text: BUSINESS Ups, downs surround the evening newscasts 5:00 AM PDT 7/16/2007 by Paul Gough , AP FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Empty NEW YORK -- No matter how much pundits and media writers like to talk about the impending death of the evening newscast, something always comes around to bring it back into the headlines.Last week, it was the New York magazine cover story that portrayed Katie Couric as trying to come to grips with her tumultuous first year as anchor/managing editor of "CBS Evening News." It's full of juicy details, from Couric's having to demand that the women's bathroom be renovated to a bizarre incident in which she acknowledged slapping around a news editor for using the word "sputum."The story made it OK again to ask how long will Couric last as anchor. The media plays this game every couple of weeks, after another historic low for the newscast or an article like last week's or another one earlier this year in the Philadelphia Inquirer in which an unnamed CBS source speculated that Couric would depart after the 2008 elections.The latest media firestorm was so great that CBS News president Sean McManus was moved to comment to the Associated Press that Couric isn't going anywhere. Not coincidentally, CBS News said last week that Couric would headline its election coverage. It's all a far cry from the optimism that attended Couric's ascension to the anchor chair in September.But more interesting than Couric's quick drop to third place is what's happened at another newscast, something that hasn't generated the kind of coverage that follows Couric's seemingly every move. It's the rise of Charles Gibson and ABC's "World News."ABC had been knocked back on its heels with the dual blow of Peter Jennings' passing and Bob Woodruff's near-death experience. Gibson came aboard in spring 2006 before the run-up to Couric's debut. "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" continued its winning ways, with Williams the only permanent anchor of the Big Three for some time.But while much of the attention was focused on Couric's ratings woes, something happened. Under the steady hand of Gibson and executive producer Jon Banner, who deserves so much credit for keeping the newscast on track after all the heartbreak, ABC's newscast stabilized. At the same time, "NBC Nightly News" -- which had dominated for so long under Tom Brokaw and through the seamless transition to Williams -- began to falter.This spring, "World News" not only overtook "NBC Nightly News" but stayed on top by a small yet comfortable margin. Last week, ABC marked its 11th week on top in viewership and the adults 25-54 demographic. NBC stands in second place, and then there's a wide gap to third place, where CBS seems to visit another ratings low every couple of weeks.Not that it seems to bother Couric much. She told New York magazine that she doesn't obsess over the ratings. She acknowledged having "Oh my God, what did I do?" moments but added, "For some weird reason, they don't happen that often."That's probably the best course right now. The evening newscasts have seen more change in the past three years than they have in the past 20. CBS, having recently switched executive producers, is broadcasting a much harder newscast than it did in September. But it's folly to think that it will get much traction in the summer months, when ratings are lower.Besides, it doesn't look as if ABC is going to give up the lead anytime soon, leaving NBC in the unfamiliar position of No. 2 for at least a little while longer. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Paul Gough firstname.lastname@example.com @thr AP email@example.com @thr


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Tip 'o the hat to the Religion News service blog for this one:
A church hiring journalists to investigate a newspaper?
The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reported on Monday that the Church of Scientology has hired three prize-winning journalist to go sleuthing in the St. Pete Times after the paper published a scathing multi-part series on the religion's leaders last summer.
Neil Brown, the Times' executive editor, told Kurtz that he "couldn't take this request very seriously because its a study bought and paid for by the Church of Scientology."
Brown also said that he's "surprised and disappointed that journalists who I understand to have an extensive background in investigative reporting would think it's appropriate to ask me or our news organization to talk about that reporting while (a) it's ongoing, and (b) while they're being paid to ask these questions by the very subjects of our reporting."

subset: commoncrawl


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"Healthy Aging, Not Anti-Aging" Wordfind
Leaf through a magazine, channel surf late at night, visit any news website…you will quickly run across infomercials or glossy ads selling "anti-aging" products. These claims are extravagant—and mostly inaccurate. Legitimate research shows that our goal shouldn't be "anti-aging," but healthy aging. Rather than wasting money on miracle cures, we can take steps to promote the best possible health in our later years.
This month's puzzle contains 18 items which promote healthy aging. Give your brain a workout and find them all!
Need a little help? Click here for the puzzle solution.
Source: Assisting Hands Home Care in association with IlluminAge. Copyright © IlluminAge, 2014


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Only at SUSHISAMBA will you find a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian culture and cuisine. SUSHISAMBA is born of the energy and spirit of these three distinct cultures.
Duck & Waffle offers a playful take on traditional British cuisine with broad European influences emphasizing local, rustic, seasonal and sustainable ingredients.


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Effective November 10, 2016, Nick Gould was named President of Cooper. According to Sue Cooper, Cooper's Co-Founder, "Nick has impressed us with his strategic and analytical skills, as well as his approach to management. He brilliantly led the post-merger integration of Cooper and Catalyst Group, and successfully revamped our operations." In his role as President, Nick will partner with the board of directors to provide strategic and operational leadership for Cooper, a world-class design and business strategy consultancy with a rich 25-year history.
Nick's experience as CEO of Catalyst Group, and as President of the Interaction Design Association, make him immensely qualified to lead Cooper as President. Nick is a graduate of Vassar College and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.


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Tessa Bousfield posted an articleTwo Victoria businesswomen have been named to a list of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. see more
Source: Times Colonist
Author: Andrew Duffy
Two Victoria businesswomen have been named to a list of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada.
Sarah Blackmore, a founder of Bin 4 Burger Lounge and Lot 1 Pasta Bar, and Mandy Farmer, chief executive of Accent Inns and Hotel Zed, were named to the PROFIT/Chatelaine W100 this year.
Blackmore placed 17th on the list in her first year applying, while Farmer, who has made the list six straight years, placed 25th.
"I was blown away," said Blackmore, who helped start Bin 4 in 2011 and is about to launch Lot 1 Pasta Bar at the Island Home Centre in July. "I am so honoured to even be on that list, but to be that ranking? Wow, I really just wanted to be in the 100."
Farmer, who has been ranked as high as 12th and as low as 50th in the past six years, said the honour "is very cool, but honestly I can't wait to hit No. 1, I've got a lot of work to do in the meantime."
Farmer noted the recognition is really more about the company than herself.
The top-100 rankings are now in their 18th year and place female entrepreneurs by a composite score that takes into account the size, growth rate and profitability of the companies they own and manage.
Blackmore, who is expecting her first child in August, said she was inspired to get involved by Farmer, who she has worked closely with to establish Bin 4's third location beside Accent Inns' Blanshard Street hotel.
"I think it's really cool that they honour females in business across Canada and even the application process and going through the questionnaire was pretty empowering," Blackmore said. "I love being on that list to show my staff what I have worked toward."
Farmer is quick to give credit for her position and success to her family. Accent Inns has been family owned since it started in 1986 by her father, Terry. She said there is still far to go before the number of women in power starts to make a dent in the boy's club.
"I belong to a group of CEOs out of Vancouver and the room is filled mainly with men," Farmer said. "Perhaps one of the hardest things for women is the family/career struggle. Thankfully, nowadays men are playing an equal role in the upbringing of their children and I think this will dramatically alter the number of women entrepreneurs.
"If it weren't for my husband, Geoff, there is no way I could be doing what I'm doing."
Farmer said being on lists like this do set women up as role models, a position she relishes.
"I'm very comfortable with that. I love speaking engagements where I get to razzle up people's inner entrepreneur, hopefully sparking them to take the next step," she said.
Another Victoria entrepreneur appears to be close to taking that next step, according to PROFIT/Chatelaine. The competition singled out five women who didn't quite crack to the top-100, but who should be watched over the next few years, including Nicole Smith, founder of Flytographer.
Flytographer, an online marketplace connecting travellers to photographers in 160 cities around the world in order to capture important memories, has grown more than 200 per cent over the past two years.


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The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Zucchini stew Recipe. Enjoy our easy recipes and learn how to make Zucchini stew.
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon mustard seed
½ cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
1 chopped chili pepper
1 cup zucchini (small cubes)
1 tablespoon Masala spices
Paratha bread or rice for serving
- Heat the oil in a skillet, toast the mustard seeds.
- Add onions, garlic and ginger, cook for 3 minutes then season with salt , pepper and chili peppers.
- Add the zucchini cubes, stir and season with Masala, cover and lower the heat and leave until completely cooked.
- To be served with paratha bread or cooked basmati rice.
More Arabic Food Recipes:
Potato, Beets and Cauliflower Puree
Phyllo with minced beef
Baked Borek
Moroccan-spiced lamb triangles
Lebanese Olive Pizza
Lebanese Chicken Marinade
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Engineering highly ordered two-dimensional arrays and cages mediated by noncovalent protein-protein interfaces
Gonen, Shmuel Shane
MetadataShow full item record
Natural proteins often assemble into higher order structures by symmetric assembly of many copies of the same protein subunit through weak, non-covalent interaction to perform their tasks. Some examples of higher order structures include cages used for exocytosis, fibers used for structural stability and channels used for the flow of ions and water in and out of the cell. Two-dimensional (2D) protein assemblies also occur in nature, either assembled in or on lipid membranes. These 2D assemblies are usually made for large-scale transport of ions or water or as a cellular barrier against antagonists. Assemblies in 2D have been a challenge to engineer through design in the past due to the complexity of the proteins and their propensity to misfold. Previous successful attempts used different avenues to create 2D arrays, for example using metal-mediated assembly or by using fused proteins but there are no examples of 2D assemblies being designed to have non-covalent interaction in their assembly as similarly seen in nature. We aimed to design such protein assemblies in order to allow for new avenues in biosensing, atomic- scale repeat patterning, structure determination and drug delivery. My thesis describes the first successful design of 2D assemblies using non-covalent interactions in different types of 2D crystal space groups (layer groups) as well as of similarly designed tetrahedral and icosahedral protein cages.
- Biological chemistry [81]


