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Q&A: Stephen Hester's resignation
The surprise resignation of Stephen Hester from RBS has prompted a number of questions over the future of the bank
Stephen Hester's surprise departure from Royal Bank of Scotland before its return to the private sector has sparked questions over plans for the future of the taxpayer-backed lender.
Q: Why is Mr Hester leaving now?
A: RBS said on announcing his decision to leave that there was now a "window" for a new boss to take the helm after the bank had been stabilised in preparation for a shares sale by the Government.
But it is widely believed there had been pressure from Chancellor George Osborne for Mr Hester to leave and make way for a new leader to oversee the group's next stage.
There are also reports of a growing rift between Mr Hester and the Treasury over strategy.
In a glowing tribute to


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Check this Webinar out!
Differentiation Made Possible: Hapara Workspace for Google Apps
Date and time:
Thursday, November 19, 2015 1:00 pm
Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
1 hour
and personalization for deeper learning requires teacher planning and effort. In
this webinar
you will hear how two teachers streamlined the process of differentiating
learning in their classes using Hapara's Workspace and Google Apps.
Register Now for this Free Event
Source: Tech & Learning
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Friday, October 30, 2015
Upcoming Webinar: Differentiation Made Possible: Hapara Workspace for Google Apps
Posted by Helge Scherlund at 30.10.15

subset: commoncrawl


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Anavid's applied technologies position the insulation products as the high-tech of the piping industry. At the brand level, they position Vidoflex as one of the most successful products in its field on the global market.
The plant's R&D department has close working relations with the most advanced labs in the world as well as leadng academice instetues in israel on issues such as nanotechnology, antibacterial protection, green standards, environmental challenges and recycling. The product and the production process are controlled by the world's leading laboratories and standards bodies. Anavid's sophisticated R&D setup allows the R&D team to perform a substantial portion of the initial tests in-house, thus supporting the company's ability to initiate new developments on an autonomous and self-sufficient basis.


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Several of my core market health indicators are sitting on the edge of going negative. One notable exception are my core measures of risk. That category has moved into overbought territory. Normally, this means several weeks of continued rally, however, I'm in a bit of doubt due to the weakness in all the other categories. This time it might mean it's time for some consolidation. I expect we'll get more clarity over the next few weeks.
More of the Same
Bouncing Around
Over the past week, my core indicators bounced around again. The only significant thing I'm seeing is some weakness in my measures of the economy, but I suspect this category won't have much impact on the market in the near term. Instead, focus on the tax plan will continue to drive investor's purchases and sentiment.
Continued Strength
My core market health indicators continue to show strength. Most notably, are the core measures of risk which are getting into over bought territory. This is often a good sign that results in a melt up that lasts several weeks. The last time this happened was the first week of October which resulted in a nice run followed by a bit of consolidation that should fuel the next run higher.
Bouncing Around
My core market health indicators are bouncing around as the market consolidates in a sideways pattern. This is healthy behavior and should resolve with another leg upward.
Jump in Market Health
Last week, I said that we've got everything we need for the next leg of this bull market. This week we're getting confirmation of the rally with all of my core market health indicators jumping substantially. Some of them are starting to get into overbought territory, but when this happens it often fuels the rally for several weeks before it ends. Enjoy the ride.
This Should Be It
Over the past week, my core market health indicators mostly improved. Most significant is that my measures of market strength have now moved above zero. This changes the core portfolio allocations as follows: Long / Cash portfolio: 100% long Long / Short portfolio: 100% long high beta stocks Volatility Hedged portfolio: 100% long since 11/11/2016 Another thing of note is that we've been seeing broad based buying of the stocks in the S&P 500 Index (SPX) again. If the ratio between the SPX Equal Weighted Index (SPXEW) and SPX can get back above its 20 week moving average it will be a very healthy sign. Since the first of the year, investors have favored mega cap stocks. We want to see the smaller stocks in SPX rallying faster than the mega caps as it will indicate broad based buying and increased tolerance for risk. Add to that, SPX looks like it's now got a clear break above 2500 and we've got the recipe for a rally. Conclusion It looks
Get Ready For A Breakout
Last week, I said you should get ready for a rally. This week my core market health indicators are telling us to get ready for a breakout above 2500 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Most of them improved and various measures of breath also improved. One breadth indicator that I'm watching closely is the percent of SPX stocks that are above their 200 day moving average. There are still about 32% of these stocks below their 200 dma. If SPX breaks above 2500 I expect this measure to rise quickly as money managers look for value as the market rallies.
Get Ready
Over the past two weeks, my market health indicators have bounced around a bit and while doing it have been compressing near the zero line. When this happens, an strong move often follows. At the moment, the odds favor the bulls. Get ready for a rally.
Damage Done
Over the past week, quite a lot of damage was done to my core market health indicators. Two of the categories are at risk of going negative if the market can't rally next week. Most significant is my core measures of risk. They fell substantially over the past two weeks. This means that risk from core market internals is rising. Meanwhile, the most sensitive components of my market risk indicator aren't showing the same type of warning. They're still in the very healthy range. This indicates that risk in the market at this moment is from core market internals and not investor perception of risk or an event. If my core market risk indicators warn without significant movement toward a warning from my market risk indicator, it will be an unusual occurrence for a longer term top. Other times where this condition has happened resulted in short to intermediate term dips during a longer term bull market. Here are some dates: Mid 2004, spring 2005, late 2005, and early 2006 thru August


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Tears don't matter much – Lucero
There are things in Lucero that i out and out reject in my life, but i do not doubt that for some people Lucero might be the most important thing in theirs. It's not my wish to begrudge them. … However… Remember that Kill The Man Who Questions critique on Kiss the Bottle? Not only did Lucero cover Kiss the Bottle, they built their whole band philosophy around it, every damaging thing romanticised and every affectation checked. It might be sincere, it might be authentic, but it is not country music – it is punk, the music of privilege, of picking, choosing and leaving behind. I bet they have tattoos.


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Skill Level:
What you need:
• Foam sheets: Purple, Black, Yellow, White and Green
• Glitter Glue: Purple and Green
• Jiggly Eyes
• Elmer's Tacky Glue
1. Cover your work area with newspapers. Make sure your pumpkin is clean of dirt.
2. Using green and purple glitter glue, create the sparkly hair by squeezing the glue onto the top/sides of the pumpkin. Set aside and let dry. NOTE: Glue will take approx. 8 - 12 hours to fully dry.
3. Using yellow foam, cut small circles for the eyes, and larger ones with white foam. Layer the foam and glue together. Glue on the jiggly eyes and then set aside to dry.
4. Cut out a teardrop shape from the green foam for the nose and cut out a long rectangle shape with yellow foam for the mouth. We cut the edges to make them wavy. Set aside.
5. Using a black foam sheet, cut a circle just larger than the top of the pumpkin. This will be the brim of the hat and will hold the hat onto the top of the pumpkin. Cut a hole in the middle of the brim so the pumpkin stem can fit through and the circle sits flat.
6. Using a large purple foam sheet, create a cone shape for the hat. Make sure it is smaller than the black brim piece. Glue the purple edges together and hold until it takes tack. Once dry, glue to the black circle brim and let dry.
7. Glue the eyes, nose and mouth onto the pumpkin to create the face and let dry.
8. Add accents to the hat. Glue onto the top of the pumpkin and let dry.


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|P is for Practical
Re^2: Extracting Page Nameby quester (Vicar)
|on Apr 27, 2012 at 06:34 UTC ( #967528=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
... a colon, if it's followed by a port number...
Minor nit: The colon and port number is just after the hostname in a URL, not the page name. For example, consider the port 8080 in
The question mark following the page name in a URL starts a list of parameters being passed from the browser to the script running in the server. The parameter values can be more or less anything; by convention spaces will have been replaced by plus signs, but otherwise almost anything goes, including colons. For example,
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Community of Practice
Enlightened Consultants is a small bespoke training and consultancy company that supports community and health based organisations to achieve their best, and to help them thrive in delivering services to people in need. As a company we are proud to work with a small team of dedicated professional consultants that bring a wide range of expertise and experience in the areas of Health, Mental Health, Peer Support, Community Service Provision, Housing and Disability.
As part of our personal and professional commitment to the work of the sector we host a regular Community of Practice gathering. The community of practice at Enlightened Consultants is a group of like-minded people who share a desire for growth and discovery, and are prepared to be challenged and to challenge others. The group has evolved from a common interest in mental health, with the goal of gaining knowledge and sharing a vision of a different reality. It is through the process of sharing information, experiences and challenges that we learn from each other, become inspired and find opportunities to develop both personally and professionally.
The Community of Practice invites people to embrace the 'mud space' and allow ourselves to be uncomfortable, as we critically reflect on our own practice. By doing so, we become stronger in our practice, and build a solid rationale for why we do what we do. An added benefit of being in the Community of Practice are the connections and links we build with each other, and the opportunity to open our eyes to possibility and shared projects.
"Ultimately, the Community of Practice has deepened my sense of why I work the way I work, and enlivened my ways of working with people. My work is richer and my knowledge is richer, because of the opportunities to share and be challenged. I would suggest the community of practice as a gift to anyone who would like to be more connected to the meaning of their work, and for those who are questioning and are disconnected; for those who are wanting to nurture a gentle quest to go deeper, and for those whose desire is more of a raging inferno waiting to be expressed. We all have further to reach, and deserve the opportunity to hold our discomfort, and to have the space to express our challenges, fears and excitement for the future."
The date for the next proposed Community of Practice has not been decided. We will update this when we are able.


