text:
The chapter summarises major developments in sub-Sahara Africa focusing on the themes of elections, conflicts and the status and performance of sub-Sahara Africa in the world economy.
In many African countries where civil war raged not so long ago, former warlords are today running for office in elections. This policy note assesses the effect that these warlord democrats have on democratisation and security.
Several African countries are tackling the issue of slums and informal settlements by building completely new housing developments. However, many residents view these new areas as less habitable because of poor social conditions. Drawing on three case studies, this policy note argues that community engagement is crucial when planning to replace informal settlements with modern housing in African cities.
In comparison with other African countries, faith in democracy is strong in Ghana. But the legal tussles that followed the last general election in 2012, and the disqualification of some candidates on trifling grounds in the lead-up to this year's presidential elections, has spurred public mistrust. This policy note issues a warning about hate speech, violent demonstrations and macho-men militias.
The conflicts in the Jos metropolis are not different from other identity conflicts over land in Africa. Studies have shown that dispute over environmental resources is not sufficient by itself to cause violence. When it does contribute to violence, it interacts with other political, economic, and social factors. This perspective draws attention to the social, economic and political contexts underlying environmental resource scarcity's causal role in African conflicts. This is useful for situating the Jos sectarian conflicts within the context of the interplay of political, economic and social forces in the Jos metropolis. The conflicts connect more strongly to a long historical process on the Jos Plateau than some of the immediate problems widely reported in the media. At the centre of this historical process were British colonialism, the growth of the tin mining economy that brought the early Hausa and Fulani migrant labour to Jos, and the struggles over land. The British colonial administration through its policy of Indirect Rule, and the organization of ethnically segregated communities of 'natives' and 'settlers' created the settler-indigene divide. The Berom, Afizere and Anaguta who see themselves as the 'first comers' refer to themselves as 'indigenes' while they regard the Hausa and Fulani as 'later comers' and derogatorily labelled them as 'settlers'. Both the indigenes and non-indigenes have always demonstrated strong emotional appeals to historical factors in their autochthonous claims. This paper examines the role of ethnicity, religion and other primordial sentiments in the Jos conflicts including the politics of belonging and how it relates to land ownership. This paper draws data from the author's close observations of events in the Jos metropolis for a period of over two decades. Informal interviews, events analyses and qualitative data complement historical and contemporary documentary secondary sources on people, economy and politics of the city of Jos.
This article discusses the political economy of the Arab Spring. It draws attention to the economic and social factors underlying the recent uprisings in the Arab world. Essentially the article relates the internal dynamics in the Arab countries with their status and role in the global economy. It also notes especially the rising awareness in the Arab world on the role of the civil society in domestic politics, especially its capacity to demand political and economic change. The article is divided into five sections. The first section introduces the main issues, while the second section conceptually interprets the Arab Spring within the intellectual discourse on social revolution mainly but with a brief overview on regime change and democratic transition. The third section examines the relationship between oil, politics, and economy in the MENA region. The fourth section contains an analysis of the economic crisis and the various adjustment measures adopted by some governments on the eve of the uprisings. The fifth section examines the external dimensions of the Arab Spring including the international responses. The discussion of the lessons learned and policy recommendations concludes the article.
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) was established in 1998 at the time when Nigeria was under pressure from the international community to undertake political reform in preparation for anticipated return to civil rule. The PDP formed the first government after the country re-introduced civil rule in May 1999 and remained the ruling party at the national level and also in government in the majority of states of the federation until May 2015 when it lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election, and unexpectedly recorded defeat in the other elections. The climax was on March 28, 2015 when Nigeria held its fifth presidential election and an incumbent president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was defeated by retired Major-General Mohammed Buhari who was contesting the presidential election for the fourth time. Apart from its remarkable victory in the previous four successive presidential elections, the PDP had a comfortable majority in the national legislature between 1999 and 2015. However, towards the end of President Obasanjo's tenure, the party had started to experience disturbing cracks in its internal cohesion. It eventual defeat by the APC at both the presidential and state levels puts an abrupt end to the hegemony of the self-styled "largest political party in Africa" with a vision of "ruling Nigeria for sixty years". This chapter presents analysis of the remote and immediate causes of the poor performance of the PDP in the 2015 elections. What are the remote and immediate causes of the defeat of the PDP in the 2015 elections? What was the nature of public support for the party and its presidential candidate? Was the dwindling public support for the party linked to its diagnostic analysis of the challenges of governance and development in the country? What was the role of the Jonathan presidency in the political misfortune of the party? What was the capacity of the party to cope with some of the changes and innovations in the electoral process that may have contributed to the outcomes of the 2015 elections? How has the PDP faired since the inauguration of the new APC-led government? Is the party adjusting well to playing the role of an opposition party? How well has the party faired in this regard, and what are the lessons learned? And finally, how does the electoral misfortune of the PDP helps us to understand the strength and weaknesses of the democratic institutions in Nigeria? As many are these questions that one consider useful for understanding the party system in modern Nigeria.
The Swedish government should involve the African diaspora in Sweden to secure the support of African countries in the UN. It also needs to clarify in what ways Sweden's feminist foreign policy is compatible with African values of respect and dignity for womanhood. These are a couple of recommendations provided in this policy note on how Sweden should act to improve relations with African countries and succeed in its ambitions to achieve the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030.
There is profound concern in large circles in Africa that the Cotonou Agreement obstructs African governments from supporting domestic production, and that the EU is splitting Africa in two by striking separate deals with different African regions. These perceptions are important considerations for those involved in the upcoming negotiations to replace the existing agreement.
The chapter is an overview of major events and key developments in the West African sub-region in 2017.
African states have responded to the challenges of the post-Cold War international system mostly by collectively promoting subregional and continental-wide initiatives in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Admittedly, the existence of many violent conflicts in Africa, as well as their 'domino' effects at thesub-regional level, contributed significantly to the growing desire for collective security systems and conflict management mechanisms. The broadening of the role and functions of African regional organisations to include responsibility for peacebuilding and conflict management generally adds credence to the efficacy of regional integration. Many issues, however, present themselves in the engagement of RECs with the peacebuilding process in Africa. Although primarily set up to promote economic integration, Africa's RECs have increasingly taken up a prominent role in conflict resolution and peace support operations, as evident in the recent peace processes in Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Mali, Congo DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan, among others. In spite of the challenges they face, RECs are capable of playing important roles with regard to peace mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
The Africa Yearbook covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socio-economic trends in sub-Sahara Africa – all related to developments in one calendar year. The Yearbook contains articles on all sub-Saharan states, each of the four sub-regions (West, Central, Eastern, Southern Africa) focusing on major cross-border developments and sub-regional organizations as well as one article on continental developments and one on African-European relations. While the articles have thorough academic quality, the Yearbook is mainly oriented to the requirements of a large range of target groups: students, politicians, diplomats, administrators, journalists, teachers, practitioners in the field of development aid as well as business people.
Peace is not just the absence of conflict. The self-interest lying behind external 'support' can take many shapes. The pursuit of justice can sometimes thwart peace efforts. And, last but not least, simply adding more women to peace negotiations will not break male-centric norms.
This chapter attempts to address three key questions: First, how is Professor Sulayman Nyang's scholarly contributions and policy prescriptions understood and responded to in broad intellectual discourse on Africa and international terrorism? Second, what is the status of the war against terrorism in the external relations of Africa states with special attention to relations with the United States and other Western Powers? Third, what is the relevance of the global war on terrorism in international relations today? The chapter notes Professor Sulayman Nyang's contributions to the scholarship on Islamic militancy, international terrorism and the US-led global war against terrorism including his deep insights on changes in the international system and Africa. Africa is generally regarded in the West as the weakest link in the war against international terrorism; it is the political territory that can easily be penetrated by international terrorists. African states are poor, weak and corrupt. These failed states do not have effective government that is able to deliver public goods to its population or even exercise control over much of its territory. In this way these states are threat both to their citizens and the international community that comes under risk as a result of possible violent reactions by deprived and frustrated citizens that generate global problems including international terrorism. However, while many African governments have not earned the respect of the Western countries, the latter have maintained close economic relationship with them most arguably for economic and geo-political importance. These strong ties between Africa and Western countries have spill over to the security sector with the United States and other Western Powers providing assistance and support to help African governments develop and manage their anti-terrorist and counter insurgencies strategies.
This paper provides an empirical assessment of the driving forces behind structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa, and to further access the role of structural reforms in accounting for cross-country differences in transformation. Evidence from this paper reveals that country specific fundamentals, institutions and policy reforms as well as governance and fiscal reforms are the key drivers of transformation in the region. A set of policy strategies is proposed to engender sustained transformation and development in the region.
This paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of the bank lending rate in Ghana using annual time series data from 1970 to 2013. We found evidence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between the average lending rate charged by commercial banks and its determining factors. In the long run, bank lending rates in Ghana are positively influenced by nominal exchange rates and Bank of Ghana's monetary policy rate but negatively with fiscal deficit, real GDP and inflation. We also find positive dependence of the bank lending rate on exchange rates, and the monetary policy rate both in the short and long run. Specifically, our findings reveal that the Bank of Ghana's monetary policy rate and the exchange rate, by far, show strong contemporaneous effects on the average bank lending rate in Ghana.
This paper investigates the incentive for developing adaptation technology in a world with changing climate within the directed technical change framework. Consistent with the market size effect, we show that technological change will tend to be biased in favour of the sector that employs the greater share of the work force over time, when the inputs are sufficiently substitutable. An economy with dominant climate sensitive sector can maintain sustained economic growth if it is capable of undertaking frontier innovations in the form of adaptation technology that increases the productivity of the inputs employed in the climate sensitive sector
Two decades after the 'third wave of democratization', extensive violence continues to follow elections in sub-Saharan Africa. Whereas national processes connected to pre-election violence have received increased scholarly attention, little is known of local dynamics of violence after elections. This article examines the 2011 Nigerian post-election violence with regard to the ways in which national electoral processes interweave with local social and political disputes. The most affected state, Kaduna State, has a history of violent local relations connected to which group should control politics and the state. It is argued that electoral polarisation aggravated national ethno-religious divisions that corresponded to the dividing line of the conflict in Kaduna. A rapid escalation of violence was facilitated by local social networks nurtured by ethno-religious grievances.
In light of a recent UN Security Council resolution on the Lake Chad region, this policy note identifies major challenges that need to be addressed to create conditions for actors in the region to build a lasting peace. The issues include demobilising local vigilantes and resolving land-related conflicts.
The Global South is generally understood to refer to less economically developed countries. It is a broad term that comprises a variety of states with diverse levels of economic, cultural, and political influence in the international order. Although International Relations is an interdisciplinary field of study, it has historically been studied from a very Eurocentric perspective that does not always help us to understand developments occurring in the Global South. Understanding Global South perspectives starts with a discussion of the Western-centric focus of mainstream IR theories. It also recognises the challenges facing scholars from the Global South that might help to explain why Global South perspectives are largely absent from mainstream debates. The ultimate goal is to broaden the field of view within IR theory to incorporate a more just and representative understanding of international relations.The main weakness of mainstream Western IR theories is that they are not universally experienced as mainstream. The concepts they are based on do not unequivocally reflect or match the reality in many Global South states. Furthermore, certain questions that are central to Global South perspectives are absent or under-theorised in mainstream scholarship. Tickner (2016, 1) for example points out that issues of race and empire have been missing from mainstream theories despite the existence of solid scholarship in postcolonial and poststructuralist studies. Curiously, she adds, colonial dominations profoundly shaped the state of the current global order, yet they are not even remotely central to mainstream IR. Today, there is a growing body of scholarship that pays attention to the context of international relations theories in Africa, Asia and Latin America and to the diverse interpretations within these vast regions. Much of this scholarship has been produced under the umbrella term of 'global IR'.
Five thousand refugees leave Eritrea each month according to UNHCR, making it one of the world's fastest-emptying countries. In this policy note, Redie Bereketeab, researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, analyses the role and responsibility of the international community in the Eritrean migration crisis.
This book examines the Ethiopia–Eritrea rapprochement and asks whether it might lead to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. The Algiers Agreement (2000) that was mediated by the international community – the UN, OAU, EU and USA (the same parties that also served as witnesses and guarantors) – was supposed to be final and binding. But when the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) published its verdict, Ethiopia rejected it on the grounds that it awarded Badme, the flashpoint of the war, to Eritrea. The witnesses and guarantors, abdicating their responsibility, failed to exert pressure on Ethiopia, which led to a situation of 'no war, no peace'. This stalemate lasted for 16 years, until July 2018. The recent rapprochement is driven by internal dynamics, rather than by external mediation. This has fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the two countries. The impact of the resolution of the Ethiopia–Eritrea conflict goes beyond the borders of the two countries, and has indeed brought fundamental change to the region. Full diplomatic relations have been restored between Eritrea and Somalia; and the leaders of Eritrea and Djibouti have met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This all raises the issue of whether a peace deal driven by internal dynamics fares better than one that is externally mediated. The central question that this book attempts to address is: what factors led to the resolution of a festering conflict? The book explains and analyses the rapprochement, which it argues was made possible by the maturing of objective and subjective conditions in Ethiopia and by the trust factor in Eritrea.
This paper examines the role of the international community in the Eritrean refugee crisis. It critically analyses the international community's, as represented by UN, AU, EU and US, failure to fulfill its obligation. The UN, OAU, EU and US were witnesses and guarantors of the Algiers Agreement. As such, they assumed responsibility of making sure of the implementation of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission Verdict. The Algiers Agreement empowered the guarantors to invoke UN Chapter VII, if one or both of the parties violates its commitment. Fourteen years later the EEBC Verdict is awaiting implementation with immense consequence to Eritrea. Deriving from text analysis and drawing on previous research I argue in this article that the international community by failing to fulfill its legal obligation contributed to the current Eritrean refugee crisis. It is the contention of this article only the unconditional implementation of the boundary commission that brings peace and stability to the region that would stem the flow of the refugees.
For thousands of years, Ethiopia has depended on its smallholding farmers to provide the bulk of its food needs. But now, such farmers find themselves under threat from environmental degradation, climate change and declining productivity. As a result, smallholder agriculture has increasingly become subsistence-oriented, with many of these farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Smallholders have long been marginalised by mainstream development policies, and only more recently has their crucial importance been recognised for addressing rural poverty through agricultural reform.
This collection, written by leading Ethiopian scholars, explores the scope and impact of Ethiopia's policy reforms over the past two decades on the smallholder sector. Focusing on the Lake Tana basin in northwestern Ethiopia, an area with untapped potential for growth, the contributors argue that any effective policy will need to go beyond agriculture to consider the role of health, nutrition and local food customs, as well as including increased safeguards for smallholder's land rights. They in turn show that smallholders represent a vitally overlooked component of development strategy, not only in Ethiopia but across the global South.
Over the last 15 years, Ethiopia has seen remarkable economic growth. The agricultural sector is part of this growth, but its proportional contribution to the overall economy has gone down. There is an urgent need to transform Ethiopian agriculture, not least when it comes to the inefficient land laws that impede young people from investing in farmland. This policy note identifies the structural problems that constrain such a transformation and gives recommendations on how they can be addressed.