text:
At Redstone Property Services, we provide an independent building consultancy service specialising in building pathology and building defect diagnostics and surveys all covered by our professional indemnity insurance.
Our surveys can include intrusive investigative video / photographic borescope surveys according to your requirements, we also provide thermographic imaging, using infrared thermal cameras (FLIR) to detect heat losses or cold spots.
All our surveys and reports and recommendations are without any bias to particular remedial solutions or systems. We are regulated by RICS and are members of both RICS and CIOB.
We provide the full suite of RICS Surveys such as the Homebuyers Survey and Structural Survey.
Contact us on…
Tel: 01737 457 107
Tel: 07843 209 457
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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An incredible album from Lee Morgan – one of his last records ever, and a set that shows a whole new promise in his music – one that was sadly unfulfilled as a result of his tragic early death. The songs hare are all quite long – stretched out live numbers, but never in a way that's overindulgent (especially in comparison to some of Lee's Blue Note contemporaries) – and put together with a level of creativity and imagination that's simply stunning! Lee's in a beautifully searching mode here – stretching out on his solos, and hitting spaces we never would have imagined in his work even a few short years before. The rest of the group's great too – and include Bennie Maupin on flute, tenor, and bass clarinet, Harold Mabern on piano, Jymie Merritt on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums. Titles include "The Beehive", "Neophilia", "Nommo", and "Absolutions". © 1996-2020, Dusty Groove, Inc.
(Liberty/UA pressing. Cover has ring and edge wear.)
If something is noteworthy, we try to note it in the comments — especially if it is an oddity that is the only wrong thing about the record. This might include, but isn't limited to, warped records, tracks that skip, cover damage or wear as noted above, or strictly cosmetic flaws.


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Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1, Rīga
LV-1010, Latvija
The Western Gallery is dedicated to the magnificent collection of 18th–20th century Western European and stories about the Riga collectors.
The gallery has been deliberately given a 19th century feeling because it was this century that was the time of the formation of the building's interior and enthusiastic collecting in Riga's German environment. Of special value in the gallery is the collection of 18th century Meissen porcelain.
The heavy, polished showcases full of beautiful objects, the furniture with Boulle marquetry, clocks, wallpaper printed on ancient machines in Germany, parquet flooring, mirrors and gilded chandeliers – this all belongs not only to Riga's golden age but also precisely characterises the specific nature of the museum's collection. It is a reconstruction of long forgotten, perhaps never existing but possible relationships, a meeting place of objects and various fates. The interplay between the building and the museum collection has been formed so that the viewer will find it difficult to find the boundary.
Many art collectors whose collected items are now in the museum were once associated with the Riga Stock Exchange building; here they made their money and invested in art collections that were later partly bequeathed to the city of Riga and returned to the Stock Exchange building.


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Far from the nearest airport, evidently someone parked it here for safe keeping.
Airplane, downtown Bagdad
No Thumbnail
By Pdunn @ 2006-03-03 11:41:10
Nearby Maps (50 km): 132
@ 2006-03-03 11:51:07
Reminds me of the planes in downtown Moscow
@ 2006-03-03 11:52:09
I wondr if that plane is left over on an abandoned airfield that has been developed over.
@ 2006-03-03 16:50:50
I jumped to a much more nefarious conclusion. Along the lines of insurgents hiding a plane downtown for to launch an unexpected air attack. However, if that were the case, you'd think they'd do a better job hiding it.


text:
Google Books
Includes millions of books scanned by Google. Searches include the full text of the books, and for those that are out of copyright, you may download a copy. In other cases, a preview is available, and links will take you to a nearby library so that you may borrow a copy. Avenues to purchase of a print or e-version of the book are also provided.
General Information
Number of simultaneous users: Unlimited
Format: PDF
Export citation: Within the Google Book record, click the About this Book link (located on the left side of the screen). Scroll to the very bottom of the screen to see the Export Options tab.
Printing: For those out of copyright.
Downloading: For those out of copyright.
Chapter-level Linking: No
Personal account information
Personal account: Yes


text:
Atlanta's kicking job is solved for now as the team is going to go with former Cowboys and Saints kicker Billy Cundiff. The team said good-bye to Aaron Elling, who was the competition for Cundiff to kick off and kick extra points and field goals. Elling was cut before Monday's evening practice. Following the team's […]
Posts Tagged 'arron_elling'
Kicking Job Going to Cundiff for Now
August 7th, 2007 Matt Loede Posted in News


text:
- Our Union
- Campaigns & Actions
- Janus v AFSCME What's at Stake?
- Photos
- calendar
- Become A CAT
- Facts at your Fingertips
- Talking Papers
- Solidarity
- Past campaigns and actions
- Newsstand
- Resources
- Contract & Bargaining
ARTICLE 19 - Salary
A. The salary ranges for classifications covered by this Agreement shall be those contained in Appendix D.
B. No one may be hired above or below the assigned salary range for his/her classification.
Employees whose salaries are above the range assigned to their classification will have their salaries frozen until the salary range increases to include their salary.
SECTION 2. PROMOTION A promotion is a change from one classification to another classification that is assigned to a higher salary range. Promoted employees must receive a salary increase of at least four percent (4%) or the minimum of the new higher salary range, whichever is greater. Promotional increases may be greater than four percent (4%) when in conformance with University policy. An employee reclassified in the same position to a higher classification shall be considered as a promoted employee under these provisions.
A. Employees who take a transfer must be paid within the range.
B. A demotion is a change from one classification to another classification assigned to a lower salary range. Employees who take a demotion cannot receive a salary increase, and must be paid within the new salary range. Employees who are demoted shall have their salaries cut by no more than ten percent (10%), or to the top of the new lower salary range, whichever is lower.
C. For pay requirements for employees rehired or recalled from the layoff list, see Article 25, Section 11.
General Provisions:
Employees hired before January 12, 1996, at the first step of the range will progress on their anniversary date in the current classification to the second step of the salary range upon completion of twelve (12) months of service. Employees will continue to progress through the salary range and will move to the next step upon completion of twelve (12) months of service since their last progression increase.
Employees hired before January 12, 1996 who promote, transfer or demote in the bargaining unit shall retain their current classification seniority dates for purposes of this section. Employees hired on or after January 12, 1996 will progress on the date of their most recent entry into the bargaining unit to the second step of the salary range upon completion of twelve (12) months of service. Employees will continue to progress through the salary range and will move to the next step upon completion of twelve (12) months of service in the bargaining unit since their last progression increase.
The Employer may withhold this step increase because of unsatisfactory performance, with written notice to the employee. Increases so withheld may subsequently be granted upon certification by the Employer that the employee has achieved a satisfactory level of performance. If the Employer fails to give the employee written notice that a progression increase is to be withheld prior to the date on which the increase is due, the increase shall be granted.
When an employee is rehired from the layoff list he/she shall retain credit toward the next progression increase for time worked before the break in service. Any time off the payroll of four (4) consecutive months or more will extend the eligibility date for the next increase by the entire time off the payroll.
A. Effective June 12, 2017, all employees whose pay rate falls within the pay range will receive a 1.5% general wage increase. All pay ranges shall increase by the same amount. Effective June 11, 2018 all employees whose pay rate falls within the pay range will receive a 1.5% general wage increase. All pay ranges shall increase by the same amount.
B. An employee returning from an unpaid leave of absence shall be compensated at the same rate of pay received when the leave commenced, plus any nondiscretionary increase which became effective during the time of the leave.
A. Shift differential will be $.60 cents per hour.
B. Employees eligible for shift differential are those whose work shift begins before 6:00 a.m. or ends on or after 7:00 p.m. and are scheduled by their supervisor for a total shift of at least six (6) hours in duration. This shift differential shall not apply to those employees who have requested and have been granted flexible work scheduling.
SECTION 7. WORK OUT OF CLASSIFICATION An employee who works in a higher classification for longer than five (5) consecutive work days shall receive a temporary salary augmentation during the remainder of the time the employee works out-of-class. The augmentation will be at least four percent (4%) of the employee's current hourly rate, but no less than the base rate of the higher classification. Any overtime worked during this period shall be compensated by including the augmentation.
SECTION 8. PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS At the discretion of each Collegiate/Administrative Seniority Unit, outstanding service award programs may exist and employees governed by this Agreement may be eligible for participation in them. No aspect of any performance program is subject to the grievance procedure.