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KNUTSFORD, England — That day, Raheem Sterling looked up, and tuned in. Ordinarily when he is on the field, he loses himself so completely in the game that the noise of the crowd becomes an indistinct murmur, each voice lost in the hum of tens of thousands.
But as Sterling approached the touchline to collect the ball for a corner kick in Manchester City's Premier League game at Chelsea on Dec. 8, something forced him to switch his focus.
He remembers making eye contact with a handful of fans in the front row of the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge. Like all players, and as one of his country's best players, he is used to hostility, particularly away from home. But what he could see was different. It looked, to him, like hatred.
"The way they were looking at me, I had to see where all this anger was coming from," he said. "I was listening in to hear what they were saying." What he picked up, he said, he dismissed immediately: "Nah, that can't be what I heard."
Video suggested his suspicion was right. One fan, in particular, appeared to have screamed a racial obscenity at him. The consequences added credence: Not long after the game ended, Chelsea announced it had barred four fans from attending games, pending an investigation into whether Sterling had been racially abused. The incident was reported to the London police.
It was neither Sterling's first racist encounter — as a teenager, he once was head-butted by a stranger on a Liverpool street — nor the first time he had experienced racism in an English stadium. In his first match at Everton's Goodison Park after joining Manchester City, he said, he was walking toward the tunnel when a boy with his father called him a "black something."
As he left Stamford Bridge that evening in December, though, Sterling, 24, kept churning over what he had heard, what had happened. By the time he returned to Manchester, he decided that it was "too much now." He wanted to say something.
He spent all night thinking of the best way to do it. He did some research, got his thoughts in order. The next morning, as he sat in the back seat of a car on the 30-minute drive from his home to Manchester City's training facility, he composed a 207-word message to accompany his thoughts. It focused not just on what had happened at Stamford Bridge, but why. Sterling posted it, with two images, to his Instagram account.
"I am not normally the person to talk a lot," the message began. "But when I think I need my point to be heard I will speak up."
A Story to Tell
A few weeks ago, Sterling returned to visit friends near Wembley, the part of northwest London where he grew up. He remains intimately connected to the place: He said he was in discussions with the local council to find an appropriate site for a sporting and educational institute, somewhere to provide opportunities for children (and their parents) from backgrounds similar to his.
It is a personal and, until now, a private thing, something he says is less his responsibility as a professional athlete and more an innate desire to "show light" to a new generation. He wants his story to give others like him hope.
"Not just to be a footballer," Sterling said, "but to do whatever they want to do."
It is not hard to find inspiration in Sterling's rise. His story has long been crowbarred into the narrative often expected of athletes: the deprived upbringing, the triumph over adversity, that comforting fairy tale told of so many athletes in which greatness flowers best in soil left untended.
His father was shot dead in Jamaica when he was 2. His mother moved to England in the hope of giving her children a better life. Sterling remembers her "fight to get jobs," the long hours she put in, the days he and his sister would help her clean hotel rooms before school.
Sterling has always been keen not to allow exaggerations to flourish, to correct any poetic license taken by those telling his story. In 2016, he told The Mail on Sunday that his childhood home was not in a "rough, rough" area; in a piece for The Players' Tribune last year, he said that while his family never had much money, his mother always made sure he and his sister had what they needed.
He knows well enough where he came from. He could see Wembley Stadium from his garden, but there were plenty of other places where the horizon was far more oppressive. The last time he went back, he said in an interview last week, he looked at those streets not far from where he had grown up, those high-rises, and saw "a prison, with no way out."
His meteoric rise to being one of the finest English players of his generation should, then, be a cause for celebration for England. At 15, Liverpool beat back competition from Arsenal and Manchester United to sign Sterling from Queens Park Rangers. By the time he was 17, he had made his debut for England. Before he was 20, he had been selected for a World Cup.
In 2015, Manchester City made him, for a time, the most expensive English player in history, paying 49 million pounds, or about $63.7 million, to pry him from Anfield at the express recommendation of Pep Guardiola. Guardiola would not arrive in England to become City's manager for another year, but he knew that he wanted to work with Sterling.
The collaboration has proved enormously successful. Sterling has won a Premier League title — with another in his grasp this season — and he played a key role in England's run to the World Cup semifinals last summer. City rewarded him with a new contract a few months ago, at least partly to ward off interest from Real Madrid. He has more than lived up to his promise. Guardiola described him as "incredible."
Few, though, would suggest England has cherished Sterling. A frosty reception at Anfield may be unavoidable since his departure, but he attracts opprobrium elsewhere, too. He has been jeered by his own fans while playing for England and was attacked and racially abused by a Manchester United supporter on the doorstep of City's training facility. One newspaper, after England's elimination from Euro 2016 by Iceland, called Sterling a "footie idiot." It was not an epithet attached to any other player on that squad.
Sterling has no doubt why such hostility has taken root.
"From the very start of my career, there has been a perception of a flashy kid from London: loves cars, loves the flashy lifestyle," he said. "I'm not saying I'm a saint or anything, but that is the complete opposite of who I am.
"These people do not know me. They will define me by what they read about me; that is how they will treat me. When people are making the public believe you are a character you aren't, that is hurtful, and it is degrading."
Nor has he any doubt why that picture has been built up: The way he is covered, the way he is presented by the news media, is rooted in the fact that he is black. "One million percent," he said.
It is that conviction that led him to take the risk, and to speak up, to become part of the global conversation — led by the likes of Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James — about equality.
A Media Creation
The example that sticks with Sterling is the one about his cars. In 2016, a handful of Britain's tabloids ran articles that claimed he was "looking for a seventh car so that he has one for each day of the week." None of them quoted Sterling on that particular ambition. Each ran a set of pictures of the forward behind the wheel of various vehicles.
"These were cars that I had had between the ages of 17 and 23," he said. "But they made it that Raheem has one for Monday, one for Tuesday, and so on. All these cars are gone, sold. But what do you do when you sell a car? You buy a new one. But they have a picture of me in each car, so the story is that I drive a car each day. People see that and think that's what he's up to — buying cars, living the best life."
For the record, Sterling said, he currently has one car, and his partner, Paige Milian, has another. He is, he said, "in the process of selling mine, to get a more subtle one."
It is not just the cars, though. Sterling has made headlines for, variously: flying on a budget airline; eating at Greggs, a British sandwich chain; and shopping at Poundland, a discount shop.
Whenever one of these articles emerges, his friends send him a link — accompanied by a host of laughing emojis — on their group chat. Sometimes Sterling laughs, too. "There is a lot more going on in this world than me going to Greggs," he said.
The endlessness of it, though, wears him down. "What is the need for it?" he said. "What is the need for this story? Sometimes you ask what the motive is."
More pernicious than the content of the articles, in his mind, is the way they are framed: the little asides, the giddy, superfluous mentions of his weekly wage and, in particular, the dog-whistle words — the hints that this young, successful, high-profile black footballer is not spending the money he has earned correctly, or that he has not earned it at all.
"It is not just me," he said. "Whenever you see a report on a black player or a black entertainer it has to end up with money, or bling, or cars, or something flashy. With a successful white person, it is nice, short, sweet, what a lovable person. Name me one white player who is thought of as 'blingy.'"
Cristiano Ronaldo's name is offered. "If he is showing you his car, showing he is on top of the world, if that is what he puts out, then call him flashy. But I'm not showing you that, so why are you calling me that?
"It is a stereotype of black people: chains and jewelry, bling and money. These are words that are associated with black people. If I was showing 10 cars on my driveway, if I was on Instagram biting my gold chain, or with two Rolexes on, you can call me flashy. But you can't label me as that if I am not portraying that."
That was the trend Sterling identified in the Instagram post he composed in the car the day after the racist incident at Stamford Bridge: the steady drip of stories and details that paint a distorted and stereotypical picture of black players. Where a white player (Phil Foden) buying his family a house is portrayed as sensible and covered without embellishment, a report about a black player (Tosin Adarabioyo) doing the same is laced with hints of unearned excess.
Sterling noted, too, that when he flew on a budget airline he was not described as humble or praised for his pragmatism and parsimony: "It was: 'You have got all this money — why are you on easyJet?' "
It is a subject that Sterling has thought a lot about. He has discussed it at length with Aidy Ward, his agent and favored sounding board, and with his captain at City, Vincent Kompany.
"Vinnie made a really good point," Sterling said. "He said it's not the fault of the people writing the stories: It is because there are not enough black and minority ethnic people in high office in the media.
"If there was someone else of Jamaican descent who the people writing the stories have to answer to, they would look at it and say, 'It can't run because of how it will look.' They would understand this side of the story. They have lived on this side of the world. They understand how these people feel.
"For someone who has never felt certain things, you can't make that change. I am not saying the papers are doing it on purpose. They might not know they are doing it in a racist way. I would say it is more just not thinking. That's why I said in that post that people need to be careful of what is written, how they write, the little words.
"The people that read it take it in and judge straightaway who the person is. That is where I was coming from. I was not saying they are racist. But they are fueling it for the people reading it. It is constant, and I don't think it is fair, but who am I?"
It is an apposite question, the answer to which changed, fundamentally, that day in December. Footballer and father are the first two that come to Sterling's mind, but it is the broader scope of who he is, and who he can be, that most engages him.
He takes inspiration from Jay-Z, someone who "made money, and then looked for the next generation, put everything in place to find someone to follow him." He continued: "If I don't do it, if the one after me doesn't do it, it will just keep going. When football is finished, will I live off what I did on the field? No. I want to be able to help people be the best they can be."
What he has realized, though, is that for him — for anyone — to have any effect, the playing field has to be level. Black success should not come with a caveat or an asterisk. That is what made him write that post. It is what made him speak up.
"I just wanted people to pause and think," he said.
He wanted to challenge the news media to "do better." Just as he did, he wanted those who create these images, who perpetuate the stereotypes, to look up, and to tune in.


