly built Duncan, BC facility was the best option to avoid these issues from the beginning."
United Greeneries has since developed mothers and clones from imported seeds and grown out finished crops as they await their license to sell, and will continue developing and stabilizing genetics from their imported starting material.
John Fowler, the CEO of 7 Acres, another licensed producer that was approved after the April 1, 2014 cutoff, says his company was able to secure imports through Dinafem Elites, based in Spain. 7 Acres specializes in supplying B2B sales of cannabis to other licensed producers, and also supplies genetics to these LPs as well. Pricing, he says, is currently $15-20 for initial cuttings and another $10-15 for plants propagated from those cuttings, with discounts available for exclusivity.
"Currently we offer two categories of genetics, 7ACRES Select and Dinafem Elites," says Fowler. "In both cases our team worked closely with the industry leaders at Dinafem to select phenotypes from nearly 400 seeds started last year, which were acquired domestically."
"I think genetics is one of the most important factors to the overall success of a cannabis cultivator. While we certainly have to be more creative in the legal market due to restrictions, there is lots of amazing material that can be selected, perfected and then developed into something new. We have resources and opportunities not available outside of the federally regulated space, this is a global advantage." John Fowler, CEO of 7 Acres in Ontario
"We provide our genetics with a small upfront cost and an ongoing plant fee. Think of this as similar to farmers who buy seeds or plant starters every crop cycle, but applied to an industry with in-house asexual propagation. This aligns us with the end producer; we only enjoy success if they do over the long term. To encourage success we get our team involved with the producer to help improve the garden and maximize the quality of the finished cannabis. This also allows producers to change strains based on customer feedback with little additional cost."
Fowler says that while there are obvious issues with sourcing genetics from outside the country, to him, the issue is more about knowing how to grow what you have and selecting new phenotypes through breeding.
"The issue of import is certainly a challenge, but it's not a panacea for genetics," says the CEO. "To be valuable, seeds need the time, space and expertise to be selected. That has to be combined with the right vision, for example we don't always choose the highest yield or highest potency as there are many other important factors involved."
"I think genetics is one of the most important factors to the overall success of a cannabis cultivator. While we certainly have to be more creative in the legal market due to restrictions, there is lots of amazing material that can be selected, perfected and then developed into something new. We have resources and opportunities not available outside of the federally regulated space, this is a global advantage."
This 'global advantage' is something Roger Ferreira—CEO and Director at Beleave Inc, which received its license to cultivate in May of this year—hopes to make use of. Beleave was recently able to purchase clones from another licensed producer, WeedMD. Their hope is to use the handful of specific strains to grow out for immediate supply as well as being able to begin breeding new variations from these initial genetics that can become unique to Beleave.
"With the restrictions that exist, one of Beleave's competitive advantages is to place an important focus on plant selection and breeding in order to introduce genetic and phenotypic diversity into the product stock available in the ACMPR. Ultimately, we want to provide the product variety and availability that both the medicinal and future recreational markets will require.
"From all starting genetics that we source, we are characterizing these for certain genetic and phenotypic markers of interest to carefully qualify them for our precision breeding program that we are implementing with Ryerson University. An important goal is developing a great new stock of genetics under the Beleave brand."
Although Ferreira says his company is pleased with the "flexibility and autonomy" of their arrangement with WeedMD, he also says he sees how the limited availability in terms of genetic diversity can limit the industry's growth. Although some strains are available from other licensed producers, finding the strains your future clients and patients will demand can be more challenging.
"With the restrictions that exist, one of Beleave's competitive advantages is to place an important focus on plant selection and breeding in order to introduce genetic and phenotypic diversity into the product stock available in the ACMPR. Ultimately, we want to provide the product variety and availability that both the medicinal and future recreational markets will require." - Roger Ferreira—CEO and Director at Beleave Inc. in Ontario.
"I think a couple of the main challenges for LP's are finding a plant acquisition or licensing agreement that fits their business model in terms of planned wholesale and retail sales, and then ultimately being able to find genetic stock of the intended product offerings that you're looking for within the structure of such an agreement."