text:
Cisco today announced security and network convergence upgrades to its line of director-class data centre switches. These included a new multi-hop Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) capability for the Nexus 7000, 5000 and 3000 series and MDS 9500 switch family.
The data traffic unification features spread to Cisco's Unified Computing System, its Data Centre Network Manager software and to NX-OS, the data centre operating system that covers the company's data centre portfolio of switches.
"You can think of them as Ethernet directors for iSCSI, network-attached storage and FCoE traffic," said Bob Nusbaum, product line manager for Cisco Storage Solutions.
Network administrators can now channel network-attached storage (NAS), iSCSI, Fibre Channel and Ethernet-based LAN traffic over the same network, Nusbaum said.
The network directors use converged network adapters (CNAs) from QLogic, which adapt the Fibre Channel packets to IP packets at the host server level.
"What it really means is everything is integrating seamlessly," Nusbaum said. "It doesn't matter if you have pre-existing storage with a Fibre Channel network or new storage with FCoE. All of your host servers can come in with CNAs...or you can leave them with [host bus adapters] and they all get access to the same [backend] storage seamlessly."
Cisco also promoted a new MDS 9000 Storage Media Encryption tool, which encrypts data whether it's being stored to disk or tape and requires no SAN reconfiguration.
Using an upgraded line card in the MDS 9000 series of switches, data can be encrypted as it's being written to disk storage subsystems; before, data was encrypted as it was being offloaded to tape archive systems. The user license for the encryption feature is the same as before, so there's no additional charge for the disk encryption feature, Nusbaum said. Encryption keys can be stored with Cisco Key Management Centre tool or users can use RSA's key management feature.
The company said it has also completed the integration of its Data Centre Network Manager software for SANs with VMware, allowing users a single view of their entire network infrastructure right down to virtual machine (VM) paths.
Another announcement from Cisco was for a new Data Centre Management API that permits third-party network management software to see traffic across Cisco's line of Unified Computer System (USC) blade servers and data centre switches. For example, Cisco's hardware can now be viewed through Hewlett-Packard's OpenView, EMC's Ionix or IBM's Tivoli management software.
The Data Centre Management (DCM) API works by using the Storage Networking Industry Association's Storage Management Initiative Standard (SMI-S), an XML-based messaging interface for unified management of heterogeneous storage systems.
"It's simply to let those other partner vendors manage us as part of their enterprise architecture," Nusbaum said.
Deb Howard, Cisco's data centre solutions marketing manager, said 33% of customers are now using FCoE on the Nexus 5000 series of switches. "I do believe customers were waiting for director class switches that are scalable, so I believe that number will start to bump up as we go forward."
Cisco says it has 10,000 customers using switches operating on its NX-OS software, which corresponds to seven million network ports on its Nexus line and about 4,000 customers using UCS systems and software that it launched two years ago.
Return to hosting news headlines
View Hosting News Archive