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A Lincolnshire Pasture
Joseph Crawhall
- Art Funded
- 1971
- Dimensions
- 91 x 127 cm
- Vendor
- Fine Art Society
There is also a Whistlerian emphasis on tonal qualities and flat design. Inscribed bottom left; 'To my Father, J.Crawhall Jnr'.
W.A.Coats; W.B.Paterson; Robertson & Bruce; A.C.J.Wall (on loan to Dundee City Art Gallery until 1970); Christies; Fine Art Society.
McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum
Albert Square, Meadowside, Dundee, Tayside, DD1 1DA
01382 307200
Opening times
Mon – Sat, 10am – 5pm Sun, 12.30pm – 4.30pm Last entry is 15 minutes before gallery closing time


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Beautify your yard by installing this 70 in. single, wrought iron crane shepherd's hook that is ideal for hanging a bird feeder or hanging plant. 70 inches in length and is 7/16 inch solid square steel. The single hook has an upturn, so the feeder and planter won't slide off. Available in a black powder coat finish. Sold in a case of 6. Sorry, we can't break the case.
We will process your order the day we receive it.
This product usually leaves our warehouse the Next Business Day.
You will normally get your order in 3 - 7 business days (depending on how far you are from the warehouse).
Shipping rates are calculated based on:


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Phat Quarters Shorts Review
Hi. I am thrilled to be able to show what I have learned about the three shorts patterns that I have reviewed this month. Shorts are another staple in our family and honestly they are so fun and easy to sew! I got a little slack from my kids last month because I made all the leggings the same size. One happy child… and four jealous ones. So this month I promised to share the love. I reviewed three shorts this month and will present them in alphabetical order to keep things unbiased.
I am going to start with the Starfish Shorts by Gracious Threads. The measurements I am working with this month are; Waist 20 Hip: 21.5. Using the sizing guide I made a Size 2, for my rambunctious and ever moving two year old.
I was able to test these shorts and since their first release the sizing was increased to include sizes 10 & 12. This is a beginner rated pattern and is a very quick sew. The trickiest part is the waistband construction, but if you take your time with it you will love how clean and sharp the finish is. The sizing and cut charts have both imperial and metric numbers now, which I appreciate. While there is not a cutting diagram, there are notes on how to cut your pieces appropriately. There also is not a dedicated section for Tips & Tricks, but there are 'Hints" and "Ideas" that can be found in the tutorial directions. The pictures are a bit pixilated on the new version, but they still show each step that they are associated with and the instructions are simple and clear. I do feel that the pattern makes these shorts appear primarily for girls, but they are unisex and the pattern shows examples of both boy and girl versions. The fit on these are as described, slim with a modest length. I love these shorts and they are a staple in my home.
Next up is the Coachella Shorts by Striped Swallow Designs. The measurements I am working with for these shorts are; Waist 21 Hip: 22. Using the sizing guide I made a Size 4. This pair will go to my seven year old girly girl.
I love the look and style of these shorts so I was so excited to get a chance to make them. The pattern contains great information. There is a size chart, cutting guide, printing layout and instructions, fabric suggestions and other basics that you can learn more about on the checklist. This pattern does have layers which is a great feature, but I do want to note that as beautiful and cute as the colors of the pattern are, they do not print well with Black & White printing. To get the pattern lines to print I did have to change the ink settings (intensity) on my printer to get the lines to appear. However I find that this varies from printer to printer and pattern to pattern. Once I had everything printed and assembled I was delighted to come back to the PDF pattern and find that I could move throughout the pattern sections by clicking on a tab running along the right hand column of each page. This is very convenient and clever! The tutorial was clear and the pictures were a great help. The fit however was small. I went by measurements (as I normally do) but wish I would have gone up 1-2 sizes. I will however make more and I want to try them in knit as well!
Last will the Long Beach Board Shorts by Terra's Treasures. The measurements I am working with for these shorts are; Waist 24 Hip: 27. Using the sizing guide I made a Size 8 Width with the size 10 long (Boy) Length. This pair is for lucky 10 year old lady.
The style of these shorts remind me of my many summer days at the beach in Los Angles. I love the details in them! The pattern is well written and easy to follow. As with the Coachella shorts I did have to change the intensity on my printer in order to see the actual pattern lines that I wanted. However the pattern itself is great. In the tutorial actual pictures are used for the steps, yet the fabrics do change from a boy version to a girl version, from time to time. I do like that there are two length options; boy (long) and girl (short). I chose to do the boy length even though I made the shorts for my girl. The pattern does have a very large size range as well, which will allow you to use the pattern multiple times, which is a bonus. This pattern also has an elastic back waistband and an optional drawstring front. I did not do the drawstring, but found that the waistband was a straight forward fold over which was fast and easy to construct. There is piping in this pattern with clear instructions however there are not instructions on how to make a button hold or place and set eyelets, although they are an option. For these reasons I would rate this as a confident beginner / intermediate pattern. The fit is great! The back rise falls nicely on my daughter and she couldn't wait to wear them for real (after pictures!).
There is plenty of warm summer weather left this season, so I hope that you take the time to choose a new pattern or finally dust off one that you have hiding in your stash. I have to say that again I was very happy with all the patterns that I tested this month. I will be making more from each pattern. Thanks for visiting with us and be sure to take the time to read the other reviews that we have for you.


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Solange Covers Fader Spring Style Issue
The always fashionable Solange is the cover subject of Fader magazine's Spring Style issue.
The singer has been making waves recently with her upbeat single, 'Losing You,' which seems to be everyone's favorite sing-a-long anthem.
On the February/March 2013 cover, Beyonce's sister wears a grey-and-royal blue sweater with a burgundy tumbled leather skirt and royal blue sneakers. The outfit is perfect for spring and represents Sol's evanescent style.
In the interview, Solange talks about her new EP, 'True,' which is a care-free collection of songs she created with producer Dev Hynes. While her career path is uniquely different from that of her famous sister, she still maintains a normalcy that revolves around her young son.
"In all aspects of my career, simplicity is so key," she says. "I think it has a lot to do with how much the quality of my life has improved since Julez started school, which pretty much implemented a schedule and a lifestyle that revolves around a nine-to-five hour."
Solange is also grateful for the positive response she's received for her 'True' EP, which she says represents growth from her 2008 album, 'Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams.'
"[In] four years, there's been so much artistic growth, so much growth just as a woman in [my] 20s, but especially as an artist," she admits. "You're exposed to so much more from age 21 to 26, and you sure as hell care a lot less. It's been a little weird, for me, getting feedback -- the last album was so different from this one. I am like, Yeah, I was 20 when I started writing it. Is that supposed to be shocking? If it sounded similar, that would be really strange."
Fader's Spring Style issue, featuring Solange on the cover, hits newsstands on Feb. 19.
Watch Solange's Behind-the-Scenes Photo Shoot with Fader Magazine


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From electromechanics to helper
Today, it comes as no surprise to find fully automated production lines in most manufacturing plants. Electromechanical devices carry out a broad variety of sophisticated repetitive actions. But until quite recently, the role of robots barely went beyond this mechanical automated functionality.
Robots and robotics are becoming increasingly sophisticated, both in functionality and in operation, and are being used in a multitude of environments. In production plants they carry out a broad variety of operations that are highly repetitive, dangerous or need a level of precision that can't be matched easily by humans.
In healthcare they are used to lift and transport patients, they control prostheses or provide stimulating companionship for Alzheimer patients. In education, programmable systems interact with the young, for example in kindergartens where they take on the role of additional assistants, allowing teachers to focus on those kids that need extra help.
To the rescue
Under water, in fires and volcanoes, at the centre of nuclear reactors, robots can handle tasks that are too dangerous for humans. To do so, they depend on a broad array of advanced electrotechnology and artificial intelligence where sensors, cameras and remote controls co-exist with cables, connectors and communication protocols built on IEC International Standards.
Articles in this month's e-tech look at the role of automated and robotic systems in a variety of surroundings.