text:
2018-12-31 07:25:18 2018-12-31 07:25:18 2018-12-31 07:25:18 2200371
Data Migration: I'm strongly considering changing my recommendation
Since the G+ sunset was first announced, I've been recommending people run a Google Data Takeout, if they are or might be interested in saving their Google+ content.
The reasons for this were twofold: preserving data early before departures or deletions removed content they might wish to preserve, and to test out the process itself.
The announcement was made nearly three months ago, and we have four months until the final G+ shutdown. Though there are some channels open with Google to improve the Google Data Takeout process and provide for usable conversions and imports to new platforms, there's a stark fact facing us.
Google Data Takeout is unreliable, complicated, vastly oversized, and at best difficult to work with. For all practical purposes IT DOES NOT WORK FOR ITS STATED PURPOSE.
Google have communicated effectively nothing about this publicly. My read from the Google+ Help community is that Google are not talking to the mods there -- Google+ Top Contributors and Product Experts. I've not been direct party to discussions, but the ones I've been aware of have been at best limited and problematic.
Since 21 October I've contacted Google, privately and publicly, multiple times, through multiple channels, requesting answers to questions of general interest. Google have not answered, directly or indirectly, at all. We're facing the end of 2018 under these circumstances.
It's true that Google have largely been in year-end shutdown mode for the past two weeks. But it is also true that Google cut another four months from the schedule originally published, without any prior warning, and might well do so again. The schedule, and any applicable constraints, are entirely within Google's control. And Google have proved themselves to be an exceptionally unreliable partner.
Weighed against this, there's an alternative presently available, from a vendor who's served the Google+ and other social media communities for years, which works, and while it's not free, is reasonably low cost. It appears reasonably secure, in that it runs completely on the user's own desktop system. It's not suitable for all cases, such as mobile-only or bandwidth-capped users. But it does offer a viable option for many, and is the only present option for Google+ Community owners, mods, and members who wish to preserve content there, as a whole.
There are several other tools either in development or working for some cases, though not as fully developed as the one above.
I'm leaning strongly toward specifically recommending the Friends+Me Google+ Exporter as a primary export option instead of Google Data Takeout. F+MGE works, produces usable extracts, can port directly to a Wordpress or Blogger site, and handles Communities. It does not presently export photos, though that's a feature in development.
I've had several email and G+ exchanges with the author, but otherwise have no interest. I've still not used the tool, though I've seen useful results from those who have. I should probably use it before I do officially change my position, which ... is another item on my to-do list.
#googleplus #dataTakeout #plexodus
Christoph S likes this.


text:
Agronomy and Horticulture Department
Date of this Version
Published in Women in Natural Resources (1995) 17(2): 4-6.
Agriculture in the Great Plains faces increasing pressure for environmental stewardship and for more economical farming and pest management practices. The concept of sustainable agriculture was developed to address these needs. A sustainable agricultural system is one that consistently enhances environmental quality and the resource bases, provides basic human food and fiber needs, is economically viable, and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society. In the Great Plains, we define agroforestry as the use of trees to help make agricultural production systems more sustainable. The trees function to conserve soil, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. They also improve water quality while maintaining natural resources and crop and livestock productivity and profitability.


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Functional Training for Snowboarding and Skiing: SESSION 2
Get ready for your snow season!
Here are four new exercises to be prepared for your first snow experience this season. It's an individual new functional circuit. If you want to ride longer, and stronger than your buddies you can even combine Session 1 and Session 2 to profit from an 8-exercise functional circuit.
Session 2
Functional Training for Snowboarding and Skiing Session 2 from Functional Sports Training on Vimeo.
Free PDF download of Session 2 with detailed exercise descriptions:
Right Click And "Save As" To Download The Session 2 PDF file
A time efficient training:
– Each of the 3 training sessions consists of 4 exercises
– 3 to 4 laps will take you about 30min including a ten minutes warm up.
– Focus is on our main needs: legs, core and coordination.
– Circuit mode: The most efficient scheme for this workout is the traditional circuit mode. We use 60sec/20sec time intervals. Depending on your fitness level you can also modify the workout/rest ratio. Best is to use time interval music or Apps like Tabata Pro e.g. to know when to change to the next station.
– Fitness Level: We tried to always add easier, harder and expert variations of the exercises to design it suitable for every "sporty" fitness level.
- Combine two sessions of our three session series to profit from an 8-exercise circuit, which will then take about 50 minutes.
– Keep the order within a session because they are designed that muscles that just worked out can rest while performing the next exercise.
– Ideally you do 2 to 4 sessions a week and keep on going for 6 weeks, or better until Christmas!
– You can work out pretty much everywhere. Even in your living room – that's what we are mostly doing. Invite some friends to join the circuit to boost your motivation!
This Training Program should help you to:
- Improve your athletic level
- Be ready to charge coming season
- Prevent injuries and pain
- Learn new movements easier through challenging your coordinative system
- Get ripped, healthy and feel good
We hope you enjoy the training! Stay tuned for Session 3 on October 30!
Have a great winter
Bibi and Mitch Tölderer
P.S. Don't forget to try our Go Pro Fitness Training Course! Click Here. It's a fully laid out six-weeks beginner and six-weeks advanced program!
1 comment to "Functional Training for Snowboarding and Skiing: SESSION 2"
Phil, November 24, 2013 at 6:58 pm
This is just what I'm looking for to get ready for the slopes. Last year my leg muscles were giving in so this should really help.


text:
It's easy.
1. Measure your foot length.
2. Remember to add 0.5cm to 1.0cm to allow for socks and toe movement.
3. Match your measurement to the insole lengths on our chart.
4. When relevant, (adult tall boots), check our calf measurements.
5. Then choose your size.
|Insole Measurement CM
|23.6 cm
|24.4 cm
|25.3 cm
|26.0 cm
|26.9 cm
|27.6 cm
|28.5 cm
Please Note: If in doubt, go up a size and allow for thick socks. Bogs are produced in US sizes.
Shop now. Pay Later. Interest free.
Own it Now. Pay Later.
Fully waterproof, these women's quilted boots have subzero insulation to keep you warm all winter. Its Rebound cushioning adds bounce to your step and the bungee drawcord adjusts to keep out snow and slush.
After doing lots of research on these boots I purchased them from Wellies Online based on my experience with their website. It had all the information at hand for me, a great price and promised quick delivery. They definitely delivered! Super fast post and as for the boots ... I love them. They are true to size, super comfy and definitely keep your feet warm and dry.
Hi have worn these boots in the coldest weather and rain and they are awesome! My friend also bought a pair after seeing how good they are.
I'd give a 5 star but I haven't worn them in the snow yet which is why I got them but they are a good fit, especially with my thermal socks on. They look good and they feel very comfortable. I got my normal size which is a ten and without my socks on they are a bit loose. But I wouldn't wear Wellies without socks anyway. The draw string top is a great idea and makes for easier walking when I tighten them a bit. Overall I'm very happy with them and can't wait to try them in the snow!
Awesome, I love them!!!
Using Afterpay you can pay for your order over 4 equal fortnightly instalments. There's no interest or added fees*. Payment will be automatically taken from your debit or credit card in four equal payments each fortnight, and you will receive your order immediately. When using a promo code this must be applied to the order before continuing to the next step.
The funds for the first payment will need to be available on the card at the time of checkout. If you are a new Afterpay customer payment will be made at the time of purchase, with payments over the next 6 weeks. Once you have been an Afterpay customer for at least 6 weeks payment will be made in 14 days, with payments over 8 weeks. The full payment schedule will be provided to you at time of purchase.
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text:
- Increase numbers cycling on Boris Bikes, especially over longer journeys.
- Addresses social issues:
- Current 30 minute cap means that less athletic members of the population find it harder to get the 23kg bikes around the city in 30 minutes and are being financially discriminated against by the existing tariff. A 60 minutes free period would encourage a much broader section of the population attempt journeys over 5km on the (comparatively slow) Boris Bikes.
- Current 30 minute cap also favours users that either work in the City or live in a (usually very affluent) area of Central London, e.g. Marble Arch, from where it is much easier to make a 30 minute journey to another Central London destination than from, say, Sheperd's Bush. A 60 minute cap will encourage those with residential access to bikes in parts of London further from the centre (and usually less affluent) to get cycling as they face no financial penalty for making a longer journey. Current scheme criticised for not being 'inclusive' enough. This is the solution.
- Increase revenue:
- 60 minute cap creates a tariff incentive to casual users to register for the year, increasing BCH revenue.
- Over 95% of journeys are made in under 30 minutes now anyway so the increase of the cap to 60 minutes will have a negligible negative impact on revenues in that area since tariff revenues for a 30-60 minutes journey are already so insignificant a part of BCH revenues.
- Increasing use of bikes (both in terms of total journeys and average journey length) will mean that Barclays will be contractually obliged pay TfL more in sponsorship.
- Decreases congestion at Docking Station rental point terminals:
- More registered users means that more people will be getting bikes out directly with keys which will help reduce journey times for all users.
- Realistic time-frame for implementation:
- The BCH scheme is due to be expanded in 2013 so tariff change could easily be integrated into these already planned changes.
- Health benefits:
- Tariff will resulted in longer average journey distances meaning those using the Boris Bikes will be fitter than before with obesity, diabetes, etc. improvements.
- New York cycle hire scheme has a dual tariff system giving a larger amount of time free to registered members so it is definitely possible.
- A dual tariff for tube and bus journeys has been incredibly effective at getting Londoners to overwhelming switch to Oyster. Dual tariff for Boris Bikes could be equally effective at getting Londoners to register for the years rather than just being casual users (meaning they are likely to make far more casual journeys with the bikes since they've already paid membership for the year).
- Better behaved cyclists:
- Boris Bikers will no longer have a time pressure to get their bikes back in under 30 minutes, and since few will want to cycle for longer than 60 minutes, Boris Bikers will, on average, become less agressive cyclist (jumping red lights etc.).
- Government can present change in tariff as part of Olympic 'Legacy' for utility cycling in London so the move would be very politically expedient.
- Barclays could even decide to fund the change themselves causing no extra cost to the tax payer which would be a good publicity boost for the bank after the LIBOR scandal.
- Never underestimate the economic power of 'free' as opposed to £1.
|60 minutes free would persuade this young lady to become a registered (rather than casual) user.
- More bikes in use at any one time leading to increased pressure on the system.
- By only extending 60 minute free tariff to registered users this problem will be minimised. Tourists and casual users who are most likely to leave bikes in the park etc. (and therefore out of use) will still only have 30 minutes free in order to keep enough bikes in circulation.
- Increase the size of the docking stations around London which already experience high usage. Increasing the size of an existing docking station is significantly cheaper and easier than building a new one and also helps ease problems with stations either having no bikes or no spaces at certain times of the day. Current average is 14 bikes per dock. This could easily be increased to an average of 20 bikes per dock.
- Initial cost of implementation.
- Persuade Barclays to pay because it will be good publicity for them.
If you too would like to use the Boris Bikes for 60 minutes for free as a registered user than why not drop TfL a line and let them know (then, they might just change the tariff in 2013!):
Click here for a BBC article about how cycle blogging lead directly to positive change with the creation of Boris Johnson's 'Cycling Vision for London'.