subset: commoncrawl


text:
On Tuesday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed that the Ravens were releasing four veteran leaders who had contributed more than 1,000 catches, 100 touchdowns and 500 tackles combined to the franchise.
But just because certain players sit atop several categories in the team's record books and rank highly in the hearts of Baltimore fans doesn't necessarily mean they should still be sitting atop their respective positions on the team's depth chart. In the NFL, the saying "What have you done for me lately?" doesn't always apply. Sometimes, "Who can do what you have done for me lately, but for less money?" is more fitting.
Up against the cap after the NFL lockout ended Monday, the Ravens had to shed salary so they can sign some of their key free agents and fill out their roster. In the case of defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and running back Willis McGahee, cheaper and more talented alternatives were already on the roster. As for Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, the team's two all-time leading receivers, the projected production didn't match the price.
The Ravens might try to bring back Heap and Mason for less money, but those two former Pro Bowlers will have other suitors, especially Heap, the one player they might not be able to replace this offseason.
No offense to Mason, who can still play thanks to his savvy and skillful route-running, but the Ravens would be wise to go in another direction. They already have a top possession receiver in Anquan Boldin, and he didn't get as many touches as he should have in 2010. He never said anything publicly, but he didn't need to. Everybody saw that his production didn't match his big contract.
Heap, though, was more valuable than many realize. The tight end's struggles with injuries during a decade in Baltimore are well-documented, and he isn't the deep threat that he once was and Ed Dickson may soon become. But Heap still has soft hands and worked to become a reliable blocker under Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. If the Ravens experience turnover on the offensive line, Heap's big body will be missed.
Make no mistake, though, these moves were born from necessity. There is speculation that the Ravens may be gearing up to make a splash in free agency, and maybe they do have their eyes on a difference-maker like cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha or wideout Santonio Holmes. But they had very little wiggle room to re-sign players such as offensive lineman Marshal Yanda and cornerback Chris Carr before their Black Monday maneuverings.
Roster cuts aren't easy, a sentiment that everyone expressed Tuesday. But the NFL is a business, and finding cheaper alternatives for aging players is a part of the business the Ravens have been pretty good at.


text:
Joyce Wieland was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1931. She studied at Central Technical School, in Toronto.
Her first exhibit took place in 1960 at the Isaacs Gallery, in Toronto.
From 1962-70 she lived in New York, where she became involved in experimental film making.
In 1987 Wieland was awarded the Toronto Arts Foundation's Visual Arts Award.
She has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as Canada House in London, England, McMaster University Art Gallery, and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, among others.
Wieland draws inspiration from Canadian history, politics and ecology. Her works include painting, lithography, collage, film, cartoons, embroidery, knitting, quilting, and mixed media.
She was a member of The Royal Canadian Academy.
She died in 1998.


text:
Gildo Zegna is good at coming up with one liners that resonate with family businesses. Years ago he said: "A great family makes a great company; a great company makes a great family."
Speaking in London this week at the Alan Howard Foundation/JW3 Speaker Series, set up by a British hedge fund manager, the CEO of the Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna came up with another great one liner when he said: "You need to breathe the air of where you've come from". This is the idea that family businesses should on a regular basis go back to their roots, from whence they came from. In the case of Ermenegildo Zegna it is the Piedmont town of Trivero, where the business was founded in 1910. Still owned by the Zegna family, the business is now a €1 billion-plus empire with more than 500 stores around the world.
These days Zegna may be based in Milan, but it still has a big presence in Trivero, which includes its beautiful Casa Zegna, where the company's archive and museum reside. Gildo, who represents the fourth generation, reckons that it's not just important for the family to return to its roots, but the company's staff need to know about these roots as well. "The workers have to breathe the air as well," he added. What he meant by this was that by sending staff to Trivero it gives them an idea of what are the values of the company, which helps to build loyalty and trust.
Another good one Guild has coined is: "From the sheep to the store", which is about Zegna owning every stage of the production process – from the sheep's wool to the store where the outfit made from wool is sold.
Pithy one liners in any world can often carry much more weight than long, ponderous treatises, particularly if they're uttered by business afinados like Gildo Zegna.


text:
There was a lot to talk about in 2016, and you were with us every step of the way as we covered subjects that were sometimes fun, sometimes exciting and hopefully always informative.
Here's a look at our most popular blogs of 2016:
Thanks for reading NextStop this year, and be sure to join us for what should be an exciting 2017. We've already started releasing new technology to aid your commute with the new Metro website, and next year, we'll be bringing technology directly to the bus stop. We also plan to break ground on the new MetroLink Station near Boyle Avenue, and complete construction and restore downtown bus service to the new Civic Center Transit Center later during the year.
For now, enjoy the rest of 2016. From all of us from Metro, have a safe and joyous New Year!


text:
|Lamma Forums
|R.I.P. Allan Ferguson
|Page 1 of 1
|Lamma-Gung [ Tue May 07, 2013 10:01 pm ]
|Post subject:
|R.I.P. Allan Ferguson
Allan Ferguson (Allan & Linda) was found dead at home this morning behind a couch.
His partner Linda had declared him missing last Saturday. She can't be contacted by phone for the time being, staying in a guest house.
I'm trying to contact his sisters in the UK via his nephew as nobody else seemed to have the contacts. More details will become available soon. Many Lammaites have known white-haired Allan for many years, even decades. Anybody living in YSW has probably noticed him sitting often outside HSBC. R.I.P.
|defensive tulip [ Tue May 07, 2013 10:25 pm ]
|Post subject:
Sad news.Rest in peace Allen.
|Lamma-Gung [ Tue May 07, 2013 10:33 pm ]
|Post subject:
|Allan & Linda
Insomniac wrote:
Sorry to hear this today, rest in peace at last Catweazle.
|leslie partington [ Wed May 08, 2013 6:16 am ]
|Post subject:
|Allan's Nephew
Hi this is Allan's Nephew Leslie
Thank you for contacting me, Allan's Family have now been informed of the sad news, if there is any more information please contact me, condolences to Lynda. les
|Marc Antony [ Wed May 08, 2013 10:01 am ]
|Post subject:
RIP Allan. You were a real Lamma institution.
|Xerxes [ Fri May 10, 2013 11:55 am ]
|Post subject:
Sad news, Rest in peace Allan.
Condolences to Linda and the Family.
|Lamma-Gung [ Sun May 12, 2013 3:27 pm ]
|Post subject:
Latest news update this morning:
Linda's back home now, all the dogs taken care of, thanks to the great kindness of friends and neighbours. Her phone's still not working.
Nick the Bookman has identified Allan's body in the morgue, autopsy results not known yet. He was 69. Our new police chief has kindly stepped in to get help from Govt. to clean up their place. No details about funeral arrangements yet.
The only reference I could find in the SCMP archives is this article which talks a lot about all the local support Allan & Linda got during their trial in 2005, and their love and care for animals:
(C) SCMP, 4 Nov 2005, by Norma Connolly:
A Lamma couple renowned for finding homes for stray and injured animals pleaded guilty yesterday....
The couple's lawyer, Christopher Morley, said the couple, who had lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, were 'unusual for the kindness and generosity they had shown others'.
He read out letters to the court from Lamma residents, who said the couple went out of their way to help others and rescue animals.
One letter described their 'care and concern for animals' as 'legendary'. Letters of recommendation from a local vet and an owner of a local dog sanctuary were also submitted...."<HR>
I remember those days, a major local story and their friends even designed, printed and sold "FREE the lamma 3" T-shirts to raise funds for the lawyer defending them (see below). They're part of my growing collection of Lamma T-shirts.
Photo below submitted today by Mr DickStock, Allan & Linda sitting besides HSBC, their regular hangout. Plus Allan & Linda during better days, from the Lamma-zine archive, submitted by Allan's nephew a while back.
|Lamma-Gung [ Sun May 12, 2013 4:00 pm ]
|Post subject:
Allan's been mentioned in the Lamma-zine and this forum numerous times over the years, including being seen on the "Lamma My Island" video several times.
But this is my personal favourite, Lamma-zine Jul 7, 2006:
Allan telling me a story specifically for the Lamma-zine because he had heard that I was collecting tribute stories after our friend Pinky Chan's death:
'Pinky Enlightened Me!'
Allan had severed all contacts with all of his family in the UK, including his 3(?) sisters, a long time ago. His nephew found my story above online by pure chance, contacting me by email searching for his uncle Allan whom he had traveled with in Thailand and beyond. The story didn't mention Allan's surname, but the nephew thought, "that story sounds like uncle Allan!", and he was right.
I reconnected them, they talked on the phone and Allan got an update on his family and all their contacts. I'm not sure if Allan ever contacted his sisters as well, but at least they heard that he was still alive and living on Lamma. Thanks to this exchange, I had a contact to let his family know about Allan's death.
|Boss [ Mon May 13, 2013 12:00 am ]
|Post subject:
With the twinkle in his eye in the 1985 photo you can really see the old Allan. No wonder Linda has hung in with him all these years. Great to see these old shots. Should make Linda feel happy that people remember them like this. Hopefully she will rally and get some of her old sparkle back.
|Lamma-Gung [ Mon May 13, 2013 9:33 pm ]
|Post subject:
From Mr. DickStock:
"Allan loved his dogs. He always had a cheerful, up-beat demeanor and never had a bad word for anyone. He had a damned good stake-out place to pan-handle: right near the ATM!"
|leslie partington [ Wed May 15, 2013 6:49 pm ]
|Post subject:
|Allan and Linda
To Lamma Gung Thank you for all your help in finding Allan, also informing me of the sad news about Alan's death, Allans 5 sisters have now all been informed,
i did try the phone number you had left for one of Alans friends, i did not manage to get through on that number for some reason. regards. Leslie Alans nephew
ps if anyone has a contact phone number for Linda could you please let me know.
|Rach [ Thu May 16, 2013 11:16 pm ]
|Post subject:
Aw, Allan. He was always very sweet and once showed me a great kindness by getting some rings back to me that had been stolen (I assumed by some druggy of his acquaintance). God bless him and may he rest in peace at last.
|alice dancer [ Thu May 23, 2013 4:34 am ]
|Post subject:
i think i,ve looked at this site three times since i left the island however long it was i have no idea
i saw the info about allan and the old pics of himself and linda
i was only once at thier hoos but i,d see often see allan knocking about and always had a blether with him,he always had something interesting to say
he was a charming soul allan and linda spoke of her time in ballet to me at times
i, hope the govt. does help with the house and linda finds her way now,and with the animals
"the end may just be the beginning"
|leslie partington [ Mon Apr 17, 2017 12:44 pm ]
|Post subject:
|Re: allanandlinda
alice dancer wrote:
i think i,ve looked at this site three times since i left the island however long it was i have no idea
i saw the info about allan and the old pics of himself and linda
i was only once at thier hoos but i,d see often see allan knocking about and always had a blether with him,he always had something interesting to say
he was a charming soul allan and linda spoke of her time in ballet to me at times
i, hope the govt. does help with the house and linda finds her way now,and with the animals
"the end may just be the beginning"
Hi I've just logged on the first time in a few years and found out about Linda's death in April of 2015, not sure if you already know?
As you say the end may just be the beginning, but the end may also be the end.
Regards Les
|Page 1 of 1
|All times are UTC + 8 hours
|Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group