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Ferro Silicon Alloy Cored Wire Or FeSi Wire
Quick Details
Place of Origin: Henan, China (Mainland)
Brand Name: Topchase
Chemical composition: FeSi
Model Number: as customer's require
Application: steelmaking
Shape: cored wire
Material: si ca ba al
Dimensions: as customer's require
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Quality: Good
Packaging & Delivery
Packaging Details:
1.1000kgs plastic woven bag.
2.As customer's require
Delivery Detail: Shipped in 20 days after payment
Product details
Ferro Silicon cored wire is composed of iron and silicon. It's widely used in industrial production, steel-making plant and foundry. FeSi cored wire is also commonly used in the ferroalloy production and chemical industry as a redusing agent.
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Chemical composition
Diameter mm
Wire thickness mm
Powder weight
Company information
Topchase Industrial Co.,Ltd, built in 1992, was committed to provide high quality products which are applied for converter, blast furnace, tundish fast-change technology, refining furnace burden and refractory insulting products. More than 20 years' experience in metallurgy and refractories enables us to develop and further optimize the most advanced and reliable solution for our customers needs.
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text:
by Rudyard Kipling, 1935
The careful text-books measure
(Let all who build beware!)
The load, the shock, the pressure
Material can bear.
So, when the buckled girder
Lets down the grinding span,
The blame of loss, or murder,
Is laid upon the man.
Not of the Stuff - the Man!
But, in our daily dealing
With stone and steel, we find
The Gods have no such feeling
Of justice toward mankind.
To no set guage they make us, -
For no laid course prepare -
And presently o'ertake us
With loads we cannot bear:
Too merciless to bear.
The prudent text-books give it
In tables at the end -
The stress that shears a rivet
Or makes a tie-bar bend -
What traffic wrecks macadam -
What concrete should endure -
But we, poor Sons of Adam,
Have no such literaure,
To warn us or make sure!
We hold all Earth to plunder -
All Time and Space as well -
Too wonder-stale to wonder
At each new miracle;
Till in the mid-illusion
Of Godhead 'neath our hand,
Falls multiple confusion
On all we did or planned -
The mighty works we planned.
We only of Creation
(Oh, luckier bridge and rail!)
Abide the twin-damnation -
To fail and know we fail.
Yet we - by which sole token
We know we once were Gods -
Take shame in being broken
However great the odds -
The Burden or the Odds.
Oh, veiled and secret Power
Whose paths we seek in vain,
Be with us in our hour
Of overthrow and pain;
That we - by which sure token
We know Thy ways are true -
In spite of being broken,
Because of being broken,
May rise and build anew.
Stand up and build anew!
Bit of poem found in today's WSJ review of new book: To Forgive Design.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Hymn of Breaking Strain
Posted by Lynne at 10:28 AM
Labels: command of nature, Kipling, poetry
4 comments:
- Kevin McAllister said...
I'd probably read more poetry if I'd come across more Kipling as a younger man. Thanks for this.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:10 PM
- Lynne said...
Thanks for commenting, Kevin. I really like a lot of Kipling's poetry. While I haven't made a complete study of his work, I was surprised that I was unfamiliar with this poem until today.
- April 11, 2012 at 3:18 PM
- Jenn Casey said...
I've been in a Kipling state of mind lately. I'd never read this one, so it was a pleasure to find. And it really spoke to me. Thanks.
- April 11, 2012 at 9:36 PM
- Lynne said...
Like the Tacoma Narrows bridge, it resonates - but in a good way.
- April 12, 2012 at 5:49 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Tagged: Income Tax
ATM :: When home loan tax deductions can get revoked
There are lock-in periods that need to be observed in case you have claimed deduction against repayment of home loan
Ashwini Kumar Sharma | Last Published: Mon, Jan 08 2018. 08 20 AM IST | LiveMint.com
There are various income tax sections under which you can claim deductions for expenses and investment incurred by you during the relevant financial years. Such deductions help you to bring down the taxable income for the respective fiscal and consequently reduce your tax liability.
However, in many cases, a lock-in period is specified—under the section of the Act as well as the instrument against which you may have claimed a deduction. If you fail to observe the lock-in period, the deductions that you availed can be revoked.
Let's read more about the lock-in periods that need to be observed in case you have claimed deduction against repayment of home loan principal amount.
The deduction on home loan
If you take home loan for purchase or construction of a house, the capital repayment and interest paid on the home loan qualify for deduction under separate income tax sections. While principal repayment qualifies for deduction under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and has an overall limit of Rs1.5 lakh a year, the interest payment on home loan qualifies for deduction under section 24(b) of the Act, with an overall limit of Rs2 lakh a year. There is an additional deduction of Rs50,000 for interest payment on home loans under section 80EE for the first-time homebuyers.
Lock-in period
While there is no lock-in period for deduction claimed against interest payment on home loan under section 24(b) or 80EE, the section 80C(5) (relating to repayment of principal) of the Act stipulates that if you sell your house within 5 years from purchase or date of possession, the deduction claimed on principal repayment during previous years gets revoked. In this case, all the deductions claimed for home loan principal repayment under section 80C during the previous years too have to be clubbed together and added to income of the year of sale, and be taxed accordingly.
Let us assume you had bought a house in May 2014 with a home loan, and had claimed about Rs4 lakh under section 80C over the last 3 financial years—FY2014-15 to FY2016-17. If you sell the house now, the entire Rs4 lakh claimed earlier as deduction under section 80C will get added to your income for FY2017-18 and you will have to pay tax on the total income as per the income tax slab applicable to you.
Apart from home loan principal amount, the stamp duty and registration fee paid for registration of property also qualify for deduction under section 80C in the year of purchase. If you had claimed stamp duty and registration fee as deduction, you need to observe the 5-year lock-in in these cases too.
If the property is sold before 5 years, the deductions claimed against stamp duty and registration fee will get revoked and get added to the income of the year of sale and tax accordingly.
So, before you decide to sell your house, keep the lock-in criteria in mind. Else, your tax liability may increase considerably in the year of sale.
Source: https://goo.gl/9fHJsS
NTH :: Income Tax Filing Date Extended. You Can Claim HRA Without Landlord's PAN
Taxpayers who missed the earlier ITR (income tax return) deadline of July 31 can now file their tax returns by August 5.
Business | NDTV Profit Team | Updated: August 02, 2017 09:57 IST
The government has extended the deadline for filing of income tax return (ITR). Taxpayers who missed the earlier deadline of July 31 can now file their tax returns by August 5. Can you claim HRA (house rent allowance) if the landlord is not providing you his or her PAN? If the annual rent paid by the employee exceeds Rs. 1 lakh per annum, it is mandatory for the employee to report the landlord's PAN to the employer. The tax law also says that in case the landlord does not have a PAN, a declaration to this effect from the landlord along with the name and address should be filed by the employee.
Tax experts say that an employee can still claim tax benefits under HRA in his or her tax return. "The requirement for furnishing PAN of landlord is only to one's employer only. However, once a person is to file his/her income tax return, there is no requirement to furnish the PAN of landlord," says Sandeep Sehgal, director of tax and regulatory at Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP.
Even if the company may not allow HRA exemption to the employee, due to non-availability of PAN or declaration by the landlord about not having PAN, still the employee has the option to claim so while filing his or her income tax return, he says.
Mr Sehgal however says that it could attract scrutiny from tax authorities. "The tax authorities can examine the cases to verify the genuineness of the claim made by the employee," he says. "It is expected that HRA claims will be closely scrutinised henceforth considering the consistent introduction of measures during past few years. In fact, the chances are greater if the claim doesn't appear in Form 16 but claimed in the return."
To substantiate the claim, the employee needs to keep a record of the rent agreement/lease deed, rent receipts, intimation to the society for the occupancy etc., says Mr Sehgal. Also, it is advisable to ensure that the payments are made through bank as cash transactions may not be considered genuine, he adds.
Source: https://goo.gl/TPMZVo
NTH :: Income Tax Rules On Home Loan To Change From Saturday. Details Here
Tax experts say that some high net worth individuals, who used to buy properties on loan and were able to set off the full interest liability against the lettable value of property and thus bring down their tax liability substantially, would be particularly hit from this new tax rule.
Written by Surajit Dasgupta | Last Updated: March 28, 2017 09:01 (IST) | NDTV Profit
Interest paid above Rs. 2 lakh on rented properties can be carried forward for 8 years from April 1.
To address the anomaly of interest deduction in respect of let-out property vs self-occupied property, the government has changed income tax rules, which will come into effect from next financial year April 1, 2017 (assessment year 2018-19). In this regard, the government has cut down tax benefits borrowers enjoyed on properties let out on rent. According to current tax laws, for properties rented out, a borrower could deduct the entire interest paid on home loan after adjusting for the rental income. On the other hand, borrowers of self-occupied properties get Rs. 2 lakh deduction on interest repayment on home loan.
However, on rented properties, effective from April 1, interest paid above Rs. 2 lakh can be carried forward for eight assessment years. Since the interest component of home loan repaid in initial years is higher, experts say that the borrower may not be able to fully adjust the interest paid as deduction even in subsequent years.
For example, your interest outgo on a second property is Rs. 5 lakh in a particular year. Assume that you are earning a rent of Rs. 1.5 lakh annually from the property. Such buyers, according to the current rule, are allowed to adjust the difference of Rs. 3.5 lakh (Rs. 5 lakh interest minus Rs. 1.5 lakh). But from the next financial year, they will be allowed deduction of just Rs. 2 lakh. The remaining amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh (Rs. 3.5 lakh minus Rs. 2 lakh) can be carried forward up to eight financial years and be adjusted later.
Tax experts say that some high net worth individuals, who used to buy properties on loan and were able to set off the full interest liability against the lettable value of property and thus bring down their tax liability substantially, would be particularly hit from this new tax rule.
From April another tax rule related to the properties will also change. The new tax rule will help bring down tax liability from property sale. The holding period of a property for qualifying under long-term gains will get reduced to two years, from three years currently. As per current tax norms, if a property is sold within three years of buying, the profit from the transaction is treated as short-term capital gain and is taxed according to the slab rate applicable to him/her. So reducing this time period to two years will bring down tax liability.
Thus, after two years, the transaction will be able to qualify for long-term capital gains, thus lower taxes. Under long-term capital gains on immovable properties, the profit is taxed at 20 per after indexation. Under indexation, inflation during the holding period is taken into account and thus the purchase price is adjusted, reducing the tax burden on the property seller. There are also other benefits for the seller under the long-term capital gains tax. If the gains are invested in some select government investment schemes, the tax liability goes down significantly.
(Know Your Tax Liability Here)
Source: https://goo.gl/jwT9V2
NTH :: Use housing society letter for loan interest sop: ITAT
TNN | Updated: Oct 31, 2016, 04.50 AM IST | Times of India
MUMBAI: In a recent order, the income tax appellate tribunal's Mumbai bench has held that to claim an interest deduction against a home loan, a taxpayer is not required to submit a completion certificate from any government authority as proof of having obtained possession within the stipulated time period; in this case, three years from the end of the financial year during which the loan was taken. A certificate from the housing society is sufficient evidence, ruled the ITAT, a body that resolves income tax disputes.
The order will come as a major relief to home buyers facing litigation over deductibility of interest on home loans.
Under the Income-Tax (I-T) Act's Section 24, interest paid on home loans is allowed as a deduction, subject to a yearly cap. Over the years, this cap been enhanced to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.
However, to claim deduction, possession of the residential property must be obtained or its construction completed in five years from end of the financial year during which the loan was taken.
The Finance Act, 2016, has increased this period to five years from the earlier three. When interest on a home loan is allowed as a deduction, it reduces the total taxable income, resulting in a lower I-T outgo.
In this case before the ITAT, relating to the financial year 2006-07, Sudhakar Mody bought a flat from Marathon Realty by availing of an IDBI Bank home loan. He claimed a deduction of interest of Rs 1.5 lakh, which was then the maximum amount allowed as a deduction each year. However, the I-T officer asked Mody to furnish a completion certificate from a government authority. As this was not furnished, the interest deduction claim was denied. This act of the I-T officer was upheld by the commissioner of I-T (appeals).
The tax tribunal observed that the flat was ready by October, 2006, and that a soft possession had been given to the flat owner. Further, Mody had obtained the flat's final possession on March 24, 2007-before the end of the financial year on March 31. As evidence of the possession, Mody had furnished to the commissioner of I-T (appeals) a certificate from the housing society.
It is illegal to occupy a flat without an Occupancy Certificate by the local authority and moreover also be prosecuted
The ITAT held the taxpayer had obtained possession of the flat within the stipulated time period. The ITAT further stated: "The proviso to Section 24 of the I-T Act nowhere states that the taxpayer should furnish a completion certificate from the appropriate government authorities."
The certificate from the housing society was held by ITAT as sufficient proof of the flat's possession. In its order dated October 19, the ITAT concluded that the taxpayer was entitled to his claim for deduction of interest against a home loan of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Source: https://goo.gl/HzB1Ll
ATM :: Can you claim both, HRA as well as home loan benefits?
Income tax laws allow tax payers to claim various benefits, with respect to the house occupied by the assessee – whether it is owned by you or taken on rent. Conditions for claiming are…
By: Housing.com/news | Retrieved on 27th July 2016 from Moneycontrol.com
Income tax laws allow tax payers to claim various benefits, with respect to the house occupied by the assessee whether it is owned by you or taken on rent.
Conditions for claiming tax benefits on house rent allowance The tax benefit on house rent allowance (HRA) is only available to a person, who receives HRA from his employer and is not available to a self-employed person. To avail of this benefit, the employee should have incurred the expenditure on rent, with respect to a residential house property occupied by him/her. The benefit of HRA is not available on rent paid for a residential house that is occupied by any other person, irrespective of whether he is dependent on the assessee or not. It is also not available, in cases where the accommodation is either partly or fully owned by the assessee himself.
So, if an employee lets out the property to his employer and the employer in turn, allots the same to the employee and recovers some rent on this account, the HRA benefit cannot be claimed. Likewise, if the employee is a joint owner of a property and pays some rent to the other joint owner/s of the property, the HRA benefits on such payment cannot be claimed.
According to rule 2A of the income tax rules, the benefits of HRA shall be restricted to the lowest of the following three amounts:
(a) HRA actually received.
(b) Excess of rent paid over 10% of basic salary.
(c) 50% of basic salary in case the employees is in any of the four metro cities, or 40% in case he resides in any other place.
The law does not stipulate that HRA benefit cannot be claimed, if the tax payer owns a house and is already claiming tax benefits with respect to a housing loan.
Conditions for claiming tax benefits on home loans The main condition, for the allowance of the deduction on the principal and interest components of a home loan, under Section 80 C and Section 24(b), is that the person should be the owner of the house property. Tax benefits under Section 80 C, are only available for home loans taken from specified persons, for a residential house. Interest benefits are available on residential and commercial properties and on money borrowed from banks or from anyone else. Moreover, the interest on money borrowed for a let-out property is fully deductible. For a self-occupied house property, the benefit on interest is restricted to Rs two lakhs per year.
Claiming HRA as well as home loan benefits The laws allows a tax payer to have more than one house property. However, he has to opt for only one such property as self-occupied and offer notional rent, on the other properties for tax. By the same legal provision, it can be inferred that in addition to the rented house occupied by the tax payer, he can have one more house property as self-occupied. If the house property owned by the tax payer is in a city other than his place of work, there would not be any problem. However, if the property is in the city where the rented property is situated, it may be logically difficult to establish that the tax payer is occupying both the houses.
(The author is a taxation and home finance expert, with 30 years' experience)
Source : http://goo.gl/shtKCC
ATM :: Ten common mistakes that can fetch you a tax notice
By Chandralekha Mukerji, ET Bureau | 16 May, 2016, 10.39AM IST | Economic Times
They may not figure in the Panama Papers , nor have wads of cash stuffed under their beds and investments in benami properties. But there are other reasons why small taxpayers can get into trouble with the tax authorities. "My mother is a senior citizen and has paid all her taxes. But she still got a notice for not filing her return for 2014-15," says Mumbai-based marketing manager Arun Kapoor. Delhi-based finance professional Varun Sahay has received a notice for not deducting TDS when he bought a flat last year. "I had no idea that I was supposed to deduct 1% of the value of the house and deposit the amount with the government on behalf of the seller," he says.
Once rare, such cases are now quite common. In recent months, the tax department has stepped up efforts to ensure tax compliance. New rules have been introduced to plug tax leaks and officials are cracking down on evasion. Tax records are being put under the scanner and notices are being sent to individuals if the computer-aided selection system notices a discrepancy. Thousands of taxpayers have already received tax notice ..
This week's cover story looks at 10 common mistakes that can fetch you a notice from the tax department. Some of these mistakes are merely calculation errors that will result in a tax demand. But some others are serious transgressions that can invite penalties of up to 300% of the unpaid tax. We tell you where taxpayers are going wrong and the correct position on the matter. We also offer smart tips to help you avoid falling foul of the tax rules. We hope you will find this information useful. Individuals who manage their taxes on their own will find it particularly helpful.