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Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder may be most famous for her role as Lois Lane in the "Superman" movies we know from the '70s and '80s. Or perhaps she's most famous for her meltdown that left her missing in Los Angeles in 1996.
In the spring of 1996, Margot was working on a book of her memoirs only to have them vanish at the strike of a computer virus. Days later, she would vanish, too. Margot wandered the streets of Los Angeles, suffering from paranoid delusions. When she was found four days later, she was disheveled and missing her front dental work and most of her hair, which she'd chopped off. Margot was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness that causes swings between extreme mania and extreme depression.
Today, Margot is an advocate for drug-free treatment of mental illnesses, treatments that emphasize vitamin supplements, avoidance of wheat and dairy as well as acupuncture and finding a life-balance to reduce stress.


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Gallery: This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters
Polly's Pancake Parlour
Our ad sales director Erin Adamo went to Polly's Pancake Parlor (ooh, alliterations and pancakes!) in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, over Labor Day weekend and brought some back for us! You don't need to tell us twice to eat leftover pancakes with granulated maple sugar, especially when adorable moose illustrations are involved.
dbcurrie's Fire Crackers
Back around Fourth of July time, dbcurrie shared this recipe for her Bread Baking column. How kind of her to send us a mega Ziploc bag full of them! We've been munching on them all week and woo, what a nice fiery zing they have. You don't really expect that from a cracker. We are fans. (Thanks, Donna!)
French Fry Po'Boy
Yes. This exists. And it's from Zimmer's Seafood in New Orleans. It was one of merely 23 sandwiches we ate during an eight-hour visit to the great po'boy town on Tuesday. Gravy-sopping french fries in bread (oh and maybe a few lettuce wisps tucked in there). A beautiful starch marriage of joy? Indeed.
A Brief Respite from Po'Boys
There were few non-po'boy things we ate in NOLA. Most of them were fried. Cough, beignets. And onion rings! We're always on the hunt for good ones. While on the NOLA po'boy trail, we stopped at Mahoney's on Magazine Street and ordered a basket of these. They're so shoelace-thin and wispy, you can't help but grab a handful at a time. They're also very well-salted (crucial). What's your favorite onion ring shape and size? These were less rings, more curly strands. Not that we're complaining.
RIP Pepper Weiner
We also stopped at Domilise's for po'boys. While studying the menu, we said a prayer for the now-departed Pepper Weiner sandwich.
The 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Sandwiches
Before hightailing it back to the airport, we stopped for three last po'boys from R&O's in Metairie. It's a miracle we're even smiling in this photo. Eight hours of marathon eating—where are the salty, roast beef-scented tears?! Special thanks to Pableaux Johnson in the back, our fearless leader and local guide.
Beer in a Box
Congrats to our associate ad sales director Laurel Randolph, who won a package of Sixpoint beer (each bottle was individually bubble-wrapped) and other goodies for her entry in the brewery's design contest. Her image of a Fievel-resembling rodent on a keg was the third most thumbs-upped on Facebook. We are very proud, Laurel. And hope you are drinking that beer right now.
Robyn vs. Coconut Cream Pie
That's the appropriate facial expression you should have when handed a coconut cream pie from Tom Douglas's Dahlia Bakery in Seattle. It's one of our favorite pies in the country, which is saying a lot. We are pie people.


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Bored of the usual brunch menus. Eggs benny, florentine or royal, pancakes with bacon and maple, eggs any way you want on sourdough or rye, and avo on toast?
Brunch is so popular these days, after all that's what weekends are for now. But it doesn't mean every restaurant needs to serve the same boring menu. And I know what you're thinking, there's only so many ways you can shake up breakfast ingredients. But do you really believe that?
I went to Caravan on Exmouth Market for a girls catch up over a boozy brunch and was pleasantly surprised by the menu. From jalapeno cornbread to a red quinoa and buckwheat grain bowl and avocado and poached eggs on toast, Caravan had a variety of unique dishes sitting alongside it's breakfast classics. So customers can choose whether to stay with the known or venture out. I bet you can guess which way we ordered.
Caravan itself is a cute restaurant, bar and coffee roastery. On the corner of Exmouth Market, this is the first of its now three branches. There's one in Kings Cross and one in Bankside now too. It's obviously still a keen favourite among Londoners.
The interior is contemporary, bright and airy, with a glazed frontage on two sides and an outdoor terrace. The Caravan team were all super attentive with finding us a table, and throughout our visit.
Sat outside on a long wooden sharing bench basking in the sunshine, it was hard not to ogle other brunch dishes arriving at tables around us, whilst deciding on what to choose. Cocktail menu arriving on top of the food one, thoughts immediately turned to drinks. Even with a slight hangover – hair of the dog always helps anyway right? And you can't say no to an Aperol in the summer sun. Sipping away, people watching, and catching up on the gossip kept us preoccupied until the food arrived.
Beautifully presented, and causing me serious amounts of food envy, the aubergine puree, looked amazing. it arrived with perfectly cooked poached eggs, preserved lemon gremolata, sumac, creamy yoghurt and freshly grilled flat bread. A fab mix of earthy, savoury flavours combined with the slightly sweet yoghurt and zingy citrus gremolata. The warm flat bread was great for mopping up the remains until every last mouthful was finished.
I may have had food envy, but it was more that I wanted both dishes that arrived. Yes I suffer from eyes bigger than my tummy syndrome quite often.
The Jalapeno Cornbread with frijoles negros, fried eggs, avocado, chipotle and lime was quite honestly one of the best brunches in recent memory. The cornbread, a mix of sweet and savoury flavours, slightly crisp on the outside, yet soft and crumbly.
Combined with the almost meaty, rich flavour of the frijoles negros (pretty much black beans), the rich yolk, fresh creamy avocado, and chipotle, it was a seriously good mashup of flavours and textures which created one incredible brunch dish.
Full, and probably ready for a nap (I think it was more the hangover than the food baby which had suddenly grown inside my mom jeans), we were quite content sat with a second Aperol, watching the early afternoon rush come to a lull.
At just under £30 each for a main course, two alcoholic beverages and service, it's not too badly priced at all. Creative and delicious brunch dishes, good service and an afternoon in the sun sipping Aperol, what more do you want for a Saturday morning?
Have you been anywhere new recently that's had a pretty unique menu?


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Remember when we were talking completely baffled about the ending of the s6 1 episode? That was a brilliant move to cut all the expectiation away to see Tony getting killed in the end of the series... Clearly no one could have expected it.
And if I think back to the last few episodes, of how much I was expectig the Adriana bomb to drop between Camrela and T. I am getting a little pi##ed about the trailers now, as they asways show something completely different that we will eventually see. I keep sticking to the one thing that we know: that the finale will bring back S1 somehow... Which we are already seeing in the images... We will see, we will see...
why have I given up on contemplating anything....#11
You can't have everything- Where would you put it? -Steven Wright


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Community art gallery Top of the Torrens in Birdwood has recently launched its latest exhibition: Gen Why.
Exhibition curator Talia Dawson, in opening the exhibition, spoke to the busy lives of her generation and the various reasons why they turn to art. The seven talented participants of the exhibition are all in full time work or study, but continue to carve out time for their passions, which are now on display for everyone's enjoyment.
Gen Why is a mixed medium exhibition featuring photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture and more. It is open to the public until Sunday 2 December 2018.
Featured artists:Reece Warren (photography)Talia Dawson (acrylic and print)Imogen Carr (paint/mixed medium)Kaitlyn Havers (print)Rhianna Sharman (drawing and mixed medium) PICTUREDWill Sexton (photography and sculpture)Joshua Lamborn (jewellery)


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Posts tagged save money
How to Save MAJOR Money on a Vegan Diet.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON A VEGAN DIET This is going to go over various methods to save money on a vegan diet. I'm going to try to give you every single tip that I can think of, this will be a very lengthy list, but hopefully by doing so, you will get ideas that […]Read More


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Edinburgh is one place that is really close to my heart, it is the place where my Grandad grew up, and I have a lot of good memories of touring the city with him during my childhood. It is also a place I really want to take Emily, I want her to get to know the place that holds a lot of memories for me, but also some of our family history. I have been looking at planning a trip to Edinburgh for our holiday next year as it is such a beautiful place, and there is so much to do.
You are never too far from a cultural attraction in Edinburgh, and there is plenty to do. I remember walking down George street spying in all the shops with my Grandad. I also remember climbing Scott monument, did you know there is 287 steps to the top of Scott monument, and from the top you can enjoy breath taking views of Edinburgh.
I have been thinking about hiring a coach to take Emily, and some other members of our family on a tour around Scotland, as much as I want to show them the sights in Edinburgh, I also want to explore some other parts of Scotland that I have never seen before. So I thought that I would share with you some advantages of coach hire in Edinburgh.
You can travel with friends and family
We are planning on going with a fairly big size group of people, so hiring a coach seems like the most practical thing to do. Being in a group also means that there will be quite a lot of luggage, not to mention the toys, books and jigsaws that you have to take with you to keep a toddler happy. Lugging it around isn't going to be fun, at least with a coach you will have space to store the luggage while you are exploring.
Happy toddler equals happy parents
Having somewhere to keep the children contained and content is key to a happy parent. There is nothing worse than having a tantruming toddler, and that can be brought on by being over tired. I think sometimes we forget that little feet can't always keep up with us. A coach trip can be a fun experience for them, and for the slightly older child you can make fun games for them, like things to spot while they are on their journey.
More affordable
Lots of people choose to use public transport while they are exploring the cities, but this can actually turn out to be a really expensive. With a coach trip you only have to pay the initial cost, which you can split between the group and that is it. The money you save can then be used for attractions, and entry fees.
Seeing beautiful sights in comfort and luxury
A coach ride gives you more opportunity to take your time and take in the sights. I know that my better half misses most of the beautiful sights as he is driving, hiring a coach will give him the ability to see more of the sights. The coach is also a lot higher than other vehicles which gives you a much better view of the city you are exploring.
It is safer
when you are traveling to a place that you have never been before, you may feel unsure of the roads which will make you feel unsafe. With coach travel you are being driven around by a professional driver who is local to the area. They know exactly where they are going, which will give you peace of mind that you will not get lost.