text:
New York, NY 12010
- Jump to Section
- Media Gallery
- Resources
If you or someone you love is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, you may need to find an inpatient drug rehab center. Inpatient drug rehabilitation centers can give you the intensive therapy and tools you need to defeat alcohol and drug addiction so you can get back on the right path and live a successful, happy and productive life.
What Are Inpatient Addiction Treatment Centers?
Inpatient treatment centers give you the opportunity to live with other people who are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction while getting the help you need to recover from your addiction.
Around-the-clock Care
Residential drug and alcohol rehab centers provide 24/7 care from staff personnel and require that you live at the center for a certain period of time. Inpatient facilities located at hospitals offer around-the-clock medical care from healthcare professionals, while inpatient facilities located outside of a hospital may offer intermittent care from medical personnel.
12-step and Non-12-step Support Groups
At an inpatient center, you'll receive therapy on a daily basis. In many cases, you may also attend 12-step recovery support programs. These group meetings provide peer support and recovery advice as you begin to work the steps with others in similar addiction situations. Other residential facilities use alternative non-12-step support groups. For more information on the difference between 12-step and non-12-step support groups, read here.
A 5-minute Call Can Change Your Life.
Non-12 Step treatment programs tailored for you.
New York, NY 12010
Variations Across Inpatient Centers
Different inpatient rehab centers will vary with regards to the details of their treatment offerings. The length of the rehab program, for example, tends to vary across different residential drug and alcohol rehab centers. Some programs are as short as 30 days, while other programs can last up to a year.
Inpatient centers also vary in terms of autonomy. Some programs are lock-down programs, so you must stay at the center for the entire time and cannot have visitors. Other programs allow you to come and go as you please.
Finding the Best Inpatient Treatment Center
When evaluating each program, you should consider several factors. No one program is right for everybody, but if you look carefully at what each program has to offer, you should be able to find an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center that meets your needs.
Consider asking these questions as you evaluate which inpatient facility is best for you:
1. What types of addictions does the facility treat? If your primary problem is with alcohol, you might want to use an alcohol rehabilitation center rather than one that deals with all types of drugs and addictions. Different drugs also require different types of help. For example, a prescription drug addiction may require detoxification and other treatments that certain other drug addictions don't require.
2. Is the program geared towards any specific group of individuals? Some inpatient drug rehab centers are designed specifically for high-level executives, for women or for LGBT individuals. Other programs have more diverse patient populations. If you have special needs because you identify with a particular community, you might want to choose a residential treatment center that caters to your particular demographic.
3. What are the accommodations like? While the accommodations may not be as important as the treatment plan, itself, you will probably still want to feel comfortable in your new surroundings. Since you'll most likely be residing at the facility for a minimum of 30 days, your surroundings should feel pleasant and positive.
Luxury inpatient facilities, for example, can sometimes seem more like resorts than hospitals. They offer a wide range of extra services and amenities that can include acupuncture, equine therapy, golf ranges and spa treatments. Depending on your needs and income level, you might want to consider these facilities to make your stay more comfortable.
4. What types of treatment are available? Most inpatient drug rehabilitation centers offer both group and individual therapy and counseling. Different types of therapeutic interventions may be available, depending on the type of center you go to. Do you want to attend a program, for example, that also requires family members to attend therapy sessions? Is the inpatient facility at a hospital where you can receive 24/7 access to professional medical services?
Also consider if you will be needing a facility that is equipped to care for any other coexisting medical or mental health conditions you may have—i.e., a dual diagnosis treatment center.
5. Do you need to maintain an active presence at your place of work during residential rehab? If so, consider exploring an executive rehab center, where you will be able to receive quality inpatient care while still engaging with your daily work responsibilities.
6. Do the program costs work for your budget and insurance? Inpatient programs tend to range between $2,000-$25,000, depending on the location, amenities provided, type and length of the program. So it's important to find out if and how much your insurance will cover for you.
If the price is still out of your range, talk with someone who can sort through your options with you. In addition to cheaper outpatient programs, there may be alternative inpatient programs available to you with the help of sliding scale payment options or financing plans.
Take advantage of exploring at least a few different inpatient drug rehab centers before making a final decision so you can evaluate all of these factors and determine which center will best meet your needs.
Use Our Contact Form or call us today at 1-888-341-7785 if you or someone you know is searching for a residential inpatient rehab facility and needs help sorting through the options.
Rehabilitation services can be expensive. It's important to talk to the intake personnel at the facility before agreeing to enter an inpatient residential drug or alcohol rehab program so you understand exactly what you are going to have to pay for.
Inpatient residential drug rehabilitation programs often require you to pay for food, room and board and miscellaneous other expenses as well as for the therapy and other services that you receive through the program.
Some of your costs may be covered by insurance. Check with your insurance company to find out whether you can be reimbursed for the cost of rehabilitation.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Inpatient drug rehabilitation centers are required by law to have confidentiality policies in place. Your treatment is considered medical treatment – so nobody but you, your doctors and others directly involved in your treatment plan have the right to know about it.
The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a strict privacy law that was established by Congress in 1996. It serves to protect the security and privacy of your medical information and carries with it heavy civil and criminal penalties for privacy violations – including imprisonment and fines ranging from $100 to $250,000, depending on the violation committed.
Executive and Luxury Rehab Centers
Executive Rehab Centers
When work-related duties are keeping you or someone you care about from looking for care for a problem with illicit substances or behavior-related addiction, executive rehab centers would be a convenient solution to consider. Executive rehab centers combine top-rated drug abuse and behavioral addiction inpatient treatments with the ability to simultaneously maintain an active presence at work.
Luxury Rehab Centers
Luxury addiction treatment clinics furnish the top-shelf amenities you would expect to enjoy only in the nation's best hotels, with your recovery and comfort both taking top priority. From housekeeping services and in-house massage therapy to gym facilities and 5-star meals, you can receive high quality addiction treatment for yourself or someone you care about while pampering yourself with plush amenities. If you need help finding a luxury addiction treatment facility that will best suit your particular needs, call to speak with one of our recovery advisors who can assist you at 1-888-341-7785.
Search for a Residential Drug Rehab Center
If you are ready to enter rehab and reclaim your life from a drug or alcohol addiction, call us at 1-888-341-7785. We can answer any questions you have about residential drug rehab centers and connect you with an inpatient treatment program that can address your addiction issue.
It takes time and effort to find the appropriate inpatient residential drug rehab program for your needs. It's important to take your time so you find the inpatient residential drug rehabilitation program that is most likely to help you achieve sobriety.
No matter what addiction you are struggling with, you can overcome it with the right kind of help.
Need Help? Contact a Rehabs.com Sponsor Treatment Center Below (Who answers?)


