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Top 10 Natural Remedies to Get Rid of Armpit Rash Fast
The armpits are rather vulnerable parts of your body. They are exposed to high temperatures which leads to having wet skin at a stretch. This makes these areas of your body be one of the best breeding spots for various yeasts and bacteria.
Moreover, the skin under your arms is treated with rather harsh chemicals on a daily basis which can lead to unpleasant allergic reactions. You apply gels for depilation, remove the hair and use antiperspirants. Thus, there is nothing surprising about the fact that one day you may experience armpit rash.
In order to get rid of this skin malaise, you can use several home remedies which have been described in the current article. Still, it will be advisable to understand the real reason for this health condition before you decide to try any of the methods.
Armpit Rash: Reasons and Symptoms
Armpit rash may vary because of different factors which entailed this malaise. The most popular symptoms of this problem are an itching sensation, pain, skin discoloration and rash. Unpleasant odour which can occur in some particular cases of armpit rash can be rather embarrassing.
It is also important to pay your attention on the fact that the skin can become bumpy or rather tender and extremely dry. Some culprits of armpit rash can cause skin exfoliation. In such situations, you will probably have white or yellowish flakes on the area under your arms.
As far as you can see, these skin conditions can be rather nasty. First of all, the odour can be rather unpleasant. Furthermore, having such skin problems will make depilating extremely painful. Therefore, you will obviously resign from this normal procedure. As a result, you are likely to wear clothes with long sleeves even if the weather is hot.
If you have figured out at least one symptom mentioned on this list, in all likelihood, you have got armpit rash. Sometimes this skin issue will vanish quickly without your help. This is true in the cases when the problem has occurred due to the weather changes or an allergic reaction to some cosmetics. Otherwise, the ailment can be present on your skin for quite a long time providing you do not treat it.
You will see that some problems should be addressed quickly in order to get rid of armpit rash.
Contact dermatitis
One of the least serious causes of armpit rash is contact dermatitis, which is the result of the exposure of your skin to an irritant or allergen. Normally, you will be able to figure out the culprit of your skin issue quite easily. If you have just developed your rash, it is possible that your skin simply doesn't like your new beauty products.
Check whether your antiperspirant, deodorant, depilation cream, lotion or fragrance has entailed this problem.
You can also experience armpit rash after using a new method of depilation. For instance, your skin may be rather sensitive during the first time you are using depilatory devices with plucking elements. As a result, you may experience irritation and skin discoloration after this procedure.
Eczema or atopic dermatitis is another possible reason for your armpit rash. This problem usually develops in the childhood and attacks the folds of the body. For instance, it can occur in the armpits, on the inside area of your elbows and the backs of the knees.
The particular symptoms of this malaise are red skin and an itching sensation. Unfortunately, the area of your skin affected with eczema can also bleed or have clear fluid on it.
Frequently, people who are suffering from eczema experience these symptoms several times a year, although normally their skin looks healthy.
Seborrheic dermatitis
There is another type of dermatitis which can lead to armpit rash. It is sebborheic dermatitis which is a skin malaise entailed by the excessive production of skin oils (sebum). The great difference between eczema and sebborheic dermatitis is that in this second case skin becomes rather oily. It results in the appearance of scales or flakes which can be yellowish and oily.
As a rule, this kind of dermatitis attacks the skin which is covered with hair. Therefore, it can occur on some other areas, for instance, on your head. The main cause of this malaise is the hormonal imbalance in one's body.
Candidiasis is a skin issue which is caused by a fungus or yeast. The infection likes moist areas of the body as well as mucosa. It can occur during hot days, specially, under the condition that a person is wearing inappropriate clothes, for instance, too tight T-shirts or the ones made of artificial materials which do not let the skin breath.
Of course, poor hygiene is one of the most frequent reasons for candidiasis. It is also important to pay your attention on the fact that people who prefer the diet rich in sugars and alcohol become rather susceptible to this illness as candida can develop easily when a person has excessive levels of sugar in one's blood.


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Tips for sharing your business posts on Facebook
The time was, if your business had a Facebook Page, you were special. Facebook wasn't being fully utilized by small businesses yet, so getting your business on there gave you a great advantage. These days, everybody and their dog is on Facebook. There are more small businesses on Facebook than there are that have their own…Read More
Featured Business: Nichols Chiropractic is a new business with years of experience
Kasey Nichols decided at some point the last year or so that she wanted to leave her employer and start her own practice. The most immediate concern is often the hardest: Does she stay here in Sapulpa or move to a place where the competition is higher, but so is the average income? Ultimately, she…Read More
One word to start hitting those goals for the year
The first quarter of the year is about to wrap up. Where are you? Where did the time go? Did you use it to get closer to those goals you set for yourself this year, or further? By now, most of the "resolutions" people have set will have worn off. The gym is less crowded,…Read More
Featured Business: Balamachi Salon & Spa
One of Sapulpa's most beloved salons has just celebrated 5 years on February 12th. We caught up with Shanna Fletcher, owner of the Balamachi Salon & Spa to ask her how she got started and how things have been in the last five years. Balamachi, is a Choctaw word for "make it fragrant". Shanna found the…Read More
Will this work? How to make a decision when you're stuck.
So I've been facing a pretty difficult decision over at our sister site, Sapulpa Times. We're about to open the gates on advertising, and I've been struggling with how to handle it. As a web designer, I tend to loathe advertising. It's typically rampant with flashy ads that pull users away from the content. Most…Read More
Local Daylight Donuts Shop Hopes to Start New Tradition with Funnel Cake Fridays
The Tulsa State Fair might be weeks away, but you can get a bit of the taste of the fair early, with a brand new recurring event that Sapulpa Daylight Donuts will be starting in tandem with Sapulpa's first home football game. Starting at 5pm, Daylight will be opening up their store on Lincoln and…Read More
How a first-grade teacher built a better brand than you
My son just started first grade at school and I'm extremely impressed with his teacher, Miss Honeycutt. She was polite and sweet in the way that all first-grade teachers should be, but in addition to that, she has built a brand for herself that would seriously compete with most small businesses. As a teacher, she's wholly…Read More
Featured Business: I Am BBQ, A strange name worth trying.
Y'all, the moment I took my first bite of an I Am BBQ's rack of ribs, I became a believer. When you meet Bryan and Crystal Powell and hear their story, you'll become one too.Read More
Featured Business: DeVries Farms
Located off Hwy 33, west of John Christner Trucking, DeVries Farms is not like the other vendors at Sapulpa Main Street Route 66 Farmer's Market. They have no produce to speak of, other than farm-fresh eggs. The primary product they offer at their booth is bars of homemade soap, made from goat's milk and an…Read More
Success in business means doing the small things well.
Sapulpa Businesses, I'm going make this easy: Answer. Your. Phone. Running a business isn't easy by any stretch. Those of us who have to run small businesses or single-person startups are well aware of this fact. Too often, we find ourselves having to don the many hats of the business owner purely out of necessity.…Read More

subset: commoncrawl


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Editorial: Tahrir II: The Energy Rebellion
"When people lose everything, they have nothing left to lose, and they lose it"-Gerald Celente (1946 - )
They are calling it Tahrir II, and like most movie sequels it will be bloodier, longer and less successful than its predecessor. A new birth of freedom in The Land of the Pharaohs lasted barely 30 months.
The first wave of tumult that became known as the Arab Spring would be blamed on the discontent sewn over decades by governments from Tunis to Tripoli. The protests surrounding Tahrir II confirm a different root cause underlying this Pan-Arab upwelling of malaise: economic depression.
In the past few months, the price of basic commodities, including electricity, water, gas and food have risen considerably. Prices of gasoline and cooking gas in particular have doubled, squeezing an already pinched middle and working class to the point of suffocation. Rolling power cuts and food shortages were straw that broke the camel's back.
Although the current bloodshed in Egypt is masked by regional politics, it is underpinned by lack of access to two fundamental pillars of modern civilisation – a decent income and access to energy. And this, alarmingly, is a prospect that will transcend a thoroughfare at the heart of Cairo.