For their part, Health Canada agrees with this perspective of creating better genetic diversity through the creation of new strains in house. In response to why this opportunity to import from licensed growers under the previous MMAR regime is not available to new producers, Health Canada simply says that it was a "temporary measure" that was created to "support the creation of a new system of licensed producers of cannabis for medical purposes."
To address any need for greater diversity in strains and products, the regulator says that licensed producers are then able to use legally sourced starting materials from import or other licensed producers to "create new strains."
This process, however, can take years to develop and then stabilize new strains, meaning that as more licensed producers come online to satisfy a growing demand for medical cannabis, those patients seeking specific, novel strains to deal with specific medical effects may have to do a lot of shopping around and experimenting to find what works.


text:
I declare my GLSL ES shader program within a HTML file, using this code:
<script id="shader-fs" type="x-shader/x-fragment">..shader-code..</script>
as seen in the learning WebGL examples. Everything works fine, but I dont understand why I should use the type attribute of the script tag. I want to know where the "x-shader/x-fragment" value is specified. Who does that.. the W3C, the Khronos Group or the browser developers? Can anybody help me? Tahnk you.


text:
What happens if the company you work for falls into administration? It's a situation many retail workers have found themselves in in recent weeks following the troubles of Comet, HMV and Blockbuster. And it is reflected nationwide in all industry sectors.
Frustrated workers are having to grapple with their rights and entitlements – often with insolvency practitioners or public sector bodies who have replaced the familiar face of their employers.
There is a difference between an employer being in liquidation and administration. If your employer is in liquidation, there is no continuing business and you will be out of a job. Where your employer is in administration, an administrator will be appointed to see if the business can be kept alive pending a transfer in whole or part to a new buyer.
In an administration, you will not be able to make any immediate legal claim against your employer as the law imposes a "moratorium" on any such claims without the consent of either the courts or the administrator.
The administrators have a period of 14 days after their appointment to decide if they want to offload the costs of any employees by dismissing them. If they do so within the 14-day period, those former employees become "ordinary creditors" within the administration, so will line up along suppliers and other creditors.
If the administrator elects to retain you as an employee beyond the 14-day period, you become a "preferential creditor" – where you stand a better chance of recovering outstanding salary and redundancy payments if and when the time comes.
If insolvency is the only option for the business, the Insolvency Act 1986 only entitles preferential creditors to their outstanding salary (which also includes commission) for the four-month period immediately preceding the insolvency, and up to a ceiling of £800. You are also entitled to be treated as a preferred creditor for accrued holiday pay (up to six weeks) and certain occupational pension payments. Any additional amount you are owed (or relating to periods longer than four months) ranks as ordinary debt along with the bulk of other creditors.
If there are insufficient funds to pay you from the insolvent business, all is not lost. You can apply to the National Insurance Fund (NIF) for outstanding payments including salary, notice, holiday and redundancy pay. The NIF is operated by the Redundancy Payments Office and is the most useful first port of call in claiming outstanding payments, although the process can be complex and time consuming.
To qualify for NIF payments your employer must be insolvent and your employment needs to have terminated. You must also have done everything you can to get your payment, including applying in writing to your ex-employer for the payment within six months of the date your employment ended.
A claim to the NIF is also subject to ceilings. This includes a cap of £430 a week for unpaid salary up to a maximum of eight weeks; up to six weeks' holiday pay to a maximum of £800; and outstanding statutory notice, up to a maximum of £430 a week. Your statutory minimum notice is one week for every year worked, up to 12 weeks.
Of course it is always possible that a buyer for the business can be found. If the business is sold and you are transferred, your employment rights are generally protected and transferred to the new owner under the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection from Employment) Regulations. This includes your continuity of employment and any payments owed to you.
It is possible, however, that your contract may be varied to some extent by an administrator as necessary for the survival of the business. This is deemed a permitted variation. You may, therefore, find yourself being forced to accept some changes to your terms of employment – unlike in a standard business transfer situation.
If you are made redundant, the question of transfer of terms does not arise and you lose continuity of employment even if you are rehired by the new owner. You will not qualify for redundancy pay unless you have two years' qualifying service.