1. Not reporting interest income
This is a common mistake. Interest income from fixed deposits , recurring deposits and even tax saving bank deposits and infrastructure bonds is fully taxable. Yet, 59% of the respondents to an online survey conducted by ET Wealth believed that interest income of up to Rs 10,000 a year is tax free. Actually, the tax exemption of Rs 10,000 a year under Sec 80TTA applies only to the interest earned on the balance in a savings bank account.
Another 6% of the respondents believed that no tax is payable if their bank has deducted TDS. These taxpayers don't realise that TDS is only 10% of the income. If they fall in a higher tax slab, their liability would be higher. In our survey, almost 50% of the respondents who got this wrong have an annual income of over Rs 10 lakh. They pay 10% TDS even though they are supposed to shell out 30%.
Interest income often goes unreported in tax returns. In recent years, new rules have been introduced to plug this leak. Till two years ago, TDS kicked in when the interest from deposits made in one bank branch exceeded Rs 10,000 in a financial year. Investors used to split their deposits across bank branches to avoid TDS. Now TDS applies if the combined income from deposits in all branches of a bank exceeds the threshold. What's more, TDS also applies to recurring deposits now.
In future, as banks start sharing data, TDS could be applied to deposits made across other banks as well. "The mechanism to track deposits across other banks already exists. If banks share the names and PANs of fixed deposit investors, lakhs of individuals could come in the tax net," says M.K. Agrawal, Senior Partner, Mahesh K Agarwal & Co.
Smart tip: Calculate how much interest you will get on your FDs, RDs and other fixed income investments and add that to your income.
2. Ignoring income of old job
Every time an individual switches jobs , he is in danger of falling foul of the tax laws. This is because the new employer doesn't take into account the income earned from the previous job and offers tax exemption and deduction to the employee all over again. Instead of Rs 2.5 lakh basic exemption and Rs 1.5 lakh deduction for tax saving investments under Section 80C, he gets Rs 5 lakh basic exemption and Rs 3 lakh deduction. Obviously, he will be paying much less tax than he ought to.
But this discrepancy won't remain hidden for long and would eventually be discovered when the taxpayer files his return. The incomes in the two Form 16s would be added but he would get basic exemption and deduction only once. This also means a large tax payment at the time of filing returns because the duplicate benefits would be rolled back. The last date for paying the tax is 15 March. After this, if the unpaid tax exceeds Rs 10,000, there is a penal interest of 1% per month of delay. "The employee will have to pay the balance tax along with interest at the rate of 1% per month for delay," says Vaibhav Sankla, Director, H&R Block.
This is a common problem faced by people who switch jobs without keeping an eye on their taxes. They are saddled with a huge tax liability when they sit down to file their tax returns in June-July.
Don't think you can get away by not mentioning the income from the previous employer in your return. If some tax has been deducted on the income from the first employer, it will be reflected in your Form 26AS. So if you don't report that income, the discrepancy will immediately get picked up by the computerised scrutiny system and you will get a tax notice.
Smart tip: Inform your new employer about income from previous job so that the TDS is cut accordingly.
3. Not filing tax returns
A lot of taxpayers, especially senior citizens such as Kapoor's mother, have received notices for not filing their tax returns. Anybody with an income above the basic exemption is liable to file his tax return. The basic exemption is Rs 2.5 lakh per year for people below 60, Rs 3 lakh for senior citizens above 60 and Rs 5 lakh for very senior citizens above 80. The rest of us , including NRIs, have to comply.
Keep in mind that this is the gross income before any deductions and tax breaks. If your annual income is Rs 4.2 lakh and you invest Rs 1.5 lakh under Sec 80C, your tax will come down to zero. But you are still liable to file your tax return. Similarly, even if all your taxes are paid, you still need to file the return.
For a lot of people, confusion stems from a rule introduced four years ago, where salaried individuals with an income of up to Rs 5 lakh a year were exempted from filing returns. However, that rule has long been withdrawn. "Although the regulation was applicable only to that particular financial year, many people tend to still follow it," says Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO of Cleartax.in.
Not filing returns is not a very serious offence if all your taxes are paid. You will only get a notice asking you to do the needful. The tax laws allow a taxpayer to file delayed returns even after the due date has passed. But if you have unpaid taxes, be ready to pay interest as well as a penalty of up to Rs 5,000.
Smart tip: Don't miss filing your return even if your tax is zero or all your taxes are paid. File online to avoid mistakes.
4. Tax sops on house sold before 5 years
The government offers generous tax benefits to those who buy houses on loans. But if the buyer turns into a seller too early, some of these benefits are rolled back. If you sell the house within five years, the tax benefits availed of under Sec 80C for the principal repayment will get reversed.
This could mean a heavy tax liability if you have claimed deduction for the principal repayment of the home loan under Sec 80C. You won't be able to keep this under wraps because the buyer may seek tax benefits on the same property. However, the deduction for the interest on the home loan under Sec 24 will not be rolled back.
Similarly, if you have ended a life insurance policy within three years of purchase, any tax deduction availed on the policy will be reversed. Not many taxpayers are aware of this rule about insurance policies. "No taxpayer is so honest as to report this in his ITR and pay additional tax for the previous years," says a chartered accountant.
Smart tip: Wait for at least five years before selling a house or three years before ending a life insurance policy.
5. Misusing forms 15G, 15H to avoid TDS
As mentioned earlier, many investors try to avoid TDS by splitting their investments across different banks. Many others submit Form 15G or 15H so that their bank does not deduct TDS. These forms are declarations that the individual's income for the year is below the taxable limit and therefore no TDS should be deducted from the interest.
However, misuse of these forms is a serious offence. "A false declaration not only attracts penalty but also prosecution. The taxpayer can be sentenced to jail for terms ranging from three months to two years," says Sudhir Kaushik, Co-founder and CFO, Taxspanner.com. This doesn't stop people from blindly filling the forms to escape TDS.
You need to meet two basic conditions to file form 15G. One, your taxable income for the year should not exceed the basic exemption of Rs 2.5 lakh. Two, the total interest received during the financial year should not exceed the basic exemption slab of Rs 2.5 lakh. "The total interest income includes interest from other sources as well, including PPF, NSCs and not just interest income from deposits," says Sankla of H&R Block. Form 15H, which is for senior taxpayers above 60, imposes only the first condition. The final tax on the total annual income should be nil. So, senior citizens whose taxable income is below the Rs 3 lakh limit are eligible to file Form 15H. For very senior citizens above 80, this limit is Rs 5 lakh.
Though this is a standard practice, and investors take it lightly, don't assume that the Form 15G and 15H will not get noticed by the taxman. "If TDS is not deducted because the person has filed Form 15G or 15H, it is separately shown in part A1 of the Form 26AS," cautions Gupta of Cleartax.in.
Smart tip: File Forms 15G only if you fulfill both the conditions. TDS is an interim tax and you can claim a refund if you have paid more than due.
6. Not deducting TDS when buying property
Given that real estate investments involve a lot of unaccounted money, the government has extended the scope of TDS to property transactions as well. If you buy a house worth more than Rs 50 lakh, you have to deduct 1% TDS from the payment to the seller. In case the seller is an NRI , the TDS will be higher at 30%. This amount should be deposited with the government on behalf of the seller using Form 26QB. Delhibased Sahay had no idea of this rule when he bought a property in Noida last year. He now has to respond to a tax notice, and could even be slapped with a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh.
The rule is applicable even if you pay in instalments. In such cases, the TDS needs to be deducted from each payment and the money deposited with the government within seven days.
While TDS deduction happens automatically when you buy a new property from a builder, in case of transactions between individuals, it is often ignored. Like Sahay, most buyers are unaware of the rule. Even if they are aware, they are not sure how to calculate the tax. "The TDS has to be calculated on the total sale price and not just the amount exceeding Rs 50 lakh. Many make this calculation error," says Gupta. The total sale price is the amount payable and as registered in the sale agreement. It does not include stamp duty and brokerage.
Also, only the sale price has to be taken into consideration, not the circle rate of the property. If a property is valued at Rs 60 lakh based on the circle rate, but gets sold for less than Rs 50 lakh, the buyer need not deduct TDS.
Smart tip: Make it clear to the seller that you will be deducting 1% TDS from the payment. Make sure you have his correct PAN details.
7. Not reporting foreign assets
We usually don't want to be alarmist but this is one area where taxpayers need to tread with caution. They can no longer afford to be unsure about their foreign income and assets. "There is a lot of exchange of information between countries and we will see an exponential rise in the number of notices being sent to taxpayers on this account," says Tapati Ghose, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP.
Mis-reporting overseas assets will not be taken lightly by the government. You could be prosecuted under the Black Money Act and the penalty can be as high as Rs 10 lakh for even small errors. Experts say taxpayers who have worked abroad often go wrong when reporting their foreign assets. "The employee stock options is often acquired at no cost or be sold out during the year and therefore get missed when you take an account of your assets. Capital assets like jewellery often skips the mind as they do not generate any income. In fact, they may have been bought only as ornaments," says Ghose.
Not just salary and perks, freelancers who receive money from foreign clients need to report this income under the foreign assets schedule. "This should also include gifts, which are deemed to be income," says Ghose. Also, all foreign bank accounts—whether operational or not and even with a tiny balance—need to be reported. You even have to report bank accounts where you are merely a signing authority.
Smart tip: Start collecting details of your foreign assets much before the last date for filing returns.
8. Disregarding clubbing provisions
It's quite common for taxpayers to invest in the name of non-working spouses or minor children. But though gifts made to a spouse or a minor child do not attract tax, if that money is invested the income it generates is clubbed with the income of the giver and taxed accordingly. So, if you bought a house in your wife's name, any income from that house, whether as capital gains when you sell it or as rent, will be treated as your income.
Similarly, if a husband has invested in fixed deposits in the name of his wife, the interest will be taxed as his income. "It doesn't matter whether your spouse's income is below the basic exemption. the income from the investment will get clubbed to your income," says ghose of deloitte.
The rules are slightly different in case of investments in the name of minor children (below 18 years). The earnings are treated as the income of the parent who earns more. However, the taxman has softened the tax blow by extending an exemption of Rs 1,500 a year per child up to a maximum of two children.
Parents who want to invest in the name of their children can go for tax-free options such as the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, PPF or tax-free bonds. Though the income will get clubbed, there will be no tax implication. Mutual funds also help bypass the clubbing provision because the tax liability is deferred indefinitely. If the child withdraws after 18, that income is his, not the parent's.
Smart tip: Invest in tax-free options in spouse's name. Invest the income in FDs or RDs. Income is clubbed but the income from income is not.
9. Not reporting tax-free income
This may not be a serious offence but a taxpayer is required to mention tax-free income in his return. Tax-free income includes interest earned on PPF, tax-free bonds, life insurance policies, capital gains from stocks and equity-oriented funds and gifts from specified relatives. "Even if you are not liable to pay any tax on these incomes, all your interest income, including savings bank interest, has to be reported in the ITR," says Gupta of Cleartax.in. The taxpayer can then claim exemption for the same. While you may not receive a notice for not mentioning tax-free income, it will certainly create an inconsistency in your return.
Similarly, dividend income has to be reported in the ITR even though it is tax-free. This year's Budget has proposed a tax on dividend income if it exceeds Rs 10 lakh. The new rule will impact HNIs who use dividend stripping strategies to earn tax-free income.
Smart tip: Mention all tax-free income in your ITR but claim exemption for it under various sections.
10. Spending, investing beyond means
We all know that reckless spending is not good for our financial health . But few people realise that spending too much can also lead to a tax notice. If your expenses or cash withdrawals exceed certain limits, your credit card company and your bank are supposed to report that to the tax department.
If these expenses are much beyond your reported income, the income tax department may send you a notice or pick up your case for scrutiny. "If cash transactions, including ATM withdrawals, exceed Rs 50 lakh in a year, a bank is supposed to report it," says Minal Agarwal, Chartered Accountant and Partner, Mahesh K Agarwal & Company.
Similarly, if investments by an individual cross certain thresholds, mutual funds, banks and brokerages are supposed to inform the tax department. If you invest more than Rs 1 lakh in stocks, your broker will squeal on you. Invest over Rs 2 lakh in a mutual fund and your name gets into a list of high-value investors.
Buy bonds worth over Rs 5 lakh and you get noticed. Even the purchase of gold, which was till now a safe haven for unaccounted money, will require your PAN card details. If these purchases and investments don't match your reported income, be ready for a tax notice. "The government is gradually getting to know all aspects of the individual's financial life," says Agarwal.
Smart tip: Avoid cash transactions as far as possible. If depositing cash in bank account, keep record of source of cash.
Got a notice? Take help from a tax expert
The first thing to do when you get a notice from the tax department is not to panic. Many notices are simply tax demands or for non-filing that can be dealt without a fuss. Only a scrutiny or reassessment notice is reason for worry. In such matters it is best to take the help of a qualified professional who knows how to respond to the notice. "Engaging a specialist would push up the compliance cost but it would ensure that the matter is skillfully handled. A chartered accountant would be better equipped to handle the situation and provide apt responses," says a tax expert.
A new online tool launched by tax filing portal Cleartax.in will be useful here. If you have got a tax notice, the portal will help you resolve the case free of cost. All you have to do is quote your PAN number and upload the PDF file of the tax notice. The tax experts of Cleartax will examine the case and send you an e-mail within 1-2 hours explaining the steps you need to take.
If the notice relates to common issues such as TDS claims, non-filing of tax returns or verification of documents, the issue will be resolved within a day's time. "More complex issues will have to be examined in detail and handled personally," says Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax.in. If you need the further support from the site, you may have to shell out an advisory fee ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 1,600 depending on the complexity of the case.
Of late, the I-T department have been tightening their scrutiny and sending notices to taxpayers for a plethora of reasons. Apart from due taxes and penalties, the fines for not responding to these tax notices can be as as high as Rs 10,000.
Source : http://goo.gl/gkIq4Q
ATM :: Filing tax returns on time has benefits
You can carry forward losses and revise the returns umpteen times in case of mistakes
Tinesh Bhasin | Mumbai | April 14, 2016 | Last Updated at 00:25 IST | Business Standard
With the income tax department allowing ample time for filing returns, many taxpayers take it easy. For the income earned in the past financial year (FY16), a taxpayer can file returns up to March 2018. However, sticking to the first deadline of July 31 has its benefits.
Say, you make a mistake while filing returns — it can be a wrong computation or incorrect bank account details. If you file returns on time, the income tax (I-T) department will allow you to revise it as many times as you wish until the end of the assessment year. In case of belated filing, the taxpayer loses this advantage. "Not being able to revise returns can lead to problems. For example, in case of wrong computation, the department can send a notice. Incorrect bank account details can delay refunds," says Vikram Ramchand, founder, Makemyreturns.com.
Missing the first deadline also means that the taxpayer cannot carry forward certain losses. The Income Tax Act allows individuals to carry forward losses under the 'capital gains' head and also business losses for professionals and businesspersons. These can be adjusted against the future gains for up to eight years. Due to the correction in stock market in the last financial year, many investors would have suffered a loss in their equity trade. Filing returns on time can help them utilise these losses in the coming years.
"The only loss that's allowed to be carry forward for latecomers is the loss from house property," says Ramchand. This is the deduction that a person gets on the interest portion of a home loan under Section 24. Though the deduction can be claimed in the subsequent year, the total limit for deduction will remain Rs 2 lakh for first-time home buyers. In case of a house property that's not self-occupied, the entire interest can be claimed as deduction.
For those filing belated returns, they will also need to shell out a penalty. There will be a one per cent penalty every month under Section 234A on the liability if the return is not filed on time, according to Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader (personal tax) at PwC India. Professionals and businesspersons will also need to pay one per cent penal interest per month under Section 234B, if 90 per cent of the tax is not paid by March 31. If you don't file returns at all, there are provisions in the I-T Act that say if the tax due is more than Rs 3,000, the taxpayer can be prosecuted and jailed.
Ramchand says that in his experience, he has also seen that those who file returns on time get faster refunds and their filing is processed quickly, too. Last year, many taxpayers who filed before the deadline got refunds within a fortnight, according to Ramchand. However, in case of belated filing, the processing and returns are both delayed – it can easily take six to eight months.
Also, those filing belated returns usually see that their refund amount is adjusted against some pending tax demand of the past, according to tax experts. Although this is not a rule, tax experts say such cases of adjustments are higher for those filing belated returns.
PwC's Kumar points out that in the recent Union Budget, the period of filing returns has been reduced from two years to one year. Taxpayers will need to file returns before the end of the relevant assessment year. This will apply from the next assessment year. Tax experts, therefore, say one should start filing returns on time to avoid hassles later.
Source: http://goo.gl/TK6CxX