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Date Range: May 10 – May 12, 2016
Summary: Two short nights in Asheville. If you don't go, you don't know.
THE Travel BLOG
Asheville - Beer City USA
Travel Stage: After Boone, Before Tennessee
Date Range: May 10 – May 12, 2016
Summary: Two short nights in Asheville. If you don't go, you don't know.
Boone Take 2 & GrandFather Mountain
Travel Stage: After Huntersville, Before Asheville
Date Range: May 5 – 10, 2016
Summary: We stay at a Thousand Trails campground in Lenoir, NC. From here we visit Boone and hike Grandfather Mountain.
When we visited Banner Elk and Boone last fall, we left with some unfinished business. We also had really liked the area and wanted to spend more time there in general. This time, we brought our house with us too!
Travel Stage: After Kitty Hawk, before Boone & Asheville
Date Range: April 17 – May 4, 2016
Summary: After the Outer Banks of North Carolina blew us inland, we head back to the Farm in Huntersville/Cornelius area where we were in the fall to do lots of work. We are also joined by some fellow full-time RVers that we met just a few weeks before.
Coming back to Huntersville (30 minutes north of Charlotte) again was like a sigh of relief. We had been travelling and touring pretty hard since Fishersville and had endured a fair share of bad weather. When we arrived back on the farm it was sunny and gorgeous out, and we knew we didn't have to go anywhere for a couple weeks!
Kitty Hawk & Kill Devil Hills
Travel Stage: From the Eastern Shore of Virginia we go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina
Date: April 15 - 16, 2016
Summary: We head to the Outer Banks to visit the famous Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. Plus, Tom's cousin lives there! Despite the cold and wind, we tour the Wright Brothers National Memorial where the first manned flights happened and Jockey's Ridge State Park where they have the largest sand dunes on the east coast!
We left the Delmarva Peninsula and made our way back across the 22 mile, $22 Cheasapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
We rolled into Kitty Hawk that evening without a clue as to where we were going to stay. The Walmart parking lot greeted us with a big "NO OVERNIGHT PARKING" sign. That, coupled with the mile marker signs that are how everyone gets around really reminded us of our time in the Florida Keys. Minus, of course, the warm wonderful weather. We found the Outer Banks of North Carolina just as windy and frigid as the Eastern Shore of Virginia had been. We were going to be burning our propane tonight!
Mad Dash to D.C.
Travel Stage: After Hoover, AL, before Washington, D.C.
Date Range: March 11-20, 2016
Summary: The DC Cherry Blossom peak bloom forecast was moved up two weeks, so our travel time from Alabama to Washington, D.C. was cut in half. As a result, we traverse 5 states in less than two weeks to get there!
Traveling is hard work.
On our travel days, we set the expectation that nothing else is going to get done. That way, if we feel exhausted by the time we pack up, slides in, hitch up, drive for hours, arrive, register, find the site, level the rig, unhitch, put out the slides, and unpack – phew! – we can just relax and recover.
Travel Stage: Day trip to Charlotte while staying on the farm
Date: Dec 17, 2015
Summary: Quick bike tour of Charlotte, which was only about 25 minutes away from where we were staying in Huntersville.
We were only about 20 minutes away from the city of Charlotte for almost a month while boondocking and hadn't gotten around to making a trip to see it. A couple days before we planned to depart North Carolina, we decided to make a day of it. We took our bikes like we have before to tour the city. It is such a good way to see a lot of a city in a short amount of time.
Before this lifestyle, we considered ourselves pretty frugal people. Now, we are even more so, and cities to us generally mean expensive. Food, shops, entertainment - it's all pretty expensive. Luckily, we've learned that you can get the "feel" of a place by just observation. And if you look in the right places, you can find some pretty cool things for free or cheap.
Travel Stage: Boondocking in Huntersville, North Carolina
Date Range: Nov 23 - December 18
Summary: After leaving our campground in Lexington, we go to Huntersville to boondock on a friend's property, which will hereafter be referred to as "The Farm." We have a lot of fun at the Farm and Lake Norman, meet some more full-time RVers, and do some manual labor to refill the coffers ;).
The Farm
So after we departed from Lexington, North Carolina we made the short 1 hour drive down to Huntersville to boondock without water OR electric hookup on our family friends' farm. Here is our fabulous spot!
About one year ago in November of 2014, Tom bid farewell to his job and immediately left on an errand run to transport a boat from Michigan to Florida. His trip took him through the town of Cornelius, North Carolina, where old family friends had moved to and was a convenient overnight break in the long haul.
Now a year later in November 2015, he found himself in the Old North State again. North Carolina had always been a destination on our travel map. Our family friends joked that we should save it for the end of our journey, because we were sure to fall in love with the place and want to stay. Our friends in Cornelius had offered a place to boondock on their farm and join them for Thanksgiving at the end of the month. However, we had one more stop planned before we got there.
July 2020


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The simple answer must be 'Yes'; why else would Chief Constables run 'Anti Corruption' units. There has clearly been corruption with the police in the past because some serving and retired officers have been convicted of corruption offences. When I talk about corruption I mean a police officer using their position as a police officer to engage in criminal activity. Any police officer committing burglaries or car theft or any other crime when off duty is clearly a criminal, but not necessarily corrupt. I'm talking about officers accepting bribes to look the other way, giving information about police activity to criminals, supplying criminals with a police radio, that sort of interaction with criminals.
How many corrupt officers there are is something which cannot be calculated because although some are convicted, some clearly get away with their criminality.
I actually believe the number of corrupt officers to be extremely low for several reasons. Police officers are more accountable for their actions and inactions today than at any time in history. Those same CCTV cameras that catch criminals in action also record each and every one of us, going about our daily lives more times than many people appreciate and that includes recording police officers,. Any officer being where they shouldn't be or doing something they shouldn't be doing is just as likely to be captured on CCTV as any other criminal.
It seems that every kid has a mobile telephone and many of these phones or other portable devices are capable of recording any conversation. Any officer considering giving a suspect a 'verbal' i.e. lying to what was actually said between them risks the suspect or one of the suspect's friends producing a recording of any conversation.
Magistrates and juries understandably treat uncorroborated evidence with caution because if the evidence is challenged it boils down to one person's word against another. Any corrupt officer would need a second corrupt officer to corroborated them if they wanted to be believed and that is extremely unlikely. Today's breed of officer is fully aware of the dangers of corruption and are actively encouraged to blow the whistle on any officer they suspect of corruption. Those same officers also know that within every force there are 'Sting team' and that honesty and integrity testing takes place all the time. If one officer was to suggest to another that they lie about their evidence the second officer would almost certainly report it because it was the right thing to do, but also because for all they know they might be being tested.
But despite sting operations, CCTV and whistle blowing I honestly believe that the number of corrupt officers is very few is because primarily the young men and woman joining the police are honest, law-abiding individuals. The realities of the job do wear off some of the shine and after a few years service officers can become more pragmatic, but the core personalities, those traits which resulted in their selecting police service as a career rarely fade and corruption simply isn't considered.
So, Is there corruption in the Police?
Maybe a few, but the number is minuscule to the number of honest, law-abiding officer.


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get in(to) hot water
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get in(to) hot water
To provoke or incite anger, hostility, or punishment against oneself; to cause or encounter trouble or difficulty, especially that which will result in punishment or reprisal. I got into a bit of hot water with Janice last night when she found out I'd been drinking all night. The senator has gotten into hot water with constituents over his callous remarks.


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Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann (27 November 1874 in Motal, Belarus – 9 November 1952 in Jerusalem) was the first President of Israel.
Weizmann came to the University of Manchester in 1904, where he lectured on chemistry. During World War I, the British forces needed to increase the production of artillery shells. The production was limited by a shortage of acetone, needed to produce cordite. Cordite was used to propel (fire) shells and bullets to their targets. Weizmann developed a production of acetone from the anaerobic fermentation of maize and horse chestnuts by bacteria. As a result, the production of shells rose from 500,000 in the first five months of the war to 16.4 million in 1915.[1][2]
Weizmann was President of Israel from 1948, and he died in 1952. He had worked for years to get agreement for the Israel.[3]
Published work[change | change source]
- Chaim Weizmann (1949). Trial and Error: The Autobiography of Chaim Weizmann. Jewish Publication Society of America.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ David, Saul 2012. How Germany lost the WWI arms race. BBC News
- ↑ Local industry owes much to Weizmann
- ↑ Current Biography 1942, pp 877-80. The story goes that Weizmann asked Balfour, "Would you give up London to live in Saskatchewan?" When Balfour replied that the British had always lived in London, Weizmann responded, "Yes, and we lived in Jerusalem when London was still a marsh."
- 1874 births
- 1952 deaths
- Autobiographers
- Belarusian Jews
- British chemists
- Israeli academics
- Israeli scientists
- Jewish academics
- Jewish British academics
- Jewish British scientists
- Jewish Israeli politicians
- Jewish scientists
- Naturalized citizens of Israel
- Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
- Presidents of Israel
- Russian Jews
- Zionists


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Absolutely beautiful~
I love the Doors so bright and comforting and the circular flower is beautiful. Did you study the art or are you self taught? I have always wanted to try it but am a bit too clumsy I fear.
I love your multi colour circular design (top of this page) as it reminds me of a kaleidoscope from my childhood!
Do you undertake commissions as this would be beautiful as a half panel in my sunroom door?
Many thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.


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New Delhi [India], July 3 (NewsVoir): India is currently faced with the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), causing damaging effects to the health and development of the country.
According to Global Burden of Diseases, NCDs, including cancer, heart disease, chronic lung disease and diabetes, pose huge health and economic burden in India and account for 6.4 million deaths every year. Hence, the urgent need to augment efforts to prevent NCDs in all settings and across age groups, since most NCDs are related to living habits and unhealthy choices like tobacco consumption.
AXA in India is undertaking a project as part of it Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative with Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) on 'Implementing a setting-based health promotion intervention for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases'.
The project involves implementing innovative behaviour change interventions on NCD prevention and control in multiple settings including schools, colleges and workplaces- across all age groups.
"AXA as an insurance brand is about protecting people over the long term. For us, corporate responsibility is an essential part of our vision as we strive to empower people to live better lives. We can do so by educating people about the risks that face them and help them change their behaviours to better manage their risks. We have adopted this approach of risk prevention to address the growing problem of NCDs in India," said Marie-Louise Elhabre, Chief Executive Officer.
"India is facing huge economic burden in relation to NCDs and mental health conditions. As a responsible corporate, AXA is working on reducing the risk factors of NCDs with vulnerable populations around the regions where we operate - in Bengaluru and Pune cities. This effort is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages," added Nagarajan V, Head HR and Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer.
The study is guided by a multi-disciplinary advisory committee including experts from WHO, academic institutions, NGOs and government representatives. The intervention includes the following components:
School-based intervention: To impart health promotion and prevention messages (life-skills based) for the prevention and control of behavioural risk factors contributing to NCDs (unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use) and to adopt a model of Health Promoting Schools.
College-based intervention: To prevent uptake and promote quitting of tobacco and alcohol use among college students and to promote alcohol and tobacco-free colleges through participatory research and social marketing approach.
Worksite intervention: To promote tobacco cessation through proactive offers of tobacco cessation at workplaces with focus on promoting use of national tobacco quit line and m-cessation programme of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
"We are guided by new evidence that highlights the need to step up cessation efforts at workplaces and the need to prevent NCD risk factors at young age. With heart attacks occurring in early twenties and school children being at risk of Type 2 diabetes, in India, there is dire need to implement innovative solutions to promote behaviour change across all settings," said Dr. Monika Arora, Director of the Health Promotion and Additional Professor at PHFI.
Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India added, "NCDs have been viewed as a problem of adulthood, but children, adolescents and young people are at risk as well. With this partnership, we hope to adopt a comprehensive health promotion approach to promote healthy lifestyles among school children, college students and adults in workplaces and contribute towards reduction and prevention of NCD risk factors." (NewsVoir)
AXA, PHFI announce partnership to reduce burden on NCDs
ANI | Updated: Jul 03, 2018 05:34 IST
New Delhi [India], July 3 (NewsVoir): India is currently faced with the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), causing damaging effects to the health and development of the country.