An insolvent employer doesn't mean you will lose all outstanding pay, but realistically there is likely to be a shortfall.
Philip Landau is an employment lawyer at Landau Zeffertt Weir Solicitors.


text:
- Effective and efficient performance of office mandates
- Optimal quality reports, services and information clients
- Enhanced monitoring and evaluation system
- Optimal performance of the PPDO personnel
- Effective and efficient policies on access to PPDO data and services
- Formulate integrated economic, social, physical, and other development plans and for consideration of the Provincial Development Council.
- Conduct continuing studies, researches and training programs for implementation.
- Integrate and coordinate all sectoral plans and studies undertaken by different functional groups or agencies
- Monitor and evaluate the implementation of different development programs, projects, and activities in the LGU concerned in accordance with approved development plan
- Prepare comprehensive plans and other development Planning documents for the consideration of the Provincial Development Council.
- Analyze the income and expenditure patterns, and formulate and recommended fiscal plans and policies for consideration of the Finance Committee of the LGU concerned.
- Exercise supervision and control over the secretariat of the Provincial Development Council.


text:
My department has run a number of workshops (organized by grad students) on "teaching about race." They asked me to speak about what the rules are about what we can and cannot say in the classroom. I was pretty sure I knew the "rules" but asked our Provost for the official statement. Interestingly, there was none, but the question was referred to the Legal department. After a delay, Legal Affairs sent back an email citing Wisconsin state statutes and linking to some policy statements. I've pasted the original correspondence below.* First a student and I translated the legalese into English bullet points. Then I wrote an essay about how to think about the authority and ethical responsibility in teaching controversial topics. This was recirculated this fall and as I've gotten positive feedback about this, I decided to post it here, with a few more edits, in case it is helpful. There's always more to say, and legitimate disagreement about how to handle some things. Feel free to use the comments to expand on these points. Continue reading "Exercising Judgment in Teaching Politically-Charged Topics"
Category: teaching and talking about race
Revisionist history
The scary thing about this post from We Are Respectable Negroes describing history as the Texas and Arizona legislatures want it taught is how closely it approximates history as it is actually taught in a lot [a majority?] of our public schools. It's funny, but it's not.
Edit: I realized a short quotation to give you the flavor would be useful.
1607– Jamestown founded. Capitalism, which can trace its roots to the Bible, is now firmly rooted in the New World.
1660-1800–Triangular Atlantic trade continues to bring wealth and prosperity to America while giving opportunities to new immigrants.
1776–War for Independence against the tyrannical, evil British empire. Colonists suffer oppression that is unprecedented in human history. Minutemen singlehandedly defeat the evil British Empire in 1783.
1788–The United States Constitution is signed as a document to stand for all time, inspired by God, and never to be changed.
1803-1848–America continues to expand westward into empty territories. American settlers make the land bloom with the help of friendly Indian tribes.
After presenting lots of statistics about racial disparities in criminal justice, I showed my class the videos from ABC News What Would You Do? in which first White and than Black youths vandalize a car in a public parking lot. There is only one 911 call on the White boys, but ten on the Black boys. Plus, while the White boys are vandalizing, someone calls 911 to report people who are suspected of planning a robbery — Black kids asleep in a nearby car! Well, most of the class, as expected, saw this the way I did, as evidence of a racial problem. I was trying to emphasize that not arresting Whites when they commit crimes is just as important in racial disparities as arresting Blacks. Some students pointed out (correctly) that it was a demonstration, not a controlled experiment and wondered (fairly) whether the producers selected cases for their strong differences. But a few very vocally insisted that the difference was not about race at all, but that the Black kids were wearing "gang clothing." They got somewhat offended when I said, "yeah, Black styles" and then cut off that line of argument, saying "OK we disagree on that, but I don't want to spend the rest of the class arguing about clothing."