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Favourite product marketing of the week: Happy Planet Foods
Here is the mission statement of Happy Planet Foods. I found this on their Abundant C drink and I smiled all the way through as I read it. If only all mission statements could be so human: Our mission is to astonish your taste buds, nourish your body, unite you with the best sources of […] Read More⇒


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Commercial Door Repair Company for Your Benefit Nothing is more frustrating than you're going to the store and you will be able to find that you just can't be able to easily going to it because something is not working well. It is very good waiting for those people who are disabled as well, Because for many times of them if there is an automatic opener then they will be able to prevent from access to the building. It might be the important time to be able to hire commercial door repair company so that they can be able to let the people be back into the establishment immediately. Many of these things can go wrong with those automatic openers. They can be able to break down and they also be losing the sensitivity over the course of time. The result will be frustration and a little bit embarrassed for the part of the customers as well as the owner of the building if they will be walking into the glass because of the mistake in not opening the door right. Forever you are handy with the materials when you might be able to slightly fixed and then figure out what is wrong with it and love you sleep and have time for that anymore. You are trying to run a business not to just fix things. it is the right time that you will bring in the professionals to be able to perform the repair for your commercial door. They are the one who is trained in solving the problem and solve it in a fast way so that you do not have to worry anymore about losing the customers because they will not enter into your business establishment. The commercial door repair is very necessary compared to just replacing the door. sometimes it is the fixing of the mechanism that will open and closes the door. It might also be the replacing of the track or internal mechanisms that will be able to control how the door will be opened and closed. The overall piece of the door maybe fine but the gear or the ball bearing is now completely out so that is all done things that needs to be replaced totally. It is very important to note that when you go into the company that you are going to do business it is necessary that they are very competent special in this simple issue like repairing your door. Just make have to make sure that you hire those company which have experience in terms of repairing your door.
If You Think You Understand Services, Then Read This


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Today's Gospel: Matthew 12:38-42
Optional Memorial of Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr
We like signs. We look for them. We want so much to believe, but often we need to see something tangible, something visible, in order to believe.
When I first started having dry times in my prayer life, I didn't understand what that dryness meant. Almost overnight, I stopped experiencing those "warm fuzzies" that God sometimes gives us, those spiritual highs. I felt like God had abandoned me.
My spiritual director explained to me that sometimes God holds back on those gifts to stretch our hearts a little. God was teaching me to love God for Himself.
In other words, instead of loving the gifts, we need to love the Giver of the gifts. Instead of looking for signs, we need to look for God Himself. The gifts and signs will come, but as we grow in our spiritual life, we don't always need them.
We just need our Lord.
Have you ever asked God for a sign?
Do you think your faith is stronger or weaker when you don't get a sign?
Dear Lord, help me to grow in faith and love and hope. Help me to trust in your presence and not always look for your gifts. Rather, help me to look for You and trust in your love. Amen.
We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.
Copyright 2015 Colleen Spiro


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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — USA Hockey used to have it relatively easy picking players for the Olympics.
Not anymore.
Bobby Ryan helped the United States earn a silver medal in 2010 in Vancouver and only 10 NHL players — from all countries — have more goals than he does this season for the Ottawa Senators. But unless Ryan gets a spot in place of an injured player, he won't have a chance to help the Americans go for gold in Sochi.
"We did not pick the best 25 players," general manager David Poile said Wednesday after the roster was announced. "We picked the best 25 players that we thought gave us a chance to compete and win the gold medal."
And with goaltending and grit, the Americans might have some assets to help them compete with the defending champion Canadians along with the talented and extremely motivated Russians on their home soil.
In Sochi, the U.S. forwards will be: David Backes, Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel, T.J. Oshie, Max Pacioretty, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Paul Stastny, Derek Stepan, James van Riemsdyk and Blake Wheeler. John Carlson, Justin Faulk, Cam Fowler, Paul Martin, Ryan McDonagh, Brooks Orpik, Kevin Shattenkirk and Ryan Suter will be on defense for the Americans.
"There is a lot of guys that can skate well and on the bigger sheet, that'll be huge," van Riemsdyk said after helping Toronto beat Detroit 3-2 in a shootout at the Winter Classic.
Kessel's sister, Amanda, was selected to the women's team Wednesday.
Ryan was perhaps the most surprising omission on the 25-man roster. Jack Johnson and Erik Johnson, a pair of defensemen who played in the Vancouver Games, also didn't make the cut. Ryan has 18 goals this season — trailing just two U.S.-born players — is among league leaders with 36 points and has scored at least 30 times in four previous years.
"If you're talking about the Johnsons and if you're talking about Bobby Ryan, they're fabulous hockey players," Poile said. "And if I can say this the right way, this is the first time that we're having to make similar decisions that Canada has had to make for years.
"We're leaving off top, top players."
Jimmy Howard appears to be the Americans' third goaltender behind Jonathan Quick and Ryan Miller.
He hasn't played well and has been injured for much of the season for the Red Wings, but his body of work boosted his bid ahead of Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bishop has the most wins (29) and the best goals-against average (1.89) among American-born No. 1 goalies in the NHL this season.
"He's playing lights out," Poile acknowledged. "Our decisions were tough in goal — really tough."
Other players who could've potentially been on the team, but weren't selected include: Keith Yandle, Kyle Okposo, Cory Schneider, Brandon Saad and Dustin Byfuglien.
Fowler, who appears to have gotten a spot instead of Yandle, said he didn't know he was on the time until everyone else found out during NBC's postgame coverage of the Winter Classic.
"I didn't get a text or a phone call or anything," he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Miller was named MVP of the ice hockey tournament at the Vancouver Games, but he wasn't a lock to keep a spot because Quick, one of many players on the team who has been injured this season, has been perhaps the world's best at stopping shots the past two seasons. Howard, Schneider, Gibson, Tim Thomas and Craig Anderson also were possible options for the selection committee.
To play to their potential, a lot of banged-up players will have to get healthy this month and stay that way through February. And if some injured players are still ailing over the next month, some snubbed standouts might get an invite to join the Americans in Russia.
"There's going to be certain players that you're going to give a strong message to that they were very, very close and if something was to happen, they could be on the team," Poile said.
The U.S. will be able to put 22 players in uniform for each game, starting Feb. 13 against Slovakia.
The Americans expect to be a medal contender after they were regarded as young underdogs in 2010, when they were a goal away from knocking off the host Canadians.
The team will be led by Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. He has been at ease publicly, saying he likes the Americans' chances to win gold for the first time since the Miracle on Ice victory in 1980.
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Pasadena, Calif., contributed to this report.
Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: https://twitter.com/larrylage


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River Fire Incident
|Incident Name:
|River Fire Incident
|Incident Time:
|5:30:00 pm
|Incident Date:
|Incident Location:
|North Chester and East Beardsley Avenue
|Incident Type:
|Wildland Fire
|Resources Used:
7 Engines, 4 Patrols, 1 Bulldozer, 1 Fire Crew, 3 Overhead
|Total Personnel
River Fire - North Chester and East Beardsley Avenue, Bakersfield
Current Situation: Fire crews responded to the call of a small grass fire in the river bottom under the bridge at North Chester and East Beardsley. Upon arrival crews were faced with gusty winds which caused the fire to jump the Kern River and start several spot fires. Crews quickly evacuated multiple people living in the area and extinguished the fire. Personnel will remain on scene for some time to mop up several fallen trees and extinguish all hot spots.
Evacuations: Several people were evacuated from the river bottom
Road Closures: One lane of Chester Ave while crews are on scene


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Our products work well on all types of beards and were actually designed to strengthen and soften coarse and curly beards.
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Remember how we enjoy playing DadsForLife's card game?
We are one of the families featured in Dads4Life's 2nd anniversary video.
Not sure how the video will turn out, but we sure had fun throughout the filming process. The lightings, reflector, microphone, the props look hugh and serious, but the kids were more interested to disturb the crew.
Camera action ! More photos at SengkangBabies Fanpage.
The whole process lasted almost 3 hours, with a few NGs keke.
One good thing which came out from the shoot, we had to clear our hall first. Suddenly, we got so much space to roam, at least for a few more days :p
To my friends and fellow Daddies, see you at DadsForLife luncheon next week :)
**updated 2011Nov23 - Video is out :)