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Ask any economics professor – competition is a good thing. Exhibit A? The large pickup truck market. Ford F-Series trucks have been the number-one selling vehicle line in the United States for more than three decades, but the automaker has never grown complacent. Each new iteration has been bigger, badder and more capable than its predecessor, and that goes twofold for Dearborn's heavy-duty models.
Despite the fact that Toyota and Nissan never followed up their light-duty trucks with three-quarter or one-ton models, just the threat of such entries spurred Ford, General Motors and Dodge to significantly up their games. In the first half of 2010, the Detroit Three have introduced revamped heavy-duty pickups to feed a segment that, while shrinking, remains large and highly profitable. With that in mind, we saddled up to the Big Daddy of the F-Series range, the F-450, to see if the behemoth could play the dual roles of load-lugger and daily ride. Click through the jump to see how we fared.
Photos copyright ©2010 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL
If you discount oddball brutes like the International CXT, the Ford F-450 defines the upper limit of pickup trucks in nearly every way. The F-450 is only available as a crew cab with an eight-foot bed, four-wheel drive, dual-rear-wheel axle and Ford's all-new 6.7-liter PowerStroke diesel V8. If you need to tow large items – a single-family home or a beer-brewer's team of Clydesdales – an F-450 fits the bill with ease.
Since the mid-1990s, Ford has slowly separated the styling of the Super Duty from the light-duty F-150, and the latest iteration takes that practice to a new extreme. One look at that massive grille and it's obvious this is no truck for poseurs. From its base XL trim with black painted grille to our chromed Lariat tester, the F-450 is beyond imposing, with its vertically stacked headlight clusters, cab-mounted auxiliary lights and extended wheel arches. Despite being nearly new, the latest Super Duty models continue to retain the cut-down side glass near the mirrors and Tonka truck blockiness we've seen on every iteration for the last decade.
The only element that detracts from this Blue Oval's manly styling is its rolling stock. Even with eight-lug hubs, the 17-inch wheel and tire package looks downright tiny. Yet despite the visually small size, this combination provides plenty of load carrying capacity with a maximum payload of 5,000 pounds and a 24,000+ pound towing capacity.
Grab the handle on the A-pillar, get a footing on the side-step, and as soon as you're inside, those familiar with the last-generation Super Duty will feel right at home. Aside from some minor trim updates in the center stack, the rest of the dashboard features the same angular and ribbed hard plastic look as before. While the interior is hardly upscale, the materials appear durable and well-suited to a work vehicle likely to be exposed to dust, dirt and the occasional blast of mud. And don't worry about keeping hydrated, as the Super Duty packs a plethora of cupholders on nearly every horizontal surface.
XL and XLT trim F-450s come with a 40/20/40 split front bench, while out Lariat tester replaces that central seat with an immense center console. The two-tone black and gray leather seats are as flat as the V8's torque curve, but with high cornering forces low on the priority list, serious bolstering isn't as much of a concern as easy repeated ingress and egress.
All F-450s come equipped ready for towing and up-fitting with auxiliary equipment like winches and power-take-offs. The switch to enable the tow-haul mode is integrated into the column-mounted shift lever and the automatic trailer brake control and auxiliary switches are located at the base of the center stack. The F-450 is equipped with Ford's Sync system, which makes managing iPods, phone calls and navigation destinations a breeze with voice commands.
We haven't had an opportunity to try the new Scorpion diesel V8 in cold weather, but in warm weather, it fires instantly and runs remarkably quietly, although it's not as refined at idle as the revised Duramax diesel in General Motors' HD trucks. At light-loads, the Scorpion still exhibits a hint of the clatter that's remained a characteristic of diesels past, but it largely disappears under load and is non-existent while cruising around town or on the freeway.
Using a vehicle that's nearly 22 feet long with over 14 feet between the axles takes extra care around town, especially when you factor in the eight-foot width with the duallie rear axle. When we got our first tutorial on driving a truck with a trailer, we were told to pull farther out into the intersection when turning and use the mirrors to make sure we didn't clip curbs. Even without a trailer hooked up, the same applies to the F-450.
The big power-operated wings hanging off the doors feature a standard mirror in the upper portion with a smaller convex mirror down below to keep tabs on the rear fenders. We found ourselves checking the mirrors more frequently to ensure we weren't straying from our lane, suggesting that these massive duallies might benefit from the new lane departure warning and preventions systems currently available on other luxury models.
Ford beat GM out of the gate early this year with the announcement of the specifications for the new Super Duty, and as a result, GM's numbers came in just ever so slightly higher across the board when its trucks were announced a few weeks later. In reality, the differences are inconsequential, but that didn't stop Ford from going back to its dyno lab and coming out with some revised calibrations that have been implemented as a running change. The new settings up the output of the diesel from the 390 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of our test truck to an even 400 hp and 800 lb-ft, giving bragging rights back to Dearborn. Ford will apply the software upgrade to all existing Super Duty trucks when they come in to the dealership for service.
While we didn't have an opportunity to test this F-450 with a trailer, we did load it up for a trip to the local township compost site. With several hundred pounds of old lumber and building materials in the back, we didn't even make a dent in the 5,000 pound payload capacity. Nonetheless, the utility of a pickup with an eight-foot bed is hard to deny. And with a truck this tall, the optional tailgate step should be standard equipment. Trust us – tick the box.
In the last couple of months, we have had other opportunities to drive similar diesel-powered F-350s with trailers of 10,000-12,000 pounds back-to-back with comparable GM trucks. While the Duramax-powered haulers accelerated slightly quicker than the Fords, the exercise was effortless for the Dearborn machines. No matter what we hitched up, this truck had plenty of get-up-and-go.
Even though the F-450 is not built for runs to the grocery store, we like to focus on the day-to-day, so we also tried it out in this capacity. Once you get used to placing the duallie in the lane in order to avoid... situations, the F-450 is remarkably easier and more pleasant to drive than similar vehicles of just a few years ago. There's no dynamic prowess to speak of, but unlike GM, which uses an independent front suspension, Ford has retained its traditional twin-I-beam for lesser rear-wheel-drive Super Duties and a coil-sprung live axle for 4x4s like the F-450.
The result is a ride that is improved and actually surprisingly comfortable on smooth roads, but not as quite as well-controlled as its GM competition when the pavement is less than ideal. Over roads with repeating frost breaks, the F-450 exhibited a light longitudinal heaving motion that we haven't experienced before. Granted, it wasn't enough to make us nauseous, but it was just enough to be noticeable. Equally noticeable was the steering, which was devoid of slop or on center dead-zones, although the general sensation was that of a system that is over-boosted and slow. Like, five turns lock-to-lock slow.
But for a truck designed to tow large trailers, slow steering is helpful in preventing the driver from inducing any sway while cruising down the road. If the trailer does begin moving around, the newly standard sway control will quickly bring things back in line by applying the brakes alternately to each side of the truck until everything settles out.
During our week with the F-450, we were able to average around 15 miles per gallon – rather impressive for an 8,000 pound truck with the frontal area of a pole barn. Equally impressive was its acceleration and braking. Even on a gravel back road, the F-450 can sprint to 60 mph in just over nine seconds, and on pavement, it's even quicker. As equipped with the navigation system and a sunroof, our tester stickered at $63,655 – pretty typical for a truck of this size and capability, but high enough to turn off most poseurs who would be better served by an F-150.
The people who buy these generally need them and often accumulate a lot more miles per year than the average driver. It's not unusual for these heavy-duty diesel trucks to accumulate half-a-million miles or more before being put out to pasture. The F-450 can easily handle just about any task you put to it – as long as its massive rear wheel arches will fit.
Photos copyright ©2010 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL


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Know Before You Go: Although most of the planning and preparation is taken care of for you, there are still a few things you should know and some details you should take care of to ensure your comfort, safety and peace of mind. Please review the following information before your departure to ensure that any surprises along the way will only be pleasant ones.
Passports and Visas: It is each travelers responsibility to have a passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of departure and a visa if required. Please check the information at our visa page for the specific country/region you are visiting for more details. Passengers who are not U.S. citizens must check with the respective consulate or a visa agency to determine what personal identification is required. Passport applications are available at most U.S. Post Offices, as well as at regional Passport Agencies.
Entry Requirements: US citizens require a passport valid for six months beyond travel dates. Visas are required for Jordan
Trip Preparation: A little pre-planning can make your trip go a lot smoother. Several weeks before your trip, make a list of what you will need to take with you. Make sure your personal documents (passports, visas) are in order and that you have enough prescription medications to last through the trip. We suggest that you make photocopies of passports, visas, and any other important travel documents and pack them separately from the originals. Pack a list of medications including dosage and generic names. If you lose the originals while traveling, youll have copies for easier reporting and replacement.
Health Information: Check with your personal physician for the latest overseas travel health information, or contact the Center for Disease Control&rsquos travelers&rsquo hotline at 404-332-4559, web site www.cdc.gov.
Climate & Clothing: Jordan - Spring: 60°F-85°F Summer: 70°F-90°F Autumn: 60°F-80°F Winter: 45°F-70°F. Bring comfortable walking shoes, a sweater, clothes you can layer and an all-weather coat. In the heat of summer, bring sunscreen and a hat. Some religious sites do not allow shorts or sleeveless shirts.
Jordan Average Temperatures: http://www.righttravel.info/weather/jordan-8.html
Shopping: Shopping in a foreign country can be a wonderful experience. We do include a few stops at recommended popular shops on every escorted tour, intended to enhance your cultural experience. As you explore the country independently, you may find fantastic, one-of-a-kind merchandise. You may get terrific bargains. However, we advise you to exercise care and common sense when making any purchase. Always get a formal receipt. And remember that, just like in this country, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is
Jordan - Shops and bazaars offer a wide array of interesting and beautiful items, including intricate sand art, ornate cotton wares, jewelry, glass, inlaid woodwork, and ceramics goods. With some vendors, you may experience high-pressure sales, and haggling is acceptable.
Currency: We suggest getting a small amount of currency for the first country youre visiting before you leave the U.S. It is a good idea to carry a chart with you to help you convert U.S. dollars to the local currency. Its also a good idea not to carry too much money. Many countries have ATM machines that accept most U.S. ATM cards, but be sure you know your ATM password in numbers-the keypads on foreign ATMs dont always have letters. ATM machines will only dispense cash in local currency. Check with respective consulates to learn current currency allowances and requirements. Use your credit card whenever possible. Should you decide to carry cash or travelers checks, exchange them at banks where the rate is more favorable than at hotels or exchange bureaus. Please note that many banks and most vendors will not accept or exchange $100 bills. We suggest to carry $20 bills or smaller.
Jordan - The Jordanian Dinar is the currency of Jordan.
Credit Cards: While credit cards are accepted in most destinations, it is advisable to carry local currency. Inform your credit card company that you are traveling to avoid your card being blocked for security reasons.
Gratuities: This is a matter of personal discretion. You may use the following as a guideline:
Tipping is considered by many locals to be a part of their normal remuneration and some may approach you for additional compensation. There is no need to be intimidated by the request, nor should you feel pressured to pay more than recommended. If you become uncomfortable by any behavior you encounter, please advise your tour escort or phone our local office. Numbers have been provided in your documents for your convenience.
Jordan - Hotels and restaurants that are frequented mostly by tourists will add a gratuity to your bill and additional tipping is at your discretion. At smaller establishments it is customary to tip according to the level of service received. Taxi drivers do not expect a gratuity and rounding up to the nearest dinar is usually sufficient.
Your Safety is Very Important: Every effort has been taken by Right Travel to ensure your safety. However, it is important that you do not allow your common sense to take a vacation while youre on your trip. Be aware of potentially dangerous places and situations as you would at home. Avoid wearing expensive jewelry and carry your valuables concealed in inside pockets or hidden pouches. Dont put all your valuables (money, credit cards, passports, etc.) in the same place. (In case that one wallet is stolen, you should have other valuables and identification in another safe place.) Dont leave valuables laying loose in your room-use the hotel safe. Keep copies of your passports, credit card numbers and travelers checks numbers in the hotel safe. If youve purchased an escorted tour program, your travel documents will include telephone numbers of local Right Travel representatives who will do their utmost to assist you in the event of an emergency. The numbers are printed on your Right Travel final document contact page or vouchers. Please copy the numbers. Once you relinquish the voucher, you will not have this information. Passengers traveling independently should employ the services of hotel concierges and local authorities.
Local Emergency Phone Numbers in Jordan
Languages: Jordan - Arabic is the local language. Limited English is generally spoken in tourist areas.
Electricity: Please note: The U.S. uses 120 volts and you can purchase a converter and transformer at most hardware stores for your 120V appliances.
Jordan - The voltage used is 220 volts.
Code of Conduct: Jordan - Jordan is an Islamic country. Visitors should observe normal courtesies. Shaking hands is a standard form of greeting. Women should dress modestly, especially in rural areas where traditional mores are more strictly followed. Beachwear should be confined to the beach and poolside. Alcohol cannot be purchased at stores during the month of Ramadan, though many hotels still serve during this period.
Holidays - Jordan
* Please note that Islamic holidays are based on a lunar calendar, and exact dates depend on local sightings of the moon. Because of this, actual dates may vary slightly from the dates given above. Friday and Saturday are the official weekly holiday. Tourist services usually remain open, though banks and some businesses are closed. Christians attend religious services on Sundays.
Food and Meals: As specified in each itinerary. Meals are based on the hotels or restaurants buffet or set menu. In general, beverages are not included, unless specifically stated. Although Right Travel cannot make guarantees, every effort will be made to honor special dietary requests submitted in writing at least 72 hours prior to departure to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Jordan - While it is generally safe to eat fully cooked meats and vegetables, care should be taken to avoid undercooked meat and uncooked fruits and vegetables. Because tap water is not potable, visitors should only drink bottled water or water that has been boiled and filtered. Avoid ice, as it is usually made from tap water.


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There's an extensive pedagogical literature on the issue [Student Evaluations: A Critical Review] [New Research Casts Doubt on Value of Student Evaluations of Professors] [Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors] [Evaluating Methods for Evaluating Instruction: The Case of Higher Education] [Of What Value are Student Evaluations?] [Why Student Evaluations of Teachers are Bullshit, Some Sources ].
Much of this literature points out what is obvious to any university instructor; students evaluations are not very good at measuring teaching effectiveness.
Most of you won't have time to read several thousand papers in the pedagogical literature but that doesn't mean you should ignore the conclusions of the experts.1 After all, we are scientists so shouldn't we base our policies on evidence? If there's no evidence to support the claim that student evaluations measure teaching effectiveness then why in the world would university departments use them in tenure decisions, promotions, and salary increases? And why would universities use student evaluations almost exclusively to give out teaching awards?
In order to get some feel for one of the problems with student evaluations, I suggest you read an article by Stanley Fish in the New York Times (2010): Deep in the Heart of Texas. And here's an opinion piece by "Dr. Myron L. Fox," famous for the Dr. Fox Effect—the pedagogical equivalent of the Sokal Hoax.
No longer is it possible for an intelligent, well-informed person to believe that summative student evaluations accurately measure student learning or teaching effectiveness. But the widespread, almost universal use of summative student course evaluations of teachers, together with the nonchalant manner in which professors ritualistically distribute them at the end of every semester, can give the impression to both students and professors that the majority of professors support the idea that course evaluations are good indicators of how well the teachers are teaching and of how well their students are learning. The fact is that the majority of professors, across all disciplines, believe that summative student evaluations aren't good or fair measures of such things (see Birnbaum; Crumbley). This is one of academia's dirty little secrets. Dirty, because this belief, though well-founded, manifests a cynicism about contemporary higher education that tragically lies right at the core of the educators' relationship and interaction with students. It is secret, because - outside of a specialized academic literature which virtually preaches to the choir - the matter is almost never discussed candidly, and because many professors - believers and unbelievers alike - so often actually pay lip service to the view that student evaluations are valuable in these ways. The unbelievers who talk the orthodox talk do so mainly to keep their jobs or simply to avoid rocking the boat. But many have spoken out. They come from every department and every type of institution large and small, research-oriented and teaching-oriented. Below are some examples. Most of them warn that if summative course evaluations continue to be used in an attempt to measure teaching-effectiveness, then academic standards and ideals will be, perhaps irreparably, subverted: grades will continue to inflate and college courses will continue to be dumbed down and excellent professors will continue to be denied tenure and promotions, or jobs altogether, simply because they failed to pander to the increasing desire of students to be entertained or at least to be relieved of the hard work that genuine higher education requires; for there are many who are willing - if not happy or eager - to cave to these pressures and the job market in academia remains tight and the competition high.The CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) is one group of academics who recognize the problem. They have fomulated a Policy on the Use of Anonymous Student Questionnaires in the Evaluation of Teaching
Wouldn't it be nice if universities in Canada (and elsewhere) adopted this policy? Wouldn't it be nice if they went even further? Wouldn't it be nice if my own department (Biochemistry) acted like scientists?
- Any procedure initiated by the administration or the senior academic body to evaluate teaching performance, including any proposal to employ anonymous student questionnaires, should have the agreement of, or have been negotiated with the academic staff association, and should be incorporated in the collective agreement or faculty handbook. Academic staff associations should be aware, when negotiating the use of student questionnaires, that anonymous student evaluations of teachers may serve as vehicles for transmitting popular misconceptions, expectations and prejudices, to the disadvantage of, for example, women and visible minorities. Such procedures should be fair and include an appropriate procedure for an academic staff member to comment on any set of ratings and to contest any assessment or decision made on the basis of those ratings. Academic staff associations should provide expert advice and counsel to academic staff members in reviewing their own results, and should also support academic staff members in whose cases student ratings are being used inappropriately.
- Procedures for the evaluation of teaching should take into account all relevant sources of information about teaching. Anonymous student ratings should never be the primary measure of teaching performance. Rather, the systematic use of a teaching dossier should be encouraged. Unless negotiated as discussed under Article 1, results of anonymous student ratings should be placed in that dossier only with the consent of the academic staff member.
- Surveys of student opinion about teaching should not be characterized or described as if they measure teaching effectiveness. While students are uniquely placed to comment on their own reactions to what happens in the classroom, they are not in a position to assess all of the components of teaching effectiveness.
- In post-secondary institutions where the results of student surveys are considered to be part of the individual's confidential personnel file, the results of such surveys should be accorded the same degree of protection as students' academic records. When student comments and/or survey results are published, they should not be included in the personnel file.
- Where/when student organizations conduct anonymous student surveys and publish the results in order to assist students in the selection of their courses, academic staff participation should be optional, and no penalties direct or indirect should follow a refusal to participate. Such student-organized evaluations should not be used by post-secondary institution administrations as a means of assessing teaching performance.
1. I hang out with some of these experts when I go to conferences on university education. It's quite rare to find someone who defends student evaluations. Many of my colleagues at these meetings are teaching professionals who have suffered from college administrators who use student evaluations to make hiring and firing decisions.