Today I went back to the video and took screen shots of the kids. They are all wearing hooded sweatshirts and jeans, as I said. (One student had insisted that the White kids wore tucked in shirts! Not so.) There are subtle differences in how they wear the clothes, though. The Black kids' clothes are bigger on them (and the kids themselves appear to me to be smaller). The White kids' shirts have words on them which I assume are school names (the resolution isn't good enough for me to read them) while one Black kid has some sort of design on it that you could construe as edgy — it is definitely not preppy. One Black kid is wearing a cap which (as can be seen elsewhere in the video) is a gold weave thing that I cannot imagine a White kid wearing, but he's wearing it in the same way as lots of White kids wear baseball caps. In my view the only difference between the clothing was subtle differences in style sensibilities between Blacks and Whites, and that calling the Black kids' clothing "gang attire" is ridiculous. These few students think that if the Black kids had been in "non-gang" (i.e. "White") clothing, the result would have been different. (They did not even suggest dressing the White kids in "gang" styles.) I think they are just exhibiting extreme resistance to the obvious. (The same students criticized me for failing to show examples of Black crime.) Opinions?
Edit: I decided to add shots of the kid with the most distinctively Black hat. In these shots you can see that he's also wearing a do-rag. Just to be fair. I can find no evidence that this is "gang attire." But it is certainly distinctively Black. Do you think it's the do-rag and not the skin color that matters here?
when you are called racist
EDIT: Based on comments received, I now believe that this should be rewritten to make it clear that complaints about racism are often well-founded and that White people ought to listen more to people of color and think about what they say. I've been trying to work periodically on a reprise, but find I'm not ready to finish it yet. As I note in the comments, when I posted this I did not expect it to get external links and a lot of traffic. I'm leaving it up so readers can see the comments and reactions.
This is an edited version of what I wrote for my students after a class discussion about the responding when someone calls you racist. The discussion started when a student described an upsetting experience of a homeless man calling her racist because she would not accept a jar of pennies in payment (it was against company policy). I made points I've made before about Whites overreacting to the r-word, including the story about teachers overreacting. I cut off discussion prematurely because of concerns about not getting farther behind in lecture materials due to the expectation (which proved correct) that I might miss class the following week, so I sent them this memo, which I think may be of interest to some readers of this blog.
Some of you were upset* because I seemed to be saying that it was OK for minorities to use the word racist as name-calling and Whites should just ignore it, while others were upset with me for seeming to say that any use of the word racist is just name-calling. I actually did not mean either. What I should have been trying to draw out is the whole complexity of the situation and the different perspectives different groups bring to the table. I've written some material (below) to explain how I see this, by developing two contrasting points of view – the "minority" (especially Black) view, and the "majority" (White) view. These are both extremes and there are many people who don't fit these extremes, but I hope it will help to explain the point. Continue reading "when you are called racist"
My jaw dropped: racial interactions
I study racial disparities in criminal justice, but this still completely blew me away. I started clicking around and have ended up collecting links to a large number of quite amazing videos of racial interactions that would be great discussion-starters in class. The two segments that just make my jaw drop were broadcast last February on ABC 20-20's "What Would You Do?" series last February. They are a little over six minutes each after a 15 second commercial*. The setup is a parking lot in a public park in a White suburb. In part 1, for several hours three White boys overtly vandalize a car. Dozens of White people walk by, looking but doing nothing. Only one ever calls the police; a few say something to the boys. In part 2, three Black boys do the same thing: lots of people call the police, many more people intervene. In both cases, there is overt criminality going on, although possibly so overt that people might have defined it as some kind of stunt. On balance, a clear demonstration that failure to sanction overt White crime is part of a racial disparity pattern, not just response to Black crime. But the real shocker: while the White kids are vandalizing the car, the police DO get TWO 911 calls from the same parking lot. What they call about is Black people SLEEPING in a nearby car: they phone it in as "possible robbery!"
Vandals 1 (white)
Vandals 2 (black)
(*I found these originally on Youtube but link to ABC despite the commercial opening in the interest of supporting copyright holders where possible.)
Edit: here's a more recent episode, this time involving kids trying to cut the chain on a bike lock.
There are also some really chilling Driving While Black segments available.
This 10-minute segment was produced by a New York news station about Nassau County. It is really quite incredible, the tester ends up handcuffed and held for thirty minutes after making a U-turn on a residential street and refusing to explain what he is doing in the area. No response to White testers who duplicate the action, although the Blacks in the trailing news car are stopped and hassled.