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Board Members
Is a Care Home Proprietor and a qualified social worker with extensive experience in the charity, local authority and private sector. He has been an active member of Sandys Row Synagogue all his life. He is the son of the late Louis Brookarsh, a former President of the synagogue. Nigel is committed to ensuring Sandys Row continues to be used as an active place of worship as well as an educational and cultural centre.
Is the current president of Sandys Row. His association with the building was originally through marriage, his wife has been a lifelong member of the synagogue and her family have many generations of history with the building. Harvey spent six years living in Israel, where he was a member of a kibbutz and served in the IDF. He worked as a market trader for fifteen years and then joined a wholesale outdoor clothing company as a Sales Director. He recently retired and now spends his time as a volunteer at Harefield Heart Hospital alongside running tours and events at the historic Sandys Row Synagogue as well as walking tours of Jewish East London. Harvey has been married for thirty-six years and has two children.
Works at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. Michael is one of the wardens at the synagogue. He has been a member for sixteen years and a member of the board for the past decade.
Is a lifelong member of Sandys Row Synagogue, her great uncle was the president and she is a member of one of the original Dutch founding families. Rose grew up and still lives in East London. She worked as a teacher then a head teacher in the area for thirty-eight years. Now retired, she is an active member of the board. She runs tours of the building and manages the history and archive heritage projects at the synagogue. She is married and lives in Wapping with her husband John.
Is a Chartered Accountant and the Treasurer of Sandys Row. He has been a board member for ten years and a member of the synagogue all his life, he had his Barmitzvah in the shul, his father was a past president of Sandys Row and his family can trace back their membership to the 1850s. He lives in North London with his wife, he has two children, one lives in South Africa and the other in Spitalfields they are both members of the Sandys Row Synagogue.
Is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and listed, on the London Stock Exchange, four oil and gas producing companies over the past forty years. Back in 1987 when dwindling membership meant the synagogue was under threat of closing down David started a solid Mincha service four days a week, which has dramatically increased in numbers over the years and has helped rejuvenate the synagogue. David has put 30 years of dedication into keeping the Mincha services going.
Is now retired but worked as a secretary for many years in the jewellery business in Hatton Garden. She then became a self-employed bookkeeper. She has a great affinity towards the synagogue her Great Grandparents, parents and uncle were all married at Sandys Row.