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The Supreme Court of the United States (or SCOTUS for short) handed down a decision today in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores which, essentially, rewrites rules on corporate healthcare compliance if corporations have religious exemption claims.
There's a lot that people can say about their opinion about the decision, and if you want to in the comments then feel free. But I want to focus on the primary scientific claim of the case in order to determine if bad science led to this decision.
The primary scientific claim contained in the decision
Nonexempt employers are generally required to provide coverage for the 20 contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including the 4 that may have the effect of preventing an already fertilized egg from developing any further by inhibiting its attachment to the uterus.
Although this is stated somewhat weakly, this sounds like a testable hypothesis: four contraceptive methods inhibit implantation. What does science say about this hypothesis?
What are these four contraceptive methods?
The 20 FDA-approved contraceptive methods are the 20 mentioned in this pdf and discussed at this website. The FDA mentions that both of its listed forms of emergency contraception (one group consisting of Plan B, Plan B One Step, and Next Choice, and another group consisting of Ella) "may also work … by preventing attachment (implantation) to the womb (uterus)" and "may also work by changing the lining of the womb (uterus) that may prevent attachment (implantation)." The FDA mentions that copper IUDs "may prevent the egg from attaching (implanting) in the womb (uterus)." and that an IUD with progestin "also thins the lining of your uterus.", which could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting on a uterus. So the four methods are two forms of emergency contraception and two forms of intrauterine devices.
Do emergency contraceptive methods inhibit implantation?
The FDA says yes, although science does not support this. The FDA's label for Plan B One Step mentions "it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium", and a recent op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine by Wood et al. mentions, for that same medication, that "prevention of implantation cannot be ruled out". But, as this New York Times article from 2012 discusses, there is no positive evidence that the medically-active ingredients in Plan B or Ella inhibit implantation in humans at the levels used in those medicines. For instance, work published in 2002 cited earlier work on RU-486, which does inhibit implantation, and which uses a similar ingredient as what Ella contains. But the amount of active ingredient is much larger in RU-486 than in Ella (30x larger), making it unlikely that Ella can inhibit implantation. In short, RU-486 has been scientifically proven to act to inhibit implantation and disrupt implantation, whereas Ella has not been scientifically proven to do either of those.
Do intrauterine devices inhibit implantation?
Yes. Research on humans and non-humans both support the contention that IUDs, both copper-containing and progestin-containing, can inhibit implantation. This is not the primary manner in which IUDs prevent pregnancy (they have both prefertilization and postfertilization effects), but IUDs do appear to inhibit implantation.
Did the SCOTUS ignore science today?
Yes and no. While there is no scientific evidence that FDA-approved forms of emergency contraception (three forms of Plan B and Ella) inhibit implantation, there is scientific evidence that IUDs (both copper- and progestin-containing) do inhibit implantation. If Hobby Lobby Stores are interested in preventing their female employers from getting insurance coverage for usage of FDA-approved contraceptive methods that inhibit implantation, they can do so for IUDS but not for emergency contraception.
Did the original claim ignore science or law more?
Interestingly, the original U.S. District Court claim by Hobby Lobby Stores went a few steps further than what the SCOTUS decided on today. It made the scientific claims that Plan B and Ella can both "prevent the implantation of a human embryo in the wall of the uterus" (this is wrong, for both) and that "Plan B, Ella, and certain IUDs can cause the death of the embryo" (which is wrong for Plan B and Ella).
It also claimed that "the use of artificial means to prevent the implantation of a human embryo in the wall of the uterus" and "the use of artificial means to cause the death of a human embryo" both "constitute an 'abortion' as that term is used in federal law". But, for the first case, that's just not true. To quote directly from the SCOTUS opinion handed out today:
The owners of the companies involved in these cases and others who believe that life begins at conception regard these four methods as causing abortions, but federal regulations, which define pregnancy as beginning at implantation, see, e.g., 62 Fed. Reg. 8611 (1997); 45 CFR §46.202(f) (2013), do not so classify them.
So the SCOTUS decided today for a corporation which began their case on scientifically and legally wrong premises. So if you want to bring a case to the SCOTUS, don't be afraid of having some basic facts about science or law wrong.
Lead image of human uterine tissue from The Human Protein Atlas.


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Being a resident (sleep-away) camp counselor is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding jobs out there. It can also be very stressful with the long hours and the camper management.
For me, each session brought on butterflies in my stomach. I was always worried that my campers would not like me or wouldn't listen to me, even after I figured out how to successfully manage a group of kids.
One of the things I decided to do was set myself apart from the other counselors by doing little things like setting up a chore chart, learning some jokes and riddles, learning a couple of magic tricks, making a welcome sign in front of the cabin with rocks and pinecones, finding a couple of good stories to read at bedtime, etc.
Something I used to do, that was a camper favorite, was to add Christmas lights inside the cabin. Sometimes I used white lights and sometimes I used colored lights. Either way, it gave the cabin character and was nice not to have the awful overhead lights on that most cabins have.
Take a tape measure and measure out each wall. Add them up and get a get ya some Christmas lights. (Personally, I prefer the white ones. I like to turn them on instead of the cabin lights in the evening.)
- Holiday Wonderland 3 x 100 Lights Clear String To String Light Set
- Set On Green Wire
Get a lamp dimmer. Christmas lights will work with a dimmer so that you can make them as bright or as dim as you like.
- For use with up to 300 Watts of incandescent and halogen bulbs only
- Dims table and floor lamps to suit any activity
You need to hang the lights up, so either get some finishing nails (your camp may have these or you can get some at the hardware store) or get some Command Decorating Clips. Hang them up near the edges of the walls and ceilings around the room. Make sure to tell your campers that these are not to be pulled on or played with.
Plug in the dimmer to a wall outlet. Then plug-in the Christmas lights to the dimmer, and voila! Turn them off anytime you are not in the cabin and while you're asleep.
The cost of this project will be around $40 unless you can bring some Christmas lights from home. Believe me, $40 is money well spent for this cabin decoration that will make everyone smile.
I don't have any pictures from when I was a counselor, but if you use Google Images and search for 'decorate bedroom with christmas lights' you'll get the idea.
If you do this, I would love to see photos. I'll even add them to this post. What other ways can you decorate the cabin?


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The Texas Rangers head into the offseason with money to spend and a need for a proven third baseman, and it appears they've got their eyes on one of the game's best.
Texas has expressed interest in free agent Josh Donaldson, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The Rangers head into next season without a clear-cut starter at the hot corner; catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa and rookie Nick Solak played the position last year. Texas also has a flexible financial situation, as it's committed just $103 million in payroll for next season, according to Spotrac.
Additionally, the Philadelphia Phillies also appear to be interested in Donaldson, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Maikel Franco has manned third base as Philadelphia's starter for the last four seasons, but he was one of the least valuable players at his position in 2019 (minimum 400 plate appearances), according to FanGraphs WAR.
Donaldson had a bounce-back campaign in 2019 after signing a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves.
The 33-year-old appeared in 155 games for the National League East champions, hitting .259/.379/.521 with 37 home runs, 33 doubles, and 94 RBIs. His 4.9 WAR ranked eighth among MLB third basemen and his 132 wRC+ was tied for seventh-best at the position, according to FanGraphs.
Donaldson was also solid defensively. He was an NL Gold Glove finalist at third base with 15 defensive runs saved and a .969 fielding percentage.
The Braves hope to keep Donaldson, though, as they already extended him a qualifying offer. The slugger said in September that he would "look forward to playing in (a Braves) uniform as long as I can," according to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Donaldson will be attached to draft-pick compensation as a result of the qualifying offer.