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Being an icon isn't easy. Coca-Cola advertising has, for years, been about vast global messages pumped out of Atlanta to reach a grateful planet who want to learn to sing, who want to know that holidays are coming and who want to hang out with a girl on a beach in Miami on a hot summer's day.
It's been the voice of God, America and the west through the hard times and the cold war and all the years that followed. It's been the closest thing to a one-world vision that the planet's had since the great dictators.
And now there's a new ad campaign breaking. It's not just a bog-standard new Coke campaign. This is the mother and the father of all ad campaigns. Around the world this month Coke is spending between $300 and 500m on its main four brands - Coke, Diet Coke, Dr Pepper and Fanta - as well as throwing in smaller local brands such as Minute Maid where appropriate. In the UK alone this year the budget is £30m - or roughly £82,000 per day - a figure that's up 45% on the previous year's ad spend.
But there's more news to shock Soho. All the ads are made locally. There's not an inch of footage coming out of Atlanta - a move unprecedented in most ponytailed creative's lives. When the likes of Trevor Beattie were fouling nappies, Coke was making its ads in the US and shipping the reels wherever the cans went. Now, the UK work for Dr Pepper and Alive is by Clerkenwell-based creative hotshop Mother, the Coca-Cola work is by McCann Erikson in London and the Diet Coke work is by Wieden & Kennedy, also in London, while the Fanta work is by a new agency called Soul.
So why? "We've taken part in a shift towards local advertising using local agencies that is part of a policy put in place by Coke's chief executive Doug Daft," explains Charlotte Oades, marketing director for Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland. "Local agencies understand local consumers far, far better. It means our work is more relevant and will be more successful than ever."
But this is only half the story, reckons Neil Broome, soft drinks analyst for marketplace consultants Data Monitor. He says that Coca-Cola woke up a year ago and found itself in real trouble. "At the heart of all this is Doug Daft's decision to devolve the business to regional offices out from Atlanta, but he did this for one very clear reason," Broome explains. "Coke had been losing ground globally because everything was so centralised and bureaucratic. The company had been hard hit by the crash in the far east and south America as it had been relying on new launches in those markets to maintain its fabulous growth rates.
"When those economies fell, Coke went with them. The out of touch marketing meant that sales started to fall back in the far east and South America just as they fell back in Germany, and stagnated in the US."
Prior to Daft's decision, Broome says, all decisions on every aspect of the drinks business had to be made or cleared in Atlanta when they should have been made locally by the local teams. Recently, under the new system, Fanta in France launched a spin-off drink called Fanta Exotique which, from trial to national launch, took four months to get on the shelves. In the old days, that would have taken three and a half years.
At the same time, Coke shed 6,000 jobs, many of them at corporate headquarters in Atlanta. It also announced a decision to set up a joint venture with Procter and Gamble - the consumer chemicals company that makes Ariel, Bold, Daz, Dreft and Fairy Liquid - to jointly handle the limping duck that was P&G's Sunny Delight. Plus, they changed their advertising.
"For ages, Coke's marketing strategy has simply been about getting that logo in front of as many people as possible," Broome says. "There's been very little relevance to people's lives. Basically marketing had moved on but Coca-Cola hadn't."
Which could prove problematic. Or at least could be a wasted opportunity. Since 1992, Brits have been drinking less alcohol, less tea and less coffee, and far more soft drinks than ever before. Since 1991, tea in particular has been in serious decline, hence the desperate struggle for innovation by the tea companies, including Tetley's round bag in 1989, the instant tea granule in 1991 and the pyramid tea bag from PG Tips in 1997. (It's not really a pyramid, of course, it's a tetrahedron.)
According to market research giants Mintel, the UK market for carbonated drinks has increased from 4.6bn litres in 1996 to 5.9bn in 2000 - a hike of 26%. Coke hasn't done badly, growing by 28.6% for both Diet and the main brand over the same period. The great rival Pepsi, however, showed a 68.2% growth rate over the same period, while Diet Tango and Virgin Cola grew by a terrifying 101%.
Of course, the volumes that Coke shifts are still mind-boggling - 840m litres in 2000, versus 360m for Pepsi and 230m for Virgin - but with the huge 78% growth in sport and energy drinks such as Lucozade and the clubbers's favourite Red Bull, and the 75% increase in bottled water, it's clear that Coke had better keep watching its back.
In one sense, it's already wising up. This year, Coke launched Burn in the UK, a soft drink targeted entirely at Red Bull's core market of up-all-nighters. Burn carries no mention of Coca-Cola on the can at all, making it the ideal No Logo brand extension for Atlanta. It's been distributed exclusively to superclubs and will roll out to other clubs around the country over the year. Coca-Cola is also using its muscle, according to Broome, to keep Red Bull out of the clubs it is launching Burn in.
Launches, it has to be said, are tough in the UK. Since 1990, the 20- to 30-odd drinks companies from Coca-Cola through SmithKline Beecham (which makes Lucozade, Ribena and, er, Diocalm) to Schweppes have launched up to five drink products a year - and most of them have failed spectacularly. Remember Tab Clear? Coca-Cola spent £10m on marketing in the first year, launching it in 1993. It was the drink sensation of the spring, selling millions of litres. Now? Off the shelves forever. What about Outspan's juice drink range? It had a £2m marketing budget in 1992. It was off the shelf a year later. Procter and Gamble spent £12m on building a Sunny Delight plant in the UK and a further £10m in the first year on advertising the drink, and now it has tanked so spectacularly that the Coke deal was set up to save Sunny D's arse.
All of which, it would appear, places Coca-Cola at something of a crossroads. The company is gambling that the devolved approach will work, it's gambling that the new launches of Alive and Burn will work and it's gambling that the new look-local ads will fend off the encroaching cola competition. It's a big gamble. Still, it's always nice to approach the betting tables with £30m in your back pocket, eh?
Old look: Made in-house in Atlanta, with the additional skills of various adland directors, the old campaign used the pithy strapline "Enjoy". According to Charlotte Oades, marketing director for Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland, it was about refreshment, so it tended to feature animated polar bears and healthy Americans chillin' with a Coke. There was also the big Christmas lorry special which told us that "Holidays are Coming". This ad may well remain in play.
New look: Made by McCann Erikson in London - the British arm of Coca-Cola's traditional advertising agency - the new campaign is "more emotional" says Oades. Thus we see a stroppy teenager sharing a Coke with his grandad who shocks a reaction out of his boy by telling him grandma's run off with a bloke from the bridge club. We also see a teen on the tube making eye contact with a girl but failing to act on it. "Real life stories," Oades explains.
Diet Coke
Old look: The Diet Coke hunk and the Diet Coke ad break did good business for Coke and were made by the US ad agency Wieden and Kennedy. Over the past year or so, however, British girls have become increasingly irritated with the Americana the ads toyed with.
New look: As well as supporting the Bridget Jones launch with diary-style posters offering Diet Coke as a hangover cure, the new work - by the British arm of Wieden and Kennedy - shows a "more confident, self-deprecating British type of humour," says Oades. Thus, quirky chicks scrawl endless phone numbers on restaurant tables to alarm their dates and persuade a park keeper to let them stay late by offering him a square meal.
Dr Pepper
Old look: Dr Pepper isn't owned by Coke in the US, although it is handled by the company in the UK. The old ads used the catchline "So misunderstood" in an attempt to encourage sampling. A beautiful blonde country gal persuaded her geeky boyfriend to give it a try then snogged him as a reward.
New look: The new ads come from London's leading creative hotshop Mother, which earned an increasingly large place on the Coke roster (it is also launching Alive in the UK) when its Lilt ads featuring jovial Caribbean women entertaining commuters and beating up weathermen worked so well for the brand. The new ads are vaguely Farrelly brothers in feel, with boys losing their underwear in public or being wrestled to the floor by their girlfriends' dads as a result of trying the drink. "What's the worst that can happen?" the catchline asks.
Old look: Made by Coca-Cola in Atlanta, the catchline "Share the fun" allowed shots of gleaming smiles and flashing orange fizz to continue long after its sell-by date.
New look: The new campaign is put together by Soul, a brand-new agency formed by ex-Bartle Bogle Hegarty staffers. The ad campaign is based around a roadshow that recruits teens in shopping malls and via radio ads to chat about their best mates on camera. In one, a teen girl explains how she helps her male mate understand girls only to have him accuse her of being too weird to be of any use. The ads all star real kids. No actors involved.


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Excitement builds at the Otter Valley Union's Walking Stick Theatre Company.
Young performers from Vermont's Otter Valley Union High School are preparing for their international debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The students will perform "Anon(ymous)," a 90-minute modern adaptation of Homer's Odyssey written by Naomi Iizuka.
Otter Valley's acting troupe is one of only a few dozen high school theater companies who will perform at the Fringe.
Theater Director Jeff Hull explains how Otter Valley's company was invited to apply to take part in the festival two years ago based on the quality of their work. "We had to go through a rigorous application process," Hull says. "But we did it!"
The application process was only one obstacle the group would face. Funding the $6,500 per student cost of the trip proved to be a huge challenge. But the support that they recieved, from both their local community and beyond, was staggering.
The American-Scottish Foundation heard of Otter Valley's once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and immediately wanted to lend support. The Foundation gave Otter Valley's Theater program a bursary grant to help make their potential trip to Edinburgh a reality. ASF's involvement with Otter Valley only continued from there. Chairman Alan Bain invited Jeff Hull and his family to New York City so they could march in the annual Tartan Day Parade.
The Hull family had a wonderful time at the NYTD Parade, where they were able to meet "Outlander" star Graham McTavish, as well as the ASF officials.
Alan Bain got in touch with Scottish contacts, ensuring that the American-Scottish Foundation Bursary award could help enhance the students' Scottish adventure. The students will be able to tour Edinburgh Castle, visit parts of Edinburgh's Underground City, and purchase tickets to shows. The students will also enjoy a farewell dinner at the acclaimed Royal Overseas League.
Chairman Alan Bain says that his support for the Otter Valley theater group's trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe comes, in part, from his own experiences traveling abroad when he was a young student. He is confident that "this trip will give all those involved a life-long and treasured memory that is likely to be […] inspirational and life transformative."
To learn more about the ASF Bursary program visit this page.
All images via facebook.com/ovtheatre.