text:
Welcome to our website!
We have updated our portfolio with some exciting completed projects as well as adding some new content including 3 downloadable info sheets; each containing 7 valuable tips as you embark on your project.
I am also the proud author of Nail It!. The book came about through an awareness of the recurring conversations that I find myself having with clients again and again. It became clear that there are some big holes in the understanding that a lot of people have in the process of completing a building project and 'Nail it!' is my way of sharing the knowledge and experience that I have gathered over the past 20 years. It's a great read (if I do say so myself…) and you can order your copy from the 'Nail it!' page on this website.
I hope you enjoy our site and if you have any questions that we can help you with, please send me an email via the 'Contact us' page.


text:
Kim Devine is a Trade Marketing Summer Intern from College of the Holy Cross. Her Book Print—the five books that have shaped her reading life—is below.
I love to re-read books. It's an opportunity for re-discovering and enjoying the details I overlooked in my first read—when I was too hungry to uncover the plot (I used to get in trouble for reading under the covers with a flashlight when I really wanted to know what was going to happen). No matter how many times I re-read my favorite books, I never remember every little detail. Certain voices and messages, however, have materialized stronger than others. Below are five books with author and character voices that persevere in my memory long after the first read.
The Harry Potter Series / J.K. Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address
The Harry Potter series will forever be the most beloved and re-read series on my shelf. It represents my love of reading; I could never start reading the new Harry Potter book and simply just put it down. The voice that ultimately emerged from my love of the series was not a wizard or witch's but J.K. Rowling's. Rowling is one of the first authors whose life I became invested in and intrigued by, and I learned that her path to success was anything but straightforward.
In high school, I was assigned to read Rowling's 2008 Harvard University commencement address, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination"—a speech I have since considered to be one of the most compelling pieces of writing I have ever read. Standing before the audience as an immensely successful author and addressing graduates with undoubtedly impressive accomplishments themselves, Rowling did the unthinkable: she spoke about the benefits of failure.
For any twenty-somethings who fear entering the "real world" and failing in one way or another (which I think is all of us, if we're honest), I encourage you to listen to the speech and consider Rowling's message. She argues that failure is inevitable, but should not be perceived as entirely negative—rather, failure is an opportunity to embrace inspired ideas and begin something new. Rowling conveys a message I hope to carry with me into my adult life: your résumé and accomplishments are what you've done, but they do not make up who you are.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
When a book is released and copies are placed in bookstores all over the world, I like to imagine that each individual book begins a journey to its final destination shelf. I believe a favorite book can emerge not only from the story it contains, but also from the memories that accompany the specific book sitting on your shelf. I have two copies of The Book Thief on my shelf. The first was given to me in middle school by my sister, an English teacher who had a knack for predicting what books would become best-sellers and encouraging me to read them right away. The Book Thief's fascinating narrator, Death, immediately captivated me. While telling the love story of Liesel and Rudy set in the midst of a horrifying historical period, Death is cynical and emotional—and he openly expresses a universal concern for all writers: telling the story right.
The second copy on my shelf was also purchased by my sister, more than ten years after the book's initial release. She attended a meet-the-author event while I was in college and brought home a collector's edition of the book for me signed by Markus Zusak. Shortly after this event, my sister suddenly passed away. The book on my shelf is now associated with personal memories of my own. It contains not only a tremendous story but also stands as a thoughtful gift from the person who passed her immense love of literature on to me. The author's words have not changed, but events in my own life have altered their meaning. I will forever reread this special edition of The Book Thief, (one of several) favorite books my sister and I shared.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett's protagonist Sara Crewe is an only child born into a princess status and sent off to an all-girls boarding school—living a life of luxury until Sara is told that her father's fortune is gone and he has died. I love this story more than any classic princess-meets-prince fairytale. Sara is depicted with the inner strength to handle her new life as a pauper—and that struck me as a more salient narrative.
I believe what every child shares with Sara Crewe is the ability to imagine. Imagination is her coping mechanism; Sara imagines she still has plenty of food to eat and a warm fire in the hearth of the rat-infested attic in which she dwells. I once loved this book because my own imagination allowed me to feel like Sara and I were not so different. Now, I recognize that Sara's tenacity teaches incredible lessons about behaving with dignity and respect, no matter the circumstances. Sara encouraged me to use my imagination and taught me that a child's imagination truly is one of the most powerful tools.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
I found Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle to be a tough read. It's not the writing or vocabulary that makes it difficult—Walls embraces the voice of her younger self in order to properly convey the story—but the brutal honesty of the content. Walls does not idealize her life as a rags-to-riches story but captures the pain that was once her reality. I love Walls' no-frills method of truth-telling and the symbolism of the "glass castle", a representation of dreams so outlandish they are impossible to fulfill.
In describing her impoverished upbringing, Walls challenges readers to think about what is uncomfortable. For that reason, I believe The Glass Castle is a necessary read: Walls provides an inside look at a demographic that is often unheard and overlooked. However, her memoir is not a call-to-action to end poverty or homelessness, but rather contains an impactful and empathy-provoking story. For me, her story stands as a reminder of two important lessons: We never know exactly what circumstances landed a person in their current situation, and we should always dream big but remain firmly planted in the rational confines of reality.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My seventh grade teacher once told my class that if we were ever in doubt of who to write about for a timed essay, Atticus Finch should be our go-to character. Naturally, there is so much to learn from Atticus, a dedicated father and determined lawyer taking on a case he will likely lose. It is the voice, however, that has always shone through for me: Atticus's daughter, Scout, whose narration exposes the audience to the plot through a child's lens. Scout forces adults to find a balance between simple and complex in order to explain to her the events occurring in her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama.
Like so many students across the country, I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time because it was assigned reading. I was struck by the glimpse into American history that it provided and the poignancy of Scout's narration. I believe this book should continue to be widely read because its lessons are eternally relevant—fitting the true definition of a "classic" novel.


text:
Draft PPS18: Renewable Energy
Annex 1 Active Solar (Photovoltaics) Technology: Types of System
F9. Stand-alone systems: PV is widely used to provide power for communications systems, domestic dwellings and monitoring systems either in remote areas or locations where connection to the grid is expensive or otherwise problematic, e.g. certain road signage. Elsewhere in the UK, the use of PV to provide energy for lighting of telephone kiosks in rural areas, bus shelter lighting, remote traffic monitoring, and railway trackside signalling is increasing as it is almost always more cost-effective than new connections to the grid.
F10. Grid-connected schemes: In grid-connected solar PV systems Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) Supply business offer a Sell and Buy Back Contract that enables NIE to offer small generators a payment for both the NIROCs (Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates) on accredited generation and for electricity that is exported. Other contractual arrangements are available through Second Tier Suppliers. Further information is available on the NIE website http://www.nie-yourenergy.co.uk./micro.php .


text:
Ever crawl into bed, feeling completely exhausted, yet sleep never seems to come your way?
It certainly happens to me, more often than I'd probably like to admit. I've seen 3am roll around far too many times for my liking. Racing thoughts and planning to-do lists in the quiet of night can create many sleep disturbances.
And even when sleep does come, I've found that those racing thoughts can invade my dreams, managing to wake me up anyway.
Then, when the demands of the day come about, the best way to describe how I feel is "lousy." Do you struggle with feeling tired and lethargic after a poor night of sleep? And the cravings for the junk food…
There's some good news if you suffer from insomnia like me. Published in the February 2015 JAMA Internal Medicine, a small study of middle-aged adults showed that a mindfulness awareness program which taught meditation could have a profound effect on insomnia, tossing and turning, and the other sleep disturbances that can rob someone of their productivity.
What Were the Results of the Study?
According to the study's author, Dr. Herbert Benson, two groups were included in the study. Half of the participants completed the mindfulness awareness program. The other half completed a sleep education class that taught sleep habit improvement skills. Each group met 6 times, once per week, for two hours per session.
The results were clear: those who were taught mindfulness meditation skills had less insomnia, lower daily fatigue, and fewer feelings of depression at the end of the sixth session compared to the group that was taught sleep habit improvements.
There are many ways to invoke the relaxation response within the human body. I particularly like having a cup of hot tea (caffeine-free, of course) at the start of my bedtime routine as I settle into a few moments of mindfulness meditation. But it's not the tea that actually eases stress, pain, or even high blood pressure.
It's the practice of mindfulness meditation itself, even if done in an imperfect way.
How You Can Include Mindfulness Meditation Each Night
If you've been struggling with insomnia and feel like you've tried everything, then I invite you to give mindfulness a try – or a second opportunity, if necessary. There are two simple steps that you can use to help initiate the relaxation response you may need to be able to get a good night of sleep.
Step #1: Choose a focus of calm. You might feel ridiculous sitting on your bed, humming an Om repeatedly. My cat looked at me like I was crazy the one time I did that. You can focus on a peaceful word, phrase, or just focus on deep breathing if you prefer. The sounds can be repeated audibly or in your head.
Step #2: Choose to let things go. You must decide to let stressful events go. You must choose forgiveness. If your mind begins to wander, bring yourself back to your focus of calm. This will help the tension release.
Mindfulness meditation can be an essential tool for sleep. Include it with your next bedtime routine and let me know what results you were able to achieve.