This ABC Primetime episode on Driving While Black is also very good, but the YouTube versions are all scratched and vertically stretched. I cannot find an on-line version of the original. The first segment is 10 minutes, the second is about 2 minutes of wrap-up
10 minute main segment
2 minute wrap up
A Fox news video shows a black customer being surrounded and beaten by whites but the black man is the only one arrested
The ABC Primetime What Would You Do? series also has a number of great segments (generally 8-10 minutes long) about bystander intervention into overt cases of racial/ethnic discrimination. Actors play the part of store clerks or real estate sales people who overtly insult and harass Black or Muslim or Spanish-speaking lower class (day laborer) shoppers (also actors). Bystander responses are videotaped. Each segment shows lots of people either standing by without intervening or in some cases approving the discrimination, but also highlights people who do intervene. John Dovidio (a psychologist known for work on bystander intervention) provides commentary that praises those who do intervene. Again, these seem like great discussion-starters. I linked to YouTube when I could not find the segment on the ABC site.
Real estate agent insulting Black and Muslim couples looking at a home.
Black shopper in a upscale clothing boutique gets insulted and even frisked
Muslim woman trying to buy an apple Danish (quite a few shoppers join in on the discrimination, while a White man who says is son is fighting in Iraq challenges it)
Spanish-speaking guys in work clothes trying to buy coffee (quite a few shoppers again join in on the discrimination, few seem to speak against it)
H/T to http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/ which pointed me to the Muslim shopper video on YouTube, from which I found the rest through YouTube searches, ABC News searches, and Google.
My "first day" comments in a class about race
The link from pitse1eh reminded me that I said I'd post my "first day" comments that I emailed to her. This is a follow up to my earlier post on teaching about race. These are my rough notes that I speak from, not a polished set piece, but they will give you the flavor of how I try to set the tone. I tell the students I'm giving them the pep talk.
Introduce topic and me.
1. Topic: social movements approach to ethnic groups. Key is emphasis on politics and grassroots action. Not economic studies of discrimination, although sometimes we'll cite those. Not lifestyle or cultural diversity, except as it comes into the political story. Not music, dance, drama, food. Instead matters of how you know who you are as a member of a larger group, what do you think that group is, how do you act together. It will turn out that a central theme of ethnic history in America, maybe the central theme, is: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN AMERICAN? Who is a REAL American?
2. I'll be stressing that everybody has an ethnicity. There is a tendency for "white" European-Americans whose ancestors migrated more than three generations ago to think they have no ethnicity, they are "just American." I'll be showing you that you are just as ethnic as everybody else is.
3. Me: I am an expert on SM. Still learning about ethnic history, the more I learn the more I realize how little I really know. We will learn together. I want to say the obvious: I am white and I know I'm white. I know I cannot tell you from personal experience about being "minority." I do read lots of books written by Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and try to learn from their voices what they feel about their lives, and what they think about their situation and political ways of dealing with it. So when I talk about what minorities think, that is where the information is coming from. I have learned a lot over the years from the students in this class who tell me what they think.
4. Personal issues: One thing I've learned is that all Americans have problems with race and ethnicity. There is a real sense in which US is inherently racist, in a way that goes beyond the personal feelings of any particular individual. I want to talk about these as structural, social problems rooted in history and the legacies of history. We will try to talk about how these structures got set up through the past actions of people, and how they constrain our choices today. We will talk about stereotypes and prejudice as consequences of these structures and constraints.
There's a lot of talk lately about "white men" being picked on, feeling threatened, as the only group it is safe to trash. I think it may help up front if we try to see that every group in America feels this way right now. We all feel stereotyped and put down for what we are. We are all wanting to be appreciated for our unique individuality, at the same time as we want to be able to be proud of our background and roots.