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Updated 04/18/13 – 3:56 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) — A massive sinkhole swallowed three cars on the South Side overnight.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports the hole is in the 9600 block of South Houston Avenue in the South Deering neighborhood and takes up the entire street.
A man on his way to work in his SUV drove into the sinkhole and was hurt, then two cars parked on either side of the street fell in as the asphalt under them gave way.


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Having the ability to trim unnecessary parts of your video is going to be useful in several ways. Needless to say the very fact that you can remove any parts you don't need and only keep the bits that are important is a benefit in itself, but on top of that you could use it to extract the 'best bits' to save and short video clips, delete bad footage and subsequently replace it with re-recorded footage, and much more.
If you're concerned that learning how to trim video will be difficult, that's largely going to depend on the software that you're using. With the help of Movavi Video Editor however, you'll find that trimming your videos is actually a very straightforward and hassle-free process that can be accomplished with a few steps:
- Load the video that you want to edit by clicking 'Add Media Files' and selecting it.
- Click on the video that you just added, which should have automatically appeared in the 'Timeline'.
- Move the red marker right above the 'Timeline' to the point where you want to split the video.
- Click the 'Scissors' icon to split the video at that point.
- Select the segment of video that you want to trim out and click 'Delete'.
- Repeat these steps as necessary until all the parts of the video that are unnecessary are removed.
- Save your video by clicking 'Export'.
In some cases you may need to split a video twice in order to isolate the segment (i.e. if it is in the middle of the clip rather than either end. That being said, it is so easy to do that you should have no problems really.
Before you save your video it would be a good idea to experiment with the other features in Movavi Video Editor. Between enhancing the video quality, adding customizable text, applying special effects and filters, inserting audio tracks, and even combining multiple videos – you should have all the tools that you need to do some pretty exciting things.
Assuming you're willing to experiment and try out these features, you'll start to understand how they work and what they can do. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes for you to familiarize yourself with any of the features in Movavi Video Editor, and once you do the number of possibilities that will be at your fingertips will make it time well spent.