text:
CuHead WiFi shield Version 2.0! It has the EEPROM that can be used to store the webpages, it also has the batterty charging components populated.
This is the shield you need to get Wi-Fi connectivity to your Arduino-based project! This shield provides 802.11b connectivity and is a direct drop-on plug-and-play solution to your Arduino Diecimila/Duemilanove.
The second revision of this board has all the components in surface mount form. The new and exciting feature of the second revision of this board is the addition of a 16Mbit serial flash for storing web pages and other data! This additional storage space can be used for storing more complex and feature rich webpages, as well as sensor type data to be downloaded at a future time.
- Add-on shield built for Arduino Diecimila, Duemilanove and Uno R2/R3
- Dimensions, shape, even color match exactly!
- True plug-n-play solution
- Uses SPI for host communication (max speed 25MHz)
- All Arduino headers brought out for easy access
- Easy access reset button on-board
- On-board PCB antenna
- Switchable interrupt pin usage between INT0 and digital pin 8
- Switchable LED on digital pin 9
- Switchable CS pin for serial flash between digital pin 10 and digital pin 7
Standard spec
Cuhead V2.0 has charging and discharging function, the charging circuit is used to tell voltage of the battery.
We can connect the positive and negtive of the battery to BAT, if the battery is full, then Cuhead V2.0 wont charge battery; if it is not, the external battery will be charged.
We bring comparator to check the operating current of Cuhead V2.0 so you know it is Arduino giving power to Cuhead V2.0 or the opposite way, and change the charging circuit to connect/disconnect based on that.
When Cuhead V2.0 connect Arduino, there are two working status:
- Connect Arduino with USB/Adaptor , Arduino gives power to Cuhead V2.0, the charging circuit on Cuhead V2.0 will disconnect;
- No external power for Arduino, then the charging circuit of Cuhead V2.0 is working, and the battery will power the boards. Normally we give power to Arduino directly, thus the charging circuit is inactive.


text:
Where do bears live?
Most bears live north of the equator. There are no bears in Africa, Australia or Antarctica.
By: Staff
4 Min Quiz
There's Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Rupert Bear and many more. While kids may like to snuggle up with their teddy bear, real bears are wild creatures that can be very dangerous. There are many different kinds of bears, each with different characteristics and habits. Take this quiz to learn more about bears.
Most bears live north of the equator. There are no bears in Africa, Australia or Antarctica.
Kodiak bears are the largest, weighing in at around 1,700 pounds (770 kilos) and reaching 10 to 12 feet (3.7 meters) in length. The sun bear of the Malay Peninsula, sometimes called the Malay bear, is the smallest type of bear. They weigh between 60 and 100 pounds are about three feet long.
Bears usually have poor eyesight and hearing. However, they have a very keen sense of smell, which aids them in hunting.
A bear is well protected from bee stings by its thick fur. The only unprotected part of a bear's body is its nose. Aside from honey, bears also eat fish, small mammals, fruit, roots, seeds, insects and carrion.
Sun bears are different because of their short fur, which is not shaggy like other bears. They also have a white or yellow marking on their chest which people believe looks like a rising sun, which is how they got their name.
The American black bear is the most common bear species in North America. Although some male black bears can weigh up to 900 pounds, most black bears weigh around 300 pounds. They live in the mountainous or heavily wooded areas of southern North America, the Appalachians, the Adirondacks, the Great Lakes region, the Rocky Mountains and Canada.
Black bear cubs usually weigh less than a pound when they are born in the winter. They are blind, furless and for about 40 days do nothing but eat and sleep, curled up with their mother in the den. However, by the following fall, the bears weigh about 40 pounds.
The glacier bear is a rare species of the American black bear. The glacier bear has a mix of gray and black hairs, making it appear a blue color. In fact, despite their name, black bears come in many different shades and colors. Kermode black bears are often a creamy or sometimes pure white and the cinnamon black bears are a rusty brown color.
A grizzly bear has a brown layer of under-fur, which lies close to the skin. It also has outer hairs which are white or silver-tipped. The mix of these hairs, giving a streaked gray "grizzled" appearance, is how the bear got its name. Grizzly bears can be quite dangerous, especially when injured, and have also attacked humans unprovoked.
Grizzly bears may eat 80 to 90 pounds of food each day in the summer and early fall. This amount increases as the bears prepare for the winter, building a layer of fat that will help them to keep warm and survive.
Grizzly bears live, hunt and feed alone. They don't communicate much, but it is thought that they use their claws to scratch bark of trees, leaving behind their scent so that other bears know the grizzly is around and will keep away.
Grizzly bears come together in the summer when the streams fill with salmon, an important part of a grizzly's diet.
Kodiak bears love salmon and are excellent fishers. Conveniently, they live on Kodiak Island, off the coast of Alaska, which is a spawning ground for salmon. A mother Kodiak bear can catch 15 salmon in an hour to feed herself and her cubs.
Polar bears have slip-proof bristles on their feet.
Polar bears do not live at either of the poles. Rather, they are found in the Arctic region around the North Pole.
Polar bears are better at swimming than any other bear. Than can swim at speeds of three to six miles an hour, thanks to their large forepaws that act like paddles and webbing between their toes. They have long necks, which helps them keep their head above water.
Polar bears have a thick layer of fat beneath their skin for insulation and their fur is made up of an overcoat and an undercoat. The fine, white hairs of the undercoat provide warmth, while the long guard hairs of the overcoat shed water easily and mat together to trap heat from the sun inside them. Polar bears have fur on their paws to keep their feet warm and their black skin absorbs heat.
Polar bears love ringed seal. When they spot a seal sitting on an ice floe, they swim up to it with only their head above water and pounce on the seal. They sometimes sit next to a seal's breathing hole in the ice and grab the seal when it comes up for air.
Sloth bears love to eat termites. The roof of a sloth bear's mouth is hollowed out, creating a vacuum effect when the sloth bear sucks up termites. The sloth bear inserts its mouth into a termite pillar and sucks up the insects, creating a sucking noise that is so loud it can be heard 200 yards away!
Spectacled bears climb trees and stay in the tree for three or four days eating its fruit before they move on to the next tree. Orchard farmers find these bears a nuisance, but spectacled bears scatter the seeds of trees and other plants, making them important for forest growth.
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
7 Minute Quiz 7 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
5 Minute Quiz 5 Min
How much do you know about dinosaurs? What is an octane rating? And how do you use a proper noun? Lucky for you, HowStuffWorks Play is here to help. Our award-winning website offers reliable, easy-to-understand explanations about how the world works. From fun quizzes that bring joy to your day, to compelling photography and fascinating lists, HowStuffWorks Play offers something for everyone. Sometimes we explain how stuff works, other times, we ask you, but we're always exploring in the name of fun! Because learning is fun, so stick with us!
Playing quizzes is free! We send trivia questions and personality tests every week to your inbox. By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our privacy policy and confirming that you are 13 years old or over.


text: No, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea. $329 is too much for some people, so they'll still lose more sales to Android than they would have if they had come out with an 8 GB for under $299. It's not like they won't sell millions either way, though.So I guess there is no 8GB cheap iPad mini ?


text:
The Newtown festival is renowned for the assortment of live music, food, arts, the famous dog show and craftspeople plugging their wares. Look forward to food and drink by local Newtown favourites Mary's, Black Star Pastry, Young Henrys, Bloodwood, Stinking Bishops, Earl's Juke Joint, Hartsyard and Rising Sun Workshop among many others. This year the festival took an ecological step by deciding not to sell bottled water, so don't forget to bring yours. Water refill stations will be available instead.
Enjoy yourself while doing a good deed: give a gold coin or a note at the entry, to support the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, the organiser of the event whose funds come only from your donations on this very special day.
This Sunday November 9th, from 10am-5pm.