Let's just say up front that we all have group similiarities and differences. All the whites, blacks, asians, hispanics, native americans in this class; all the men and women, all the heterosexuals and the gays and lesbians in the class; all the Christians, Jews, believers in other religions, and those who do not believe in any religion all want to say to everybody else in the room: Some of us come from wealthy families, and some of us come from poor families; some of us work long hours to support ourselves in school, and some of us are supported by our families; some of us have parents who went to college, and some of us are the first in our family to go to college; some of us are ignorant and prejudiced, and some of us have a lot of experience working with other racial and ethnic groups. Many of us come from multi-racial families. Some of us are conservative, some of us are liberal, some of us are radical, and some of us don't care about politics at all. Everybody in this class wants to say: please do not assume you know about me from superficial things like my skin color or my accent or my gender.
5. There's a cartoon that used to be on an office door upstairs that captures another important theme. It shows a group of whites sitting around a living room and one person saying: "Why can't we all ignore our differences and just get along?" The next panel is a group of blacks sitting around a living room with one person saying: "Why can't we all accept our differences and just get along?" Almost everybody really wants to get along. But there are emphases about whether we get along by ignoring our differences, or by accepting them. And if we accept them, how can we accept difference in a way that doesn't mean we think less of our own culture?
6. All term we'll want to be talking about structure and agency. The US is a very individualized culture, and we tend to think that everything is a matter of being a good person. We tend to imagine that if you have a good character and the right values, you can automatically transcend your race, or your class background. As a sociologist, it is my job to teach you how much what you do and what you believe is a product of the particular circumstances you have grown up in. At the same time, I do not want to deny agency. People can and do make choices. What I will show you, however, is that most significant social change happens by way of collective agency. [Draw picture: society as constraints, you make individual choices within the circle of constraints. But collective agency is how you challenge the size and shape of the circle.]
7. I also want you to be able to get a sense of history, a sense of where things come from. Do you remember the beating of Rodney King in 1992? And the LA riots that followed? The meaning of the KKK. Where affirmative action comes from. Need to understand how past actions created present structures, and how the conflicts today are located in the context of what has come before. We can be proactive and create a new future, but only if we are willing to look honestly at what has come before us.
8. Encourage students to speak up when they disagree. Talk about how we all are likely to get upset about something. Classroom rule of civility and listening. No personal attacks. Try to understand what the other person is saying. If you find something upsetting, try to explain why. Students are encouraged to write in their daily journal comments [which I read after every class] if they are upset or concerned about something that happened in class.
9. Introduce me. [[In a small class, I encourage all the students to do similar introductions about themselves. I don't always have time for this on the first day, but I do stick in stories about my experiences throughout the term.]] A little about me. I grew up in Torrance, 3rd largest city in LA county. No blacks at the time I was there (through 1967). They were being kept out explicitly; there were sit-ins and civil rights marches for integration after I left. Quite a few Mexican Americans & Japanese Americans in my school. All spoke English, little ethnic consciousness that I was aware of. Civil rights movement was in the South. Watts riot 1965. Grandparents in the riot area. College: read lots of black literature. Eldridge Cleaver, Malcolm X required reading. Took other courses. Anti war movements, black power, black separatism. More riots. Grad school in the south. Saw separate black, white waiting rooms; the shadows from the old white/colored signs still on the doors. Memories of segregation were very vivid in the early 1970s. In the south, people knew race discrimination was real. In the newly integrated school, kids tried to get to know each other. Traditional black areas of southern cities. Louisville during the anti-bussing riots. Neighborhood groups: people trying to be nonracist in a polarized climate. This city seemed very white when I moved here. It was. Listening to the coded racism of the White areas. I'm your basic guilty liberal. Privileged. Educated. Now working on racial disparities, involvement in mixed-race groups. Teaching this class. I've learned a lot, but there is still a lot I don't know. Every time I teach this class, I learn from the students.