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BANGOR, Maine — The FBI announced Saturday that it is offering a $10,000 reward leading to the arrest of the man wanted in connection with the death of a 15-month old boy last week in Bangor.
Edgard B. Anziani, 27, was charged Thursday with murder in connection with the death of Damien Christopher Lynn at an apartment on Bald Mountain Drive in Bangor. The FBI says Anziani is "known to be violent."
Anziani was not the boy's father but was staying with his 22-year-old mother, who was in a local hospital when the boy was killed Tuesday.
In a press release announcing the reward, the FBI also asked for the public's assistance in locating him. Bangor police detectives said Friday they believed he has left the state.
Anziani is described by the FBI as a citizen of the Dominican Republic and a permanent resident of the U.S. His last known address is in Lawrence, Mass. He is described as a 6'1″ inch tall, weighing 175 pounds.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the FBI in Boston at 617-742-5533 or their local police department.
For more on this story as it develops, pick up Monday's Bangor Daily News or log on to bangordailynews.com.


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Kamaliya is reaping what her club hit "Butterflies" has sown at radio. The single has been a smash hit on dance floors from Paris to Berlin and has notched up more than 33 million views on YouTube. It also recently reached the #1 position on MUSIC WEEK's Club Chart.
Pop Princess Kamaliya, who in the past has held pageant titles and has just wrapped filming a movie with Hollywood stars such as Sharon Stone and Andy Garcia, gushes: "I believed that winning the Mrs. World Pageant in 2008 was the greatest achievement of my life so far, but that has been far outstripped by the amazing news I just received! I am #1 in the club chart! A dream has come true, and I feel so very blessed!"
Off the back of the success of the single, the pop artist continues to build her brand worldwide with licensing deals for "Butterflies" in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and France, and further negotiations are underway in Russia, the United States, Korea and Japan. If music and film weren't enough, Kamaliya also was named Face of the Russian Day at the House of Chanel at the Vendome in Paris. Chanel had Kamaliya perform to fashion elite, and has used her song "To Love" as the bed for the promo for the event. Kamaliya has been brought a great amount of success in 2012, and 2013 promises to bring an even bigger platform for the pop princess to spread her infectious pop sensation.


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House of Fraser has failed to make any significant growth amid a challenging high street market, according to its latest trading update.
The department store chain has reported sales consistent with last year at £573.3 million for the 26 weeks leading to July 30, failing to achieve notable growth.
However, its gross profit did manage to grow by £2.5 million to £207.2 million.
Its EBITDA declined by just over £1 million, partly due to a £3.9 million drop in its financial service income.
Despite this its online sales, which accounted for 20.7 per cent of its overall sales, increased by 17.8 per cent.
Planning to continue expansion, House of Fraser will introduce brands including Mulberry, AllSaints and Monsoon to its portfolio along with numerous concessions in Hamleys.
RELATED: House of Fraser appoints former M&S Digital Director
A new store will also anchor a shopping centre development in Northamptonshire next summer.
Refurbishments to five stores will be completed by the end of next month, marking the end of its two-year refurbishment project incorporating 12 outlets.
The retailer said the refurbishments hindered trade, dropping sales by two per cent in the first eight weeks to September 24.
The firm is poised to maximize sales in the fourth quarter including the holiday season and Black Friday, which typically accounts for 85 per cent of its annual profit.
"The UK retail sector is facing significant change in structural dynamics as consumers shopping habits and delivery expectations continue to evolve," executive chairman Frank Slevin said.
"Under the leadership of our strengthened management team we are, however, highly confident in our ability to navigate these changes and position House of Fraser to deliver on our customers' demands."
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Spontaneity appears to be random because. No one knows the wild infinity of causes. One can say there is infinity of causes
or one can say there's causelessness. Narrative becomes created as some causes are selected. Narrative is changed if other causes are selected.
This is called the art of dreaming. To change one's dream, just drop its causes and assign some other ones. There is no other effort needed.
It takes ten thousand words to deconstruct a single one. The original preface is the preface written before words.
In conclusion being needs no introduction. And self-awareness is penultimate absolution.
Sacrifice delusion and dance dance dance like native being on the pure ground of the absolute.
Universal eternity. Ubiquitous infinitude. Only the knowledge tells the knowledge to the knowledge.
Action is never cause. Intention is. For action is the localized appearance of universal enlightening intent.


text: WELCOME TO PAVEMENT! Gumboots has grown up and changed into a multi-brand concept, which focuses on the girls & boys 8-16 age group. Stocking the hottest clothing trends of the season, PAVEMENT is host to a range of quality in-house brands such as; COCO BEACH inspired by Australian beach culture for girls; GBOOTS for the urban male youth; GUM – A girls fashionista's paradise following global fashion trends; PETALS presenting gorgeous perfumes and fun age appropriate cosmetics; WAX BROS showcasing skater and surfer lifestyle collections for the boys. And more brands to come!


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The premier episode of the Yesterdazearcade podcast is just about complete! I was going to post it last night but decided that I need to flesh it out and edit it a bit more. I want to add a review or opinion piece…
But until then, if you want to hear what I have so far, you can listen to the rough draft at http://drop.io/yesterdazepodcast/ or if you want the rss feed try this
It is mostly a rambling piece that is pretty boring, but It's the first one. I am going to organize the following episodes into more cohesive segments. Heck, I might actually write some stuff instead of just making it up as I go along like I did in this episode. There is a really good humorous personal look back at being a young teen in the 1984 by my friend Myles. I hope you like it, as I did. I could relate to it all since I lived it too! Well, like I wrote already, it should be done very soon, but go ahead and listen to the rough cut and let me know how terrible it is!
While writing this, I was listening to "No Reason" by Pepper


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Geodude671 wrote:Spoiler:Actually, XY is when PU became an official tier. It still existed unofficially for a few years before that, including for a significant amount of time in BW.
Correct. Unfortunately, this means that I don't have any data to go off of regarding a SmPU metagame (see http://www.smogon.com/dex/bw/pokemon/), and it isn't worth it to me at this time to go searching for a SmPU breakdown throughout the forums as metagames change over time. As mentioned above, I'm not opposed to creating a PmPU tier at a later date, but for now I'd rather focus on solidifying the PmOU Tier (and thus PmUbers) as once that's completed there are a couple other projects I'd like to do ;)
On an additional note, I'll be moving to update the OP with some info about how to use the database, which I'll link again below.
Official Pixelmon Tier Lists Database: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
[7:44 PM] Simon_Flash: Hey, I'm with you guys too :p
[7:45 PM] MrM: we're always serious
[7:45 PM] Simon_Flash: Rugh Rough Raggy


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by Melody Heck Gatto
Genre: Sports Romance
Tour Organizer: N K Author Services
Kat Torella didn't believe real love existed outside of her romance novels. She didn't believe in Prince Charming, or happily ever afters. Well, actually, she just didn't believe they would ever happen to her.
Kat was not built for love. She always felt like the fat girl that no one really saw. Being bullied as a child led to a lifetime of self-doubt. She feared that she would always see that little fat girl staring back at her in the mirror. Even as an adult, she's still dealing with it.
Hockey was her escape. She loved the game and she loved the players. One player in particular. He was dreamy. Even swoon-worthy. His dark eyes were mesmerizing. His smile devilishly sexy. His signature flowing locks always looked effortlessly perfect. He was flawless in every way...
Too bad she would never get a guy like him. Well, at least that's what she thought.
Kris Lafleur was the star defenseman for the Pittsburgh Renegades. Hockey was his life. Well, it was easy to be so dedicated to the game when he hadn't had much luck in the romance department. His hockey star status attracted puck bunnies and gold diggers. Neither was the kind of girl you wanted to bring home to mom; actually neither were the kind of girl that Kris even wanted to associate with. Deep down he was a hopeless romantic. He was looking for someone who was as devoted to him as he was to her, and not so interested in his bank account.
Then he saw her... Was it her smile? Was it her laugh? He didn't know what it was, but she already had his heart. She was beautiful.
Melody was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband, son and two dogs. The whole family are avid Pittsburgh Penguins fans and like going to hockey games when they get the chance. Melody enjoys taking her son to meet the players on game days. It's no secret that meeting the players is just as exciting for her as it is for her son; especially when it comes to her favorite player!
Melody has loved writing since she was small, in school she never met a creative writing assignment that she didn't love. She is lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who encourages her to write. When she was laid off from her job of 14 years, he was supportive about letting her stay home and take care of their son. During that time she discovered hockey-romances and found a renewed love of reading as well as a passion for writing.
Melody spends her spare time reading hockey romances. At holiday time she really enjoys any romance about Christmas. When it is the hockey off-season, she enjoys swimming and spending her days out in the sun.
Score on Me is a good book. It definitely fulfills the wishes of those of us who would love nothing more than to get together with our favorite hockey players.
Kat was a relatable character, far from perfect. And to see her change and grow throughout the book was pleasure. She was a good, strong character and I enjoyed the fact that she had body issues. It was easier to relate to her and many more people will probably be able to connect with her because of it.
Kris was a sweetheart and I was glad I could get to practice my french skills. He was really sweet, and I found myself wishing I could find someone like him. He's just sigh.
There were a few awkward phrasings in the book but they were mostly small, little things that didn't detract from the book.
We were also given Kris' and Kat's perspectives. It allows readers to get a glimpse into their heads, see things from their point of view and see what is going on. It adds to the conflict in the book and I enjoyed both perspectives.
Score on Me is a good book and if you're dying for some hockey romance or pining for your own hockey man, than give it a look!