text:
Aston Martin will 3D scan the body of customers who place a deposit for the upcoming Valkyrie Hypercar to give them the perfect driving position.
"We are not focused on maximum speed limit. We are concentrating on how dynamic the car is," he said.
Aston Martin's Valkyrie will be created in collaboration with Red Bull Advanced Patrik Nilsson, President of Aston Martin Asia, CNBC .
"Like the Formula One, the winner car is the fastest, the fastest around the corner and accelerates the fastest, not necessarily the top speed."
Each example will be tailor-made for the happy owner, and that includes a full 3D scan of their bodies for the driver's seat.
Adrian Newey, the most successful F1 designer in the world, has helped publish the upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie, with the company aiming for a 1,000 kg empty weight for the final production examples.
The power will come from an F1-inspired hybrid powertrain combining a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated engine with a Rimac KERS system for a total of 1,000 hp. source:www.carscoops.com


text:
Life has been pretty busy lately; getting a brand new group of students, working hard to finish decorating my apartment, and trying to stick with my new year's goals. I've been working on trying to take more photos during the week but it still slips my mind from time to time. I started carrying a disposable camera in my purse as a fun way of capturing moments that I won't be able to see until I finish the film, so it acts kind of like an incentive to capture more of life's moments. For now, here are a few pictures taken from my iPhone.
One of my favorite places for brunch is Rock Bass along the Susquehanna River. Stuffed french toast with a view for the win.
For a final project for photo one, students were hand-coloring their black and white prints with photo oils just like they were decades ago. I hand-colored this print of my sister as an example.
Sticking with one of my goals for 2016, I attempted to make some sweet and spicy chicken for dinner. Despite the fact that I didn't have any panko and tried to make breading with flour, an egg and bread crumbs, it wasn't half bad. I mixed up some sauce with things I already had in my cabinet; vegetable oil, soy sauce, hot sauce, and honey.
Thanks for stopping by! xo
Thanks for stopping by! xo


text:
Prom - An Evening To Remember
With prom just around the corner, we know you want the perfect Flowers, Corsages, Wrist Corsages and Boutonnieres to compliment your beautiful dress and tuxedo.
You can work with our flower designers to find the perfect flowers and type that fits your style, your dress and the latest Prom trends.
Visit our Prom "Flower Bar"
Stop by and visit the Prom "Flower Bar" and together we'll design the perfect prom flower arrangement or corsage just for you!
We've created some easy steps that will make picking your prom flowers easier than picking your date (wink, wink)! Stop by Blossom Town – you're sure to have a fun experience selecting the perfect flowers for prom. We've created a step by step process, plus we have some fun samples making it easier to visualize you choices.
Learn More about the Prom Flower Bar
Place your order early and get a discount!
Check out our Prom Gallery for ideas! Call 507-637-2943 or stop in at Blossom Town to place your prom Flowers order and we'll have flowers ready for the big day!
Prom Flowers Photo Gallery


text:
Recently I was lucky enough to hear Paull Young of Charity Water speak at a Thankyou Group industry night.
Similar to Thankyou, US based Charity Water sells bottled water with 100% of proceeds going towards funding water wells in developing nations… all with zero ad spend.
So what's their secret?
There were so many incredible lessons that Paull shared regarding Charity Water's journey over the years, but perhaps the closing comment summed up their 'secret' best.
In discussing all the possibilities available with digital, Paull challenged the Thankyou team (& all of us) that "if someone were to tell you that they only posted about themselves 20% of the time and posted about you 80% of the time, if they made sure they posted during peak engagement times, etc… you would likely not be friends with that person for very long".
Yes, be professional and do things well.
But above all, be human 🙂


text:
Stockton, CA
Jerry Valker
Aug. 11, 1951 - Oct. 8, 2010
Jerry, 59, was a fun & loving man always looking to laugh and joke around with loved ones. He fathered three daughters and was a father figure to so many others. He will be missed and always in our hearts. Survived by daughters
Sabrina, Shannon and Samantha, & 7 grandchildren, brothers Stan and Tom, sisters Marty and Evelyn. Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the home of Crystal Miranda 1148 N. Kastell, Stockton CA 95215.


text:
Winesecrets, Memstar Join Forces to Provide Alcohol Adjustment Sevices In North America
Winesecrets, North America's provider of wine filtration solutions, and Memstar, an Australian innovator in wine membrane technology, announced an agreement that allows Winesecrets to provide mobile alcohol adjustment services using Memstar's patented evaporative perstraction technology, and sales of Memstar's alcohol adjustment equipment, to wineries in North America.
Wayne Shub, Memstar Managing Director, said in a press release, "Memstar's AA process is now a leading alcohol adjustment technology in almost every recognized winemaking country in the world. We are impressed with Winesecrets professional and extensive operations and see this partnership as a great fit."
"We are pleased to be able to offer new options and forward looking solutions for the needs of the wine industry," Eric Dahlberg, president of Winesecrets said. "Providing outstanding service with Memstar's innovative technology, adds convenience and flexibility, which the industry both expects and deserves. We feel fortunate to be able to deliver Memstar's cutting edge technology to wineries throughout North America."
This partnership adds to the Winesecrets lineup of technologies, including STARS, Reverse Osmosis, Cross Flow Filtration and Ultrafiltration.


text:
Some restrictions apply. See our complete shipping policy.
Within hours of being plucked, this whole leaf organic green tea is gently steamed and then rolled into small tight pearls. When steeped, the leaves unfurl, releasing a well-rounded, full-bodied flavor.
Our organic green tea is harvested by the Tuija people of Enshi, China. Since becoming Fair Trade in 2006, they have built new roads and a hospital, and their whole wages have increased.
Serves 4
Blend soy sauce and sherry mixture in frying pan and place salmon pieces in for 10 minutes to marinate. Simmer over moderate heat until sauce is absorbed. Steep tea bags in mug for 5 minutes. Squeeze and remove tea bags. Stir in cornstarch. Pour tea mixture over salmon and cook another 5 minutes or until sauce slightly thickens. Roast sesame seeds in dry frying pan over low heat until seeds begin to jump. Mix seeds into salmon and sauce. In Good Health!


text:
After coming up with a rather offbeat yet interesting venture like Sahasam, the aggressive star Gopichand is all set to arrive with his new movie Loukyam. Just as the title indicates, there seems to be a good proportion of wisdom in the team as well. The reason for that is, it has the star writer Kona Venkat who is a master chef in cooking hit formulas.
For Loukyam also, something has been designed. Generally whenever Kona Venkat writes a script, the comedy king Brahmanandam enters the second half and takes the film to a new range. Secondly, Kona has the habit of doing a spoof on a film or taking a dig at a particular hero from a different movie.
In Loukyam, there is already a spoof on the family hit Manam and some comedy has been cooked based on that. By aligning the three tangents of Kona Venkat, Brahmanandam and the spoof, Gopichand seems to have got into the right path for success. The film also has Bollywood star Mukesh Rishi doing a powerful and impact creating role.
ALSO READ : Loukyam Trailer Talk


text:
I have been busy recently with a haze of architectural parties celebrating the subject in general, certain individuals and student work.
Somewhat jaded by discussions with planning and conservation officers, I staggered around the V&A, offering my take on the collection. My theme was that the relationship of the object to everyday life was lost; that the dislocated objects simulate the confused contemporary perception of cities; and that new buildings are viewed as non-functioning abstracts to be judged in terms of adjacency and form rather than delight in use. Or so it seemed.
I began at a Baroque choir in the middle of a great hall, blocking views and destroying space. It was sold in the 19th century by a Dutch church for exactly the same reasons - a nice example of history repeating itself. Contemporary reports suggest the congregation was happy to see it go, despite it being original with 300 years' service. It was sold and dispatched because it was no longer required. It all sounds very sensible, but can you imagine offering that solution today?
Next stop was the cast halls: admiring the technique of the casters, the scale of the castings, and finally the enthusiasm and wealth of the collectors, literally plastering Europe on their Grand Tour. How strange must much of 18th-century and 19th-century Europe have appeared as the early tourist souvenir business emerged - sheathed doors, interiors and whole towers in a scaffold of dripping plaster.
It made brilliant business sense: to see what you had traveled to marvel at you were forced to admire and buy the reproduction; an early illustration of the value (or not) of 'authenticity'.
These casts, which record a random moment in history - when tourism first met antiquity - are now being used in the restoration of the originals, which are all damaged by pollution.
Restoration is not to an original state but to a previous, earlier, better condition. As such they represent the unanswered question of conservation: to when do you return and why?
Should we rip out the Gothic arches of our ancient cathedrals and restore them to the first three rows of the original Romanesque arches, or their original Norman foundations?
After the emotion of the cast halls, we passed the original casts of Andrea della Robbia, the inventor of mass-produced architectural ornament - all manufactured at least 450 years before the Arts & Crafts romanticised the notion of 'working on the tools' and Loos' later condemnation of ornament and brogues. Passing a religious icon, Jesus on an Ass, I was introduced to early sculpture; misscaled objects trundled around ancient streets striking the fear of God into the populace.
Admiring Jock Kinnear's transport signs, I noticed that the greatest current assault on the physical and visual delights of the environment is the plethora of traffic signs, streetlights, CCTV cameras, railings and estate agents' boards that dominate all views. These supposed ephemera are, in fact, permanent, as are the hoardings of the new urban vernacular of plastic sheeting, plywood and dodgy art: mobile facadism.
Tower cranes are another manifestation - unseen by planning officialdom because of their continuous relocation, they are actually a permanent intrusion into supposedly sacred views.
I concluded at Paxton's train-ticket sketch for the Crystal Palace. It is difficult to assess what has been more influential: his invention of an integrated glass and steel construction system; the architecture of frame and infill; the idea of mobile building; the transformation of the temporary to the permanent; or the iconic power of the back of an envelope sketch. I cannot be sure. What is worth noting is that this great inventor of architecture was manager of the Duke of Devonshire's estate, and never set foot in a school of architecture.
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment
Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions.
Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted.