Ethnic Conflict: Them
My reading is full of racial/ethnic conflict these days. Audible.com was featuring Nathan McCall's Them: A Novel , which caught my eye as my mind was sensitized to issues of gentrification by David Wilson's Cities and Race: America's New Black Ghetto. The story is told from the point of view of Barlowe Reed, a Black printer who lives with his ex-con pigeon-raising nephew in a rented house in Atlanta's historic Old Fourth Ward, home of Martin Luther King. The story follows the area as it is settled or invaded (depending on your viewpoint) by the so-called "urban pioneers" – that is, White yuppies searching for in-city housing bargains. I could imagine teaching about the sociology of racial/ethnic conflict using this book. And as many of Amazon's reader comments say, it would make a great book club discussion book. It is about the conflicts arising from wildly different backgrounds and experiences and the very real difficulties in bridging these differences. The conflict is very much two-sided. The Black residents don't want the Whites there and try to get them to go away, with tactics ranging from a general refusal to speak to the Whites to muggings and thefts. For their part, the Whites see themselves as racial liberals and integrationists, but enact largely-unconscious White racial supremacy as they take over the neighborhood, replacing local institutions with their own, and destroying people's lives in the process. Continue reading "Ethnic Conflict: Them"


text: Attorneys Betty DeLargy Member Email:email@example.com Phone:(512) 480.5117 Location: Austin Bar Admissions: Tennessee, Texas Betty DeLargy is an insurance regulatory and health law lawyer who focuses her practice on insurance industry matters including: regulatory matters, insurance company acquisitions, mergers, licensing and affiliate transactions, health insurance and managed care, self insured employee health benefit plans and other health law applications. She also represents health insurance companies writing individual policies, association group coverage and small and large employer coverages. Experience Represented many third party administrators, agents and Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements, in obtaining and maintaining licenses with the Texas Department of Insurance. Served as General Counsel for the Texas Health Insurance Pool, and in this role advised the Pool Board of Directors on health insurance matters and requirements for Open Meetings and Public Information. Served as a member and past chair and director of the Federation of Regulatory Counsel. Prior to joining Mitchell Williams, Betty was a shareholder with Long, Burner, Parks & DeLargy, P.C. Held in-house counsel roles as Vice President and General Counsel for Transport Life Insurance Company in Ft. Worth, Texas, and as Legal Counsel for American Progressive Life Insurance Company in Nashville, Tennessee. Education Vanderbilt Law School J.D. (1977) Vanderbilt University B.A. (1972) Professional Recognition The Best Lawyers in America©: Insurance Law (2008-2020) Involvement Member, Austin Bar Association Member, American Bar Association Member, Tennessee Bar Association Member, State Bar of Texas News & Articles Firm News Forty Mitchell Williams Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 - Six Named as Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" Forty Mitchell Williams Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2019 - Six Attorneys Named as Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" Thirty-five Mitchell Williams Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018 - Eight Named as Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" VCard PDF Practices Insurance Regulatory Contract Enforcement with Third-Party Payers Accident and Health, HMOs, and other Managed Care Administrative Litigation Insurance Product Development Producers, MGAs, TPAs, & Adjusters Insurance Company Transactions Health Care Hospitals, Health Systems & Providers Heath Care Privacy and Security (HIPAA) Insurance Company Formations Insurance Insolvency Life Insurance, Annuities, and Variable Products Policy, Forms, & Rates Filings Holding Company Systems


text:
There are numerous movie streaming apps available in Google Play Store and Terrarium TV is one of the most popular names. It is the most commonly used entertainment app. The another reason of its popularity is the compatibility factor as it can be used on every platform such as Android, iOS and chromecast.
There are endless number of movies and shows which you can access anytime on your Android or iOS devices. The streaming quality of Terrarium TV is higher than other apps of same genre. In other words, we can say Terrarium Tv is an excellent option to beat your boredom.
As we know, Terrarium Tv works amazingly on Smartphones, but there is one more wonderful feature which takes entertainment to another level i.e,Terrarium Tv for chromecast which enables you to connect Terrarium Tv app with your television. In this way you can enjoy your favorite movies and shows on a big screen. The chromecast device is a Google product, so buy and install chromecast device on Terrarium Tv app and watch any of the movie or show in a grand manner.
If you've never used chromecast before, there is no rocket science associated with it. All you need is three main devices namely Android, chromecast, and Television in proper working condition and make sure your Television must have HDMI port which allows you to insert chromecast.
A Step-by step guide to install Terrarium TV for chromecast:
- Download the required apps namely AllCast and Terrarium Tv. without these both apps there is no way of installation.
- Make sure your television is ready to play videos.