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Approval of Republicans and Democrats in Congress trend.
(Click image once or twice for full resolution)
This post is updated in place. Come to this page for the latest tracking of the approval of congressional parties series. The index in the right column provides a direct link from the thumbnail to this page.
Typical question wordings:
ABC/WP: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats/Republicans in Congress are doing their job?"
Pew: "Do you approve or disapprove of the job the Democratic/Republican leaders in Congress are doing?"
Harris: "How would you rate the job Democrats/Republicans in Congress are doing: excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?"


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- Marble Bathroom
- Double vanities
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- Robe
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- TV features: remote control, 55in/140cm, and LED screen
- Plug-In High Tech room
- International cable/satellite
- Phone features: voicemail, and phone lines (2)
- Cable/satellite
- Chair, with ottoman
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- Safe, in room
- Iron and ironing board
- Desk, writing / work, electrical outlet
- Coffee maker / tea service


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21 May, 2016
One of my pet peeves is people underestimating the work that goes into game development. For example, people ask, "Why can't you add just this simple thing?" not realizing that this one thing has a lot of consequences.
I'll go into some detail about why one simple thing is usually not a simple thing.
Let's write a story!
My current work is writing a DLC story and text for my good friend Dave Toulouse's game March of the Living. (Go buy it if you haven't already. There's some cool DLC coming soon!) I won't spoil the DLC's story here, as I think it's pretty cool; instead, let's pick another famous story: The Lord of the Rings
So, let's say we're going to write a story about Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. Frodo carries the one ring, and could lose it or not. Gollum could decide to help Frodo or steal the ring himself, based on events in the story. Frodo could die, but if Frodo dies and the ring is lost, it's game over. Gollum could also die along the way. Sam is too important to the story, so if he dies it's just game over.
Explosion of options
So, let's list out all the variables we have:
- Frodo is alive – Frodo is dead.
- Frodo has the ring – Frodo has lost the ring.
- Gollum is alive – Gollum has perished.
- Gollum wants to destroy the ring – Gollum wants to steal the ring.
Only four variables, but that means that if each of these options creates a unique "state" in a story when combined with other variables. For each part of your story, you have 24, or 16 states the world could be in. That means that for each part of the story, you have to develop and write at least 16 times the content.
Along comes Arnie the Armchair Game Designer and scoffs, "What about the Phial of Gladriel? You should track if Frodo is carrying the Phial or not." Well, now we have to worry about 25 world states, which likely doubled the writer's work and only added one bit of story for the average person playing through the game once. Not a great use of time and resources, so every variable needs to be carefully considered before it is added to the game.
Not only does it take extra writing, but it will take extra work to verify the extra bits added. Testing will likely take over twice as long as you have a lot more. And this is why adding "just one more thing" is not as simple is it might seem.
And now consider a big-budget triple-A game like the Mass Effect series, where each option required not only writing, but also art assets and voice acting. Adding another option added a lot more work on top of the existing work. There are reasons why the major choices are few and far between, and some options simply get lost in the shuffle.
Introducing efficiency
To be fair, you can find some efficiencies when writing. For example, not every scene needs to worry about if Gollum wants to destroy the ring or steal it; a scene with a conversation with just Frodo and Sam wouldn't need to consider that motivation. However, some things like Frodo's current state of life could have major impacts on nearly every scene.
You can also re-use some passages to reduce overall writing requirement. Clever writing can introduce Gollum in one part, then re-use another section where Gollum isn't explicitly mentioned but players assume he's there (or not) because of framing. Plus, people will impart their own feelings, so you can give a few cues about how characters interact and let player imagination do some of the work that would be more explicit in a linear narrative.
You can also make some assumptions in the story to prune some of the branches down. For example, if Frodo loses the ring, then Gollum may leave the group. So, a check to see if Frodo has lost the ring can also assume that Gollum wouldn't be in the party.
But, this can make the work harder, too. Editing becomes harder because if you edit one part and violate an assumption, you might refer to a state of the world that is not accurate in every case. And keeping the exact world state assumed by a passage can be hard without a good notation system or really amazing tools.
It's fun, but it's still hard work
I'll probably write up a bit about the work I'm doing for the DLC in a future blog post down the line. As I said, I think the story is pretty good and worth trying not to spoil, so there's not much detail I can go into here. But, expect some discussion about what went into the work. :)
What about you? Do you notice little things like the game taking into consideration different world states? Do you play though games multiple times to try little changes? Do you strive to find the "perfect" world state that gives the best results? Or are you more interested in a linear story to go with your games?
7 Comments »
These are my favourite games, narrative games where choices matter. In fact, they're my favourite form of entertainment period, and by a large margin.
I do tend to pay attention to these things while playing them – characters who aren't shown(or mentioned) because of that very reason – they may be present or not, and you assume they are even though it's not shown, like you'd assume of course they were not there if they weren't in your party/were dead/what have you.
I'm not a writer, unfortunately, because it's this aspect of game design I'm most interested in.
Comment by Derrick Whittet — 21 May, 2016 @ 5:39 PM
When I was much younger I thought the branching storylines and multiple options of RPGs were a great innovation for narrative. Now I'm older and have a lot more experience of them I think they are, at best, an unnecessary distraction.
It sounds great in theory, all these different threads and alternate endings, but in practice it's a waste of resources and development time as far as I'm concerned. I have discovered that it's extremely unlikely that I'm ever going to replay any RPG in order to see a different outcome. No matter what path I take it is effectively the only path so all the others may as well not have been written.
Moreover, in MMOs, where there are storylines with options and where I play several characters who have the opportunity to try them out, I just don't. If you put three options in front of me today and I pick #3 there's an exceedingly good chance that if you put the same questions in front of me a year from now I will again pick #3. I piked it the first time because it was the most appealing. Unless I've had a personality change since then it will go on being the most appealing.
I can't say I've ever been interested enough in the alternate options even to look up on a wiki or website what would have happened. The story I experienced is the story and that's an end of it. I've just played through the long questline of EQ2′s Tears of Veeshan expansion. That features no branching narrativs at all. You click the reply and move to the next step. That's one of the reasons I really enjoyed it. It told a clear, unambiguous story that I could follow.
That's very much my preference these days. I think the whole branching narrative concept was a cul de sac that we'd have done better to avoid. I'd far rather have three separate sequential or parallel narratives than three branches of the same. And from what you say that would be far easier to produce, so we could, presumably have more of them for the same cost in development resources.
I might not have put it as firmly as Bhagpuss but I tend to agree: while the idea of multiple options is nice, in practice I vey rarely replay storylines. In SWTOR I've tended to make the same choices on the same quests with different characters because *I* haven't changed much from one play-through to the next. Multiple options might be good for attracting different player types, perhaps, though we all seemed to make do 30 years ago when options were more limited.
Either way — I'm an armchair designer myself and still I try not to assume something is easy just because I want it in the game. The people who do that seem to me to suffer from an impressive lack of insight as to how games (or indeed any software) are made.
Oh, I too will only play the game once, and I'll never know what the other possibilities are. In theory, this means there could have been only one possibility and I'd never know,excelt for two things:
It's critical to me that the game world reflect my choices. If they are all false choices, that quickly becomes obvious. And then I'm being told a story and not driving that story, and THAT is a very significant difference.
Still, careful use of that is able to prune down branches in a lot of circumstances. For example, a companion may be "fated" to die no matter what you do, but one should still include snippets of conversation later to reflect on what the player chose even though his choice didn't impact the world state.
Finally, one way these things really work is in discussion of a game after the fact. When you can see just how your choices impacted the narrative.
After I played Mass Effect 2, and had a favourite character die while a buddy playing alongside me did not, due to my choices – my fault – it shocked me, stuck with me. That was an awesome gaming moment, knowing that the character didn't die because he was written to die, he died because I failed.
Comment by Derrick Whittet — 22 May, 2016 @ 10:13 AM
I think it's notable that the first two comments expressed exactly opposite reactions. The first was that narrative options are indispensable, the second that they are a bad design model that should have never have become widely used.
I would expand this to other game design decisions though, too, not just narrative. How about game mechanics? Take combat for example. In any combat-oriented game, there is a wide range of different offensive, defensive, and other moves to take into account. Considering different numerical values is one thing, but comparing apples to oranges is another (e.g. a move that can invalidate certain opponent choices). Some modeling can probably help with this, but player behavior ends up being the best simulator of what's possible, and by then another factor is in play: some players have based their enjoyment around your unbalanced mechanic. Bring back precasting!!1!
Adding a new mechanic or stat into that kind of soup is daunting to say the least. My hat's off to those who go do that hard work, and doubly so to those who do it well.
Sorry, Brian, but I like playing games with lots of branching narratives. Work for me >:D MWahahahahahah
I've always liked games where people I've helped throughout it may show up later to help me out. Makes the game feel a little more real to me, but I definitely see that adding "just one more thing" exponential increases production time. As stated, the more efficiently they can be added, the better.
I do like to restart characters and run them through different options. I've done this a lot in Bethesda games and MMOs. It gives those characters just a little more unique character between them. Even if the choices turn out to be superficial, they still leave me with knowing that this character would save the lady from the wolves, while another would instead run to the town to warn them of an impending wolf attack. I'm still fighting wolves, but one option let's me keep a clean conscious, but I have to work for it by fighting alone, or getting help at a cost against my morals.
However I equally enjoy linear stories because they make it simple with progression. Going to the castle to save the princess is all I can do, so I can focus on doing just that to the best of my ability.
Comment by Tyrannodorkus — 23 May, 2016 @ 12:52 PM
bhagpuss wrote:
Unless I've had a personality change since then it will go on being the most appealing.
For me, it's about role-playing. When I played the original Knights of the Old Republic, I decided to play the dark side. Most people who know me know I'm not really the "dark side" kind of person in the offline world. To be fair, the "morality" system in the KotOR games is pretty hokey, but I was playing through a story with a character, not trying to live the experience as a version of myself. It's the same motivation I had when I was playing the "evil paladin" in university (that I talked about in http://psychochild.org/?p=1348), because I wanted to play a different kind of character. The role-playing challenge was kinda fun, even if I didn't "like" the character on a personal level.
Derrick Whittet wrote:
After I played Mass Effect 2, and had a favourite character die while a buddy playing alongside me did not, due to my choices – my fault – it shocked me, stuck with me. That was an awesome gaming moment, knowing that the character didn't die because he was written to die, he died because I failed.
This is a great point. People don't have to play through the game multiple times to learn about all the options. Having a different story helps make it unique to the person. Same thing I think about multi-player games: the story focus should be on what the player does, not the narrative that the designers want to write.
fenjay wrote:
I think it's notable that the first two comments expressed exactly opposite reactions.
Players are not monolithic. Both points of view are legitimate, and in the ideal world different games will satisfy different needs. Derrick would probably really enjoy my DLC for March of the Living, but bhagpuss may not appreciate the work I put in. :)
And, yeah, you can say the same thing about adding in a new mechanic to the game. But, "balance" is a lot more nebulous of a concept and some people like
strange bugs"emergent gameplay", whereas adding a new option directly adds more writing required.
Tyrannodorkus wrote:
However I equally enjoy linear stories because they make it simple with progression.
Yeah, I don't think you have to commit to one or the other. A fast action game works better with a simple narrative. Or even no narrative to interrupt the action. A role-playing game, though, can really be enhanced by a non-linear narrative. But, as I said, a lot of work goes into that.
Comment by Psychochild — 25 May, 2016 @ 1:42 PM