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Organisations offering activities and support. For local information go to Coronavirus Information,
Home But Not Alone phone line: 0800 876 6926,
or go to Community Action Suffolk to see how local groups can help isolated people.
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CategoryChoose a directory to filter your results
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|Company Details
|Driverless.global Jobs & Events Listing Services
Business Developer Nordics Charging
Tesla Charging
The availability of comfortable charging solutions is critical to the adoption of electric vehicles. Tesla has taken a lead role in building a true pan-European network with the coverage and capacity that truly offers freedom of travel at an ever growing rate.
It is extremely important to us and our mission that charging is convenient, abundant, and reliable for all owners, current and future. In order to provide customers a seamless experience we're constantly growing the Tesla charging network and expanding existing sites. We are also broadening our charging locations at highway locations, destinations, at home and at workplaces. Tesla provides a seamless, consistent charging experience across Europe, from the North Cape to Portugal, and from Ireland to Croatia.
The Role
Tesla is looking for an excellent Business Developer for the Nordic region that can autonomously drive all phases of our Tesla's charging programs, including discovery, diligence, design, closeout of projects.
The ideal candidate will tirelessly create opportunities, adapt to external factors and internal guidance, manage multiple projects, and build and nurture relationships.
This role requires flexibility and the ability to adapt to the evolving needs of projects and the organization. There will be opportunities for career growth based on performance and interest.
The ideal candidate comes with strong personal drive, commercial acumen, curiosity and creativity to drive business and customer experience forward. You're a natural people person – someone who can influence cross-functional project teams, deliver through and motivate internal and external stakeholders. You have high standards, you possess self-belief to work through ambiguity and a fast-paced dynamic environment with multiple and changing priorities.
Your prior work experiences have set you up to be autonomous and hit the ground running.


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Gun-Training Class Teaches Students To Keep Loaded Firearms Under The Bed
A North Carolina concealed carry handgun class is teaching students more than just shooting techniques and liabilities, but also giving out reckless advice, according to one of the class' attendants.
"Perhaps the most shocking was the advice we received from a practicing law enforcement officer regarding the storage of firearms: under the bed, preferably loaded," wrote Ty L. Bullard, a North Carolina doctor who recently published an op-ed in the Charlotte Observer about his recent experience in a concealed carry handgun class.
In order to obtain a concealed carry handgun in North Carolina, a person must complete the state mandated class. But the class may be doing more harm than good according to Bullard:
"Our instructor was well-qualified enough – a very experienced local law enforcement officer, with considerable advanced weapons training of all sorts. We proceeded directly into the letter of the law regarding explicitly what the state did and did not allow regarding concealed handguns. And then, almost immediately, things began to descent into a mockery of reason and good judgment."
Among the questions asked, wrote Bullard, were, "What if I come home and someone is in my house? Can I take my gun inside and shoot them?" to which the instructor responded, "Well, the law says technically not if you're outside, but as long as you put yourself in the house then you should be good."
David Harrington, a North Carolina firearms instructor, told the Record-Eagle that leaving a loaded gun under your bed "is the most foolish thing you can ever do, in my opinion – other than having it under your pillow."
In North Carolina, the concealed carry handgun classes consist of eight hours of instruction and extra time spent on the shooting range. Instructors are provided with standard lesson plans, according to the Record-Eagle, but they are allowed to register their own course materials with the state. There is also a questions and answers portion.
"I'll be honest: The people ask some crazy questions in class," Harrington said. "And I don't think it's much that they're the 'shoot first' type as that they're thinking about the oddest scenarios they can come up with."
But it's up to the instructors to use those questions and scenarios as teaching moments, rather than fuel students' paranoia, he said.
"When I teach my courses, I teach that your gun is your last line of defense, not your first line of defense," Harrington said.
Harrington said instructors like the one Bullard encountered are the ones that give programs like these a bad name.
"You're just handing our certificates for money," he said. "I probably have more people fail my class than any other instructor in my area. I tell them, 'If you're not safe, I will not pass you.'"
Sources: Charlotte Observer, Record-Eagle


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(Reuters) - U.S. and Mexican negotiators resumed migration talks on Friday to try to avert a potential trade war that could hurt both countries' economies and rattle investors already nervous about Washington's escalating battle with China.
U.S. President Donald Trump shook global markets, Mexican officials and his fellow Republicans in Congress last week by threatening 5% tariffs on Mexican imports starting on Monday if Mexico did not do more to stem an increase in migrants heading for the U.S. southern border.
Here's a snapshot of latest developments on Friday:
- Trump said in a tweet that there was a "good chance" the United States would be able to reach a deal with Mexico. But he added: "If we are unable to make the deal, Mexico will begin paying Tariffs at the 5% level on Monday!"
- Mexico's peso, which has been battered by fears of a trade war with its biggest market, strengthened more than 0.5% against the dollar after the tweet.
- Mexican sources said negotiators are battling to reach agreement over U.S. demands to make Mexico accept more asylum seekers under the 'safe third country' concept.
- The White House said the United States is on track to implement the tariffs on Monday. "Our position is still the same and we're moving forward with the tariffs. They'll go into effect on Monday," press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.
- Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said that while the United States was moving ahead with the tariffs, Trump could stop the process over the weekend, however. Outgoing White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett agreed. "The president's going to ... look at a bunch of options, and weigh all the options over the weekend," Hassett told CNBC.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Friday of "unbridled economic egoism" and said Washington's tactics would lead to trade wars and "maybe not just trade wars." Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at the same event, called on world powers to protect the global multilateral trade system.
- U.S. officials officially granted Chinese exporters two more weeks to get their products into the United States before increasing tariffs on those items, according to a U.S. government notice posted online on Friday.
- Major world stock indexes jumped and U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on Friday after a slowdown in job growth fueled hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut, while hints of progress in Washington's trade fights added to equity market optimism.
Compiled by Susan Thomas and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Howard Goller


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February 11, 2013 Million Miller Lawsuit against United Airlines Allowed to Proceed
Ok Ok I know this is old news but I thought I would go over it anyways. Back in July George Lagen on behalf of a class filed suit against United Airlines alleging devaluation and removal of lifetime benefits for flying one million miles.
Before we get into the lawsuit where it stands, allow me to summarize the US Legal system for those of you who do not know. The US legal system works on the basis of notice and response. One party notices the other party and they have the opportunity to respond. Lagen notified United that he sued United by serving the complaint.
At the point where the complaint is served a respondent (a person is only a defendant in a criminal trial) under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) has two options respond to the complaint and or file a motion to dismiss within 30 days. United filled a motion under FRCP 12(b)1 and 12(b).
A 12(b)1 motion alleges that the Plaintiff lacked standing to sue United; IE the plaintiff can not show an "injury" therefore he could not sue. The court rejected this argument.
12(b)6 states that a suit can be dismissed for "failing to show a claim upon which relief can be granted." This motion to dismiss address claims that fall outside of the ability of a court to grant relief. A good example of this is suing the government. Generally but not always, the government is immune from suit. So a court would use 12(b)6 to dismiss a claim against the government if it is immune from suit.
Just as important as what 12(b)6 is, is what it isn't. 12(b)6 is not a merits inquiry. The court when ruling on a 12(b)6 motion does not look at the merits of the claim the Plaintiff has stated. The judge only asks one question, if everything the Plaintiff said is true can relief be granted? Here the answer was yes. Mr. Lagen has a claim that he can pursue against United Airlines.
What happens now. Well the court has ordered a status conference which means the parties show up to court to see what the parties want to do. Assuming there is no settlement before then the judge will set a date by which United has to provide an answer to the complaint, and the suit will move forward.
United has the option of asking for an interlocutory appeal of the judges ruling. The judges ruling wasn't that controversial to justify an immediate appeal, so I don't think that is going to happen. I suspect that assertions to the contrary, after class certification the case will settle. The Judge implied in his ruling there was little merit to the Plaintiff's claim so a settlement seems in order.
Whatever happens with the glacial pace of lawsuits, this one will be kicking around for sometime to come.
I have included the relevant text of the ruling below the cut.
Happy Travels!
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER B. Motion to Dismiss Based Upon 12(b)(6) Defendants argue in the alternative that dismissal is warranted because Plaintiff's Complaint fails to state a claim. Defendants argue that the Court should dismiss Plaintiff's breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unjust enrichment claims. 1.
Count I: Breach of Contract Attached to their Motion to Dismiss, Defendants provide what they contend is the contract Plaintiff claims Defendants breached. Defendants assert that the Court is permitted to consider this contract without transforming their motion to one for summary judgment since the alleged contract is mentioned in Plaintiff's complaint and central to Plaintiff's claims. Defendants also state that a plain reading of the contract illustrates that Defendants are not in breach. Plaintiff disputes these contentions, arguing that the Court should exclude from its consideration the aforementioned documents, and that those documents are not the contract pertinent to Plaintiff's claims.
As a preliminary matter, the Court agrees with Defendants with respect to its ability to consider the document which Defendants argue is the contract which Plaintiff claimed they breached. The Court recognizes that as a general rule, when reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court should only consider the pleadings. However, Rule 10(c) instructs, "[a] copy of any written instrument which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes." FED. R. CIV. P. 10(c). Moreover, the Seventh Circuit has held that "[d]ocuments attached to a motion to dismiss are considered part of the pleadings if they are referred to in the plaintiff's complaint and are central to his claim." Wright v. Assoc. Ins. Cos. Inc., 29 F.3d 1244, 1248 (7th Cir. 1994). Indeed, the Seventh Circuit has reasoned such a rule is intended to apply for cases like this which involve the interpretation of a contract. Levenstein v. Salafsky, 164 F.3d 345, 347 (7th Cir. 1998). The Court's consideration of such documents (ECF 10-1, Ex. 1 & Ex. 2), does not however, mean that the Court is required to adopt Defendant's allegations regarding the effect of such documents – namely, that exhibits 1 and 2 are the contract which Plaintiff claims Defendants breached. See Rosenblum v. Travelbyus.com Ltd., 299 F.3d 657, 661 (7th Cir. 2002) (stating that a court can "form its own conclusion as to the proper construction and meaning to be given" to such documents).
In fact, the Court disagrees with Defendants' contentions. The Court does not deny that exhibits 1 and 2 appear to be the terms and conditions of the Mileage Plus program United had in effect at the time Plaintiff was a member. However, after examining the exhibits, the Court does not find any mention of Million Miler membership or the benefits a member receives after flying 1,000,000 miles. ECF No. 10-1, Ex. 1 & Ex. 2. While Plaintiff's Complaint states explicitly that the Million Miler Program was part of the Mileage Plus Program, Plaintiff and his proposed class are not mere Mileage Plus members. Instead, the Complaint is clear that Plaintiff and his proposed class are Million Miler Program members. Therefore, at this stage of the litigation, the Court finds it plausible that Defendants had a contract with Million Miler members which differed from the contract they had with other Mileage Plus members.
In his response opposing Defendant's Motion, Plaintiff argues that exhibits 1 and 2 are not the contract Plaintiff seeks to enforce and points out that these documents do not contain the terms Plaintiff alleges Defendants breached. Plaintiff lists the denial of lifetime benefits which Defendants allegedly promised him in exchange for his purchase of airline tickets as the breach. Again, these benefits do not appear in exhibits 1 and 2. Thus, the Court rejects Defendants' argument that exhibit 1 and 2 illustrate that Plaintiff cannot establish breach. In addition to finding that Plaintiff has alleged a breach, the Court also finds Plaintiff has pled sufficiently the other elements required for a breach of contract claim – namely, the existence of a valid contract, substantial performance by the plaintiff and resulting damages. See Reger Development LLC v. National City Bank, 592 F.3d 759, 764 (7th Cir. 2010); see also Petri v. Gatlin, 997 F.Supp. 956, 965 (N.D. Ill. 1997) (denying a motion to dismiss a breach of contract claim because the plaintiff generally alleged the existence of a contract, a defendant's breach, and resulting damages).
Of course, as this case proceeds, it will be Plaintiff's burden to prove (not plead) that a contract exists between Plaintiff's proposed Million Miler class and United that differs from the Mileage Plus contract United argues is the contract Plaintiff seeks to enforce. In order to make this showing, Plaintiff will need to provide the Court more than mere allegations. However, given this is only the pleading stage, the Court finds Plaintiff's allegations sufficient to survive dismissal. See Tibor Mach. Products, Inc. v. Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, 976 F.Supp. 1006, 1011 (N.D. Ill. 1997) (". . . at the pleading stage, Tibor [the plaintiff] need only allege rather than prove – the existence of a valid contract."). Accordingly, the Court denies Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's breach of contract claim. IV.
CONCLUSION For the reasons stated herein the Court denies Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Count I; and grants Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Counts II and III. IT IS SO ORDERED.
Tags: Lawsuit, Million Miler, United Airlines
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There's some talk of Kick Ass 2 coming our way, and for once, it's not Mark Millar doing the talking.
John Romita Jr., the illustrator of the comic books, has been attempting a World Record signing session in Vegas this morning, and it's being broadcast to the world via UStream – we're streaming it at the foot of this post. A Little Bleeder has not only been tuned in watching and listening, he got to ask Romita a question through Facebook.
And like the rest of the world, he wanted to know what's going on with the plans for the Kick Ass 2 movie.
Now, this is the big surprise: Romita said that the deals have just been done and production will press ahead this Summer on the shoot, ready for a release date next May.
Chloe Moretz will be busy shooting Carrie from the start of June, and is looking to fit The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea onto her calendar somewhere this year. This doesn't mean she won't, or can't be in Kick Ass 2 – if they back-end her stuff, for example, she could join them at some point in August, if not even later. It depends on the size of her role in the screen version of the story, amongst many other factors.
But perhaps she won't be in the film. Perhaps the new director and co-writer won't be the only fresh blood. Perhaps Chloe is now too old to play Hit Girl anyway?
We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure.
Romita also said that he'd like to take charge on an animated sequence for the film but the details of that are still up in the air. Here's hoping they get locked down soon enough.
Well, there you go. Thank you Little Bleeder! And stay tuned for imminent news on who is actually going to direct the thing now that Matthew Vaughn has stepped back to co-write and produce…