- Open the Terrarium TV app and select the movie or show you want to play on your Television.
- Once you select the movie the app prompt you to choose the option to play the video. Click on "open with" .
- The next window prompt you to select the device to play the video. Choose "Allcast" from the list.
- Now, it will show you the device available to play the video,choose Chromecast device from there.
- Now, the video will be played on your chromecast device which is connected to your television and now you are able to watch videos in a bigger screen.
There is an alternative way to play videos on your television. All you need is Smartphone, chromecast device, MX player and television. In this method MX player is an additional requirement. There is an advantage of playing video through MX player, that you can use your smartphone as remote control for your television.
- Download terrarium Tv app on your Smartphone.
- Keep your casting device ready to play videos.
- Play the video and click on the share option and choose "share with MX player".
- On the top right corner of the video, you can see three dots click on it.
- Click tools and select tools<player<Localcast.
- Select Chromecast from the list and watch videos on your Television.
What if you encounter a not working error on chromecast?
If you face any issue while connecting your Android device and Television, try the below given tips:
- Make sure all devices are connected on the same wifi network.
- If the connection is not strong enough, try to move your router and search for better signal strength.
- You can download the movie on your Smartphone before connecting to chromecast. This will save the bandwidth usage.
- Try reinstalling the app, restarting your device and rebooting the apps. Also, you can quit the connection and try again.
- There are numerous casting apps, so research which one is best for your dongle device. Also, you can contact customer care executives to get the idea about the best compatible casting apps.
Subtitles with Terrarium TV:
Most of us prefer watching movies with subtitles. Though chromecast does not affect the subtitle in any wa, it works same as it's on your smartphone. Still, if you want to adjust the subtitle settings, it's not a big deal. Go to the Homepage of Terrarium Tv and then settings. Search for subtitles settings and adjust font, style, text size and language as per your interest and requirement.
The Terrarium Tv is not only useful but equally attractive.The interface is black and slick. It includes the best movie and show collection with all latest and classic titles. Moreover, it is a completely secure platform which doesn't affect the performance of your device in any which way. It works smoothly on your Smartphones and renders best quality while using it with chromecast.
Make sure you have properly MX player and casting devices with you before connecting Terrarium Tv with any device. On the whole, Terrarium Tv has managed to give a tough competition to other streaming apps in very short span of time.


text:
Experts say whether or not she takes the stand could decide her boyfriend's fate
He allegedly bruised and battered her, yet she took him back. And now, could she get him off the hook?
Legal experts say whether Rihanna will testify against Chris Brown could be a key factor in his felony case.
"The DAs are facing an uphill battle now if Rihanna isn't cooperating," says Steve Sitkoff, a Los Angeles defense lawyer and former prosecutor. "At this point, her cooperation can make or break the case. But the DAs may not need her if Brown is willing to strike a plea deal."
Brown was formally charged Thursday with two felonies – assault and making criminal threats. If convicted, he faces anywhere from probation to a maximum four years and eight months in state prison, prosecutors say.
Asked if Rihanna is cooperating with the DAs, her lawyer Donald Etra told PEOPLE: "She'll do everything that the law requires her to do."
Experts say prosecutors will almost certainly subpoena Rihanna as a witness, but while she may be forced to appear she cannot be threatened with jail time – as is possible in a non-domestic violence case – if she refuses to take the stand.
At most, she could be punished with fines or other sanctions, but a judge may be reluctant to do so.
"If she refuses to testify, that could potentially jeopardize the DA's case," says Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman. "Her statements to police about Brown having beaten her can only be used against him if she agrees to testify."
Experts agree it's just too soon to tell.
"Rihanna and Brown obviously have a volatile relationship," says L.A. defense attorney and former prosecutor Jeffery Rubenstein. "Who knows if they'll be together tomorrow. She may want him to take responsibility for his actions and take the stand. This case has only just begun."
• Reporting by HOWARD BREUER
• 2003: Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss accuses ex Tom Sizemore of abuse
• Read about other stars who faced the law on the covers of PEOPLE
• Rihanna tops PEOPLE's Best Dressed list!
• Revisit Rihanna & Chris's island getaway