text: Dilyara Idrisova Soprano, Russia «At home we staged children's concerts, where I sang both for myself and for my sister – she opened her mouth, and I voiced it from behind the nearest wall.» What inspired you to become a singer? I was surrounded by music during my childhood. My grandmother was an opera singer, my grandfather was a composer, and my mother was a musicologist. Since I was 6 years old, I went to music school – piano class. Even as a little girl, instead of cartoons, I preferred to watch movies and operas, especially La Traviata by Zeffirelli with T. Stratas and P. Domingo. That's when I really fell in love with opera. What is your dream role and why? I can't name just one role in a world of so much beautiful music and brilliant operas which I would like to sing! I enjoy performing the romantic works of Italian and French composers, and Russian classics. I love baroque music, especially Handel and Bach; performing these is like looking into the depths of the human soul. My dream is to live in the world of music, and to do it so that more and more people to come to know this beauty. Who is your favorite opera singer and why? Priorities change in different periods of life. I try to constantly listen to singers of the highest class, and learn from them. What do you hope to achieve by participating in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition? I was extremely happy to get a letter with a message that said I was selected for the Queen Sonja International Music Competition. I could not believe my eyes! The competition provides an opportunity to try one's hand, to listen to the other participants, to visit the masterclasses. In short, the competition is a chance to have a great experience and become better than I am now. Tell us something surprising and unexpected about yourself? My mother says that I started singing before I learned to pronounce words. As a child I was introverted and quiet, but could sometimes sing incessantly. When one of the adults said to me, 'Would you shut up a minute? Even at concerts there are breaks!' I replied, 'No, I can't. I want to sing!' At home we staged children's concerts, where I sang both for myself and for my sister – she opened her mouth, and I voiced it from behind the nearest wall. Is there anything else you would like to tell us which might be interesting to the public? I love the Bashkir folk songs called 'ozone-kui' which means 'long tune.' They reflect the history of my people, and our souls are open to all that is beautiful. I would like the world to hear them, because it's impossible not to love them!


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Elson De Cantuaria gives credit to the USTA and its Professional Tennis Management college program for the success he's had founding and operating the Match Point Tennis Academy out of the Cabrillo Park Tennis Center in Santa Ana over the past nine years.
While studying for his physical education degree and playing tennis for Division II power Hampton University in Virginia some 25 years ago, Brazil's De Cantuaria changed his degree from P.E. to marketing during his junior year as Hampton became one of the first school's to offer the PTM emphasized degree.
"My junior year they started offering it, but they said I would have to change my degree to marketing if I wanted to stay in the PTM program," De Cantuaria said. "And I'm so glad I did. I think that is one of the main reasons for the success I have had with the academy both as a coach and a business person. What I learned was the business and marketing side of tennis; the administration side, and it's been very useful. And now I've been running a very successful academy for the past 20 years."
De Cantuaria, who recently turned 50, said another reason for his success is because he takes a special interest in the students who attend his academy. "We have a very low turnover rate, and I still have kids who have graduated from college who come back and visit," De Cantuaria said. "We have also had some incredible stats when it comes to finding the balance between athletic success and academic excellence. Forty to 50 percent of our seniors get to play college tennis and the average GPA has been above 4.0 for them over the years."
He added: "You become a major part of their upbringing. You are seeing them five, six days a week around the club and spending that time with me. You are helping raise them. It is very satisfying. For them to return and visit, it is extremely gratifying."
De Cantuaria knows the importance of academics as he graduated first in his entire marketing class and was offered a scholarship to attend Michigan State to continue his MBA, but instead elected to move to California and open up his academy.
"The primary thing we try to emphasize and to find a balance between is athletic success and academic excellence," he said. "I'm very strict when keeping up with the kids' grades."
De Cantuaria, who ran academies at the La Habra Tennis Center and then Anaheim Tennis Center before taking over at Cabrillo, currently has one red clay court, and is hoping to get approval to build two more. He said that European players like Djokovic, Murray, Warinka and Nadal often possess a bigger all-around game because of their development on clay, as opposed to American players who often have a big serve and big forehand, but lack in the other strokes. "I feel it's harder for top American players to have consistent wins over the players who have trained on clay because they are often one or two dimensional," De Cantuaria said. "I would like for the kids I am training to work developing their entire game a couple of times a week on clay."
Back in 2000, De Cantuaria was named the Inside Tennis Southern California Men's Open Player of the Year. It's his love for being on the court that he says in infectious and rubs off on his students. "It is something I really enjoy," said De Cantuaria, who had a near career-ending rotator cuff injury in college that kept him sidelined off and on from 1994 to 1999. "I really love to play tennis. Like they say, find a job that you really like and you will never have to work again. That's how I feel and I always wanted to work in tennis and I always wanted to be on the court."
So his plan is to return to competition and try to become the best 50-year-old tennis player in Southern California, and beyond. "I was one of the top Open players, then I stopped playing and got hurt and the same thing happened in the 35s, the 40s and the 45s," he said. "This time, I'm going through some serious training and not going to get hurt. I think I have another 10 years of good senior tennis left without getting hurt."
— Steve Pratt


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Trinity Mirror, the owner of Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, has formally apologised to all the victims of phone hacking.
The publisher printed the apology in the Daily Mirror after it admitted voicemails left on certain people's phones were "unlawfully accessed".
Singer Cilla Black, former England football team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and actress Shobna Gulati are some of the people who had have their phones hacked by Trinity Mirror.
The Daily Mirror has had to settle claims with a number of people after they were the victims of "an unacceptable intrusion" into private lives.
The published apology said: "Some years ago voice-mails left on certain people's phones were unlawfully accessed. And in many cases the information obtained was used in stories in our national newspapers.
"Such behaviour represented an unwarranted and unacceptable intrusion into people's private lives.
"It was unlawful and should never have happened, and fell far below the standards our readers expect and deserve.
"We are taking this opportunity to give every victim a sincere and unreserved apology for what happened."
Last November, Graham Johnson, the Sunday Mirror's former investigations editor, became the first Trinity Mirror reporter to admit phone hacking.
He pleaded guilty to hacking a phone to investigate whether a well-known soap star was having an affair with a gangster in 2001.
Until then, all phone hacking claims centred around the News of the World, with the scandal forcing the closure of the Sunday paper.
Trinity Mirror said intercepting voicemail no longer takes places at any of its papers.
The company added: "We recognise that our actions will have caused them distress for which we are truly sorry.
"Our newspapers have a long and proud history of holding those in power to account. As such, it is only right we are held to account ourselves.
"Such behaviour has long since been banished from Trinity Mirror's business and we are committed to ensuring it will not happen again."


text:
The Capacity to Produce from the Reservoir: 2 BSCFPD.
Offshore facilities:
Number of Wells: 38 Wells
Number of offshore platforms: 4 platforms, each used to produce 500 MSCFPD
Offshore Pipelines
Main Pipelines: Two 32" pipelines to transfer gas from the main platforms to the onshore processing unit,
totaling 210km together with two 4.5" pipelines for MEG injection.
Infield Pipelines: Two 18" & 20" pipelines to transfer gas from the satellite platforms to the main platforms' outlets,
totaling 14km together with two 4.5" pipelines for MEG injection.
Onshore Processing Unit:
Gas and input liquids are processed in this processing unit, producing the following products:
50 MSCMPD of refined gas.
1.1 MT/year of liquefied gas for export.
77 thousand barrels/day of gas condensates for export.
1MT/year of Ethane gas to feed the petrochemical plants,
Sulphur (by product of gas sweetening process): 400 MT/day for export.


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Baby Buffalo Plaid One-Piece
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