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But as the Olympic torch burned its way from Olympia to Atlanta, then started winding toward Salt Lake, the ground began to warm. The flame will travel 13,500 miles by dogsled and wheelchair and snowshoe and tennis shoe and tugboat. Rudy Giuliani carried it, exempted from the organizing committee's rule against elected officials as torchbearers. Lyz Glick, widow of Jeremy, a hero of Flight 93, carried it, along with 11,498 others, through frigid streets lined with cheering peopleand that was just for the torch.
Olympic organizers, more determined than ever to market the meaning, began talking about the Games as a chance for restoring America's hope. There were recollections of the 1980 U.S. hockey team that won its proxy war against the Soviets, who themselves were then at war in Afghanistan. These Games would transcend even politics and patriotism on their way toward therapy. "This is an important event under any circumstance," Utah Governor Mike Leavitt had said a few weeks after the attacks, "but fate may have fallen upon this state and city to host an event where the world will come together to heal."
That's a lot to ask, given the history: 2002 had been called the Bribery Games, for the million-dollar booty dangled before Olympic bigwigs by Salt Lake officials in hopes of its being picked as host. Once the financial scandals passedbribery charges against two of the local organizers were dismissed, although the government is appealingthe security nightmare erupted. Ever since the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta in 1996, law-enforcement agencies have known they would have to reinvent Salt Lake's security. The Atlanta budget was more than doubled for Salt Lake, and after Sept. 11, it increased an additional 25%, to $300 million, for the creation of the Bubble. There will be metal detectors and spy cameras everywhere, antibiotics and vaccines stockpiled, F-16s overhead and the Secret Service on snowmobiles. It's a whole new team sport, the FBI and Secret Service for once sharing information, patrolling in tandem. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge has called Salt Lake the safest place in the world; but, he adds, there is no guarantee that the system is fail-safe.
And then there is the host-country code of conduct and the debate over just how red-white-and-blue the Games should be. It's great to cheer the home team, but the Olympics is meant to celebrate the international community. "To ask people to love one another is merely a form of childishness," said Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Games. "To ask them to respect each other is not utopian, but in order to respect each other they must first know each other." For all the talk of Patriot Games, the hope is that Americans will be particularly gracious to their global guests, aware that playing host to the Games is not the same as owning them, and conscious, in a whole new way, of being part of a community larger than the U-S-A! U-S-A!
Ultimately competition at this level is a celebration less of country than of character: of the will to do better, push through pain, leave the fear at the top of the mountain in pursuit of speed, come to the ice like a soldier in sequins; to defy the laws of physics and nature, bury the effort under the grace. That's what makes it fun to watch and useful as well. Games have always been a handy mirror for every challenge we face, every test we take. But we may be especially grateful for the chance to stop and watch this spectacle on ice and snow. The last time we were transfixed together, it was in horror. In the next two weeks, some image will grab us once again, if much more gently. Will Sasha Cohen be the first woman to land a quad in competition? Will Apolo Anton Ohno sweep all his races? Will Picabo Street withstand one last downhill dash? A few months ago, how much would we have cared? It is a pleasure now to pull up a chair and give these athletes our full attention, to savor their fervor and cheer them on.


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Winter Bleh 05
on January 12, 2015 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Comic
Characters: Little Vampires
Peppermint bark is tasty, but it can be hard to eat when it's biting you back.
Thank you to everyone that supported the The Film Geeks campaign to present Universal's classic monster movies at the Digital Gym Cinema. I'm so excited to have the opportunity for San Diegans to see classics like Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein! I'll let you know which movies I'll be seeing in future blogs.


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Organize your friends, group, school or club to help raise money. Your efforts can help bring clean water, electricity and a better education to children in Ghana. You will be amazed at the impact you can have. We have ideas to help you get started and can assist along the way as needed.
Fill out a volunteer application or call 610-645-0753 to learn more today!


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The Staffordshire is located on the back side of the house with a direct entrance into the garden. It is idea for small gatherings like baby and bridal showers, birthdays, rehearsal dinners, etc. There Is A Partition/Curtain To Divide This Room From The Annex Room Which Is On The Other Side Of The Fireplace. Guest Has To Walk Through The Front Of This Room To Get To Annex & Terrace Room. The Windows Over Looks Into The Garden. You Can Request White Table Clothes If You Do not Prefer The Glossy Shine Finish (2.00 per Table). The Menu For This Room Can Only Be a Sit-Down/Plated Meal – Not Buffet – Unless You Reserve Both Annex & Staffordshire Combined.
• Semi-private dining area.
• Up to 40 Plated Guests with no additional table space. If you are having an event that requires a cake or gift table, we recommend no more than 32 people maximum to allow for space.
• Wheelchair accessible from the parking lot.
• There are Two entrances – Side Door with no stairs and Main Entrance with 6 stairs.