text:
Links: Highlights | Delaney Yule Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Playing in its second game in as many nights, the ninth-ranked Merrimack College field hockey program knocked off No. 10 Stonehill, 5-4, on Wednesday evening in non-league play from Martone-Mejail Field behind a five-point night from senior Rylie Hammond(Phillipston, Mass.) and three defensive saves for junior center back Delaney Yule (Southbury, Conn.). The Warriors improved to 4-1 on the year entering their Northeast-10 Conference opener on Sunday.
The Basics
Score: #9 Merrimack 5, #10 Stonehill 4
Records: #9 Merrimack (4-1) | #10 Stonehill (2-3)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Coaches Corner
Head Coach Megan Shea: "It was a great game against a great opponent. We are finally putting the pieces together, getting corners, scoring goals, etc. I'm very pleased with our goalkeeping and individuals on and off the bench who are stepping up big for us. It's a very exciting future for this team, and after the back-to-back games, it really showed how badly this team wants it."
Rapid Recap
- Stonehill pressured Merrimack early, with reigning Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Week Kacie Smith recording two shots in the 11thminute the resulted in a save for sophomore Katharina Ohmen (Bremen, Germany) and a defensive save for Yule. Yule picked up all three of her defensive saves in a three-minute span in the first half
- The Skyhawks opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but freshman Colleen Ellis (Westford, Mass.) netted her first-ever goal to tie the score at the 17:34 mark
- Hammond netted her first goal of the night with 14 minutes to play in the opening stanza, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead at halftime
- Four minutes into the second half, junior Mary McNeil (Canton, Mass.) struck a pin-point delivery to the far post where sophomore Lindsey Nolte(Canton, Mass.) tipped it home to double Merrimack's lead
- That tally started a run where the program's traded goals with senior Taylor Simpson (York, Maine) answering a Smith goal with a strike of her own to increase Merrimack's lead to 4-2.
- Hammond netted her second of the night with less than 15 minutes remaining to double the Warriors' lead once again, 5-3
- Stonehill answered one more time to cut its deficit in half, and had a chance to tie the game with less than six minutes to play. Smith stepped up to take a penalty stroke, hitting the ball high and left, but Ohmen dove and blocked the shot over the crossbar to prevent the equalizer
Team Leaders (MC // STO)
- Goals: Rylie Hammond (2) // Kacie Smith (3)
- Assists: Mary McNeil (2) // Carly Andersen (1)
- Points: Hammond (5) // Smith (6)
- Defensive Saves: Delaney Yule (3) // Michaela Antonellis (1)
- Saves: Katharina Ohmen (13) // Sara Freedman (13)
Notes and Notables
- Ellis became the second Warrior in as many nights to collect their first-ever goal
- Yule now has all four of Merrimack's defensive saves through fives games, and is tied for the lead in the NE10
- With 13 points on the season, Hammond vaulted in second place in the NE10. She now has 86 for her career, moving into fifth on Merrimack's all-time list
- Ohmen's 13 saves tied her season high as she jumped into third in the NE10 with 45 stops through five games
Up Next
The Warriors begin NE10 play on Sunday afternoon when the Navy and Gold host Pace University on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. from Martone-Mejail Field.


text:
ACS MOBILES, Motorola Repairing center in Gurgaon. We are lead in to treat best Motorola Phones and have a largest Motorola service center and care services in gurgaon sec-14, India is the largest chain of apple /iPhone service stores in India for multi brand tablets and smart phones is providing wide ranging services on all Apple devices in sector 14 Gurgaon.
Anything the issue with your Apple device is serviced by a team of experts technicians providing warranty after service and helping you to spare time and bother to turn up at the store. All models of Mac Book, iPhone and iPad are serviced at these centers and repairs include servicing of volume button, battery camera, and other parts of any Apple device. Delivery is guaranteed within short time and what is more, you can get update on the servicing of your device to keep yourself informed. Servicing of iPhone include 6, 6Plus, 5G, 5S, 4S, 3G and 3GS, and for Mac Book, Air and Pro. ACS MOBILES iPhone Apple service center GURGAON are dependable and trustworthy. ACS MOBILES is Best Mobile Apple iPhone Repairing Center in Gurgaon Sector 14.
Now no need to search Call center no or Service Center for Mobile Repairing in Gurgaon you can simply call +91 9999288188 and forget all your worries.


text:
#9. Gustavo Cabrera – OF, 17 yo, DSL: Cabrera is a right-handed hitting outfielder who signed with the Giants for $1.3 million last season. He hails from the Dominican, and was one of the highest rated international players on the market in 2012. MLB.com ranked him as their #1 international prospect coming into this season. He made his professional debut in the DSL last month, and has all of 26 games under his belt. He's hitting .207 with 10 SB in 15 attempts on the season. At this point, Cabrera is very young and a huge unknown. Depending on how the rest of his season plays out, he could be a big mover (either up or down) on this list.
What we do know about the kid is that he had scouts absolutely drooling last summer, and his signing bonus shows it. The common reviews rave about his foot speed and bat speed. He's a 6'2", athletic kid who should be able to play any outfield position. Like the majority of international prospects, Cabrera's tools are very raw, but it is believed (hoped?) that he can be an above-average hitter with lightning speed. He spent some time in America playing ball as an amateur, but the Giants decided to assign him to the Dominican Summer League anyway. They're hoping they picked up a gem here, but you just never know with these young, raw players. It's probably a long shot, but it'd be pretty cool to see Cabrera, Nat Javier, Christian Arroyo and Ryder Jones get a chance to play together in Salem-Keizer next season.


text:
North Canton's Francis "Butch" Paquin faced Pro Football Hall of Famer Curley Culp at the 1967 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Kent State University always will hold a special place in Curley Culp's heart.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle won an NCAA Division I wrestling title there in 1967 as an Arizona State heavyweight. He pinned three opponents, including Adams State's Nick Carollo in 51 seconds in the championship match.
North Canton's Francis "Butch" Paquin had a little more success against Culp at Kent State.
Wrestling for Lehigh, Paquin lost his second-round match to Culp by decision 15-5. He was the only opponent Culp didn't pin at the national championships.
Paquin recalls almost a half century later how physical the match was.
"I have to say that I never experienced human strength to the level of Curley Culp," Paquin said. "It wasn't that he was a great technical wrestler. His strategy was just to get his hands on his opponent and destroy him with his strength."
Paquin was a formidable high school wrestler. He became Hoover's first state champion in 1965, when he won the heavyweight division. Paquin did not have a point scored against him as a high school senior until his 24th match. He also helped lead the Vikings to the team title.
College wrestling teams from the East were not exposed to teams from the West in the 1960s. Paquin never heard of Culp before the 1967 national finals.
Paquin first met Culp at the weigh in. It was an eye-opening experience for Paquin and Penn State's Mike Reid, who went on to star in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.
"It would not be an exaggeration to say we were both astounded," Paquin said. "His arms were literally the size of legs, and believe me, they were all muscle."
Paquin beat Maryland's Tom Sinbaldi 4-0 in the first round and advanced to face Culp, who received a bye. Culp rolled up 15 points against Paquin.
"It is probably the most points I had ever had scored on me," Paquin said. "Over the years when folks would say I should be pleased that Curley did not pin me, I would tell them that he was very fresh at the time of the tournament. He threw me so hard that I bounced high enough to turn over before I came back down on the mat.
"After the match, we did have a short chat, and I found Curley to be a real gentleman. He was a fine person who may have known it was his year."
Paquin was very pleased to see Culp elected to the Hall of Fame. His job in the Timken Company's Philadelphia office prevented him from seeing Culp's football games often.
"I do clearly remember one game where they announced that Curley was named the strongest man in the NFL," Paquin said. "I guess that says it all about the strength of this man."
Based on one day at Kent State, Paquin certainly could attest to it.
Reach Mike at 330-580-8341 or firstname.lastname@example.com
On Twitter: @mpopovichREP


text:
Our delivery routes are set up to deliver to your area on a six day basis. Estimated time of delivery depends on your location.
- Delivery minimum is $200.00 per order.
- A delivery fee of $25.00 will be applied if order is under minimum.
Next day delivery cut off time: To be called, emailed and/or faxed in by 11:00 p.m. for next day delivery. NOTES: Pre-cuts order needs to be ordered via 2-day by 12:00 noon. (Monday for Wednesday delivery, Tuesday for Thursday delivery, Wednesday for Friday delivery, Thursday for Saturday delivery, and Friday for Monday delivery).
Partial Cases: To allow you to better control your inventory and food cost we sell almost every item by the breaker (pound, each, pack, unit and etc…).
Specialty Items: We take great pride in being able to procure almost any specialty items on a 2-day pre-order parameter. We also work with an excellent pre-cuts company that will custom cut any items to your specifications.
Inventory: Our inventory averages a three day turnover to ensure product freshness. We will be happy to carry a specific brand or item for you if needed upon your request.
Exchange/Returns/Shortages: All exchanges and returns must be reported within 24 hours.
DAIRY RETURN POLICY: No return on dairy products, unless it is a wrong pull, damaged upon delivery, and/or incorrectly delivered to the wrong location.
We are proud to offer service to most parts of the greater Bay Area.
Dark Stop – We service many locations on dark stop (key drop). Customers have found this to be beneficial in numerous of ways: consistent delivery time, last minute inventory needs and/or replenishment, and efficient prep time for morning staff.
Please inquire with us, if you don't see the area of service you are seeking for.