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Watch This Miniature, 3D-Printed Subaru Race Against a Ton of Exploding Sticks
Quite a feat of RC driving prowess
If you ever need to outrun an elaborately exploding array of wooden tongue depressors, a remote-controlled Subaru might just be the vehicle for you.
The brand's two-minute spot, "WRX STI vs. StickBomb" is packed with dramatic visuals of the miniature car drifting around curves and jumping over ramps while the wooden sticks fly into the air all around. It's like Fast and Furious for kids—a playful idea that seems to let the brand hint at the car's street racing abilities without showing off a bunch of dangerous driving scenarios that could land the automaker in court.
It also took an absurd amount of work to pull off, if the making of video below is any indication. For starters, there's the time required to assemble the "stick bomb," a tension-based stick pattern that comes apart in dramatic fashion when a single stick is removed.
Overall the concept is a cool gimmick, though there's not quite enough excitement to drive the casual viewer through two minutes. Even the uptempo music can't always maintain the illusion that something is actually happening.
In the end, it's a pretty compelling ad for an RC Subaru, but I've got bad news: The car was a one-of-a-kind created via 3-D printer just for the ad. So here's hoping all the effort was worth it and moves some of the $35,000 full-size models.
Join the foremost brand marketers, such as Marc Pritchard, Brad Hiranaga, Kory Marchisotto and more, for Brandweek Masters Live on Sept. 14-17. Secure your pass and learn from the brand masters.


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EARLIER this month, in Des Moines, the prominent home-schooling advocate and pastor Kevin Swanson again called for the punishment of homosexuality by death. To be clear, he added that the time for eliminating America's gay population was "not yet" at hand. We must wait for the nation to embrace the one true religion, he suggested, and gay people must be allowed to repent and convert.
Mr. Swanson proposed this at the National Religious Liberties Conference, an event he organized. Featured speakers included three Republican contenders for the presidency: the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
Mr. Huckabee later pleaded ignorance. Yet a quick web search will turn up Mr. Swanson's references to the demonic power of "the homosexual Borg," the unmitigated evil of Harry Potter and the Disney character Princess Elsa's lesbian agenda.
Mr. Cruz apparently felt little need to make excuses. He was accompanying another of the featured speakers at the conference: his father, Rafael Cruz — a politically connected pastor who told a 2013 Family Leadership Summit that same-sex marriage was a government plot to destroy the family.
On Saturday, father and son traveled to Bob Jones University in South Carolina to join a Rally for Religious Liberty. Among the speakers was Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who has called L.G.B.T. activists "hateful" and "pawns" of the devil.
The comfortable thing to do would be to dismiss Mr. Swanson as just another wombat from the embarrassing fringe of American politics. But that would be a mistake. Mr. Swanson's murderous imaginings did not interfere with his ability to attract senior Republican figures to his conference, including as a keynote speaker Bob Vander Plaats, an Iowa politician who will grant the "Most Wanted Endorsement of 2016," according to the Conservative Review.
Mr. Swanson is the product of a significant political movement that has coalesced around the theme of religious liberty. Many of its leaders and their allies appear at the Family Research Council's annual Values Voters Summit. Other power centers include Liberty University (now a required stop on the campaign trail); conservative policy organizations like the American Family Association and Concerned Women for America; and Christian legal advocacy groups like Liberty Counsel (whose co-founder, Mat Staver, acted as Kim Davis's lawyer) and the Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal powerhouse behind the Hobby Lobby decision (whose president, Alan Sears, co-wrote a book in 2003 titled "The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today").
When talking about religious conservatives in America, we might perhaps conjure up an image of a farmer in Iowa or a small-business owner in Ohio who goes to church and holds traditional values. But the leaders to whom such conservatives deliver their votes have a distinct, often different, political vision.
When they hail religious liberty, they do not mean the right to pray and worship with other believers. Instead, the phrase has become a catchall for tactical goals of seeking exemptions from the law on religious grounds. To claim exception from the law as a right of "religious refusal" is, of course, the same as claiming the power to take the law into one's own hands.
The leaders of this movement are breathtakingly radical. Like Mr. Swanson, they feel persecuted and encircled in a hostile world. Like him, they believe that America will find peace only when all submit to the one true religion.
True, few share Mr. Swanson's taste for genocidal fantasy. But they do share the ultimate goal of capturing the power of the state and remaking society in ways most Americans would find extreme: a world in which men rule in families, women's reproductive freedom is curtailed and "Bible believers" run the government.
This movement is a power to be reckoned with in Republican Party politics. Mr. Cruz, for one, is basing his strategy on winning its support. Ben Carson told a Liberty University convocation this month of his concern that so many people "are trying to push God out of our lives." And early this year, Mr. Jindal hosted a religious revival rally on the Louisiana State University campus that was sponsored by the American Family Association.
But the real influence of the movement is in the less visible realm of state legislatures. In 2015 alone, 87 religious refusal-related bills were introduced in 28 states.
All of this raises some unsettling questions about political life in the United States. When presidential candidates court support among the audience of a pastor who openly discusses the extermination of millions of their fellow citizens, why is this not major news?
Most functioning democratic parties in the modern world have mechanisms for marginalizing elements whose presence will ultimately prove destructive to both the political system and the party itself. What has happened to the Republican Party's immune system?
And why are the rest of us complacent? Because a majority of the public has swung behind same-sex marriage, pundits would have us believe that the culture war is over. The leaders of the religious liberty movement may have lost that fight, but they're still on the march — crusading through the courts and state legislatures.
It would be foolish to underestimate their resolve.


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My name is Eric and just a little over two weeks ago I received my Kitchen Cultivator from Urban Cultivator.
I've been really excited to show the Kitchen Cultivator in action in my home and I already have some results.
The first crops that I have planted are Pea Tendrils, Spinach, Arugula and Cilantro... and believe me I am completely stoked to have fresh Arugula in November (and in Vancouver no less!). Continue reading "Urban Grow Journal #1 - My First Crop" »


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Vodafone challenges BT with UK fibre broadband plan
By Costas Pitas and Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone will partner with fibre network developer CityFibre to bring ultrafast broadband to 5 million UK homes and businesses by 2025, in a direct challenge to dominant rival BT .
Vodafone and other British telecom companies buy capacity on BT's Openreach network but have long complained that the former monopoly privileges its own services to their disadvantage. BT has been trying to persuade Vodafone and other wholesale Openreach customers to help shoulder the burden of new investment in its own network.
But on Thursday Vodafone struck out on its own, saying the deal with CityFibre would give it access to a superior product at a lower cost and under better conditions than Openreach's regulated wholesale terms.
"The UK has fallen far behind the rest of the world, trapped by the limited choice available on legacy networks. We look forward to working with CityFibre to build the Gigabit fibre network that the UK needs and deserves," Vodafone UK Chief Executive Nick Jeffery said.
BT is under huge pressure from the government to accelerate the pace of its fibre network roll-out.
Vodafone's deal with CityFibre makes it more likely that BT will have to stump up more of the cost itself. Jeffery told reporters on Thursday he had not ruled out investment with other partners.
The former monopoly's earnings are already being dragged down by problems at its unit that provides consulting and network services to businesses and faces higher costs for pensions and sports rights.
Vodafone had said in September it was looking at laying its own ultrafast full-fibre broadband connections if it could find partners to share the costs.
CityFibre will own and operate the new network and Vodafone will have exclusive rights to use it for an unspecified period. Construction of the first phase for 1 million premises will be largely completed by 2021, the companies said in a statement.
"The Vodafone and CityFibre partnership represents one of the most significant developments in UK telecommunications since the launch of ADSL broadband around 17 years ago," they said.
Openreach said it welcomed Vodafone's announcement as investment in more fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology across the UK "will need commitment from the whole industry".
A spokesman for BT Openreach said its own plan to upgrade 2 million premises was "well under way" and the company aims to reach 10 million homes and businesses with FTTP by the mid-2020s.
(Editing by Tom Pfeiffer and Jason Neely)


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Revolution 3 Triathlon
Williamsburg, Virginia is home to famous Colonial Williamsburg, the nation's largest living history museum that introduces visitors to life in 18th century America. The historic Jamestown Island and Yorktown Battlefield are nearby, earning Williamsburg the nickname of the "Historic Triangle." Visitors may also jump into modern times with a visit to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which has over 350 acres of roller coasters, water parks, rides and attractions. Laser tag, haunted dinner theatres, bowling alleys and more are a part of the area, where there really is something for everyone.
There will be one transition area located at Chickahominy Riverfront Park. The swim will take place in the Chickahominy river. The swim course will be reversible depending on the conditions. Our goal will be to make it safer and more favorable for you. Water temperatures are likely to be in the high 70's to low 80's. See http://rev3tri.com/williamsburg/ for more information!


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Over a year in the making and the postman has just popped this through my door!
Congratulations to the fabulous editor and all the authors of this not-for-profit anthology – all that hard work has finally paid off!
Buy your copy here: http://www.redinkproject.org – all proceeds go to Hopes for Justice.


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In the near future, reality's going to be transformed through your phone camera. Get ready for some weird memes.
A quick video shot using Apple's upcoming ARKit tools on an iPhone shows a pretty jaw-dropping augmented reality take on the A-ha video "Take on Me." Someone (that looks more like a video game character than an actual person) is dancing in front of a magic portal into a pencil-and-paper sketch-world. We pass through. Now we're in the other space, looking through at kids dancing in the living room... half-sketch, half-real. It's mesmerizing.
Trixi Studios, the makers of this demo, are a Chicago-based augmented reality studio that also created one of the first Google Tango launch apps, Phantogeist.
Much like Snapchat and its reality-bending lenses, or Prisma's impressive photo filters, ARKit seems ready to apply more advanced augmented reality effects in increasingly-impressive demonstrations by developers.
ARKit is arriving as part of iOS 11 this fall, but it's already looking amazing. And, even more impressively, a lot of these types of effects might be possible by future iPhone AR apps on the fly -- no complex editing necessary.
It suggests that dancing hot dogs are just the beginning of a long, strange trip into bizarre transformed home movies.
For comparison, the original "Take on Me" video is below.